The Prince and The Beast (The minotaur)

[Mephistel]

Prince had been walking for hours in the forest, plain and all other scenery that could be seen trough the Thunderblacks. These mountains were larges and not so easy to move along. The young thin man was tired, but mostly annoyed as he hadn't found any village, even tough he had been told that some were nesting upon them.

Sighing, looking annoyed and mumbling under his breath, he kept walking. He couldn't feel the pain in his legs, but he knew there wasn't much strength left in them. The wind was frisky, cold, what did he expect. He wasn't wearing much but his usual grey and black striped long sleeved shirt, his shoulders bare as usual. The top of his white boots were covered in dirt and that made him cringe.

The high number of necklace and trinket he wear around his neck made noises with each step he took and his small diadem was giving a soft shine as the sun hit it with it's ray. Eventually, he couldn't take another step and sat down in the grass, whispering to himself that next time, he would bring a map with him. Not that he was lost, or perhaps he was.

-Ahhhhhh!!!! This is stupid!! And now I'm lost aaaaaaannnd hungry!!! Damnit!!-

He let out loudly, not caring if wild animals could hear him. Not that they could kill him anyway. He put a hand on his forehead, taking a pose and looking in the distant, eyes half close.

-To think that I! Prince! Would get lost! This world must be ending soon!-

But there was no one around to impress with this. He sighed eventually laying down in the grass and looking at the sky, extending his hand upward, as if trying to grab the clouds that were floating in it.

-Tsk!....They should have told me nobody lived here! Bunch of morons!-

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

Devaux snorted into the air, taking another look at the map in his hands. He looked around, bovine eyes scanning his location. SUPPOSEDLY, there were mountain villages here in the Thunderblacks. He just had to...... Look. His eyes roamed the map again, then the mountainside. Then the map. Then the mountainside. He grunted in slight anger, folding the map roughly. He was hungry. And lost, it looked like. He was, of course, wearing his armor, his shield strapped to his left arm, and he was now really starting to feel the weight of it.

He sighed. He couldn't be far, he'd followed the map exactly. Or near enough. He should at least see a hint of a village of some sort, or even a dragon. One of them might be friendly. Hopefully.

He snorted again; this particular trip was somewhat stupid, in hindsight. He should have perhaps stayed around Essryn, or gone somewhere with more hospitable land. He didn't even have camping equipment to sleep on the ground. I should've gotten that awhile ago.... He could feel the chill creeping in. He wasn't quite cold yet; being as big as he was and with the hot blood of a powerful mammal and wearing a suit of heavy armor, he'd kept warm for a good while. But now, even that warmth was leaving him.

He glanced around, before taking a few more long strides before pausing. His hearing wasn't too great, on par with a human's, but his nose was quite strong. He sniffed the air, great horned head waving back and forth. Someone was out here, perhaps a villager. Hopefully a villager.

He followed the scent, weak as it was, until he caught sight of some figure lying on the ground. Light bounced from the jewelry the figure had on as the sun shined. Devaux squinted, before flicking his left arm in a way that brought one of the straps of his shield into his three-fingered grasp. He wasn't going to draw his sword, as that was a much too hostile approach, but readying his shield was more reasonable and more covert, in a way.

As he walked toward the figure - it looked to be a female - he called out. "Villager, I'm lost." Large assumption that this lone person would be a villager, but who else would be out. As he came upon the figure, he amended his earlier guess. Not a female, but a male that looked somewhat feminine.

[Mephistel]

Prince could hear the breathing, stamping and whatever noise the beast man made as he came his way, and that at a long range. If there was one thing he could proud of, it was his perfect sense of pitch. But he didn't moved from his spot, even tough he probably should have. Perhaps this was some people from the mountain?

Tough, he opened his eyes when he was called out. A villager? uh...So this...mass of muscles was not a villager, and was apparently lost, just as he was. Finally turning his head toward the creature, he realized that it was no human, he had figure a large and tall person, but this was...much more then that.

At first, he looked at him, surprised, it took him a moment to finally answer back, with a click of his tongue.

-Who are you calling a villager beast? I am much more then just some villager! You may call me Prince! And...who are you?-

He said, getting back up, tough he wasn't very impressive with his 5'7, there wasn't much to him and his skinny body. His grey eyes looking up at the tauren.

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

Devaux's eyes narrowed. Beast? He empty hand clenched and released once, as if gripping the handle of a sword from habit. He wondered: what kind of thought process went behind insulting someone more powerful than one's self? That was just.... Idiotic. The Tauren figured he'd be able to dispatch this.... Halfling, quickly. Wouldn't even have to draw his sword.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he grunted aloud. Prince. "Where is Prince's castle?" This question was both mocking and in earnest. There wasn't any sort of castle or kingdom for a Prince to be a Prince of in these parts, or at least, that's what the young Heilvander figured. Otherwise, this conversation, if you could call it such, wouldn't be happening.

"Devaux Heilvander. Mercenary." Of course, he answered the Halfling's question. (Devaux only thought Prince was a Halfling because of his size, which was markedly smaller than his own). If this Prince was truly a Prince, perhaps he could hire Devaux? Money for a hot meal was always welcome. Even if it did come from small people that weren't quite right in the head.

"Prince lost castle? I'm lost, finding village," he rumbled in that incredibly deep voice he possessed, bovine eyes moving to Prince's. Maybe he'd get a hot meal if he helped the little lad find his home. Hmm, food fit for a Prince...[/b] His nose snuffled, before he tossed his head in habit, showing off his horns.

[Mephistel]

Looking at Devaux with widened eyes, he could only smirk as he wonder if anything the creature said made sense.

-I don't have a castle! Yet! Well..it's not mine yet! But it will! Every castle will eventually be mine of course! -

He said. He started turning around Devaux, looking at him with curiosity. It was the first time he had seen someone like that. Even tough he had traveled a bit, this was different. He hadn't note the mockery. Smirking some more and taking a few steps back to see the whole figure of the tauren, he wondered.

-So...your a mercenary huh...and your lost? What a coincidence! I am too! You...wouldn't happen to have a map would you?-

He asked, tilting his head on the side while his hands were crossed behind his back. If things didn't turn quite right, he wondered how many knives it would take to kill such a monster. But at the same time, he felt lonely and since there was no one around, maybe this Devaux could do?

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

The Taur snorted in amusement. This so-called Prince had no castle, but aimed to have them all. Yes, there was definitely something wrong with this one. He was.... Greedy, without the means to be. A curious thing, surely, and not a good thing, either. Heilvander briefly wondered what made one such as this Halfling so greedy yet so poor. Briefly, as he cared little to none.

Devaux's eyes watched Prince as he made he circled, his head moving with him and switching sides to continue watching him.  That look in his eye seemed to spell trouble for the young Tauren, but any trouble could quickly be cut apart with a few well-placed swings of his greatsword.

He shrugged at Prince's question, before nodding to his hand, which he held up. The map, slightly crumpled, was held in his three fingered grasp, as if offering, but merely showing off; he didn't plan to give it to Prince. Devaux might be much stronger, but the Prince was most likely faster, especially since he was in the suit of armor. Without it though.....

Devaux snorted curiously when Prince's hands went behind his back and his head tilted. The Tauren's shieldarm raised slightly, as if readying to block anything (which it was) though he didn't quite shield himself. "What is Halfling thinking? Halfing know how to use map?" While still brutish in nature, his question was undeniable. Why couldn't everyone speak this way? So many wasted words for nothing.

[Mephistel]

Prince was finding this amusing. He tought that the tauren was funny. As he was asked if he could use a map...tough been called a halfling was a bit weird.

-Of course I can!-

He said, nodding, agitating his finger in front of him, as if it was obvious. Then taking a few steps on the side, he could notice the uneasiness of the tauren. He smirked,  playing a bit with the jewelry around his neck.

-Let's see! Why don't we team up heh?? I'll be the brain and you can be the muscle! So while I get ourselves to the village, you can let's say...beat up whatever that might try to harm us?-

He said. This sounded like a great plan.

-What say you?-

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

The anthro-bull grunted noncommittally. The Halfling answered his question as if his map-using ability was obvious. Devaux eyed the Princeling; he didn't like that smirk whatsoever. He considered wiping it off (with his sword), but was occupied with studying the small creature's multitude of jewelry. He wondered how much they would fetch, before listening to Prince as he spoke.

A team up? Well, that would work he supposed, but he felt the Prince would be a bad brain. He was..... Unique, to state it nicely. And not at all did Devaux trust him with his map, which was so valuable in these mountains. Even if the Tauren did get quite lost. He'd figure it out sometime.

"I say yes. Not many monsters in mountains." He rumbled, moving the shield strap from his hand and back to his forearm to free up both hands. "I hold map, you can look." He nodded at the Prince, unfolding the map and displaying it for the Halfling to see. His stance was somewhat defensive, but not hostile.

[Mephistel]

So much for the trusting issue, but Prince didn't care. Apparently the tauren was scared he would run off with the map. And he was right to be. Prince looked at him, as if the beast folk at hurt his feeling.

-My my! Do you think me a thief? -

He said, with a grand gesture, but as Devaux opened up the map, Prince attitude changed again and he glanced back at the map. He got closer to take a better look. Well, no wonder he was lost, the next village was miles away up the mountain road and the road was well...a bit East of here.

After a moment, he nodded, all smiling.

-Aye aye!! I found our way to the village!-

He said, victoriously, striking a pose. Swiftly taking a jump, he landed on the tauren shoulder, and sitting down while crossing his legs as he pointed the right direction to take. The taurent would most likely not even feel his weight.

-Alright! Onward beastly knight Devaux! East we go!-

He said. He didn't really feel like walking so, but how would the tauren take it?

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

"Do you think me a thief?" Well, not particularly, but he didn't trust the Prince in the least. Which, in this day and age, was a wise thing; trust should be hard to earn. Devaux noticed the demeanor change as the little Halfling examined the map, which, so far, had made himself somewhat angry and frustrated.

The Tauren's ears perked up when Prince nodded and smiled, before stating he knew the way. Thank the Gods above, Devaux thought, even if he didn't really follow any gods or goddesses. He folded the map up again, less rough this time, when he heard more than felt the Prince jump onto his shoulder. The Halfling seemed to weight next to nothing, not next to Devaux's armor. And he'd been wearing armor just like it for years, so the armor itself didn't seem to weight anything on his incredibly muscular form.

He grunted, not really caring if the male took a seat on his shoulder. They'd gain ground faster this way, as the Prince's strides were tiny compared to Devaux's long ones. "No Knight," he stated simply, referring to himself. He was only on his Quest to become a Protector, and nothing more. Protectors were greater than Knights, by far.

[Mephistel]

Founding that he wasn't pushed off, that made him a little happy. The small young man tilted his head, hearing upon the fact that Devaux wasn't a knight. He could have guessed as much but still, with this heavy shiny armor and whatever weapon he was carrying, he was bound to be something.

-Then what is it that you are Devaux? If you are not a knight? A warrior? A soldier? A guardian of some sort?-

He asked, out of curiosity now that they would be walking along toward the right path. He felt more at ease and could finally rest his feet while still moving. Stretching his arms a bit as he look upon the horizon, he truly had a great view from up there. so THAT'S how tall people saw the world, sometime, he wished he was taller, but then again, it also had it's drawback.

-Wooahh! Really, you are one huge uhh....person?-

He had no idea which race the beast person belonged to so he couldn't say. He laughed a little as he was trying to imagine the faces of the people at the village would look like, seing him sitting on the tauren shoulder. That promised to be hilarious!

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

He shrugged at the question. Past being a Mercenary, he wasn't anything but a hopeful Protector. He was quite young for one, as well, but that was only a side effect from having a full Protector for a father. He'd been trained since he could walk with a sword and shield, dual wielding swords, Tauren two-handed weapons (which were absolutely huge, considering he wields a human-sized greatsword like a longsword), and even daggers (or human longswords).

"Mercenary. On Protector Quest. Protectors better than Knights." That was all he said, though, and would say on the subject. It wasn't common knowledge, and he wasn't aiming for it to be. Protectors, that is. He glanced at the Prince on his shoulder as he stretched.

"Tauren. Bull-man," he gave as a short explanation, even though it should have been obvious from his horns to his snout to his size. Prince's laugh prompted another grunt from him. He didn't see anything funny, so he asked. "What's funny?"

[Mephistel]

Prince nodded solemnly at Devaux's affirmation that protectors were better then knight. So this bull man was on a quest. Well, how nice. That made him smirk. Prince had nothing like that, he wasn't on a quest, nor was he looking for something.

He just did whatever he felt like doing at the moment. He loved just how short the tauren's answer were. For once, he didn't had to listen to everyone rambling. When asked what was so funny, the thin man smiled.

-Oh...you know! How the villagers might just get scared seen you! But don't worry, I'll tell them your not a bad...err tauren!-

He said, as if he was doing Devaux a favor. He gave him a thumb up as they reached the main road.

-ohh, there it is!! Now, it's up north!-

Prince said as they found a path going up the mountain. It was still a few miles away from their position, but at least they were going in the right direction.

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

He was about to shrug his shoulders in mild acceptance, but then he remembered his passenger and just grunted, jerking his head in a nod. It was a problem he'd run into a few times, people being scared of his appearance.

"Appreciated. I will want to stay." He was already thinking whether they should go in at the same time or if Prince should go in ahead and tell them about the large Tauren first, but decided against it rather quickly. Prince still hadn't earned his trust for even that.

He was pulled from his thoughts by Prince's exclamation as he hit the road. Farther north, then. An easy enough stroll. As he started on, long strides allowing him to cover ground easily, he grunted before asking, "How far?"

Hopefully not that far, he though as he heard more than felt his belly rumble. Devaux was a big boy, and hopefully a very big meal would be acquired once they made it to this village, or he'd be a grumpy bull indeed. And it was never good when he was grumpy.

[Mephistel]

While they were getting on the road, Prince was holding on, tough his sense of balance was nice enough, he wasn't use to ride on bull shoulder, it was actually his first time! That would make a nice memory. He started humming a song, it was random as it was not a real song, not one that actually existed or was known at least.

As he was asked how far, Prince was about to answer but was soon cut off, quite brutally at that as an arrow struck him straight into the neck, piercing it from side to side. Only giving him the time to gurgle something, as blood started to pour out of his mouth, before he fell off the tauren shoulder, a look of surprise on his face.

His body fell like a rag doll to the ground, motionless.

-Yeah!! Now get that bull!!-

A voice scream. They had merely gotten into the woods and the shape of man in leather armor appeared from left and right. Bandits by the looks of them, holding swords and axes, 3 of them had bows and were now aiming at the big beast.

There was about a dozen man now surrounding Devaux.

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

The bull was waiting for an answer when he heard the sound of an arrow in flight swiftly followed by pierced flesh and a gurgle, then sensed more than felt Prince fall off his shoulder. "Prince," he cried out even as he began drawing his greatsword into his right hand, moving one of the shield straps into his hand to better wield it.

"Now get that bull!" Devaux let loose a primal roar of anger, unleashing a powerful horizontal arc. He took out two of the closer men, which made the others wielding melee weapons move back. The only part of him not protected by heavy steel was his head, and he was careful to have his shield protect his head from arrows even as he fought.

He moved to stand over Prince, crouching over his still form as if protecting him. The cry of an incredibly angry bull rang through the air again. "You want battle? I bring BATTLE!" At that moment, he ran off towards a few of the men wielding bows, keeping his shield in front of him while he swung the large sword with terrifying speed.

[Mephistel]

The sound of broken arrows could be heard against the shield the tauren was holding, as you rushed at the archer, two of them fell from your sword. The third one decided that it wasn't worth it and ran away, while three more men tried to get you from behind, surrounding you. The others were a little further, uncertain as already 4 of them had fallen. 7 remained

During that time, Prince consciousness came back as one of the man was grabbing the jewelry he had around his neck. But that one soon ended with a knife in his neck. Only his arm had moved, quite quickly from the ground, the rest of his body still motionless. The body fell on the side and slowly, Prince rose up, slowly standing up with the arrow trough his troat, blood kept spilling as he took back the jewelry, putting it back around his neck as he looked at the man.

A rather psychotic look in his eyes.

-You bunch of bastards....I think you need to learn a lesson!-

And as such, he took three hidden flying knives into one hand and swiftly sent them flying toward two of the men trying to attack Devaux from behind, they fell, as the knives hit them behind the head at full speed.

-Whaaaaa!! The kid ain't dead! THE FU***-

One the man cried, he couldn't believe what he saw.

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

Through a somewhat impressive display of swordsmanship, Devaux quickly dispatched two archers with quick slashes, cleaving one of them nearly in two while remove the arm and head from the other. Blood splattered his golden armor, though his sword was quite covered in the vital fluid. He roared at the back of the coward that ran, nearly rushing off to pursue but he was soon more occupied.

He snorted in anger as three went to his back, four in front of him. His bellow was full of pure rage, while his eyes seemed ablaze with murderous intent. It wasn't often he got this angry, but they had DARED to assault him. The honor-less swines would surely pay.

He stabbed his sword into the ground, removing his shield and throwing it at one of the bandits like a disc. It was a practiced throw; the large and heavy shield cut one of the bandits in half just as Prince felled three of them. Three left.

Before the body of the split bandit hit the ground, Devaux had his sword in hand and was speeding towards two of them. He snarled in fury when they stood their ground. He seemed to dance as he attacked. He spun when he get close, using the momentum to send a powerful stab towards one of the bandits. His aim was slightly off; it clipped the shield instead of slamming and driving through it. As his momentum was only slowed, he kept it up, turning the lucky deflection into a horizontal slash towards the second bandit while his free, gloved fist launched towards the first. His punch caught the first bandit in the face just as his sword slammed into the second bandit's midsection.

The first bandit went flying just as the second fell to floor, dead. Grunting, Devaux let go of his sword and stomped towards the first bandit, clenching both of his fists.

[Mephistel]

The thin young man clapped his hands before the gory display as the bandits were ending cut in pieces, blood shattered everywhere. He tried to whistle, but it was hard to do so with an arrow stuck in the throat. A sickened smile upon his face, Prince rushed toward the last bandit, two knives in hands as he jumped into the air. The bandit leveled his shield to protect himself. Prince landed on it with grace then backflipped while kicking the shield up in there air and slicing trough the man's face and throat with his knives, carving him a deadly smile. The bandit fell to the ground.

The last one remaining looked at the bull with fear in his eyes as he stepped back and eventually started to run for his life.

-AAAAGHHHH!! NOOO PLEASE SPARE ME!!!-

The man cried as he ran, he was soon caught by a flying knife, hitting him hard in the leg. The man fell to the ground, unable to run anymore. Prince smiled.

-No no, that won't do!-

His voice sounded strange, but that wasn't because he wanted to. He looked at Devaux.

-To you the honor!-

While he was starting to pick his knives back from the dead bodies.

[The Minotaur]

Devaux Heilvander

Devaux grunted, now not so angry as his bout of battle-rage lessened. He turned to Prince, his bovine eyes promising questions when this last one was taken care of. His eyes fell to the struggling piece of scum on the ground, before he snorted in anger. As he walked, the bandit doubled his efforts to get away, but even then, the Tauren was standing above him within a few strides.

Reaching down, Devaux grabbed the man around the neck, lifting him with ease. He examined the dirty face before him. "You attacked. No mercy from I." His voice was dark and damning, and tears fell as from the bandit's face as he realized he was going nowhere.

A few seconds later, Devaux was walking away from the limp-necked bandit on the ground, who had ceased to move at all. He came upon Prince, who was gathering the little knives from the corpses. He barely glanced at the knives; they were much too small for him to wield, but that mattered little.

"How you live?" He asked bluntly, crossing his arms as he retrieved his bloodied sword and shield a few paces from Prince. He easily tore the shirt from one of the bandits, wiping the red liquid from his equipment as he waited for an answer.