Dawning Skye

463 Hunting Trip(Part Two)

***CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, AND SLIGHT GORE***

Holding up her arms, Sheri had instantly used her magic to make her and Marco disappear while a Barghest growled low as it emerged from the bush. It’s black fur made it hard to see in the twilight of the evening, but the murderous intent made it easy to find. As Sheri readied her magic to defend herself and her King, Draco and Benzo emerged from the other side of the Fire.

Benzo’s face drooped; “You called us over here for this mangy mutt? I didn’t think you were so weak, Sheri.”

She wanted to yell at him, but that would’ve given away her position. The Barghest was already sniffing the air in search of her and Marco, and it’s sense of smell wasn’t something to underestimate. It could see the other two, and was intelligent enough to know to look for the two who had vanished.

As it inched closer to them, Draco sighed as he said; “Don’t be an idiot, Benzo. King Marco’s safety comes first. She was right to protect him and call for us. You’re just irritated that it’s only a Barghest..”

‘Tch,” he huffed as he walked around to the side of the Fae; “So? I thought we were coming here to kill some Fae, but all we’ve seen so far is a dumb dog. I wanna let loose! I can’t do that against this stupid fucking thing!”

Draco chuckled, aggravating the Barghest into a growling fit as he replied; “You’re such a fucking child sometimes.. Alright: you can have it all to yourself if that’ll make you happy. Just quit your bitchin’ already.”

A giant smile spread across Benzo’s face; “Much appreciated! This won’t even be a warm up, but at least it’s better than listening to Norvis going off about Jeager again.”

Draco nodded, then went to stand next to where Marco and Sheri were. He had never cared one way or another about killing, but Benzo was different. He reveled in bloodshed and the pain of others, which Draco wrote off as his personality.

.....

Benzo hated all Fae, and had a particularly twisted habit of torturing them whenever he fought one. As he circled the Barghest, it roared in warning at him, which he comically did right back at it. As Draco stifled a snicker, Sheri kept her eyes locked on the creature..

The Barghest was massive, even for it’s type. It’s fangs were longer than it’s chin, and it’s bright red eyes shined as it dug it’s lengthy claws into the ground. Globs of drool dripped from it mouth as it snarled and lunged at Benzo, who easily dodged it as he laughed.

Unamused by his teasing, the Barghest snarled and lunged again. Instead of moving, Benzo planted his feet, and gripped the hilt of his sword. Right as the Barghest was about to reach him, Benzo pulled his sword out of it’s sheath at an upward angle. Slicing the Barghest as he pushed it away.

The Barghest howled in pain as it landed on it’s wounded leg, then roared like a demon before charging. Benzo grinned mischievously as he waited for the monster to be just a couple of feet from him, then sidestepped with a hop. As he twisted in the air, he brought his sword down on the Barghest’s neck, and mostly severed it’s head.

As it’s lifeless body crumpled, Benzo landed and looked down. A cold, heartless expression covered his face as he scoffed and said; “Dammit.. I didn’t think it’d get that slow from a little nick. I wanted to play with it a little bit longer.”

As Sheri dropped her barrier, Draco commented; “Maybe you should’ve waved a stick at it instead of a sword, then.”

Benzo tilted his head slightly; “What? No, I was aiming for it’s back. I wanted to see what it would do as I slowly took away it’s limbs..”

“I think it would’ve tried to run away after,” Marco commented as he walked over to look at the beast; “Animals only lash out if you back them into a corner. The trick is to let them Think that they can win..”

Draco and Benzo smiled at their King as Sheri stared at the Barghest. They were more beast than Fae, and naturally ferocious. She didn’t feel bad about it dying, but the way that Benzo acted had always rubbed her the wrong way..

‘If I had become a regular RMC mage, he’s the kind of scum that I would’ve put down..’

Without thinking, Sheri glared at him, making Benzo glare back as he said; “What’s your problem? Don’t like how I treated the doggo?”

“That thing is not a dog. You’re closer to one than he was,” Sheri replied with a grin.

“What’d you say bitch?” Benzo nearly yelled as he closed the gap between them.

Sheri’s grin widened; “You sit when told, you do tricks and play fetch, and you feel like you need to play.. Sounds like a big dumb dog to me.”

Benzo got in Sheri’s face; “And what the fuck are you, Bitch?! You come when our master calls, and you do more ‘fetching’ than any of us. Not to mention that you bend your as-”

“I’m not a dog like you,” Sheri’s eyes were hard as diamonds as she stared into Benzo’s; “I am a Lioness. I do as my King commands because I am loyal to the Crown! You only came on so you could do as you please without consequences. I know all about you, Benzo.. And I say this as a Fact, not a dig: You will Never beat Shasta.”

Benzo’s veins were bulging on the side of his neck and forehead as he stretched back his arm to hit Sheri. Before he could release, Marco shouted his name, making him freeze instantly. After putting his arm down, he turned to his King as yelled in a harsh tone; “Why should I?!”

Marco sent out a pulse of his magic, bringing Benzo to his knees from pain as he said; “Because I Said So. Should there be anything more?”

“...N-No, My King. I a-apologize for my b-behavior and t-tone. Please...Please make it s-stop..”

Benzo hadn’t felt the stinging pain from his shard in a long time. Marco rarely cared about his temper and bloodlust, but even Benzo knew that he had screwed up when he had yelled at his King. Being told at the start of his employment not to fight with the other guards on top of insulting his master by raising his voice to him..

‘I’m surprised that this was all he did to me.. Marco’s fuse is shorter than mine..’

As the thought crossed his mind, Benzo felt the intense pain receding. He rubbed the back of his neck, then bowed to his King as he apologized again for his behavior. Marco nodded his approval, then turned to face Draco.

“When will Norvis have the surveillance equipment up and running?”

“He said that he’ll have it all up and running by tomorrow night. Something about the idiot coachman not storing the bat thing right,” Draco replied as he stood at attention.

Marco quirked an eyebrow at him; “Battery, not bat.. I take it that means that we really will be camping out tonight. Is the rest set up yet?”

Draco nodded; “Everything that Your Majesty needs is ready. The only thing left is for us to set up our individual tents, and to cook dinner.”

Marco looked down at Benzo; “You and Sheri will be responsible for dinner tonight. If it turns out inedible, then I’ll punish both of you. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” they said together, then Marco turned to go check on Norvis’ progress.

As soon as their King was gone, Benzo stood up and stared daggers at Sheri as he stated; “I’ll get you back for that, Bitch. You just wait..”

Sheri returned his animosity as she replied; “You can try, but remember that your magic Requires me to be within reach of you.. Mine doesn’t.. If you’re not careful, Benzo: you might wake up in hell after drowning in your sleep.”

Rage flashed in his eyes as Benzo went to hit Sheri, but Draco caught his arm before he could connect the punch. As the two struggled against each other and started to bicker, Sheri grinned broadly at Benzo, then went to find ingredients for dinner. Once she was gone, Draco released Benzo, and lectured him about listening to his king.

Sheri could still faintly hear their voices as she went about collecting mushrooms and random edibles. She smiled to herself as she realized a way around Marco’s gag order.. ‘When I said I was loyal to the crown, I meant it. I wonder if Marco’s So sure that he’ll be the next king that he assumes that means him.. Well, he and the crown are two separate things to me..’

‘The crown is the kingdom in my eyes, so does that mean that his spell’s trigger parameters are based on his ideals, and not mine? I guess that makes sense: it’s not like he knew me before he stuck this fucking shard in my neck.. My magic is based upon my will, so why would his be different? Why did I assume that? Because of his type, or..’

As Sheri’s thoughts trailed off, she found mushrooms and wild onions. They had brought a sack of potatoes with them, so all they needed now was some meat. As Sheri made her way back to camp, she heard a branch snap behind her..

Instantly summoning her magic, Sheri released what she called a Water Blade attack. It was a technique that Skye had taught her, and was a very quick, yet effective attack to do when caught off guard. As she whipped around to see what she had hit, a cloud of black fog covered her..

“Fuck you, Ahriman! Don’t do shit like that! I could’ve kill you! And get your creepy dark shit off of me!”

She didn’t see him until Ahriman said; “No one can hurt me.. Only my Master can hurt me.. Why are you not with Master? You should be at Master’s side..”

“Ugh, we’re in camp, and the goof troop is all here. Plus, I was ordered to handle dinner with Benzo. So back off, asshole,” Sheri stated in a hard voice even though her knees were ready to give out.

She couldn’t actually see him through the smoke-like effects of his Dark magic, but Sheri could feel his eerie presence. None of the others could hold a candle to the level of leariness he incited, except Marco himself. As a silhouette of a tall, built man moved through the darkness all around her, they both heard Draco call out..

“Everyone needs to gather by Norvis! Our King wishes to go over the plan!”