“Cocky son of a bitch, ain’t he?”
SIMPLE PLEASURES
Tyler Martin
prompt: “do you quarrel, sir?”
There were only four of them. It was almost enough to make him smile. And just for a moment, a ghostly impression of one did manage to find its way onto his face.
They were all mortal, all brandished some kind of crude weapon most likely crafted from whatever materials they had found laying around, and at least one of them was in less than perfect condition; he’d approached with a slight limp in his left leg.
Tyler Martin had an eye for detail. It had made him a good fighter, and a good scout, and among other skills, it was one of his more favourable traits, especially when it came to combat. He could spot an opponent’s weakness, and abuse it, before the enemy even had a chance to cover it. He loved naivety sometimes… overconfidence too.
The tallest of the four was perhaps an inch or two above Tyler himself, but the scruffy wolf was in no way bothered or intimidated by that fact. Height wasn’t important, and he was actually a firm believer in the saying ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall’. He’d topple this guy like a tower of blocks. The anticipation was enough to make his fingers tingle, and he smirked again.
“Cocky son of a bitch, ain’t he?” the mortal said, his dark eyes looking Tyler up and down. “Well, you got somethin’ to say?” He gave a grin that showed yellowed teeth. “Say it.”
Tyler tilted his head, considering his response, every nerve in his body electrified. The moment was close… teetering on the edge. “Do you quarrel, sir?”
The man blinked, and Tyler’s wolf howled in amusement. “… What?”
“Do you quarrel, sir?” came the calm repetition, the words rolling smoothly off the werewolf’s tongue.
“Dude, he’s crazy.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Here we go.
The tall man had given a sloppy signal, and the four had lunged. Seconds before he moved, Tyler sighed. “Humans…” And then he was in action, his body rolling and swinging, and the glorious melody of fists connecting with flesh, cracking bone and grunts of pain filled his ears. He managed to keep his grin from surfacing as he flipped and rocked back and forth, never feeling a hit land after a sloppy swing, and even as he spun around to kick out that same weak knee from before, he gave a mental chuckle.
Humans could be so entertaining. He almost felt sorry for them sometimes.
Almost…