Hello, this is the first fic that I've ever put up for anyone else to read. *Gnaws fingernails nervously*

Disclaimers: I sadly don't own anyone you recognise. They belong to whoever owns them that isn't me.

Resignation By Beech

Joxer followed the blonde and the warrior princess at a distance. He asked himself once again why he bothered. He'd been travelling with the couple on and off for over 5 years now and all he got was abuse, both physical, he rubbed his nose, and verbal. He scowled thinking of all the taunts he had had to put up with.

He was 'clumsy', 'an inept warrior', 'a fool'. Yet not once had either of the two women offered to teach him to defend himself properly. He scowled again at the backs of the two oblivious women in front of him.

He had had enough.

He was sick of playing the fool, of falling on his ass every few hours or minutes depending on the situation. He was also sick of not being able to defend himself to the best of his ability and more than anything else he was sick to the back teeth of being laughed at. Thinking that he made his decision.

He stopped in the middle of the track, looked skywards and shouted.

"Right that's it. I've had enough, I quit!!" and almost as an afterthought, "And there's nothing you can say to make me change my mind."

In front of him Xena and Gabrielle stopped and turned round in surprise. In truth they had been enjoying the break, a quiet lull in Joxers incessant chatter. The sight which greeted them was however most unexpected. Joxer was stood in the middle of the track stripping out of his battered old armour. As they watched he dropped it to the ground, then for good measure took off his helm and flung it far into the bushes.

The little bard rolled her eyes as if to say, what is he doing now. The warrior princess was a little more concerned, Joxer was so attached to his armour, he wouldn't just strip it off and throw it away. Her eyes narrowed as her made her way back to where he was standing.

"Joxer? What are you doing?" asked Gabrielle snappily. "Why have you taken your armour off, not that was much use at all though."

Joxer turned to the Amazon with a look of resolve on his face that Gabrielle hadn't seen since the incident with Aphrodite and the bell.

"I've had enough!" he repeated.

Xena raised an eyebrow at this. "Enough of what?" she enquired.

Joxer looked at her. "Enough of being treated as your whipping boy, getting ridiculed for the least thing. And I'm sick of waiting for one of you to offer to teach me how to fight properly." He crossed his arms and continued to scowl at the two women.

"Why should we do that when you can't even stand up properly?"

tbc?

Please review, should I continue or give this up as a bad lot?