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Slayer or Layer 42

For Lorvianne

By Draconicon

Saying goodbye to his children took longer than he would have liked, but he was glad that Lia had forced him to do it. She was right; it was necessary for him to stay close to them, and he owed them that much. By his own morals and by the morals of the dragons, they needed to have some connection to the one that had borne them in the womb. Egg-born or not, they still deserved that much.

He watched as they were taken away in the wagons that Sila had put together, then made his own goodbyes. With that done, he, Lia, and Mastar started making their way down the road, and he...well, he was getting used to walking on two legs again, and was doing his best not to get too addicted to the feeling. The curse, after all, could strike again at any time, and he had no way of knowing just how permanent this shift was.

For the moment, he allowed himself to enjoy it, from the way that he was able to walk without lumbering to the feeling of having actual earth under his boots. Boots. Gods, he had wondered if he'd ever be able to wear boots again, or any other type of clothing, for that matter.

Lia walked at his side and Mastar kept to the rear, the older female shaking her head as she looked this way and that, trying to keep a ready eye out. Lorkos could have told her that it wasn't needed, but, well, it might be. Bandits were always getting cleverer, and it was always possible that they might end up sneaking up on their little party before his instincts or Lia's keen senses spotted them.

As they walked, he found himself more and more aware of his daughter at his side. She had always been more 'present' than the rest of his children, probably due to being the oldest, but he'd never had her this close before. She had always been at the edge of his attention, only forcing herself forward for a moment before giving him space before. He shook his head, trying to ignore it.

Honestly, he should have known that wasn't going to work. Lia leaned over and started talking.

"This is very important to you, isn't it?"

"Probably more important than almost anything else."

"And what's the almost?"

"You and the others."

"I'm touched, Lithia."

"You're the one that's been pushing it," Lorkos muttered, shaking his head as he rubbed his burning cheeks. "Not my fault that you've started making an impact."

"I suppose not. Still, I'm grateful I have."

"Why did you decide to come along?"

"Why wouldn't a daughter help her Lithia?"

"Yes, but I'm not exactly a standard Lithia, am I?"

He looked down the road. So far, they hadn't met anyone, not even travelers. The thick robes he wore were the sort that might have been found on a refugee, or some poor nomad that moved from place to place. Lia and Mastar wore the same, all three of them doing their best to hide their more scaly features. As long as they weren't stupid and made sure to clear off the road if any soldiers came their way, they shouldn't be recognized.

If they were, he'd already made the decision that he'd have Lia run. Whether she listened was another matter.

His daughter looked over her shoulder at Mastar. She shook her head, then turned back to him.

"Do you need to be a regular Lithia?"

"I'd imagine it'd help."

"Not really. You wouldn't be you, then."

"Would that change all that much?"

"You care for us in a different way, Lithia. And you do more for us than you think." His daughter took his hand and squeezed it. "I don't know why you put yourself down, but you shouldn't. You matter to us, and the important thing is, we matter to you. As long as that is true, I don't think that there ever needs to be any worries."

That made him smile. Not for long, but it did.

"Hey, you two."

Lorkos turned at Mastar's words, then looked towards the sky as their mage pointed to something in the distance. He could just make out a few dots that were flicking through the clouds, disappearing and reappearing by turns.

"I'm not the only one that sees that, am I?" Mastar asked.

"No...no, you're not," Lorkos muttered. "Off the road. All of you. Off the road."

"What is it?" Lia asked, already in motion.

"Gryphons."

That was all that needed saying. If there were patrols out and about, then they needed to be out of the open. The forests were a danger, something that could house bandits, but better that than being spotted by those things. Even when he'd been in feral form, they had been dangerous, and the curse that had made the fights easier was no longer in operation. They wouldn't win this time.

They ducked behind the trees, then kept running, moving several rows deep before finally stopping and looking back at the sky. The dots were still moving, but thankfully they were moving in a different direction. Not at them, and not towards Sila's village, either. They were heading in a completely different direction, away from either, and away from the road.

Lorkos let out a sigh of relief. One crisis averted.

"Have you seen those before, Lithia?" Lia asked.

"A few times. They're not fun."

"What exactly are they?"

"Big lion-birds with claws sharp enough to rip through dragon hide."

"...Oh."

"Yeah. Oh. We're not fighting those."

"No, I would say not."

"So, uh, you know how I saw them?" Mastar asked from further back in the trees.

"Yeah?" Lorkos said.

"You could pay me back for spotting them."

"Are you feeling greedy for favors?"

"No, just for, uh, life."

Lorkos and Lia turned around at the same time and were faced with the sight of their mage on his knees, his eyes wide and a sword held to his throat. Behind him were six mice, two badgers, and a rat that was sitting on a tree branch about twenty feet off the ground. All of them were armed, and all of them looked more than a little smug.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," the rat said. "A bunch of travelers, just itching to lose everything they own."

Of all the things to happen on their journey, this was probably the most mundane, but it was also the most annoying. Bandits were everywhere, but as long as you kept your eyes peeled, you generally didn't have that much trouble with them. The gryphons had been too good a distraction, and now, he, Lia, and Mastar were at their mercy. Worse, they didn't have any gold to buy their way out, and that meant that there was less reason to keep them alive.

He glanced down at Lia, and she glanced back at him. They shared a quick nod, and then darted apart.

"Hey! Assholes! I didn't say you could go!"

Snickt-snickt. The sounds of arrows flying through the air and embedding themselves in tree trunks was louder than he cared to admit, and more than once, Lorkos threw himself to the ground to avoid getting hit. However, it worked. With him running one way and Lia running the other, there was no way for the mice archers to track them easily. Some even bumped into each other, throwing off each others' shots.

That was something. Unfortunately, there were other problems. Namely, badgers.

Lorkos had just managed to get back to his feet when one of the axe-wielding big boys came right at him. He yelped, ducking at the last second to avoid getting his head taken off. Instinctively responding with a kick, he caught the bandit in the balls, sending him back and doubled over, clutching at his sensitive bits.

Okay, well, that's a weapon.

He jumped back up and yanked the axe out of the tree, then charged the badger. One good chop at his unprotected neck was all Lorkos needed, and the mammal hit the ground, spurting blood.

Of course, that had given the rodents time to move. The mice darted around the trees ahead of him, and he jerked around one of the trees, using it as cover. Thunk, thunk, thunk. Three more arrows embedded behind him.

Fucking hell...

"Mastar, you okay?" he shouted.

"Um...mostly?"

"Lia?"

"Fine, Lithia!" the young woman shouted from somewhere further off. "This is fun."

"Fine definition of fun this is," he muttered. THUNK! "And a fine father you're being to her..."

A quick survey updated the situation. The other badger had Mastar pinned with a sword, and the rat was still up in the tree. He could see two dead mice where Lia had been running, and he still had three pinning him down. Not a good situation, but not as bad as it could be.

Two against five. Three against six if I can get Mastar out of the badger's grip...and three against five if I do it right...

With a mage on their side, he rather liked those odds, but to do that, he needed to make sure that he wasn't going to get peppered with arrows the moment that he stuck his head out from behind the tree. That would mean drawing their attention, getting them to loose their arrows, and hoping he could get out of the way in time. Not exactly smart, but it would be better than -

Snickt!

That arrow came from further off, and it was followed with a sudden hissing shriek from around the spot where the mice archers were. He blinked, then looked around the tree.

One of them had been hit with an arrow, and the remaining two were desperately spinning in place, trying to find where it had come from. He caught sight of light off of scales, and he smirked. Lia had just given him an opening.

Two on four. And in a minute, three on four.

He jumped out from behind the tree, the axe cocked back over his shoulder. The badger, still standing in the middle of a clearing with his blade against Mastar's throat, looked up to see him throw it. He was still staring when the axe blade caught the badger right between the eyes and sent him to the ground.

The robed mage gasped for breath, holding one hand to his throat and patting it. Lorkos shook his head and shouted.

"A little magic would be nice!"

"Magic. Right." Fire burned from the mage's fingers, dancing along the scales. "Coming right up."

They left the bodies of the bandits to burn in the smoldering chunk of forest. Lorkos and Lia had both taken a bow, and Mastar had taken the badger's sword. All in all, not a bad haul, and it meant that they'd come out of the fight better than they'd gone in. They'd left something of a signal fire behind, but hopefully the gryphons didn't know what that meant. He'd been more careful about their tracks when they left than usual, so hopefully that would do it.

Still, they'd have to be more careful. They got out of that fight by luck more than anything else, and he wasn't sure that the fire had managed to get the rat, or if they had managed to keep their identities hidden for the whole fight.

"So, does this happen often with you?" Lia asked as she walked at his side. "Fires, fights, and death?"

"Well, sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"...More often than I'd like, lately."

"Well, at least it's interesting."

"I'd like to avoid any more 'interesting' moments, if I can."

"Yeah, well, somehow I don't think that's going to happen," Mastar said from the back. "Any chance that I can come up front?"

"Do you think there's more bandits that'll grab you from behind?"

"I'm a little worried about it, yeah."

"Well, keep a better eye out."

He didn't want Master up front, anyway. The chance of the mage getting careless and doing something that'd get them spotted by anyone in the forest or on the road were too great. Lorkos knew how to hide, knew how to keep from being seen when he chose, and that was important right now. The less people that spotted them on this journey, the better, particularly as the last thing that he needed was to start leaving a trail of bodies for the gryphons to find.

Of course, there were other things that needed to be done on this journey. Ever since the transformation back to his two-legged form, he had been thinking about what it might mean to have magic. Mastar had implied quite heavily that there was magic in his body, now, something that he could use to his own advantage.

He'd just have to learn how to use it, and that was the other reason he was keeping Mastar around. They'd talk about that, soon...but for now, they needed to keep moving.

The End

Summary: Lorkos, Lia, and Mastar are making their way away from the village, heading to the hidden peak where that dragoness is hiding. This is going to be a long trip.

Tags: no sex, scaly, reptile, dragoness, mouse, rat, badger, fight, fighting, fantasy, series, action,