I do not own Darksiders or... there is no song this time that I can put here... I suddenly don't know what to do with my life... I need chocolate... Oh, and I do not condone the act of drinking. However, violence is another matter altogether. Because violence is usually the answer. ^-^

War

To Briar's surprise, War took them to the Forge Lands. Once there, he summoned Ruin and placed her in the saddle in front of him, trapping her between his arms while he held the reins. She offered no resistance and War wondered what had happened to make her act like this. She was no longer the strong, feisty, sarcastic demon War knew but a delicate porcelain doll, easily broken. War was never good with delicate things.

He looked down as they rode to see Briar pull a silver flask out of her shirt. He could smell the alcohol as she sipped from it and was tempted to take it from her and throw it into the wind but she had already replaced it inside her shirt.

They rode until War found a forgotten little nook he found suitable. He swung off the saddle and reached up to help Briar down but she was already slipping off and would have crashed to the ground if War hadn't caught her.

He realized that she had fallen asleep when she slowly opened her eyes with a yawn, "My hero."

War banished Ruin with a pat on his neck and carried the demon to the small patch of land surrounded by shallow water and carefully set her down.

"What a gentleman." She said, fishing the flask back out.

As she was about to drink from it, War ripped it out of her hand and threw it into the water.

Briar looked at where it landed, a small pout on her face, "Thanks, but I don't like my whiskey that watered down." She looked up at the rider, her face red from too much alcohol, "So what'd you do that for?"

"Why do you drink so?" War shot back.

"Meh, it's a demon thing. You know, killing, pillaging, tormenting, giving into the sins of the flesh. Stuff like that."

He stood in front of her menacingly, arms crossed over his huge chest, but the effect seemed to be lost on her, "That is no excuse."

"You're no excuse." She said, bursting into a fit of giggles. "Look, I had a bad day, so whaaaaaat? I can't drink a little?"

"A little?"

"Yeah, a little. Let's seeeee, I drank in a competition with Draven, who's no lightweight let me tell you, I drank a little after you left, a little more after my meeting, and a little on the way here." She threw her arms wide as if to explain where "here" was.

What meeting? War wondered. "What happened since I left?"

"Speaking of which, why did you come back?"

"Answer me."

"Hey, I'm the one being uncooperative here, you want an answer to your question, you have to answer mine first."

"You were not acting yourself and I was concerned." The Horseman admitted after a bit. "Now answer me."

Briar got up and started splashing in the water, "Hmm? What was your question again?"

"What happened to make you drink to the point that you taunt Death?"

"Mmm, I wonderrrrr. Oh yeah, my brother showed up."

"Your brother?"

"Mm-hm, we're twins so we look exactly alike, except I'm prettier. Oh, and he's one of the one's who works for the Council. He snuck out to come see me because he saw my future. Izn't that sweet?

"Your future?"

"Yup, you see, we can't see our own futures 'cause life's a sick bastard, but we can see other's, including our family's."

"What did he see?"

She stopped splashing and looked down at her reflection in confusion, "Hmm, that's weird, I don't remember. Oh well, maybe it will come to me later." She resumed her splashing.

"Do not lie to me, you remember."

Briar looked at the rider, a challenge in her eyes, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't, what's it to you?"

For some reason he couldn't discern, this made War angry, "You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I was trying to." She sang.

"What?!"

Briar looked away from the angry Horseman and up at the moon, "My brother saw my death at the hands of your brother."

"Impossible."

She glanced at him, "Is it? After what you saw earlier?" She looked back at the stars, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."

She is drunk, War thought. "What did you do to incur my brother's wrath to the point that he kills you?"

"Do you know what stars really are?" she asked, ignoring him, "It's a huge ball of burning gas waaaaaay out in space. Humans used to believe that the stars were heavenly entities that guided them, or that was their ancestors' soul went when they died."

"Answer me, demon."

"Now science has gotten in the way and all the old ways have pretty much died out."

"What-"

"I prefer the old explanations, though, those were so much more creative."

"Alina!" War finally shouted.

She looked at him, a cute pout on her face, "My name is not Alina, it's Br-" she caught herself just in time, "iana. My name is Briana today. Pretty right?" Usually Briar wouldn't even come close to saying her real name, no matter how drunk she was. What was it about War that was making her slip so badly?

"Answer my question."

Briar sighed and sat down, forgetting that she was standing in water, "How should I know, Brother only told me what would happen, not how it got to that point."

"Then how do you prevent it?"

"You can't." She laughed. "Besides, what do you care? You're a Horseman and I'm just a demon. Learn your place." This sent her into another fit of giggles.

War wondered why he cared for the demon. He never cared for anyone besides his brothers and sister, even that was "in the middle of battle, can they keep fighting" concern. What he felt for the she demon was something more. Something he couldn't put a name to. Something he'd never felt before.

The Horseman noticed Briar trying to stand but only managed to slip and fall back in the water. He came to help her up but she slapped his hand away, "I'm fine, I'm fiiiiine." He watched as the demon repeated the process. This time she didn't try to get up and just lay in the water, "That's it, I give up. I'm going to sleep."

True to her drunken word, soon she was asleep.

"No more drinking for you." War said as he gently picked Briar up and carried her back to the small island. Deciding that he couldn't leave her here by herself, not that he wanted to, he stabbed Chaoseater into the ground and sat beside the sleeping demon.

She was hiding something, that much War was sure of. As to what it was, he wondered if he would ever find out. Then again, why would she tell him in the first place? She had no reason to. After all, what were they to each other?

War shook his head, he shouldn't be having such thoughts. He was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He feared nothing, felt nothing.

Briar rolled over in her alcohol induced sleep to where she was curled up against War. He watched her, for once, peaceful face. He shouldn't feel anything, and yet…

War's thoughts were disrupted as a raging demon charged into the little nook with a roar. War quickly stood and grabbed his massive blade, ripping it from the ground. Briar was somehow still fast asleep and War knew that he had to protect the oblivious she demon.

He ran forward, withholding his usual battle cry, and met the Stalker head on. It raised its huge claw, intending to smash the Horseman into the ground, but found nothing but empty air. War had already dashed out of the way and was attacking the creature's unprotected side with a 360 slash. The demon howled at the wound and lunged at War with renewed fury.

War rolled out of the way and was about to retaliate when he heard, "Hm? What the Hell?"

He glanced over to see Briar awake and sitting up. She was a formidable warrior, War knew, but she would not be able to handle a Stalker while half asleep and probably still drunk. Or so he thought.

Once Briar caught sight of the massive demon and War fighting, she ran over, "Kitty!"

The Horseman tried to stop her but only succeeded in getting between her and the beast's claw and getting knocked into a wall.

On the other hand, Briar expertly dodged any and all attacks aimed at her, laughing the whole time.

How…? War could barely comprehend what he was seeing. Alcohol slowed one's reaction speed considerably, this he knew, so how had she not been hit?

The she demon then quickly stripped off her wet shirt, leaving her in only her bra and black shorts, and threw it in the creature's face, temporarily blinding and disorienting it. Briar used its head as a vault and launched herself into the air where she twisted so that when she landed, she was riding the Stalker like a horse. She drew her twin blades and reached down as if to give the "kitty" a hug.

It had finally gotten Briar's shirt off its face and was reaching up to grab her when she cut its throat, "Goodnight kitty."

It took a few more steps, spraying blood everywhere, before it finally fell into the water and dissipated into ashes.

War watched from where he sat as Briar picked up her shirt, now soaked with water and blood, only to throw it back, "I never liked wearing wet clothes anyway." Then returned to the small island and laid back down. Soon she was asleep again and War was left wondering if Briar was a master of some drunken fighting art.