Elucard clenched his teeth. He narrowed his magenta eyes with concentrated intensity. He inched his weapon closer and struck!
“I don’t think so, Elucard!” Mave deflected his fork away from her toffee cake.
“You had two slices more than me!” complained the elf. His stomach craved for more sugary goodness.
Mave stabbed her butter knife into the pastry and scarfed it all in one bite. She taunted him through mouthfuls of cake as Elucard glared at her.
“So-” Mave coughed as she swished down a glass of water. “I wish to know more about your unit.”
“And what do you hope to learn?” smirked Elucard, “Are you looking to learn how to actually fight instead of fly around on your lizard?”
Mave picked at her teeth with a fingernail. Not at all amused. “You know, it would behoove you to learn to saddle our lizards if you don’t want to fall to your death from the sky.”
Elucard chuckled. “I’m not afraid of heights.” He pointed behind Mave. “Do you see that clock tower? I routinely sit up there in my free time. I’ve been climbing around this city since I was an adolescent.”
Mave jiggled her head with a stupid grin on her face. “You call that high? Dropping from that tower would be equal to tripping to the ground compared to a skydive from my drake. You don’t know the first thing about heights,” Mave finished with a hearty laugh.
“We don’t need your help, drake rider,” growled Elucard. “ARO works better alone without a bunch of flea-ridden bunnies flopping around looking like a bunch of prancing idiots!”
Mave calmly reached for her water once more. She took a sip and eyed the elf before thrashing out and grabbing him by the collar. She dragged him over the table and shoved her face into his.
“You want to take that back, elf?”
Elucard looked to his side, watching as people began to gather around the tiny outdoor cafe. He grappled Mave’s hand and yanked at her ear.
“You’re making a scene; restrain yourself, Captain!”
Mave glared at a woman hugging her child in fear. She smiled and nodded her head. “‘Ma’am.” Mave looked back to Elucard. “I expect you to give that courtesy to me as an officer and a lady.” Mave released Elucard and pushed him back into his seat. “Nothing to see here,” she said as she turned to the crowd. “Just a Southtail scuffle, that’s all!”
Elucard adjusted his tunic. “Did I hit a sore spot?”
“Listen—Elucard was it? We clearly have gotten off on the wrong foot.”
Elucard bit his lip and swallowed his pride. Legion’s lessons bounced off the walls of his mind. He offered his hand in peace. “Sorry, I know I come off a bit strong sometimes. I’m not very social.”
She shook his hand. “I can tell,” she chuckled. “So how about it, Elucard, show me your world?”
Elucard waved down the waiter and tossed him a pair of silver coins. “Do you think you can keep up with me?”
Mave gave a wide smile showing off her pearly teeth. “Can you?”
***
“Lyra, if you don’t hustle on your own, you can be damn sure I’ll give you a reason to.” Legion’s low growl cracked through the recruit’s body like the sound of lightning splitting an oak tree. All the recruits knew Legion as the master of Elucard and any master of the Kingslayer must be ten times more frightening.
Elucard and Mave entered the training ground. A light timbered area where shurikens peppered down lines of targets hanging on thin trees and recruits learned how to properly throw a punch or kick against wooden training dummies. Within the shadows crept red and black clad elves as they learned to stalk and tread silently along the forest floor. Like how Elucard was trained, the ground was littered with old leaves and twigs. Any heavy step would alert Legion to a recruit’s failure and would result in a punishment. Perhaps not as ruthless as a Black Rabbit punishment, but enough for that recruit to remember to work harder next time.
Elucard materialized from the shadow of Legion. Mave approached from behind, doing her best to disguise her exhaustion. Elucard glanced at the harekin and smirked.
“Well, you kept up with me, color me impressed.”
Mave doubled over, trying to catch her breath. “Who travels across the city over the roofs? Wouldn’t it have been quicker to take a carriage?”
“I thought you wanted to see my world, Captain?” mocked Elucard.
Legion turned to greet his new guests, “Ah, my student, you have finally found someone special?” Although an elf, Legion towered over Mave. His red eyes glinted in what little light the training ground offered. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The harekin gave Elucard a sly smile and batted her eyelashes. “Oh, has Elucard been single for a long time? He’s such a handsome and kind hearted elf.” Mave gave Legion a curtsy. “Mave Silvertail, of Southtail.”
Legion bowed his head. “I am only known as Legion. I serve as the drill instructor for the Anti-Rogue Ops.”
Elucard shook his head in disbelief at how fast his master had made friends with Mave. Legion always had trouble opening up to new faces, something that rubbed off on Elucard. How did he manage to hide his prickly shell so thoroughly in front of Mave?
He scanned the grounds. He observed the various recruits and how they handled their training.
“Any that stand out, Legion?” asked Elucard.
Legion folded his arms and huffed. “A sorry class this season, Elucard. One does seem promising—despite his looks.”
“Show me.”
Legion let out a high pitched whistle. Within moments each recruit halted their tasks and looked over to their drill instructor.
“Lugthic! Front and center!” Legion ordered.
A small-framed human sprinted up to his sergeant. He sported a more ragged attire, opposed to his perm pressed, polished buckle, and well groomed peers. His clothes were tattered, he kept a dark green beanie snugly on his head instead of a military beret that most soldiers would wear. However the first thing Elucard noticed was his arm: he was missing one.
“What’s this?” Elucard asked, stunned by Lugthic’s handicap.
“This is Lugthic, mate.” Mave stifled a giggle.
Elucard rolled his eyes. He stepped in front of the one armed recruit and inspected him up and down.
“Like what you see?” Lugthic sneered.
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“Captain,” corrected Elucard.
“You ain’t my captain,” spat the recruit. “Not yet, anyhow.”
Elucard moved in close, his stare could freeze a charging bull in its tracks. “Who do you think you are, recruit?”
“Lug-thic.”
“Do you have a deathwish, Lugthic?” snarled Elucard.
“You couldn’t kill me the first time…” Lugthic bumped his forehead against Elucard’s. “What makes you think you can kill me now?”
Elucard moved away, now more confused than angry. “Do I know you?”
Lugthic waved his stump. “You did this to me four years back! You cut me down and left me to die!”
Mave shook her head. “You maimed this man and can’t even remember his face?”
“I’ve maimed many and killed more. All their faces blur together in the end,” admitted Elucard. He turned back to Lugthic. “I have wronged you, have you come to seek vengeance?”
Lugthic laughed. “You are so full of yourself, aren’t you?”
“He’s got you pegged, mate!” snickered Mave.
Elucard ignored Mave’s jab. “Then why are you here?”
“To show you I’m not some common bandit. You killed my best friend! He trained me to pickpockets and how to wield a knife. Ninirick was the closest to a brother I’ll ever know…” Lugthic swallowed hard. “And you took him away from me, you bastard.”
Elucard’s eyes remained cold. Unfeeling. Void of the emotion that Lugthic wished he had.
“You never had a friend like that! How could you understand?”
Elucard stayed silent. He had Jetta, Inle, Wiccer… All his friends were driven away by his actions. How could he understand? Even Ninirick wasn’t safe from Elucard.
“Yeah, I don’t need your pity.” Lugthic looked away. “You left me minus one arm and minus one brother. I’m here to show you I ain’t helpless”—he looked back at Elucard and raised his chin with pride. “That I can move forward and live without fear. I’m not that sorry sod you left to die in the Roots. I am Lugthic, Son of the East, and you can’t cut me down!”
Elucard nodded. What more could he do to Lugthic that he hadn’t already done? “Very well then. Just don’t slow the rest of them down. Be better than the man I tried to kill.” Elucard winked at Legion. “He’s a little hot-headed, but he’s got potential.”
“Elucard!”
Elucard caught a figure waving him down from the corner of his eye.
“I would have a word with you, Red Rabbit brat!”
Choosing to ignore the commands, Elucard attempted to usher Mave away from the training grounds. “We’ve bothered Legion enough, let’s get out of his hair.”
Mave smiled. “Are all your recruits former enemies?”
Elucard grinned and shook his head. “You’d be surprised!”
“You dare ignore me!” Malady’s hand roughly torqued Elucard’s shoulder so fast, Elucard was left dizzy from the movement. “I’ve heard of the mission to New Estinia, I want in!”
Mave’s eyes swept over the fearsome former Black Rabbit. Although he may have looked like a normal Anti-Rogue Operative, it was his five swords strapped to his back that made her curious.
“Introduce me to your friend, Elucard?” asked Mave. She smiled towards the new elf.
Malady responded by spitting a wad of mucus at the harekin’s feet.
“Malady,” Elucard growled, “play nice.”
Malady folded his scarred arms and sneered. “Why did you leave me out of the mission?”
“You’ve been with ARO for a year, hardly enough time has passed to be put on something so impo-”
Malady raised his chin; his frame was far more grizzled and muscular than Elucard’s. His very shadow dominated the conversation.
“You had more experience than me as a Black Rabbit, but you're a Red Rabbit now and I call the shots.” Elucard stretched his neck to push himself into the taller elf’s face.
“You denied me my experience to slay Long Whisper’s king, now you deny my experience to save the new one?”
Mave darted a look to Elucard. “To slay the king, wot?”
Elucard chose to ignore her. “You want to serve Long Whisper? You want to have a worthy mission?”
“That is what I’m asking, whelp,” seethed Malady.
“I shall assign you as Major Wiccer Newsun’s bodyguard in the invasion. Do well and keep Wiccer alive, and I’ll see about putting you on better missions.”
“You want me to prove myself by protecting some White Cloak brat?”
Elucard nodded.
“Fine.”
“One last thing, private.” Elucard hid a smile as Malady winced at his demeaning rank. “Master Sergeant Legion will keep an eye on you.”
Malady’s eyes widened with flabbergast. “What!?”
Legion grinned. “As you command, Captain.”
Elucard patted his master on the back. “The two of you report to the major for further instructions.” Elucard’s face quirked in fear, he tugged on
Mave’s arm. “Time to leave!”
The two captains made a quick exit as Malady’s frustrations exploded in the background.
***
Corso and Timber strolled down the cobblestone streets of Lost Dawns. Still lively with the visiting soldiers of the other countries, the Long
Whisper merchants were having a field day peddling their wares.
Timber stared at Corso’s habit from the corner of her eye, mumbling a snide comment to herself from time to time.
“You wish to know if I go into combat dressed as a holy man?” Corso finally spoke up.
Timber whipped her head to the side embarrassed that she was caught.
“It is fine, Timber,” the harekin said. “Look, you see that beggar up ahead?”
Timber nodded.
“Watch closely.”
Timber observed the panhandling man as he stuck out his hand to the various people walking by, each doing their best not to get close to the outcast or ignore his pleas. He looked up with hopeful eyes as Timber and Corso came by. The beggar hesitated at the sight of Corso, but decided against asking the rabbit before turning to Timber.
“Spare some trit, marm?” the beggar croaked out, his breath reeking of ale and his teeth yellow as corn.
Timber raised an eyebrow at the smiling harekin, before rummaging through her coin purse. She pulled out three copper coins and tossed them into the beggar's hand.
“Alue bless you, marm!” The beggar smiled graciously.
“Go in peace, my son.” Corso bowed to the beggar before briskly walking away.
Timber caught up to Corso. “What was that?” she asked in surprise.
“My dear kanis, no one asks a monk for a coin.” chuckled Corso. He slowed down in front of a noisy tavern. He read the swinging sign that hung above him. The Merry Wolf. “This place looks nice. Let’s stop for a drink.”
“I thought monks don’t carry coins?” Timber ribbed sarcastically.
Corso smirked. “We don’t.”
“No-Hops!”
Twenty or so harekins raised up their steins and hollered with admiration as Corso and Timber entered the tavern. Corso acknowledged them with a slight nod as he glided over to the bar. Timber followed him, locked a curious gaze.
The barkeep slid a frosty mug of ale to the awaiting hands of Corso.
“One on the house, brother. Please bless the Merry Wolf in your prayers tonight.”
“May Thorton bring you much fortune, my son,” replied the harekin, wiping away the froth from his black nose.
Timber punched Corso in the arm. “So you just masquerade as a monk to get free drinks?”
Corso rubbed his bruised shoulder. “Sometimes I get a free meal too,” he said innocently.
“You’re disgusting.”
Timber pushed through a group of dancing harekins while on the lookout for a free table. The gleeful rabbits laughed and sang Southtail ballads that filled the air up to the rafters.
Timber shoved over an elf collapsed in a drunken stupor off a relatively clean table.
“Sorry,” she murmured. Taking her cloak, she wiped off the elf’s drool hanging from the table’s ledge and pulled up a seat. “Corso, here!”
Corso slid up another chair and joined the wolf at the newly acquired table.
“No-Hops! W-whadda think of this jungle city?” A wobbling harekin stumbled over to Corso. He hiccuped and waved a sloshing glass of beer.
“I think you’ve had too much, Remus,” responded Corso. He took Remus’s mug and turned him to the exit. “Why don’t you go find an inn and sleep it off?”
“Yeah… I think yer right, No-Hops!” Remus staggered for the door.
Timber giggled. “Everyone seems to know who Corso No-Hops is.”
“I’m familiar with most rabbit folk.”
“So do all harekins just know each other? Or are you really that good at playing a ‘priest of the people?’”
Corso took a gulp from his drink. “We all have such big families back in Southtail. If we aren’t related to someone, then we’ve grown up with them.” Corso watched as Remus stopped to take a drink from a snarling kanis. The wolf rose from his seat and wound back his fist before walloping the harekin in his eye. Corso shook his head. “You dogs always run in packs,” he said, turning back to Timber. “Do you know that scruffy looking one over there?”
Timber growled in annoyance. “We don’t all just run through the woods like savages!”
Corso continued to watch as the revelry from his fellow harekins halted and began to gather around the kanis. “But you do know him, right?”
Timber lowered her head in shame. “Valentino.” She squirmed in her seat. “He’s tried out for ARO a few times, but he’s got a temper like a wild bull.”
Shouting broke out between the gang of harekins and Valentino as he shoved back several of the rabbits that grew closer to him.
“Well your friend has gotten himself in quite the jam. Should we help him?”
Timber snickered. “I think he’s got this handled, but we should really slip out before this gets ugly.”
Corso’s ears stiffened as Valentino thrashed a flurry of hooks and jabs at the angry encroaching rabbits.
“Come, let us find the back exit.” Corso trotted backwards as the fur began to fly in the Merry Wolf.