Young Writers Society

Aria sat on the fence, watching Gallant count the Merry Band's supplies while Vegemite floated ominously over him. Grace sat beside her, scratching his back with the fence post. “You’re really going now, huh?” Aria asked.

“Yep, but we’ll be back soon,” Grace reassured, smiling. “I’ll bring you back a souvenir.”

“Oi, halfie! We’re going!” Gallant yelled. The bloodstains in his cloak had been washed off, as the townspeople were starting to get suspicious of the missing cleaning lady.

“Right, right. Sorry,” Grace apologized, jumping to his feet. He ran up to the cursed knight, before waving back at Aria. She reluctantly waved back, almost dropping her ball.

“You seem to have bonded with the girl, Grace,” Vegemite said under his breath. He was dressed in a more elaborate robe, its ends swaying below him. A face trapped in horror was etched on the back of his hood.

“It’s cause she’s adorable,” Grace said cheerfully, “I want a daughter like her.”

“Don’t think of getting closer to her,” Gallant scolded. “You’re the end-game monster. You’re supposed to be guarding some kind of hidden vault, not making friends with villagers.”

“I know. It’s just that, well, she’s like me. Trapped in one place, all alone, waiting for someone to come.”

“Yes, yes, we know. You’ve recounted your tale several times by now,” Vegemite sighed. “Now, let’s go. I’d like to get in and out of Vorigan’s land before his lingering aura taints my unholy being.”

“Whatever you say, Lord Condiment,” Gallant chuckled, before receiving another lightning bolt to his nape. He fell to the ground, limp once again.

“I do wish you’d learn, idiotic knave. Grace, be a dear and carry him.”

Grace picked up the disabled knight and slung him over his shoulder like he did the pack. He waved once more to Aria before he and Vegemite started to walk away from Stronglen, the village that was sold to the demons.

~

“Hey, we should get Aria a pet!” Grace exclaimed, biting into the raw chunk of demon boar. He sat on a log from a tree he had cut down for fueling the fire. “I always wanted a pet, so maybe she wants one too!”

“You’re still thinking about her?” Gallant asked, cutting a large chunk from the boar’s carcass with his blade. He placed it on the makeshift rotisserie he made. “You’ve got to cut her off.”

“Didn’t you say she only got scraps to eat each day?” Vegemite asked, deploying several magical absorption barriers. “How do you expect her to feed it every day?”

“Well, if we get a big enough animal, it could probably hunt for her,” Grace explained, taking another bite.

The three were camping on the border of the forest and the Demon King’s land, taking a break. The lost time from having Grace carry Gallant had delayed their trip by a few hours, so they weren’t able to reach their destination by nightfall.

“What kind of animal were you even thinking of?”

“Well… That’s where your guys’ opinions come in.”

Gallant and Vegemite sighed. Once Gallant had carved all the meat he could off the boar he had hunted, he threw the carcass into the fire to be used as fuel. A lightning bolt struck him on the back of the head, but his hardening curse was still in effect, so he stood tall, perfectly fine.

“Idiot! I haven’t finished placing the barriers!” Vegemite scolded.

“You were taking too long!” Gallant argued back. Grace sat away from the two, still thinking about what pet he should give Aria.

“It takes time to completely negate magical residue! If I was too hasty, then I could’ve been bombarded by a massive amount of positive magic!”

“So what? You just lose like five years from your thousand. It’s nothing to worry about!”

“How is it that you were a part of the chosen one’s party and you don’t even know the basics of magical beast hunting! Burning residue without providing barriers amplifies the residue radius, and can attract similarly attuned creatures, like-”

A piercing howl echoed through the night as Vegemite froze. He and Gallant looked around while Grace was lost in deep thought. Glowing red eyes started to pop out from the depths of the forest.

“-Wolves…” Vegemite finished his thoughts. A pack of four-legged canines emerged from the bushes, the light of the fire reflecting against their blackened eyes. Gallant raised his sword to his animals while Vegemite summoned the large black orb behind him. “If I use too much magic, I’m going to sentence you to five digestive cycles through Glowsigidarus.”

“Can’t wait.” Gallant smiled. His skin hardened, turning black. He charged at the first wolf. One slice chopped its head clean off, and he kicked its body into a second. Vegemite held his hand out, creating a magic circle in his hands, striking a pair of wolves and the ground underneath with a lightning bolt.

“Maybe a cat. Girls love cats, right?” Grace wondered as his party members continued to kill the incoming pack. “Maybe a hamster. They’re low maintenance.”

Gallant and Vegemite continued to thin the wolves. They had a collective total of twenty kills between them as Gallant hacked and slashed his way through while Vegemite shot clustered groups with chained lightning.

One of the wolves at the back howled into the air. A green magical circle formed above him and a blade of wind shot out towards Gallant. He didn’t notice until the blade cut through his arm. He screamed loudly in pain as his hand and blade flew through the air. Now exposed, the wolves focused on him, baring their fangs.

“...Just kidding,” Gallant laughed. Bloody tendrils shot out of his stump, connecting back to his severed arm. He spun around, watching his flying blade cut a crescent moon through the wolf wall. His arm retracted back into the stump, before sealing itself back into place.

At this point, the wolves realized they were outmatched. The alpha, the one who had cast the wind blade, howled once before retreating into the woods. One by one, the other wolves either followed suit or were executed by one of the rampaging monsters.

“Ooh, I have an idea! What about…” Grace said, looking up. He paused as he looked around at the massacre in front of him. Gallant was breathing heavily, trying to fix his misaligned hand. Vegemite floated over the carnage, creating portals to dump the wolf carcasses into. “What happened here?”

“It’d be nice if you joined us next time, Grace,” Vegemite muttered. “You’re here for a reason, half-dragon.”

“Seriously, what were you doing?" Gallant asked, panting. He ripped off his arm again, trying to fit it back properly.

“Sorry. I was just thinking- Ow!” Grace yelped in pain. He jumped up from his log seat, checking his swinging tail. A wolf pup, barely a few weeks old, hung from the end of it. Its half-developed fangs dug into Grace’s scales. He pulled it off, but held onto it tightly, refusing to let it go.

“We missed one,” Gallant muttered.

“Seems like it missed the alpha’s call to flee,” Vegemite explained. “Well, Grace, better go and kill it. Glowsigidarus hates young meat.”

“Alright, fine… No, wait! This is perfect!” Grace exclaimed, holding the struggling puppy. “I can give this little guy to Aria!”

“Grace, that’s the stupidest thing I heard you say, and you’ve said a lot of stupid things since I’ve met you,” Gallant said, taking a piece of meat he had carved from the boar and biting into it.

“Here, let me explain myself. If we get her a wolf, then when it grows up, it’ll protect her. You know, like all those young adult novels with little girls and their spirit animals.”

“There’s also an equal chance that it would eat her,” Vegemite added, “Besides, we don’t have enough provisions to feed it during the trip, and we’re not going to go all the way back just for a silly girl.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll give Chompy some of my food, and I’ll protect him until I can give him to Aria.”

“Goddammit, you’ve already named the bloody pup!” Gallant yelled. “And why Chompy?”

Grace looked at the knight blankly, before releasing his hold on Chompy. The pup hung from his open hand, his fangs biting deeply into the scales.

“Fair enough. As long as he doesn’t piss on my stuff, the pup’s fine with me. What about you, Condiment?”

Despite using a good amount of his magic, Vegemite could spare another lightning bolt into Gallant’s nape. He created a grey circle in his other hand, applying it to his bony face.

“Hmm… Despite being only a pup, it had an unusually high magic capacity. I can probably use it as a dump for my positive magic.”

“So, is that a yes?”

“Unfortunately…”

“Yay! You hear that, Chompy? You’re going to be coming with us!” Grace exclaimed, holding the puppy in his hands. For the first time, Chompy looked away from the scales it bit into and up at the face of the lizardman it attacked. Grace held it up to his face before the wolf pup lunged at his snout. He recoiled back but regained his composure as Chompy continued to bite into his face. “I think he likes me.”

“Yeah, whatever. You’re on guard duty, tonight. And don’t let the pup piss on my stuff!” Gallant ordered. He took off his cloak, revealing his battle-scarred and lumpy chest, before using it as a blanket.

“If any more wolves come, handle them yourself.” Vegemite floated into and laid on the tree above, using his robe as a sleeping bag. “And blow out the fire while you’re at it.”

“Got it, boss!” Grace saluted. He picked Chompy by the head and set him down beside him. He breathed in for a moment before unleashing a monstrous roar. The shockwave hit the flames directly, snuffing them out in an instant while destroying the rest of the rotisserie.

Chompy froze in his tracks as the forest became dead silent. He looked up to Grace, whose eyes glowed green in the complete darkness. The pup didn’t realize before, but the Grace was exceptionally large, and he only seemed to be growing in his eyes.

“You better sleep, little one. I’ll be watching you,” a low voice growled. Chompy knew it came from Grace, but his instincts were telling him it was something more dangerous. Reluctantly, the pup laid down, closing his eyes, unable to move under the aura of intimidation the half-dragon emanated.

Grace smiled at the sleeping pup, resisting the urge to hug it to death. He couldn’t handle cute things. He looked around, watching the area, and imagining how elated Aria would be when he gave Chompy to her.