GLORYHAMMER! hum sorry… I'm calm now...
Hey guys, sorry for the late, Undertopia's new chapter took some time to get out. Also I some little drabble called 'the under crusade' (yeah what a lame name I know) I think I'll put there anything that comes to my mind that isn't 'canon' to Undertopia or TCC. Feel free to go read it and give me your thoughts! Just… please don't mind G4COD note at the end… (please don't ask me to post that) [G4COD: Do it!]
Oh by the way! This story reached 50 reviews! With GeoFex leaving the 50th. This is awesome! I love you so much guys! Keep leaving those reviews! You know I answer to each of you and that I love to! You are so awesome!
I'm also working on another 'small' *cough* drabble that I'll post later... It will be called 'drinking contest'!
Rock A: I never said I would put a fight in each chapter I said I will try to ^^ but regarding your concern don't worry, I'll never put fighting scenes over storytelling (even if Oh god I'm so much better at writing fights than storytelling). There will be chapters without fighting but you have to understand I'm building a world where your life would constantly be on the trigger, where war could be everywhere... and anywhere…
As for NickxJudy's relation if you are reading Undertopia you'll notice their relation evolve, grow stronger but I'm not the kind of guy that would take the easy way, there will be blood, death and tears before I settle my mind on their relation. (and that is for both fics)
DEUX VULT! haaaa Deus Vult, it has been everywhere since I started this fic, and finally someone put it in the comment… put it in the comments… someone put God's will in the comments...That sounded weird…
When Judy saw Nick run toward their escape route she thought, 'of course, fox AND mercenary…' Then when she heard the cries she told herself that Nick may just had told the villagers to leaves, hence the commotion. But when she smelt the smoke and heard more cries her mind went blank.
She quickly looked back, throwing all her Templar training away at the same time - never turn your back to the enemy, trust your brothers - and what she saw filled her with horror.
Nick was slowly walking toward them, both weapons in his paws, a vicious smile on his muzzle… And the barn burning behind him, fire quickly spreading.
Then all hell broke loose. Farmers started to run in every direction, some trying to flee when others quickly grabbed pitchforks, scythes or axes in an attempt to fight. Shattering the fight, and preventing all organized defense.
"Everybody calm down!" Judy tried. But panic and hysteria spread faster than fire and soon the whole battlefield turned into a bloody mess.
Those who tried to run from the demons were easily caught, those that managed to slip through them were dragged back in the pool of blood by the Revenant, those who tried to fight were killed without effort by the fiends…
Luckily, taking advantage of the mess, McHorn and Wolford had managed to take one more hunger demon down, allowing some guards to fatally wound the last one. Focusing back on the battle and seeing an opportunity, Judy jumped on the monster's back and thrusted her blade in it, damaging its spine. She then twisted her sword to open the wound and deal greater damage; if the creature wasn't dead yet, it wouldn't be a threat anymore and would bleed to death in a short time.
She jumped down and looked quickly at the battlefield, Mchorn and Wolford were working as a team, protecting Fangmeyer from the shadows that had followed her. Some villagers were even trying to fight the Revenant… But they were powerless against the dead lion and his mace... One swing from it meant one dead. Three mammals were already down and the rest was trying to figure out if fighting was the best idea or if they should run…
Judy then noticed the last two undead weren't there… She was about to look for them when her sensitive ears picked a noise from behind. She ducked, having recognised the faint slippering song the shadows were making and turned to face a huge black creature which had four giant black whips instead of arms… 'No,' she thought, 'it's his arms, they just splitted in four…' She recognized the shadow that had dragged the son of the mayor; the creature had managed to grow much stronger by sucking his life out… And probably other lives too judging by the number of corpses on the battlefield.
One of the guards placed himself next to her, sided with two farmers armed with improved weapons. They nodded at her and focused back on the fiend, swinging its snake like body from right to left. Testing the ground before her, Judy put her right lower paw a bit further, her elbow bending, ready to rush forward. Shadows weren't the strongest demons, their lazy temper - they weren't sloth demons for nothing after all - prevented them from looking for a fight. But that also meant they wouldn't mind going into a fight if they were sure it wouldn't ask too much effort… and obviously, this one considered fighting her and the three mammals wouldn't be…
Suddenly, wind changing direction, a thick smoke started to be blowed between them, apparently disturbing the fiend. She ran forward, waiting for it to act but it stayed there, motionless… She jumped… aimed at its head… and planted her sword right in it, efficiently killing it.
Surprised by how easy the task had been she got dragged by her own momentum and landed in the dirt, the monster collapsing next to her. Looking at it despite the smoke she saw Nick facing the two undead mammals alone… She quickly stood up, quickly casting aside any question she could have regarding the fiend's odd behavior - questions after the battle if you didn't wanted it to end abruptly with a hole through your chest - and ran to help the fox… She froze when, thrusting his bastard sword into the hippo's chest the fox slowly turned, his face, revealing a vicious smile.
.
Nick was having fun. It wasn't something very common on the battlefield but the Iron Heads had learned how to have fun both in the pub and in the heat of battle, even more when facing monsters.
Hence the numerous names referring to them as troublemakers…
He 'accidentally' tossed a torch on another barn's roof, easily setting it on fire. Smoke was starting build up, all they needed was some wind to blow it. Suddenly, his wish was exhausted.
'Seems like the crawling chaos is pleased with what I'm doing here,' he thought with a smile as smoke covered the battlefield.
Then a scream dragged his attention on his right; the undead hippo had lifted an elderly ram and was eating his arm. He rushed forward, it was too late to save the mammal - not that he cared anyway, they were just paying the price of not wanting to protect their own homes - but to take advantage of the dead mammal's unprotected belly. He plunged his bastard sword into it, turned on himself, his sword cutting the wound open, still warm intestines flowing from it.
Ghouls were undead yes, but once the body was damaged too greatly, the demon's control over it lessened. That's the reason the creature felt to its knee, letting go of the - now dead - ram and froze for a few seconds. Since it offered its head, Nick plunged his falchion in the undead's eye, delivering the killing blow.
He let go of the weapon and stepped on his right, closer to the dead to avoid the other ghoul charging him. He had sparred with Bogo a few times, some bare handed, and he knew buffalos had a tendency to use their head and, even if this dead one was trying to use its teeth rather than its horns, he didn't want to stand in front of it.
He turned on himself, accumulating momentum to deliver a stronger blow, and struck the ghoul's leg, cutting to the bone. The next step the creature tried to take had it fall, its leg no longer able to hold its weight. He jumped on its back and cutted deep in its head, efficiently destroying the demon's control over the dead body.
He went toward the dead hippo and took his sword out of its head. The sword came out with a gushing noise and blood flowed from the open wound. Looking around him to see how the battle was going, his eyes met Judy's. "Hey, commander, enjoying the fight?" he asked as he closed the distance between them.
.
Wilde stood next to her, his back turned at her as he looked at the battlefield. "That's a fucking mess." He stated as a matter of fact.
Farmers when running in every direction, shadows on their back. Some others tried to fight, using pretty much everything as weapons; not a single one of them had thought of picking up the spears of the fallen guards. Panic was slowly destroying any chance of victory.
"What did this?" she asked, fearing that she already knew the answer…
"I did," he smiled.
"What?!" she had heard him pretty well and had already figured he would somehow be behind it. But why?
"Well, you see, even if we were able to escape, those farmers would never return to their land so I thought 'hey why not burn everything down, at least they won't feel like they left something behind'," he said with a high pitched voice.
Having grown up on a farm, Judy knew how hard it would be for the farmers to start a new life elsewhere… They would probably end-up as beggars or, if they were lucky, they could find a rich land owner somewhere that would needed someone to cultivate their land… They would become serfs but at least they would have a roof over their head and a little food on their plates… Just like-
Stop! Don't think about it! Focus on the battle!
The wound on her cheek started to burn her, awakening her old demons.
"And if this forces them to take arms and fight, like I suggested," he perused, "it will be our win." He said with a shit eating grin. "Besides-"
Before he could react she jumped on him, thrusting her sword in front of her while her shield protected her left flank. Taken aback he was a bit slow to retaliate but still managed to deflect her attack with his falchion, leaving her right side unprotected as well as his left one. She tried to use her shield to bash him but he was quicker that her. His forearm pressing against her shield prevented her from mustering any momentum, thus making it a strength duel… And no matter how hard she had always trained, a bunny simply couldn't be stronger than a fox, no matter what.
Instead, she chose to push his arm away and, since his falchion was still preventing her from using her sword, jumped, landing a powerful dropkick on his torso, efficiently pushing him away. He fell down, rolled on himself and stood in a single motion, ready to keep fighting.
He was on the defensive, something unusual for a dual wielder - at least for the few she had met during her travels for the Templars. He waited for her to act first and so she did. Rushing forward she hid her sword behind her shield in an attempt to force him to lower his defences.
With this kind of maneuver she had an advantage over him; someone equipped with a shield would have done the same as her or used their own shield to bash her's away - and it would have been easy since she was by far smaller and weaker than most mammals - but the fox had only two options, try to use his forearm again, and take the risk of her breaking it easily since, this time, she had accumulated momentum. Or he could try to attack, leaving one of his flanks unprotected for a counter… But battle rarely went as planned…
A strong wind pulled smoke between them, clouding her vision, she stopped dead in her tracks and immediately moved somewhere she could stay out of it. She knew better than to fight in a cloud of smoke, making it hard to breath, exhausting, obscuring her eyes, preventing her from seeing what's around her… In a real duel she could have focused on her hearing but with the screams of the villagers from everywhere and the battle carrying on she would never be able to focus on the footsteps of a fox.
There was another reason she wanted to find herself in the nearest shelter to the smoke. Wilde, being a fox, his nose probably couldn't handle the smell of the smoke for too long and he would need to extract himself from it as soon as possible.
She moved close to a burning house - the heat of the fire lifting the smoke in the air - and studied the battlefield. From what she could tell, countless mammals were dead. The small village must have hosted one hundred souls - counting the guards - if half of the population was alive at that very moment, it would be a miracle… Wilde was still out of sight and the battle wasn't over.
.
.
Nick didn't moved when the smoke clouded his vision and burned his throat with each breath. In this kind of situation, the best course of action would be to seek a way out of the smoke. If they were surrounded by houses on fire, the heat of it would draw the smoke up, leaving a ring of breathable air around it.
If Templar Hopps was at least as good as any Templar she would head to the closest spot like that… and would probably wait for him. Of course he had figured she wouldn't like what he had said, he knew she would probably not pay him… but that she would attack him? He hadn't see that coming… Still, according to his experience, there were higher chances of him collecting at least a small bounty in fighting than running away. He knew the villagers would blame him for the lost of their homes so why not give them a reason to?
He also knew one thing Templars never learned, neither did Wizards in their library… Just like rain, smoke prevented the demons from seeing clearly… well most of them at least, the strongest had no trouble seeing through the haze… and demons related to fire were okay too… It probably was the reason not many mammals had ever noticed it.
But in the current situation, there were only a few shadows left - the Templars having done a great job dealing with them - and the Revenant. He had decided to take care of the ghoul himself, not because they were the biggest threat, but because he knew most mammals had trouble killing what once were their friends, family… brothers.
Nick wrapped his cape around his neck and face, like a scarf, to prevent himself from suffocating on the smoke, and couched. He put his falchion in his scabbard and walked "on all three", his bastard sword still in his right paw. It wasn't a very distinguished posture but it allowed him to stay near the ground where 'fresh air' was, smoke never really touching the ground.
He spotted the lower part of a tall shadow not so far - the demon must had fed on many lives when going on a rampage around the battlefield - the creature wasn't moving, obvious to what was surrounding it, the smoke efficiently preventing him from 'seeing' what was around it. He slowly and carefully closed the gap between them - if they were unable to 'see' they could still 'feel' brusque movement and noises.
When next to it he rapidly stood and cut the fiend in a up motion, damaging the lower part of its body and making it lose its balance. The taller a demon was, the stronger it was since, made either of the energy they fed on or the life matter they absorbed, they grew as they 'ate'. He turned on himself accumulating momentum and sliced the demon's body, killing it in instantly.
He took the opportunity of being unseen to take out a small flask and put some of the 'ink' the sloth demon was made of inside… He could need it for later… after a few seconds he filled it and wiped his paw on the dirt nearby. Hiding the flask in his back bag he looked around him once more. Spotting one more shadowy fiend he crept upon it and used the same tactic as before to take it down… Or at least that was what he had intended before a huge scream blew some of the smoke away…
.
.
Judy had just took down the last shadow demon in sight, strangely, the creature was moving erratically, and had showed hard time 'seeing' where she was. Or at least that what had seemed to her when the fiend had swung one deadly 'spiked whip' that it had as an arm way above her ears. She had took this opportunity to stab it in the chest, killing it immediately.
She looked at what was left of the fighting mammals. Most of them had surrounded the Revenant. She could barely distinguish the smallest of them with the cloud of smoke around them but she knew the fiend was in a bad position.
Suddenly a shout that only a dead could produce without the fear of tearing its vocal cords erupted from the Revenant. Smoke was pushed away… as well as mammals. Some fell on the muddy floor, some less lucky landed against a wall and hurt themselves… But nothing could compare to what happen to one of them.
One bunny was thrown in one of the house on fire… The screams from it and the smell of burned fur awoken horrible memories in her. She felt tears well ups, her paws started to shake, her mind couldn't focus on the battle anymore, she saw herself years back fleeing a building on fire and…
Suddenly, she regain control over her body, she stood and looked around her. She saw Wilde almost get cut in half by a shadow he had apparently tried to sneak attack.
Serves him right, he is the one who set the barn on fire to begin with…
Of course the fox was skilled, he avoided the blow and retaliated. She knew how this fight would end, with the fox alive and unharmed, a cocky grin on his face if not a lustful one… She instead focused back on the Revenant. Her brothers had been the first to recover from being pushed away and were back to the battle, McHorn trying to get the dead mammal's attention while Wolford tried to backstab it. Fangmeyer was trying to stand not far from there, she must have been pushed away and would most likely need medical assistance later but for now Judy needed to focus back on the threat.
She rushed to the Revenant, no more smoke seemed to come close to him, Judy guessed it was because he was using some kind of magic to prevent it. Wolford saw her coming, he nodded, knowing what she would try to do. He turned his circled around the undead, making sure to stay out of reach.
They had practiced this move once or twice and had never the chance to put it to use, now was the time. Wolford turned his back to the fiend - that was occupied with McHorn - and held his shield in front of him. When she jumped, he gave her a boost and helped her get momentum for her next jump.
.
.
Having killed the fiend and mentally cursed three times the mammal that had triggered the Revenant's scream, Nick looked at the said Revant with disbelief, Commander Hopps was running at full speed at her brother.
Please tell me she won't do THAT…
Hopps jumped on her brother's shield and flew towards the monster's head at full speed, her strong legs - he had experimented how strong they were not more than five minutes ago - bashed the Revenant's head, throwing him off balance.
How come it worked?! It shouldn't have!
"Dwayne!" the bunny shouted towards the rhino.
The biggest mammal took his chance; using his shield, he bashed the Revenant's one away, then hit the monster to the chest. He was aiming for the killing blow when something Nick had never saw happen. The rhino left the ground…
Every mammal in sight froze at the sight of what was happening. Without even touching him, the dead lion was slowly lifting his opponent, slowly pushing him out of his reach. Nick had heard of Revenants strong enough to outmatch bigger mammals in a contest of strength but he had never saw one which magical prowess was strong enough to lift up a fully geared rhino!
Then a noise, an horrible noise he had heard from time to time when a war hammer was slammed on someone's skull… or when Revenant were using their most fearsome power. The body and the armor the rhino started to bend in an unusual way...
MOVE!
"MOVE!" he shouted, breaking the 'spell' of terror that had been affecting them.
The wolf was the first to react, he swung his sword at the Revenant's leg with so much strength it immediately made it lose its focus and let go of the rhino that felt and hit the ground with a grunt.
If he's lucky, his spine will be okay and he won't have internal injuries…
Nick ran toward the Revenant, casting aside all thought of self preservation as he charged a creature strong enough to turn him into a tiny pool of blood and meat just with its will.
His eyes met Hopps' and, for an instant, he thought that she would try to attack him again… Thankfully, she focused on the monster instead, forming, with the help of the wolf, a triangle around it.
.
.
When facing a stronger and bigger opponent, the usual Templar tactic would always be to circle around it and either attack all at once or force the enemy to make the first move, leaving an exposed flank.
When facing a Revenant however the orders were extremely simples: do what you can and try to survive, focus on killing it and count your dead later.
Wolford couldn't believe how fast the creature was despite having its leg almost cut off by his previous attack. Able to counter any attack from him or Hopps he was also able to keep up with Wilde's swift and fast attacks, always countering each blow and trying to land a hit.
The three mammals were exhausted - it hadn't helped that apparently Wilde and Hopps had had a little spar on their own - while the monster was perfectly fine… and the odds clearly weren't in their favor. They needed help, but the few farmers that hadn't ran away were too tired or afraid to keep fighting.
They needed help… or one chance; one moment of distraction from their fallen brother for Hopps and Wilde to kill him… it… And there was only one way…
He let his guard down, facing his fallen brother he opened his arm and dropped his sword. "I am here, fiend, come and get me!" he shouted.
The monster didn't wait, its mace flew toward him, a vicious rictus tearing its face. At the last moment, Wolford held his shield up, trying in a vain attempt to block the attack and maybe save his life... He knew that if he had tried to avoid, the fiend would have had an opening to get out of the triangle it was in. He needed to stay in front of it and take the blow...
Of course, the shield didn't protect him as well as if he had been hit with a sword, maces were made to break through any kind of protection… not that the Revenant needed such a weapon, its strength was far greater than Mane's - he had spared a few times with the lion before - and could have destroyed his arm just using its fist…
It feel like his arm had been pierced with some very cold blade. The pain of his arm's bone breaking almost making him faint… but another one kept him awake, the same pain, burning cold, in his left shoulder, he felt his legs give up as he was forced down… soon his mind was blank and nothing remained…
.
.
Nic started to fear their chances of victory would turn null… He had never seen a Revenant so strong, he had witnessed Revenants pushing back soldiers when surrounded but he had never faced one that was clever enough to prevent smoke from surrounding it and block his perception.
Maybe a pride demon set itself inside the dead mammal...
The thought almost made his freeze of fear, pride demons were the strongest one as they were feeding on the vilest emotion a mammal could have. Pride had been what had almost destroyed the Reptilian empire when its most talented magus had created a spell to cross the veil and go to the dream world, where demons and spirits were.
It was pride that had shattered the veil between the two words - or rather shattered the protection that was around the 'real world' since the 'dream world', as some scholars magus called it, was more a part of this one than another - pride that had let him think he could travel alone… and pride that had made him think he alone would turn the tides of this fight.
Then the wolf did something stupid. He lowered his guard and taunted the monster, daring him to get him, which the fiend happily obliged, crushing his arm and shoulder.
This had given him one occasion, one he couldn't miss. He jumped forward, thrusting his falchion in the Revenant's knee, he twisted it as he moved to the other knee, using the same tactic with his bastard sword.
He saw Hopps take a few step before jumping and aiming her sword to the lion's neck. She plunged it in and dealt a big cut in it, severing the bones. She supported herself on the undead's shoulder and jumped back, holding her shield in front of her - a common tactic for Templars, their paranoia making them think a demon could survive such a blow… Which it did.
Nick almost got hit by the creature's mace when it turned - with great difficulty thanks to its injured knees-that-totally-shouldn't-have-allowed-it-to-move-like-that - in fact, if he hadn't his ears lowered he was sure the undead would have ripped them.
It wasn't unheard of that stronger demons were able to push one body's limits past its limits, it was usually for a short time and the body would suffer heavy damages from it but this time was enough to be dangerous considering the potential this demon had already shown.
Since both his weapons were still piercing the Revenant's knee he reached for his longsword. He hadn't draw the weapon in a long time, preferring a dual wielding style to his uncommon two handed fighting style. But in this situation, he hadn't much choice.
The old hilt felt great in his paws, he loved how it easily exited its scabbard, the way both paws found their rightful places on it, the weight and length of the blade… and of course, how simple it was to cut using with it...
In a single motion, he drew his longsword with a vicious snarl and sliced the monster's belly, leaving a great cut both in the dead mammal's armor and its flesh - which was pretty much the same since the two had almost fused.
Before his sword hit the ground he lightly released his grasp on its hilt and turned his right wrist while his left paw completely let go of it. His left paw then caught the blade directly behind the guard, his leather gloves protecting his paw. He then moved the sword for an upcoming attack, cutting deeper into the flesh.
When he looked into the wound he saw the demon's core, some sort of very light -almost white - purple with black veils on it.
Things are about to get dirty…
.
.
Judy had been amazed by Wolford's courage… At the Academy they were taught that sometimes, during a fight, it was necessary to accept death if it meant the greater good would win out. She had always told herself that, if needed, she would sacrifice her life if it allowed her brothers and sisters to win the fight. Now however, this kind of situation she understood how hard it was to sacrifice herself, to let go of her life, to trust her comrade to do the job she couldn't… To accept death after swearing she would live until her revenge would be complete.
Thankfully - and she would regret this feeling later - it was Wolford who chose to sacrifice himself first. The sound of the mace connecting with the shield and destroying everything under it was painful, but not as much as the small whimper her brother let go before collapsing.
Wilde was the first to act, obviously, the dirt eating mercenary knew how to take any occasion to win a fight - he had set a whole village on fire and doomed many mammals just for a victory after all - and efficiently crippled the Revenant's legs. Seeing that it couldn't move she jumped and hit the dead lion's neck, damaging - she was sure of it - its spine.
When she landed down however she saw, with great horror, that not only was it still alive but that it was able to move despite its injuries, trying to decapitate Wilde with its mace and thankfully missing. As much as she hated the fox right now, having him dead would mean that she would be left alone to fight the monster… and she knew she had no chance alone.
Then the fox took his longsword and, with two fast blows, sliced a huge hole into the Revenant's body. He had barely managed to make a hole in its body before he jumped on the undead's torso, plunging his arm deep in the wound.
She didn't know what he was aiming for; however she noticed that the fiend had let go of its mace and was aiming to catch him with its right paw. She rushed to them, her shield in front of her. She jumped and used it to bash the deadly paw away. She pinned it down and, using her sword she darted it into its elbow. She then twisted her sword, breaking the articulation and, to make sure that this time it would be able to use its paw, she nearly cut it off, leaving just a small piece of flesh holding it to the rest of the body.
The fiend let loose a monstrous roar as Wilde extirpated some weird looking thing from it, his arm drenched in blood from his elbow to his paw. Then, with a last struggle from the fiend that sent both her and Wilde on the ground, everything went silent.
.
.
Immediately tearing a piece of his cape, Nick warped the demon's core inside it and attached it to his belt.
Secure the very valuable alchemist component? Check. Now the survivors…
He stood up and came next to Hopps in an attempt to help her stand… though apparently the stench of blood coming from him had a rather… unexpected effect on her... she threw up. Deciding that it was for the best to leave the bunny alone he focused on the rhino next to them.
Obviously he was still alive, maybe he had just fainted due to the pain. Removing his armor was the most urgent thing to do. It had suffered some heavy damage and was pressing against his body, maybe preventing blood from flowing or twisting him in a unnatural way.
The advantage of being a small mammal was that you wouldn't have to struggle to seize the loops that were holding the differents pieces of an armor together. He removed the pauldrons and started to remove the breastplate when a cough erupted from behind him…
The wolf he had thought to be dead was still breathing. Commander Hopps was kneeling next to him, looking at his injuries. The canid was in a bad shape, he probably wouldn't make it to the night… but he had a way to save him… that is if he accepted to.
His mind was a huge mess; on one paw he had this medical training that could resume the situation like this: 'save the less injured soldiers then if you've got enough time, look at the others.' On the other one, the rhino's life was probably safe and the wolf needed immediate medical attention… he deserved immediate medical attention, because he had sacrificed himself to give them a chance to win the fight against the Revenant.
Yet the only way to save him…
He stood and walked directly to the lying wolf. He kneeled in front of the bunny and, taking out his gloves he drove his paw to the wolf's neck… only to have the Hopps slap them.
"What do you think you are doing?!" She asked him, her voice filled with anger and sadness.
"Trying to save his life," he replied with a snarl, each second he was losing was a chance that the wolf could pass away.
"Oh I think you've done enough!" she shot back at him. "Condaning our escape route, setting the village on fire, breaking our line with dozens of mammals, trying to run for their life, mammals that died because of you!" she was definitely crying right now and the look of disgust in her eyes almost made him lose his cool.
"We will discuss this after I save you brother's life." He had tried not to put any disgust in his voice when he had said 'brother', hopping she would understand that his intention were sincere.
"You won't touch him with your dirty murderer paws!" she had drawn her sword and was threatening him with it. "Everything that happened here was all your fault!" she spat. "Templars fight as one, you dirty mercenaries create chaos through the battlefield. I should have knew better than to trust you!"
"I-" he tried but the pointed the sword at him with a grown.
"And all this destruction? Do you know how much it hurts to see your house burn?" she asked him, tears flowing. "Do you know how much it hurts to leave everything behind because some demon attacked your house?"
Having heard enough, he caught her sword as far as he could and pulled her. The normal reaction in this situation would have been for her to pull back, cutting deep into his palm but right now she wasn't thinking straight. She landed on him and tried to push him away. Yet he was stronger, bigger and - unlike her - he had his emotion under control, allowing him to think and act cleary.
He pinned her down, holding both her paws above her head with his left paw and using his body to prevent her from moving. "It is not your fault!' He simply shouted. This seemed to break something inside the small doe, she cried even hard, not even trying to maintain a semblance of posture. He let her go, and she immediately clenched her tiny paw in his breastplate… She needed someone to rely on, to let her cry... She would obviously need some time to calm down, and he could use this time, cupping her cheek with his right paw he used his left one to make her release him. Their eyes meet for half a second before he laid her down. "Rest." He simply ordered before he moved to the wolf.
.
.
Judy didn't knew for how long she had been crying, all she knew was that when she finally managed to calm down, Fangmeyer was next to her, patting her back, Mchorn was sitting close, topless and Wolford was leaning on the tigress' lap, his eyes open.
"Gary!" she shouted, suddenly awakening. "H-How?!" She couldn't believe the wolf was awake after the damage he had suffered.
"I don't know," he answered, "last thing I remember, I had the Revenant crushing my shoulder then I awoke, my whole body was burning from the inside and I had an unpleasant taste in my mouth."
"Don't tell me about it, last thing I remember, something invisible was holding me in the air then I woke up topless, my destroyed armor next to me…" joked Mchorn.
This had the effect of making them all laugh, the rhino rarely cracking a joke, until Wolford whimpered. "By the creator, don't make me laugh, it still hurts!" he begged without much conviction.
"I bet it does you dickhead!" scowled Fangemeyer. "You let a Revenant crush your bones! You're lucky to be alive!"
"If someone could explain me who sold his soul to bring me back from the dead it would be nice!" He joked… Which wasn't a good joke because that would have meant someone had actually used blood magic… and probably made a mammal sacrifice…
"The only thing I know, is that Wilde made you drink... something, after having made sure you were okay." Fangmeyer explained.
"Please tell me he didn't mouth-fed me, else I think I may kill myself…" He joked once more which caused them all to let go of a small chuckle. It was necessary, they needed to laugh after such battle.
"Speaking of the fox, where is he?" asked Mchorn.
"He ran away when the villagers came back," pointed Fangmeyer, "he dived inside the forest and nobody dared to follow him there…" She smiled, "Though he told me to give you a message, Gary…"
"I'm listening…" The wolf replied.
"He said that if you ever got bored of the Templars, the Iron Head would be glad to have you in their ranks." This caused the wolf to laugh and wince again, taking his time to breath and collect himself...
"We owe him our lives," Judy stated despite the anger she still felt toward the fox. "If we ever meet again we will have to thank him properly for that..."
The three bigger mammals nodded and silence fell.
.
.
Judy stood and looked around, roughly forty mammals had made it out alive which meant that more than half the population had died in the fight. Wilde's tactic had worked, they had won, but at what cost? She promised herself that she would scowl at him properly the next time she would see him.
"What are we gonna do?" asked a hare closing by that she recognized as one of the first that had took arms when Wilde had burned the barn. "Everything is burned, we lost our homes, our lands…" He started to cry. "And so many of us died! All of that because of some damn fox that burned our only chance to make it out alive!"
Judy knew what they were going through. She didn't approve of Wilde's decision but the result was there, they had won. They had killed the Revenant and the demons that were with him, what was left of this village was safe… and they would never have done it without him. Of course that didn't excuse the fox's decision but it eased her to know they hadn't suffered for nothing… Then she noticed that some buildings were still standing, fire hadn't spread to it.
"Where do you keep you produce?" she asked.
"In the barn over there," answered an old goat, pointing at a building at a short distance.
"Then why are you crying?" She asked, trying to muster the courage she needed.
"What do you mean?" asked in response the elderly.
"You still have some houses standing, you fields haven't been destroyed, you still have supplies…" she listed.
"I grew up in a farm," she explained, "There were some seasons where the harvest would be bad enough that we may have starved during winter." She took a pause and noticed more and more villagers were closing by, listening to her.
"The Creator knows, there was some winters when we did starve!" The memories were painful but she continued her story. "I remember my parents crying when they couldn't put some food on our plates or when one of us fell sick…" There were nods among the villagers, it appeared this kind of story wasn't new to them. "But no matter how hard it was, we alway sticked together." She paused once more, there wasn't a single soul that wasn't listening to her. "I know what you're going through…" a few tears started to form in her eyes. "Trust me I really do, most of us do…" she showed her friends and noticed their frowns, it was true, those that dedicated their lives to fighting demons and mages had good reasons to do it. "But at least you still have each other," she showed everyone before her, "stick together, rebuild what you have lost, mourn your dead and cherish those that are still alive."
She took a huge breath, and every mammal around her hold their own. "You are all you have," she said with a smile despite a few tears falling. "I face a Revenant today and made it out alive, I think you can do as well as I did."
"She's right," said the hare crying, "she fought for us! I saw her kill that Revenant alone!"
Judy thought about reminding him that she didn't fought it alone, that she could have landed this attack only because Wolford had almost sacrificed himself and that it was Wilde that had killed it by removing its core from its body but she didn't… If thinking that a meek little prey - they had made it clear that they disliked predators - had killed a Revenant alone, maybe they would draw strength out of it.
Her brothers and sister nodded with a smile, telling her she had made the good choice.
"Will you stay with us?" asked the hare, a genuine smile on his face.
"I am sorry," she answered, "we can't stay in one place forever, mages and demons still curse this world," she explained, "we won't rest until the earth will be cleaned of them."
The buck shook his head, "I didn't meant stay here as a Templar, but as a fellow, our savior and… maybe find a family here?" he asked with a sheepy smile.
Judy knew where this was heading and disliked it, she had saved them and they were still looking at her like some dumb bunny that needed help… "No thanks, I already have a family," she stated, showing her brothers and sister.
"It's a shame," the buck replied, "but if you ever change your mind..."
I will die before settling down…
"Maybe I will think about it some day..." she replied, knowing perfectly she wouldn't.
.
.
Nick walked in the forest, remembering what the bunny had told him: "Do you know how much it hurts to leave everything behind because some demon attacked your house?" he felt bad for her but this had been the only way to win this fight.
What he felt good for however was saving the wolf. The larger canid had deserved it, risking his life for them all… If he ever opened his eyes to how useless the Templars were maybe he would make a good Reckless… He had been forced to use a dose of elixir - a rare and pricey potion that was said to heal any injuries… if it wasn't too late - to save him yet... and that had costed him a lot: he only had two doses left and knew he wouldn't find the components needed to make more soon…
That and no reward...
Of course he had expected no reward for the way he had handled the fight... Yet he couldn't help but think that what counted was the result, not the feelings of some dumb pro-prey… He finally manage to get near his old camp. Everything was destroyed and wet… He managed to salvage a few blankets, his old bag that contained his provisions and his maintenance tool for his swords.
Without looking back he walked deeper in the forest, he had to close the distance between him and Reptilian's border… and he had a bonus to go with it.
He left without looking back, not caring about the bunny he had just met… and grew surprisingly attached to… Fighting for your life with someone sure tended to create some bonds...
Who cares… the world is big, our paths will never cross again… better forget about her…
And that's it! Finally finished! It took me some time but when I put my mind into it, it was quick… right?
So, (I really use this word too much) The way Nick fought with his longsword is called half-swording. When you grab the sword by the blade you move it faster than swinging it from the hilt. Mind you that, in the end, your blow will be weaker than if you had swing your sword from the hilt. It's up to you, what do you seek? Speed or strength? There are other less conventional sword skills Nick can display but I will keep them for me for now… Just, why doesn't he likes to use his longsword? Or rather why doesn't he use it when he seems to like it so much?
Now, please leave a review and tell me if this was worth the wait! Let's see if we can hit the 100!
.
G4COD captivity diary: my Coywolf tried to break free from his cage... Well he did manage but luckily he didn't go too far, he fell for the "free tequila" trap. All I had to do was to pick him up the next morning, and, drunk as he was he didn't even wake up… who knew coywolves could snore like that?
Also, since it seems he did a good job with the last chapter I gave him some lemons to go with his tequila. A happy coywolf makes a good editor.
G4COD: Whelp, I'll tell you this much about the next chapter of Frencie's drabble story… Shamrocks. Now! I've been in this blood drained cage for a while, kinda got a bit bored so I called my dealer about a week ago. I don't know where we are, nor am I concerned about it. This chapter was brought to you by the fan animation Pony Poison. Hey Frenchie, if some naked or nearly naked zebra mare knocks on the door of your castle, speaking in tongues and offering you a pot of blue flowers, don't freak out! That's Zercora, she's cool. No, Frenchie, they're not Night Howlers… but you damn sure don't want to touch them.
… Well that explains why I had this freak this morning offering me flowers… Who the fuck offers flowers to a man anyway? Oh well you didn't seem to dislike your zebra steak though! And sorry for the flowers… I used the pot to crack the girl's head open.