Adventure of Rekka Ch. 07

"Well, damn. Getting real tired of arrows. Okay, well, we could just try asking but we're in no position to let them say no. Hell, let's try something with a little bit of... finesse," Bill said, grinning evilly down at Rekka, who returned it with a wide happy one of her own.

-

"Anyone touches a bow and you'll bleed your last, let me see them hands!" the outlaw ordered, a malicious leer on his face. If he had a mustache, he'd be twirling it evilly to complete the image. Instead, he slashed his sword through the air to punctuate his order.

Before Felix could respond he found himself holding a shaking Helena in his arms, robbing his faculties of anything resembling coherent thought.

"Oh Felix!" she cried, trembling. Her eyes were closed as she clutched at him, squeaking her terror. The stunned Felix merely held her, patting her back in an attempt to soothe her while he tried to sort out whether he should be afraid of their attacker, angry that he scared Helena so, or pleased at the soft lovely sensation of holding her in his arms.

"Ah, shit," the rogue muttered, lowering his sword.

"That ain't like no centaur I ever met, that's for sure," the other bandit said from behind, her tone full of wry amusement.

Felix made comforting noises to Helena, still rubbing her back. "It's ok, Helena, my dear. Shh, now. Don't cry. They won't harm us," he said until she opened her eyes and looked at him. He took a moment to smile comfortingly to her before nodding at the man who had accosted them, "You won't hurt her, right, Bill?"

"Oh damn, Felix. What are you doing here? Figured you for dead," Bill replied, lowering the sword to the dirt and leaning on it like a cane.

"Aye, I would be, without the aid of my savior, here," Felix replied, still holding her closely. "We're here because... we came to find you, Bill."

"What, want another fight? I'm pretty sure Rekka can still take you, with or without your pretty filly," Bill said, grinning over Felix's shoulder at the hellhound.

Before Rekka could respond, Helena turned her head to look back at her, causing the hellhound to gasp in shock.

"Oh wow! That's a horn! Husband, look... She's a unicorn!" Rekka called, dashing up to the startled mamono. It was Felix's turn to freeze in panic. The last time he had been this close to the hellhound she had snapped his spear in half and driven it into his leg before he could react.

"H-hello there, my name is Helena, how, um... nice to meet you," Helena greeted her nervously, holding out a hand. Rekka eagerly grasped it in her paws shaking more vigorously than the unicorn was used to, but she gamely persevered.

"Likewise! Call me Rekka, that's my husband, Bill. Don't worry about him, he's a real sweetie normally, he wasn't going to hurt ya," Rekka said, grinning at Helena, her eyes focused on the woman's horn.

"Oh my, yes, I am sorry for the way I reacted, but he was very convincing as a nefarious outlaw," Helena said, blushing.

Looking over at Bill they paused to watch as he struggled to sheathe his sword. He was turning in circles while trying to get the blade and scabbard to line up on his back, cursing, until he finally slid it home with a laugh of victory.

"Damn thing's more trouble than it's worth I tell ya," Bill declared, nodding at Helena, "Nice to meet you, Helena was it? Sorry about the ambush, thought you guys would be putting up more resistance to getting kidnapped. Nice to meet reasonable folks for a change."

"Kidnapping-?" Helena started to ask, but was interrupted by Felix.

"What? That's ridiculous, we've come looking for you of our own free will!" Felix exclaimed, putting himself between Bill and Helena.

"Great, it makes it a lot easier to abduct people when they're on the same page," Bill replied, patting Felix on the shoulder.

"Is he entirely serious?" Helena asked Rekka.

"Mm-hmm. I like yer horn, it's so pretty!" Rekka replied, her eyes shining with interest.

"Ah, why thank you Rekka. Your eyes are very beautiful," Helena responded with dazed politeness.

Bill patted Felix on the back and said, "C'mon Felix. Follow me back to the carriage, it's just up the road. You can explain why you've come, and I can tell you why you're here."

-

After having roused Larry and Tabitha from their cozy little honeymoon suite, Bill gathered everyone around the carriage for a meeting of the minds.

"Larry, Tabitha, meet Felix and Helena," Bill said, making introductions.

"Hey, I recognize you. You're one of those guards, right? Didn't see you last night," Larry spoke up, leaning into Tabitha while she stood behind him, holding onto him protectively.

"Yeah, he wasn't there. Felix and his friends ran into Rekka back in the forest where we met. Didn't go well for them. Last we saw him he was limping away losing blood, didn't give him much hope honestly. Guessing his recovery has something to do with Helena here," Bill said, nodding at her.

"Unicorn, huh? Guess you must be a wiz with surgery. That was a hell of a wound," he said, looking meaningfully at Felix's leg.

Helena glanced nervously around as the party looked her over. While Larry and Bill didn't seem to see her as anything but a novel new species of mamono, Rekka was nearly beside herself with curiosity. Even Tabitha seemed keenly interested, if her twitching tail and ears were any indication.

"Yeah! Isn't it awesome? She can magic away wounds! Just like in the stories!" Rekka cried, bouncing on her feet. "Never thought I'd meet one! They're so rare, I thought they was all gone."

"Yes, I do not believe there are many of us left at all, now," Helena said, sadly. "I only knew my mother and now she is... gone."

Rekka's excitement died and she crossed to the unicorn, pulling her into a comforting embrace, which the girl gratefully returned.

"I'm sorry, Helena. This stupid war... it ain't right," Rekka said.

"Thank you, Rekka, but I cannot place the blame entirely on the fighting... My mother was not killed. You see, my father was not a strong man, and he was led astray. I believe that is the far more likely cause of my kind's disappearance."

Rekka growled angrily, hugging her tighter for a moment before pulling away. She turned her ire onto Felix.

"If you hurt her, I'll put another spear in you, an' you'll wish it was your leg!" she snarled at him, surprisingly Tabitha joined in with a growl of her own, her tail lashing the air.

Bill and Larry shared a look of confusion, both clueless to the sudden agitation centered on poor Felix.

"What? No! Of course, I'd never..." Felix said, holding his hands up, torn between backing away from the furious hellhound and staying close to Helena.

"Please do not! Rekka, I appreciate your concern but Felix has been nothing but a complete gentleman, I assure you. Please do not be cruel to him, I beg you!" Helena said, placing her hand in Felix's while blushing furiously, her hooves stamping nervously.

Bill reached over and gathered the still glowering Rekka into his arms before she decided to do something painful to Felix again.

"Ok, that was weird. Anyone feel like clueing in us ignorant menfolk as to what that was all about?" Bill asked, stroking Rekka's hair while looking at the mortified unicorn.

"It is not something I feel entirely comfortable... I cannot... Um, Rekka, you tell them, please," Helena mumbled out, her eyes darting between Felix and the ground while she turned a brighter shade of red.

Rekka growled again, staring death at Felix for a moment before speaking, "Unicorns is special. Like, really special. There never was a lot, and now there's a lot less. An' that's cause they don't stay unicorns for long, these days."

Felix nervously shuffled his feet while looking between Rekka and Helena.

"If their husbands a no-good cheater, or even if he's too weak to stop another woman from takin' him, their wife will change... They can't help it. An' they stop bein' so, y'know," Rekka explained, waving to indicate the innocently blushing unicorn.

Helena lowered her head, her hair hiding her face, leaving only her horn visible.

"They ain't much different from a succubus then, just with more legs. They can't heal anymore; their magic gets all... succubussy! Spend all their time tryin' to get their husband to cheat more, an' even take on more wives!" She exclaimed, affronted at the idea.

"Worst of all, they don't have that pretty horn anymore. They get two! An' that's not special. Lots of mamono got two horns. An' if they choose a husband that ain't a virgin, it happens anyway! It's terrible," she finished, still glaring daggers at Felix. The fires in her eyes were blazing now.

"Huh, so... bicorns? Shit, sounds like a fairytale," Bill commented.

"Yeah, that's who told me about em," Rekka said, crossing her arms.

Larry barked out a laugh. "Oh shit, fairy tale, literally. This fuckin' world." He shook his head, picking up Tabitha's waving tail and stroking it absently.

"Is that how it works, Helena?" Bill asked gently, not trusting second hand pixie yarns.

"Um, yes, Rekka is very, um, well informed," Helena stuttered out, still looking at the ground.

"Well damn. You a virgin, Felix?" Bill asked, looking at Felix.

"Uh..." Felix stammered, his face burning.

"Yeah, he is." Bill stated, nodding. "Well, just keep it in your pants if you're not serious about the long term, otherwise I won't be responsible for what Rekka will do to you."

Bill paused a moment to look over Helena's horse parts speculatively before adding, "Although, I'm not sure how the mechanics would even work..."

Rekka smacked his chest to shut him up, and pulled his head down to whisper furiously in his ear, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. He glanced down at Helena's skirt covered forelegs, squinting and noticing how she looked pretty much like a normal woman from that angle, aside from the delicate cloven feet.

"I'll be damned. Really?" He asked Rekka, holding up a couple fingers.

"Yes! Now leave it!" She hissed, glaring between a dumbfounded Bill, and Larry who was shaking with silent laughter.

"Right, sure. Moving on, I guess. Felix!" Bill said, snapping his fingers to get the poor man's attention.

"Aye, yes? What?" Felix responded, patting at Helena's hand in an attempt to comfort the poor blushing creature, not at all certain what the whispering had been about.

"So, how about it, why did you come looking for us? Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but if you're here to avenge Flavius you'd better rethink it," Bill said, cocking an eyebrow at the former enemy.

"No! Nothing of the sort, believe me," Felix said, eyes flashing to the hellhound still staring him down. "We met Cato, he told us that you had a plan. To... Erm. Save the world?"

Bill chuckled, shrugging a shoulder.

"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I? Don't get me wrong, I've got some ideas. I wouldn't call it a plan, though," Bill admitted, ignoring Rekka's eye rolling.

"Well, if you want in, you're more than welcome. See, here's the deal: Me'n Larry here? We're from a completely different world. I don't know if you can even understand this, being an uneducated peasant or whatever. Serf maybe? Doesn't matter. Not your fault you and all your medieval buddies are a bunch of ignorant savages," Bill explained, leaning against the carriage, arms around Rekka who turned to snuggle into his chest, now bored of the conversation.

Felix and Helena shared a look of confusion, while Tabitha seemed to be taking an interest based upon her focused gaze and attentive ears.

"Now, our world doesn't have magic, or mamono. It's all humans, and there's billions of us. What we do have is technology; flying machines, thinking machines, planes, trains, and automobiles. Cool science shit, and a whole lot of weapons. Stuff that makes Larry's guns look like tinker toys. Other than some quality of life stuff, the place sucks, honestly," Bill continued.

"Hey, I liked it just fine. I miss cold beer and netflix. This place is bullshit," Larry snapped. Then he looked up at Tabitha, his scowl fading. "Well, mostly. Tabby is pretty great, I'll admit."

Tabitha began purring loudly at that, pulling Larry into her body, her face lighting up as she smiled down at him.

"Shit, I thought you were smart. This place is fucking awesome; magic, adventure, sexy hellhounds? I ain't ever leaving," Bill countered, rubbing a now giggling Rekka's back.

"That's the thing, though. Magic. This place has it, and it can do crazy shit. Like bring us here. If it can do that, it can do more. Now, I never met whoever brought me here, but it sounds like you did, Larry."

"Fuck yeah I did. Fat Gandalf looking asshole," Larry spat. He told them of how he had gotten pulled out of his comfortable life and brought to this hellscape.

"He's not going to send us back unless we beat a portal out of him," Larry scowled, remembering.

"Hell, he tries to send me back, I'll feed him his magic wand and his teeth," Bill replied. "Nah, we'll need us a wizard, but not for returning."

Larry seemed to want to argue that point, then looked down at the two paws holding onto his chest. A thoughtful look passed over his face, and he sighed, running his fingers through the fur on Tabitha's paws.

"We're a long way from worrying about that, though. For now, we need to deal with you opening Pandora's ammo box. The next step is shutting down the quarry," Bill said, nodding at Felix. "What can you tell me about the place, Felix?"

"The quarry? Why there?" Felix asked, confused.

"You remember Larry's 'weapons', right? Well, those are from our world. You yokels would probably never have discovered them without him showing up and doing the thinking for you. Don't take it too hard, you guys can't help being such backwards rubes. They're making his gunpowder at the quarry, so we'll have to go fix that," Bill explained, enjoying the irritation Felix was showing from his taunts.

"Must you be so... so... rude, Bill?" Helena interjected. She was attempting a stern expression, her cheeks puffing out and stamping her hooves. It was adorable, like being growled at by a hamster.

Bill chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, sorry Helena, I'll try to be nice. Don't take it personally, Felix. I'm kind of an asshole. I've been told I use humor as a defense, but honestly, it's more of an offensive weapon lately. I'm still a little mad that you guys nearly killed me. That bolt is still bothering me," Bill replied, waving his wounded arm at Felix.

"You are injured? Please, let me see," Helena said, moving forward.

Bill obediently offered his arm after removing the bracer. Helena carefully unwrapped his bandages, making a concerned noise when the angry red wound was revealed.

"This is very recent. You should have been resting, it would be healing better had you not been swinging swords at innocent travelers, sir," she chastised him.

"Didn't have much choice. Career in adventure doesn't come with sick leave," Bill drawled, feeling a little queasy staring at the puckered hole in his arm.

"Hmm. It is slightly infected, you are a little feverish," Helena said, closing her eyes for a moment. "The bone is chipped, but it would have healed on its own, given time. The damaged muscles would take a time to repair on its own. May I heal you, Bill?"

"Oh, sure. Have at it. Should I sit down?" Bill asked, intrigued by the thought of magical healing.

"That should not be necessary, you did an excellent job in removing the arrow, and the wound is a simple one. Felix's was far more extensive, and was not properly cared for," Helena replied, mild accusation in her tone.

"Ah, sorry about that. What I don't know about first aid could fill a book," Bill replied, shrugging apologetically.

"Well, no lasting harm done. Please hold still, this will not hurt," Helena said.

Helena bowed her head over Bill's arm as the group watched with interest. Whispering softly in a musical language Helena held her hand over the wound. Her horn began shining brightly, and Bill shivered as a pleasant warmth diffused through his arm and into his chest. Helena finished her song, removing her hand to reveal unmarred skin, no trace of a scar.

"Wow, that's amazin'! It's like it didn't even happen!" Rekka cried, surprising Helena by throwing her arms around her with a hug of thanks.

Bill was thrilled to no longer feel the deep ache in his arm he had been trying to ignore. He tried to flex his hand into a fist, but found the muscles not listening to him. He waved his arm around, trying to will some movement into it.

"Oh, do not worry, it will recover in a short time," Helena said over Rekka's shoulder.

"Cool, thanks Helena. Didn't realize how much it hurt until it stopped," Bill replied, his fingers beginning to respond again.

"Yeah, you're the best, Helena! An' don't you worry about Felix, if any other girl looks his way I'll make em sorry," Rekka cheered, pleased as could be to have Bill healed, and wanting to return the favor best she knew how.

"Oh, why thank you, Rekka. If you guard him as well as you do Bill, I'm sure he will be very safe," Helena replied, touched by her concern despite the bloodthirsty promise.

"Well hell, you're a damned asset to the team, Helena. Glad to have you along. Felix can stick around as long as you're vouching for him. Now, would you mind talking to these horses and getting them to move? They won't listen to me," Bill said, glaring at the horses.

"Is that why you wanted to kidnap us?" Felix asked, aghast.

"Yeah, figured her for a centaur at first. They're, y'know, part horse. Should be able to work something out," Bill replied, shrugging.

Felix's mouth opened and closed as he tried formulate a response. He was saved as Helena placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, a shy smile on her face she tried to cover with her hand.

"Do not worry Felix. Bill is not entirely wrong. I cannot speak for centaurs, but my people do share a certain affinity with equines. Let me try, they do not seem distressed," Helena said, approaching the horses.

She spent a few minutes talking quietly at the horses, patting their heads and smoothing their manes. The horses were quite pleased by the attention, perking up and whickering at her in greeting. After a moment Helena turned back towards Bill.

"They seem to be waiting for you to allow them to continue on, Bill. They are quite bored with standing still for so long," Helena said.

"What? I've been trying to get them moving all day. Is there a 'go' command or something I'm not aware of? Last night I just had to flick the reins," Bill said, exasperated.

Felix marched over to the carriage, around the horses and to the far side. He looked down beside the driver's bench and said, "Have you tried releasing the break?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bill shouted.

Larry broke down laughing, thoroughly enjoying Bill's anguish.