Silverleaf

Oh, when was the last time he got to go wild?

He flung himself in front of the enemies. The closest demons to him, one with a horn growing from its nose, and the other with elongated arms carrying the weight of its body, lunged at him without a thought.

These demons were smaller, maybe a meter in height. A smile spread over his face. He could take these.

He swung out, turning his sword flat, and smashing it across the face of the large armed demon. As the other one snarled a series of clicks at him, he spun around, grabbing its horn in one hand, and yanking to the left.

The body of the demon ragdolled at the force, and Mouse took the opportunity to slam it against the ground. Another demon jumped at him, but Taiga hurled his wooden sword against it, tossing it off course and into the field a couple meters away.

While Taiga pinned it down against the grass, Mouse stomped on the horn demon’s head. It gurgled clicks, and he raised his boot before stomping again, this time shifting his full weight into it.

Blue splattered against the grass and his boot. A few dying clicks whined, its small arms struggling in the grass before both slowed to a stop. The demon with long arms recoiled from the hit, and launched at him. Its claws sunk into his back, and a burning pain caved his knees.

“Mouse!” Taiga called as he grunted.

“I’m fine.” Mouse caught himself before hitting the ground, bringing a leg forward and suspending his weight between his thighs.

He reached back, but the demon twisted around, avoiding his hands. Mouse bit down through more burns as it shifted. Unable to reach it, he pounded his back against the ground, rolled off, spun around, and struck the wooden tip of his sword through the demon’s throat.

“Why are they here? There’s no corruption.” Taiga brought up his sword, blocking a demon as it jumped at him, “and aside from a few trees, they’re out in the open!”

The merchants had been truthful.

The demon caught onto Taiga’s sword, sinking its claws into the wood and splintering it before he swung it back, knocking the demon off. Mouse darted towards him, but a large shadow drew him back, and he whirled around.

Less than a dozen centimeters from him, a demon stood, reaching nearly two meters in height, with emptied eyes observing him, unmoving. It breathed, opening a slit across its body, and blue steam drafted from it like an uncovered oven left to burn.

“Um, well, hi.” He froze in place, testing to see if it would react to words. It remained still, without a single strand of fur moving. If not for its breath, Mouse would have considered it a statue.

“Mouse!” Taiga hollered, smacking a demon off him and running towards him, “it’s a Howler!

Although he wasn’t sure what that was, by the name, Mouse could hazard a guess. He backed off, but not before the creature’s jaw dropped to the bottom of its long body, and a thunder bellowed from it.

Vibrations shook him, melting strength from his arms and legs, pounding against his ears and drowning all other sound. His knees hit the ground. His vision blurred beyond use, and a long ring replaced the fumbled flood in his ears.

A shadow moved in front of him, though he couldn't tell what it was. Another demon? He raised his sword to it, though his arm never moved. His mind hazed. Thoughts clouded by shadows and pulsating tremors.

Blurs moved around him, and as thunder crashed through him, pounding him to the ground, it shredded the only thoughts he mustered. It calmed, and the thuds of Taiga’s boots in front of him startled his senses alert.

“Move!” The shout from Taiga brought him back into focus. Mouse forced his knees under him, grabbing his sword off the ground.

“On your left,” he breathed, pulling the handle to his stomach, point out, and rushed forward.

The blunt edge slammed into the Howler’s mouth, scratching against teeth. It hit flesh, and Mouse dug his feet down, forcing the sword forward despite resistance. The demon slammed its mouth shut. It struggled over the wood and metal, but refused to let up.

Taiga jammed his arm into the mouth, keeping it open even a little. The demon’s teeth crushed into his arm, and though Taiga made no sound, blood spilled, slopping to the ground.

Mouse pulled back, but Taiga glared at him, “kill it!”

Taiga gritted his teeth, and his arm hardened, thick bark forming over broken flesh. The bark shot upward, piercing through the Howler’s upper jaw and forcing it upward.

The demon roared through broken teeth and tried ripping back. Taiga held his ground, and Mouse used the extra space to charge forward. He punctured the back of the Howler’s throat, ground his feet, and twisted, cleaving through the demon’s esophagus.

“Back.” Waiting for the cue, Taiga retreated, hurtling out of the way as Mouse tore through the demon, slicing between the jaws and out through the side of its head.

The force, once freed, whirled him off his feet, and Mouse stumbled before catching himself. “Fuck those.”

He only had a moment to make sure the damn thing dropped before another demon’s croaking clicks grabbed his attention. They turned, spotting a demon looking over its four dead brethren, and two others a few meters away. The demon furthest back cocked its head back, with gurgled bubbles rising out of it.

“I thought there were six?” He asked, double-counting as he was known for mistakes.

“There were. The Howler wasn’t here when we arrived.” Taiga stood, cradling his arm and testing weight on it. “And how did you decap it with a plank of wood?”

He said nothing. Mouse hadn’t noticed the Howler until it was already upon him. Which, for his senses, was near impossible. He looked back at the Howler, checking it once more for movement.

“I don’t like those,” he murmured, then turned back towards the croaking one, “what’s it doing?”

Taiga shrugged, “calling for help, I think.”

Mouse readied his blue splattered sword, “You think??” he exasperated. “There’s more coming?”

“Relax,” Taiga shook his head, “there are no more. Either it’s bluffing, or its friend’s are ignoring the call.”

He paused, lowering his sword slightly, watching two of the three clicking, jutting their heads around. “You sure?”

Taiga let out half a laugh, “we’re in my domain,” he waved around them with his uninjured arm, across the fields and woods, “and the grass never lies.”

Mouse turned back to the three demons. The one in the back closed its mouth, standing tall on its hind legs, jerking around them, looking for, what Mouse assumed, were its allies. He smiled.

“So, this is it? Just these three?” A giddiness he hadn’t felt in a while filled him, and his grin widened.

Taiga glanced at him, then the demons, and sighed, “First, you can have two of them. Second, don’t scare the merchants.”

“Got it!” With permission, Mouse leapt forward, swinging his sword down between the trio, and making one jump out of the way and isolate itself.

One for Taiga.

Energy surged through his arms and legs as he pounded between the demons, making his two lurch back. One rebounded, leaping back at him in a surprise attack. Mouse clasped two hands on his sword, and batted it against the demon’s thin body.

It cried out in a series of clicks, almost animal-like. He twisted his body, swinging the sword around him, and tossed the demon off. The black, quilled body flew, he’d say at least ten meters, before flinging across the ground like skipping stones.

“Did you see that distance!” He laughed. Definitely a new record.

“Six meters.” Taiga sidestepped his demon, smacked it with his barked arm, then roundhouse kicked it.

“What?”

“It flew about six meters. Not a record.”

“It was more!” Mouse shouted back, turning to the last demon. At some point, it puffed its quills out, and began running towards him.

“Max of six meters.”

Several quills dug into him as he raised his arms to block. Mouse kicked it back, and it took the opportunity to run. He paused, watching it a moment, confused. His arm sizzled and burned. He took hold of two quills, and ripped them out, groaning. He grabbed hold of another two and yanked.

With one more, he jogged after the escaping demon. He tore the last quill out, ignored the burn, and pounded his boots into the ground. The demons were smaller than others he’d seen before. And they were certainly weaker than those attracted to the deaths of the Guardian Spirits.

He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he saw no point in not trying. He slipped a boot off and heaved it over his head. It flew, smashing against the ground about a meter to the left of the demon.

“Damn it!” He gave chase again, grabbing his boot as he passed. He decided he’d try once more. Mouse pulled his arm back, whirled around, and used the momentum to fling the boot straighter and faster.

The demon dropped as the boot hit squarely in its back. Laughing, Mouse ran up to it. It tried to scramble away, but Mouse stomped down on its back. “See, I like y’all. I don’t get in trouble for killing you. So thanks.”

The demon made a last few clicks, before Mouse pressed down on its throat, and it caved in. A squeal, then blue pooled beneath it.

“So, do you remember the part where I said, don’t scare the merchants?” Taiga crossed his arms, half to cover his injury, and shifted his weight.

“Yeah?” Mouse slid his boot back on. The claw marks on his back and the punctures from the quills were already a memory, healed without a trace.

Taiga nodded his head to the side, where the entire merchant group, in full view, still huddled on the side of the road. Mouse turned, realizing at some point they’d ran past the hill, and were again even with the road.

“Well, I uh,” he stammered, a dozen pairs of wide and frightened eyes on him, “I followed the first part.”

He nodded, clearing his throat when that didn’t seem to appease the merchants or Taiga. His friend sighed, walking over to him, “you okay? Laughing was a bit over the top.”

He considered before shrugging. “Just de-stressing, I think.”