Chapter 13: Don't Tread on Me

A.N.: When Sakido speaks to Eric mentally, it will appear 'like this'. When Eric speaks to Sakido mentally, it will appear 'like this.' This is to avoid any further confusion.

Placing another full clip of Makarov ammunition onto the table beside me, I grabbed another and put it down with the others. The pistol ammunition for this one location was finally over with, and I sighed softly, before a snicker to the side drew my attention. I looked over and was met with one of Jonathon's men trying and failing, to hide his expression. "If you've got something to say, then say it," I grumbled in annoyance. This had been going on for a while, and the sad part is I couldn't blame them. During the fight, what we thought were enemies...turned out to be a pack of wild animals.

He placed a cleaned and filled magazine down while shaking his head, the smirk never leaving his lips. I kept my eyes on him for a bit longer, before looking away and grabbing a larger magazine this time. I flipped it over and slammed it against the tabletop a few times to get any lingering dust and dirt from its confines.

The laugh from beside me stopped me from continuing. Thankfully Jonathon spoke up this time, his voice filled with Mirth as he asked, "During your early days here… did squirrels frighten you as badly?"

Grimacing, I went back to work as I answered, "There were no squirrels when I arrived, it was winter." I grabbed a handful of high caliber ammunition and started the task of reloading the magazine; hearing the spring creaking a bit from within. It probably needed oil.

Pulling more ammunition closer towards me, my scowl deepened as he asked, "So, what was that yesterday? What with all the panic over the squirrel…?"

Slamming the Magazine down and turning towards Jonathon, I growled, "Hey! First off, that fucker was huge, It weighed at least twenty pounds!" Looking back at the table, I shuddered at the memory of that fat ass squirrel running away, before adding, "besides, you and your men all panicked as well. If i'm not wrong, the one lad fired his entire clip, and missed every last bullet…"

"It wasn't that huge Eric. Besides, you are the one to incite panic." From the corner of my eye I was able to watch him look back at me, "What was it? 'Oh God they're everywhere!?'?"

I growled once more but otherwise kept silent on the matter. Matter of fact, I had been so caught up in the moment, I didn't know what I said.

A shadow fell over the two of us, before an amused feminine voice graced our ears, "Jonathon, you aren't over here harassing my mate, are you?"

My cheeks lit with flame as Jonathon coughed, "Uh, no. Just regaling in his tactical viewing of last night." He looked over at me discreetly, before mouthing 'mate?'.

Sakido gave a soft laugh, "Good… because I don't want him forgetting how, er… tactically wrong that was."

Her wings extended to their full mast as I turned and looked back at her, my eyes following the pinions on her wings to the tip as she stretched her arms up and over her head. Even the sun silhouetted her head perfectly, creating a halo around her muzzle as she was looking up towards the sky, eyes closed in relaxation. Even her chest was puffed out. She exhibited a perfect image of beauty and danger all rolled into one...

The sound of metal clinking drew my eyes away the sight before me, and I felt shock course through my system as I saw Jonathon staring up at Sakido, Eyes wide and jaw hanging open. I made sure to keep my thoughts closed as I reached over with my elbow and pegged him in the ribs.

He looked down and towards me, first in anger, then in embarrassment. I leaned over and whispered, "I know she's beautiful man, but come on, she's already taken!"

"Says the man dating her…" Came the hushed reply.

I was left stunned at his response, but wasn't left to respond as Sakido lowered her arms and looked towards Jonathon with an amused expression, her muzzle remained with a smile. "Actually, that is incorrect," she said. "We are not 'dating'. We are mated," she said simply.

I made a slight choking noise when she just up and said that out loud. I mean, it's not like I was embarrassed or anything, but that wasn't something people usually just up and say out of the blue. It didn't help either when I looked at Jonathon and noticed he was just sitting there, his mouth slightly opened, looking like he was seriously trying to digest what he'd just heard.

Without turning my head away from him, I heard the same as a happy laugh through my mind. I mentally muttered back to Sakido, 'I think you broke him…'

Just as I finished, he slowly began to look back my way, his eyes wide, his jaw already working on an unspoken question. Once he was facing me, I quickly interjected, "You're the one trying to get in bed with a Jakkai!"

His jaw stopped working for all but two seconds, and then he spoke hesitantly, almost unbelievable, "You and her, mated?"

The fact that he ignored what I said was proof enough that he was still processing what was previously said. He truly was close to broken from that statement. Deciding that I might as well get it over with, I sighed and said, "Yes, you heard what she said. Yes, I'm sleeping with her. And yes, we did THAT. Several times now…" I said the last part a bit more quietly. As much as I enjoyed the nights we were intimate, doing it out in nature was...something I still needed to get used to…

"But, you're a human. And she's-"

"Don't finish that statement." I finish, a menacing growl leaving my mouth.

His jaw snaps closed, his eyes shift towards Sakido, before moving back towards mine. His cheeks color a bit, before he asks, "How are you two even… compatible?" He even moves his fists back and forth… towards each other.

Standing upright and knocking a few magazines and a stack of clips to the ground, I hold me hands up and say, "Hold up. Stay right here. I will be right back…"

Turning and walking to a large table near the side of a building that has our weapons on it, I take off my armor, place my shirt down on top of the chest piece, take my belt off, and grab my original shorts. Stepping into the next room, I drop my pants, slide my shorts on, and then grab the discarded pants.

Walking back into the room, I move towards Jonathon as he asks, "What's with the wild man look…?"

Holding my arms out to the side, I will myself into my demon form. Heat engulfs my body, I feel my body 'shift' into one shape, and then the new one, and every one of my senses becomes sharper. I'd gotten so used to it that the shifts were getting more and more seamless, as if this was the form I'd been born in.

"This, is how Sakido and I are compatible." Lowering my arms, I lifted a paw… hand… claw, and looked over the tips. I still hadn't gotten around to what I should call my new appendages, but they did whatever task I needed, extremely well. "For all we know, a Human may as well be compatible with a demon body… we may have to test that though, now won't we?"

My question was meant to fluster Jonathon, but I received an answer regardless. Sakido shifted her stance, before nodding thoughtfully, "It wouldn't… hurt to try." She turned back to Jonathon and spoke again, "Even though he isn't a Wind Demon. Eric is big, for a fire demon."

I felt my jaw drop as I stared at her. I quickly spoke up to hopefully repair the damage, "Darlin', in human culture… we don't typically just discuss this kind of stuff out of the blue."

She gave me a confused gaze, before stating, "All I said was you are big, very much so, being a Fire demon. What is wrong with that?"

By this point, Jonathan's hands were covering his face, which was shaking back and forth. I could even hear him muttering, "I'm not hearing this…"

My hands gestured towards him as I said, "You're going to break him again…"

Sakido's head turned towards Jonathon, who was now looking skywards, as if he was praying, his hands clasped together, and his voice clearly reaching my location, "Please let it be over."

"Eric… it is a compliment from one to another, as well as a reason to boast, when one demon calls another a mate. And you are big… Fire demons are normally much smaller than your size. What is so wrong with that?"

'I don't see what the big deal is? Why is it bad if he hears you are big…? I do not understand what custom or reason as to why this is wrong…'came her message.

Placing a palm on my forehead, I messaged my temples as I responded, 'Darlin, thank you for the compliment. I love you. But you can not go around telling not only people, but my friends, that I am big. If I have a big… member.'

Her face morphed into pure confusion, her head tilting to the side cutely. I closed my eyes as I sighed, before sending her a mental image.

When I opened my eyes and looked back at her, she looked shell-shocked. Her face was turning red as she began to blush madly.

"Is it over?" Jonathon's small voice asked.

She shot her head towards him and backed up a step, her voice already stuttering, "I d-didn't mean it like t-that! I was talking about h-his height! Most fire demons are f-five to six feet tall! Eric is close to seven or eight! That's nearly as tall as an average wind demon," she said quickly, clearing up any misunderstandings.

Jonathon sagged, before he said, "Thank God… you could've just said he's tall…"

An awkward silence descended on the three of us as we let that settle.

It was broken when Sakido asked, "Which God?"

X~~~X

Lena poked me once more in my arm, the tenth time following the most awkward moment in my life. She leaned closer and asked quietly, "Ariel, what were they saying?"

Leaning my head back on the building, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the shade, before saying simply, "Thank Gaia. They were only talking about how tall he is…"

ONE RELIGIOUS

EXPLANATION LATER

Leaning back and against the BTR's mounted weapon, I looked down at Sakido as she fidgeted with my fingers, her body leaning against my own. I was currently wearing my cloak again, as I had remained in Demon form (something I'd gotten more comfortable with, and cause she liked it more), despite the odd looks I'd been getting from some of the soldiers. She was still digesting what I had explained to her on not only my country's main religion, but a rundown on the different religions around the world. As we sat there, we were listening to a gift we hadn't heard for a long time, or at least in my case. I could hear Fortunate Sonby CCR playing from the humvee as it drove ahead of the BTR.

"Eric… If humans all came from one place, why are there so many different religions?"

Sakido stopped fiddling with my digits and held my hand, her muzzle tilting up so she could look into my eyes from her position.

Grabbing one of her long ears, I gave it a gentle nibble as I mentally responded, 'For each location that humanity travelled to, they saw things differently than those in other locations. It's hard to explain why it happened that way, as I'm no expert. But honestly, it's a way for them to explain the supernatural.

She resumed playing with my fingers, before stopping just as soon as she started. This time she didn't move as she asked verbally, "The religion you called 'Christianity'... what you call demons. Are they demons, like me? Or are they simply angels without their pendants?"

I blinked at the question and sighed. "Honestly, I wouldn't know, since I never met one or anything. The stories say they were cast out of Heaven and ended up in Hell, so…" I sighed. "I honestly couldn't tell you."

Grabbing her hand and clasping my fingers with hers, I held firmly as I spoke up, "What I do know, is demons were portrayed as monstrous creatures of the dark, seeking to tempt man and make us fall, just as they had. Don't think of yourself anywhere close to what you see in my mind. You are very different from them. They are only filled with anger, envy, and hate. You care, you're kind. You felt regret for your past, and you have a heart. Even the men in this convoy see you the same way…"

I didn't need to add more, knowing she knew where I had been leading. 'Or else we wouldn't be here…'

There was a crackle, before a third voice sounded out. I lifted the radio provided, "Eric, come in, over."

"Reading loud and clear, over."

"Approaching the next town. Still looks inhabited. Think it's a good idea to enter, over?"

"Roger. Slow down a mile out as to lessen the engines background noise. Out."

Placing the radio next to the two of us, right in a ridge in the metal to prevent it from being lost, I pulled at my cloak and arched my back as much as I could, stretching the kinks out of it. Sakido shifted a bit, before muttering, "These vehicles beat the rocks in hell… not very well however."

"You sure you don't want to enter town with us? You don't have to leave every time we come across a populated area." I asked, my hand slipping from hers. She smiled as she stood up rolled over, crouched over my form as she rolled her shoulders.

"I know… I simply wish to stretch my wings." And stretch they did. I watched the pinions flutter in the wind for a brief moment before the wind caught, and she was lifted into the sky. Her wings flapped, taking her high into the sky in a matter of moments. 'I'd ask if you wanted to come, but you are worse than a frightened Buwaro…'

Sitting up and placing myself into a more upright position, I shook my head as I grabbed the radio, the BTR already lowering speed, as well as the music from the humvee.

'I resent that Statement.'

Grabbing the military tan T from the base of the turret, I slipped it on under my cloak with a bit of difficulty. It only fit now due to being in my human form, and while Sakido's soft fur was wondrous against bare skin; I had to appear presentable in front of anyone else.

"Eric, do you copy?"

Grabbing the radio, I brought it up and spoke, "Eric here, Sakido's taken flight. All good on your end?" I looked back to the sky, before adding as an afterthought, "over."

"Look towards the town Eric, looks like local resistance of some sort… out."

Lowering the radio, I turned and did indeed see what could only be surmised as a resistance of some sort. Villagers with pick axes, regular axes, and other sharp tools of varying shapes and sizes rimmed the town. There was even a few Jakkai in the mix, some wielding spears that looked strangely angel in origin. Even from this distance, the tips seemed to crackle with energy of some sort… most likely electricity from the occasional sparks of blue.

'Sakido, please remain close by. The last bag of weapons is here, but the locals appear ready for a fight. Stay out of sight for now. Possible angelic weapons… uncertain however.'

Getting to my feet and turning to face the town, I felt a jolt of worry, 'Careful Eric. We still don't know what blessed weapons will do to you. I was first killed by a blessed weapon…'

Swallowing, I kept the barrel between the crowd and myself. As of yet, I saw no archers, but they could be hiding from view in so many places.

When we were a hundred feet from the town, the Humvee pulled to a stop on the left of the main road, and the BTR rumbled to the right. I heard the rear door to the BTR clank open, as well as hearing boots on the ground. As I moved to the edge of the vehicle, the crowd began to show commotion within its mass. That could be good or bad, depending on their position to strangers. The rebels stirred quite a few pots for the brief time they were present within Meddius.

Dropping down to the ground, I looked to my side when Jonathon reached me. He looked back at me and asked, "Think there's going to be trouble?"

"I hope not… for their sake." Pointing at three men at random, I gestured forward, "You three with us, the rest of you, try not to sneeze." Jonathon and I led the detail of troops forward, and our loose formation meant success no matter the outcome.

Fifty feet from the town's edge, a group of five heavy set men began to move forward from the mob, each wielding one of those elemental spears. As of yet I didn't see inscriptions, so maybe they weren't what I thought they were...not that I was going to let my guard down.

Our two groups stopped ten feet from another, tense and waiting for the other.

The largest of the men stepped forward, his eyes boring into my own as his deep voice seemed to resonate with power, "You there, cloaked one. Be you Eric? Eric Erection…?"

There was a muffled snort from behind Jonathon and I, as well as one in my head. It would seem one of Jonathan's men and Sakido both found that funny.

"It's Eric Elexion. And pardon me, but have we met before…?" Originally I was surprised… but now I was only bemused.

He shuffled from side to side, and coins were exchanged behind him as he spoke once more, "We have not… but a fair amount of people that call this village home have spoken of you before. They say you have a cloak as dark as night, and a demon more angel than demon. If you are who the people hope you are, then there will be no problems between our peoples." His expression turned grim, before he stomped his staff on the ground, sending small jets of flame where the ground had neither grass or vegetation, "If you don't however, we will force you to leave. So. What proof have ye…?"

'Sakido… how do you want to proceed…?'

Her response was instant, 'I will show myself… I feel like I recognize a few within the town.'

"Before we do so… please have your men, as well as yourself, rid yourselves of those weapons. I trust there won't be hostilities… but I don't feel comfortable risking my companion's life to simply prove our identity."

His grip on his spear only seemed to tighten, "Due to past events, I will not relinquish my weapon or force mine to do so. We've faced strangers like yours before… We will not remain unarmed this time."

I didn't have a chance to respond as Sakido landed with a heavy thud a few paces behind me. She used her longer gait to easily and quickly step up to my side. The men in front of us took a few steps back, and mummers immediately rose from the crowd. A few hands raised, either pointing or giving hesitant waves.

The leader of the group that had met with us took another step back and raised his spear a bit as he asked, "How can we be sure she isn't just another demon…?"

"You said those in your town know of us, why not go-" There was a cheer near the back of the crowd, causing me to pause as I turned my gaze away from the men. The mummers rose in intensity as people began to smile. It was like watching a wave of recognition or realization spreading through the faces of those gathered.

My gaze wandered back to the men, a smirk spreading across my lips as one of the citizens called out in obvious joy, "That's them! That's the protectors!"

"It's the angel demon!"

Turning and looking towards Jonathon, I gestured towards the town with my head as more shouts rang out. He simply looked on disbelievingly, his jaw working as his head shook side to side slowly.

The group across from ours finally stood down. They shuffled a bit in place, before a different man, this one aged and weathered looking stepping forth. "Sorry for the less than warm welcome. We had to be sure you weren't those seeking to live off the glory of others." He gestured towards the crowd, "You be welcome in our town, but we ask that you refrain from carrying your weapons. You and the lass may be welcome, but many will still be wary of strangers wielding the same weapons that were used to take our homes."

"Thank you." Spoke Sakido. I looked to her and saw her smiling albeit awkwardly, most likely not used to being in the spotlight how she was now. And yet she continued regardless, "We don't want any trouble… please alert your town folk that the 'strangers' with us are of no danger to them."

The men began to disperse towards the crowd, save for the elderly one. He nodded towards Sakido, "I can be sure to get the message out. If you have a need, or find yourself with an issue, please find the local peacekeepers. We are the only ones with elemental weapons."

As he turned to walk away, I looked towards Jonathon and said, "It is probably best if the men wait with the vehicles. We will still need several, but they should only move around with concealed carrys."

"Right," Jonathon nodded. "Still though, seems like they know you and Sakido. Or at least Sakido. Any reason for that?"

Making my way forward, I gestured to those around, "Listen to the town, you should be able to guess."

Sakido stepped up alongside me, and I noted from the corner of my eye many of the people kept to the edges of the pass. However, when he looked at them, strange as it sounded, he couldn't find anything that suggested fear...but rather...he saw wonder in their eyes. Though, upon closer inspection, he found not all of them were the case. Among those eyes, he did see some distrust here and there, but so far it seemed nobody was harboring any noticeable animosity.

'Eric…' Sakido said wearily through their link.

'Yeah...we'd better stick close to the others just in case,' he mentally nodded in agreement. While I didn't think anyone would try anything against Sakido and I with such a positive reaction on the majority of the populace, and even more so with Jonathon's men and the villages' guards nearby; I knew expectancy could change in a heartbeat. And as I walked beside Sakido, I couldn't help but worry that any dissenters in the town would decide to make an uproar at least before we left, if not try something foolish.

As I looked around, I noted the village appeared newer in some sections than others, obvious by how some spots seemed to have fresh wood compared to others with rotten support struts coming out of the roofs in some places.

"Ah, yes. I see you have noticed the difference among some of the structures... not surprising with what some of the people say about you." The lead man said as he looked back at me. He gestured to the buildings and added, "You see, this village was once very small... a dozen or so homes spread here and there. But when we began to get those that lost their homes and decided found they couldn't go on any further, more homes were needed. Now we have a lumber yard that still sees use."

A number of questions rose, one of them being their supply of wood when there wasn't a nearby forest. But the other question won, and so I gave it a voice, "What were they saying about me?"

He let out a chuckle, before he said, "They say you can kill a man farther than one can throw a spear. They even say you can kill the strangers of your world without flinching, as they attempt, but fail to kill you." He shook his head wistfully and added, "They make the whole thing sound so regal and heroic. Dirt flying as the strangers magical bolts throw up the dirt and grass around you, your cloak as black as midnight billowing in the wind as your boom stick emits fire and roars like a dragon. Real fairy tale stuff, you know?"

From behind, I heard Jonathon chuckle, but I ignored it as I instead smiled myself and said, "They do make it sound like a fairy tale. Heh. I was sure nobody was around when I was fighting those rebels..."

"So," He looked over his shoulder again at me, "there is some truth behind their words?"

"Some." I admitted with a nod of my head, "I wouldn't leave myself out of cover so much as to let them have a chance at actually hitting me."

There was another chuckle, this time from beside me. I looked over as Sakido looked at me knowingly, "Human, the residents of your town were telling the whole truth. What they didn't add, was those times, I had to drag him back into cover by his ankles."

The guard looked wide eyed, before he looked back forward, and several people around me burst out into deep laughter. I couldn't help but glower as I felt flames licking at my cheeks and ears in embarrassment, feeling thoroughly humiliated at this point. 'I'm going to make you pay for that, darlin'.'

Sakido only laughed a bit more, before she sent me a mental image of herself holding a rope as she said, 'I'd like to see you try, dear.'

Even more heat flushed my cheeks as I looked away. The more I teased her, the more she learned and sent it back my way, tenfold. Sakido definitely was a crafty woman, that was for sure...

After the laughter died down, we continued for a little bit more down the path as nothing more was said. There were whispers from those around us, some being too quiet to hear, but just as many I could still hear little snippets of. Even Sakido was having a tough time hearing everything that was said. It was heartwarming to hear just what others thought of our hard work rather than sampling knowing that many benefitted from what had been done.

"Uhm, sir?" I stopped as a young kid stepped in front of us, looking almost too young to even be a teen just yet. His hands were held behind his back as he looked at me with barely restrained nervousness.

Smiling softly, I kneeled down, noting with a small bit of discomfort the fact that all whispers had nearly ceased. I ignored that for the time being as I looked only at the small kid and asked, "What can I help you with lil guy?"

He looked at me meekly, before he spoke softly, "C-Can you do something fer me mister...?"

I nodded my head before asking, "It's not too dangerous, is it?"

"No." He pulled his hands out from behind his back and held them out, and clutched in his little hands was a wooden figure. I reached out and carefully took it, before rolling it around in my fingers and taking a closer look at it. It looked like it was chiseled with great care, and yet even then it stood on awkward legs, and from its back sprouted two large wings. It had the face of a jackal, but with large ears. It almost looked similar to... "C-Can you give that to her? I made it."

That's when it really hit home. It looked like Sakido. I nodded as I stood up and held it out to her, saying softly, "Here, this is for you."

She took it slowly, a look of happiness stretched across her muzzle as she gazed at the small figurine. When I turned back to the kid, he had already scampered off...

I could only smile supportively as Sakido clenched her hand around the figurine, her smile wide and warm. I may have only seen her cry a few times during our time together, but there was a lone tear that slipped free and slid down her cheek before she forced herself to hold it in.

I felt happy for her.

"What is the name of this country?" Jonathon asked me from behind.

Leaning back, I answered just as quietly, "I think it's Fragaria or something like that."

He smiled as he said, "So that makes you and Sakido like Captain America and Black Widow... the people here practically adore you."

I chuckled to myself as I turned and looked at him and gave him a dead serious glare and said, "So you think Sakido is hot? I better not catch you checking out her ass, or you're grass."

Jonathon chuckled as he shook his head, "Ha, don't you worry, I already have my eyes elsewhere."

Sakido interjected with a small laugh of her own, "Please, I understand you are close, but don't be staring at my mate's ass either..."

I felt my jaw drop, before feeling a fit of laughter start to take over. Even a few of Jonathon's men began to chuckle as well.

"E-excuse me, I will be back soon, I wish to put this somewhere safe." I turned and looked towards Sakido, feeling my laughter die as I gave her a comforting smile. She was beaming brightly, and she let out a single sniffle, before her wings unfurled, and she jumped up with a powerful beat of her wings.

'Take as much time, my love.'

Turning around, Jonathon walked up and grabbed my shoulder, head inclining forward to be next to mine. "Hey, is everything all right?"

I responded just as softly as he did, "Yeah… she just needs some time alone. She's had a… rough life, showing emotions is like showing weakness, and the like is something she doesn't want to do."

There was a brief moment of hesitation, before he nodded and pulled away, but the moment he did, one of his men stepped up to him, shoulder near Jonathon's chest as he spoke softly, "Sir, we may have a complication."

"What do you mean?"

Moving closer, I leaned in as the man subtly nodded his head past Jonathon and said, "The vast majority of people are indeed happy, but look near the rear of the crowd, near the corner of the wooden house with the broken window." I positioned myself to look towards him, but my eyes instead looked past and towards the designated location. I saw a trio of burly men huddled in a small group, all looking our way with grim expressions bordering scowling. "Thought you would like to know."

"Good on you Gregory. Keep an eye on them. Notify me in case they start getting close."

Gregory walked off after an affirmation, and I walked past them and continued towards our destination. The crowd lessened a bit, and the chatter died down a bit as people resumed what I assumed was normal tasks.

I turned my head and saw our destination. The once ragged and torn stump had since been ground down to a flat surface, and even had a few tools spread out on its surface. I changed directions and headed the way, while also reaching behind my back and grabbing the small collapsible shovel I had stashed away on my belt.

Jonathon stepped up beside me, and i looked towards him and said, "I will dig it out, just make sure nobody gets too close to me."

Once he nodded, I stopped, kneeled down in front of the stump, and flipped the shovel open and locked it in place with a resonating 'ping', and positioned the head up. I hesitated a moment, feeling quite surreal that i was going to be literally re digging up the past. The moment passed, and I slammed the head into the dirt, and began to dig and scrape. The feel of muscles tightening and releasing as dirt resisted, then eventually gave brought comfort to me. The weight on my shoulders from the fear of these weapons being found was slowly being eased from my conscience, and the burden to fret about their discovery was nearly over.

*CLANG*

Pulling the shovel away, I dug my hands through the dirt and scraped what was loose away, before my fingers grazed the cloth bag, and I seized it. My hold tightened on the bag, and I hefted it out of the ground. Setting it down a bit after the bag was fully out of the ground, he made a quick check through it to confirm the contents were undisturbed. Some dirt had made its way through the seams, leaving smudges of mud and grime on the once pristine faces of the firearms. Shifting the rucksack, some of dried and caked mud cracked and fell off the weapons, but not entirely. Overall, the weapons were just fine though. Perfectly usable, and after a bit of maintenance would be good as new.

"Looks like everything is here," I said.

"Right, let's load this up and tell the men to move," Jonathon nodded as he hefted the rucksack over his shoulder, the two of us going back to the rest of the men.

However, as we were on the way, a group of men suddenly walked into our way. "Can we help you?" I asked, fully on guard.

The smile the lead man gave me set me on edge, and the glint in his eye only spoke of treachery.

"Yes I do believe you can. You see, we are all different men from different communities, affected by those that wielded weapons just like yours. To see that there were in fact weapons just like yours scattered around so carelessly, we would be more than appreciated if you were to leave us with these… spare weapons so that we can defend ourselves instead of hoping for the possibility of you being nearby."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jonathon tense up and twist his body, his head looking towards me, but his eyes looking over his shoulder. I glanced over and saw a large burly man had his hand on the sack of weapons, gripping and pulling it towards him, though Jonathon wasn't budging. 'Darlin', we might have some trouble here real soon.'

'What did you do…?'

I chucked at her immediate accusatory response, and the men all looked towards me. 'You know me, all I seem to do is attract trouble at every turn.'

Giving each and every one of the men a firm look over, I grinned as I reached up and loosened the collar of my shirt, before unclipping the straps that held my armor up. I shook my head as I started the shifting ability, already feeling the shirt compress around my body.

"That's not really an option… besides, you have guardians that are supposed to help you with all the same things I did." By the time I finished my transformation, I was a full head taller than any of the men, atop now having ripped through my shirt with fur sticking out in tufts.

"Yeah, well why didn't I see them fightin' at my village? Those men had blown through half'on the village before even you arrived. We tried to fight back, but most were killed two steps from the village 'fore we could even get close!"

It seemed the soldiers behind the men had finally gotten wise to the confrontation going on behind them, but Sakido chose that moment to land in a flurry of dust, her eyes casting an eerie blue mist from them as electricity danced between her claws.

For a moment it seemed like her appearance, and my transformation was about to scare the men away...before one of them suddenly shouted and tackled me, and him being large, he was able to push me off my feet, though I didn't waste any time grappling him to try to get him off. His superior weight was but a small inconvenience, as aside from my own training, my demon form was about twice as strong as my human form, making the weight difference a minor issue once I got some leverage. As such, the man was in for a surprise when he was lifted up and pushed off as I rolled back to my feet, though I failed to notice that I'd dropped the bag in the process, eyes completely focused on the men who looked like they were ready for more. "What now?" I growled, both to threaten them, and to question Jonathon on how best to proceed. He WAS the one in charge of the mission after all.

He shook his head as he looked at the rogue villagers, his mouth opening, before his expression shifted, and he began to look around. His eyes raised until he looked up at me and asked, "Where are the guns?"

An icy chill ran down my spine as i spun around, only to find the sack was entirely missing, though there were several marakovs leading away from our location.

"Men, detain these thugs!" Jonathon shouted from behind. There was a moment of silence, before they tried to make a break for it. I turned just as one of them spun and delivered a blow to one of the armed soldiers nose, and another attempted the same thing, only for his knuckles to crunch off the metal plates beneath the soldiers armor. The large man that had tangled with me attempts to get up and run, but I quickly threw a foot on his back and forced him back down.

Sakido jumped and flew into the air, already attempting to pinpoint where the one had run off too. I kneeled down and forced one of the man's scrabbling arms behind his back and applied upward pressure until he groaned in pain. I lowered my voice and said firmly, "Keep struggling, and I break it."

'Sakido, don't let him see you! If these guys are as stupid as they seem, he will lead you back to wherever they are holed up. We will follow the ground trail… if there's much of it."

I looked towards the alleyway he had run down, noting another marakov near the back… and I felt a jolt of panic as I had a flashback of a man with an AR walking… slinking along the shadows along the back wall.

Shaking my head briefly, Jonathon stepped forward and grabbed the guys other wrist, before whipping out some heavy duty zip ties. I only moved back once he was done, and when we got him up, one of the village elders stepped up and slammed his elemental spear into the ground, creating an electrified field around him.

"What is going on here!? What is the commotion?"

Meeting the man's gaze, I gestured with a hand towards the villagers, "These men stopped, and then attacked us during our collection of the firearms. They not only initiated hostilities, but they are now just as big a threat as the rebels were a month ago."

His gaze hardened, before he turned and regarded the large man that had tackled me with disgust. "You dishonor us with your disgraceful actions, Alric. And to attack those that fought for us?" He spit on the ground between them, before he looked back at me, "If you will allow it, I can take these men from here. We will see that they get the punishment they deserve for the crime they commited."

We shared a glance, before Jonathon nodded. I took a brief moment to look around, and saw many different expressions, as our scuffle had attracted quite a crowd. Nowhere I looked however did I see the men that assaulted us, nor the sack full of deadly weaponry.

My eyes landed on piece of torn cloth hanging from the corner or one of the wooden homes, and deeper into the tight alleyway on the ground was a pistol shrouded in shadows. A chill ran down my spine, the situation suddenly getting worse.

'Hey Darlin', we are going to need some eyes in the sky. Watch for anyone leaving the town. If you see someone, do not engage, follow them, they might lead us to others that might have stolen weapons or might be a threat.'

There was an irritated sigh across our link, but I could feel her gaining altitude. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Jonathon gesture towards one of his men, before he turned to look turned back towards me. I shot my hand to the side as I said, "They are trying to escape between the homes, take a different alleyway. Watch your corners, pick up any fallen guns if you come across them."

He nodded, before turning to two of his other men, but I turn and made beeline or the alley, ducking to avoid an overlong piece of timber, and making my way to the gun. I kneeled and grabbed it, but stopped as I looked at the ground nearby. I pulled my hand away from the gun and instead rubbed my fingers over the indent in the ground, tracing out a footprint. It was deeper in the toe, meaning the owner was trying to run fast, not slink off like a beat dog…

Glancing up. I saw a few more imprints, as well as another gun. Tracking the thief wouldn't be difficult at least with the ground being as damp as it is.

I stood up, grabbing the gun with me, and made my way down the small path, one eye on the ground, the other watching for a potential ambush. As I came to a corner, I stopped and peeked around it, listening intently for the wracking of a gun, or any chatter from an undisciplined combatant.

My foot left cover just as I heard what sounded like Russian being spoken roughly, my gaze shooting up towards the rooftops. And yet the moment I heard it, it was gone, like a fragment of memory being lost in the wind.

Shaking my head vigorously, I pushed myself around the corner, intently looking for prints in the soil as I followed the path of the thief, grabbing the occasional firearm or magazine of ammo. It was once I turned the third corner that Sakido's voice filtered into my mind, 'There is a short male human running away from the village with a big brown sack… is that a gun?'

Relief flooded into my system as I used her vision as my own. Once I could see what she was, I lifted my hand and shot a Fireball into the sky. There was but a moment's worth of confusion as she looked towards the source of fire, and then my immediate bursting into motion. 'Thanks Darling!'

Once I burst out of the last alley, I had six guns stuffed in various pockets, along with roughly a dozen mags as well. Pulling to a stop, I looked to my side and saw one of Jonathon's men lifting his rifle towards the forest, but kept it low. He looked over as Jonathon actually burst out of the alleyways himself.

"Where did you get those from!?" Jonathon asked incredulously, gesturing towards my entirety.

"There's a hole in the sack, hopefully we don't need to track them like that. Sakido has a bead on the person, we need to move fast."

All three of us moved towards the forest nearly at a sprint, my eyes scanning the ground in case there were yet anymore fallen pistols or even any ammunition. I ran slightly ahead, keeping a view on a section of trees that the man had ran into. As I did, I pulled a single pistol from a pouch on my abdomen, and pulled the top rack back. It jerked, but didn't lock as I repeated the action three more times, loosening it and working some stray dirt out of the weapon. Once I was certain it wouldn't jam, I pulled a magazine out and put it to my lips and blew as hard as I could.

"Think you will need that?" Jonathon asked, his pace slowing with mine as we neared the tree line.

"Don't know, don't hope so. But if these idiots attacked us, they might be stupid enough to try and use them against us. The sack is mostly handgun based, but who knows what might happen. If they figure out how to use them, I need more precision than the fire magic I can use." There was a gust of wind, and as I looked over, Sakido reached us.

"The trees are too thick for me to see anything more. Whoever he is, he realized he was losing weapons just as he hit the trees." she glanced towards the other two briefly, her ear closest to the forest actually turning a bit to aid her in potentially hearing anything.

"Ok. Well, everyone, stay close, stay alert, and watch the ground. The soil is soft; he is leaving noticeable tracks, just take care not to get shot." I finished by looking towards Sakido. She frowned as her eyes narrowed… though no response came… yet.

I made my way into the tree line, soon being followed by the others. It turned out we didn't need to worry about tracks, as the man was just that sloppy in rushing towards his escape; bushes were pushed through, the occasional tree had bark scraped free, or the low hanging branch was broken and still swaying.

"It's really easy to forget that we're not up against trained soldiers anymore," I couldn't help but chuckle. After fighting the Rebels, this was honestly somewhat refreshing.

I could feel the agreement from Sakido's end of the link as we continued in relative silence, the light of day dimming to a dusk beneath the thick canopy overhead. When I glanced over, Sakido's eyes even had a slight sheen of reflective light within them.

Taking that as a sign that the darkness was enough, I loosened the clothing I was wearing and shifted into my Demon form. The moment I did, the growing darkness all but vanished in the night vision my eyes now gave me.

As I looked around, I saw a curve in the broken branches, "Hey, form up, change in direction."

Taking the new path, I saw a slight glow further ahead, and I let my pace slow down to nearly a crawl, as I didn't want to alert any of them… though I doubted they had the insight to post a watchman.

Pushing past another overhead thicket, I found myself looking up at a tree house, the sight actually a bit peculiar.

Waving the others back, I moved closer to the others as I opened my mouth and said, "Ok, this seems to be their base, if we can call it that. There doesn't seem to be anyone watching our approach." looking towards Sakido, I began my plan, "So, if you and I-"

There was a sound like a small pop, before the entire area around us lit up with bullets flying at random. There was a roar, and then a blast of heat as what sounded like gunfire going off reached my ears. The darkness vanished and was replaced by shadows as streaks of light shone around us, bullets ripping up the ground… as well as parts of the tree canopy at random. At some point I had grabbed Sakido and pinned her to the ground, shielding her from any stray gunfire as best I could.

The only thing I could think about was keeping Sakido and I safe, but the risk of being shot in an attempt to get behind actual cover felt too risky, so I settled for shielding her body with my own. Although few, the 'snaps' of bullets whizzing by was always one too many...

Like a sudden and intense rainfall, the shots seemed to suddenly start to peter out from 'heavy' to 'drizzle.'

I counted the thin strands of black hair that draped down over Sakido's face, and got to twenty-two before the gunfire ceased entirely. Her bright blue eyes peaked open, and she looked up at me. I didn't need our link to see the discomfort in her gaze.

"Eric!" Came a shout from the woods, "Get off your wife and get in cover!"

That son of a...

Getting up, I glanced towards the tree house, and froze when I saw the damage done to the structure. The wall facing us was perforated with holes similar to a comical cheese wheel. Shaking myself from the stupor, I turned around and helped Sakido up, the both of us moving behind a tree with a thick gnarl in it.

Once behind the thick trunk, my mind went into overdrive. There was no way the weapons stashed in the sack- all handguns- could fire off that many shots, even if there were twenty men in that small tree house.

And then from the silence came the panicked voices from within the shelter, and the unmistakable moaning of someone shot. My mind took a brief pause, before I took a moment to really look at all the holes in the canopy above, and then the wall closest to my position...

"Hey, John?" I called out.

"Yeah." Came his immediate response.

"You don't think the idiots threw the ammo in a fire, do you?" I shouted back.

There was a brief pause, the moans from the structure turning to loud cries of pain. "It sure seems that way!"

The small grin that formed didn't have a hint of mirth to it, rather I felt... surprised that these men hadn't only stolen weapons from us, but had also destroyed them before they were able to discern how to use them... or perhaps they didn't want us to regain control of them... asset denial. Either way, we needed to get in there and make sure all the remaining ammo and firearms were secured.

"Johnny, hold up."

There was a shouted confirmation as I turned to Sakido, a plan already in mind. She was already frowning.

"Sorry my dearest soul mate, but with no radios, you are our best option. I'll wait until you are in position." I said, reaching a furred hand up and rubbing it against her cheek.

She grumbled a bit about how I was always running towards danger, despite the fact I could also feel her brief enjoyment at the brief contact through our link. She stalked into the tree line, a shadow on shadows, making her way between cover towards where Jonathon and his men would most likely currently be set up.

When I turned my attention back towards the swiss-esque structure, I noticed three men were actually walking out; or more of one limped, the other walked, and a third was carried mostly between the two of them. Seems they didn't escape unscathed. Then again, it would've been frighteningly lucky if they didn't get any kind of injuries...

Hey Darlin, got two men walking out, injured, but still unarmed. Relay this information to Johnny when you reach him.

The man in the middle had blood staining his pants, as well as three holes around his calf height, and one near the outside of his thigh. The man that was limping had some blood staining his trousers and hands, but he didn't seem to actually be injured. The third and final man clearly took a bullet through his bicep, and there was a bloody makeshift bandage wrapped around the wound.

One of the men in Johns group suddenly shouted out, "Freeze! Don't move or we will fire!"

They all did stop, one started weeping, and another was shivering, a thousand yard stare frozen on his face. The third man raised a hand up, "P-Please! We surrender...!"

"Is there anyone else inside?" I called out from cover.

"Our friend... he's dead."

...Shouldn't have stolen weapons you don't understand anything about.

Sakido, tell Johnny to move up, carefully.

I held my palm up and summoned a small sphere of fire, making my way out of cover. Hopefully, this entire business would end with no further bloodshed...

"...again, I express my deepest apologies for the wrongs they have done. Our town is too small to have a jailhouse, but we will put them to hard work. Hopefully this will give them time to think about what they have done wrong." Said Aladar; one of the towns' elders.

"We," Johnny let out an irritated sigh, "accept your apology. Just... make sure something like this doesn't happen again. If my superiors were here, it would have been a 'shoot on sight' violation." He shook his head, before turning a shoulder and adding as an afterthought, "Thank you for your hospitality during this brief visit."

As he turned away, I knew we were thinking the same thing. A lot of trouble for literally no reward...