War Zone

Gray shifted his weight from one paw to the other, claws digging into the damp earth as gold eyes tracked the ongoing battle above him with longing. He was just up there a moment ago, and he oh so desperately wants to fling himself back into the chaotic fray. His body still trembled from the flood of adrenaline rushing through his veins, and his tail lashed behind him in frustration. He shouldn’t be down here wasting time, he should be up there fighting alongside Blue. 

A quiet hiss of pain finally drew his reluctant gaze to the limping Stelciar leaning heavily against him. Her brilliant white fur is almost completely crimson, leaving a sticky red trail behind them. The thick scent of blood hung so overpoweringly in the damp battlefield air, he could barely distinguish the scent right in front of him. He slowed his pace down ever so slightly, a low growl of frustration rumbling in the back of his throat. 

“Apple, I told you to stay behind Iron,” he said reproachfully. She shot him a narrow-eyed glare. 

“What, and let you win the bet? Sorry, but my darling bow is in the line.”

“Oh come on, would letting me borrow it for a day be that bad?” Gray asked, rolling his eyes, “Besides, that darling bow of yours is eating dirt right now.”

Apple looked down sharply with a small gasp, noticing a bit too late that her prized bow had indeed been eating dirt. The lower limb has been dragging along sadly in the bloody soil behind her, leaving a long single line in its wake. Scowling, she grabbed the handle in her jaws and carefully pulled it up to safety, wincing as it grazed over a cut. She’d have to clean it off later. She hated it whenever her weapon wasn't in tip top shape, appearance or utilitywise. All in all, however painstakingly maintained, it was still your average bow. But it was her average bow. Her reliable average bow that had saved her and her friends and loved ones’ lives countless times. Breathing a quiet apology to her beloved weapon for getting it dirty, she turned her attention back to Gray.

“Letting you touch it would be absolutely disastrous,” Apple said, pretending nothing out of the ordinary has happened, “Who knows how many bowstrings you’d break with those clumsy paws of yours?”

“What? My paws are not clumsy,” Gray protested, and a small smirk lifted a corner of Apple’s mouth at the successful topic change. The small smirk quickly spread into a toothy grin as Apple caught sight of Gray’s indignant expression, and she trudged on with a bit more pep to her step. 

Gray grumbled to himself, an ear twitching in annoyance. His paws were perfectly fine! In fact, they were very dexterous and strong from handling his battleax everyday. And if you ask him, they were quite the pair of handsome paws. A pity Apple couldn’t recognize that fact. Her loss.

Letting out a sigh, Gray gave the turbulent sky another longing look. He wouldn’t have been here in the first place if Iron hadn’t spotted a small group of wounded Stelciars seeking shelter in the blackened lands. That righteous bloke had dragged Gray down to help, despite his adamant protests. 

Apple and those Stelciars would’ve gotten to shelter just fine with Iron, he didn’t see why the giant Stelciar had to drag him along as well. He could’ve been out there killing all the nearby void instead of sneaking around under their radar like a coward. This was taking far too long and his already short patience was running paper thin. Just how much longer does he have to do this for?

Gray glanced impatiently ahead at the giant lumbering form of Iron. A couple of unconscious Stelciars are draped over the gentle giant’s back. Iron’s huge imposing shield covered most of these injured Stelciars’ bodies, its blue gem at the center gleaming faintly in the low light. He supported two more Stelciars, one on each side, and plodded on rather effortlessly despite the extra weight. Gray wrinkled his nose and made a face at Iron’s back. He had to admit, even he was impressed by the giant Stelciar’s strength, not that he’d ever say it out loud. 

Gray jolted as he suddenly found himself gazing into Iron’s dark blue eyes as the large Stelciar turned around. A couple uncomfortable seconds ticked by as the two stared at each other, and it was pretty clear neither of them had expected to be caught peeking.

“The shelter’s just up ahead, Gray. You can go do your thing now,” Iron said, breaking eye contact to glance up at the ongoing battle above. 

“Uh, yeah, I’ll go do that,” Gray replied, glancing away as well. His fur bristled at the awkwardness of the situation. They had both exchanged a few heated words in the spur of the moment, when Iron was trying to convince him to stop fighting and come down to help. Even though they had apologized to each other already, things were still a bit awkward between them.

“Oh finally! I thought my paws were going to fall off,” Apple happily interjected as she limped eagerly into the small cave. She glanced behind her to see Iron hastily following her in, and her ears flicked in amusement. 

Oh, those two. They’ve had a hard time understanding each other ever since the first time they met, both not having a clue what the other is really thinking. Those dumdums… It was clear to her that they both still felt bad about what they said, and thought the other was still upset with them. Neither of them are too good at using words to express their feelings, and couldn’t quite pick up on the other’s underlying feelings. Well more for her to tease them about later once she helped them make up, she thought affectionately as she watched Gray take flight to rejoin the fight. 

With his battleax finally unsheathed, Gray eagerly flew towards the brilliant flashes of light, cutting down any void that got in his way with merciless swings. By the time he got close enough to catch sight of Blue, his axe was dripping with black substance, the aqua blade indiscernible beneath the dark goo. 

He squinted as another brilliant flash of light erupted from Blue’s scepter, eating away at the horde of void before her. Her serpentine tail whipped around in a frenzy, fending off nearby void that had gotten too close. 

“Hey! Backup’s here!” he called out happily, beheading a void as he rejoined her. 

A look of relief flashed across Blue’s face at the sound of Gray’s voice. She wasn’t too confident in her melee skills, and she was beginning to get tired from all the physical movement. Note to self, she thought to herself, get better stamina. 

“About time!” She smiled, falling back from the frontlines to let him take over, “I got your back, so let’s go kick some butt!”