(389)
art by crypsis
Fighting had given him an outlet. If he had been another man he might have turned to drink, to devil-grass, even to sex—but he was angry and only the feeling of flesh on flesh, of blood, of struggle and challenge, would serve him. Now that his body ached and his bruises were fading he had only pain to look forward to. Still, as stiff and uncomfortable as he was, it was good. It would remind him of his place in the world and reinforce the idea that no one, not even those who you come to love, are reliable.
The question slowed his story only slightly, but Max was recovering. His animated face was a fair, if unpracticed mask, and he offered her a small (but honest) smile. “He insulted my mother,” the boy explained, and shook his head lightly. “Said some words I don’t feel like repeating. Ugly bastard, he was.” There was no anger in his voice, no remorse either. Max had been beaten and abused by his mother, and hardly needed an excuse to fight. Still, it seemed reasonable. Besides, the insults had been made to him and Max was a hair-trigger when it came to his bloodline.
Ahead of them, Remy held his hand up sharply. Max stilled and waited. The coy-dog then motioned to a patch of thick underbrush, and Max, taking the sign for what it was, hoisted the crossbow to his shoulder. His companion moved quickly, and with a sweeping gesture, spooked the animal hiding in the brush. Max didn’t think, only fired, and was rewarded with a squealing death cry. Ahead of them, the Cajun laughed. “Yeah, you go on n’ give ‘em hell, Maxie. Lookit dis here,” he hoisted the groundhog aloft with the arrow, and yanked it free with his other hand. “Catch us a few more o’ dees and we gon’ eat good tonight.”
The trio went on, with Remy instructing Sparrow on appropriate “bushwhacking” techniques. Max’s crossbow took down two more before the sun was low enough to force them back to the Mansion. There, despite his protests, Max allowed the older dog to re-examine his scars and forced the boy to tell a story (this one about a clever fox that tricked a wolf into being beaten and eventually killed), and fed them all generously.
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