The fires of Leryn Forest ached his back in the searing wind, nipping at the scarred edges and reminding him of the nightmares he struggled to escape.
His hands trembled, ignoring his demand they stop. His heart quickened, turning him breathless despite longing for air free of cinders and smoke. He gripped the wooden pummel of his sword. Magic latched to the grains of it, pulling from him in the earth’s effort to protect him. To pass through him and change into something stronger. But he pressed the magic back within him.
They had to be humans. He’d already risked getting discovered earlier. Twice could ruin them. He forced his eyes to the demons, passing fire between them. One pushed forward, and his flinch confirmed their excitement. They clicked and hopped in place.
“I should have killed both of them when I had the chance,” Mouse spat, rising up beside him. The flesh over his stomach stitched back together, smoothed over and leaving only his bloodied, torn tunic as evidence.
“Too late now,” Taiga forced his voice even.
The first demon lunging at him, fire in hand, was grounded by Mouse, who slammed his arm against it, and twisted its head around in an instant.
“No mercy,” he growled at the demons more as a show of anger than force. One in the center cocked its head at him, its thistles clicking something. The demon with the firecracker turned, swiveling its head as it listened.
It tossed the firecracker between Mouse’s legs, and it slid to Taiga. It fired off, sending sparks and embers flashing over him. He seized up, his body freezing as the embers shot towards him.
Children’s screams echoed in the flames as it melted his flesh and pinned him beneath its wrath.
A shriek escaped him. He cut it off as the fear pulsed through him. Mouse knocked the firecracker back towards the demons. Taiga’s eyes followed the lights as it slid. The demon watched him, clicking orders.
The demons launched at them. They swiveled around the one issuing orders and studying him. Fire blazed around him, the heat burning him before it even touched. He backed off, struggling to get his feet to even take a step back. The ground fell away beneath him, dropping his breath and mind from him.
He burned that day in Leryn Forest. He smelled the burning of wood and flesh of his people. It boiled him alive, his bark kindling.
“Get back!” The words fell from him before he’d realized, and his sword swiped across a demon as it ran at him.
As demons stumbled over themselves towards him, Mouse charged through them, obliterating any within reach.Taiga followed him, side-stepping from the fire, and pushing them back as he could.
Mouse covered him, and Taiga took on any he couldn’t handle. He swallowed any screams threatening to escape him, hunkered his boots into the ground with magic, and hid his trembles.
The demon giving orders walked calmly towards Taiga, holding another flaming branch. But Mouse jumped between them, and Taiga twisted around him, batting his sword at a demon lunging at his back.
“Taiga, stay behind me,” Mouse arched down, steadying himself. Taiga looked over his shoulder, past Mouse, to see the demons aligned and oil from the wagon spilling at their feet. Mouse stepped back, pushing Taiga with him to stay out of reach of the oil.
The demon in the center cocked his head at them, clicked three times, and lowered his branch towards the oil.
Taiga seized, “No,” swung his arm over Mouse’s head, and bound the soil to his will. He yanked the magic from beneath him, and whipped it forward, waving across the area as his hand moved.
Vines ripped from deep in the earth, strapping around every demon’s leg and talon. They strangled every limb they could reach. The soil split around the oil, draining it at the center demon’s feet and lunging a root upward, wrapping around the branch before it reached the ground.
Every demon stood stunned, leashed to the earth. A single movement caused the vines and roots to tighten. In that single moment, not a single click sounded from the demons.
The leading demon widened its blue glowing eyes at him. Its head rotated unnaturally around until its eyes were at the bottom of its head. It frowned, sharpened teeth spread into a torturous smile.
Taiga dropped back, his knees collapsing on him in their trembles. Mouse whirled to him, kneeling down, his hands clasping tight over each shoulder. “Taiga, call them back! Call the vines back!”
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Mouse spun around, jerking his head up to the battlements. “Taiga, call your magic back! Now!”
From above them, arrows rained down upon the demons, at last. Their shadows drew him to slumber. His eyes gazed at a panicked Mouse.
Ah, his magic. Right.
He stripped his magic from the demons, beckoning it back to where it belonged. A cloud of dust and smoke plumed across the road and field as arrows pounded against the ground and the demons with no way to escape. When the dust settled and the vines vanished, demons lay wasted, with four escaping down the road.
One of the demons paused their flight, turning back towards them once out of range of the arrows, and stared at Taiga. It clicked twice and backed up without breaking its gaze, before fleeing with the others.
Three breaths. Four. Five.
Taiga blinked, and Mouse’s eyes came into view. “I’m fine.”
Mouse said nothing, glancing over him before grabbing one of Taiga’s arms and inspecting it. A grimace, then checked his other arm. Taiga let him, if only because the warmth emanating from his hand calmed his nerves, settling his tremors ever so slightly.
Taiga touched the gravel beneath him, running his fingers over a few rough-edged pebbles. “I’m sorry. I asked too much of you,” he hushed his voice. His fingertips shook as he pressed them to the earth, “I’m sorry. Thank you for protecting me.”
Mouse rose, his attention shifting only a moment before kneeling back down to Taiga, “can you stand?”
His voice was off; deeper, unusually calm. Taiga nodded, accepting Mouse’s outstretched hand. The warmth stilled his tremors. When Taiga brushed himself off, if only to do something, Mouse did not release his hand. Taiga looked to him, to see Mouse’s eyes unwavering from his.
“Mouse?"
"The gate's open." His eyes flicked to the opening, a few mercenaries cautiously stepping out to examine the damage and head count.
"Yeah, I wanted to check on the man I—"
Mouse pulled him along as he turned towards the gate. "You can do that later."
He pulled Taiga through. His hand clasped his tightly, although Taiga was sure if he pulled away, Mouse would let him. He didn't. Instead, he silently followed Mouse past tents being propped, medics running from person to person, and the crying of adults and children alike.
A woman came up to him, calling Mouse's name and snapping his attention. She glanced at Taiga and smiled, "good call on the evacuation. Woulda been a lot worse without you."
"We'll be back in a bit. We both took damage and are gonna rest for a while." Mouse's tone refused to hide his annoyance.
"Sure, yeah. We're all planning to get patched up and rest. Tomorrow, we're celebrating in the hall," she laughed, "make sure y'all join. Got it?"
Mouse pulled past her, and Taiga turned, smiling in his stead. "We will."
"Mouse, we've talked about walking off from conversations." Taiga spoke just to fill the guilt of the cries around him. Mouse ignored him. "They like you, ya know."
Silence hung between them as Mouse pulled him through the streets, and into the guildhall. It was a buzz with people, both civilians and mercenaries alike. No one took notice of them as they ascended the stairs and stepped into room 308.
Mouse tossed his bag to the left most bed, and took Taiga’s into his hands when he removed it from himself. Mouse plopped down on the unmade bed, unclasping the bag and rummaging through it a moment. Then he removed a tin canister and white bandaging.
“I can do it myself,” Taiga sighed. But with a single look from Mouse, even without a single word spoken, Taiga sat across from him.
Once he sat, Mouse took a white cloth from the bag, and poured a small bit of water on the cloth. He folded it over, and spread the water over the surface of the cloth. When satisfied, he took Taiga’s left arm in hand, and dabbed over the speckled charred wood and skin.
Taiga ignored them until now, and the cool wet touch seared the wounds. He flinched, but Mouse held strong, pressing the cloth to the wounds. When the initial pain passed, Taiga watched Mouse’s gentle movements.
Unlike his usual self, his movements were efficient and careful. He looked over every burn, cleaning them as he could. When he began to clean the right arm, Taiga didn’t flinch. His hands shook still, and it annoyed Taiga. He handled any transgression with grace, a smile, and patience. But in this fight, his own incompetence had held Mouse back.
The blood on Mouse’s tunic was evidence of that. If he’d been better, calmer, maybe more focused, then he could have backed him up better. Been there to stop the damage from being done.
Taiga grimaced at the burns. Flesh singed and black, the wood beneath it nothing to the wrath of fire. Red blood and scorched skin. “I’m fine.”
Mouse paused, their eyes meeting for a long moment, before he reached for the tin and unscrewed the led. A sweetened green cream, a salve Taiga made for these exact purposes, stiff in its thickness. Mouse took two fingers to it, swiped some onto them, and pressed a finger to Taiga’s arm.
The immediate cooling effect made him tense, if only for a moment. Mouse rubbed the cream in gently, before moving onto the next and leaving a liberal amount over each wound.
The silence hung in the air a while and tangled frustrations simmered over. Taiga yanked away, "I said I'm fine!"
Mouse let him, putting the salve down. "I didn't say you weren't."
If he could just get his fingers to stop shaking. If he'd been able to react better in battle. If the fire…
The salve soothed, and Mouse calmed. When Taiga shut his eyes, the demon and its fire danced around him. When he opened his eyes, Mouse touched him with tenderness, the room silent aside from a bird’s call at the window.
Frustration pulled him back. If he could just—
Mouse bumped his forehead to Taiga’s. He said nothing for a few moments but then quietly, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you better.”
Taiga wanted to reply, but his mind drew blank. His eyes fluttered closed, and pressed his head against Mouse’s. His throat knotted, his chest hurting. His arms stung, his head, even breathing fought against him as something more bubbled to the surface.
Mouse’s hand caressed over the side of Taiga’s face, guiding his forehead to Mouse’s shoulder. His fingers ran over the back of his neck. Taiga’s fingers found the cloth of Mouse’s tunic, and only then did his tears start to fall.