09-12-2016, 06:23 PM
Charles switch off the safety on his pistol and raised the weapon. He squinted one eye shut and took careful aim. The sun was towards his back. With a quick exhale he squeezed the trigger. Hammer struck powder and released a deafening thunderclap, followed by a small plume of smoke. The hot chunk of lead carved through the air and headed for its target. The bullet smashed into Kuzuru’s armblade. Hundreds if not thousands of metal slivers erupted outwards as the blade shattered. Cinder Salt had been saved. Before the demon could even process what had happened another slug tagged him in his abdomen. It made an awful noise, similar to poking a hole through a sheet of wet plastic. The hot lead slipped between the eighth and ninth rib, cutting straight through his body and painting the ashy dirt with gore.
Kuzuru stumbled and looked into the direction of his attackers. Charles kept his barrel leveled at the demon. It was still smoking. Mallory stood next to his companion with a dry smirk on his lips.
“Sorry chief,” Mal said, “can’t let you kill that one, she ain’t worth anything to us if she’s dead.”
The demon laughed. His chest rattled as he sucked in a deep breath and started laughing again. Blood was pouring from the wound like sand in a sieve. He winced and pressed his palm tight against the wound, but he kept chuckling. Cinder watched in stunned silence as the angel of death laughed to a joke unbeknownst to all.
“You think I hit his funny bone or something Mal?” Charles asked.
“Not sure,” Mallory said, “you can kill anyone you like, hell burn the village to the ground, I don’t care, but we’re taking the girl.”
Kuzuru’s body straightened and began to shake with… pain? No, excitement. “How much is she worth to you?” he asked the two.
“Quite a bit of omnilium for the two of us,” Mallory answered.
“No, let me rephrase the question,” the demon said, staggering like a drunkard towards them, “is she worth your lives?”
Another shot echoed across the Ashen Steppes. This one however did not connect with soft flesh. Kuzuru swatted the bullet from the air with a sudden slash. Ethereal trails of demonic energy seethed from his blades. He did not wait for another shot. The demon rushed across the ashen fields towards the newcomers. Charlie and Mallory split apart, hoping to divide Kuzuru’s attention. The demon followed Mallory, as he was the closest of the duo. A ruthless butcher was threatening to paint a bright red picture upon the grey soil. Mallory could hear the air behind him being torn asunder with every slash. He did not turn back. Charles stopped running and took careful aim at the red whirlwind of swords. He fired, missed, and finally swore before taking aim once again.
“Stop running you damned coward,” Kuzuru shouted, almost catching Mal with a swipe.
“Bite me,” Mal responded.
After making sure that the three combatants were properly distracted Ahanu rushed to the aid of Cinder Salt. Her body shuddered with every laboured breath. A puddle of slick blood had pooled around her and she had fallen on her hands and knees. The sage removed a small wooden jar of salve from his cloak and set to work treating the girl’s wounds. She still grasped the handle of her broken sword, now not much more than a long shiv. Her muscles tightened and she tried to stand, but found no strength. Defeated she whispered, “I failed the tribe and I disobeyed you, I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry young one,” Ahanu responded, “you did what you believed was right and you tried your best, there is no shame in defeat so long as the spirit remains unconquered.”
Cinder found little respite in his kind words. She pushed off the ground and rocked back onto her hindquarters. Her arms hung limp at her side as she sat there and watched the ensuing conflict. It was a strange feeling watching the three fight over her. If the demon won she was dead, no doubt about that. But, if the other two proved victorious, she’d probably wish she was dead. Either way the strife and chaos that fell upon them this day was her responsibility, and so she stood. Blood slithered down her body and pattered against the ground. Her legs were shaking and fatigued swallowed her, but still she stood.
Ahanu spoke, “what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m leaving,” she said, “they’re only interested in me so I’m leaving.”
The three were too busy fighting to notice the girl’s flight. Mallory tripped over a divot in the earth and came crashing down. He twisted his body and managed to land on his back, but there was no time to stand. Like a feral dog Kuzuru pounced upon his prey. Mal raised his arms to block the incoming flurry of blows. Much to the demon’s surprise, his blades did not carve through the man’s limbs. Instead they found steel underneath a half-inch layer of synthetic flesh. Kuzuru cussed and swung again and once again his weapon clattered harmlessly against the man’s synthetic arms. A small slot snapped open on Mal’s arm and it exhaled an acrid green mist. The caustic smog engulfed the demon and burned his lungs. This distraction gave Mallory enough time to scamper away and crawl to his feet.
“Clever bastard,” Kuzuru said coughing.
“Hey,” Charlie called to his friend, “the girl is gone.”
Almost simultaneously both Kuzuru and Mallory asked, “what?”
“Yeah, look around” Charlie said, waving his gun towards the crowd, “she took off while we were fighting.”
“Well fuck,” Kuzuru said, “looks like it’s your lucky day, you guys are kind of obnoxious to fight.”
Mallory jogged over to his friend and the two watched the demon with wary eyes. Jagged strips of synthetic flesh hung slack to the metal frameworks of Mal’s prosthetics. Charlie had somehow found the time to light a cigar during the fight and stood puffing on it. Every second they spent here was more time for Cinder to disappear into the Steppes. The Coyotles watched the standoff from afar, they had no interest in drawing attention to themselves. Kuzuru frowned and rubbed his still-bleeding bullet hole. He sniffed the air and could smell the faint whispers of CInder’s blood on the wind. WIthout another word he started off in the direction he believed she took.
“You better not follow me,” he threatened the bounty hunters, “piss me off enough and I’ll have a real reason to kill you.”
“Hey,” Mallory called, “how about we make a deal?”
Kuzuru stopped in his tracks and Charlie whispered to his friend, “what are you doing?”
Mallory ignored Charles and continue to speak, “we don’t really want to fight you chief, but we don’t want to give up the girl either.”
“Too bad,” the demon responded and kept walking.
“Listen, the Empire pays very very well for these bounties, that girl is worth an obscene amount of omnilium,” Mal stepped after him, “you’re a prime right? You know what that stuff does for you right?”
Power. Omnilium meant absolute power. It was pure unrequited potential in the form of swirling rainbows. Even now he was merely a Omnilium was something that he was most interested in. “Alright, I’ll admit you’ve enticed me,” Kuzuru said, turning around, “although, what is stopping me from killing you and taking the bounty for myself?”
“I suppose you could,” Mallory shrugged, “but you don’t have our contacts, I doubt they would pay you much more than a pittance.”
Kuzuru chuckled for a moment and spoke, “alright, alright you’ve convinced me, but we’re not splitting the bounty three ways, after all I was the one that beat her.”
“Not gonna happen,” Mallory said.
“I get fifty percent and you both get the other fifty,” Kuzuru clinked his blades together, “if that ain’t good enough for you, well you could always try killing me and taking it all.”
There was no argument there. Although the two thought they might be able to tangle with the prime, they didn’t have the time to waste. Kuzuru led the way, while he did want to have some more fun with the natives he figured that he could always come back if things got too boring. Tracking her was not difficult. Even though Ahanu did well with mending her wounds she still left behind a trail of blood. She did not have the strength to carry the remains of her sword so she instead dragged it along the ground. A long scrabbled line in the ash marked by pinlets of blood made for an easy chase. She didn’t even bother sprinting when the three angels of death crested a hill and spotted her. What would she say? What was there to say? She had lost.
They walked up to her and stopped only a few paces away. She had stopped walking and turned to face them. Her fur was matted and soaked with blood. There was fight left in her eyes, but her body was spent. Charlie raised his gun and pointed it at her, while Mallory spoke, “we ain’t going to kill you, but you’ll have to come with us darling.”
Cinder looked towards Kuzuru and said, “so you’ve joined forces with them.”
“Well I’d put it the other way around, but yeah I suppose we’ve joined forces.”
She paused for a moment, her eyes dancing between the three of them before looking back at Kuzuru. She said, “you’re a greater warrior than I, and I have failed my people.”
“Well I don’t like to brag,” Kuzuru shrugged, “well that’s a lie I love to brag.”
“Teach me how to be a great warrior like yourself,” she demanded, “you want a good fight, teach me and I’ll give you the greatest fight of your existence.”
Charlie, sensing the sudden shift in Kuzuru’s demeanor spoke up, “sorry princess, but you’re worth a lot of money to us there is no way we’re going to-”
Kuzuru cut him off, “you want me to train you so you can turn around and kill me?”
She nodded her head and he laughed. Laughing hurt his wound, but he laughed regardless. The two hunters shuffled about, exchanging worried glances. Charlie thought about blowing Kuzuru’s brains out, but the demon was fast and he doubted he’d be able to do that. The demon finally stopped laughing and glanced at the other two. The tips of his armblades poked out from beneath his skin. “Sure, what the hell I’ll take you under my wing,” he said, “you’ve got promise.”
“Christ,” Mallory whispered.
Kuzuru spoke to the other two before they could speak, “sorry, looks like the bounty is off the table. Though, I was thinking we should make a crew of mercenaries, you two have the contacts and I’m more than willing to fight.”
“For fucks sake,” Mallory said.
“Your choice jerkweeds, either way,” he said and extended his weapons outwards, “the girl is off the table.”
Charles looked at Mallory and lowered his weapon. He shrugged. The two knew that their bounty was lost, but perhaps this new arrangement was better.
“Fuck it Mal,” Charlie said, lighting another cigar, “I’m in.”
Mallory sighed, removed his phone from his pocket and pecked out a message before saying, “yeah, I suppose I’ll throw down as well.”
Kuzuru stumbled and looked into the direction of his attackers. Charles kept his barrel leveled at the demon. It was still smoking. Mallory stood next to his companion with a dry smirk on his lips.
“Sorry chief,” Mal said, “can’t let you kill that one, she ain’t worth anything to us if she’s dead.”
The demon laughed. His chest rattled as he sucked in a deep breath and started laughing again. Blood was pouring from the wound like sand in a sieve. He winced and pressed his palm tight against the wound, but he kept chuckling. Cinder watched in stunned silence as the angel of death laughed to a joke unbeknownst to all.
“You think I hit his funny bone or something Mal?” Charles asked.
“Not sure,” Mallory said, “you can kill anyone you like, hell burn the village to the ground, I don’t care, but we’re taking the girl.”
Kuzuru’s body straightened and began to shake with… pain? No, excitement. “How much is she worth to you?” he asked the two.
“Quite a bit of omnilium for the two of us,” Mallory answered.
“No, let me rephrase the question,” the demon said, staggering like a drunkard towards them, “is she worth your lives?”
Another shot echoed across the Ashen Steppes. This one however did not connect with soft flesh. Kuzuru swatted the bullet from the air with a sudden slash. Ethereal trails of demonic energy seethed from his blades. He did not wait for another shot. The demon rushed across the ashen fields towards the newcomers. Charlie and Mallory split apart, hoping to divide Kuzuru’s attention. The demon followed Mallory, as he was the closest of the duo. A ruthless butcher was threatening to paint a bright red picture upon the grey soil. Mallory could hear the air behind him being torn asunder with every slash. He did not turn back. Charles stopped running and took careful aim at the red whirlwind of swords. He fired, missed, and finally swore before taking aim once again.
“Stop running you damned coward,” Kuzuru shouted, almost catching Mal with a swipe.
“Bite me,” Mal responded.
After making sure that the three combatants were properly distracted Ahanu rushed to the aid of Cinder Salt. Her body shuddered with every laboured breath. A puddle of slick blood had pooled around her and she had fallen on her hands and knees. The sage removed a small wooden jar of salve from his cloak and set to work treating the girl’s wounds. She still grasped the handle of her broken sword, now not much more than a long shiv. Her muscles tightened and she tried to stand, but found no strength. Defeated she whispered, “I failed the tribe and I disobeyed you, I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry young one,” Ahanu responded, “you did what you believed was right and you tried your best, there is no shame in defeat so long as the spirit remains unconquered.”
Cinder found little respite in his kind words. She pushed off the ground and rocked back onto her hindquarters. Her arms hung limp at her side as she sat there and watched the ensuing conflict. It was a strange feeling watching the three fight over her. If the demon won she was dead, no doubt about that. But, if the other two proved victorious, she’d probably wish she was dead. Either way the strife and chaos that fell upon them this day was her responsibility, and so she stood. Blood slithered down her body and pattered against the ground. Her legs were shaking and fatigued swallowed her, but still she stood.
Ahanu spoke, “what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m leaving,” she said, “they’re only interested in me so I’m leaving.”
The three were too busy fighting to notice the girl’s flight. Mallory tripped over a divot in the earth and came crashing down. He twisted his body and managed to land on his back, but there was no time to stand. Like a feral dog Kuzuru pounced upon his prey. Mal raised his arms to block the incoming flurry of blows. Much to the demon’s surprise, his blades did not carve through the man’s limbs. Instead they found steel underneath a half-inch layer of synthetic flesh. Kuzuru cussed and swung again and once again his weapon clattered harmlessly against the man’s synthetic arms. A small slot snapped open on Mal’s arm and it exhaled an acrid green mist. The caustic smog engulfed the demon and burned his lungs. This distraction gave Mallory enough time to scamper away and crawl to his feet.
“Clever bastard,” Kuzuru said coughing.
“Hey,” Charlie called to his friend, “the girl is gone.”
Almost simultaneously both Kuzuru and Mallory asked, “what?”
“Yeah, look around” Charlie said, waving his gun towards the crowd, “she took off while we were fighting.”
“Well fuck,” Kuzuru said, “looks like it’s your lucky day, you guys are kind of obnoxious to fight.”
Mallory jogged over to his friend and the two watched the demon with wary eyes. Jagged strips of synthetic flesh hung slack to the metal frameworks of Mal’s prosthetics. Charlie had somehow found the time to light a cigar during the fight and stood puffing on it. Every second they spent here was more time for Cinder to disappear into the Steppes. The Coyotles watched the standoff from afar, they had no interest in drawing attention to themselves. Kuzuru frowned and rubbed his still-bleeding bullet hole. He sniffed the air and could smell the faint whispers of CInder’s blood on the wind. WIthout another word he started off in the direction he believed she took.
“You better not follow me,” he threatened the bounty hunters, “piss me off enough and I’ll have a real reason to kill you.”
“Hey,” Mallory called, “how about we make a deal?”
Kuzuru stopped in his tracks and Charlie whispered to his friend, “what are you doing?”
Mallory ignored Charles and continue to speak, “we don’t really want to fight you chief, but we don’t want to give up the girl either.”
“Too bad,” the demon responded and kept walking.
“Listen, the Empire pays very very well for these bounties, that girl is worth an obscene amount of omnilium,” Mal stepped after him, “you’re a prime right? You know what that stuff does for you right?”
Power. Omnilium meant absolute power. It was pure unrequited potential in the form of swirling rainbows. Even now he was merely a Omnilium was something that he was most interested in. “Alright, I’ll admit you’ve enticed me,” Kuzuru said, turning around, “although, what is stopping me from killing you and taking the bounty for myself?”
“I suppose you could,” Mallory shrugged, “but you don’t have our contacts, I doubt they would pay you much more than a pittance.”
Kuzuru chuckled for a moment and spoke, “alright, alright you’ve convinced me, but we’re not splitting the bounty three ways, after all I was the one that beat her.”
“Not gonna happen,” Mallory said.
“I get fifty percent and you both get the other fifty,” Kuzuru clinked his blades together, “if that ain’t good enough for you, well you could always try killing me and taking it all.”
There was no argument there. Although the two thought they might be able to tangle with the prime, they didn’t have the time to waste. Kuzuru led the way, while he did want to have some more fun with the natives he figured that he could always come back if things got too boring. Tracking her was not difficult. Even though Ahanu did well with mending her wounds she still left behind a trail of blood. She did not have the strength to carry the remains of her sword so she instead dragged it along the ground. A long scrabbled line in the ash marked by pinlets of blood made for an easy chase. She didn’t even bother sprinting when the three angels of death crested a hill and spotted her. What would she say? What was there to say? She had lost.
They walked up to her and stopped only a few paces away. She had stopped walking and turned to face them. Her fur was matted and soaked with blood. There was fight left in her eyes, but her body was spent. Charlie raised his gun and pointed it at her, while Mallory spoke, “we ain’t going to kill you, but you’ll have to come with us darling.”
Cinder looked towards Kuzuru and said, “so you’ve joined forces with them.”
“Well I’d put it the other way around, but yeah I suppose we’ve joined forces.”
She paused for a moment, her eyes dancing between the three of them before looking back at Kuzuru. She said, “you’re a greater warrior than I, and I have failed my people.”
“Well I don’t like to brag,” Kuzuru shrugged, “well that’s a lie I love to brag.”
“Teach me how to be a great warrior like yourself,” she demanded, “you want a good fight, teach me and I’ll give you the greatest fight of your existence.”
Charlie, sensing the sudden shift in Kuzuru’s demeanor spoke up, “sorry princess, but you’re worth a lot of money to us there is no way we’re going to-”
Kuzuru cut him off, “you want me to train you so you can turn around and kill me?”
She nodded her head and he laughed. Laughing hurt his wound, but he laughed regardless. The two hunters shuffled about, exchanging worried glances. Charlie thought about blowing Kuzuru’s brains out, but the demon was fast and he doubted he’d be able to do that. The demon finally stopped laughing and glanced at the other two. The tips of his armblades poked out from beneath his skin. “Sure, what the hell I’ll take you under my wing,” he said, “you’ve got promise.”
“Christ,” Mallory whispered.
Kuzuru spoke to the other two before they could speak, “sorry, looks like the bounty is off the table. Though, I was thinking we should make a crew of mercenaries, you two have the contacts and I’m more than willing to fight.”
“For fucks sake,” Mallory said.
“Your choice jerkweeds, either way,” he said and extended his weapons outwards, “the girl is off the table.”
Charles looked at Mallory and lowered his weapon. He shrugged. The two knew that their bounty was lost, but perhaps this new arrangement was better.
“Fuck it Mal,” Charlie said, lighting another cigar, “I’m in.”
Mallory sighed, removed his phone from his pocket and pecked out a message before saying, “yeah, I suppose I’ll throw down as well.”