Alcott and Merida rode the carriage, heading toward Oakedge in the middle of the night. “What are we expecting to fight?” She asked with a passive face, staring at the stars.
“Werewolves, I also expect some humans.” Alcott replied, “And now that I thought about it, there was a griffon problem around here four years ago.”
“Griffon? You mean griffin?”
“No, griffons are four-legged while griffins are two-legged.” Alcott looked at her, “Griffons are far more dangerous than griffins.” Alcott smiled, “I leave those idiots to you.”
“What are you talking about,”
PEW! From the dark, an arrow flew toward Merida’s head. CLANG! With a swift swing, she deflected it. “Bandits?”
“We are asking for it when traveling at night.” Alcott smiled, “Deal with them on your own. I want to see what you can do.”
Thud! Merida leaped from the carriage, holding her long blade to the side. “A falchion longer than your body. Doesn’t it flop around?” Alcott asked, staring at her sword.
“I spent three platinum coins to get a rigid one.” Merida replied, “Reach is important.” Thud! She jumped, pulling her sword back and staring at the darkness where the bandits were coming out.
TING! The moment her foot touched the ground again, her body sprung forward, swinging the long sword like a flash. CLING! One of the bandits leaped back to avoid the hit, but it was useless when her blade was almost three times longer than regular.
The bandit and two others fell headless. “My skill with the sword is like any other swordsman. I’m not that special.” Merida said, looking at Alcott, “My weapon is the core of what makes me strong.”
“I see. A light, long weapon allows you to increase your reach. And since the blade is like that, the speed of the tip will be several times the speed of your hand swing, making it a pain to dodge.” Alcott smiled, “But, can you fight without a weapon?”
“Like any fighter, I don’t think I will do better than others in that department,” Merida replied.
After a few minutes, Merida had eradicated all the bandits, and Alcott clapped, “I saw you having trouble fighting between the trees. You better get a shorter weapon as a backup.”
CRACK! Alcott leaped from the carriage, “Arad is someone I like, and the guild is looking forward to his future. Can I teach you a small lesson to help you?”
“A lesson? Like what?” Merida stared at him with a puzzled face.
“Try killing me, and don’t hold back.”
Merida smiled, “Simple enough.” She pulled her sword back, blitzing toward him with a slash at the neck.
CRACK! Alcott took a long step forward, closing the distance between him and her in the blink of an eye. “What?” Merida gasped, trying to pull her sword, but its back edge smacked into Alcott’s back.
“This is your weakness. Close range.” Alcott said with a smile, swinging a fist at her.
Thud! Merida leaped back, just for him to close the distance again. “As long as I keep a close distance, you can’t use your weapon effectively, and you don’t even carry a dagger or a short sword.” Alcott stopped, “I have spare weapons in the carriage.”
“Is this?”
“Yeah. That’s the lesson.” Alcott walked toward the carriage, “Aella, who is with Arad, could probably kill you if she wanted.” Alcott stared at her with a smile, “Werewolves are smart enough to take advantage of this.”
Merida walked toward the carriage and picked a dagger, a hand crossbow, and a shortsword.
“Are you right-handed?” Alcott asked.
“Yes.”
“Then strap the shortsword to your right hip for a quick draw with your left hand.” Alcott stared at her.
“The dagger goes on your left him for a swift, reverse grip upper swing. But don’t fight with such a grip. It isn’t optimal.”
“Then what of the crossbow?” She stared at him. Alcott showed her his left hand, “Strap it like this and always keep it loaded.”
Merida nodded, “How much are those weapons? Adventurers don’t usually give anything for free, especially advice and skills.”
“All I want you to do is watch Arad’s back. You will be his comrade in arms, and I need you to be able to do your job.” Alcott replied with a smile.
“Caring about him a bit too much? Are you his father or something?” Merida stared at Alcott, “Manhandling werewolves is a stupid thing. Only you and Nina could be stupid enough to do it.”
“Any decent fighter or a barbarian should be able to wrestle a few smelly wet dogs,” Alcott replied, driving the carriage.
“Let’s hope they haven’t clashed with the werewolf yet,” Merdia said with a smile, “But I wouldn’t be surprised if Arad wrestled the thing.”
“It’s impossible with the one they are going to face.” Alcott replied, “the progenitor is intelligent and cunning. He might not even need to transform to win. He might even be a good person for all we know.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Werewolves who can control their transformation are called the alpha. They keep their personality but gain power on top of it.” Alcott replied.
“But to reach that stage, they must have killed hundreds if not thousands of people,” Merida replied.
“And they are forced to kill. The longer a werewolf stays without eating human flesh(If it was a human. Elves seek elf flesh), the more sanity he will lose.” Alcott explained, “People usually aim that hunger toward bandits and evil organizations to use their powers for good.”
“You seem to speak from experience.”
“I fought my share of them,” Alcott replied with a wry smile, unable to tell her he was both a vampire and a werewolf.
***
Arad slowly opened his eyes mid-night to see Aella hugging him half-naked. ^What is she doing?^ He thought, rolling to the side without waking her up.
A sharp pain coursed from his lower back up to his teeth, making it harder to breathe. “What happened?”
Aella woke up, staring at him with sleepy eyes, “Good morning,”
“It’s still midnight,” Arad replied with a smile.
“How is your back?” ｂｏ𝚟𝚕.
“My lower back is screaming. What happened?” Arad asked, lying on his back to relieve the pain.
“The griffon cracked your hip and lower spine. Lydia managed to heal you, but the pain will remain for a few hours.” Aella stared at him, “But she said that was just a guess. She had no idea what was beneath your skin,”
“So she is just assuming I shattered some bones.” Arad sighed.
“Lydia healed you. I can confirm that.” Aella smiled, “Your hips turned blue, and your skin started to get yellow. But right now, you look far better.”
Arad stared at the ceiling, “I see.” He looked at Aella, “What happened to the corpses?”
“We left them in the nest. Healing you took priority.” She replied.
“Good, I need to eat them.” Arad replied, smiling, “I need to focus on growing more.”
“Grow?”
“I’m a wyrmling. I need to reach the very young state.” Arad replied, hoping he could fly.
Aella hugged his side, “You’re a dragon, after all. I wonder how powerful you will be?”
“Enough to keep us safe.” Arad replied, “But there is something I wanted to ask.” He looked at her.
“What is it?”
“Why are you naked?” Arad asked, and Aella felt his hand squeezing her butt.
“Wanted to warm you up. Avoid poking your sensitive hips with any metal armor or the like.” She hugged his side, “Want to do something?”
“I want, but my hips are hurting enough that I can’t sleep,” Arad replied, pulling her closer. “Another time, then?”
“Soon,” Arad kissed her cheek, patting her back, “But are you sure the contract won’t fire?”
“It won’t as long as I accept,” Aella replied, sneaking her hand into his hips and causing him to flinch. “It’s painful. Please stop.” Arad gasped, feeling a spark up his spine.
Aella giggled, curling on his arm.
***
Jack and Lydia slept together. That was putting it lightly as Lydia slept on top of Jack, suffocating him.
Jack opened his eyes, hardly able to breathe. In the dark, Lydia’s chest sat on his face, blocking his nose and mouth. He opened his mouth, biting her nipple as hard as he could.
“AW!” Lydia cried, rolling the side, “What was that?”
“You move a lot!” Jack glared at her, “Last time you sat on my face, and today you’re trying to suffocate me,”
“What are you talking about?” Lydia glared at him, not knowing what happens when she was asleep.
“Your chest rests on my face, suffocating me.” Jack replied, “I bit you.”
“What did you do?” Lydia glared at him, curling closer, “Don’t go around biting a women’s chest like that.”
Jack glared at her for a moment, “You’re the one who started this, remember.” he replied, rushing forward to suck on her bosom.
Jack expected her to push him away, but Lydia did the opposite, hugging him harder. Her hand slowly crept to his jewels, “You’re such a kid.” She mumbled.