Monsters and Maidens

Barry Dodson had been rescued from the pit and healed, but so far, he regretted that fact. There was a constant dull pain in the center of his chest, one that stung his heart with every beat. His breaths were short and shallow, his mind would cloud from the oppressive feeling whenever he exerted himself too much.

And every time he closed his eyes, a singular clear image would appear before his eyes.

Fiery blond hair, green eyes sprinkled with motes of brown and gold, a beautiful face of smooth features and high cheekbones. And a look of utter disgust as the winged woman impaled him with her blade.

Barry couldn’t keep his food down was a struggle. Trying to sleep was a similar struggle, cold sweats and screams, nightmares he would not remember but that left him drenched and short of breath.

The waking word was no easier. The only reason the one haunting his nightmares had yet to turn them into reality was Kajou.

“It’s been days, he’s looking more pathetic by the hour,” the blond monster named Pan commented idly, her hand never leaving the pommel of her sheathed sword. There was not one moment where Barry was ever truly outside her line of sight either.

The human sat away from the warmth of the flame from the campfire, his back turned away from the two and peering towards the forest that surrounded them. It was no longer the sea of wooden behemoths; the forest they were currently in was much lighter, almost… normal. Barry glanced at the hemp keeping his ankles and wrists tied just loosely enough he wouldn’t be able to run.

Would it make a difference? He could barely walk without feeling winded.

“This is normal.” Kajou’s voice rang heavy, as she sighed. “You cut down a strong bond through death.”

“Don’t bullshit your way through this, he’s just playing you.”

“Sister,” the fellow woman spoke with a growl. “Would it kill you to hold your anger in check for once? He can’t hurt us.”

Pan bristled, shooting to her feet. “Maybe I should spar with you to remind you to never underestimate your opponent.”

The silence was bitter, the tanned woman turned away from her companion, lowering her gaze. “All I’m saying is that there’s little worth in these spats. He’s an off-worlder, and we should hurry to bring him back to the Coven after we’ve finished with our business with this court.”

“You keep saying that, but every day you speak that word it feels like it has less meaning, sister.” Pan glowered. “Off-worlders have always brought with them impossible feats of power and technology. I heard the one that showed up in Greta had brought a feral rush to a grinding halt with words alone.”

“I was the one that told you that story,” Kajou grunted. “And there're many things we don’t know about off-worlders, some might be weak of body but have other strange abilities. I know what I saw, Barry tamed that feral. The bond was strong and it had barely taken a night to get there.”

“Something I still do not believe.” Pan’s hand reached up to touch her chocker. “For obvious reasons.”

“And that is why he might prove the solution to the problem.” Kajou replied. “And do not change the subject, you killed that feral unprompted.”

“She was a feral, a flying one,” Pan snapped, gesticulating wildly around herself. “What would you do if she opted to fly off with the human and he managed to get back to one of their cities? Half the bloody kingdom would be hunting us down.” A growl followed. “And what’s this about giving a shit for some feral, anyway? It’s a feral, they’re not people.”

“It was still a good lead towards what his powers are. We need to understand what Barry-”

“I don’t care what his name is… But if you want to understand his powers so much...”

The sound of stomping boots made Barry flinch and shrink, tightening into a ball and lowering his gaze to the ground. He couldn’t run, couldn’t fight- what could fight such a monster as Pan? His chest ached with pain, throbbing, his heart sending lances of pain through him, the sensation only precluding the light kick that shoved him to fall on to his side. Suddenly the prospect of impossible odds was looking better and better.

“What are you doing!?” Kajou growled, moving to get Pan away from Barry.

“He’ll lie if you ask him to do something, if he has powers, he’ll just use them to protect himself. And… oh, he’s trying to run.”

The young man had heard enough; even with his ankles tied together too closely to be able to move, even with his chest screaming for air, Barry had pushed himself to do his level best to run. It was a half-stumble that got him a whole five steps before he collapsed on the forest floor, tripping on the rope.

His pathetic attempt at escape might not have managed to get him away from the blond demon, but it had been just narrowly enough time for Kajou to get between the two, blocking Pan’s path. “Enough!” The dark haired maiden declared, her voice snapping like the crack of a whip.

Pan’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re compromising our mission, sister. I will remind you who was put in charge here.”

The dark-skinned woman hesitated, lowering her gaze. “Do you not trust me anymore?”

“It’s him I don’t trust,” she replied almost defensively, recoiling slightly until she could focus on Barry. “He could’ve played some trick, a feral saying a name is no sign of them not being feral anymore. You’re seeing patterns where there are none.”

“I swear on the elder I know what I saw. That feral was tamed without a collar,” she proclaimed without hesitation. Her gaze flickered towards Barry. “And… if you give us the chance, it shouldn’t be impossible to do it again.”

Pan huffed, hand tightening on the pummel of her sword. “I’d hoped you would have changed your mind about this human if he stuck around for long enough, it seems I was wrong.”

Kajou raised her hands quickly in an attempt to pacify the angel. “I will not fight you, we both know I wouldn’t win. But could you at least let me have this? If it doesn’t work, then it just shows he’s a normal human.”

“We were tight on time before you got yourself kidnapped, now we’re short on it.” Pan glowered. “Shorter still because we have to drag that pathetic thing with us. Need I remind you what’s at stake here!? We cannot fail this mission.”

The words struck the tanned woman, and she lowered her hands, shaking her head. “I know! Alright? I know.” She gestured towards Barry. “But if it’s true that he can break the feral state without the collar’s help… then wouldn’t it mean we’ve found something better than what we were looking for?”

That proclamation appeared to hit its mark, and Pan hesitated, lips thinning as she glared at Barry. Her hand squeezed the pommel of her sword tightly. “I will not delay our march for this, you will prove this yourself, Kajou. Find a feral and…”

The angel stopped her words, glancing over her shoulder into the forest and frowning.

A howl pierced the silence of the camp, and its sound brought about a storm of fear to run its way down Barry’s spine. He struggled against the bonds all the harder now. His panic did not go unnoticed by the angel, and her pristine white wings twitched as the barest hints of a smirk fell upon her lips.

“Better yet, little sister.” She pulled her hand from her sword, turning to look at Kajou in amusement. “It seems some mutts are on the hunt. I think we should give them a nice bait, and you will take one of them for this feral experiment of yours.” Her lips pulled into a tighter smile. “If you can’t handle them, then I will just take you with me and retreat… only you though.” The monster’s hand made a gesture towards Barry. “Not him though, he I will leave behind.”