A roar of laughter burst from Bull's chest, rumbling as he strolled towards Zephyr and surprisingly smacked him on the back. Each thump was definitely going to bruise. Zephyr stumbled forward a few steps from the Draegorth's slightly restrained strength.
What was happening right now?
"So, you're Zephyr?" Bull's hand squeezed his shoulder, the Draegorth's sheer strength rattling the joint to break. It didn't. Yet. "Garzon said you were too slow… Thought you died. I'm Mazginath, Maz for short."
"Maz, what are you doing?" Garzon asked in a clipped tone, straying away from Fig, whose eyes were a little too bright watching Zephyr.
"The kid didn't die." Maz pointed his thumb at Zephyr as he released him and strolled towards the pile of skinned meat. "I'm introducing myself, what else?"
"How very… polite of you," Garzon remarked with a hint of sarcasm.
Manatee's thunderous steps approached from the opposite side, bag over its shoulder, pausing as it took Zephyr's sudden appearance in. He mumbled something, this time loud enough for the Slinktail to hear but he couldn't understand the words being spoken. It was another language? Yet the other Draegorths understood.
Was it some demonic language only the Draegorths could speak? Or was this just a Manatee thing?
"Good one, Tez," Garzon smirked. "Where is he, really?"
Tez? Manatee was Tez?
Zephyr's arrival was only a brief shock for the Draegorths, or they didn't care, which made more sense.
"That's Tez," Fig informed him, stopping by his side, hands behind her back as she flicked her turquoise curls to one side, staring at him, and continued, "His real name is Thirkaxingastradtranudanama. But it's too long to keep pronouncing."
He didn't give a flying fuck!
Zephyr glared at her, about to step away, but Dain intercepted him, halting abruptly and delivering a swift punch to his gut.
Doubled over, Zephyr struggled to regain his breath from Dain's sudden action. "What in the hells?" He wheezed, gradually straightening up to meet Dain's gaze.
"That's for being a dick," Dain muttered, then gripped his shoulder and nodded once. "Good job staying alive."
Zephyr read Dain's greeting that he was happy to see him.
"Yeah, no thanks to them leaving me." Zephyr pointed his chin in the Draegorths' direction, then pinned another glare on Fig. "And Fig."
Fig shrugged under his hostile stare. "Saved ya ass twice, didn't I? I can't disobey their orders." She leaned closer to them so the Draegorths didn't hear their conversation. "Besides… I had a feeling you'd be fine."
"A feeling? I almost died," Zephyr hissed; he glowered at her. Sure, they weren't friends, but he thought being the same sort of species with a shitty slave-like outcome would provide some sort of comradery. Even grumpy Dain held some loyalty.
Zephyr thought anyway. He was still figuring that one out. Nevertheless, he should have known better. Any lingering shreds of optimism he held about people dissipated. He had learned the harsh lessons in his past existence, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let history repeat itself in this one. Fig seemed like a fickle creature, one he wouldn't trust anytime soon.
"But you didn't," Fig grinned before her gaze flicked down to the daggers on Zephyr's right side, sheathed in a scabbard along a belt. She stepped closer, hand reaching towards them. "I'll take those back now."
Zephyr grasped her hand before she could touch the daggers, careful not to let the Draegorths catch on to what was happening. If Fig was Garzon's plaything, he wouldn't want to upset him. What he really wanted to do was slap her hand away.
"Take what back?" Zephyr looked at her innocently. "You didn't help me; if you did, that would mean you went against Garzon's orders."
Fig's eyes narrowed, but Garzon called her over before she could say anything further. She discreetly yanked her hand out of Zephyr's hold and turned abruptly, hair swishing behind her. She returned to the Draegorth's side, looking up at the 8ft+ giant.
"We're going back in the forest at first light. Still want to come with us?" Garzon smirked at Zephyr, his hand almost possessively sliding down to Fig's lower back. It didn't move much because his hands were so large.
"I'll join the day after tomorrow," he replied casually, shocking Garzon and causing Bull to snort and grin, finding it entertaining. "I already survived one day and night. But we need more supplies than what we have…"
Thirkaxingastradtranudanama or whatever… Manatee or Tez said something before entering the tent, which he shared with Maz. "You're right. Maz will go with you." Great, so he has a babysitter. The minotaur didn't look too thrilled by it either, but he didn't voice his complaints. "We'll make a list for you. Miss anything out, and there will be consequences," Garzon warned before sitting down with a loud thud beside the fire, pulling Fig onto his lap, her tail swishing the opposite way.
"Oh goodie, consequences," Zephyr said sarcastically, strolling past them and towards the smaller tents until Dain caught up to him, keeping his head down and guiding Zephyr towards the correct one.
"Don't push it, Zephyr," Garzon's rumbling voice called from behind him. Zephyr glanced over his shoulder, observing the couple briefly, wondering how that happened.
"So, I guess they're a thing," Zephyr whispered as the tent flap closed behind them, and the late afternoon daylight zapped out to the darkness inside their small tent. It was still big enough to stand in, with enough space to walk between the two blankets arranged in an L shape, but it wasn't tall enough for Zephyr.
Dain shrugged, uncaring. "Does it matter?"
Zephyr sat on the unused yet worn-thin mat on the ground furthest away from the entrance. Shadows danced across the tent from the firelight outside, and streams of daylight filtered through some of the moth-eaten holes of the tent. It wasn't much, but it was better than sleeping outside in the snow and being forced to sit among the Draegorths.
"Just trying to figure out the group dynamics. Isn't it weird that they favour a Slinktail?" From what the previous Zephyrion knew, Draegorths never favoured Slinktails, but he remained mostly in the mountains and surrounding villages. Was it just his perception and lack of knowledge?
Dain lay down on his mat, hands going behind his head. "She's a Slinktail with a pussy. Maybe they haven't had any in a while…" He trailed off, looking thoughtful. "I don't know if it's wise or not for Fig to do that…"
"Have you seen them abuse her?" Zephyr tilted his head in Dain's direction.
Dain shook his head. "No, but it's only been a day."
Zephyr's stomach rumbled, interrupting their hushed discussion. He was hungry again after jogging back from that village. "We're having rabbit stew. I'll grab you some." When Dain returned, they ate in silence. The stew was surprisingly nice and nutritious compared to the mouldy bread and the little leftovers the Drageorths left for Zephyrion in the last gang.
Considering how menacing this group had been towards them in their first encounter and how they left Zephyr to die in the Dark Forest, little things like eating decent food didn't add up to him. Perhaps it was some sort of manipulation. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He would remain vigilant either way.
"Dain," Zephyr whispered, gaining the other Slinktail's attention. Dain looked over at him from where he'd been bent over his bowl. "Can you teach me how to fight?"
"Why would I do that?"
"For coin. I'll pay you to teach me."
Dain's gaze flicked back to the empty bowl in his hands, thoughtful, so Zephyr added, "It's always better to have some coin, in case of emergencies."
Dain smirked. "Emergencies, huh?" He looked at Zephyr with amusement. "Alright. But I won't go easy on you."
"Good. I don't want you to. I'll find a spot where we can train." Zephyr rose to his feet, his head still hunched over from his tall frame, which was slightly cramped within the confines of the small tent. He retrieved Dain's bowl and nodded at him before he left the tent to clean their dishes with the untouched snow behind their camp. As he cleaned, a faint smile curled on his lips.