Outsider

Chapter 2

The fire was banking, so he leaned in stiffly and mixed up the wood with a stick, careful not to smother it as he tried to coax it brighter and warmer. He scooted himself as close to the fire as he dared, setting down the stick to rub his hands near it.

He had no blankets. He had lit the fire with only a piece of flint, as he carried no supplies. He only had the necessities with him. These were his sword, a dagger, whetstone, and a piece of flint. Everything else he could either make from the environment surrounding him or perhaps get from a village as payment.

The villagers offered money after he had dispatched of demons that plagued them, but he never took it. It really was a bit backhanded to take money for it, considering what he did. Considering what all Outsiders did with demons when they killed them.

His head snapped up and he peered at the darkness surrounding him. Then he stood and drew his sword. \"Come out where I can see you.\"

A form shifted and then moved into the firelight, huddled in on itself. It slowly unfolded to reveal a man, shivering in the cold and wrapped in a threadbare cloak. \"P-please. I\'m sorry…I just saw the fire and—\"

The sword made a hissing sound as it was slid back into its sheath. \"Come and share my fire then.\" Fenris folded himself back to his seat, watching the man stumble forward gratefully with careful eyes. \"What are you doing out here in the cold?\"

The man\'s hands took up residence where Fenris\'s had been, rubbing together briskly. \"I-I was heading toward the village…for supplies. I live near here…. I guess I got turned around.\" The man glanced at him nervously.

Fenris nodded. \"You must have. The village is the other way.\" He gestured back the way he and the man had come.

The man\'s eyes widened comically and he turned his head, then let out a curse and turned back around. His smile was sheepish as he chuckled. \"Well…that was wasted time and energy.\"

Fenris shrugged. \"You\'re not fooling me.\"

The man paused for a moment, looking confused at the words. Then he raised a brow and grinned. \"Really? What was it that tipped you off? Did I slip into demonic?\"

Shaking his head, Fenris did not move from his spot, just stared at the demon. \"You didn\'t change your scent.\"

The demon in human guise flicked a hand out, snapping his fingers at the end, still grinning. \"Well damn. I thought I had it all down.\" He shrugged minutely. \"Oh well, you humans stink anyways.\"

\"Surely I smell differently.\"

The demon gave another shrug and seemed indifferent. \"Yeah, you do. It\'s what drew me here, of course. I thought I\'d try my hand at killing one of you.\"

Fenris raised both brows at the demon. \"Perhaps you should\'ve tried someone younger.\"

Pointing a finger at Fenris, the demon wagged it back and forth. \"Now, now, age doesn\'t really mean that much. I\'ve seen young ones take the head of a demon without breathing hard and older ones swing a sword like it\'s a fish.\"

Fenris did not crack a grin, much to the demon\'s disappointment. He just sat there, watching the demon on the other side of the fire. He didn\'t reach for his sword and even twitch a muscle. It was a stillness that told the demon that this man was not of the latter group.

\"Well, you\'re no fun. Last guy I ran into chuckled a little.\"

\"Last guy? An Outsider?\"

The demon perked up at the topic and laughed. \"Why do you call yourselves that? Do you really think so highly of yourselves that you have to call yourself something just because you\'re in neither world?\"

\"We didn\'t chose the name—\"

\"The name chose you. Yes, yes, I\'ve heard that before.

\"Yes, it was an Outsider. He was quite tasty.\"

The expression on Fenris\'s face darkened and both of them moved at the same time, the demon rising from the ground as the Outsider did. The sound of his sword drawing from its sheath broke the stillness.

\"I guess it\'s a little easier than I thought. I thought I\'d have to do a little more to enrage you.\"

Fenris tilted his head at that. The last word, addressing him, had a certain lilt to it.

\"Oh yes, I\'ve heard of you. We all have. He\'s looking for you. He says he misses you.\"

Fenris\'s face changed then, becoming as hard as a stone. He suddenly swirled into motion, the arm with his sword drawing back. The demon cackled and lunged forward, his human form ripping from him to reveal a black and shiny body beneath, bent and gnarled. Spines protruded everywhere from him, and it was hard to tell how he\'d hid them in the human guise.

Fenris did not movie, He did not flinch or even twitch at the grisly sight coming at him, though he remembered long ago when he had done so. The demons were enough to give him nightmares still at least. He was still human for that.

A sword swung as a clawed hand came down. There was a sound of tearing flesh and an ungodly scream that echoed in the cold night air.

A fine mist filled the air as Fenris stared down at his kill, breath panting into the air. He bent down beside it, his sword dripping black ichor onto the ground. Demons did not bleed blood after all, but bled something that looked a smelled like bile.

He reached down to heave the body over, the head lolling to the side. When the body turned, the head did not, staying where it was, neatly severed from the body.

Grunting, he laid his sword beside him and reached for his boot, pulling out a dagger. He pressed it to the body, right below the sternum. He cut down from there and jerked back one boot as the yellow substance spilled out onto the ground, steaming into a puddle around the body.

Finally, a gloved hand reached in, grabbing at the insides and pulling them out, heading for the chest as he searched for something.

\"I think it\'s too small for that.\"

Fenris whirled on his heels, his hand reaching his sword and his dagger out and ready. He was only met, however, with a form that leaned heavily on a tree. One hand clutched at his side as he grinned widely at the other man. \"He was my kill you know. Left me to rot, the dumb bastard.\"

There was a dry chuckle and the other pushed off the trunk, moving toward the fire and swaying a bit. Something dripped from the man\'s hand as he made it to the fire and collapsed on his ass.

He sat there for a few minutes, watching Fenris, and then he grinned even wider. \"Hey! I know you!\"

Snorting, Fenris sheathed his dagger. Then he moved over to his pack, stepping around body and ichor. He pulled out a rag and carefully cleaned his sword. \"You\'re bleeding.\"

The other man grimaced. \"Yeah, it\'s a bitch, right? Little devil vomited on me! He vomited! Grossest thing ever! He made me lose my dinner!\"

\"You were distracted by it?\"

At the chastising tone of voice, the other man sat up a little straighter. \"Hey, excuse me for still having a stomach on me. I\'d just eaten and…well…it stunk!\"

The rag landed on the obviously younger man\'s leg. \"Tie up your wound. Take off your armor too. I can keep watch while you recover.\"

Grinning, he removed his top armor piece, comprised of linking chains, and set it beside him. \"You\'re not as bad as they say.\"

\"Tomorrow morning I expect you to be gone or I\'ll gut you.\"

The man paused in binding his wound and threw back his head laughing. Fenris stared at him blandly, waiting for him to stop. When he finally did stop, it was to shake his head. \"Not as bad at all.\"