Captain of the Guard, Lindell

"She already knew Wyatt, you always were an idiot, but you were her brother first of all. Why do you think she never went hunting? It was because she wanted to hunt with her little brother." Those words hurt me, far more than anything else. I could accept that Alice passed, but to be told she was still with that monster. To have those words thrown at me, with the same indifference one might use when talking about the weather. I just wanted her to stop talking.

My ears went low, as we approached the gate. I didn't have it in me to say anything. The guards were standing at attention, the gate opened and ready for us to go outside. I couldn't show my men a sad face as I left. I forced a smile, walking properly. "We'll be back before you know it men! Keep to your duties, and stay vigilant! You never know who or what might try to sneak in here!" This made a few of them wince, but they nodded and saluted me as I walked outside with this monster.

The gates closed behind us, as we stood on the other side. The monster not saying anything else to me. I stayed at attention, in case the guards on the towers were watching. I could not show weakness here. I marched to the woods, the monster following. Focusing on the sounds echoing through the forest. Everything was quiet for the moment, which was great. The patrols outside the walls must be doing a good job in that case. This was just another job I had to do, I was the only one that could do it. This monster wasn't my sister, she said as much. Alice was still inside her however, and while I didn't understand. I could at least talk to her to some extent.

The mission was to keep this monster away from the city while everyone did their own jobs. I needed to clear the path for the caravan to make sure no flying monsters attacked it. If my crystal went off, then I needed to fly back as quickly as possible. Simple things, things I was good at. I was never good with politics, hidden meanings and all that other shit. That was made for people that liked to overthink stuff. That pretended to understand how hard it was to climb up the ladders. To not put your life on the line in combat. I hated half the nobles that clung to the king like the parasites they were. Using their family name to keep their wealth, while others suffered.

I might have a lot of coin, but that was because Vivian made investments with the money I saved. They paid off, and it financed everything I did, and kept the guards well paid. It was something we did together, with me working to make the money while she knew where to put it. I just needed to keep things simple. I didn't need to worry about all this interpersonal shit. My relationship with this monster had to be kept formal. Looking at her for a second, I used my magic to propel myself up into the air above the trees. I had to test it, to make sure it knew how to fight. It wasn't my sister, it wasn't a her. It was just a monster that I had to babysit. "You're hungry right?" The wind carried my voice to her, so she could hear every word. "Then let's go hunting, let me know when you need help. I'll save you."

I didn't even bother waiting for the monster's response. Soaring over the trees, I felt free. I could hear the sounds of swords banging against shields. The recruits were probably sparring to stay in top form. I looked in another direction, letting my magic carry all the sounds in front of me. I could hear some shouting in the distance, what sounded like two individuals cursing about spiders and a failed assassination attempt. I started to fly in that direction when I sensed something move below me.

Looking down, I saw the monster clinging to the top of a tree nearby. She seemed to be moving her ears up and down, in different directions. It was natural she wouldn't be able to hear the assassins from so far away, but she locked on to the sparring. She was focused in that direction, as I watched her. I needed magic to hear that far away, there was just no way. Then she swung the top of the tree a bit before leaping off it to spread her wings. She was soaring right towards the group, this was bad!

I flew after her, trying to use my wind to steer the monster away. She seemed to predict this and rolled to catch the wind to get herself a bit higher from the tree tops. I saw that she managed to wrap the satchels around her forearms, while everything else was strapped to her back. Still, the monster might break or tear the packs if it hit branches on its way down. I tried to steer it away once more, but it just furled it's wings to keep going the direction it was. I accelerated to it, to try and stop it by grabbing onto it. Which it just dived through an opening in the trees, flapping and grabbing onto a few branches. "Hey stop! They're just training!"

She looked at me for a second, "No they aren't! Listen closer next time you idiot!" Then she started jumping from tree to tree, staying below the branches to keep me from stopping her. I looked in the direction she was going trying to listen closer this time. Then I heard it, the distinct battle cries of lizardmen, about to win a battle.

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Alice

Wyatt was following after now, this time moving to overtake me in terms of speed. He had altitude which meant he could soar fast than me, but that was fine. Truth was, that it was very cold out today. My escort was safe in the bag with the heating crystals and the parts of the hive I put inside the bag itself so they could stay warm. My breath was catching in the air, as I continued to move towards the sounds of fighting. Using my lower set of arms, I opened a bag to grab some more warm crystals to hold to myself. While the upper arms, I used for grabbing the next tree, and helping me jump off to the next.

I could see the battle just ahead, a small group of four lizardmen fighting against a group of guards. I barely recognized the leader on the ground, calling out orders to the other five. I jumped towards the ground, opening my wings one last time to land softly on the ground. Wyatt was above the trees still, gathering magic. I moved quickly throwing decently sized branch at the group of lizardmen. This thankfully got their attention, as both parties turned towards me. Then Wyatt came careening down his pipe whistling as branches were cut before he got close to them. The debris from his fall being picked up by the wind behind him and falling towards the lizardmen.

I was impressed by Wyatt's control over his magic, and how he guided the branches and twigs during his decent. The Lizardmen raised their shields to meet the falling debris, while Wyatt landed on the ground in front of them a gust of wind knocking the lizardmen off balance. The twigs and branches falling like a wave and hitting one after another. The twigs and branches that were study enough went through the lizardmen, while those that weren't just exploded. Wyatt's wind seemed to catch even the splinters and swirled behind the lizardmen tearing through them.

All of this happened before I could even run to the fight itself. Wyatt single handedly ended it by turning the lizardmen into gore that was starting to stain the forest floor. The guards cheered, save for two. One was injured and the other was a healer trying to keep the injured leader alive. I rushed towards the injured man, when one of the recruits turned towards me and used their magic on a lantern to try and spit fire at me. "Wyatt!"

Wyatt moved quickly, using his own magic to blow the fire away from me. "Stand down! That's a friendly monster!"

The recruit jumped at this, and thankfully listened. The healer looked at me warily, before speaking. "You're that monster Richard brought in a few days ago!"

I only nodded, before taking stock of the leader's wounds. I really didn't remember these people, save for the man leading them was named William. He had a nasty gash on his arm, from where an axe struck him. The wound seemed a bit healed up, but it was still bleeding. If this recruit were a better healer, he probably would have ignored me and dealt with the clearly life threatening wound. Thankfully he didn't however, because I could heal this better. One sting later, and the man gasped looking at the new scar on his arm.

This left the healer speechless, as the other recruits gathered around. William flexing the muscles on his arm and smiling. "See? What did I tell ya? I'm too stubborn, and too damn lucky to die!" He got up by himself, his stomach grumbling. William turned to Wyatt, who was looking around for anything else. "Captain!" The man stood at attention, the recruits falling in line behind him to do the same. "We were ambushed by Lizardmen. I suspect they were a rogue group, and shall file a report promptly! What brings you out here sir!?"

I moved away from the group to stand behind Wyatt, holding the warm crystals to me. Wyatt looked at the man, nodding, "You are quite lucky that I was out here. I'm on a mission to exterminate monsters on the path a caravan is traveling. While checking to see how well this one does in combat." He gestured at me, before continuing. "Do you know where this group came from? Is there a tribe nearby?"

William shook his head, "I'm afraid not captain! As I said, we were ambushed! If there were a tribe, this recruit would have detected a campfire with how cold it is currently sir! Hence why I suggested it must have been a rogue group! Sir!"

Wyatt looked at the bodies, "Understood, at ease and report back to the city. I will be out here for a while, clearing up anything I find. Do you know where any nests or the like are?"

William seemed to relax a bit, "There aren't too many nests that are made during winter sir. This is the time of year, we watch out for whispering hounds, banshees, and the like. Anything that can deal with the cold sir, not bloody Lizardmen!"

Wyatt tilted his head, "You are saying an ambush in the forest by Lizardmen is uncommon?"

"For this time of the year it is! It's Fall going into Winter sir. What's more, I haven't seen hide nor tail of any Whispering wolves. Usually they're everywhere this time of the year, and where you don't find them, you find undead. Something big must be coming sir, I can't prove it, but I know it is." The man himself seemed certain.

Wyatt shrugged, "Can't it be that we domesticated most of the population or something? If I find anything big, I'll kick its ass. Do you know where any Banshees are then? Zombies? Skeletons? Anything at all?"

William rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I know where a few monsters are sir. I'd rather not have them die though. It's a balancing act out here, we leave some monsters on the outer perimeter, and they keep out the uglier monsters. If we clear out all the monsters, then it's free space for something worse to move in. No offense, I'd rather try talking to a hag or banshee, over a fiend any day."

Wyatt scowled a little, "Well, I have to make this monster fight something. Is there anything you need cleared out, or dealt with? Anything at all?"

William scratched his chin in thought for a few moments, "The plant monsters are all sleeping. Usually they wake up and deal with anything new that moved in. There is a cave that we have signs to stay away from. A family of rock trolls used to live there, until Hugh moved in."

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"Hugh?" Wyatt tilted his head, "What's Hugh?"

"A big fucking spider, big as a fiend and a hairy fucker at that. We didn't report him, because then we'd have to actually deal with him. Been there for a few years now, and Hugh just loves catching and eating whatever enters his territory. One of the Entomancer's taught him to let people go in exchange for food. Though he keeps getting bigger with every season. I think the fucker has a talent that lets him grow as long as he's alive. Problem is, he's getting too big for his cave now. I was going to have an Entomancer run him off before he decides the city looks like a good place to set up. If you're looking for a fight, Hugh will give it to you."

Wyatt looked at me, and I nodded in return. Wyatt turned back to William, "Alright, consider Hugh exterminated. I'll overlook that he wasn't reported for so long, if you report him as just moving in. Since I need to report that the monster here actually fought something." I frowned at that, since it seemed I pushed Wyatt away with what I said earlier.

William bowed a little, "Of course sir. I'll head back and get those reports going right away. Thanks for saving us." He pointed in a direction, "Hugh's cave is that way, you'll find it pretty hard to miss with all the webs and shit. He might eat the monster behind you, so be careful if you are babysitting her."

Wyatt nodded, "I won't let it die, don't worry. I'm more worried about what Vivian would do if she heard I failed in this mission. Especially since she can heal pretty well. You and your group are dismissed."

William and the recruits all clicked their heels, "Yes sir!" They marched back towards the city, while Wyatt turned to me with a sly grin.

I let out a small sigh, as I hoped this spider wasn't as strong as a fiend. "You're an ass Wyatt."

That wiped the smile off his face, "Why's that?"

"Because you first try to stop me from coming this direction. Then you kill everything, so I can't eat it. Then you don't even so much as apologize, before throwing me into the nest of a giant bug that might kill me. That's why you're an ass, and I'm getting tired of dealing with you."

Wyatt frowned at that, "I saved them, and you killed my sister. The way I see it, you shouldn't even be using that face."

I entered my battle state, the mask over my face causing Wyatt to jump back. He grabbed his pipe, while I turned and started walking in the direction William pointed. I wanted to scream that I wasn't a monster, but that just wasn't true. I was half Alice, half Mimi. Mimi, who very much was a monster. Right now, though, both halves wanted to just rip and tear something until the felt better.

Wyatt flew after me, his magic like a beacon to any fiends that might see it. Thankfully he was quiet for now, "Hey, how are you going to kill it?" I spoke too soon.

"You wanted to see me fight Wyatt, so that's what I'm going to do. I won't know what I'll do, until I get there. If it's stronger then me, I'll die."

"No you want, because I'll kill it before it kills you. I can't let you die." He was floating behind me quietly without making a sound.

"Go ahead and try, if you interfere I'll just break your arms or something." This made him float a little further back.

"We're supposed to work together aren't we?" He swallowed hard, seeming to realize he might have pushed me a bit too far.

"We are supposed to Wyatt, so how do you think it makes me feel, when you undermine me? My talent works by me killing something and eating it. Your talent works by hitting the same thing repeatedly."

This made him stop, "How did you figure that one out?"

"When you attacked me at the church, you made sure not to hit anything around us, or anyone. Then I saw the Lizardmen being hit with all the debris you brought on your wind. I can see magic, and you guided it in such a way that you tried to hide how it worked. Every hit is stronger than the first. If I had to guess, it doubles the power of the previous attack or something. There is a problem, if you hit anything else but the target, you have to start all over again from the first strike. You can overcome that by using a lot of stuff at once, letting the sheer amount of numbers figure out the problem by itself. It's why you aimed for the shields of the lizardmen. You wanted splinters, and small debris so you could rain thousands of small strikes on them at once. You don't have to worry about starting over, if what you were trying to hit is already dead."

"You got all that from fighting me once, and seeing me fight a second time?" He sounded shocked.

"It helps that I can see magic, and hear the splinters exploding. I used my hive to count the strikes before the pops. You used your wind to suppress the noise so others wouldn't hear it. Yet, you could hear them, because you like the sound it makes don't you? My hearing is better than yours Wyatt." I flicked my ears, while still moving.

Wyatt hurried to catch up, "You think you have me figured out, don't you? Why do I use a pipe then?"

"It has some magic in it that can amplify your own. You can drag it across someone and hurt them, and it's slow enough that you can control your power better. It's also a pipe, so you can smack stone with enough force to break it and get more debris when you need to kill something. It will work on a lot of people, and you could easily kill me with it. Though a problem pops up when your magic is canceled, or you don't want to kill someone. Then you have to fight slower, to make sure you don't hurt them too much. Your power suits you, it's a child throwing a tantrum until it wins."

"I'm captain of the guard, not some child throwing a tantrum. You're being extremely rude right now, for a monster."

I just rubbed my temples, letting out a small sigh. "Yes, I'm also extremely lucky that you are under orders to not fight me. Because you would win. I'm lucky you don't just leave me here to fly away and do something else. I bet everyone loves you, because you're so strong Wyatt, you can kill anything and keep everyone safe." It was hard to keep the sarcasm from my voice, but I managed it.

"Yeah, that's why I'm captain of the guard." He crossed his arms declaring it proudly. Wyatt, you poor, poor boy. Everyone is using you, because you don't like to think. Naturally I can't tell you that, because you'll just get even more upset.

Swallowing my pride, I looked at him. Which made him back away a little. He had his hand on his pipe, while I started taking off the packs. "Yep, makes sense to me. You're so strong and talented, I don't even need to carry these. Especially since I'm about to fight a huge spider. You could probably carry these, and still destroy anything that gives you trouble."

Wyatt seemed to smile a little, "I'm used to hearing that, glad you're finally coming around." I moved away from the packs, as Wyatt took the time to put them on.

I walked to the nearest tree, making sure I could get the angle just right. "Yeah, I bet you are Wyatt. You deserve every bit of the praise." I primed an explosive stinger while I talked. The muscles flexing to let air slowly enter how I wanted. Wyatt looked at me, because he heard the slight hiss that sounded similar to a fuse being lit.

"What are you doing?" He started to put up a barrier of wind around himself, and the supplies. I sunk the stinger into the bark of the tree, triggering it while covering my ears. The explosion went off, instantly the tree starting to fall as the wood splintered out the opposite end. It caught branches as it fell. Wyatt using his magic to quickly move the supplies out of the way.

I grabbed him by the neck, dropping my warming stones. My lower set grabbing his arms. I grabbed his kick, while using my wings to brush off the debris that fell on top of us. Wyatt stopped moving as my stingers touched the joints of his armor. He was gathering wind with his magic, to use the debris to try attacking me from behind. "This is how you would have died Wyatt." I turned holding him towards the the gust of debris. He slowed it down enough for me to toss him away.

I quickly flapped my wings to move aside myself as he laid on the ground panting. I could see the cold sweat running down his brow, as he laughed. "Fuck! I haven't been that close to dying for years! I let my guard down." He quickly got up, his eyes glowing green. The way he carried himself changed, as he flexed his muscles to make sure everything was alright. Neither of us were hurt, save for me losing an explosive stinger. "My ears are ringing, because of that blast." He had his pipe out, taking a low stance. "Fighting is simple, bitch. It's what I'm best at."

I showed my smile without fully undoing my mask. "You seem pent up Wyatt, how about we spar? I'll show you all the ways I could kill you. We can work through all those emotions and other shit."

"Like hell you'll be able to claim you could have killed me more than once. I'll spar with you, and put you in your place." He spun his pipe in the air before catching it. The wind making it vibrate as it whistled.

I gave him a wolfish grin, "Oh? Aren't you confident. Let's set some ground rules first. You don't have to worry about knocking any of my limbs off. They grow back just fine. You can't hit my face though. You can't use debris while we spar since we still don't want to kill each other. I won't break any of your limbs, or injure you too much."

"Sure, sounds good. When I win, I want you to stop pretending you aren't a monster." He seemed to have a little trouble coming up with that one. The monster part probably changed at the last second, from me pretending to be his sister or something.

"How about every time we could have killed each other we get to ask a favor? Make it more interesting that way. We get points when it's clear either of us would have won." I took a wide stance, the cold still bothering me, but at least I could see.

"Sounds good to me, winner is the first to five?" He channeled magic, preparing for a quick first strike.

"That's fine, you can use your points to take away from the other, or cancel out favors. I'm ready when you are." I shifted my weight a bit, readying my wings to unfurl. I wanted him to believe I was going to open up with a right jab. When I planned on striking him with my left. Just like how he sparred with Alice when they were younger. This seemed to be the only way to get it through his thick skull.

Wyatt hit the ground with his pipe to reset his strikes, before lunging at me. I feinted with my right, as he moved to strike my arm with his pipe. My left arm swung towards his side, just like planned. Wyatt saw this coming, and quickly used a blast of air to move away. He avoided it, but was glaring at me, "Don't even try to use her moves!"

I undid my mask, to let him see my face with the same wolfish grin. "Why Wyatt~ Haven't gotten better since the last time we sparred?" I tsked at him, putting the mask back on, while he charged again. This time aiming at my stomach. I unfurled my wings, to catch his arm. The side touching the pipe completely shredded by his talent. I reached for his neck, stingers going for his blind spot and where he was moving back. "One point!" Wyatt let go of his weapon, using his magic to strike one of my stingers to try and move away. I expected the blow to shred through it, but it struck and my stinger curled around it. That made things a lot easier! The stingers were a part of Mimi, while the body belonged to Alice. I could alternate between being struck on either.

Wyatt did a midair flip to kick my chin, "This is my point!" He wasn't even trying to deviate or stop the blow. If I was wrong, I would be losing my head. I risked it, taking the blow on the chin.

Wyatt froze, as I grabbed his leg with a smile. "Like I said, you act like a child throwing a tantrum. If I was wrong, you could have killed me there Wyatt. Is that what you want? To kill your sister so badly?"

He went to punch me, but I used a stinger to take the blow, before wrapping it around his arm. He stared at me, unsettled as I pulled him into a hug. My wings wrapping around him, while I stole his warmth. Wyatt was panting hard, "Let me go!"

"I just realized why you are having trouble accepting me Wyatt." He stopped struggling as I kept him pinned to my stomach. My stingers holding him in place. "You're still afraid of monsters aren't you? The fiend that attacked our village, the others being picked off as we ran."

Wyatt used his magic to try and pick up the leaves and dirt around us, "I'll kill you, if you don't let me go." I raised my hand to the debris, losing an arm. He stared at it, while the pain became a dull ache to me.

"You can kill me Wyatt, if that's what you really truly want. It's easy enough with your talent, and magic. I won't let go of you though. Because Alice still loves you, and she's a part of me." I fell to my knees, still holding him just like Alice always did when he cried. Of course he wasn't crying these days, he had grown up a little. I started to hum the same lullaby I always sung for him when he came into my room crying. No matter what, he would always be my idiot brother. I softly stroked the back of his head, even as everything felt so cold.

I barely felt it when Wyatt pressed his forearms against my stomach. There was a sharp pain, as he seemed to channel magic through is gauntlets. Five metal balls tore through me, destroying my insides and back. A hole bleeding as I looked down at Wyatt. I tried to tell him, that Alice still loved him but I coughed up blood instead. I stung the hole, knowing this wouldn't kill me.

Wyatt shoved me off him, looking at my face. I closed my eyes, using the mask to cover me. He shouldn't see his sister like this. I saw him crying, as he went searching for the small metal balls he used to hurt me. It was pretty clever to have that trick stored in his bracers. Though it could only work once. He might have more in his legs, so I guess it was his point. Everything faded to black as I curled on my side to hold my wound.

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Captain of the Guard, Lindell

Fuck