FA+
Shop
182
Views
Views
1
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Story / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 120 x 119
File Size 118.1 kB
Report this content
More from Quarantined-Cheese
Listed in Folders
| FIRST |
Following the failure of the robot, Mira and Anais head back to town, and Mira decides to make a visit.
I wasn't going to make any further chapters, but I felt like it had potential and I really like the setting, so here we are! Enjoy :D
I did accidentally overwrite the thumbnail for this at some point, so I had to remake it. so it may look a little rushed.
2.7k words.
“There,” Anais says, finally forcing the axle back into place, wood creaking against metal. “Put it down.”
Mira lets go of the wooden wagon, letting the wheels thump into the dusty sand. The sun has continued to burn hot on the two, but its journey will not last forever. Both are still wearing their light clothing. “We won’t make it back before nightfall.” The tan shark recollects the displaced supplies into the cart, including a charred and permanently disfigured robot wrapped via blanket.
The deer pulls herself out from under the wagon, reclaiming her footing and returning her hat to her head. “You sure? It’s not too late.”
Mira watches the rolling dunes, somewhat calmed by the way the sand cascades, “Pretty sure.”
Anais climbs into the wagon, the crude seat suspension squeaking, watching as Mira approaches Burn with some oats. “I didn’t think we went too far.” The cinderwalker stands still, deceivingly eyeless sockets looking as empty as ever against his fur-less white head. He neighs at the sight of oats, shifting in his harness.
Mira shrugs, allowing Burn to eat from her hand. “It’s more of a ‘we spent longer here than I planned’ kind of late.” Mira pats the horse, muttering words of endearment.
Anais turns her head to the disturbed sand from the scuffle, then back to the wagon she’s sat upon, thinking back to the events. “I guess you’re right.” Anais reaches up, stretching her sore back while Mira climbs into the left seat.
Mira hands over the reins to Anais. “You’re driving back.”
“Sure thing.” Anais gets the carriage turned around towards what should be the correct direction, a river far out of eyesight. As the sounds of soft thumps and racketing wheels fill the lonely air, the two grow quiet. Both minds consider the events of the day, one thinking of what to do about it. The robot came second hand, and wasn’t brought here legally, so the law is out of the question. One thing’s for sure though, Mira wants answers. Burn’s steps continue to compress the sand, but time passes slowly.
She rubs her smooth tail some; the pain still stinging like it just happened. She should have extended her tether to her tail for each strike, but a thought like that escaped her during the frenzy. Even then, blocking a sword with arms gets tiring; they have this pulsing soreness that refuses to wane. The usual gentle rocking of the carriage through the sand is bringing her vision an unusual shaky edge. She holds up an arm and attempts to bring forth her tether, and as her skin turns to metal, her vision grows vague, and she’s forced to drop it. I’ve gone rusty. She also should have brought the battleaxe with her. Even if the robot had worked as advertised, there could have been an actual worm. What then?
Anais, keeping hold of the reins, is disappointed. She let her trainer down, her friend. Maybe she didn’t have nearly as much experience or training herself, but maybe if she just tried a little harder, everything would have been fine. She could have handled it herself. It was just a robot! How could she let a disastrous clump of blasphemous metal beat her like that?
Burn simply continues, content to have been fed, dutifully trudging the wagon’s wooden wheels through the sand. Mira looks over to her driver, noting drooped ears and blank eyes. “You hungry?”
“Oh, um.” The deer trudges through her thoughts to her feelings. “Yeah, I could eat.”
Mira turns in her seat, sure to not let her tail dangle onto the wheel, and reaches into the cargo. “Damn. Less for me.” Anais lets out a short laugh, smiling over at her mentor. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.” Anais’ smile fades. “If the robot had actually followed the rules of a bout and ended there, I was gonna say that was the best I’ve seen you do in a while.”
“But-”
“No ‘buts’ today. You impressed me. Simple as that.” Mira turns back around with food in hand, offering it to the deer.
“But you-”
“An, no one expects their weapon to break in combat,” Mira says, pushing the food closer. “I brought you out here for this; it’s my fault.”
Anais exhales, flushing her thoughts. “...Thanks.” She grabs the serving, returning the reins to a hook. Burn can keep a straight line himself.
Mira turns around into the cargo again, “I’ll get you a new rapier tomorrow. As payment.”
“What? No, you don’t-”
“I’m not gonna let you walk around without a weapon. It’s happening,” the shark replies, flipping around with her own meal. “Plus, I have more money than I can spend at this point.”
Anais’ head dips, following Burn’s stride. “Okay…Thank you.”
“Of course.”
The duo grows silent apart for the slow chewing, burning sun presenting both with relentless sears. Burn continues to strut, pounding into the sand like he’s always known. Soon, the food disappeared. The poor suspension creaks and wood rattles over a hidden rock, shaking the shaken figures. Time passes slowly, but they make good progress. With a huff, Burn picks up the pace of his own volition, urging the carriage over the crest of a dune and easing the sight of water into his passenger’s eyes.
The river is still far, but much nearer than before. It disappears behind another small dune, but quickly visits again once that dune is crested. It’s only Anais’ control that keeps Burn from running to the water and rattling the cargo behind further. No one needs to say anything. This is routine.
As Burn gets to the flowing water, Anais and Mira both jump off the carriage in unison. Mira frees Burn from the tack and he eagerly makes the rest of the way into the river, bowing his head down. “Drink up,” Mira says, distracted by the newly twisted golden sky. The sun has reached the horizon, bathing the desert in a beautiful array of yellow and orange, preparing to send it into the cold of the night. The sound of rushing water acts to wash away the day; feeling as if it hadn’t happened. Mira steps into the water, careful not to wet her clothing, letting the fresh, clean water run past her, taking the heat with it.
Anais looks up and down the river, watching the wide force of nature as it prances through the dunes. “We’re going upstream, right?”
“Yeah, town should be upstream.” Mira guides the satisfied cinderwalker back to the carriage, tying him in as Anais climbs back into her seat. Mira soon follows, and they’re off again. They’re quickly sent into the dark not too much later as the sun dips, a vacation that’s proving to affect the temperature deeply and swiftly.
Burn hurries with the newly dropping temperatures and the reassuring presence of water, eager to finish the journey now. With the hurried pace, it’s not long until the group arrives at the sight of town, first with the blaze of the firelight, and then with the sturdy structures of sandstone. The town is bustling with nightlife even as they travel through the outskirts. There are plenty of people travelling along the roads, air rife with sounds of hooves through sand and conversation.
Anais pulls on the reins, slowing the wagon to stop next to one of the many homes; a small structure of sandstone with a flat roof, which possesses meticulously cared for potted plants. She passes the reins to Mira. “See you tomorrow, I guess.” She climbs off, landing on the packed sand of the road.
Mira returns the pleasantries, watching Anais disappear into her home, and then continues down the road. Usually to get home she’d keep going straight through town and then her home would be the first house on the last street, but today, she turns through the market. The market is busy with hagglers and merchants, countless tents arranged in lines selling various wares. Mira passes some selling weaponry, a stall filled with produce, and, of course, the usual market selling approved wares from lands afar. Nearly every stall has its own torch to light its wares, bathing the entire square in an orange glow.
She goes all the way through the market and parks her wagon at the very end in an alley between the general store and a rowdy bar. Even through the thick sandstone walls, the sounds of cheers and laughter vibrate through the walls, evidence of a day well spent by the town. Now that the sun is gone, the doors let out more than they let in.
Mira slips off the wagon and nearly goes all the way down, just barely catching herself on the close-by wall. After attempting to stretch out the pain, she arms herself with a small dagger tucked into her belt, less for the patrons and more for what she’s about to do. Soon Burn is fed once again, and she’s left the alley into the bar, struggling to mask a limp that has formed over the trip. Against the expectation of a bar this loud, a rare few are truly drunk. The bar is the busiest in the centre, surrounding a raised platform for a musician-less stage. The performer would have just wrapped up, but listeners continue to linger with their buddies.
The smell of alcohol is there, but overpowered by the unmistakable aroma of food, particularly meat. Around the walls there are more people sitting at tables than standing, making them feel slightly less occupied. That doesn’t mean they’re quiet, however. Most are still talking just as loud as those by the stage. There’s still the occasional quiet table, enjoying themselves. A few contain lone outsiders passing through, checking over documents while they look for faces.
Mira doesn’t care for any of that, though. Just one table in the back corner is of any concern to her; seating a tan-scaled lizard, flanked by two sunglasses wearing coyotes, all in white suits, with the lizard in a gold tie. The group is absorbed in themselves, only noticing Mira just as she speaks; “Where’s your brother?”
All three stare for a moment. The lizard takes a quick swig of his drink. “Good evening to you, too.”
Mira scowls, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Don’t give me that, Kix. Where is he?”
Smiles fade at the table, atmosphere growing tight. “Does it matter?” Kix glances across the table; “He left a while ago. I don’t control him.”
“It’s rare for the two of you to be apart.” Mira pulls out a chair and sits into it, curling her tail to attempt some comfort. “You at least wanna tell me when he’ll be back?”
Kix shakes his head. “Look, we’re waiting on a client. We don’t have time to entertain whatever this is about.” He says, gesturing at her vaguely. “How about you take those old bones of yours and annoy someone else?”
Mira leans forward onto the table, making no effort to hide her disbelief. “As much as I believe you, I’m not leaving until I have what I want.”
“Aren’t you getting old for bounty hunting? You should really retire to a nice man to treat you.”
She pulls back from the table, ears raised, deliberately ignoring the last part. “First of all, I am retired. Second, Nix has a bounty? The hell he do to get caught?”
“Ah,” he waves her off, “don’t worry about it.” A tail twitches under the table. One of the coyotes’ hands disappears out of sight. “Go on before we make you. We don’t have anything for you.”
Mira just leans forward again, her own hand falling to her belt. “You’re so much more fun when your brother is here.”
The lizard sighs, gaze quickly scanning the bar behind Mira. “Let’s take this outside.” He gets up from the table, and the coyotes follow his motion, only to re-seat after Kix adds: “Alone.”
“I’m not fighting you for this information.” Mira says, unmoving from her chair.
The lizard pushes in his chair. “That’s not what this is! You’d kill me any day of the week.”
Mira’s annoyance only barely covers a smile as she sits there. “Hmph. How bad is it that you can’t let anyone hear?”
“Death penalty bad.” He says, monotone voice conveying nothing but truth.
Mira shakes her head, head dipped at the table as if it’d tell her everything. “Fine.” She gets up, wincing slightly, but she gets up. “We’ll do this by my wagon.” Not thinking, she heads straight for the door, not checking behind her to see Kix gesturing towards his companions.
The two of them round the corner into the alleyway, back into the now relative cold of the night. Even with the firelight of the market, the alley is dark and secretive in the various crevices and hiding spots. Before Mira turns around to face Kix, she reaches into her wagon and pulls out her battleaxe, grunting as she hoists it over her shoulder. Neither Kix nor Mira notice the deer watching from the market.
Kix steps back at the sight of the large axe, putting himself out of easy reach. “Woah, is that really necessary?”
Mira stares. “You tell me.”
“Uhg. Fine, alright.” Kix looks around, leaning over as if to look past Mira. “You alright? You look a little tired.”
“I’m fine. Just tell me what the bounty is and where I can find him.”
“Ah, okay, well…” His hand slips into his pocket, fingers fidgeting with whatever’s inside. “Murder and, um, class three blasphemy.”
Mira nods, though her eyes tighten on the shorter lizard. “About right.” She takes a step forward. “So, what’s the plan? You’re clearly stalling.”
Kix moves back several more steps at her minor approach. “What? No, it’s just a lot on my mind.. Yeah, no plan.” As the words exit his mouth, Burn lets out a huff from behind Mira, his hooves audibly shuffling in the sand.
Mira’s ear twitches, and she throws the ball of her weapon behind, eliciting a groan from the coyote, launching a knife from his hand. She adjusts her grip on the axe as she turns around, completely failing to process the other coyote’s polearm as it collides with her own, slipping it out of her grip into the sand.
Frustrated, her hand shifts to metal as she reaches for the sharp blade, pulling it against her now metal knee, snapping it off the handle with a sharp cracking noise. Fighting her blurry vision, she thrusts the blade back into the coyote stumbling towards her. The coyote immediately keels over and hits the ground, causing the other to step back in alarm.
Mira, though, can barely keep herself up. She falls, only saved by the wall next to her, and stumbles her way back towards the other coyote, eyes still full of annoyance. He takes another wary step back. Unarmed and fearing the same fate, he turns to run. Mira throws the blade at him with surprising accuracy considering her state, and he, too, hits the sandy floor.
“Hey!” Mira’s caught off guard by the sound of another scuffle directly behind her, and the sight she’s greeted to is Kix being held at knifepoint by Anais.
Mira shakes her head, trying to clear the exhaustion, but nothing comes of it. “The hell was that for?”
The lizard, still pushing and pulling against Anais’ grip, looks at Mira with widened eyes. “Hey- hey, I’m sure I can explain-!”
Mira crosses her arms across her chest, leaning against the wall for support. “Uh-huh, so there’s an explanation for trying to kill me?”
“N-Nix said to kill anyone that asked too much! I swear!”
She pushes off the wall, stepping closer to the lizard. “So I’m not allowed to ask about my own friend?”
He attempts to avoid her gaze. “I-”
She grabs his face and forces him to look into her eyes. “If you tell me everything you truly know, I may let you live.”
Following the failure of the robot, Mira and Anais head back to town, and Mira decides to make a visit.
I wasn't going to make any further chapters, but I felt like it had potential and I really like the setting, so here we are! Enjoy :D
I did accidentally overwrite the thumbnail for this at some point, so I had to remake it. so it may look a little rushed.
2.7k words.
Combat Training Chapter 2By: Cheese“There,” Anais says, finally forcing the axle back into place, wood creaking against metal. “Put it down.”
Mira lets go of the wooden wagon, letting the wheels thump into the dusty sand. The sun has continued to burn hot on the two, but its journey will not last forever. Both are still wearing their light clothing. “We won’t make it back before nightfall.” The tan shark recollects the displaced supplies into the cart, including a charred and permanently disfigured robot wrapped via blanket.
The deer pulls herself out from under the wagon, reclaiming her footing and returning her hat to her head. “You sure? It’s not too late.”
Mira watches the rolling dunes, somewhat calmed by the way the sand cascades, “Pretty sure.”
Anais climbs into the wagon, the crude seat suspension squeaking, watching as Mira approaches Burn with some oats. “I didn’t think we went too far.” The cinderwalker stands still, deceivingly eyeless sockets looking as empty as ever against his fur-less white head. He neighs at the sight of oats, shifting in his harness.
Mira shrugs, allowing Burn to eat from her hand. “It’s more of a ‘we spent longer here than I planned’ kind of late.” Mira pats the horse, muttering words of endearment.
Anais turns her head to the disturbed sand from the scuffle, then back to the wagon she’s sat upon, thinking back to the events. “I guess you’re right.” Anais reaches up, stretching her sore back while Mira climbs into the left seat.
Mira hands over the reins to Anais. “You’re driving back.”
“Sure thing.” Anais gets the carriage turned around towards what should be the correct direction, a river far out of eyesight. As the sounds of soft thumps and racketing wheels fill the lonely air, the two grow quiet. Both minds consider the events of the day, one thinking of what to do about it. The robot came second hand, and wasn’t brought here legally, so the law is out of the question. One thing’s for sure though, Mira wants answers. Burn’s steps continue to compress the sand, but time passes slowly.
She rubs her smooth tail some; the pain still stinging like it just happened. She should have extended her tether to her tail for each strike, but a thought like that escaped her during the frenzy. Even then, blocking a sword with arms gets tiring; they have this pulsing soreness that refuses to wane. The usual gentle rocking of the carriage through the sand is bringing her vision an unusual shaky edge. She holds up an arm and attempts to bring forth her tether, and as her skin turns to metal, her vision grows vague, and she’s forced to drop it. I’ve gone rusty. She also should have brought the battleaxe with her. Even if the robot had worked as advertised, there could have been an actual worm. What then?
Anais, keeping hold of the reins, is disappointed. She let her trainer down, her friend. Maybe she didn’t have nearly as much experience or training herself, but maybe if she just tried a little harder, everything would have been fine. She could have handled it herself. It was just a robot! How could she let a disastrous clump of blasphemous metal beat her like that?
Burn simply continues, content to have been fed, dutifully trudging the wagon’s wooden wheels through the sand. Mira looks over to her driver, noting drooped ears and blank eyes. “You hungry?”
“Oh, um.” The deer trudges through her thoughts to her feelings. “Yeah, I could eat.”
Mira turns in her seat, sure to not let her tail dangle onto the wheel, and reaches into the cargo. “Damn. Less for me.” Anais lets out a short laugh, smiling over at her mentor. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.” Anais’ smile fades. “If the robot had actually followed the rules of a bout and ended there, I was gonna say that was the best I’ve seen you do in a while.”
“But-”
“No ‘buts’ today. You impressed me. Simple as that.” Mira turns back around with food in hand, offering it to the deer.
“But you-”
“An, no one expects their weapon to break in combat,” Mira says, pushing the food closer. “I brought you out here for this; it’s my fault.”
Anais exhales, flushing her thoughts. “...Thanks.” She grabs the serving, returning the reins to a hook. Burn can keep a straight line himself.
Mira turns around into the cargo again, “I’ll get you a new rapier tomorrow. As payment.”
“What? No, you don’t-”
“I’m not gonna let you walk around without a weapon. It’s happening,” the shark replies, flipping around with her own meal. “Plus, I have more money than I can spend at this point.”
Anais’ head dips, following Burn’s stride. “Okay…Thank you.”
“Of course.”
The duo grows silent apart for the slow chewing, burning sun presenting both with relentless sears. Burn continues to strut, pounding into the sand like he’s always known. Soon, the food disappeared. The poor suspension creaks and wood rattles over a hidden rock, shaking the shaken figures. Time passes slowly, but they make good progress. With a huff, Burn picks up the pace of his own volition, urging the carriage over the crest of a dune and easing the sight of water into his passenger’s eyes.
The river is still far, but much nearer than before. It disappears behind another small dune, but quickly visits again once that dune is crested. It’s only Anais’ control that keeps Burn from running to the water and rattling the cargo behind further. No one needs to say anything. This is routine.
As Burn gets to the flowing water, Anais and Mira both jump off the carriage in unison. Mira frees Burn from the tack and he eagerly makes the rest of the way into the river, bowing his head down. “Drink up,” Mira says, distracted by the newly twisted golden sky. The sun has reached the horizon, bathing the desert in a beautiful array of yellow and orange, preparing to send it into the cold of the night. The sound of rushing water acts to wash away the day; feeling as if it hadn’t happened. Mira steps into the water, careful not to wet her clothing, letting the fresh, clean water run past her, taking the heat with it.
Anais looks up and down the river, watching the wide force of nature as it prances through the dunes. “We’re going upstream, right?”
“Yeah, town should be upstream.” Mira guides the satisfied cinderwalker back to the carriage, tying him in as Anais climbs back into her seat. Mira soon follows, and they’re off again. They’re quickly sent into the dark not too much later as the sun dips, a vacation that’s proving to affect the temperature deeply and swiftly.
Burn hurries with the newly dropping temperatures and the reassuring presence of water, eager to finish the journey now. With the hurried pace, it’s not long until the group arrives at the sight of town, first with the blaze of the firelight, and then with the sturdy structures of sandstone. The town is bustling with nightlife even as they travel through the outskirts. There are plenty of people travelling along the roads, air rife with sounds of hooves through sand and conversation.
Anais pulls on the reins, slowing the wagon to stop next to one of the many homes; a small structure of sandstone with a flat roof, which possesses meticulously cared for potted plants. She passes the reins to Mira. “See you tomorrow, I guess.” She climbs off, landing on the packed sand of the road.
Mira returns the pleasantries, watching Anais disappear into her home, and then continues down the road. Usually to get home she’d keep going straight through town and then her home would be the first house on the last street, but today, she turns through the market. The market is busy with hagglers and merchants, countless tents arranged in lines selling various wares. Mira passes some selling weaponry, a stall filled with produce, and, of course, the usual market selling approved wares from lands afar. Nearly every stall has its own torch to light its wares, bathing the entire square in an orange glow.
She goes all the way through the market and parks her wagon at the very end in an alley between the general store and a rowdy bar. Even through the thick sandstone walls, the sounds of cheers and laughter vibrate through the walls, evidence of a day well spent by the town. Now that the sun is gone, the doors let out more than they let in.
Mira slips off the wagon and nearly goes all the way down, just barely catching herself on the close-by wall. After attempting to stretch out the pain, she arms herself with a small dagger tucked into her belt, less for the patrons and more for what she’s about to do. Soon Burn is fed once again, and she’s left the alley into the bar, struggling to mask a limp that has formed over the trip. Against the expectation of a bar this loud, a rare few are truly drunk. The bar is the busiest in the centre, surrounding a raised platform for a musician-less stage. The performer would have just wrapped up, but listeners continue to linger with their buddies.
The smell of alcohol is there, but overpowered by the unmistakable aroma of food, particularly meat. Around the walls there are more people sitting at tables than standing, making them feel slightly less occupied. That doesn’t mean they’re quiet, however. Most are still talking just as loud as those by the stage. There’s still the occasional quiet table, enjoying themselves. A few contain lone outsiders passing through, checking over documents while they look for faces.
Mira doesn’t care for any of that, though. Just one table in the back corner is of any concern to her; seating a tan-scaled lizard, flanked by two sunglasses wearing coyotes, all in white suits, with the lizard in a gold tie. The group is absorbed in themselves, only noticing Mira just as she speaks; “Where’s your brother?”
All three stare for a moment. The lizard takes a quick swig of his drink. “Good evening to you, too.”
Mira scowls, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Don’t give me that, Kix. Where is he?”
Smiles fade at the table, atmosphere growing tight. “Does it matter?” Kix glances across the table; “He left a while ago. I don’t control him.”
“It’s rare for the two of you to be apart.” Mira pulls out a chair and sits into it, curling her tail to attempt some comfort. “You at least wanna tell me when he’ll be back?”
Kix shakes his head. “Look, we’re waiting on a client. We don’t have time to entertain whatever this is about.” He says, gesturing at her vaguely. “How about you take those old bones of yours and annoy someone else?”
Mira leans forward onto the table, making no effort to hide her disbelief. “As much as I believe you, I’m not leaving until I have what I want.”
“Aren’t you getting old for bounty hunting? You should really retire to a nice man to treat you.”
She pulls back from the table, ears raised, deliberately ignoring the last part. “First of all, I am retired. Second, Nix has a bounty? The hell he do to get caught?”
“Ah,” he waves her off, “don’t worry about it.” A tail twitches under the table. One of the coyotes’ hands disappears out of sight. “Go on before we make you. We don’t have anything for you.”
Mira just leans forward again, her own hand falling to her belt. “You’re so much more fun when your brother is here.”
The lizard sighs, gaze quickly scanning the bar behind Mira. “Let’s take this outside.” He gets up from the table, and the coyotes follow his motion, only to re-seat after Kix adds: “Alone.”
“I’m not fighting you for this information.” Mira says, unmoving from her chair.
The lizard pushes in his chair. “That’s not what this is! You’d kill me any day of the week.”
Mira’s annoyance only barely covers a smile as she sits there. “Hmph. How bad is it that you can’t let anyone hear?”
“Death penalty bad.” He says, monotone voice conveying nothing but truth.
Mira shakes her head, head dipped at the table as if it’d tell her everything. “Fine.” She gets up, wincing slightly, but she gets up. “We’ll do this by my wagon.” Not thinking, she heads straight for the door, not checking behind her to see Kix gesturing towards his companions.
The two of them round the corner into the alleyway, back into the now relative cold of the night. Even with the firelight of the market, the alley is dark and secretive in the various crevices and hiding spots. Before Mira turns around to face Kix, she reaches into her wagon and pulls out her battleaxe, grunting as she hoists it over her shoulder. Neither Kix nor Mira notice the deer watching from the market.
Kix steps back at the sight of the large axe, putting himself out of easy reach. “Woah, is that really necessary?”
Mira stares. “You tell me.”
“Uhg. Fine, alright.” Kix looks around, leaning over as if to look past Mira. “You alright? You look a little tired.”
“I’m fine. Just tell me what the bounty is and where I can find him.”
“Ah, okay, well…” His hand slips into his pocket, fingers fidgeting with whatever’s inside. “Murder and, um, class three blasphemy.”
Mira nods, though her eyes tighten on the shorter lizard. “About right.” She takes a step forward. “So, what’s the plan? You’re clearly stalling.”
Kix moves back several more steps at her minor approach. “What? No, it’s just a lot on my mind.. Yeah, no plan.” As the words exit his mouth, Burn lets out a huff from behind Mira, his hooves audibly shuffling in the sand.
Mira’s ear twitches, and she throws the ball of her weapon behind, eliciting a groan from the coyote, launching a knife from his hand. She adjusts her grip on the axe as she turns around, completely failing to process the other coyote’s polearm as it collides with her own, slipping it out of her grip into the sand.
Frustrated, her hand shifts to metal as she reaches for the sharp blade, pulling it against her now metal knee, snapping it off the handle with a sharp cracking noise. Fighting her blurry vision, she thrusts the blade back into the coyote stumbling towards her. The coyote immediately keels over and hits the ground, causing the other to step back in alarm.
Mira, though, can barely keep herself up. She falls, only saved by the wall next to her, and stumbles her way back towards the other coyote, eyes still full of annoyance. He takes another wary step back. Unarmed and fearing the same fate, he turns to run. Mira throws the blade at him with surprising accuracy considering her state, and he, too, hits the sandy floor.
“Hey!” Mira’s caught off guard by the sound of another scuffle directly behind her, and the sight she’s greeted to is Kix being held at knifepoint by Anais.
Mira shakes her head, trying to clear the exhaustion, but nothing comes of it. “The hell was that for?”
The lizard, still pushing and pulling against Anais’ grip, looks at Mira with widened eyes. “Hey- hey, I’m sure I can explain-!”
Mira crosses her arms across her chest, leaning against the wall for support. “Uh-huh, so there’s an explanation for trying to kill me?”
“N-Nix said to kill anyone that asked too much! I swear!”
She pushes off the wall, stepping closer to the lizard. “So I’m not allowed to ask about my own friend?”
He attempts to avoid her gaze. “I-”
She grabs his face and forces him to look into her eyes. “If you tell me everything you truly know, I may let you live.”
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 120 x 119px
File Size 118.1 kB
Comments