Don't Piss Prier Off!

"This sucks!" muttered Prier, "We've been down this path for an hour and still can't find the other side; the chasm ended but the forest is too thick to cross it without risk of ambush. If I don't find Croix and the others soon…someone is going to get it." Of course, the "someone" happened to be the ton of Mini Dragons that kept trying to make a meal out of the travelers; Prier's anger driving them onwards.

"Don't worry Mommy! We'll be ok as long as we keep going forward!" Angelique chorused. She was bringing up the middle between her mother and Francoise; both worried that one of the monsters would try and go after her. Though Angie was also sensing for anything that might try and ambush them.

Francoise stated, "I think we'll hit an area soon where the roads converge. That should reunite us with the guys. I don't know about you…but I'm going to feel a lot better when it's over. After all, Jacques has a real knack for getting himself into trouble; we all remember his last foray into this forest." She sounded real sure of her snide comment, but deep inside she was worried. Would their friends survive?

However, only a split second later, Angie sensed a dark presence and threw one of her Divine Retributions at the bushes. Then two of the Mal Chats that had ambushed Croix's group jumped out of them; a third body falling to the ground as a result of the light show. Prier gripped her baton in her hands and ran at them. "See you in Hell! Batter Up!" Three smacks later, one of the Mal Chat had been killed.

"Well Prier, I'll just take care of the other one," Francoise remarked, "Just go away!" With that, she held up her fist until wind began to swirl around it. Then, she thrust her open palm at the final monster and released all of the bottled up power; turning it into a small whirlwind that consumed the enemy's body.

"Too easy," Prier stated, "This can't be all of them. Either we were lucky that Angelique surprised them with her attack, or we are in for more trouble. Let's just get to that convergence as soon as possible and find the guys. A group of six is much more defended than a group of three." She silently wished that she'd had the foresight to bring Bear Socks, being a powerful fighting monster, along; however with his tendencies to break open picnic baskets and eat all of the food, they'd left him in Sister Romaine's care.

S...S

Meanwhile…back at the Church of the Holy Maiden…

"You dumb animal! Get down from there this instant!" scolded Sister Romaine. Bear Socks had climbed up to the top of the steeple of the church with an expensive cut of Mooboo Steak that she'd brought with her savings. The head of the church was busily climbing up after him; however there were no stairs so she had to pretend she was scaling the edge of a cliff like she'd done in her La Pucelle days.

Bear Socks ignored her protests; the only people he'd ever listened to were Prier, being the one who'd tamed him, and Angelique, who was as demanding as her mother. He continued to sit there and eat the steak as if nothing had happened. Sister Romaine yelled, "Prier! I am never going to watch this animal for you again! Next time you go on a picnic…you'll be the one to deal with him!" With that, she gave it one last push to reach the top. However, at that exact moment, the bear devoured the last piece.

S...S

Prier shrugged. It was probably better for them to have left their pet behind. He'd be kept warm inside the church and they wouldn't have to deal with his pilfering. Besides, they could handle the enemies on their own and since they knew where they were going they had no use for a tracking animal; one of Bear Socks's many other talents. So she took another step forward, and stopped in her tracks.

The Dark Slayer's instincts paid off. At that exact moment, someone threw a large spear from the bushes. If Prier had taken that last step, she'd have been skewered; no doubt the timing that their assailant had been expecting. But instead, the spear simply struck a tree and was wedged inside the wood. Just then, a flash of crimson ran across the path, pulled the spear free, and hid once more.

Francoise ran up to the front. A Flaming Punch later, their assailant was out of the bushes and thrust right in front of them. She was a child of about five with long red hair and blood coloredeyes. On her body was a crimson jump suit with ruby studded steel armor covering her front. The spear in her hands was set on a long wooden pole, seemingly too large for her to wield, and a ruby was imbedded in the blade. "Awwwwwwwwwwwww…you dodged it! That's no fun; you're meanies! Just like Lady Sang told me. Next time, you'd better let me hit you or I'm going to tell my mommy and daddy on you three!"

"And why should I let you hit me!" Prier yelled back, "I'm not about to simply walk into a Demon trap. What do you think I was born yesterday! If you don't want to get hurt, you should run home to that Mommy and Daddy!" She gripped her baton firmly in her hands; anger rushing over her entire body. They were so close to finding their lost allies and now this little child was standing between them and the others. And a lesson that most learn the hard way is to never in any circumstance piss off Sister Prier.

"Because you're so much bigger than me, that's why! I'm Javelot; junior officer in Lady Sang's army. I was ordered to fight the Dark Slayer and take the little girl back with me. It will be so nice to have a friend to play with; there's nobody my own age in our region of the Dark World. Don't worry about her safety in any circumstances; I'm a powerful warrior despite my young age of 20," the kid commented.

With that, she began to twirl her spear just as Prier would her baton. Suddenly, with the reflex of a wild cat, she sprung at the Dark Slayer. However, Prier too was known for her lightning fast reflexes and dodged the hit with ease. Javelot ended up falling on the ground and started to cry again. Angie was wondering why in the world Sang had sent this warrior; a little kid. Was she hoping to get sympathy points with the trio? Didn't she know that sympathy and Prier weren't usually used in the same sentence?

Francoise said, "You really shouldn't play in the big leagues before you're old enough kid. In the case of Demons, neither Prier nor myself hold back. Lets show these creeps!" The Sister held her right hand up to the sky and began concentrating. Fire, Ice, and Wind began to swirl around her fist. Then, she sprung at Javelot and punched her three times. The young Demoness was thrown into the air where she promptly met with Prier's boots; the Dark Slayer having taken a jump in order to dive on her enemy.

In that one instant, the girl fell to the ground. "It's not fair! You guys are picking on me! Mommy and Daddy are going to hear about this and when they do you're going to get it! They're ten times as strong as myself." With that, she opened up a portal to the Dark World and ran in; crying like a baby.

"That was…random," commented Prier, "I think our enemy has lost their marbles."

Angelique found herself agreeing with her mother. Why in the world would they use a mere child to fight against them? But she'd sensed something with in Javelot; something almost human. Could she be just like Angelique's father; a person possessed by the forces of Darkness? Did that mean that their team should be trying to help her and not kill her? One thing was for sure, it was becoming complicated.

Teefa's Last Words...

I will revisit Javelot's (French for Javelin because Spear became Lance and that's a guy's name) story later; it just came into my head while I was writing her character. And yes I will also get to Soeur's story piece in a little bit. There are just too many good ideas that keep popping into my head concerning the characters.

Well next weekend I'll be going to an Anime convention, and I'm dressing as Prier who is in Croix's clothes; old joke in my inner circle...long story.