[DMFA Fanfic] An Archer's Tale

[Sid]

Finally I got the time to write a bit. I think my last fic is at least four years old (and sucked HARD since my writing skills had been basically non-existent then).

Originally planned as a one-shot, this fic quickly grew in length, so I'm splitting it up. Revised plan is to have three chapters, with this one being a sort of introduction.

Proofreading was done by a very dear friend (who can write WAY better than me). We're not perfect, but the typo ratio should be fairly low.

Comments of any kind are welcome

Rating: I'd say at least Fa-Teen, maybe bordering on the higher rank. I'm not an expert with these ratings. Violence, bad words and (later) implied nudity and stuff. Nothing directly explicit, so you won't get sex or Mortal-Kombat-esque fountains of blood. It's not PG, but I'm sure that mainstream Hollywood has been worse than this fic often enough.

Setting: DMFA, Abel's Story. It's a prequel to the day of Cindy's funeral.

Special Warning: Though this does not apply to Chapter One, this fic is following the "Xander and Abel Devin (Edit: Damn you, Freud!) are more than just friends" theory that was voiced here and there in the comic discussion threads. So there might will be some Xander/Devin snugglies and stuff later on. Like I said above: No hardcore pr0n or anything like that, but I don't want to hear any "ZOMG TWO GUYS KISSING!" comments later. (Yes, you can still read chapter one, even if you hate the idea. No "bad stuff" there yet )

Anyways... enough with the disclaimers.

An Archer's Tale

Chapter One: Keen eyes

"Hey, you know what?" the tiger asked his captor.

"What."

"I actually lost a bet because of you."

A pause. Then, "Oh?" The dalmatian holding the leash cocked his head. "How so?" His tone was polite and calm, somewhat unfitting for an adventurer who had just dragged his prisoner through a few miles of forest.

"When the boys first saw you coming, I bet ten gold pieces that you'd go down before even hitting our hideout once." He snickered and shook his head. Had his hands not been tied behind his back, he would have thrown up his arms in a gesture of mock defeat. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"From my point of view, no. Irony implies that the events that happened differ from the expectations." The dog brushed away a few branches with his bow. "For you on the other hand... yes, I'd say so." He hesitated. "I feel tempted to say I'm sorry that you lost your bet, but that would be kinda weird, given the circumstances."

The captive laughed at that. It was a genuine, almost friendly laugh. "No, it's alright. He died winning the bet, so I didn't have to pay him, anyway."

"Oh, you mean the bear that fell out of your little tree-house after I hit his throat?"

"Yep, yep. I'm actually kinda glad you managed to take him out with one shot." The striped feline gave his captor a smirk. "I once bet with him before. Similar situation and bet, actually. He promptly got shot into the shoulder and you know what? You know what he did?" When he saw the look of disbelief in the dog's red eyes, he continued. "Turned around and asked for his money. Just like that. Can you believe it? Arrow in his shoulder, some crazy adventurer approaching... and then that."

"You guys are-... I mean... were weird."

The tiger shrugged and grinned. "Of course, anything else wouldn't be any fun now, would it?"

"If you think it's funny that I just shot all your friends-"

"Henchmen," the tiger was quick to correct him.

"-out of a tree-house just in order to capture you, then yeah, fun and joy all around." The dog gave him a fierce look, his grip on the bow tightening slightly.

"Hey now," the tiger quickly said, laughing nervously, "I may not know your name, but I know you need to lighten up a bit. You're obviously a smart guy, but you need to, you know, relax. I heard it's good for the heart and stuff."

"I don't know your name, either. I just know you robbed about a dozen people in the area. Maybe after telling them to relax, too. Is that what this is all about? Mh?"

The tiger's eyes widened at the implied accusation. "Not at all, don't worry. I'm bound and unarmed!" He turned around slightly to show the dog his restraints. "Kinda surprised you don't even know my name, though," he remarked after a few moments.

"The wanted poster just called you, what was it?" The hand holding the leash briefly reached into a pocket of his leaf green shirt and fished out a folded piece of paper. After shaking it a bit to unfold it, the archer glanced at it. "Ah yes. The 'Demolisher of the East'. Catchy, ain't it?"

"Demo-wha?" the tiger asked and blinked. "I didn't demolish anything! And east of what?" His protests were only met with a shrug. "Well, just so you know. I am Feru Highpuma the Third."

The dog stopped dead in his tracks and gave the tiger a look of disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" When Feru shook his head, he started to snicker. "Feru Highpuma? The Third?"

Feru rolled his eyes. "My family's not exactly known for being creative when it comes to naming their children."

"Yeah, but why Highpuma? You don't look like-"

"My grandmother was a tigress, my grandfather a puma," the tiger quickly interrupted him. "Guess whose genes came out on top and who insisted on keeping the name despite the obvious mismatch."

"Quite a tale," the dog commented after getting his snickering under control. "Ah well, My name's Xander. Last name's not really important, but-"

"It's embarrassing, isn't it?" Feru instantly probed and smirked.

Xander returned the smirk. "Less than Highpuma at least. But as I was about to say, I'll relax once this is over. I hope you understand, but tension is what keeps people like me alive."

"Well... Xander... we're not that far from the town, so-"

"No," came the quick interruption. "A lot can happen on the last stretch." He turned his head to the feline. "Look, I'm usually a quite relaxed guy. I do appreciate your attempts at lightening the mood, but I've had a bad feeling ever since accepting this job. So I just want to get home before anything-"

"Halt!"

"-happens. Oh, wonderful." Xander slowly turned around again and instantly noticed the group of hooded warriors blocking the trail. "Thanks, Murphy. I love you, too." He cleared his throat to address the group. "What do you want?" he asked loudly. They're 15 large steps away. Maybe 20. Not the best ground conditions, so they'll have a rough time charging. On the other hand, I can't take out all of them before they get here. ...can I?

"We will take your prisoner!" the apparent leader of the group shouted. "Hand him over and we will like you live!"

Behind Xander, the tiger leaned forward. "Before you jump to conclusions, those aren't any of my guys," he hissed. "We got a better fashion sense."

Xander nodded briefly and cocked his head. The hoods concealed the most obvious features, but judging by the built, he assumed that the leader was a fox. Aside from the leader, he spotted three other figures of similar size. The last member of the group made Xander raise an eyebrow. The figure easily towered above the others, instantly reminding him of the bear he had shot out of the tree-house earlier today. "It is my mission to take him to the Royal Guards," he shouted mostly to buy some time. Something was wrong, he just couldn't put his finger on the exact reason yet.

"Your mission is of no interest for us, archer!" the leader replied, drawing his sword menacingly.

Of course, Xander suddenly realized. That's it! "Are the members of the Royal Guard so underpaid that they have to resort to this sort of behavior?" he asked the group loudly. Get ready...

"You surprise me!" The leader let out a short laugh while the others exchanged what Xander assumed were surprised looks. "What gave us away?" he asked and started to pull the hood off his head.

Now! was Xander's only thought. In one swift motion, he let go of the leash and reached back to pull an arrow out of his quiver. He didn't pay any attention to the other four Royal Guards in disguise as he drew his bow, knowing that they would spend a few seconds on reacting to the sudden turn of events. Time seemed to slow down as he focused on the battle that was about to begin. The aiming happened almost automatically and the group was well within what Xander jokingly called the "No-Fail Range". Nothing to worry about, his inner voice told him even as he released the arrow, sending it straight at and - moments later - into the leader's chest. Even though you do have to hit the other four guys before they get their act together, the voice added, giving him the verbal equivalent of a smirk.

There was a moment of stunned silence as the four Guards stared at the corpse of their leader. When the first of them snapped out of his trance, it was too late. The horrible, low whistling sound of an incoming arrow was heard again, followed by the startled gurgle of another killed companion. Having learned from the previous mistake, the bear-sized Guard drew his sword and let out a feral roar. "Kill him!"

Two down, three to go, Xander calculated grimly as the three remaining Guards started to move. Now it all comes down to speed. He quickly shot his third arrow, hitting the smallest of the guards in the shoulder area. No direct kill, but it stopped him, he thought, watching his victim fall even as he readied the next arrow. Almost without thinking, he hit the remaining Guard of his size squarely in the chest.

Not paying any attention to his wounded or killed comrades, the bear kept charging in what Xander assumed to be blind rage. Hurry, hurry, hurry... can make it... he told himself, pulling another arrow out of his quiver. Taking a deep breath, he drew his bow, aiming straight at the part of the hood where he assumed the eyes to be. Still a good range, don't panic...

The bowstring snapped.

Xander blinked. This wasn't happening. Not here. Not now. He looked up just in time to see the bear, now only two steps away, reaching out with his free hand. Okay... panic, were Xander's last thoughts before a massive hand grabbed his neck.

It would be an understatement to say that Xander had been in a few fights. However, being knocked off his feet by several hundred pounds of almost pure muscle was a novelty even for an experienced adventurer like him. His list of experiences gained another entry a few seconds later, when the bear slammed him against the first tree that happened to stand in their way. The impact almost knocked Xander out, but moments later, he almost wished for the soothing void of unconsciousness as his entire body started sending messages of pain and agony.

The bound tiger had been following the battle with a mix of awe and confusion. Now he was watching what would most likely be the end of the dalmatian archer. The bear had tossed away his sword, opting for a more personal approach by using both hands to slowly strangle the struggling canine. Feru felt as if he was not really there, as if something kept this scene from being realistic enough for a tavern tale. He cocked his head and blinked. Finally, he realized what was wrong. Why am I not running away? The cat blinked and stared at his feet, as if asking them why they weren't moving. Then his eyes moved to the bear and the dog again. Why... do I actually give a damn? They're both here to catch me. They're both just after the money. I shouldn't be here. I... I... He let out a sigh and shook his head. Who am I kidding?

"Maybe I'll let you live, dog," the bear snarled, his snout only inches away from Xander's face. His rage had mostly been replaced by sheer ruthlessness. "Think death's too good for you. I've seen lots of weird shit, lemme tell you." He relaxed his grip a little bit to prevent his victim from passing out. "Maybe I'll skin you. And then I'll let you watch as I make a cape out of your hide." The dog only managed to reply with a weak growl, causing the bear to grin. "Aw, don't worry. First I'll let you experience some real pain, dog. We've got lots of time..."

He's insane, Xander thought. He had discovered that even thinking was hard in a situation like this, but he knew that he needed a plan to have at least a small chance of getting out of this mess alive. And with my hide, he quickly added. No bow... not enough strength to fight him directly. Maybe my knife! Did I take it with me today? ...do I have a knife? He closed his eyes and tried to calm down. The impact with the tree and the strangling had apparently shaken him up worse than he had assumed. Yes... I got a knife. Where... where... back of my pants! Yes... strapped to my belt. Just got to reach it... He tried to move his right hand behind his back. After what seemed like an eternity, his fingertips brushed the handle of the small knife. Holding his breath, he tried to pull it out of its sheath. Nothing. Another try. This time, he got a better grip and pulled it out. Alright, let's see who gets to experience real pain.

"You know, I never liked the others too much," the bear resumed the silly small talk, not paying any attention to Xander's movements. "You know what their problem was? They had a conscience. Always kept thinking about how their actions are somehow wrong." He rolled his eyes. "And now they're dead. Ironic, isn't it?"

Xander gritted his teeth. Am I the only one who knows the meaning of that stupid word? "No, not really," he muttered. "Irony implies that-... you know what? Never mind. It's not worth the trouble explaining this to you."

The bear let out a laugh. "Oh my, a scholar! How delight-" Even though he noticed the sudden movement of the dog's arm, he had no chance of reacting in time. Moments later, something poked his arm, causing him to blink. "What the..."

He's not even aware that I've friggin' stabbed him? Xander asked himself, his eyes widening. Gotta try something else then. Praying the bear would give him another chance, he twisted the knife and abruptly pulled it out of the bear's forearm.

"Fricken HELL!" the bear cursed loudly, holding up his arm and staring at the small wound. He once again gripped Xander's neck tightly with his good hand, not caring about bantering anymore.

Xander struggled madly, trying to escape the bear's grip as he could feel his air supply being cut off. He weakly tried to reach the bear's throat with his knife, but the bear's free hand simply closed around his, catching it in a vice-like grip. The canine's mouth opened as he tried to scream in pain, but without air, he couldn't even do that anymore. Dammit, DO SOMETHING! his inner voice screamed frantically. But Xander realized that there wasn't anything he could do aside from waiting for death to claim-

AIR!

His eyes flew open when he heard himself gasping for air, inhaling, coughing, BREATHING. What happened? he asked himself. It took him a second to figure out all the changes in his situation. Aside from actually being able to breathe again, he noticed that he was staring at the ground. Knees. I'm kneeling. He's not holding me anymore. Xander looked up and tried to make sense out of what he saw.

The bear was down on one knee, screaming in obvious pain. But it was apparent that this wasn't about the knife wound. Instead, he held both hands between his legs. Xander blinked. Only now did he realize that the bear's voice seemed to be slightly higher than it had been before. He cocked his head and blinked. Finally, he noticed Feru standing behind the bear, his face showing signs of satisfaction and fear. After a few moments, Xander and the tiger made eye contact. "Get up, you fool!" the cat shouted desperately. "He'll recover soon! And then we'll BOTH die unless you do something!"

Did he just kick the bear in his-... jeez. Xander let out a sympathetic groan as he slowly rose to his feet, using the tree to steady himself. He noticed that the bear's voice was slowly returning to its normal level. Not much time, he told himself and looked down in search of his knife. Must've dropped it somewhere around here... come on... He shook his head in frustration. Dammit, at this rate, I'll-...why, hello there... you'll do nicely...

Feru gulped. This had been a damn stupid idea. Really, really stupid. He slowly moved backwards as the bear started to get up. I should've just run for it. Or maybe I should've just watched the bear finish his business. Or maybe I should have done ANYTHING else. But why, oh why did I have to kick him like that? The bear slowly turned around to face the feline, his bloodshot eyes focusing on him.

There was no haste in the bear's movements as he marched over to the tiger. A few things deserved to be done slowly, deliberately. His victim did not move. They both knew that running away would only make things worse in the end. He almost smirked as he cracked his knuckles in anticipation. His universe consisted only of him and the tiger. ...and of the voice coming from behind him.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

One of the bear's ears twitched as a hand softly tapped his back. "Miss?" the bear growled, still staring straight ahead at the tiger. "Miss?" he repeated, his voice rising along with the level of irritation. When he received no answer, the bear clenched his giant fists and whirled around. "DID YOU JUST CALL ME MI-" he started, but his roar was unexpectedly cut short.

Literally.

Xander let out a quiet sigh and pulled the sword out of the bear's neck, quickly turning away to avoid seeing the resulting mess as the bleeding giant dropped onto the ground. "Hey, is he dead?" he blindly asked the tiger, still not wanting to take a look at his hopefully dead enemy.

Well, after losing this much blood through a neck wound, I sure hope he is! Realizing that his captor would want a more reliable answer than that, Feru moved over to the fallen bear. "This is so gross," he muttered. "Aren't there rules about what prisoners can't be forced to do? Well, yeah... he's either dead or he likes lying on his back while bleeding like crazy."

"Good, good." Still avoiding to look at the bear, Xander quickly moved to the other Guards. As he had expected, only the Guard he had hit in the shoulder was still alive, writhing in pain. Xander calmly kicked the fallen warrior's sword out of reach before bowing down to remove the hood concealing his victim's features. "Hello there, Mr. Rat!" he addressed the rodent and gave him a smirk.

"Go to Hell!" the rat shouted angrily, his face a mask of pain.

"Now, now... why don't you listen to what I have to say first?" When he received no answer, Xander continued. "First, let's go over the basics. Your buddies are dead. And your Captain is waiting for me in my home town. So I guess I'll have to tell your Captain that I had to kill some of his men because they wanted the bounty all for themselves." The rat was giving him a grim look. "Now, this is where you come in," Xander continued calmly. "Either I'll tell him where to find the five corpses," he said, watching the rat pale, "or I'll take you with me so you can confess, saving a lot of time for all of us."

The rat's eyes narrowed, but then he laughed. "And what makes you think I'll confess? I'm a Royal Guard! You think the Captain is going to believe you? I'll just tell him you ambushed us while we were on patrol and I'll get to laugh while you share the cell wagon with the tiger!"

Xander rolled his eyes. "Well, there's the matter of all of you still wearing those disguises. Most of which have been pierced by my arrows. Then there's the fact that I'm willing to spare your life in return for less work for me. Not a bad bargain, I think." He tapped his chin, as if having to think about the other reasons. "Oh, and don't forget that I got a witness. And our local mage is also a mind reader who has helped the Royal Guards before. So your Captain would trust him..."

Closing his eyes in defeat, the rat let out a sigh. "Fine, then. I guess that prison is better than being killed by a dog with silly spots," he muttered, realizing that there was no way around it.

The dalmatian chuckled at that. "Excellent! I hope you understand that I won't tie you up; I only took one set of restraints with me today. But I'm sure you'll behave." He noticed the odd look the Guard was giving him. "Oh, I see you're doubting me. Well, let me put it this way. Aside from your unit's mage and our local mage, there is no healer you can reach in your condition. So I know you won't flee." There was a pause. "Or at least I know that you won't get terribly far," he corrected himself and smirked.

"Ex-CUSE me?" the tiger impatiently spoke up. "I... I... Could we maybe get going? I dunno if you forgot it, but... uhm... we're surrounded by rotting corpses, and it's kinda giving me the creeps and stuff..."

Xander frowned lightly. "They're not rotting yet... I think they're not even... what's the word... where they get all stiff and that..." He sighed and snapped his fingers.

"Rigor mortis?" the rat tried to help out, figuring that the sooner they left, the sooner he'd get to a medic.

"Yeah, that!" the dog replied and nodded. "But you're right, we should get going as soon as possible." He gave the rat a frown. "Hrm... maybe we should bandage your wound first... at least to prevent you from bleeding to death within the hour."

"Gee, that would be too kind. Thank you kindly for considering my well-being, oh my great benefactor. What, oh what would I be doing without your wonderful-"

Xander rolled his eyes. "Less sarcasm, more genuine appreciation maybe?"

"My, oh my, Saint Doggy is not pleased, whatever am I to do now? Oh, woe is me, woe is-" The rat's eyes widened when Xander gave the arrow a light twist. "SIR, YES PLEASE, BANDAGING WOULD BE APPRECIATED!" he screamed out at the top of his voice and then gritted his teeth.

"Much better," Xander replied and smirked. "You," he addressed the tiger, "rip off a few stripes from one of the others' clothes. I don't want to pull out the arrow, so I'll have to bandage around it."

"You are aware that his hands are still bound?" the rat asked, trying to make his question sound as innocent as possible.

Xander smacked his forehead. "Right... right. I'll just do it myself. Feru, just keep an eye on this guy and, uh... kick him if he tries anything stupid." He cursed under his breath as he got to his feet. I knew this job would bring more pain than gain, he told himself and sighed. Might as well look for my fricken knife while I'm at it...

It took a while, but in the end, Xander had covered the wound enough to at least stop the bleeding. Brushing off his clothes, he stood up and carefully pulled the rat to his feet. Picking up one of the Guards' swords, the canine motioned for his two prisoners to move. He let the wounded rat walk in front while keeping Feru by his side.

The trio walked for a few minutes in relative silence. Finally, Xander leaned over to the tiger. "Something I wanted to ask," he whispered. "Why didn't you just run for it? Why did you help me?"

"Mh... you basically answered the first question yourself," the cat replied after a few seconds. "Aside from your town, there aren't any other towns or villages nearby. And I'm bound, unarmed and haven't eaten anything for hours. About your second question... those guys would've come after me once they were done killing you. And seeing how mad the bear had been, my own survival hadn't exactly been guaranteed."

Xander gave him a look. "And your real reason, aside from the obvious selfish-bad-guy one you just gave me?"

"Wow, I'm impressed. Most people would have been perfectly happy with that line."

"I'm not like most people," Xander replied, looking into the tiger's eyes. "And you're not like most criminals, are you?"

"Touché," Feru admitted, bowing his head slightly. "I may not be a good guy like you, but that doesn't mean I automatically side with the bad guys in any given conflict. In fact, I don't see myself as a bad guy, deep down. Sure, I did some bad stuff, but I did those things because I wouldn't be able to afford food otherwise. Robbing people didn't give me some sort of deeper satisfaction. I know it sounds lame, but when you're in the wrong area at the wrong time... without any money or friends..."

"...you only see yourself, your sword and a man who probably won't die if you take a few gold pieces," Xander finished the sentence absentmindedly.

Feru blinked, then nodded. "Yeah... exactly. It just... happened. I'm not proud of it, but I won't deny it, either." He sighed. "But when I saw you risking your life like that, fighting nearly impossible odds... I kinda felt that I should make a difference. Maybe just to prove to myself that I'm not a bad guy, or at least not as bad as those guys."

Xander nodded slowly, his eyes focused on something only he could see. "That makes sense... thank you."

Weird guy... talks as if he knows what it's like to-... no, no... this is silly. He's just observant. Feru quickly shook his head, fighting the urge to ask about the dalmatian's past. Still, there was one question left, and he was determined to get an answer. "While we're at it... I've been wondering about something," he carefully began, watching his captor for a sign of approval.

"Fire away," Xander replied, giving the feline an open smile.

"What made you realize that those robbers were actually disguised members of the Royal Guards?"

The rat turned around while at the same time trying not to move his injured shoulder too much. "You know, I've been wondering about that one, too!"

Xander chuckled in the way adults do about a child asking a silly question. "Your disguises were quite foolproof, I'll admit that much," he started. Then he held up the sword he had picked up earlier. "The only problem is that the swords of the Royal Guards have the royal insignia on the cross-guard," he said, pointing at the insignia just above the grip.

The rat let out a brief laugh. "Crap, we had completely forgotten about that." He shook his head. "After all those years, you get so used to it... you forget it's actually there..." He bowed slightly, cringing at the pain his shoulder was giving him in return. "Keen eyes; kudos, Mister Dog."

[Lysander]

Not sure why no one else has appeared to say anything yet, but I like it enough. I like Xander's attitude and the way he fights. Overall looks to be an interesting read. Has a similar style to that of Dragon Riders of Pern.

How ironic... He went blind after living a life of being able to see...

[Drake Manaweilder]

 

This is one i'm gunna' keep my eyes on.

[Sid]

Not sure why no one else has appeared to say anything yet, but I like it enough. I like Xander's attitude and the way he fights. Overall looks to be an interesting read. Has a similar style to that of Dragon Riders of Pern.

Haven't actually read that series (or anything by that author, as far as I am aware), but I'm very happy that my style is apparently acceptable. So thanks for the compliment

In the comics, Xander seems to be balanced between serious and fun-loving. That's one of the reasons why I like the character so much. I just added a few sprinkles of sarcasm and lecturing since it seemed to fit well in this situation and because that's what I imagine him to be after hanging out with Devin so much.

I'll work on the rest of the story these days. Hoping to release them before Amber gets back into her updating groove so I'll have finished it before the next part of Abel's Story comes out.

[Roureem Egas]

How did I not notice this before?

This is one heck of a story, and it's at a level I'd like to achieve one day. And one question: where's Devin currently at this point of the story?

[Sid]

How did I not notice this before?

This is one heck of a story, and it's at a level I'd like to achieve one day. And one question: where's Devin currently at this point of the story?

*bows sheepishly* Thank you for the kind words!
As I hinted in the disclaimer of the first chapter, this is "a prequel to the day of Cindy's funeral", so Devin is currently at/in Cantiv (as was mentioned here). This will be explained and resolved in the next chapter(s), though.