Two days passed, with not much changing, at least nothing particularly exciting at least. Yesterday was comparatively slow to the day before, Brook went to work, Ethan stayed at the house and kept the place clean, doing some job search while he was at it, and Eli spent the whole day shadow boxing in the parking lot; when asked, he stated that he was always prepared for a fight. It was charming in how awkward it was. All things considered, it was a pretty alright day, if Ethan were to be asked about it.
Today though was going to be different, Ethan and Brook wanted to have a night between just the two of them; sure, they liked Eli, he was one of them now, but they wanted some quality time with one another, like how things were 3 days ago. No other reason belong that. It was like a date, if a date was between two people who held zero romantic love for one another and were just friends.
The sun was just now beginning to set, the evening air was still very warm, couldn’t get any respite from that summer weather. The two walked side by side, headed towards one of their favorite restaurants, a small, family owned Xivan BBQ place.
Dressed in her usual outfit of shorts, band t-shirt, and studded jacket, Brook looked to Ethan. “Gonna eat so much tonight! Are you getting the usual or are you gonna try something different?”
“The usual, obviously,” he laughed, “You know me, I don’t like to move out of my comfort zone.” He dressed pretty lightly, with the summer air being warm as it was, just a button up shirt and some khaki pants. “But, if they were to have a new menu item or a special limited time thing, well, maybe I’ll try it. But you’ll have to get it too.”
“You have a deal,” Brook said, “You and your bets, they’re gonna kill you one of these days.”
“It’s not really a bet, it’s more of a dare. There’s a big difference, you know.” He said, poking one of the studs on her jacket.
“Close enough, now let’s get going!” She said, charging on ahead, before turning around to face Ethan. She was always one step ahead of him. That isn’t a metaphor, as she was a lot dumber than him, even she admitted to that. Rather, she was literally always one or more step ahead of Ethan whenever they were walking together.
The BBQ place was a small, innocuous looking shop. Located next to the thrift store and a yoga store, it had been open for only five years now. Despite it’s relatively new placement in the city, it had become a favorite spot for the two to go out to eat. In just a few seconds, the two were seated and awaiting their individual orders.
The smell of spices, the traditional Xivan music playing ever so quietly on the speakers, and the quiet but friendly staff, the two were at comfort.
“Guh… I just know this’ll hurt our finances, but-” Ethan started, only for Brook to shush him.
“Hey, you said that you didn’t want to have any worries tonight,” she said in her usual optimistic attitude. “So shut up about the finances. I’ll just ask for extra hours.”
“Yeah, but it’s you working. Not me. I hate for you to have to work more-” He started, again, and was interrupted, again.
“Hey! I like working there. I got to take apart an entire swordfish today. This big.” She said, holding her arms out as far as they could go. “Well, even bigger than this, but I can only stretch my arms so far. Did it all by myself and was treated to some grilled fish with the boys during break.”
“Should’ve brought some home. You really can’t get enough grilled fish, can you?” He said, sipping some water that the waiter routinely refilled.
“Can’t get enough. My taste buds are practically pescatarian.” She took a drink of water as well, sliding a piece of ice into her mouth and crushing it with her molars, with a satisfying crunch. “That means a diet focused on fish, learned that yesterday.”
“Really?” Ethan laughed, having learned something today. That was when the waiter arrived with their meals. For Brook, it was a large bowl of rice and grilled oga. Oga were a breed of fuzzy grub-like creatures, who crawled along the ground. When their beak and fur was removed, they could be cooked, possessing a delicious umami taste, making them a popular farm animal for their meat and/or their ability to devour compost.
“I know.” Ethan laughed, as the waiter arrived with their meals. For Brook, it was a large bowl of rice and grilled oma. Oma were a breed of furry grub like creatures, although they didn’t do much burrowing, mostly crawling on the ground. When their hair is removed, they mostly look like tear dropped tubes of flesh. Their meat though has a very light, umami taste to it, making them a popular meal world wide.
For Ethan, it was some vegetable yakisoba. While once in a while, he did enjoy a good meat dish, but most of the time he preferred to stick to a vegetarian diet. The delicious thick noodles, the crunch of the brocolli, and the candy-like sweetness of the bell peppers, he was in heaven.
Now that their food was here, they dug right in, just now realizing they were both too hungry to talk. After a few fights, conversation once again started up. “Been thinking about renting some of those exercise videos. The rental place has a whole section for them, last time I checked.” Ethan said, rubbing his scrawny twig arm. “Watching Eli fight got me thinking about how out of shape I am. I mean, I’m healthy, but I am not exactly in shape or physically strong either.” Even Brook, a chain smoking slacker, could lift him easily. “Don’t want to bulk up or learn how to fight, I just want to be able to lift heavier stuff and be able to do physical activity without getting winded instantly.
“I gotcha, I gotcha,” Brook snickered, “Could just ask me or Eli and see where that leads.”
“Yeah, true, we have someone who clearly knows how to stay at peak performance living right with us now, huh?”
The conversations continued, as the duo’s plates became more and more empty, they were about ready to get the bill and head home. That was until Ethan, who was facing the door from where he was sitting, saw a pair of people enter the restaurant. A pair of most unusually dressed people. They were a bit too nicely dressed for a place like this. One was a tall male goat, tall enough so that his horns were almost touching the ceiling. The other was a short and chubby ewe. Both dressed in a suit and tie, with the only difference between their outfits was that the goat wore a red shirt, while the sheep wore a white one. They were currently talking to the man at the entrance, who timidly spoke with the two. Even with Ethan’s hearing, however, he couldn’t make out what they were saying. But, the woman, with her horizontal pupils, was looking right at them. Ethan averted his eyes, momentarily, looking back to what was left of his meal.
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Then, he look back over, and confirmed; she was still staring at them. A thousand yard stare if he had ever seen one.
“What’s up, Ethan?” Brook asked, looking over her shoulder to the fancy dressed pair. “Nice suits.” She commented, “Do you know them? They’re a bit overdressed for this place… Wanna go ahead and get out? That sheep is really undressing me with her eyes.”
“Don’t know them, but yeah, that’s just what I was thinking.” He said, looking around for the waiter to give them their bill. But, his search was halted when a shadow was cast over the table, as he realized the goat was standing right over them, looming over the table. His height was even more apparent now that he was close, as was his skinniness. He had to be standing over 7 feet tall, and that wasn’t counting his horns. He looked like a goat shaped lamppost come to life.
He spoke something, but his voice was… Incredibly quiet. Nothing more than a whisper, not helped by the fact Ethan and Brook were both sitting down.
“Uh… What?” Brook said, fearless as ever, “Come again?”
The goat was silent, frowning slightly, his fingers crossed in front of his chest. He stood with a slightly tilt to his stance. Gaunt and bizarre.
“He’s asking if you are Brook and Ethan.” The sheep said, stepping in, with a more aggressive form of speech. She was the opposite of her companion. She looked shorter than Brook, who stood at 5’4’’, but was also very plump. Such plumpness was amplified by the fluffy white wool that surrounded the black fur of her face. The white wool, black fur, and the black and white of her suit, she had a very monochrome appearance. “Y’know what, you don’t even have to say if you are or not. I recognize both of you from the video on the internet. A hyena and an albino bat.”
“Okay, you got us.” Brook said, leaning back in her seat, while Ethan was trying his best not to panic, Brook was standing her ground as usual. “First of all, who are you?” She asked.
Ethan looked around, only then did he notice: They were the only people in the restaurant. Everyone else was sent outside! “Yeah,” Ethan said, “If this is about the fight, that whole thing was cleared up.”
The goat leaned down, having to bend until his back was horizontal, just to whisper something in his companion’s ear.
“Ugh, fine,” she groaned. Putting a hand to her chest, she introduced herself, “Names. I’m Cadence. This is Cascade. We’re not really here for you. We’re here for the boy that was with you. The binturong.”
Cascade whispered something in Cadence’s ear again.
“Yes, I know.” She nodded, “We are here to inform you that we’re taking him with us.”
Cascade, again, whispered something.
“Yeah, you guys aren’t in trouble or anything, we’re just telling you blah blah, he’s coming with us.”
Cascade stood back up, looking down at the two, reverting to his prior stance.
Brook paused, more confused by anything, “Well, Cadence, what do you guys want with him? That’s what I’m wondering… Because I don’t plan on selling him out.”
Cadence didn’t quite like Brook’s snippy attitude, “Can’t tell you that. Besides, we’re not asking for your permission. We’re just here to give you the news and go grab him.”
Before the conversation continued, the waiting interrupted things, carrying two glasses of mango lassi, handing them to Cadence and Cascade.
“Thank you,” Cadence said.
Cascade gave them a thumbs up and a nod.
“Love this stuff,” Cadence said, sipping the lassi happily, in a sweet, gentle tone that contrasted with her previous one. “Anyways, like it or not, you two might want to come with us. He’ll comply better if you’re with us. Keep in mind, this is just a job, we’ve got nothing against you two.”
“Again, no,” Ethan said, speaking up this time, “Who are you guys anyways?”
“I don’t see what the problem is? You just met the guy two days ago. Plus, can’t say too much, lest I get in trouble.” She groaned, “Should’ve just gone straight there, in retrospect.”
Cascade remained silent, removing a chunk of mango from his drink, and popping it in his mouth.
“Hold on,” Brook said, looking the sheep in the eyes, “You’re with the group that he escaped from, aren’t you?”
Cadence paused, looking up from her drink in confusion. “Pardon…?”
Just then, Cascade got a phone call, the beeping sound of his ringtone interrupting the conversation. Putting it up to his ear, he nodded, looking surprised. He said a few things, audible only to the person on the other end of the call. Then, keeping his drink perfectly balanced in his hand as to not spill it, and whispered something to Cadence, who reacted the same.
“The fuck? Are you serious? Couldn’t he have waited til we were there?” She groaned, facepalming, “Finish your drink, we need to get there now.”
“What’s happening?” Ethan said, feeling the sense of urgency.
“Yeah, you’d best come with us,” the sheep nodded, “As an apology, we’ll foot the bill.” She said, downing the rest of her drink, Cascade did the same, the two were in sync with their drinking. “Eli, is what you call him, right? He’s going to have a fight there, very soon.”
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Eli stayed home all night, on his best behavior. His short attention span was kept in check by all of Brook’s wrestling DVDs. If he wasn’t inside, he would be mimicking the moves he saw on the screen, all of them looked fantastic to pull off. But he knew that he’d end up kicking the ceiling or the television.
Lounging on the couch, he heard a knock on the door, his ear flicking in the direction of it. “You guys home?” He asked, smiling hopefully. No, wait, why would they knock on the door if this was their house? That wasn’t right. Getting up, he walked towards the door and looked through the peephole, “Hello?” He asked again, not seeing anyone. “Hm…?”
He knew he shouldn’t open the door, especially since he didn’t technically live here. But, he heard the knock again. Gulping, he decided to trust his gut, that it was just a neighbor, and opened the door.
There, on the other side, was a short man, crouched slightly low so he was out of view of the peephole. Dressed in nothing more than a pair of dark red pants, no shirt, and a strange white mask that covered all but his horns and the back of his head, a red line curved where his mouth would be, giving the image of a smile. His black scales glimmered in the moonlight.
But, most significant of all, despite his short stature, he was noticeably muscular.
“Uh, hi?” Eli said, before being caught off guard by a powerful kick from the reptile. Eli just narrowly blocked the attack, if not for his quick reflexes. But, even blocking it, he could feel the stinging pain of the kick. Those muscles weren’t just for show, Eli stumbled back a few feet. The pain, however, made Eli grinned, as he stepped forward to counter, delivering a punch to the assailant, who blocked as well. The punch didn’t even make the reptile budge, much to Eli’s surprise. “Oh? I like you.” He said, feeling his blood start to boil. “Come on, take this outside, I don’t want to break anything.”
The assailant lowered his stance, remaining completely silent, but then nodded his head, flicking his head back.
Eli could feel it. His fight with Augustus wasn’t a challenge. It didn’t push him or make him feel any sort of improvement. It was just a warm up exercise. A tutorial really. Now this, however, he could feel it with just that one kick. Yes, he could feel it.
A challenge.
FIGHT
ELI [no title] vs GAKU "OF RED TEARS"