Grey had once prided himself the fastest Hunter in his set. His teachers always told him that, and he knew it. Few creatures could match him in speed and fewer could outrun him. He wasn't built muscularly and wasn't exactly large so he had to use his lanky frame to avoid hits and move like a biting snake. However, the Ministress was like a faster snake and the scales she pulled out as swords looked so poisonous Grey made more time to dodge them than actually fighting them. She moved from one place to another like the wind, teasing with her forked tongue and striking with her swords. In a fight, Grey preferred his whip sword because it matched his pace but he was getting beat at his own game, so he pulled put his short sword and fought hand to hand.
To Jay, he could barely see anything. Their movements were too fast for the normal eye to follow and he could sense that Grey was losing slowly. He moved from the rocks, coming forward to where the demon's bodies piled. The two combatants, Hunter and demon were so engrossed in their fight they didn't see him. He was not exactly a courageous fellow but Grey had come back for him and that made him a companion worth following. The two of them paused from their fight and Grey staggered. The Ministress laughed, a dry chortle.
She had managed to slice his thigh and dark blood flowed down. Jay could see the pain in Grey's face. The blade must have been poisoned for it to affect the Hunter such and he felt his heart jumping. He had to help but how, he was no expert in combat or in killing things that they were not supposed to exist in the first place.
"Bitch." Grey growled and flew at her again. The Ministress was so skilled in shifting from defensive to offensive that in a few seconds she had Grey on the defense again and her tongue shot at him again, at his head, midsection and legs. The Hunter was good at ducking and leaping, but concentrating on the tongue was having him forever defend the swords. It was now a matter of how long he could fight through the pain and how long the Ministress was willing to fight. The odds weren't good and Jay Sharkrider wanted to change them.
But how? He bit his lips. This wasn't a show or concert, this was a matter of life and death and he needed to think.
He concentrated and thought and suddenly, a thought formed in his head. It was mad, but then only those willing to do mad things survived after all.
He left his cover and ran towards the altercation, willing his body to take shape.
"Grey." He shouted. The Hunter jumped back, looked up and shouted at him to stay away. The Ministress turned to see the newcomer and hissed, shooting her tongue. Jay waited for the tongue to come at him, then dove to the side smoothly, shifting in mid-air into a giant eagle. The demon gasped and tried to pull her tongue back but Jay had chosen the eagle for its speed. He flew at her and shifted again in mid-air, this time into a hyena. He caught the tongue in his fangs before she could reel it all back in and bit down, cutting it. He dragged himself back, dragging the tongue and Ministress with him. He then rolled away and shifted into a slug, hoping that his distraction was enough.
It was enough, as he saw. Grey's whip shot out and grabbed the Ministress by the neck, dragging towards him. His knee caught her by the back, breaking many scales. She fell to the ground, snarling. Blood flowed from her wounds and her back seemed healed. The scales were closing but Grey wasn't one to waste an opportunity. He stepped forward quickly, gun in hand.
"Say hello to the Lion God for me." He said and blew her head to pieces. The body disintegrated immediately and the demons she'd commanded followed suit.
"Jay." He called.
The half-elf shifted from his slug from back into a boy. He was tired but smiling.
"We did it." He said, trying to stand.
Grey hurried towards him, face etched in worry.
"What's wrong?" He asked as the boy fainted in his hands.
Jay woke up to the smell of something nice, Grey was stripped to the waist and backed him, stirring something in a pot. The Hunter's back was littered with scars and his muscles bunched and moved around effortlessly as he worked. He sang a tune that Jay couldn't recognise. He looked up and it was rock, they were in some kind of cave. His throat felt swollen and parched. He had used his powers indiscriminately and so all the symptoms had hit him all at once. He knew though that it was worth it, the Ministress had been defeated and he had a hand in it.
Grey turned to him and smiled.
"You're awake, Jay." He said.
Jay nodded.
"Please, can I have some water?" He asked. Grey passed him a waterskin and brought the pot down from the fire he was using to cook.
"How do you feel?" Grey asked. Jay eyes put up at the rabbit stew in the pot.
"Hungry, for sure. Where are we?" He asked.
"Another dimension." Grey answered.
"Really. Do they have rabbits in this dimension?" Jay asked. Grey laughed and drew the pot closer.
"We don't have spoons. You've been sleeping for almost two days now and I haven't left this cave much." He explained.
Jay pushed his shirt server's back and washed his hand with the waterskin.
As they ate, Grey eyes him thoughtfully.
"Is it normal? To faint after using your powers?" He asked.
Jay shook his head.
"I shifted many times in a short amount of time, that's why. I'm a child too, so the fatigue gets to me. I'll get better when I'm older." He said.
"What you did was foolhardy." Grey said solemnly and Jay looked chastised.
"I know." He said.
Grey ruffled his head.
"But it was smart and brave. And I like little boys that are both." He said.
Jay protested.
"But, I'm not so little. I'm thirteen." He said.
"You behave like you're seven. I don't blame you much, it's your elf side." He said.
By evening, Jay had regained enough strength and they left the cave.
"What of the pot? How did you get it?" Jay asked as they left.
"Took it from a shepherd. He had no more use for it." He said.
The road was full of different kind of vegetation and rocks were by the side.
"So, you don't know where we are going?" Jay asked.
"I'm going to keep tracking the Lion God. You, I'll drop you somewhere safe." Grey said.
Jay's face twisted in anger.
"I'm coming with you." He said.
Grey turned to him concernedly.
"What I do is no boy's fantasy. Demons and death, that's all in my path. I think you should steer clear of it, I enjoy your companionship but if something happens to you, I'm the one who is guilty." He said.
Jay bunched up his fists.
"No, I want to be useful. All everyone sees me as is a pet. I helped you kill that woman demon and I will be of more use to you by your side than by living a peaceful life here." He said.
They were walking in between plots of planted crops now and Grey was silent.
"What is your reason for saying this? For adventure or something else?" He asked.
Jay thought for a moment.
"You say this Lion God wants to destroy everything and make us his slaves. I want to help you stop him." He said.
Grey fell silent again.
"Alright then." He said.
Jay leapt into the air.
People were farming and in the distance, Grey could see a castle and walked city. He turned to a man using a sickle in the fields and asked.
"What castle is that?"
The man took one look at the travelers and answered hesitantly.
"The castle of the Renns family, the rulers of Uopia." He said.
Grey nodded.
"So, this is Uopia." He said.
The man nodded.
"What are we doing? Are we finding demons there?" Jay asked, excitedly.
"No, supplies, a little bit of rest then I'll track the Lion God's apostles in this dimension. They're almost everywhere now." Grey said.
"Rest then, I'll like to change my clothes too." Jay said, waving his hand over his shabby clothes.
Grey smiled. He had a companion now.