My gaze is fixated on the woods where the attack came from, attentive to any movement, but I still could sense when the red hound changes back to her canine form and all of the hounds make a semi-circle over me, surrounding the woods where the attack came from, snarling and growling."Who is there?" I ask, the only answer being the rustling of leaves. "I think you lost something here pal, let me give it back to you!" I say, taking the gigantic double-edge silver ax out from the tree and leaving a dent half the size of the trunk behind only to launch the ax back into the woods with force, making it fly with satisfactory crashes and hits along the way.
When it finally stops everything turns silent once more, even the birds were scared by the sudden attack and flew away, the remaining wind rustling the leaves in an attempt to cover the defying silence. I try to sniff them out but discovered that they were against the wind, and that as such their approach was planned.
Hunting us down uhm… I think, narrowing my eyes. Got your eyes on the wrong "prey" there pal.
As I was about to show just how wrong they were for trying to hunt us they take the initiative and advance, light footsteps mixed with heavy ones, trained and untrained paired together.
And I wasn"t expecting the faces that come out of the leaves first.
"Seiroe? Eyope? What the h.e.l.l are you two doing here?" I ask the ants.h.i.+va twins, but before I could ask about the ax and Eyope"s health the Templar comes s.h.i.+mmering of the woods, followed by other strange people.
People from the North.
And only one of them I recognized, not because he was a friend of mine, no, on the contrary, the situation that made us meet was the type that ends with us furiously staring each other down.
Well, down for me, but very, very up for him.
Because the last time I saw him was on the battlefield, when I, in my Terror form, freed all the magical creatures owned and forced to battle by the northern people.
Which made them lose that battle.
Just what I need, a resentful barbarian from the north chasing me down.
I didn"t even need to look at his hands to confirm that the ax belonged to him, and beyond the always present wolf cape he wears over his shoulder with the snout turned to the side and the claws swinging freely with his moves over his shoulder, there is the characteristic qualities of the people from the north; the shaved hair on the sides while the middle grow into a long brand, complete with a beard that made his already strong jaw look even more protuberant, and that permanent frown.
Wow, I"m impressed, so scary~, note the sarcasm.
We stare each other down, my heart pumping fast, ready to react, the blood flow sounding raspy up close to my face.
And out of nowhere…He laughs, a full throw the head back laugh.
I just raise an eyebrow.
What the h.e.l.l is wrong with this guy?
The guy sneer, raising his lips and showing his teeth between his stick beard, frowning at the same time and making quite the intimidating face, almost predatory.
"So this is the so terrifying Terror? Uhm, I"m not impressed."
"Thought he would be taller." The guy on his side says.
Wait, wait, say what? Say that again! Y-you fat bear man!
The younger twin, however, comes in between and intervenes before I could say anything; or maybe do anything: "Thilgon, meet Wolfhammer and his group. They are messengers from the North and they want to speak with the elves."
"Well, good luck with that." I say, still staring them down.
"They want an alliance with the elves against the humans and demons from the south, and I thought that-"
"That what?" I say, now looking at him, not satisfied with how things were turning up to be. "I send you to search for information and you came back with a bunch of useless people." One of them tries to speak but I only raise my voice louder. "From the North of all places and, beyond that, you expect me to help them, is that it?"
At this point my voice starts to grow dangerously grave and my hands clench into fists, but the twin does not back down.
"The demons have slaved my people! I just discovered that they have control of the entire island and that it is only a matter of time before the ants.h.i.+vas country, "my" country, disappears of the map! The fellow here, the "people from the north", are the only ones that had been rescuing my kind, so yeah I"m up to give them a hand."
"… Is that it? But it surprises me that your kind wants to work with mine, especially me." I say, this time looking at the bear looking guy in front.
"Who would want to have anything to do with a beast like you? You are only good as food and battles."
"And some times a good show." One of them say, moving as if imitating a fight.
They sicken me.
I mark in the back of my mind: Need to go there after everything is done and free all creatures from their grasp.
"That"s not the kind of tone someone who is asking a favor should use." I say smirking." And my answer is no. Go back to the iceberg you belong to."
"You…!" They seemed irritated by my answer. Good.
"Come on, let"s go." I say to the hounds as we turn around to leave; and I wasn"t worried about a sneak attack, after all, not even the strongest human would have haft of my level, not even them.
Maybe my human conscious, or even appraisal, made this level difference possible, but I could not care less about the humans being so low level like this; Only the cultivators and some elves worried me, but one were hidden in the mountains, and the other blessed me with my sir name.
Now let"s just teach the demons a lesson so we can go back to bullying the people from the North.
That brought a smile to my face.
Isa and the Templar follow us as the hounds depart with me, leaving the group of burly men and women with a stupid face behind.
Really now did they think they could come here, treat me that way, and get anything from me? I bet they would try to threaten me next.
Seriously? You go to a dragon"s nest to threatened them? You are only seeking death like this, by being burned into a crisp that is.
With a few moments of delay the twins follow us but do not join the group, instead to talk a lot and beg mostly.
"Thilgon, please, I beg of you, my people are out there being slaved and hunted down like animals! Women, children, people who have nothing to do with your dispute, innocent people! They are in changes, with f.u.c.king chains on their neck like freaking beasts! Being used like they are nothing more than animals! Please Thilgon! "
"Well, let"s see how you feel being treated like an "animal" now then." I say without looking back nor stopping with an ice-cold tone; hasn"t he just described how my kind is treated for years without anyone carrying about them?
He stops walking then, watching our backs as we keep moving, only to say in a low voice.
"How disappointing."
I stop.
"I thought so highly of you, was a fan even. I was so excited when we meet, but I guess I expected too much of you…"
With those words I turn back around, stare him deep into his eyes in such an unfriendly way that his brother tensed on the side, hand ready to draw his dagger.
I walk back towards the younger twin in slow deliberate steps, my face stiff and unmoved like their faces are when they treat my kind badly.
I stop right in front of him, letting the silence sink in and make him uncomfortable as I say, very slowly and deliberate: "You would do anything to save your people would you not?" He nods." And yet, what your kind is pa.s.sing through now is what mine has suffered and still does for centuries. Chains, cages, slavery… All of that is nothing new to us, but I never saw anyone trying to rescue my kind...how odd…
And yet you plea and cry, and yet you ask me to help out the northern people, who were the ones responsible for "my" kind suffering, one of many. And yet, poor you, such disappointment because I do not help the people who kill mine to save yours from the ones that kill them, really, a shame indeed…
But please, continue, talk about how disappointed you are, how disgraceful it is, how "I" am the heartless one that does not care about others, but let me just tell you how disappointed I"m of "you"" He lowers his head, unable to keep his eyes still with my increasing angry gaze, and just noticing how taken by his own people"s problems he was to realize what he just did, what he has truly asked of me to do.
And too ashamed to even apologize.
No worries though, I"m used to it by now.
"Would you do anything to save them?" I ask again.
"O-of course." He says.
"Then go back to your… friends and take them to Edovine, I"ll talk to the elves to send someone there to talk with them, though if they are going or not is none of my businesses." He smiles, but before any words can leave his mouth I add: "And after that, do not come looking for me anymore ever again. We are even now. Goodbye."
That just shows how loyalty worth"s little nowadays.
And that makes me realize how tempting it was to go back to the old me; on how it would be easier to just… erase it all.
Tempting indeed…