Rin the Rat: Tale of a Beloved MonsterCh49 - The Marquis

CW: Explicit language, mentions of physical/mental abuse, violence, gore, mentions of alcoholism and drug use, mentions of r*pe/sexual abuse, ableism/ableist language.

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The Temple is a remnant from the Last Cycle, crumbling atop a whaleback on the edges of the Black Forest. A sea of hard trash laps at the ridge, parted by many hands over many years to make way for a vast track into the heart of the Slums. It smells like hot rust and lead acid, difficult to bear for those unused to such trenchant stink. tZJled

The Temple itself seems to have been carved from a cliff face once standing but now long eroded. The blocky layers soar into the shimmering firmament and intricate detail adorn the fringes of the tiered architecture. Though most of the beauty is shorn away by time, the grandeur of the structure is no less than it was in its prime.

Rin pauses at the foot of the whaleback ridge, staring at the Temple in silent admiration. If it weren’t for the stink, he would have lingered for minutes more. The stairs are chipped into the ridgeside and dangerously unkempt, but he manages to reach the top without incident.

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Though he’s alone, he can hear his little lord now, yammering away excitedly about the ancient structure. Something about how this is clear evidence of the amalgamation of cultures during the Last Cycle. Perhaps he’d start espousing unification again – true unification and something something self-governance. And all the while, Rin would stare at him with a faint smile, unable to truly fathom the full extent of his ramblings, but endeared by his passion nonetheless…

“You!” A high pitched yap slams into him like a wall, stopping him in his tracks. A crude shortsword follows, the flat of the blade slapping against his chest. “Who are you and what business do you have here?” Xh1VJB

Rin glares at the willowy woman, her grubby face twisted into a toothy scowl. She’s dressed in a Northern marauder’s outfit, dirt stained and ragged. Her big boots stop just below the knee with rusted metal spikes wedged into the outsole and shank. The painted black band ringing her neck is indicative of her status as one of Marquis’ loyal Hounds.

He studies her rough features for a moment, wondering if he recognises her. Wondering if she recognises him.

But of course, how could she with his face in this state? He can barely recognise himself.

“Pug,” he drawls, leaning his weight upon his right leg. Indolent mirth tugs at his mouth. “It’s been a while.”

k6gBIl

The Hound jerks back in surprise, sword hovering in the short space between them. Her beady eyes widen as recognition sparks. “Rat?” She openly stares at his scars, lingers on his eyepatch. There’s no hiding her repulsion. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Oh, it’s a new look I’m trying on for the summer,” Rin says, dryly. “I see that not much has changed around here. Still a shithole like always.”

His eye flits over the hulking gate behind Pug, glazed bricks decorated with beasts and demiurgic creatures in low relief. 

“And you’re still an asshole like always,” Pug retorts, sliding her sword back into its battered sheath. “Took you long enough. The boss has been waiting on you for a good three days now.” 3XiNgA

“I’ve been busy,” Rin says, tersely. “Are you going to make me stand out here for much longer? It’s hot and my legs hurt.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that you’ve been drinking up a storm over at Sweet Brier. Everyone knows you’ve gone mad.”

“Better drunk and mad than sane and sober.”

Pug laughs and leads the weary youth through the open gate. Cuj4zA

In contrast to the exterior, the inner courtyard bustles with activity. Hounds both familiar and not, go about their respective errands: cleaning the grounds, maintaining equipment, gutting discarded appliances for salvageable parts, taking stock of stolen goods, and a myriad of other questionable activities. Beside the fenced in livestock, a group of Hounds are training with poor quality weapons.

Rin takes note of this with interest. At the very least if things go awry, he could escape more or less unscathed. Maybe. 

As they near the main entrance to the Temple, cold sweat collects on his back and soaks into his shirt. The last time he had stepped foot through this entrance had been around five years ago. Stifled memories come unbidden.

The Marquis was simply called Korain back then. His vibrant visage like the spring breeze steeped in the perfume of budding flora. He was exuberance and beauty epitomised, and Rin had been thoroughly intoxicated. oD49i

But with the spring, winter eventually and inevitably follows.

He remembers the darkness above all else. The unending murk that seemed to seep into his very being. It poisoned his flesh and his mind, sending him spinning into the cloying maws of madness. And he continued to love, fervently, obsessively, even as he was broken down to something less than human.

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“Keep up.” Pug’s curt voice cuts through his rumination like a crude blade.

Several Hounds stand guard at the main entrance with various salvaged weapons. All eye him with ugly expressions. He gives them an unaffected smile and flounces to Pug’s side. 06ldpk

Pug gestures impatiently to the guards. Two of them push open the hefty wooden doors, the ensuing creak so loud it shakes the Rat to his bones.

The entrance leads into the top floor of the Temple, which is brilliantly lit by an array of various electrical light sources. Lamps, strung up bulbs, a couple of mismatched chandeliers, and even an electrical fire with plastic flames. All cast infernal hues throughout the hall. It’s hazy, warm, and heady, not dissimilar to Blossom’s Church.

At the end of the hall, Rin can see the stone steps leading up to the dais. The platform is covered in cushions contained within a sturdy redwood frame. A tall figure with spindly limbs sits languidly amongst the cushions, smoking from a pipe and entertained by two lissome youths on either side.

Rin’s expression tightens, his gaze turned shear. Panic threatens but he keeps a steady breath, slow and deep, and he just manages to cling onto his frayed senses. J4hOzH

As Pug leads Rin closer to the dais, he can further define the Marquis’ features.

The man is older, thinner, and sharper. He seems at once more frail and more lethal than Rin remembers. His white hair, artificially stripped of colour, falls in feathered waves around his fine features. Cool phoenix eyes regard him like arrowheads, whittled to a fine edge. If the Rat is the warm beauty with hidden teeth, the Marquis is the cold allure who wears venom like colourful plumage.

Even now, Rin feels both the potent magnetism of the man. If not for the fear gnawing at his very being, surely he would be swept away by remerging emotions.

Old wounds are nothing in the face of obsession. jO9Xht

Pug prompts Rin to stand at the base of the steps. He obeys silently, feeling numb all over. His steady breathing falters along with his heart. Five years ago he vowed never to return. Today, he breaks that vow.

“Mon bébé souris…oh, I have missed you so…”

Rin trembles at the pet name, the colour draining from his cheeks. He instinctively steps back, but forces himself to refrain from moving any further. This is no time to act weak.

“…Korain,” he says, flatly. “Can’t say I’ve missed you at all.” 6ktIjy

The Marquis leans forward, waving away the haze of smoke to better scrutinise the youth’s injured face. A fine brow rises, like an arched stroke of ink from a fume brush. “I had heard what happened,” he says, lilting voice clear and refined. “My sincere condolences for your loss, bébé souris. It is a tragedy that should never have occurred…” He raises his long, slender fingers to his eyes, as if to dab his waterlines dry. The delicate lily-faced boy to his left leans over and nuzzles the Marquis as if to comfort.

“Spare your false tears, Korain,” Rin snaps, hackles raised. If he’s all barb, he has no space for fear. “What do to you want? Why am I here?”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Ah, yes…” The Marquis raises his head, gathering himself in a mere instant. “Thank you for answering my summons, bébé souris.”

“Yours is the last face I ever wanted to see.” Rin narrows his eyes as he raises his chin defiantly. “But your Hounds are persistent.” OuFHaz

“P jqbibulrf lo atfs kfgf tfjns tjcvfv. Zs vlgfmalnf kjr obg atfw ab vfilnfg ws wfrrjuf bcis. Dea atfs mjc yf delaf…ibsji, sbe rff, jcv nfgs mbcrlvfgjaf bo ws klrtfr.”

“Obsji, regf. Yg gjylv. Ktfs kfgf qgjmalmjiis ogbatlcu ja atf wbeat ktfc P abiv atfw ab qlrr boo.” Lf qblcafvis lucbgfr Ueu’r uijgf. “P’w j yers ues, Bbgjlc. Qts vbc’a sbe pera rjs sbeg qlfmf rb P mjc ufa beaaj tfgf jigfjvs?”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

There’s a flicker of irritation that Rin catches – it’s fleeting and subtle, but distinct enough to briefly mar those perfect features.

“Very well. I suppose I cannot blame you for wanting to avoid pleasantries. We did not part on the most amicable of terms after all…” 39liCz

“Amicable?” Rin clenches his fists, desperately fighting the visceral urge to bullrush the Marquis and snap his godsdamn neck– “If you’re gonna keep dicking me around, I’m leaving.” He spins on his heels and stalks towards the main entrance, but the Marquis’ voice cuts into his back like a scythe.

“I simply wanted to see you, bébé souris.”

Rin comes to a standstill, the air knocked from his lungs. He bares his teeth. Grinds them until his jaw creaks. “…Why are you doing this, Korain?” he murmurs, unsteadily. “You took everything away from me. What more do you want?”

Somehow, the Marquis hears Rin’s words despite the smallness of his voice. “I know about your recent exploits. About how you single-handedly brought down Father Blossom and his Church. About how you scammed the Hwans and burglarised the estate. You have been impressing yourself upon the Slums, bébé souris, changing things for the better like we always dreamed of.” PcARUh

Rin turns to stare at the Marquis, eye gaping, pupils shivering. And then, something bubbles in his chest. Rises up his throat. Bursts from his lips in uncertain, staggered peals. The raven lurches as he breaks out into hysterical laughter, the sound jarring and giddying, echoing through the great stone hall in reverberating chorale.

Korain tightens his expression and leans back, gnawing angrily on the end of his pipe.

“Are you shitting me?” Rin pushes the heels of his palms into his eyes, both real and false. His shoulders quake, though his laughter has been replaced by strange, heaving gasps. “Did you forget what you put me through?” He drops his hands and a crimson iris meets the Marquis’ startled gaze. “Are you just stupid or have you actually lost your fucking mind?”

The Marquis sits in silence, visage hidden in the thick plumes of smoke. Eventually, he says in a syrupy tone, “I understand your anger, bébé souris. But the boy I was five years ago is not the man I am today. I had done you wrong. Inflicted great harm against you. And for that, I apologise from the bottom of my heart. I have changed over these past few years. I have learned many things, about myself, about the world around me. And I only wish for betterment. For myself, for the Slums, and for you.” CupjPg

“Keep talking, Korain. Maybe if you bullshit long enough, you’ll find a nugget of truth in there.”

“I am being honest. These are my true feelings, bébé souris–”

“Rin,” the raven says, curtly. “My name is Rin the Rat. And you’re not Northern, nor are you a Marquis, so you can drop the act.” He smirks, eye glittering like a ruby shard. “You say that you’ve changed, but I see the exact same boy from five years ago. Only you’re skinnier and uglier and somehow more of an asshole, if that were at all possible.”

“It is such a shame about your injuries.” It seems like an offhand comment, an ode to sympathy, but it hits Rin like a blow to the guts. DZm8jH

The raven intakes shortly, gathers his courage, and tilts his head back – facing the man head on. “You may not have changed, Korain. But I have.”

“Yes…you have. Your metamorphosis is indeed stunning.” The Marquis raises his hands, pipe slung between two fingers, as if in rapt praise of his guest. “There is a strength there that has been well cultivated over the years. A heat…a passion…that I can only admire. Ahh…I have been blessed to have witnessed your growth, bébé souris. And to finally speak with you face to face again…it is a dream come true–”

“Enough,” Rin says, flatly. “Whatever your game is, I’m not playing any part in it.”

Korain clears the smoke and studies the defiant Rat, his own eyes glinting in the murk. And then, with a frigid smile, he says, “There is someone else.” pMIDc0

Rin’s heart drops like a stone. “What are you on about?” he scoffs, trying to act nonchalant. “How far up your own ass are–”

“There is. You are in love with someone else. Or rather, you think you are in love with someone else.” The Marquis hums thoughtfully, chewing on his pipe. “You’re often with that big, bumbling fellow. Looks like an ape. Bull, I think you call him? He doesn’t seem your type but…desperation can make anyone appetising.”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

He suddenly tastes bile. “…How…how long have you been watching me?”

“Watching you? Whyever would I do such a deplorable thing?” QoLVnG

“Then how do you know about Bellow?”

“I miss our time together, bébé souris,” the Marquis sighs despondently. “Do you remember how in love we were? Our passion knew no bounds. We would spend days, nay weeks, in bed, making love and indulging, gorging ourselves on sweets…”

“I see you’re still gorging yourself,” Rin grits out. Every word from his former lover sends him deeper into his memories, until he feels the other’s bony hands traversing his body. His breath puffing hot in his ear. The pleasure and pain, clashing and intertwining into a nauseating blur. And the drugs, the mindless indulgence, until they lost any sense of themselves and only knew the other.

He shivers and folds his arms, squeezing his limbs tight against his rattling chest. “You’re still the same. Still the same.” If he repeats it long enough, he might be able to wear those words like armour. Protect himself from the man’s cloying words. QuSdEJ

“You may think as such,” the Marquis says, nodding sagely. “But you will see in time the kind of man I truly am.”

Rin’s glare is piercing, alert. “I already know what kind of man you are.”

“Why do you think I have spread my influence over the Slums?”

“…You’ve always wanted to play king of the shit mountain–” utjAMk

“The Slums have been fractured for far too long. Slummers have had to live under the thumb of so many factions, all with self-serving interests. And I plan on changing that.”

Rin barks a laugh. There’s not a shred of mirth to be found. “You think you’re not self-serving? You’ve been killing Slummers for not bending to your will. Tell me exactly how that’s for the betterment of your people?’

“Killing?” The self-proclaimed noble tilts his head, confusion writ upon his face. “Ah. You are of course talking about the boy.”

“Yeah. The kid you strung up because he was protesting your so called ‘tax’–” hrNg3I

“He had also been found guilty of forcing himself upon those unfortunate enough to cross his path. Should I have overlooked this?”

“…” Rin clicks his teeth together. Cold sweat beads his brow. “Is that for a fact?” he challenges lamely.

“His six victims can attest, yes.”

“…” hIX0q3

The Marquis taps the ash from his pipe. He sets it down and rises, gathering his sweeping midnight robes around his lanky form. With measured steps, he glides down the stairs, until he’s standing but a foot away from the Rat.

Now that he’s come close, Korain’s wintry beauty seems moreso blinding, and Rin can’t help but stare, enraptured.

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“Mon amour,” Korain breathes, smiling genially at the stunned youth. He brings his hands to Rin’s unmarred cheek, thumb grazing his smooth skin. “I want you to bear witness to the future I create. The Slums will be the kingdom we dreamed of. There will be abundance and wealth. None will starve or needlessly die ever again. Does this not appeal to you?”

Rin flinches and trembles. Unlike Jun’s warm touch, Korain’s fingers are ice cold. Nausea roils his guts, sending him stumbling back. But Korain follows, shrinking the gap between them with every step. mPB85E

“N-No…” he stammers, breath turning ragged. His back hits the wall and Korain presses his palms flat on either side, trapping Rin between. The latter is white as a sheet, looking on the verge of collapse. “Whether it’s you or…or Crow…or whoever the fuck has the Slums…nothing’s gonna change…”

The Marquis looms, his pointed features drenched in shadow. “‘If anyone can change things around here, it’s you.’ That is what you said to me five years ago. It is your belief in me that has spurred my actions. Your love, your heat, is my inspiration.”

“I was also high, to the point of soiling myself.”

“Mon amour…mon bébé souris…ma douce déesse…” The Marquis brings his face near, until Rin knows nothing but his stark phoenix eyes and chilling allure. “You are the brightest star…the most dazzling beauty…even with your scars, you still shine with unparalleled light.” L6ZzH3

There’s a thunderous pounding in his head. It’s all he can hear. There’s terror, anger, and a stirring attraction. He wants to throttle him. He wants to kiss him. He wants to run and never stop running, not until the Marquis is but a distant memory.

But he can’t. He’s rooted to the spot. Unable to think. Unable to breathe.

“You’re still the same…you’re the same…you haven’t changed…” If he says it long enough–

Even so, his armour is weak. His only defense is paper thin. CZzLXq

“For five years I have regretted my actions,” the Marquis continues, running his fingers through those mussed sable locks. “I have repented and punished myself without mercy. You cannot imagine the agonies I have endured. If only you knew…if only you knew…then perhaps you could find it in yourself to forgive me…”

“I will never forgive you,” Rin snaps, but his voice lacks any power. “Not as long as I live, Korain. I will never forgive you for what you did to me.” His sanguine eye burns like a solar flare. “You disgust me.”

Their noses are almost touching. It’s suffocating, painfully so. “And yet…you still came to see me.”

Rin slams his hands into the man’s chest, forcing him back with surprising strength. “I was forced to come! Your Hounds gave me no choice!” A lie…that’s a lie…there’s always a choice… SU5H 3

“Ah, but there is always a choice,” Korain says with that skin-crawling, syrupy smile of his.

Rin startles badly. It’s like the man’s clawed his way back into his mind and is now dragging his thoughts out too. Even if it’s a coincidence, he feels exposed. Violated. 

“You walked here with your own two legs. This is the choice you made, bébé souris. An interesting one to make, considering how much I disgust you.”

“You do!” Rin shouts, clenching his shaking fists. “You disgust me. You’ve always disgusted me. Even when you thought I was yours, there wasn’t a moment when I didn’t feel like tossing my guts up.” QgUeVF

“Is that so? Even when you clung onto my thigh, groveling, weeping for me to acknowledge you? Your ability to act under such duress is impressive.”

Burning shame pricks at him like a thousand needles. He heaves and tenses and endures the chaotic emotions frothing within – yet there is nothing he can say, nothing he can do, to contest the truth of the Marquis’ words.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Moreso than his scarred visage, his past self is unfathomable. A complete stranger that has inexorably tainted his present.

“Come, mon bébé souris,” Korain sighs, striding towards the agitated youth with an outstretched palm. “Let bygones be bygones. No more talk of unpleasant memories. We must share a drink and look to the future–” ys5GOt

But he’s turned his back. He’s blindly stumbling, out of the hall, away from the Marquis, putting as much distance as he can between himself and his past. He’s dimly aware of the loathsome man telling his Hounds to let him go unhindered. A part of him wishes otherwise. He wants nothing more than to fight and to lose himself in the cleansing violence.

And so he grabs the nearest figure –  a hulking Hound with a gormless expression – and he snaps his jaw clean through with the heel of his palm. Before the Hound can scream, Rin’s got him on the ground and he’s kicking his ribs in, cracking them one by one, and it sounds like gunshots, gunshots echoing over the Imperial Palace, and now he’s clawing at that stupid mug, contorted in fear, until he sees red–

And when the Hound stops moving, he finds himself running, sprinting, throwing himself down those crumbling steps and zipping through the junkyard, as if he could outrun the wind itself.

*** 2KgkzX

The Bull lazes outside in the small courtyard outside his house, watching Small pick dayflowers with a smile he’s unaware of wearing.

“There’s no point in picking them,” Bell gruffs as he lights up a cigar with cheap tobacco. “Dayflowers only last a single day. They’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

The pudgy lad straightens up, blinking down at his bouquet with a frown. “Oh? Is that why they are called dayflowers?”

“Yeah, probably. I ain’t a button…a boat…a button–” Z2Y3vw

“A botanist?”

“Yeah, that.”

Small chuckles and comes to sit by the Bull’s side upon the weathered porch, legs playfully kicking at the air. He sniffs the indigo flowers with a happy hum. “Then it’s all the more reason to enjoy them! I think it’s quite lovely, the idea that they only last a single day. It makes them all the more precious, don’t you think?”

Bellow shrugs and grunts, eyeing the lad through a cloud of acrid smoke. After a thought, he flaps a hand through the air, making sure the smoke doesn’t reach his companion. “You like flowers that much, huh?” cBusd4

“I do find botany a rather fascinating subject. Though my specialty lies in history, namely the Last Cycle.”

“The Last Cycle? Gah. What’s the point in studying something that’s done and gone?”

Small beams up at the Bull, gentle brown eyes glimmering with amusement. “Our history creates our present. If we do not learn and grow from our past, then we would never successfully progress through life.”

“Is that the kind of bullshit they teach you at the Imperial College?” TDr4eV

“Oh, but I enjoy it greatly, Bell!” Small exclaims, legs turning into a blur as he kicks in excitement. “If I study hard enough, I’ll be able to graduate in a year’s time. And hopefully, they’ll take me on as a scholar!”

The bigger man twists his features into a scowl. “Why the fuck do you wanna be a scholar for?”

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“Well, I want to teach as many people as I can about the Last Cycle. That way, perhaps we can avoid making the same mistakes. Maybe we could even break out of the Cycle altogether–”

Bell tosses back his head and laughs. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone and joined a disparition cult.” XM8dxB

“Of course I haven’t. But I won’t dismiss the possibility of achieving disparition. I know that one day we will find out why the Cycle exists and what the gods plan for us. Whether that will be within my current lifetime remains to be seen, but I still want to keep trying.”

“Eh…well, I ain’t gonna stop you from trying, I suppose. Even if I do think it’s stupid.”

Bellow flushes at the brilliant smile he’s gifted and he quickly averts his gaze.

Over the last few months, he’s become accustomed to this limpet of his. So much so that he feels quite listless and empty without him by his side. And it’s been within the last few weeks that he’s started to notice how quickly Small has been growing. nxyFGb

Despite being of the same age, Bell has always seen Small as he might one of his boys. A subordinate, a lackey, someone he has a modicum of authority over. But with every inch Small grows into, and as his round features start taking on definition, Bell sees a beauty in emergence.

A beauty that steals his attention, his entire focus, every time he takes notice. And with each passing day, it’s getting harder to ignore.

“Bell?” Small cocks his head in concern. “Have I upset you?”

The Bull grumbles something in response, but it’s difficult to distinguish his words. HdG 36

Lips pursed, Small plucks a dayflower from his bouquet and slips it behind the brutish lad’s ear. “I’m sorry. I know I can get a bit carried away about the Cycle. We can talk about something else if you’d like. Erm…like about s-sex or…ah…drink? Or fighting!”

Though he seems rather disgruntled about the flowery addition to his hair, he doesn’t yet remove it. In fact, his prickly demeanour seems softened by the gift, and he turns his narrow gaze back to the tentative lad.

“Is that all you think I am?” he growls, flicking Small between the eyes. “Sex, drink, and fighting?”

The latter squeals and claps his hands to his head, squinting moreso in surprise than pain. “No! I know you’re more than that. I guess I’ve never really asked what your interests are…” He rubs his sore brow, cheeks crawling red. z5HVOI

“…Cooking.”

Small perks up, blinking rapidly. “Cooking?”

“Mn. I like cooking.”

That round face lights up like the dawn soaked sky, flowers near crushed in his excited grip. “Oh! You like cooking! I never knew that you had such a skill! How did you learn to cook? What do you like to make? Why don’t you cook more if you enjoy it so much?” ozFsYl

“‘Cus I’m lazy,” Bell grunts, tossing the butt of his cigar into the dirt. He crushes it beneath the heel of his boot. “And it takes coin to cook. Coin I don’t have.”

“If I provide the coin, would you cook for me?”

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Pink tinges the Bull’s ears. A faint smile tugs at his lips, unbeknownst to himself. “…If you gimme the coin, then I suppose I could whip something up.”

“Sorry to interrupt your little date,” comes an obnoxious, drawling voice. “But I have a message to deliver from the Marquis.” QDrCzL

The two men glance at the hoary gate, through which a group of Hounds amble through with various melee weapons clasped in their hands. Each wear an ugly sneer with bloodlust in their beady glares.

At the fore, a willowy woman with big fuck-off boots decorated with metal spikes.

Bellow shoots to his feet, dense form taut as rock. He raises his calloused fists, widening his stance as he instinctively readies himself for a fight. Without realising, he’s placed himself between Small and the gang, acting as a protective shield for the pudgy lad.

“B-Bell?” Small peers around his friend’s muscular form, brows tilted acutely in worry. sqc0S6

“Stay behind me, runt,” Bell growls, nudging Small back. “And if things get ugly, make a break for it.”

“But Bell–”

“Go on then,” the Bull grunts, sizing up the Hounds with a surly eye. “Gimme the message already.”

Pug laughs loudly as she slams a metal pipe into the palm of her hand. No shortsword this time. The Marquis had been explicit about avoiding fatalities. DFG5nz

“You misunderstand me, Bull,” the woman sneers and bares her jagged teeth. “The message isn’t for you.”

“What are you doin’ here then?”

“The message isn’t for you. It is you.”

They surge at once like a ruthless tide, crashing into Bell as if he were an exposed bank. Pipes, batons, and bats descend upon him in turn, and for the most part, he’s able to fend them off. Jb 6pK

Strong forearms crack wooden bats in twain. Large hands rip pipes from palms and use them against their owners. Batons are swiped and go flying. But with every blow he manages to avoid, another sneaks past his defenses.

Within moments, he’s inundated.

Small stares in wide-eyed horror as his friend, his sturdy friend, is stomped and beaten into the dirt. Blood streams from every pore. Teeth scatter with every ruthless kick. Bellow’s snarls turn to growls turn to yelps turn to groans.

He becomes pulp, barely recognisable as a person. lDom53

And when the Bull stops moving, six pairs of hungry eyes flicker over to Small.

He who is no bigger than the smallest Hound and yet stands with a boundless presence, swelling with the power of his rage. They hurt his friend. They hurt Bellow. And he feels unafraid. Simply immortal.

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