God help the outcast

From birth till about here where he was holding a what seems to be rather bony little man, Netsuke has be hustling to get by. Well that wasn’t very true, he had a very devoting mother who had very devoting lovers that bought him presents as well. It was when he turned sixteen of age that he started to really hustle. The death of his mother took away the men that gave them presents.

So at age of twenty-six, ten years later, the snake had reached to the point of stealing from pretty boys on a swimming trip. So far on his first try, he thought he was doing good. The kitty in front of him still was glaring at him, baring his teeth as well but hasn’t grabbed for anything that could hurt him. Yet.

“You look cold, my friend.” The red-head smiled and leaned in to whispered in the trembling captive‘s ear. “My little friend, slowly and I mean slowly, give our friend here his pants.” The bony brunet moved even slower then a snail that just woke up, grabbing the sad looking breeches. “Un hooked the guns belts please. Thank you.” He smiled softly as the boy did just that and moved to hand the pants to the snarling cat. “No no, just throw them at him. I want you here with me.” Netsuke grabbed him by the waist and held him close, the side of his knife against his neck.

The wet jaguar looked like he was about to pop something in his back, moving as tense as he was as he pulled up his pants and fasten them up. “We have nothing of value. That boy shaking in your arms was just robbed the other day.”

“Well I know a nice-dressed boy like this one has to have some pretty things. I’m not picky.” The copperhead then made the brunet reached down to grab his rather nice looking pack and threw it at the blond man. “Dump it all on the ground and show daddy what’s in it.”

The vibrate violet eyes kept glaring ahead at his smiling amber eyes as he upturned the bag and let the items fell. Which was mostly bottles, little books, a pen, a small yellow pouch with a silver ‘K’ on it, a large fox-fur blanket and a glasses case.

“Told you.” The cat smirked, looking so smug. He really hated cats.

“Damn it all to Hades.” The copperhead muttered and accidentally nicked the soft neck of his hostage. The boy whimpered and the guard-kitty yelled out something. Which must have been the world ‘duck’ since he now saw a blurring object heading his way and the boy was moving away from him. Netsuke quickly moved out of the path of the knife and heard it thucked into a poor nearby tree.

“All right, that’s just asking for a fight right there, Miss Kitty.” He tossed his own blade between his hands, both eyes on the spotted man before him.

The jaguar cracked his neck and stood with his bare feet apart, getting into fighting position. Looking smug, again. “Bring it, I always wanted a pair of snake-skinned boots.” his fingers flickering for him to come at him.

The poor brunet scampered out of the way as the two men rushed at each other. The sound of flesh hitting flesh and grunts as blows made a hit. He sat on the water’s edge watching as two strong bodies moved in a really bloody and bruising dance. He winced in sympathy as he saw a knee going into Heaven’s stomach. The cat came right back with an elbow to nose.

The fight lasted for the whole afternoon and most of the evening. Both men were breathing heavily and bodies like a quilt of bruises and cuts. But both didn’t want to be the first to admit defeat. Kenneth had made a sorry looking fire and cooked some fish that Heaven had thankfully caught earlier for himself and his new friend the little turtle that had climbed up of the water to watch the long fight with him.

“This is a classic show of alpha male dominance, Cater.” He offered a piece of fish to his little turtle fried who just bit into it. “They don’t want to show weakness in front of each other so they’ll just keep fighting till they both drop.”

He blinked when they actually did but only to wrestle on the ground and starting throwing insults at each other…again. The brunet excused him self to his friend and got up to look for one of Heaven’s loaded guns. He smiled happily when he found one and aimed it out away from him to the side and covered his ear with his free hand, pulling the hammer back and squeezed the trigger.

The loud bang sound stilled both fighters, Heaven pinned under the heavier man, both panting and staring at the bony man.

“Now That I go your attention, why don’t you bring your bruised behinds over here and have some food and rest a bit and have round two in the morning.” He smiled and sat back down next to the turtle who was eating the human’s share of fish.

The copperhead grunted when he roughly pushed off of his sparring opponent and rub the smear of blood off of his lips as both men crawled over to the fire. Both men winced as he ate into a bit of roasted fish but drank down the water from the water-skin happily. They both fell back onto their backs from pure exhaustion. Kenneth rolled his eyes and rolled up his sleeves as he got to work tending each sleeping man’s wounds. Being less then gentle as he worked.

Why him? Why was it always him?

----

Heaven groaned as the morning sun hit him in the face and rolled onto his side to bury his face in the soft pillow. His arms wrapped around it as he sighed happily. He made a soft squeak when he felt the pillow moving and snuggling him close. Perking his head up off the pillow. Which was the coppery hair of the snake he was fighting yesterday. He sat up quickly and kicked at the man’s thigh before moving over to where his pest was sleeping.

“Sid, I swear I’ll never listen to you again about picking up strays.” He muttered as he angrily but stiffly pulled on a long sleeved tunic.

“It’s your own idiotic fault for fighting all day.” Kenneth, now used to the Sid-talking, muttered back as Cater trotted off of his chest with a sleepy growl and headed back to the water.

“You should have killed him when he was passed out. By the way I won the fight.” Heaven shoved at the brunet then went looking for a knife.

“I had you on your back, you runt.” The copperhead groaned as he held his head in his hands once he found the strength to sit up. He laid back down as the world was too dizzy for him at the moment.

Kenneth grabbed the knife away as the jaguar growled. “Heaven, please get us all some breakfast.” He pushed the irate man away into a direction not towards the groaning copperhead. He stubbed the earth beside him and build the fire back to life.

The green eyes watched as the red-haired man made one more attempt at sitting up. They kept watching as he checked over his wounds and made an unhappy face at the sight of them. Well this is looking out to be a long morning for everyone.

---

And it was a long morning that turned into a long afternoon. The clerk's face stayed red and the jaguar's stayed annoyed. The bandit named Netsuke, turns out hasn't been one for long, spent the last few hours talking about the many females he had mated. And from what tribes and what markings they each had and how he brought them to great climax.

In great vivid details.

After the tale of the cobra twins, poor Kenneth who held out as long as he could, past out from the over detailing of two very talented tongues on the snake's little or rather very big snake from the way he tells it. There was a long trail of blood from the man's nose, that rather scared the other two men on how free flowing it was.

"Now I know this guy is a virgin, a closeted perverted one at that. But you, runt? I bet you were a very pretty little boy that the boys practiced kissing on before showing them skills to pretty little spotted women." The blasted snake chuckled as he cleaned the blood trailed from the still unconscious clerk.

Heaven didn't bother with a look or a annoyed grunt as he didn't moved from his spot from under a tree, keeping out of the hot sun that made him shred the long coat. Bared arms crossed over the bare midriff in part defensive and part comfortable.

"Mmmm. And I bet a few of them enjoyed testing out their bedroom skills on you before moving for the real thing." He looked up to find that the cat wasn't really paying attention. More like he was napping. "Well damn, that was pointless." He really wanted to ruffled the kitten's fur.

The bony man finally woke up, groaning and rubbing his head. Then passed out once more when the copperhead's grinning face came into focused. After a good few minutes, when it was clear that clerk wasn't waking up, Heaven who was faking to nap get out of talking to the snake-man, got up shouldering his pack on both shoulders and pulled the dazed out man onto one shoulder.

Sid would be so proud of him. He haven't killed the snake or attempted kill and he was carrying the clerk instead of leaving him behind.

"So where you two fellas headed?" Netsuke walked beside the jaguar runt with arms crossed behind his head, eyes closed to soak up the afternoon sun.

"Town. To dump him off and then I'm heading to the mountains of my fore-cats and picking up the long lost treasures they said to be there." Speaking for the first time since the snake started his tales of female-conquest.

"Treasures? Why now that's adventure for both healthy and -"

"You're not invited to go." Heaven cut in. "In fact, why are you still here?" He turned his head to glare in question at the redhead, wondering what's the angle.

Netsuke shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the glare. "I'm bored." Making that the answer for everything.

"Right." The cat grunted out and kept walking. Kenneth decided to come back to the living when they switched carrying duties and staring at firm round buttocks through brown suede breeches.

"I think we need to find our friend a playmate in town." Said snake spoke when the clerk decided to walk far head of the two stronger males. "I thinking of a strong young buck of a man. He's too dainty for a woman."

"Whatever."

-----------------------

Finally out of the wild feral country, Kenneth was back in the safe and very familiar form of civilization. First thing he did was to find a messaging service to send out a pigeon to his employer's shop, explaining what has happen in the last two days, cutting out his fellow travelers' stories in the past few hours and please send money and change of clothes and a carriage to take him home.

Pleased that now he would be thoroughly rescued, the little clerk went out in search of his new friends. He found them at a local and very colorful little tavern called 'Blue Herring" He squeaked when a busty dark-haired woman latched her self to his arm and mauled on his ear, thinking he was an easy man to spend money on her needs.
"Back off, he's poor. Just looks fancy." The copperhead came to his rescue from his spot at the bar. Armed with a large mug of ale and sitting to face out, looking at the many patrons.

The woman huffed and stomped away, both men and many other men watched the swaying hips and the short skirt riding up to show jiggling cheeks underneath. Kenneth blushed deeply and planted himself at the safe side of the snake and gulped down half of the large pint that was placed in front of him.

"Where's Heaven?" Once his mind came back from over imagining of thoughts that he shouldn't be thinking.

Netsuke thumbed over the large table in the corner where men and women from many tribes and looking dark and seedy were playing a card game with the spotted member of their little group at the head of the table with smoking cigar between his teeth.

"Getting the money for our food and board." He didn't flinched when a fight broke out and five men and women ganged up on the jaguar when they found out he was trying to cheat them out of their money.

Kenneth turned green around the gills when he heard bones cracking and the pretty little cat-man turned into a bloody and bruised pile of flesh. Oh he gave as good as he took but in the end, he still crawled his way to the other two. Up a stool on the other side of the copperhead, clinging to the support of the counter of the bar and wheezing out for something wet that would dull the pain.

"So how much did you win?" Netsuke sing-songed with a too cheery grinned as he placed his mug in front of the wheezing man. The smallest of the strange trio squeaked when the runt fell hard to the dusty floor of the tavern. "I think we need to try another way to gain money." Both men watched the other twitching a little, trying to decide if it was a death twitch or just throbbing of swollen flesh in pain.

The little clerk just nodded and poured ice cold water onto the poor little spotted man.

After an hour, of applying bandages to jaguar's many cuts and helping him to a sitting position at the bar, Netsuke went off to try his hand at poker as Kenneth just kept their fallen comrade from slipping off the bar again. It would seem like the copperhead was having a better time at the cards then their friend, he hasn't been caught cheating yet and there was a pile of money and other things growing at his elbow. Then the good luck ended when a dusted covered little mongrel of a girl plowed in through the broken swinging doors of the "Blue Herring", panting and looking very terrified.

"QUICK THERE'S A MONSTER COMING FROM THE HILLS! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KILL IT BEFORE IT COMES DOWN TO DESTROY THE TOWN!"

There was a long period of silence before the tavern was quickly emptied out. There was still a cigar smoking in mid-air where its smoker was before he had ran out along with the rest of the patrons.

There was only three men left, one looking shocked and in awed at how fast a building can cleared out, one with his head on the bar looking like Death tried to take him but gave up and the other trying to figure out how his hard earned coin disappeared so fast at a card table.

"Thank the mighty Gods that three brave men are still noble enough to save our town."

Kenneth just blinked and looked around for another set of three men that was going kill a monster. Heaven plucked his head up and tugged at a loose bandage. Netsuke just went "huh?"

All four people looked in the direction behind the bar where groaning can be heard and a dark head poked out from behind and blood-shot eyes looked around.

"Hey where did everyone go?"

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(a/n: i have combined two chapters into one. just cause i feel like they were too short. that is all)