God save the outcast

[violetfoxeyes]

Title: God Save the outcast
Author: Violetfoxeyes
Genra: Fantasy/Adventure
Rating: g to r in areas
Summery:
Heaven is a man without a tribe and suddenly finds himself in a quest that really shoved itself in his lap, dodging death and love from people and creatures he never really met and his best friend is a stone name Sid. Join the madness.

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A little lady-bag fluttered in the air over a green field of yellow and blue flowers. A little breeze guided the little buzzing transparent wings a bit before the little black-spotted round insect dropped onto the soft canary petal. Eight little black legs crawled into the basin of the little flower. Suddenly the flower begin to shake as the earth it lived on quaked. The little lady-bug quickly rose to the air and fluttered away as a foot crashed down on the flower.

Five people, four men and one woman, all fire-haired and dressed in cotton-white shorts and shirts, ran in panic as a giant monster chased them down. The monster had no real name, well no name that can be pronounce in voice of man. It had a long golden-brown scaly neck with the head of a snake with blood red eyes with glowing green centers, the furry body of a grizzly bear and long scaly tail with a curved deadly blade at the end.

The long scaly head snapped its bone-crushing jaws at each runner, not really picky of who the long sharp as knives teeth would grab as long it would get someone. Screams of pain rang out through the air, causing skittish birds to take to the air in a panic as the large man of the group was picked up around the waist, thrown to the ground and ripped apart.

The remaining four members cried for their fallen bother but pushed to run faster when the sounds of bone-crushing and flesh ripping came to a stop and the monster was back to chasing them down. It had a purpose to kill off the last of the Fire Tribe and take the tribe’s treasure back to its master. It will not stop till all of its objectives. So far it had killed over twenty members of the once great tribe from the Lava Mountains in the east. Now it was down to four.

The only woman in the group carried the tribe’s treasure in a red pack against her chest. A large egg-like stone with little bloodstone gems in swirling patterns all around it, It was wrapped up in many different color of cloths to keep it safe inside the red pack. The three men didn’t really want to die but they knew in their heart if the stone was taken to the monster’s master, the death of their tribe will be only the first.

In a silent agreement and nods from all three, the fire-haired men stopped running and pulled out their pistils and shot at the beast. Giving their sister a chance to make into the deep forest beyond this green field of yellow and blue flowers.

The fire-haired woman skidded and then fell to the earth, skinning her left thigh and calf. She left herself up with a single arm as the other kept the pack against her chest. Just in time to see the curved blade of the monster’s tail going into the chest of one of her brothers and the jaws snapping off the head of the other. The remaining man turned his head over to her and yelled at her to keep running, to protect the stone. With tears running down her fair face, she picked herself up and hugged her precious cargo against her chest and ran into the forest.

The monster follow quickly as soon as the curved blade of its tail end slice apart the last man of the Fire Tribe.
_____

It was quite nice to be on one’s own. Heaven thought to himself as he sat on an fallen tree trunk. He chewed on a piece of twig as violet eyes lazily watched a butterfly fluttered past. A light amber colored wide brimmed hat lay onto of greasy dark honey hair with black tips. The young man wore deerskin brown breeches with dark green open neck vest, since it was a bit hot that day. His long dark brown coat lay over his lather pack with his rifle sitting on top and his boots on either side of the pack. The jaguar spot markings on his right shoulder and in a ring around his left bicep marked him as a member of the Jaguar Tribe but the green tattoo under his lip and over his chin marked him as outcast in the eyes of all of the Cat Tribes.

So if he didn’t really like being on his own, he had no choice to be so. Any of the sub-groups of the Cat Tribes would not let him blend in with their people. And he doubted that any of the other tribes would let him join them anyway. The members of the Cat Tribe tend to be viewed by others as well in their words, too wild and too strange to really understand. So to be labeled as an outcast by that grouping of tribes, it would say to others that you were really not to be trusted.

Well, screw everyone and their black-toothed granny. This little kitty don’t need anyone but his rifle and knives. And to stick it to them all, he’ll journey to the canyons of his Fore-cats and find their treasure and use it to buy himself a kingdom and kicked everyone out. Just him and lovely thick-reared slaves. Heaven grinned lechery at that thought. Make them all wear just golden collars. Just golden collars.

A monstrous roar bought the young man out his thoughts and made him move to get his boots back on and grabbing his rifle. He checked the chamber for ammo and saw only one bullet was loaded in. He didn’t have time to load in more when he was suddenly on his back, over the fallen tree trunk with a soft body of a woman on top.

“Wha-?” His question was cut-off short as the fire-haired woman got to her feet and pulled him up to his.

“RUN!” She ordered and they did. Heaven’s hand gripped tightly to the woman’s hand as they ran as tree fell with groans as the snake-head monster plowed against them as it chased the two people down.

The outcast looked over his shoulder and his violet eyes grew wide in fear. He tripped over a root of an oak tree and caused them both to fell hard to the ground. He winced as he tried to move his ankle, feeling it swelling up inside his boot. The woman was looking around in desperation and saw a large hole in a tree not too far away. She grabbed the young man and pulled him over to it. Ignoring his cries of pain as she shoved him inside and pushed her red pack against his chest and hands.

“Whatever you do, don’t let anyone have the stone.” In her voice, he felt fear and pain and in her eyes, a glint of something to made him nodded his head in agreement to her order. He wrapped his hands around the bag before she grabbed it again. She pulled out the cargo that was inside and pushed it against him before dropping a huge rock inside and ran off in the direction across from his hiding spot.

Heaven shivered and closed his eyes as he soon heard the screams of pain and the roar from the monster. He hugged the wrapped up stone against his chest and bowed his head.

“Whatever I do, I will not let anyone have it.” He whispered to the spirit of the fallen woman. Unknowing that the souls of the fallen fire tribe were listening to his words and preyed that he fared better then they did in their quest.

__________

A pygmy black tipped long-furred deer gently trotted along the forest floor. It stopped a few times to nibbled on the little moss growth on the low end of trees. Then it spotted a little brook and trotted up to the water’s edge and lowered its head down to lap up some of the refreshing cool water.

A iron neck of a rifle poked out from inside of a light green bush with little red berries among its leaves. A calloused hand cocked the rifle slowly and softly with slow exhaled of breath. A index finger squeezed slowly on the trigger as the buck lined up in view. A loud bang rang through out the atmosphere then a thug. The deer lay dead on the water edge as Heaven walked out of the bush with a happy grin on his face.

“See, now that pretty soft fur will help bring in some of the good stuff like bullets and maybe a pretty new ring.” He spoke to his new friend, the large stone that lay under his spare clothes and wrapped up food and ammo in his pack. He called it Sid.

“Now, Sid.” He pulled off his long and large coat and folded it to sit on the ground as he sat on his knees. He lay his pack on the coat and pulled out his knives. “The key thing to remember is to get as less blood on the pelt as possible. Save on the cleaning.” He gently pulled out a piece of cloth to use as a head scarf to keep his hair out of his face as he worked.

Heaven skinned the deer slowly and gently, blood spilling into the water as the outcast worked. Skilled fingers peeled off the pelt as he sliced it off of the meat. he lay it out on the fur side and worked on cutting up the meat into sections and pulling out the bones and organs. He cleaned off the knife and went on to wash the pelt, cleaning it before laying it out on a large slab of rock.

“Well, that was fun and now we have deer for dinner.” he smiled as he peeled off his sweaty and bloody vest and breeches to wash in the brook as well. “Right after I wash my clothes, I’ll get us some veggies and berries and wood for the fire.” he smiled at his pack as he washed the soiled clothing in the cool water. Then laid them out on the rock next to the drying deer pelt.

The blond outcast pulled out a pair of tattered dark blue breeches and long-sleeve pale red tunic with a laced up front that he left undone. Barefooted he told Sid to watch over things as he went out to pick up the wood for the cooking fire and small amount of wild carrots. He found nothing else to add to the small dinner so he went back to the brook.

He built a small cooking fire and laying out two slabs of meat on his single piece of cookery , a iron pan and cut up circle pieces of carrot to lay around the slabs of meat. As the food cooked, Heaven cut up the meat a bit more into travelable pieces. He threw the organs out into the bushes for the wildlife to feast upon. Then he wrapped up the bones, knowing that some traders might barter for them at some markets.

Laying against the pack, the jaguar outcast picked and ate his food with his fingers. The sun was now lowering into the hills and mountains in the distance by this time and cluster of twinkling stars were now littering the sky.

“You know, Sid. It’s just so peaceful without being around so many people. So many rules and manners to worry about.” He chewed on some carrot and meat. “I like it when its just you and me, my friend.” he sighed as he finished his dinner.

After the fire slowly burned out, Heaven lay down using his coat as a pillow. He closed his violet eyes and curled up to sleep.

Nightmares clouded his sleeping mind and a loud screeching sound awoke the outcast out of the troubled sleep. He sat up panting and wiping the night sweat from his face by the sleeve of his shirt. “Come on, Sid. Time to get going.” He packed up his things and pulled on his coat and hat. With his rifle in his hands and the pack on his back, Heaven walked away from the rumbling brook.

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A deep groove in the dirt road, juggled the lone occupant inside the creaking coach around to wakefulness. He groaned as he rubbed the sore in his neck and groaned even more audibly as long bony fingers pushed out the little wooden window, getting a full hit of sunlight in his squinty green eyes.

“Damn sunlight. Damn Coach. Damn everything.” Kenneth muttered as he felt around on his soft fox fur blanket for his golden framed eyeglasses. He muttered more about evil elusion glasses that got a screw loose anyway but he can’t afford to get them fix anyway cause his employer was a cheap old man that needed to die.

With a ‘Ah-ha!’ he held up his glasses like a great find but before he can get them onto his long pointed nose, the coach came to a sudden stop causing him to fall forward onto the floor.

“What the freaking-” He silenced himself and hid under his blanket as the sound of gunshots filled the outside air. The brunet whimpered as bullets were smashing though the oak walls of the old coach. He covered his head with his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. Praying to whoever would listen that he wouldn’t be killed or worse taken by the bandits and used as a slave or even more worse a sex slave and forced to wear sheer and shiny pants and shirts and have his navel pierced with a shiny gold barbell with a emerald in the center to match his beautiful green eyes.

All thoughts creased to stop when the coach’s door was thrown opened. Kenneth quickly grabbed the nearest object which was his quill pen. He and the balding and raggedy looking bandit both looked at the choice of defensive weapon that the clerk had chosen.

Kenneth shrugged and held it out like a knife. The bandit laughed and made to grab him but a loud gunshot caused him to stop. He tried to grab the small man again but was stopped by another sound of a rifle going off. Both men listen to two more rifle shots before the clerk let out a shrill scream as the bandit’s head now supported a large bloody hole and little bits of grey matter landed on his clear soft face.

He stopped screaming after a few minutes and panted as he tried to connect the events that were happening to his now slow-moving mind. When he gotten to the part where he had brain matter splattered on his cheek, he let out another scream and wiped his face cleaned with his long blue jacket sleeve with tiny whimpers.

The brunet curled up under his soft fox fur blanket and locked up his arms around his legs as he worked on his breathing. This was not happening. This was suppose to be an easy swap of records between the two high-ranking merchants on this side of the Whispering Forest. Two days to get to the other Merchant’s house and two days to get back. His employer even let him have his coach and three of his personal guards.

He let out a soft whimper when the dead bandit fell off to the dirt road below. He dared to peek open one teary green eye and breathed heavy as it connected with a pair of vibrate violet eyes looking through wisps of greasy blond hair. Both men looked at each other before Kenneth jumped as the man dropped a large leather pack on the coach’s bench and ducked down to rummage through the dead bandit’s pockets.

“I have no money to give you.” He blurted out, moving to clutch his pen and held it out to stab if need to. “Please just take what you want and leave me be!” He closed his eyes again. Once more thinking he will be a sex slave in sheer and shiny pants and the navel bar bell.

“These men are from the Weasel Tribe. Second team today I caught rubbing coaches.” Kenneth blinked at the words, wondering when the enslavement was going to begin cause he has to have food before noon or his stomach will be cranky for rest of the day.

“They must be desperate for something.” The man kept mumbling as he slipped the dead man’s gun belt around his own waist. Adding onto the other belt he just freed from another dead weasel “I guess you don’t know what they’re looking for, uh Sid?” He chuckled.

“My name is Kenneth not Sid and I’m lousy at…servicing. People you know like that.” The brunet mumbled the last of his words as he wrapped up tightly in his blanket like a shield. Both men looked at each other again, owlishly this time.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Kenny. I was talking to Sid and you’re not really my type?” Heaven blinked confusingly at the other man, thinking he may need his new set of guns sooner then he thought.

“It’s Kenn-neth.” He sounded out his name in correction. “And why aren’t your type. I got soft skin, curvy body for a man. I can full plump-” he shut his mouth with a squeak when they both heard a gun cocking behind the blond man.

Heaven slowly placed a finger against his pale lips and Kenneth nodded in silent agreement as the other man turned around with his hands up against his chest in surrender. It would turned out he had messed one.

The weasel grinned, showing four missing gaps in his smile as he held the rifle, pointing the busy end for the jaguar’s chest. “You killed my kin, friend. And robbed them too.” He swing the barrel at the ground at the man’s feet to let out a warning shot as Heaven tried to move for his belt. “Try it and I’ll put a hole in your stomach.”

The bandit walked slowly toward to the outcast, spurs jiggling at each step. Violet eyes narrowed and fingers bended as he kept his hands up at chest level. The clerk behind him held his breath and covered his mouth when he thought he was making too loud of a noise. Heaven moved slowly to stand between the coach’s opening and the weasel.

“I know you, I know what you are.” The bandit grinned his unholy smile. “Only certain tribes do one hit-one kill like you just did to my kin. Take your coat off there, friend.” he sneered at the word ‘friend’.

Keeping his eyes on the rodent before him, Heaven slide his long brown coat off slowly showing his spotted shoulder to the world. The coat laid in the crease of his elbows as he put his hands back up in surrounded. The brunet’s frighten eyes widen at the hidden gun peeking from above the coat on the man’s back. He slowly crawled forward.

“Jaguar. Thinking they’re top shit. Well looky here , I get to kill one and brag all about it.” The weasel man laughed as he slammed the butt of his rifle against the man’s jaw. The blond went to the side with a gritted groan and the weasel only had time to let out a ‘huh?’ as beady eyes saw the barrel of a pistil aimed at him before the bullet went through his neck.

Kenneth panted, gasping like a fish as the gun lay smoking in his hands as the bandit crumpled to the ground, choking on the blood flowing out of his throat. Heaven spit out a small spat of blood onto the dying man from biting his lip from the hit of the rifle and rubbed the angry bruise that now was forming on his freckled jaw.

He pulled his coat back onto his shoulders and re-took his pistil and placed it back on its holder on the back of his belt. He looked at the frighten man with concern and gently lay his hand on his shoulder. Kenneth fell apart, crumbling and crying into his hands.

“Well Sid, look at this mess.”

“IM NOT SID!”

______________

After a good hour of crying, Kenneth emerged with his glasses hanging from the tip of his pointed nose, from the coach and wobbled a bit as he walked toward the small fire where the blond man was sitting at, cooking a bit of meat and root for lunch. The violet eyed man looked up before standing up to let him have room on the make-shift bench of a log. Kenneth slump down on it and lowered his head as he took the pan and picked at the cooked deer meat with the tips of his index and middle finger.

“Everyone in your group is dead. The horse were cut from the coach and ran off during the fight.” Heaven reported as he grabbed his share and kept it in his hand as he ate.

The brunet nodded and nibbled a bit at the root. “I have to get to town and send word to my employer about what happen. He’ll send someone for me.” His voice was hoarse from crying and felt so tired.

Heaven wiggled his lips a bit and looked at his own pack for advised and sighed, shaking his head. Sid was right. It would lay heavy on his conscience if something were happen to the man were he to leave him on his own now and not take him to town. He was going there anyway to trade his furs and bones for supplies.

“Well eat up, I’ll get you to town once we cleared the area of the bodies and shit.” Heaven couched down next to his pack, the meat hanging from his teeth.

Kenneth nodded and muttered a thank you before putting some deer inside his mouth. His day can’t get any worse then this.
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Five years.

It took five years of studying and research to find out that in order to get what he wanted was to obtain the Fire Tribe’s most precious treasure. L’uovo di pietra. A beautiful stone egg with bloodstones placed upon it in a swirling pattern. He had sent out his monstrous minions out to attain the stone, killing off the members of the usual large tribe was un-fortunate bonus. Well better then having a bunch of red-haired fire-freaks coming into his house and demanding that he gave their treasure back. Which can’t happen since according to a few books, he need to break the stone in order for the remedy to work.

So it was better for all if his monsters killed off the Fire Tribe. Right now, he was pondering about killing off his minions and start over with slightly smarter hench beasts as he stared down at the creatures before him. All five of them looking scared and the scientist actually thought he heard Norman whimpering. Spineless, he snorted as his fingers kept tapping on the wooden armrest of his rather plush purple chair.

He wasn’t a big man, never had been. Topping off at five feet two with spiky sandy brown hair and pale blue eyes, Major had a wire-like body that he liked to hide under bulky clothing and chains to look tougher. His father, who was a giant of a man, having a parent from the Earth Tribe and the Crocodile Tribe, always said that people will not respect or feared a man who’s as tiny as he was. He chuckled at the thought that of all of his five brothers and three sisters, the scientist was the most successful. And to honor his father, he turned him a lovely komodo dragon with large spikes down his back but only two legs since he didn’t want the old man leaving on him.

With that line of thinking, did he remember to feed the old dragon? He snapped his fingers and a little troll wadded up with a bowed head. “Make sure that my father gets something to eat.” The troll nodded and wobbled away.

Major smiled, the monsters all whimpered this time. They knew smiling is bad. Smiling mean harmful ‘improvements’ in their bodies.

“Sir?” The monsters dared to look as the tall man walked slowly up to their master. They slowly crawled or in Lolly’s case, slithered back away.

“Aw Zane. My pretty Zane.” Major smiled happily at his favorite servant. He reached into the glossy black hair as the man sat upon one knee at the side of his right leg. “They disappoint me, pretty one.” The hand brushed down the cheek, feeling the light fuzz of beard before tracing finger tips upon the orange red lips.

The black swan brushed his lips against the fingers in pure devoting love. His dark eyes shined up at the pale blue. Zane moved to lay his cheek on the older man’s leg which calmed him down from his unhappy thoughts about the failures of his monsters.

“They failed me. They didn’t get me my stone.” He pouted and glared at the five giant creatures. They all tucked the heads lower in shame.

“I’ll get you your stone, Lord of my heart.” The dark man brushed his lips against the thigh. The scientist purred happily and pleased.

“Yes, but first an afternoon delight.” The pale blue eyes sparkled in pure lust. Zane nodded with a grin and stood up. Then he gathered the chuckling scientist into his big arms and carried him off to the room behind the laboratory.

The five monsters crawled or slithered away into their own lairs, escaping their fate once more. Zane was good for them as for their master. He kept the attention off of them when they failed in an assignment.

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The grass felt cool and nice. The wind carry a soft breeze from the west to cool off the sun heated skin. Arms and legs spread out, fingers in the dirt and greasy blond hair fan out. The only way to make this perfect was to shoot the mouth off of the jaguar’s current pest. In the form of Kenneth Hennwick.

For a day straight, it was nothing pure bellyaching and bitching about everything. From blisters on the feet from walking to dying from sun exposure. Right now it was how people can die from bathing in lakes. Something about tiny fish can enter into through the hole in the rear and lay millions of eggs and the babies can enter into the bloodstream and well he drifted off after that.

Sid said that he would feel guilty if they just sneak off as the brunet’s back was turned. Damn stupid piece of rock. Why was he friends with Sid again? He growled low and turned to lay on his stomach, folding his hands under his chin and glared into the glistering lake.

“Heav-ven!” The annoying man shouted from the left of him, causing the cat to growl more. “You need to bathe too, the flies are dying around you.”

The violet eyes rolled and fingers twitched into the dirt to keep from grabbing a gun or knife and just throw it at that damn mouth. He sighed and sat up, rubbing his hand into the greasy hair. Well, he did need to wash his hair. It was getting hard to thread his his fingers through it. He stripped out of his long once white but now brown vest and blue tattered breeches, leaving them where they fell.

The jaguar drove into the water and laughed as he popped out of the water, having splashed against the fail man. He wasn’t worried that he was pleased at making the other screamed in a shrilly way. He was due for something like that after the day he had.

He just wasn’t expecting to be hit in the nose with a bottle when he stood up in the crystal brown water. Sneering, Heaven rubbed at his sore nose and looked down at the bottle. He took a sniff at it and was very pleased at the small. He shrugged his spotted shoulders and squirted some of the soapy liquid into his hand.

Kenneth, on the other hand, just was busy staring at the amount of black rosette shaped spots on the thin but muscular body. They were all over one hip like the right shoulder and up and down the spine and two small clusters over each cheek. He blushed and quickly turned around. Something hit him squared in the back and looked down just in time to see his soap bottle floating on the water’s surface.

He coughed and quickly grabbed it on his way out of the lake. The brunet kept his green eyes on his pack as he put the bottle inside it and pulled out a clean light green tunic with flower pattern around the trim of the sleeve and bottom hem, slipped it on and breeches darker shade of green and pulled them on too.

The brunet was about to pull on a boot when he felt the sharp prick of a knife against his back. He let out a whimper and held his hand up. Why? Why do people always want to rob him?

“My fine spotted friend there?” An arm snaked around the brunet’s slender waist to held his back against a broad chest. Heaven jerked his head and lower those vibrate purple eyes of his. “Get on and out of there, please or I’ll make your friend lifeless under the belt.” Kenneth squealed softly as he felt the knife against his naughty place.

The bandit whistled as they both watched the sun shined on the glistering wet body of the man as he walked slowly of the water, hands held up in surrender. His lips already quivering as the cool breeze hit his wet body.

“Now I’m not a big fan of the male body, even when it belonged to a member of the cat tribe.” The man smiled as his copper-red hair flow in the breeze along with the many fringes of his coat and breeches. “But you’re mighty pretty for a fella.”

Heaven snarled. “Snake.” Like it was a cursed word as he saw the telltale markings of black, white and red along the brow and down the flat nose and over the high cheek bones.

The amber eyes of the copperhead smirked at the angry violet eyes. And poor Kenneth felt his heart beating too fast that he was sure that it would bust out his chest.
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From birth till about here where he was holding a what seems to be rather bony little man, Netsuke has be hustling to get by. Well that wasn’t very true, he had a very devoting mother who had very devoting lovers that bought him presents as well. It was when he turned sixteen of age that he started to really hustle. The death of his mother took away the men that gave them presents.

So at age of twenty-six, ten years later, the snake had reached to the point of stealing from pretty boys on a swimming trip. So far on his first try, he thought he was doing good. The kitty in front of him still was glaring at him, baring his teeth as well but hasn’t grabbed for anything that could hurt him. Yet.

“You look cold, my friend.” The red-head smiled and leaned in to whispered in the trembling captive‘s ear. “My little friend, slowly and I mean slowly, give our friend here his pants.” The bony brunet moved even slower then a snail that just woke up, grabbing the sad looking breeches. “Un hooked the guns belts please. Thank you.” He smiled softly as the boy did just that and moved to hand the pants to the snarling cat. “No no, just throw them at him. I want you here with me.” Netsuke grabbed him by the waist and held him close, the side of his knife against his neck.

The wet jaguar looked like he was about to pop something in his back, moving as tense as he was as he pulled up his pants and fasten them up. “We have nothing of value. That boy shaking in your arms was just robbed the other day.”

“Well I know a nice-dressed boy like this one has to have some pretty things. I’m not picky.” The copperhead then made the brunet reached down to grab his rather nice looking pack and threw it at the blond man. “Dump it all on the ground and show daddy what’s in it.”

The vibrate violet eyes kept glaring ahead at his smiling amber eyes as he upturned the bag and let the items fell. Which was mostly bottles, little books, a pen, a small yellow pouch with a silver ‘K’ on it, a large fox-fur blanket and a glasses case.

“Told you.” The cat smirked, looking so smug. He really hated cats.

“Damn it all to Hades.” The copperhead muttered and accidentally nicked the soft neck of his hostage. The boy whimpered and the guard-kitty yelled out something. Which must have been the world ‘duck’ since he now saw a blurring object heading his way and the boy was moving away from him. Netsuke quickly moved out of the path of the knife and heard it thucked into a poor nearby tree.

“All right, that’s just asking for a fight right there, Miss Kitty.” He tossed his own blade between his hands, both eyes on the spotted man before him.

The jaguar cracked his neck and stood with his bare feet apart, getting into fighting position. Looking smug, again. “Bring it, I always wanted a pair of snake-skinned boots.” his fingers flickering for him to come at him.

The poor brunet scampered out of the way as the two men rushed at each other. The sound of flesh hitting flesh and grunts as blows made a hit. He sat on the water’s edge watching as two strong bodies moved in a really bloody and bruising dance. He winced in sympathy as he saw a knee going into Heaven’s stomach. The cat came right back with an elbow to nose.

The fight lasted for the whole afternoon and most of the evening. Both men were breathing heavily and bodies like a quilt of bruises and cuts. But both didn’t want to be the first to admit defeat. Kenneth had made a sorry looking fire and cooked some fish that Heaven had thankfully caught earlier for himself and his new friend the little turtle that had climbed up of the water to watch the long fight with him.

“This is a classic show of alpha male dominance, Cater.” He offered a piece of fish to his little turtle fried who just bit into it. “They don’t want to show weakness in front of each other so they’ll just keep fighting till they both drop.”

He blinked when they actually did but only to wrestle on the ground and starting throwing insults at each other…again. The brunet excused him self to his friend and got up to look for one of Heaven’s loaded guns. He smiled happily when he found one and aimed it out away from him to the side and covered his ear with his free hand, pulling the hammer back and squeezed the trigger.

The loud bang sound stilled both fighters, Heaven pinned under the heavier man, both panting and staring at the bony man.

“Now That I go your attention, why don’t you bring your bruised behinds over here and have some food and rest a bit and have round two in the morning.” He smiled and sat back down next to the turtle who was eating the human’s share of fish.

The copperhead grunted when he roughly pushed off of his sparring opponent and rub the smear of blood off of his lips as both men crawled over to the fire. Both men winced as he ate into a bit of roasted fish but drank down the water from the water-skin happily. They both fell back onto their backs from pure exhaustion. Kenneth rolled his eyes and rolled up his sleeves as he got to work tending each sleeping man’s wounds. Being less then gentle as he worked.

Why him? Why was it always him?

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Heaven groaned as the morning sun hit him in the face and rolled onto his side to bury his face in the soft pillow. His arms wrapped around it as he sighed happily. He made a soft squeak when he felt the pillow moving and snuggling him close. Perking his head up off the pillow. Which was the coppery hair of the snake he was fighting yesterday. He sat up quickly and kicked at the man’s thigh before moving over to where his pest was sleeping.

“Sid, I swear I’ll never listen to you again about picking up strays.” He muttered as he angrily but stiffly pulled on a long sleeved tunic.

“It’s your own idiotic fault for fighting all day.” Kenneth, now used to the Sid-talking, muttered back as Cater trotted off of his chest with a sleepy growl and headed back to the water.

“You should have killed him when he was passed out. By the way I won the fight.” Heaven shoved at the brunet then went looking for a knife.

“I had you on your back, you runt.” The copperhead groaned as he held his head in his hands once he found the strength to sit up. He laid back down as the world was too dizzy for him at the moment.

Kenneth grabbed the knife away as the jaguar growled. “Heaven, please get us all some breakfast.” He pushed the irate man away into a direction not towards the groaning copperhead. He stubbed the earth beside him and build the fire back to life.

The green eyes watched as the red-haired man made one more attempt at sitting up. They kept watching as he checked over his wounds and made an unhappy face at the sight of them. Well this is looking out to be a long morning for everyone.

---

And it was a long morning that turned into a long afternoon. The clerk's face stayed red and the jaguar's stayed annoyed. The bandit named Netsuke, turns out hasn't been one for long, spent the last few hours talking about the many females he had mated. And from what tribes and what markings they each had and how he brought them to great climax.

In great vivid details.

After the tale of the cobra twins, poor Kenneth who held out as long as he could, past out from the over detailing of two very talented tongues on the snake's little or rather very big snake from the way he tells it. There was a long trail of blood from the man's nose, that rather scared the other two men on how free flowing it was.

"Now I know this guy is a virgin, a closeted perverted one at that. But you, runt? I bet you were a very pretty little boy that the boys practiced kissing on before showing them skills to pretty little spotted women." The blasted snake chuckled as he cleaned the blood trailed from the still unconscious clerk.

Heaven didn't bother with a look or a annoyed grunt as he didn't moved from his spot from under a tree, keeping out of the hot sun that made him shred the long coat. Bared arms crossed over the bare midriff in part defensive and part comfortable.

"Mmmm. And I bet a few of them enjoyed testing out their bedroom skills on you before moving for the real thing." He looked up to find that the cat wasn't really paying attention. More like he was napping. "Well damn, that was pointless." He really wanted to ruffled the kitten's fur.

The bony man finally woke up, groaning and rubbing his head. Then passed out once more when the copperhead's grinning face came into focused. After a good few minutes, when it was clear that clerk wasn't waking up, Heaven who was faking to nap get out of talking to the snake-man, got up shouldering his pack on both shoulders and pulled the dazed out man onto one shoulder.

Sid would be so proud of him. He haven't killed the snake or attempted kill and he was carrying the clerk instead of leaving him behind.

"So where you two fellas headed?" Netsuke walked beside the jaguar runt with arms crossed behind his head, eyes closed to soak up the afternoon sun.

"Town. To dump him off and then I'm heading to the mountains of my fore-cats and picking up the long lost treasures they said to be there." Speaking for the first time since the snake started his tales of female-conquest.

"Treasures? Why now that's adventure for both healthy and -"

"You're not invited to go." Heaven cut in. "In fact, why are you still here?" He turned his head to glare in question at the redhead, wondering what's the angle.

Netsuke shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the glare. "I'm bored." Making that the answer for everything.

"Right." The cat grunted out and kept walking. Kenneth decided to come back to the living when they switched carrying duties and staring at firm round buttocks through brown suede breeches.

"I think we need to find our friend a playmate in town." Said snake spoke when the clerk decided to walk far head of the two stronger males. "I thinking of a strong young buck of a man. He's too dainty for a woman."

"Whatever."

-----------------------

Finally out of the wild feral country, Kenneth was back in the safe and very familiar form of civilization. First thing he did was to find a messaging service to send out a pigeon to his employer's shop, explaining what has happen in the last two days, cutting out his fellow travelers' stories in the past few hours and please send money and change of clothes and a carriage to take him home.

Pleased that now he would be thoroughly rescued, the little clerk went out in search of his new friends. He found them at a local and very colorful little tavern called 'Blue Herring" He squeaked when a busty dark-haired woman latched her self to his arm and mauled on his ear, thinking he was an easy man to spend money on her needs.
"Back off, he's poor. Just looks fancy." The copperhead came to his rescue from his spot at the bar. Armed with a large mug of ale and sitting to face out, looking at the many patrons.

The woman huffed and stomped away, both men and many other men watched the swaying hips and the short skirt riding up to show jiggling cheeks underneath. Kenneth blushed deeply and planted himself at the safe side of the snake and gulped down half of the large pint that was placed in front of him.

"Where's Heaven?" Once his mind came back from over imagining of thoughts that he shouldn't be thinking.

Netsuke thumbed over the large table in the corner where men and women from many tribes and looking dark and seedy were playing a card game with the spotted member of their little group at the head of the table with smoking cigar between his teeth.

"Getting the money for our food and board." He didn't flinched when a fight broke out and five men and women ganged up on the jaguar when they found out he was trying to cheat them out of their money.

Kenneth turned green around the gills when he heard bones cracking and the pretty little cat-man turned into a bloody and bruised pile of flesh. Oh he gave as good as he took but in the end, he still crawled his way to the other two. Up a stool on the other side of the copperhead, clinging to the support of the counter of the bar and wheezing out for something wet that would dull the pain.

"So how much did you win?" Netsuke sing-songed with a too cheery grinned as he placed his mug in front of the wheezing man. The smallest of the strange trio squeaked when the runt fell hard to the dusty floor of the tavern. "I think we need to try another way to gain money." Both men watched the other twitching a little, trying to decide if it was a death twitch or just throbbing of swollen flesh in pain.

The little clerk just nodded and poured ice cold water onto the poor little spotted man.

After an hour, of applying bandages to jaguar's many cuts and helping him to a sitting position at the bar, Netsuke went off to try his hand at poker as Kenneth just kept their fallen comrade from slipping off the bar again. It would seem like the copperhead was having a better time at the cards then their friend, he hasn't been caught cheating yet and there was a pile of money and other things growing at his elbow. Then the good luck ended when a dusted covered little mongrel of a girl plowed in through the broken swinging doors of the "Blue Herring", panting and looking very terrified.

"QUICK THERE'S A MONSTER COMING FROM THE HILLS! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KILL IT BEFORE IT COMES DOWN TO DESTROY THE TOWN!"

There was a long period of silence before the tavern was quickly emptied out. There was still a cigar smoking in mid-air where its smoker was before he had ran out along with the rest of the patrons.

There was only three men left, one looking shocked and in awed at how fast a building can cleared out, one with his head on the bar looking like Death tried to take him but gave up and the other trying to figure out how his hard earned coin disappeared so fast at a card table.

"Thank the mighty Gods that three brave men are still noble enough to save our town."

Kenneth just blinked and looked around for another set of three men that was going kill a monster. Heaven plucked his head up and tugged at a loose bandage. Netsuke just went "huh?"

All four people looked in the direction behind the bar where groaning can be heard and a dark head poked out from behind and blood-shot eyes looked around.

"Hey where did everyone go?"
-------------------

He was still unsure how the three of them, well four now along with the very tall man
once he had a few cups of hot coffee called himself Rorqua, had been sucked into helping
this town. From what the girl had described, was a three headed dragon that spit green
fire. Kenneth wanted to run away but the damn redheaded bandit was keeping a firm hand
on his shirt-tails. He pouted as the two fighters discussed a plan of action, through
mind-reading and broken sentences as it would appear as he, the girl and the monk
watched from their places at the table.

“Need spears.”

“Harpoons.”

A head shake and the other sighed. “Between the two of us...”

A look at the still slightly drunk Orca and then a look at the snake.

“It could work. Need five.”

“Six.” The brunet cringed at the sight of a tooth when the blonde man spat it out with
some blood. For a man that can kill a small group of weasels with a single kill shot from
his gun to each head, he was pretty much weak when it comes to hand to hand combat.

“Six? It isn’t that overkill.” Netsuke leaned forward, blinking his amber eyes staring into
the slightly closed violet eyes, Smirking all the while.

Heaven stares at him and snorted. “Just wanna cover my ass. I don’t really care if you lot
survive. Sid wouldn’t be livable if I let this town burn to ground.”

Kenneth, again,. used to the Sid-talk just explain that Sid must be a figment of the
jaguar’s imagination that serves as his conscience. In other words, just accept the fact that
the man hasn’t tried to leave when he gotten feeling back in his legs yet. He quickly
looked away when the odd-eyed man looked at him with confused look. The name ‘Bart “
cut into the wood of the table seemed very interesting.

He wondered if Bart was a little guy or a big guy. Kenneth removed his gold-framed
glasses and dipped them in his cup of water before wiping them clean with the insides of
his sleeve. Bart wouldn’t have looked at him strange when he talked.

The snake blinked and looked back at the jaguar outcast. Violet eyes moved to look back
at questioning amber and shoulders shrugged. It take a mind reader to know that they just
agreed on something about the green-eyed clerk. Well he hoped that his boss sends
someone to take him back home so he don’t have to deal with rude men that didn’t say
their thoughts about him out loud.

“Are they always like this?” The wandering monk whispered behind the back of his hand
to the brunet. The other two was now drawing in crude sketches on backs of worn out
menus.

Kenneth had to think a bit and decided that he didn’t know either man well enough to
make any judgments other then they seem awfully close for people that tried to beat each
other’s brains out when they first met. Suppose that was how primitive men like Heaven
and Netsuke bond. Beat each other up and then develop a freaky mind thing where they
can just use facial expressions and eye movements to communicate between one other.

He doesn’t feel jealous over that. Nope not at all.

“I guess so. I wouldn’t know.” He answered back, once again focusing on the name,
‘Bart.’ on the table. Bart would be a better friend then these two any ways. They would
share the weird mind talking thing and they would so agree that cats and snakes were
stupid.

The blue-eyed man looked at the younger man, taking in his bowed head and sad
expression on his pale face. He ruffled the brown hair with a smile at the little whine and
chuckled at the attempt to fix the hair back looking very well groomed. “Come on, lighten
up. We’re about to face on a large monster and we may die doing so. So we may have as
well enjoy these last moments together.”

That just earned him a look of pure terror and watery eyes from the younger man. He
smiled and chuckled awkwardly and rubbed his tattooed finger against his cheek. This is
why he doesn’t do well with other people, he always wound up saying the really wrong
thing, imaginable.

“Well, I mean, don’t be sad cause I’m sure that we might not be needed to fight the large
green-fire spitting dragon the way these two got it plan. So cheer-up, buddy, cause it may
be just these two that die and not us.” He thumbed at the two warriors that were now
casting mean glares at each other, and very close to hissing at each other in mind as well
in voice. The girl that enrolled them all in monster-killing was itchy to just run away and
pack her bags to leave the town to the monster.

That just made it worse as Kenneth just quickly hugged both men and asking them to be
careful and not die. Netsuke and Heaven just blinked at each other with large confused
eyes.

Rorqua wondered if it was too late to back out of this crazy sideshow. and if there was
more coffee left in the pot. He had a feeling he may need it.

___________________

The jaguar sighed as he couched down on the rocky floor of the cliff of the canyon that
served as the town’s fort against enemies in the past during war times. Fingers restless
and legs just dying to move at the signal to jump behind the quick-made spear launcher.
Across the ravine, the snake was feeling the same restless at the side of his own launcher.
They don’t even know if these things would actually work like they suppose to but they
were only given a half a day to plan and to set everything up.

Well, Sid said that they may live after this crazy deal. If they do, he was going to kill
some snake for making them all agree to do this. For free at that.

And he wasn’t so sure about the new addition. The orca monk that only just proven how
much of a drunkard he was. And why was a monk drinking that heavily in a seedy bar any
way. Something just doesn’t add up about that man.

Two gun shots echoed in the air and the roars of the Hydra just forced every thought out
the window of the jaguar’s mind as he jumped behind the harpoon canon and released one
long wooden with iron hook tipped spear as soon as shimmy blue scaled neck came into
view.

The spears from both side of the canyon whistled through the air and amazingly hit their
mark, going through the flesh of the roaring Hydra. The chains that were hooked into the
shaft of the spears were anchored around the strongest looking trees they could find and
hoped it was enough to secured the beast just long enough.

The beast roared in pain, thrashing its three heads around along with the barbed tail. Each
men were fast moving, launching barrels of alcohol from catapults and breaking hard
against the heads and body of the beast.

“KENNY NOW!” He screamed as loud as he could as he and the monk gathered their
bows and arrows, lighting the straw covered tips with the fires they had made for the job.
They each fired all of the arrows they had. Watching the beast erupt in flames, screaming
in fury and pain as green fire spat at them.

Heaven grunted as he dodged and rolled away from a blast that was aim at him. He
looked up just in time to see the large tail coming in a full swing at the orca monk. With
honey blonde hair in his eyes, plastern from sweat of the fires and constantly moving
around, he rushed to throw the taller man out of the way. Only to be hit in the middle by
the tail and held on as it moved around and smacked his back into a rocky wall.

The jaguar coughed up blood, splattering the burning blue tail and over his shirt. Feeling
his arms and body burning from the flames and only stayed on thanks to the barb inside
his stomach and arms.

At the side of the watching woman, the one that was given the task of giving the signal of
the approaching beast laid Heaven’s pack from where she had taken the gun out of to use.
She didn’t know of the wrapped up stone inside. That now glowed brightly and pulsing in
tune with the dying heartbeat of the jaguar outcast.

Netuke didn’t stopped in his panic at seeing the blonde man enflamed and sticking on the
beast’s tail as it continue to whip round as the monster itself was burning alive and still
thrashing around trying to get free. Unlike Kenneth who was screaming in terror at the
sight, the snake moved to try to grab the man as the tail moved towards him. He grunted
out in fury at the near miss.

Rorgua was more lucky then he was as he grabbed a long sword that was used to cut the
ropes on the catapults and quickly sliced through the burning flesh and jumped to pull the
dying man off the wiggling bit of tail before forcing it over the cliff and quickly
smothered the still on fire man with his own coat, going, “shh, it’s okay. It’s okay, I got
you now.” over and over trying to calm the coughing man.

He chewed his lip, smelling the scent of burnt flesh and hair and prayed that the man
doesn’t long to suffer. The dark-haired man whispered a prayer to a God he longed
stopped worshipping but kept the act up out of habit as he cut away loose clothing, to
only find out that the deep wound in the man’s stomach was quickly healing over.

“What the fuck?” He blinked as he moved to check the arms and the rest of the body to
only see burning flesh turning pink then back to lightly freckled skin flesh. The skin
looked healthy and clean. Even places on the scalp where hair was burnt off were
re-growing honey blond hair. The jaguar stopped breathing so heavily and relaxed into
even breathing as he went unconious.

The orca looked up to see the beast finally going down with a earth-quaking thud as
flames kept burning over its dead body. Turning it into ash and black mark on the ground.
Then back to watching the passed out warrior and softly touched soft skin, feeling harden
muscles.

“Just what are you, my friend?” He spoke before using what was left of his coat to cover
the exposed torso and wondered more about the man and his origins.
----------------------------------------

He still didn’t awake in the third morning after the battle with the Hydra. The girl, Meredith allowed the newly made heroes the use of her small house at edge of town to stay and made them meals as the jaguar slept. Rorqua still couldn’t find even a bruise on the lean body, just old scars and tribal markings and couldn’t explain why he kept sleeping. Not even the town’s doctor could explain why the exiled man couldn’t wake up.

Kenneth set up a table in the only other bedroom in the house, the other one belonging to the owner of the house. He ate his meals and played solitaire with the snake’s playing cards as he spoke to the sleeping man, believing a friendly voice could lead the man’s soul out of the darkness he was lost in. It was the only thing keeping him from losing it himself.

Two days ago, his employer had sent a pigeon with a responding message. It simply said that he was fired and held responsible for the killed guards and messing horses. He couldn’t go back home ever unless he could repay the greedy man for the loss. The brunet was homeless as well jobless. Netsuke was sympatric and tried to console him with a series of drinks and card games, teaching him how to play poker. But Kenny just wasn’t able to enjoy himself. Too many things had happen in his life in the past few days and his mind couldn’t take it.

So for now, he hanged by his friend’s side till the man awakens and then plan the rest of his life from there.

“Still no change?” Meredith walked in to water the small pot of flowers on the nightstand next to the bed.

The ex-clerk shook his head and resume combing the dirty blond hair. He has to try to wash it soon, it was getting too greasy. She sighed and stood next to him.

“He was lucky to have survive, Mister Netsuke said he saw him impaled on the monster’s tail and hit against the canyon’s sides over and over. The fates must love him to keep him alive.”

Green eyes looked at her. “But not enough to let him be conscious.” The girl didn’t answer but took his cheek in her hand and peck at his forehead.

“He just lost right now, but with you keeping watch, he will find his way back.” That made him smile a little and watched her left the room before looking down on the man. A bony finger traced over the dark tattoo on the man’s chin, eye lids lowered.

Just wake up, please, Heaven. You’re my only friend in this world.

A slight knock caused him to look and waved in greeting at the orca monk as the tall man entered the room. Then he took a sit on the small wicker chair that was set up for Kenneth to sit in. Sea-blue eyes looked down on the raising up and down chest of the blond man.

“He should be dead.” He spoke, rolling his eyes to see the suddenly tensed man.

“Netsuke said I can blend some food for him, and drink it down in his mouth.” He replied, messing with the buttons on the shirt he had clothed the older man in after giving him a upper body sponge bath. The ex-clerk was too embarrassed to clean the lower body, even though he had seen it all in the bath the other day in the river. Netsuke took care of it for him. “He already tried it yesterday and it seemed to work.”

Rorqua sighed, not willing to dismiss the talk once more since they came to this house. “ I saw the fire eating his flesh. No one could have survived that. No-one but a de-”

“He’s not a demon. He’s Jaguar. I heard that they and their cousins the tigers were almost invincible among the cat tribes.” Kenneth interrupted and lied to make himself to feel better. He read somewhere that Tigers were of the Divine Tribes, tribes that were said to be have blessed by the Old Gods and granted great longevity and almost godlike in their own ways. From what he had seen, Heaven could be easily beaten but not so easily killed. It was all the beliefs he had left right now.

The orca recognized the lie but didn’t call him on it. He didn’t know the sleeping man personally so he had no right to talk but it didn’t excuse him from questioning about him.

“I heard legends saying that a kiss can cure all so why not we try it?” The snake grinned from his spot in the doorway, arms crossing each other over his chest. Auburn hair bounded in loose braids over one shoulder.

“I thought you didn’t like men.” Kenneth ignored the feeling that he just blushed at the idea of kissing, more like the idea of Netsuke kissing Heaven. The orca just frowned with an raised dark eyebrow.

The snake walked in and shrugged as he was close to the other men in the room. “Actually, I don‘t, don’t like men I mean. I just wanna see the kitten bristled and hissed at the thought that a snake just kissed him on the lips.”

This time both men frowned and raised an eyebrow. Kenneth’s cheeks still blushing red. Of course, Netsuke would come up with something useless but something to enrage the jaguar if he shall awaken ever again. Netsuke gently bent at the waist, taking the soft tattooed chin in his hand, tilting the head up and leaned down to press his pale lips against the parted lips.

The ex-clerk almost fainted at the sight. It was almost like a scene from a fairy tale, the prince or knight kissing a sleeping maiden softly to awaken her from a dreadful curse. It was all so perfect as the auburn braids laid upon the subtle moving chest over the heart of the sleeping ’maiden’.

Except when Netsuke pulled up, the ‘maiden’ didn’t wake up from his curse.
“If I remember it has to be the kiss of true love, and we all know that snakes and cats never loved each other.” Rorqua chuckled behind a curled up fist.

“All right then.” The snake unfazed at the disappointing result closed his eyes then turned around sharply and pointed at the now bewildered brunet, the youngest and smallest of the group. “You kiss him next.”

Kenneth squeaked and blushed to a deep tomato red. “W-why me?!” His green eyes were dangerously bigger then his face behind the golden frames at the thought of kissing the jaguar. Just at the thought of kissing those soft looking lips, feeling the peeling layers of skin under his. And the bullet that would go into his brain should those violet eyes opened up just as their lips touch.

“Because you know him longer.” The snake just grinned and grabbed the still wide-eyed man and pulled him to be in right over the jaguar. “And you have been his nurse all this time, makes sense you would be kissing him.”

How does that make sense? Again both men frowned at the snake as they thought the same thought.

“Just get it over with. We don’t have anything else to help him.” Netsuke pushed the small brunet to get closer to the sleeping jaguar. “Go on!”

Kenneth sighed and gently grabbed Heaven’s cheeks and licked his own lips. Still visualizing that bullet that would be going through his head and brain and into the wall of the bedroom. He leaned down pressing his lips against the jaguar’s. He couldn’t help but to press his lips harder, feeling heat begin to grow and wishing that he was getting a response from the other male.

Hands clenched around his arms and forced him back off of the jaguar. “That’s enough, I didn’t say rape the man.” Netsuke’s drawling voice muttered in his ear. The sleeping man still didn’t wake up. Kenneth felt a little sad about that his kiss didn’t awaken the man. He moved back behind them all and toyed with a loose string from his shirt.

“All right.” The snake rubbed his chin, feeling the light stubble that was growing under the chin bone. Then his amber eyes focused on the orca monk who kept silent just because he knew what was going happen next.

“It’s against my order to kiss other men.” He spoke out, turning his head away with purpose. That didn’t stop the snake to grab at him and pull him out of the wicker chair and threw him into the bed.

“Kiss him, a little peck of the lips. That’s all.” Netsuke kept a strong grip around the tattooed neck and forced the head to loom over their sleeping friend’s.

---------

Voices….annoying voices were creeping through the fog. He reached for his guns but found none, just the flesh of his marked thighs. He was naked as he stood in the fog. Not feeling cold but hot, burning hot. But he didn’t sweat or felt his skin burning in the heat. He just ‘knew’ it was hot.

The earth under his bare feet shook as giant footsteps came closer and closer, a large figure outlined in the fog. A head on the end of a long neck loomed till he felt its snort on his nose. He couldn’t see scales or feathers or skin or anything that told him of the creature’s species. Just pitch black and glowing red eyes staring into his widen violet one.

We are bonded now, Heaven of the Jaguars. We keep each other safe from now on.

Who are you?

You should know. You named me after all.

Then all he saw was an unfamiliar man’s face looming over his own, feeling his lips against his own. Tongue poking against his own inside his own mouth. Big hands cupping against his cheeks.

Violet eyes narrowed and glared before curling up his fist and slammed it hard against the man’s cheek and kicked him off of his body.

“Wow, that’s surprising.” The damn snake chuckled. He ignored everything else as he stomped out of the room, grabbing his things and stomped out of the house. It took the other three men three hours to catch up with him on the road.