Glaring over the rim of her glass, Shahira absently stroked Zahi's head. Her last meal ticket had dried up. Mostly because Morgan couldn't keep a handle on his temper and now they were back to stretching the last of that gold.
"I hope you're happy. You just had to eat him and we had to leave town. And we're back in this dump."
Honestly, she didn't actually mind Selevea that much. But that wasn't the point and she wasn't about to let Morgan think she wasn't royally pissed off. The small, fat demon at her feet made a pleased grunting sound, leaning up against her leg.
"We need to find someone rich and pretty that we can stay with again."
Morgan bared his teeth in a grin. "Oh, I'm elated, thanks for asking," he purred and pat his belly, which was still quite full. "It was worth it every bite." And it had put him in an uncharacteristically good mood, too. It always did when he got to carve his frustration into someone else's skin. If he couldn't do it to Shahira, then Shahira's 'suitors' were second-best.
"I don't see why you're so pissed, anyway. It's not like you can't just charm some other stupid meat sack," he said, wiggling his fingers in a mystical fashion and rolling his eyes.
A meat sack Morgan would make short work of, if he had his way. And he would, eventually. He couldn't stand any of them for very long; they made Shahira too happy.
Just like that slavering Zahi. Morgan's mood soured a little as he glanced down at the little demon, lip curling in disgust. Stupid, disgusting, worthless thing. He had yet to figure out a way to get at it, but he would.
A giggling young woman bounded up to the bar and jostled Morgan in the process. She didn't seem to notice, whirling around as Zephaniah came up behind her and ordered her a drink, She'd had one already, and half of his, and he was looking to charm the young maid out of her inhibitions before his coin ran out.
"What does the palace look like," she said, breathless from being in the presence of the King's most trusted sorcerer.
"Words cannot do it justice! The diamond of Arca, the grand jewel upon the crown of our fair Serendipity! Sapphires and enchanted quartz crystals dust its sides so that it glitters in the light of the sun, a beacon of light and beauty and civilization. It can be seen for miles away!"
"Why ever would you leave such a place?" She downed about half her ale in one breath. She might have been a simple country girl, but she could take her drink for sure. He was so glad he'd found her. It was tough to find folk in the cities who'd take amusement at his stories. They were all so jaded.
"The King's hospitality is grand. But as lavish as my rooms are with their imported silk and their large, cushioned beds, I cannot stay! Wealth is a curse my dear, a curse. To wallow in such extravagance would surely impoverish my soul! No I must be out, among the people, aiding in any way I can and extending the gods' blessings to others. Wealth belongs to us all, of course!"
He produced another coin and ordered them a fourth drink. He tossed the piece to the bartender as though it were nothing, as though he had hundreds of them to spare. He was actually quite low, though.
"Because it's a pain." Shahira glared at Morgan, highly displeased with him. Stupid, short sighted fool. She was looking forward to the day he was no longer useful to her, when she had a better demon at her beck and call, she was going to destroy Morgan. And laugh over his mutilated corpse.
"I am going to make you pay for that little stun-" She paused, finally noticing the loud man and his...tart. Shahira never liked pretty woman. While she was always better looking than they were, she disliked the competition. Her eyes narrowed, giving the girl a dark look as she listened to the man talk.
Well, well. Here was her new ticket. Ignoring Morgan now, the half-fae stood up, moving over to the man and butting between him and the girl, turning on her considerable charm, magical and otherwise, "My my. You sound like a fascinating man. Such stories! I would just love to hear more."
Morgan opened his mouth to gloat a little more, but someone bumped him then and he cut off with a sharp hiss. He whirled, but already he girl was bounding past to join some pretty-boy. Baring his fangs in annoyance, he turned back to Shahira but then she was rising to flock to the guy. The fuck? He could feel his tail bristling in agitation as he watched her practically throw herself at him, and what was so great about him, anyway?
His claws left rents in the wooden table as he pushed himself to his feet and followed after her. Not because she cared what she did. Because he didn't. But because he didn't see what the draw was. So he had palaces or knew kings or whatever, big deal.
"Fascinating?" Morgan growled, shoving his way next to Shahira. "He looks weak."
Zephan's farm girl scowled and elbowed her way between Shahira and Morgan, giving them both dirty looks. Zephan, though, could not have been happier. He had an audience now.
"Ah, where to start, my lady!" He caught up the woman's hand and kissed it. She surely knew how to dress to catch a man's fancy, and that hair! An extraordinary color, like the shadows of a deep forest. Too bad that petulant...demon...fae, creature thing that she'd been sitting with chose to follow her over.
"I have ventured to lands uncharted by any mapmaker's hand in service to the King. Fenway and I, we have seen strife and joy, danger and peace together! Why, we were merely ten years old when we declared ourselves blood brothers and vowed to prevail through any tribulation together, no matter how dire, no matter if we were a thousand leagues apart or a stone's throw from one another. We each strive to protect the realm in our own way, he from the throne, and I by treading these dangerous roads alone, snuffing out evil wherever I may find it."
"Shut it Morgan. Fenway? Really?" Shahira made a pleased sound when he kissed her hand. This one knew how to treat a lady. Though that sow was going to get fed to Morgan later, piece by bloody piece. How dare that human bitch touch her like that!
But for now she reigned in that urge. She didn't want to scare away her new meal ticket, "Such a powerful man." Reaching over, Shahira ran her hand along his arm, "I do love powerful men."
Morgan scowled and folded his arms over his broad chest and scowled at the man. He sounded so damned full of himself but he looked like some...some...fae pansy. And Shahira was all over him! Him! She was giving him far more attention than she'd ever given him! Not that he cared who the bitch got wet over, it was just annoying witnessing something so embarrassingly pathetic.
He snorted and rolled his eyes. "We supposed to know who this Fenway bloke is?"
Zephan slid over, turned his back on Morgan just a bit. He didn't need someone like that around casting aspersions on his grand tales of adventure and valor. Whatever had gotten the fellow so cross, he could take that sour disposition elsewhere or hush up. He had no call to ruin Zephan's fun.
"Aye, Fenway, our magnanimous king, the greatest Serendipity has seen in all its illustrious history if I may speak my mind! He holds all the wealth of our fair kingdom in his palm yet remains as steadfast as he was when we were young men."
He tucked a strand of hair behind Shahira's ear. "Ah, but we must remember those wise words spoken so long ago: if power is the fading sun, then the eagle surely flew at dawn."
He made sure to nod sagely after that.
Shahira had been getting into the man's speech, not really believing all of it, but he seemed to be a fascinating man, but that last bit stopped Shahira short. She stared at Zephan, her expression puzzled, "Wise words? Who said that?"
"A dumbass. That doesn't even make any sense," Morgan growled, and rolled his eyes again just to show how disinterested he was. In case the first time didn't convey it well enough. "The fuck's an eagle gotta do with anything?"
"A nameless and ancient demigod, a denizen of the frozen wastes in the vast and unexplored reaches north of Hyoite, where the land is always in shadow and the air is so cold it will freeze the blood in a man's veins! This unimaginable creature, this...mountainous primal beast sleeps there, awaiting the Final Day of the world when he will awaken and bend the immense vortex of his mind against the servants of chaos. I was near death, blinded by driving snow and hunted by a pack of winged arctic dire wolves—venomous dire wolves! In desperation, I dared to tread upon his sacred domain. Frost coated my skin, my clothes. It piled in drifts taller than my head! I...ah...I..."
Frost did indeed coat his clothes. He'd gotten carried away and a layer of it had crystallized upon his hands and up the sleeves of his coat. He brushed at it, sending flakes of ice into the air and onto the floor.
"Uh..." It was no use, his trail of thought was broken now. "Anyway, he told me that."
"Oh...really." Well, this one was dumb, but Shahira wasn't really sure she minded that. Better that then clever. She had started to press closer when the frost appeared and her yellow eyes flicked down, "Ah, well, you're a mage I see."
Smiling again, she slid one dark hand up his arm, "I find mages very attractive."
It was around then that Zahi had finished his food and the bulky demon waddled over on his short legs, wanting to be close to Shahira again. Taking a seat at her feet, it stared up at Zephaniah and opened it's mouth in a wide, toothy grin.
Morgan felt his eyes glaze over as the guy went off, his vision blurring as he just sort of stared at him without really seeing him. And...women liked this? Shahira liked this? Because all he was hearing was a lot of "blah, blah, I like the sound of my own voice." And something about wolves and snow.
He snapped back to the present when the stream of words was broken, and he blinked to clear his vision and flicked an ear irritably. He rolled his eyes as the man brushed ice off his coat and let out a derisive snort. "Wow. Looks like you just got back and everything," he said, and shot Shahira a disgusted look. Attractive? Really?
He had been about to remark on that when Zahi came waddling over and he hissed at the stupid creature, tail bristling, before glaring at Shahira. "Why did you have to bring that thing?"
Zephan cleared his throat. He'd rather lost track of where he had been. Damn clingy frost magic.
"Ahem, yes well...the arcane has laid claim to my family blood line since time immemorial, well beyond the founding of noble Serendipity—what the hell?!"
Zephan scrambled up onto the counter top of the bar. He'd just so happened to look down and caught an eyeful of some dog-beast-demon-chimera thing staring at him. "What is that?!"
That startled Shahira, who was trying to ignore Morgan. She didn't even get a chance to snap at the stupid demon before her target was on the table, freaking out.
"What? Zahi? He's just a low level demon. What are you doing?" Crossing her arms under her small breasts, Shahira was not very impressed.
Morgan's eyes narrowed and rested a hand on his hip, head slightly tilted and lips quirking in a smirk. "I thought ya faced down dire wolves?"
Those two might have said something. Zephan wasn't sure about that. He was too busy waving a bar rag at the gremlin. "Shoo, shoo."
Zahi wagged it's stumpy tail and reached up, grabbing at the bar rag, liking this game. He made a happy grunty sound and Shahira rolled her eyes, "Look at that Morgan. He's more frightened of Zahi than he is you. You are losing your touch."
With a hiss, Morgan bared his long fangs at Shahira. "Maybe if I kill it then he'd be afraid of both of us!" he growled, irritated.
"That wont work stupid. Then he'll be dead."
"No shit, ya stupid bitch. I meant that," Morgan snapped, and aimed a kick at Zahi to demonstrate his point.
Shahira let out an angry hiss and reached up, grabbing Morgan's ear and yanking hard, "I've told you to leave him alone!"
Zahi made a startled sound, skipping away and huffed, sending a spray of slobber out. Then he turned his attention back to the man on the counter, tail stump wagging.
Zephan let out the most undignified squawk and dropped the rag. The thing could have it. These people were crazed, walking around with a troll and talking about killing! Far too real for his taste. He preferred to mingle with folk who didn't know a dagger from a butter knife.
While they argued and the troll skittered away, Zephan leaped up and ran along the bar, picking his way through the plates and mugs. He leapt down at the other end. "Alas, I hear the mystic summons of a primeval Volcanic-Elemental and must answer. Uh...farewell."
Zahi scuttled after Zephan, still holding the rag. He held it up, making a small grunting sound. He had it, now he had brought it back and he wanted to play more.
Oh gods. Oh gods, it was going to eat him. It was coming for him! Zephan shuffled backwards and slipped out the door and shut it behind him.
Zahi gave the closed door a puzzled look, and while Shahira and Morgan bickered, he reached up, turned the handle and waddled out after his new playmate.
As soon as Zephan turned his back, the door creaked behind him. He cast a slow, hesitant look over his shoulder. He knew exactly what he would find.
Now his initial surprise had passed, he managed to look at the thing without giving in to the urge to climb on a tall object to get away from it. Gods, it was ugly. It didn't seem to be wanting to eat him just then, so he stood his ground and called through the open door. "Ey! Come get your goblin!"
Morgan snarled in pain and tried to pull away, tail bristling, though he couldn't go far without risking his delicate ear getting torn off completely. He bared his sharp teeth, half in pain and half out of rage. "I never said I--hey! He's leaving!"
He pointed emphatically toward the door, not because he actually cared, but because he wanted her to let go of his bloody ear!
Shahira turned to look in the direction, then gave Morgan a furious look, "You stupid cunt! He was going to be our-"
She was cut off when she heard the man's voice call out and she let Morgan's ear go, storming over to the door, "He is not a goblin!"
Zahi just reached up at Zephan, making his grabby hand motion that meant he wanted to get picked up.
Zephan looked down, at the grubby hands reaching up for him, at that face capable of curdling cream, then back up to the woman. "Then he's a right ugly baby."
Shahira hissed, eyes narrowing in anger, "Morgan. Rip his tongue out."
That was her creature and she was damned if any filthy human was going to insult it or her.
Morgan perked right up at that.
"Gladly."
It was the fastest he'd moved all day. In moments he was out the door and had the man by the throat, shoving him up against the side of the building. He grinned. This guy had really been getting on his nerves and it was nice to see that the honeymoon was over, that Shahira was no longer all oggly over him.
"Say 'aaah'," he said, voice singsong.
Zephan made a squawking sound at the wench's words. A second later—before he could even turn around to run—her creature had him by the throat. He was slammed against the wall, all the air forced out of him.
Not much time for thought now. Zephan pressed his hands to the creature's face and conjured fire from his palms. White-hot, flaring fire.
Morgan let out a roar of agony that turned into a scream and dropped the man fast, hands grabbing at his own face. His flesh was hot, bubbling, and he howled in rage and pain and curled up on himself. "You whore! You fuckin' cuntsucker! My fuckin' face! SHAHIRA! Kill him, dammit!"
He would, but right then he couldn't see.
Zephan bolted the instant his feet hit the ground.
Shahira let out a shriek of rage and snapped something in a harsh, dark language that seemed to make the air foul. Zahi then bounded after Zephan, no longer happy and playful. He moved with a purpose, his odd gate no longer awkward looking as he covered the distance between him and Zephan.
Before the demon could grab him, something heavy slammed into him. Howling, Zahi rolled with the impact and a figure hissed and wrestled with him, fangs and claws flying on both sides.
Something was going on behind him, and Zephan didn't give two bags of horse shit what it was. That ugly little imp running for him was the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen. He weaved through the oncoming crowd, casting about above their heads for the spears of city guardsmen. Unbelievable! The one time he needed the louts.
Shahira shrieked with rage when someone or something attacked her Zahi, "MORGAN! KILL IT NOW!"
Morgan gave a snarl of rage, an inhuman sound, and started for the thing that had attacked Zahi. He wanted nothing more than to set after the human, to peel his face from his skull and let whatever-it-was finish off the stupid imp, but he could do nothing but obey that command. His face looked hideous, skin blistered and peeling and red, but it was already starting to heal and the pain only fueled his anger.
But just before he could reach the brawling pair, something hard and furry and black and white slammed into him and teeth sank into his arm.
A fucking dog?
It looked no different than a sheep dog, some sort of collie, but the fact that it wasn't a normal dog became readily apparent. It growled, shaking his arm viciously and tearing chunks of flesh from it.
Zephan kept running until he had no idea where he was. A frantic look around confirmed that none of the trio had followed him. He bent over with his hands on his knees and struggled for some breath. Great gods. He was done with this town.
Zephan was all but forgotten now. Cat twisted and snarled, too large to be a normal housecat, his back legs ripping open a vicious wound in Zahi's belly. Howling in rage, the demon flung Cat away from him, the animal slamming into the wall of a building with a thud.
Shahira shrieking again, rushing to Zahi's side, totally unconcerned about Morgan and his fight, hands pressing Zahi's belly closed, "There there baby. It'll be okay."
Cat stood slowly, shaking it's head and yowled, launching itself at Morgan, needing to distract it from Dog.
Morgan howled with rage and pain and swiped a clawed hand at the dog, but it released his arm and dodged out of reach just in time, darting around him before going in low, for his legs and ankles. Snarling, Morgan went for it--but that was when another furry creature landed on his back, claws digging into his skin. As he tried to claw it off of him, the dog raced back in and sank its teeth into his calf and locked its jaws in place.
Since he couldn't focus on the both of them at once, Morgan honed in on the dog instead, reaching down and grabbing it by the back of its neck, claws digging in until it let out several high pitched yelps of agony and released him.
"Fucking mutt!" he snarled, lifting it halfway off the ground and drawing back his other clawed hand, ready to tear its guts from its body.
Cat went ballistic on Morgan's back, claws raking down his back as it launched itself onto Morgan's arm, teeth and claws sinking in, hissing into his arm. As soon as Dog was able to wiggle free, Cat twisted as Morgan's arm flailed, controlling the fling into a graceful fall, landing several feet away, tail puffed.
Hissing again, the calico tore off with the dog, dashing into the twisting city streets.
Shahira shrieked in rage, hands still holding in Zahi's belly, "You stupid worthless shit! You couldn't kill them?!"
Zephan had found himself in a far less populated side street. Looking up and down it he saw a scant few people about. Every other house sported boards over their windows and doors, and stray animals rooted through disintegrating piles of garbage here and there. He didn't like this at all.
He backtracked, cautiously, seeking one of the main roads. Any glimpse of ugly troll demon face and he was ready to throw up a wall of earth right there in the street and run back in the other direction.
Morgan was bleeding, his back ripped up and his calf torn. It would heal, but that didn't mean it didn't fucking hurt! He curled up, clutching his leg as blood ran down his back.
"No, you stupid bitch!" Morgan snapped. "I had two on me! And they weren't right!"
He didn't know how else to explain it right then, that those fucking animals weren't normal. A regular dog or cat wouldn't have been an issue, but there was a...supernatural element to those ones.
[hr:2pcsnq9w][/hr:2pcsnq9w]
Dog was in pain, the back of his neck and shoulders bloody, but he kept up a quick (if sore) trot with Cat. He'd slowed down once they'd made it to the streets, nose to the wind as he tried to pick up the man's scent.
"He's not far from here," he told Cat, head down and hoping they weren't being followed.
"THEY WERE ANIMALS!" Shahira glared at Morgan, "Worthless! A few simple pets attack and you fail." Her voice was a low hiss now, "You'll pay for this later."
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Cat nodded, keeping closer to Dog's injured side, tail huge and lashing. He was angry and agitated, his twin hurt and the magic user they were stalking had fled, "We better hurry or we'll lose him. He had better be worth it."
Zephan edged around a corner good and slow. He wished there were more people around. His blue hair wouldn't have stood out so much. The street looked clear of his pursuers, nothing but a few townsfolk going about their business and a dog and cat that looked like they'd been in a fight themselves.
The towers of the lord's manor rose up above the rooftops to the north of him. That was the direction he wanted. He intended to put himself in the busiest square of the town with plenty of guardsmen nearby, then from there find his way to the most well-traveled gate out of the city.
Dog spotted him then, the one with the blue hair, and perked up even though it hurt his wounds, ears pricking forward. "There!"
Using one final burst of energy, he picked up his pace and fell into a run, barking excitedly and cutting the man off, tail wagging weakly. "Cat! Get over here! I found him!"
"He had better be worth it!" Cat loped after Dog, the fur on his back still standing up. He caught up with the man and wove between his feet, meowing loudly to get attention.
The animals had wandered over to beg scraps off him, but he could finally see what looked to be a familiar set of buildings off at an intersection ahead of him.
"Go on, I don't have anything." He near tripped over the cat. He tried to wave them both off and puffed a little flame from his palm to scare them away.
Dog would not be deterred!
Running circles around the man, he went in and nipped at his ankles, trying to herd him in the other direction, the direction he wanted him to go.
"I think he's a little slow, Cat," he said. Most humans were. "Maybe we should Change. I don't think he gets it."
Cat wrinkled his nose, then with a small poof, was a naked, calico man, staring up at the man, "Was that supposed to be magic? You are a mage, right?"
He gave Dog a look. If the man had bad powers, he wouldn't do at all for the Witch. She needed real magic.
Zephan aimed a kick at the damn dog. He would set the thing on fire if he had to.
"Get lost!" He had a fireball the size of a watermelon ready to hurl at the beast when the cat was suddenly no longer a cat anymore, but a man. Naked, staring, and capable of speech. The fireball sizzled out into nothing.
Why couldn't it have been a woman?
Because the gods were playing with him, that's why. And here was some fresh horror that would require the presence of a naked cat man and a dog—which he'd bet his last coin could shape shift as well.
The cat asked a question Zephan would normally answer with a ten-minute speech, but the way this day was going his first instinct was to deny, deny, deny. "A mage? No! Don't be silly!" He forced out a hysterical laugh. "What are you talking about? No. What fire? Hah..."
All said while he backed away and scrambled for something he could do to get out of...whatever this was. Something non-magical, since he wasn't a mage at the moment.
With a small huff, Dog followed Cat's lead and transformed as well, just as naked--and unconcerned about his nakedness--as Cat.
"The fire you were trying to scare us with," Dog said with a frown, rubbing the back of his neck, which was scratched and cut up pretty painfully and his shoulders were bleeding as well, though his fur had protected it from worse. "After trying to kick me, I might add! That was a little hurtful, especially after we saved you from the monster."
He tilted his head, confused, and followed after Zephan, taking a limping step forward for every step he took backwards. "Why are you trying to lie?"
Cat moved closer to Dog, worried about the wounds. He wanted to go somewhere quiet and lick them clean, not have to deal with this stupid man.
"Are you or are you not a witch? You made that fire. Or was that just some magic item?" His tail lashed in annoyance. He was not going to be happy if they had gotten hurt to protect him and he wasn't even a mage, just some stupid man with a wand.
"Why are you trying to lie?" Zephan halted in his retreat and poked a finger at the dog's chest. These two were very frank. Most people didn't call out his fancies even if they knew there wasn't a speck of truth to them. "I don't know what monster you're talking about. That must have been someone else. It's sounds important. You should probably hurry and go find that guy."
He took them each by the shoulder to turn them. "And I can say with immaculate honesty that I am not a witch."
Witches—to his mind—slept in huts on the outskirts of villages and dosed out potions and herbs soaked with a bit of low magic. He was quite a bit more than that.
Cat's ear flicked, making a low, growling sound in the back of his throat, "You aren't a witch then? Dog! We wasted our time."
Tail lashing, he stood, naked and proud and angry, "Let's go. Your list was wrong!"
"What?" Dog let himself be turned, ears back with annoyance and tail still. The List was not wrong! For all of Cat's issues with it, it hadn't failed them once!
Well...maybe once. Details, details.
"But--you cast a spell! There was fire! How do you explain the fire!"
Yes! He'd got one of them to leave off, now he just had to convince the other one. He didn't know what they wanted a mage for—didn't want to know. Anything that would increase his involvement with these two animal-men was a bad thing.
"What fire?" He spread his arms in a gesture that took in the whole of their mundane, fireless surroundings. "There's no fire. What are you talking about? Are you well in the head? I think you should go lay down in the shade."