Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

“Sakura!”

“Where have you been?!”

“Hey Sanchez! Your woman’s here! Better hurry and go get her!”

“You coming out tonight?!”

“Sakura! Introduce me to your girl there!”

The demon stuck her arm far out and flicked her middle finger at a large, light-haired man who was leaning off the railing from the deck of one of the ships that were docked. “Get fucked, Giovanni!” she barked at him without even bothering the smitten sailor a glance. “You touch her, your hands are mine, and you still owe me five silver from last time!”

The docks were cramped and crowded with sailors and traders trying to finish up the last of their tasks for the day or make one more final attempt to bargain for the lowest prices for whatever occupied any of the innumerable crates and barrels that littered the area and were in a constant state of coming and going.

And the fox demon had come in hot, stalking her way through as if she owned the place, like everyone around was far beneath her. She composed herself in a way that Ren was very familiar with.

She had the control, all of it, and she knew it.

And so did the sailors who called out to her, each one vying for her attention, some lucky enough to get a response while all others were ignored. But they still tried, their voices lingering after her before being drowned out by those closer and louder.

The angel forced his eyes away from the captivating woman in front of him and set them on the girl behind him, the precious little thing skipping next to the stoic devil that she clung so tightly to.

“I told you!” Ivy beamed, her voice extra sweet. “They all love her.”

Ren turned back to the demon; her boots expertly weaving through the maze of people and cargo, her cherry hair flowing behind her, hips swaying to an irresistible rhythm.

Of course they did.

How could they not?

“Where’s Lore?” Sakura called out to a dwarf, his short, stocky body carrying a large barrel on each shoulder.

“On board.” His voice gruff but pleased to see the vixen. “You fighting tonight? There’s been a running pool waiting on you. I’ve got you down for eight. I could really use the coin.”

She waved him off as she turned to the large wooden ship, it’s bow in the form of a topless mermaid reaching her hands out towards the sky, trying to bring the setting sun into her arms. “Not tonight. I gotta be good.”

A deep chortle rumbled from his belly, a sound he wasn’t accustomed to making. “Since when?”

“Since I went and picked myself up another kid. Sorry, but you’re gonna have to find another source of income.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Lore! I’m back! Get your ass down here!”

The stomping across the deck was thunderous and quick as the man she had called for peered over and down at the group. “Sakura!” he boomed. “It’s about time! I’ll be down in a minute.”

Every muscle in Ren’s body tightened, his guts twisting to the point he felt ill. “An ogre,” he mumbled pitifully, feeling like such a fool. “Lore’s an ogre.” He could barely believe it. All that time spent complaining after the woman as his imagination ran wild over this mystery man with the caramels, and this is what it all amounted to. It was all so anticlimactic, and he wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or disappointed.

“I wouldn’t be so quick to let my guard down if I were you, Ren.” The woman smirked, satisfied with her impeccable deception of the man. It really was too easy, like shooting fish in a barrel. “Maybe I like my men to be twice my size and five times my weight and not so itty bitty like a certain someone.” She reached up and patted his cheek roughly with a teasing pucker to her lips as he glared mercilessly at her, his tolerance to her tricks reaching closer to its limits.

Ivy grabbed the angel’s wrist and tugged gently, gaining his attention. “He’s just Okag’s brother,” she informed, feeling sorry for him. “He’s been giving Sakura information for years. There really isn’t anything more than that going on.”

The dark-haired man felt like ripping out every last strand on his head. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“You didn’t ask me.” As if the answer was obvious.

The ogre grabbed onto a rope and slid down from the ship and onto the dock, walking towards them. His dark eyes brightened as he looked past the demon and at the girl who donned a bright and colorful, wispy dress, her enchanting face and figure on full display. “Ivy!”

The girl released Zero and ran to Lore, the colossal man grabbing her and tossing her high into the air before catching her and holding her in the crook of his dark sandy-toned arm like a child.

“Where’s your cloak?” he asked, amazed to be seeing her without it.

“I don’t need it!” she gushed, hugging him around his thick neck. “As long as I’m with Zero.”

“Zero?” Lore looked at her expectantly as the girl cupped her hands around his ear and whispered her secrets. He listened closely, his eyes on the hooded boy, his face morphing with different emotions as he nodded and made the appropriate noises to the girl’s story. When she finished, he set her down next to the devil, looking down at him as he continued to stare at the ground. “So, you’re Zero. Raise your head. Let me see them.”

“It’s okay,” Ivy urged softly, taking his arm back into her embrace and gazing up at him with the loveliest of smiles. “Lore is very nice. You’ll like him.”

Zero had been told to keep his head down, but if Ivy trusted Lore, then he would, too.

The devil raised his head, watching as feet turned to legs, turned to torso, until stopping at his face, Zero’s neck craned back to look at the ogre who stood well over a meter taller than himself. Lore pinched the back of his hood and pulled it off, taking a good look at the boy he’d just been told all about.

“They sure are red,” the ogre said quietly, gulping down the dread that tinged his voice before raising it back to normal. “But that face of yours sure looks like it belongs to an angel. If Ivy and Sakura have no issues with you, then I don’t either. You should keep the hood on just in case, but you don’t have to always look down. Angels don’t normally come down here, and most people won’t even notice you. Too busy with their own problems to worry about anyone else. If any of them do, I’ll deal with them.” He gave him a friendly smile. “I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be.”

Zero nodded, pulling the hood back on. Lore waited for the boy to say something, but he never did, just looked back at him in silence.

“Do you know how to talk?” he finally asked.

The boy gave another nod. “I do.”

“You be nice to him,” Sakura warned as she smacked the back of her hand against the ogre’s arm and he quickly pulled it away, rubbing at the spot. “He’s quiet, so this is about what you’ll get from him. Don’t you go giving him a hard time.”

“You’re one mean woman, you know that?”

“Well, don’t be a weak man and we won’t have problems, now will we?”

“There’s always a problem when you’re around.” Lore grinned playfully at the ornery demon who stuck her tongue out in response before turning back to the devil, looking to push his luck. “So what do you like about my little Ivy?”

“Everything,” Zero told him just as soon as the question had left the man’s mouth, the answer making the girl’s face burn red as she quickly dropped her head and stared down at her feet.

A booming laugh erupted from the ogre as he slapped Zero’s back, the boy nearly buckling under the weight. “That’s a good answer! You certainly aren’t shy about it, are ya?”

“Alright, that’s enough. Leave them alone. Do you have anything for me?” Sakura asked, drawing Lore’s attention back to her.

“I might, but you know what you need to do if you want to find out and nothing until then.”

One corner of the demon’s lips curved up following the raise of her brow. “You sure drive a hard bargain. Are you paying?”

The ogre chuckled. “I always do. Not like you ever have coin.” He glanced over at the angel, looking him up and down. “I think it’s safe to assume you’re Ren?”

The man smiled and raised his hand in greeting. “Hi.”

“So Sakura finally got her claws in you and dragged you back kicking and screaming, huh?”

“Something like that.”

Lore nodded slowly, carefully observing the dark-haired man. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Probably enough to last me a lifetime.”

Ren’s smile got wider, cockier, so sure of himself. “Sakura talked about me all the time, huh? Sounds about right.”

Lore shook his head, dashing the angel’s illusions. “No, hardly anything from Sakura. What I know about you is from everyone else, and there is a lot about you going around in this city. Has been for a long time.”

“Ah. So you know how well received I am around here.”

“You’re definitely something around here.” Lore looked over into the horizon, the sun beginning to fall past the waves. “We should probably get going. We’re wasting time just standing around here making small talk.” He turned and began making his way down the dock, the group following after. The ogre looked back at the two men, giving them a toothy grin. “Let’s see if you two can keep up.”