Special Delivery [Moonie]

[Alegretto]

Viatrus hung from the snare with as much indignation as an upside down halfling could muster. He had been minding his own business like any other evening, taking a short-cut through the forest, when this stupid trap had gone off. He sighed, his foot was stuck up tight in the rope. He considered cutting the snare open, but he was sure that the fall would be uncomfortable.

Well, he thought, at least his delivery was still safe. He felt around in his pack, ensuring that the letter was still there. And at least he still had his crossbow, though most of the quarrels had fallen to the ground.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder what was up with this snare. It was too big to be meant for most game animals. It was almost as if the snare was made for a halfling...

That thought made him suspicious, which put him on alert just enough so that when something whizzed at his skull he was able to dodge it. Viatrus had fired his own weapon enough times to recognize the whistle of a quarrel when he heard one.

He quickly pulled out his belt knife, the fall would hurt but a crossbow shot would hurt more. Already more quarrels were flying at him. The number of shots led him to believe there were three shooters, and it was only a matter of time until one of them hit him. He had just pulled himself up to begin sawing when he felt the rope suddenly loosen. It looked like one of his captors decided that he would be an easier target on the ground. As he fell, he could only hope they were wrong.

[Zero]

It wasn't weird for there to be strangers in the forest, but Tobias could smell them, and they smelled wrong to him. There was another scent as well, one that wasn't familiar to him, but it didn't have the wrongness about it that the others possessed. A few years ago he wouldn't have had a clue that someone smell wrong. Now he knew that he should just trust his nose.

When his eyes could finally see what his nose had already been smelling, he blinked as he peered curiously from around the trunk of a tree. Was that a child or a...little person was the best description he could come up with. Either way they looked like they were in trouble. His ears picked up the sound of something whistling through the air, and he strained himself to hear better. Too bad his hearing wasn't as good in this form.

Still, he could make out the sounds of crossbows firing, bolts singing through the air. What on earth was going on here? Tobias's face scrunched up in puzzlement, but there was no time to really figure it out. The wrong ones were going to kill the poor kid, midget, thing? He didn't even realize his bow was in his hands when a grey-fletched arrow pierced the chest of the first wrong one.

His stomach twisted slightly as he realized he was going to kill these men. It was one thing to kill beasts, quite another to kill people. When Viatrus began to fall, Tobias was already moving. For all his supposed speed and strength, catching the other person was more like breaking his fall, as they both ended up sprawled in the dirt and leaves.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus closed his eyes as he fell. He didn't want to see what was going to happen to him next. However when he landed it was much softer than he was expecting. He also wasn't riddled with crossbow bolts, another good sign. Viatrus opened his eyes, and suddenly found himself in a very complicated situation.

His landing had been arrested by a large fellow, huge actually, fully twice the size of the little halfling. Viatrus couldn't tell how much damage his fall had done to the other guy, and he didn't have time to check.

The shooters, who had been looking away for some reason, were now turning back around. One was rather close and the other was further back, by a nearby tree. Viatrus quickly looked around for the third only to see him sprawled on the ground with a nasty arrow protruding from his chest.

On his own, the hafling would have bolted. The pair would never find him in the darkened forest. However he couldn't abandon the big guy who saved him, he refused to be in debt to anyone and he always repaid favors.

Viatrus came running out of his sprawl at the closest crossbowman, brandishing his belt knife. He finished his run with a flying leap and the man's turn ended with a face-full of halfling. Viatrus wrapped his legs around the guys chest and held onto his head with his left hand. He used his free right arm to plunge his belt knife into the man's neck, repeatedly. Even as he did so he heard the *thwang* of a crossbow and a bolt suddenly appeared in the man's back. The weapon had enough force to punch through the man and the quarrel protruded a from the man's front side just a few inches under the halfling's... sensitive area. Viatrus winced.

The crossbowmen's corpse fell forward from the force of the bolt and Viatrus barely had enough time to scramble out of the way. Good thing these guys aren't the best of shots he thought. He had a small break while the third crossbowman reloaded and he took the opportunity to dive behind a nearby tree. He now looked back to see how his oversized rescuer was faring.

[Zero]

The crash-landing had hurt, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. Tobias had done it to himself by not thinking anything through. Shooting that man had been done without a thought, just something he had instinctively reacted to because the animal inside him told him that was what was right. He couldn't logically explain it, it was just something he'd felt.

Now he had to push himself up off the ground, groaning softly as he realized that he no longer had his bow. He must have dropped it when rushing to catch the little person - that he still wasn't sure of the identity or even species. This was pure insanity, but his nose told him that the crossbowmen were bad, and the wolf told him to destroy them.

That was actually a dizzying and overwhelming thought, and for several moments he couldn't even get back up off his hands and knees, just staying there, vulnerable and battling with the beast in the darkest parts of his mind, the animal was clawing at his brain, trying to seize control, and it was an effort to wrestle himself back under control.

The second man was dead by the time Tobias managed to stagger back to his feet, still without his bow, he looked around for it in confusion, but the third man was reloading and he forgot about finding his own weapon. There just wasn't time. Brown-gold eyes peered around a moment, catching the scent of Viatrus before seeing him, it was clear that the man was still safe for the moment.

Letting out a feral growl, he heard the sound of levers clicking as the wrong one's weapon was finished loading. Not even he would be able to move fast enough to stop shot from being fired.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus looked with confusion at the big guy. Why wasn't he moving? He would be an easy target. He peeked around the tree and saw that there enemy almost had a bolt loaded.

Viatrus had to do something. He leaped out from the tree just as he heard the mechanism lock in place. "Over here you big lug!" he shouted at the crossbowman. The shooter looked over at Viatrus momentarily before turning back to take aim at the larger man. Viatrus growled, why did people always ignore him. Well he'd have to make this guy pay attention.

Making as much noise as possible, Viatrus sprinted at the crossbowmen. The man finally turned to take aim at the charging halfling, but Viatrus had already jumped behind a nearby tree. He listened for the bolt's release but didn't hear anything. He hoped that his big savior had taken the opportunity to find cover. He pulled out his crossbow and began loading one of his last remaining quarrels. Time to return fire.

[Zero]

What the heck was he doing? It was almost comical watching the little battle charge, but it was also really, really stupid. Why would you put yourself in danger like that? Tobias blinked, realizing that he was standing there like a giant target with the words 'shoot me' flashing across his chest.

The wrong one had turned towards the little man, and Tobias took the opportunity to close the distance between him and the man with inhuman speed. The man swung his weapon around just as the werewolf collided with him. His sensitive ears heard the sound of mechanisms within the crossbow working, his body actually jerked as the bolt slammed into his stomach with a soft spray of crimson, almost doubling him up at the sudden pain.

A snarl was the only sound made and a moment later the wrong one thrashed wildly, then the sickening sound of crunching bone as one of Tobias's large hands closed around the terrified man's throat, crushing windpipe and vertebrae both. Almost immediately he dropped the limp body with disgust, realizing what he had done.

Staggering a couple steps away he fell to his knees and doubled over, retching up what felt like everything he'd eaten in the last month.

[Alegretto]

Bolt now loaded, Viatrus whipped around the tree with his most threatening battle cry (OOC: imagine a mouse squeaking really aggressively), only to find his assailant crumpled on the ground like an autumn leaf and his savior staggering away from the mangled body.

Viatrus replayed the last few instants in his mind and realized he'd heard the crossbow fire. "NO!" the halfling shouted as he sprinted towards the now kneeling figure of his savior. He would not be in debt to a dead person. No. Not allowed. Viatrus Garrince settled accounts in this life, not the next one.

He slid to a stop next to the much larger man (even keeling he was roughly the same height as the halfling) already pulling out his supply of linen wraps. He usually used them to wrap his ankles and wrists, though they'd hopefully make effective bandages. He tried to get at the wound, to staunch the flow of blood, but he didn't have high hopes. In his experience, gut shots were usually lethal.

[Zero]

As soon as Tobias was finished emptying his stomach of its contents - which including a fair amount of blood from the bolt stuck in his abdomen - he gave a few gasping dry heaves, by then the strange little man was standing next to him. Where'd he come from? Oh yeah, now he remembered, another wave of dizziness and nausea hit him but he forced both back down with an effort of will.

He was confused and disoriented, but he realized that the person he had just rescued was trying to help him. "No, don't touch it. It's fine." Jerking his body to the side as Viatrus tried to get at his wound, he curled up a bit protectively around his stomach. There was surprisingly little blood, but then Tobias did something that any sane person would only consider, well, insane. He took hold of what part of the bolt was still sticking out of his skin and jerked it free in one harsh tug.

A choked sound, half whimper and half sob, escaped him. It hurt, oh how his insides hurt, but at the same time, pulling it out had also made it feel better, in a strange way. Not that his weird little companion would understand. There was more blood now, but not as much as you'd expect as he pressed a large hand over the wound, a small amount of crimson seeping through his fingers.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus watched with horror as the man pulled the bolt straight out of his stomach. The tearing noise the thing produced as it was yanked free made him want to release his dinner. However Viatrus choked down the bile welling in his throat. Adding to the vomit pile was not going to help.

The little halfling tore at the bigger man's hands, trying to stuff one of the linens into the wound. If he could just stem the flow of blood a little longer. The razor thin chance that there was a healer or mage nearby who could fix this motivated Viatrus to do everything in his power to preserve his rescuers life just another second.

However, even as he tried to gain access to the bleeding, he noticed the flow slowing down. If he didn't know the impossibility of it, the halfling would say that the wound was closing on its own...

[Zero]

The thought that seeing someone rip something out of their stomach might cause the little fellow to get sick never even crossed his mind. Tobias was just used to the gritty, gory reality that pulling things out of his own flesh helped heal him better. It wasn't like the wound could close properly with the bolt still in his gut.

Growling softly as little hands grabbed at him, he twisted away again, almost like a wounded animal. Actually that really wasn't so far from the truth, was it? He lurched to his feet and staggered a few steps away from the scene of bloodshed. The beast in him would revel in such carnage, he knew - no, the beast would have made everything so much worse. Brown-gold eyes closed and he shook his head, as if that would dispel the flashes of blood and guts from his mind, or the taste from his tongue.

Blinking his eyes open he spotted his bow, now why couldn't he have found that when he needed it? At least with an arrow it wasn't so...personal. Had he really just killed someone with his bare hands? Viatrus was about forgotten. The werewolf was still reeling from killing, and from being wounded, but his hands didn't clutch pathetically at his stomach anymore. In fact, he barely even felt the wound aside from a dull, nagging ache in the pit of his stomach.

"You should get out of here...I- I don't think there are anymore of them nearby." He couldn't smell anymore of the wrong people right now, anyway.

[Alegretto]

This man must of had a death wish! First pulling out the bolt, then refusing treatment, and now standing up and walking. Everything he was doing would cause him to bleed out faster!

Viatrus stood up and began to run around to get in front of the man. As he did so he heard the wounded man's words. Enraged, Viatrus planted himself firmly in front of the other man. "What do you mean I should get out of here!" he shouted. "I am not going to leave a dying man alone in the fore..." Viatrus' irate voice trailed off as he noticed that his savior was no longer bleeding.

Ashen-faced, Viatrus backed away from the man. "Wha-wha-what the heck!" The shocked halfling exclaimed. The wound was gone. Come to think of it, how did this man cross the distance between himself and the third crossbowmen in the short interval when Viatrus was loading his weapon? And then still have enough time left over to kill the man with his bare hands, and stumble away? The impossibility of the last few moments made the Viatrus reel. "What are you!?" the halfling asked the now un-wounded man in a frightened whisper.

[Zero]

Tobias had been about to go fetch his bow from where he'd dropped it on the ground, but he blinked down at the short fellow that blocked his path. Why was he still here? He thought that was a rather silly idea. Shouldn't the man have run away at the first opportunity? It was still strange that those wrong ones had been after him, what could their purpose possibly have been?

Shaking his head the mental fog of his own tangled thoughts had made him miss something again. The stranger was backing away from him, looking more than a little shaken-up about something. What was he? Tobias blinked his brown-gold eyes and glanced down at his stomach. His clothing was torn and bloody, but his deeply tanned skin was smooth and showing no sign of the substantial injury that should have been there.

Furrowing his brows he put a hand over the spot self-consciously, trying to hide the fact that he was a freak, and of course failing miserably because it was already too late for that. He should have been more careful. "What am I?" He mused, almost seeming not to understand the question, let alone the answer.

"I'm a freak, a monster - I guess." Tobias stepped around Viatrus, walking over to get his bow, still seeming a bit shaky on his feet. Regeneration or not, he'd taken a substantial wound, and healing it was taking a toll on his body just as assuredly as the wound would have killed him if he wasn't what he was.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus let the taller man brush past him (more like step over him though). At the man's own admission he was a freak, a monster. The halfling was in a panic. He should get out of here, he should run, he should...

But wait, hadn't the "monster" saved his life, and gotten himself wounded in the process? Hadn't he put himself at great personal risk just to save a random stranger in the forest? Had he just called his savior, the man he owed his life to a monster?

Indecision, fear, and guilt all rolled across the halflings eyes in waves as he fought an intense inner battle.  It was tough and his choice left the halfling mentally exhausted, but gratitude beat out fear.

The halfling looked for the big man and realized that he had put some substantial distance between himself and the halfling while Viatrus was thinking. "Wait," yelled Viatrus, running after the taller man, "I'm sorry!" he yelled, "I didn't mean to react like that."

He reached the big guy (who had a stride twice the length of the halfling's) and grabbed onto the other man's pant leg. He bent over, panting for a moment before continuing: "I didn't mean to react like that. Don't call yourself a monster. I won't have the man who saved my life calling himself a monster."

[Zero]

If Viatrus didn't have the good sense to run away from a self-proclaimed monster, then Tobias concluded that he'd just have to take care of that himself. Scooping up his bow, he didn't even stop as his long legs carried him through the forest, though his pace was rather sluggish. He didn't have the energy to run, but he was determined to put some distance between himself and the scene of his crime.

Also to get away from the strange creature he had saved. It was for Viatrus' own safety that he stay far away from Tobias Slate. What if the beast took over? He'd not fallen into madness in three years, maybe the nightmare was over, but he couldn't be sure of that. Mable had helped him, but he still struggled with his inner demon every day. Best to keep a distance from others, just to be on the safe side.

Although heading into town for a drink or twenty sounded great, and maybe a steaming bowl of stew. The thought of a freshly killed, juicy rabbit crossed his mind, making his mouth water at the idea of the hot blood dripping down his chin, but he shook his head angrily. He was not an animal!

There was a voice calling after him, how strange. Stopping he half-turned to look back at Viatrus as the halfling caught up with him and seized a fistful of clothing. Tobias looked down at him with a puzzled expression. "How else should you have reacted? You saw what happened, and in your position I would have been terrified too."

Truth be told he was terrified too, and he was the freak. He scared himself, the unwanted thoughts and images that invaded his mind were horrific.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus stared up at the taller man. He thought he saw puzzlement in his eyes, but also fear and anguish too. "No" Viatrus shook his head firmly. "No I was wrong acting like that. If you were the devil himself I should'a welcomed you with open arms. It doesn't matter who or what you are, you saved my life, and my ma and pa always said that a halfling repays a debt."

The halfling resolved that he would not let his savior, the man he owed his life to, feel like a monster. That was how he would repay him. Viatrus fished around in his pocket for something. He pulled out a halfling quarter. The small piece of metal was barely worth anything, but it meant a lot to Viatrus.

He pressed it into the larger man's hand. "This here's a halfling quarter. It's an old piece and they don't make these no more. I'm givin' it to ya on one condition, if you ever feel like a monster again than you gotta pull this out and stare at it. You stare and you remember the little halfling you saved out here in this forest tonight. Remember the little life that's running around because of your strength. Remember that you are not a monster."

[Zero]

This was turning into a very strange day - not the strangest that Tobias had ever had, unfortunately. What on earth was a Halfling? Had he heard of one of those before? Well, they were little people, he seemed to recall, but not much else.

The fact that he has just saved someone's life really hadn't occurred to the confused werewolf. All he'd done was what his instincts had told him to - kill the bad people that smelled wrong. Knowing that he had just killed two people still made his stomach lurch unpleasantly, but thankfully he didn't throw up again.

Tobias blinked at the small metal coin that had been pressed into his bloody hand. What on earth? Viatrus was going on and on about this thing he had done as if it had been something special. Did the Halfling not realize that he had just murdered two people? Sure, they had been awful people, but that blood was still on his hands.

"I can't take this. I don't want your coin." He said grumpily, trying to push the token back on the small man. "You don't know what you're talking about and you don't have a clue what I am. I am a monster. You should get away from me, and stay away from me. I'm not safe to be around." His throat constricted painfully. "I'm cursed."

[Alegretto]

He wasn't getting through to him, the big guy was still depressed! By now in Viatrus' eyes Toby looked like a large, sad puppy someone had kicked one too many times. How to change his opinion, the halfling thought, how to raise his self-esteem. If a man thinks he's a monster, how do you convince him otherwise? Inspiration struck, by comparing him to real monsters.

Only problem, Viatrus didn't know any monsters. At least, not real monsters. Maybe this big guy would accept a metaphor. "You're not a monster." Viatrus said emphatically. "Monsters don't save people. Do you know what monsters do?" He didn't wait for an answer. "They hurt people. That's what they do. Do you see those bodies there?" Viatrus gestured behind him to the crumpled forms of the three crossbowmen. "Men like those, those are monsters. But men like you, folks who save strangers in the forest for no good reason? Those aren't monsters. Those are heroes!"

Viatrus' voice was rising, he was putting emotion in it to make his point and he punctuated every word with a poke at the larger man's thigh. "If there are monsters than there are heroes too! And you're one of the latter I tell ya!"

Suddenly, the last few minutes, his rescue, the fear of death, the shame of killing someone, came crashing down on Viatrus. He'd been repressing, but it was all coming back in a rush. He started speaking, faster and faster, and he felt hot tears on his cheeks. Fake emotions started to become real. Viatrus wondered how much of what he said was ploy and how much of it was true. He couldn't tell anymore. His head was all scrambled.

"Cause, cause, cause you can't be a monster, you just can't." Viatrus was hitting the bigger man now, smashing his tiny fist into the other's leg with every word. He was trembling, there were too many emotions, he couldn't sort them out.

This wasn't like him, thought a detached portion of his mind. He didn't usually melt down like this. What was it about this big man that let Viatrus express emotions long since hidden?

By this point Viatrus was full out bawling, "Cause, *hic* cause if you're a monster, what does that make me?" Viatrus looked up with tear-streaked eyes into the bigger man's. "What does that make me who was saved by a monster?"

[Zero]

This Halfling was relentless, persistent, and obviously a bit nuts. Tobias had told him that he was dangerous, that it wasn't safe for him to be near him, and that he was a monster. Why argue with it? All he wanted to do was disappear back into the forest and forget about the people he had just killed. Food and passing out sounded good, he'd have to regain his energy and strength after that little bought of excitement.

He opened his mouth, about to tell the other man to just get lost, but Viatrus was becoming emotional, even crying. Tobias hated to be mean to anyone, but he'd been about to tell the halfling off just to get the fellow out of his hair and away from the beast that would have surely killed him given the chance. Still, he hadn't meant to make the guy cry, and he wasn't even sure what exactly he had done to cause such a reaction!

"Wha - ? No, no, no! Don't cry. Hey, it's okay, really. You didn't hurt my feelings or nothing, honest." Tobias was floundering for words to say, something comforting, something to make the bawling stop - anything to make it stop. "Look! I'll take the coin! See? Keeping the coin." He waved the coin at the kid kind of desperately, his expression totally one of panic.

What a day, first he killed people, then he got shot, and now he'd made someone cry - for whatever reason. Tobias was wondering if this was just some form of cosmic justice for the wickedness inside him.

[Alegretto]

Seeing that the bigger man took the coin, Viatrus began to calm down. What had started as a strategy to convince the other guy had turned into a genuine outpouring of emotion.

Taking control of himself, Viatrus breathed deeply a few times, before continuing. "You *hic* taking that means you accept the promise, right?" He had come this far, embaressd himself, and even given someone one of his favorite coins. He would be blasted if he didn't get a promise out of this big lug now!

[Zero]

Promise? What promise? Tobias had to think back to remember what it was the Halfling had wanted from him. It seemed like such a ridiculous thing to promise someone, or to ask someone to promise. Why should the weird little guy care what he thought of himself? Or what anyone thought of him, for that matter?

"Why would I promise that? Why would you ask me to? By Kia, you don't even know what I am. I just killed a man with my bare hands. I could probably pick you up and fold you in half if I wanted, Kia, if I lost control I would tear you apart. If that is not monstrous I don't know what is!" Was the seriousness of this situation not getting through to the Halfling? What did it even matter? He should just promise to get the little guy to go away and get well out of harm's way. Of course how could he promise something if he had no intention of keeping that promise?