Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

The sun had crept more than halfway across the sky by the time the group had crested a hill and came upon a smattering of small farms below them.

Ivy pulled a map from her bag and examined it. “We’re still a day's walk from Lannistown.”

Sakura looked down at the fields. A winding trail of barren, disturbed soil flowed through each of the farm’s fields.

“Looks like a pest,” Ren voiced the woman’s thoughts.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Let’s see what their willing to pay to get rid of it,” she looked over at Ivy, the girl looking up at her sadly. “I know, but it needs to be done. Come on.”

A middle-aged human woman knelt in a patch of cabbage in the closest farm pulling weeds. Her skin was tan and leathery from the sun, and she wore her brunette hair in a bun with a light blue scarf wrapped around her head to keep the sweat from her eyes.

“Hello!” Sakura called as they approached, giving the woman a cheerful wave and smile. “Looks like you have a worm here!”

The woman stood and wiped her hands on her skirt. “You from town?” she asked.

“We aren’t. We’re just travelers who help take care of pests along the way.”

“Of course you’re not,” the woman spit at the ground. “All of us have been asking the town to send someone to exterminate that pest for weeks and they just hem and haw while asking when the next shipment of crops is gonna come in. What are you gonna kill it with?”

The demon spun, showing of the glaive on her back. “I’m quite experienced. I’ll get it done quickly and mostly cleanly.”

The woman nodded, “Alright, but I don’t have much. I can give you some silvers, a roof for the night, and a warm meal in your bellies. I’m sure the neighbors will pitch in once they see the jobs done.”

“Deal.” Sakura stepped forward and they shook hands.

“Well, I’ll leave it to you then. Be careful, looks like he’s a big boy.” She started for her house, leaving the group to the job.

“Alright,” the fox began. “If we surround the head and cut down at the same time that would probably be the easiest.”

“What’s this ‘we’ business?” Ren asked. “You’re the one who made the deal, and you know I don’t like killing things. I’ll be here for moral support, though.”

“You just killed two rabbits this morning!” she argued.

“Yeah, but that was for you.”

Sakura glared but quickly let it go. She hated dealing with worms, but she wasn’t about to start begging for his assistance. “Fine,” she spat. “Come on, you can help, devil.”

“You told me I have to protect Ivy with my life,” Zero stated.

“That’s true,” Ren agreed. “Hard to protect someone when you’re wrestling around with a giant worm.”

“Fine! Fine!” the woman huffed and stomped off. “I’ll do it myself! You two are useless!”

Ren waved merrily, “Okay, good luck! I’ll miss you!”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair to make her do it alone?” Ivy asked with a small pout, feeling sorry for the fox.

“Nonsense,” the man dismissed the girl’s concerns. “She’s going to have a great time. She lives for this shit.”

Sakura followed the trail of upturned soil until it came to an end just shy of where rows of corn began. She laid on the ground and pressed her ear to the dirt. A low, gentle rumbling told her that the pest’s head was just under the earth and that it was likely sleeping. She returned to her feet and removed her glaive, spinning it into a blur above her head. The blade was forced deep into the earth, dirt shooting outwards from the impact. An eerie hush settled.

“Fuck!” the demon cursed and wrapped herself around the handle tightly as everything exploded from under her and she was launched towards the heavens.

The three companions watched from a safe distance away.

Ren’s eyes followed the pest as it erupted further and further into the sky. “I think it’s safe to assume she underestimated that one a smidge.”

Ivy looked at him in wide eyed horror. “Do you think you should help her out now?”

The angel chewed on it, weighing his options. “Nah. She’ll be fine.”

The sickly yellow worm writhed, different pitch shrieks emitting from each of its several mouths in a chorus of ear shattering cries. Hundreds of milky white eyeballs rolled wildly in their sockets, searching for the source of pain.

Sakura woefully understood the ugly extent of her predicament. Had she judged it correctly it would have been simple to just slice through to the worm's brain where it would then liquefy and cease to be an issue. However, their small brains tended to move around a bit and she hadn’t judged it correctly, instead hitting just under the sweet spot. It was only a matter of time before the pest’s upward projection started downward and it would begin thrashing uncontrollably, destroying everything in its path and making it more difficult to kill.

The fox allowed a moment to feel sorry for herself before pulling her longest dagger and hacking away at the skin above her. It was quick work slicing through the soft flesh to expose the worm’s brain. She looked down, measuring the distance and estimating how many of her bones would shatter upon impact. A pout puckered at her lips as she resigned herself to her irritating fate.

“Ren!” she screamed while stabbing the dagger through her target. There was a pop as the worms body melted into a dark brown sludge that rained down on the field below. Sakura’s body followed.

“Well,” the man chirped, taking off his bracelet and tossing it to Zero as his wings expelled like a black wave from his back. “Looks like she needs me again.” And he was gone.

Zero looked at the bracelet and slipped it on his wrist for safe keeping. He looked back at the angel soaring towards the falling fox. “They’re both idiots,” he dryly declared.

Ivy sighed. She chose silence but couldn’t help but to agree with him. The pest’s liquefied body showered the crops and the girl groaned at the sight. “Do you think she’ll still pay us?”

The devil watched as the girl’s hopes faded away. He wanted to comfort her, possibly be rewarded with her bright smile. He placed his hand on top of her head the way Ren sometimes did to him and tussled her hair lightly. “I doubt it.”

Sakura locked her hands against her face as she plummeted to the ground. The embarrassment and shame were debilitating, and she felt like crawling into herself and vanishing as a pair of arms cradled under her knees and around her back, ceasing her free fall. She pushed her hands harder against her face, making tiny white specks sparkle against the inside of her eyelids.

“Hey,” Ren greeted casually. “So, uh, I saw that you missed. You might want to not do that next time.”

“Shut up,” a low growl escaped from the confines of her hands.

“Did you know you’re covered in worm? It’s sticky and you stink. But I kind of like it.”

Sakura screamed and started pummeling his chest and kicking her legs violently. “Just drop me! Let me fall to my death!”

The man tightened his hold, ignoring her pleas for a quick demise as he laughed at her suffering. As he landed outside of the worm-soaked fields, he allowed her to spill from his arms and watched as she lurched around.

“It’s so gross!” she cried out. “It’s everywhere! I fucking hate worms!” She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms out. Her eyes were empty shells staring into the blue abyss. “I’m ruined. I’ll never be the same.”

Ren poked her with the toe of his boot. “Yeah… that sure does sound rough. Where’s your glaive?”

“It fell.”

“Let’s go get it then.” No response. “I don’t mind carrying you.” He started to lean over. “I actually prefer it.”

The demon shot to her feet and made her way, followed by a disappointed angel, back into the field where her glaive waited. Ivy and Zero had already trekked through the soggy crops and came upon the weapon. The boy bent down, grasped the handle, and pulled.

It just barely budged.

Being a devil meant that Zero was naturally stronger than other beings but even pulling with all of his strength only brought the handle a few centimeters up off of the ground.

“Only Sakura can pick it up,” Ivy told him as the demon and angel joined them.

Sakura grabbed the glaive effortlessly and slung it into the baldric across her back.

Zero looked at Ren and handed him his bracelet. “It’s like yours.”

“That’s because it was forged by angels,” the man explained as he slipped the bracelet on his wrist, his wings disappearing instantly. “Weapons are passed down along with the sins of the previous master. Only the one who has taken on those sins can wield it. But the really weird thing is…” he stuck his hands under the fox’s armpits from behind and lifted her into the air effortlessly as she kicked at him. “It doesn’t weigh down the wielder.” He dropped her before any of her kicks could connect.

The vixen landed and walked off in a huff, refusing to look at the angel. “Come on,” she barked. “Let’s see if we can get anything for this disaster of a job.”

The woman was standing in front of her modest, stone-built home, arms crossed over her chest as she assessed the damage to her livelihood. “Well,” her tongue clicked. “You certainly did kill it.”

“I know I said it’d be clean,” Sakura chuckled nervously. “But… eh, sorry.”

“That thing has been tearing up the land and eating the finest crops within 200 kilometers. It’ll make fine fertilizer and once the rain comes it’ll be a thing of the past. Come along in the back. When I saw that thing explode, I started some water on the fire. Figured someone would be in desperate need of a good scrubbing.” The woman gave Ren a once over. “Give us a minute and you can grab the wash board over there and give your shirt and this girl’s clothes a wash at the creek down the way. Once you’re done with that, I’ll get you fed, and you all can settle down for the night.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ren nodded.

She led the two girls to the back of the house and returned shortly with the pile of soiled clothes and a bar of soap. She pointed in the direction of the creek and sent the angel and devil on their way.

It was a short jaunt to the willow lined creek. Ren sunk Sakura’s outfit in shallow water to soak before taking off his sword and shirt. He set the sword against the closest willow then proceeded to wash the worm remains from his shirt and arms.

Zero sat next to the sword and examined the excessively oversized weapon. He recalled the time, years before when he had first joined up with the angel, when he had tried to pick up the sword only to find it impossible despite his best effort. The man had found it hilarious as he picked it up like it was no more than a feather and swished it around. Zero wasn’t quite so impressed.

“How can she wield an angel’s weapon?” the boy asked. “She’s a demon. Shouldn’t that be impossible?”

“It was passed on to her,” he explained while furiously scrubbing Sakura’s top against the wash board, suds spilling out of the fabric and into the rushing water. His shirt had been relatively effortless to clean but her garments were proving to be quite the formidable foe. “Just because a weapon is forged by an angel doesn’t necessarily mean that only an angel can wield it. They’re only different from other weapons in that the sins of its master weighs it down and makes it impossible for anyone who doesn’t carry that burden to handle it. It can be passed on to whomever the master chooses; parents, friends, lovers…” he drifted off, glancing over at his sword with a small shrug. “Bastard children.” He held the shirt and examined its cleanliness before wringing it out and throwing it towards Zero, who caught it and hung it on the sword’s guard. Ren snatched the shorts and began a new fight.

“Who gave her the glaive?” the devil asked.

“It was my uncle’s. I’m not sure when he passed it to her, but it had to be between the time that I left and when he was killed. I’d been gone about a year when he died, and she ended up hunting me down a year after that. That’s why she’s so cruel and cold to me now,” he sulked, “because I didn’t go with her then. But she didn’t have the glaive… must have left it somewhere before coming to me. And then I ended up picking you up a couple of years after that.”

Water dripped from Sakura’s top and soaked into the dirt next to Zero. “Why?” he asked.

“Why what?”

“Why didn’t you go with her?” he questioned, confused by the angel’s actions. “You never stop talking about her. Why go with The Guard?”

Ren snarled a disgusted laugh. “Angels are awful creatures. They walk around all self-righteous and pompous and they laugh and cheer as they peel the skin from your loved ones while making you watch. They force feed you the finest wines and desserts like it’s a fucking party before doing the same to you. Then they hide behind their god, claiming to be holy and pious.” The angel exited the creek and crouched before Zero, looking at him, his eyes darkening without a drop of his normal playfulness. “Don’t ever, not even for moment, consider the possibility that I am loyal to The Guard. I am loyal to Sakura.” A softness returned to him as he winked and patted Zero’s cheek. “And, of course, you my sweet, little angel. Hmm, and I guess to Little One as well now. She’s such a delicate, innocent thing and Sakura’s quite fond of her.”

Zero felt a crushing in his ribs, forcing the oxygen from his body. Ren noticed the instant flash, like fire, through the boy’s crimson eyes, and raised a brow at the interesting reaction. He set his hand on top of the devil’s head and pushed his forehead against Zero’s.

“Slow.” Ren reminded gently and Zero’s lungs expanded, allowing him to breathe. “Control it.”

Zero shut his eyes tightly and tried to sift through the swirling chaos in his chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Just a little at a time, boy,” Ren encouraged. He ruffled Zero’s hair, stood up, and entered the creek. “Come help me clean these boots or we’ll be here all day.”