Blood-Forged

At the mouth of the cave was a man standing with his back to me. His shoulders were broad and his hands clasped together loosely at the small of his back. His black hair was about chin-length and seemed slicked down with some substance. His clothes were extremely simple, tight, black pants, the clothes of a warrior.

Just like me, the man in front of me did not have a human form before but still, I knew who he was immediately, "Piercing Gale!" I called out, my voice hoarse and cracking, still raw from screaming.

"Blood-Forged." He turned towards me, his traitorous face set with cold and serious eyes. His eyes moved downwards and then his face snapped to the side, a bright shade of red taking over his cheeks and the tops of his ears, "Why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"

"Huh?! It's not like there was any cloth in the cave. Besides, it's not like my body is anything you haven't seen before." I took a few more steps towards him, "This body looks just like Ves'hil'n's. And you have seen every inch of his naked body many times through the eyes of that back-stabbing, two-faced, black-hearted bastard!" Each word hurt my burning throat more but I still got louder and louder.

Piercing Gale's head snapped back to face me, the red on his skin splotchier in his anger, "You-!"

"What? Are you going to say that he didn't stab you through the heart of my prince from behind? That he didn't slay him in cold-blood, when Ves'hil'n loved him? Trusted him?" I closed the distance between us in a few steps, grabbing hold of his shirt. Just like Eun was to Ves'hil'n when they were younger, he was a good head shorter than me, and I dragged him up to my level.

He shoved me off easily, stumbling back, my body that was still unused to itself unable to hold on, "You're mad! Just like he was!"

My vision went red and lunged for him. But before I could get my hands on him I found myself flat on my back.

"This can fucking wait!" A new but familiar voice snapped; Death-Bringer.

"Huh-" My voice crackled into nothingness when I sat up. Sure enough standing over me was Death-Bringer. Her face and body looking exactly like Tejara's but her dark hair was far messier than Tejara would ever allow hers to be.

"This grudge between your wielders has waited two hundred years already; it can wait until we do our job."

"What j-" I couldn't finish my words, the scratchiness of my throat forcing me to dissolve into a coughing fit.

Piercing Gale pointed his nose up into the air to look down on me as much as possible and spoke over my coughing, "The Demon Lord is rising. It has been peaceful in the past two hundred years. The people have grown soft, they cannot take him down without us." He tilted his head down to properly look me in the eye and held out his hand, "Will you help us continue the divine mission placed upon us and our master's over two hundred years ago."

I took a deep breath, "Yes." I croaked out, standing up without taking his hand, "But when it's taken care of I will kill you."

Piercing Gale sighed and turned away from me, starting down the forest road.

"Here." Death-Bringer pulled something from her bag, "I figured you'd need something to wear so I acquired some clothes that I thought were Ves - er - your size... I'll help you dress, you're probably still stiff."

Even as I stepped into the pants Death-Bringer held out for me, I couldn't take my eyes off the retreating form of Piercing Gale.