*Drip* *Drip* *Drip* *Drip*
One drop after another, blood from Vox's wound fell on the floor
Mikie and the rest, who had been observing the bleeding from behind Vox, looked down at the gradually increasing splatter and then they looked at Vox.
/"Vox, you gonna patch that up first or—?"\ Mikie asked but Vox who knew what the rest of his statement was going to be cut him off.
/"I'm gonna patch it, alright, but first, I'm gonna kill the stupid prick that caused it and I'm gonna do it with my bare hands!"\ Vox said, vibrating with rage as he aimed a threatening sneer at Avery who had created some space between both of them.
Vox took the wounded arm to his mouth and gently sucked out all the leaking blood until the bleeding stopped then he spat everything at the alcohol on the floor.
He clenched the fist of the wounded arm to make sure Avery didn't cause any serious damage with his attack besides the cut and there wasn't.
Vox looked at Avery menacingly and said /"Now I can kill you, you stupid fuck"\
Avery, who didn't understand what was said but could correctly guess the meaning, thanks to reading Vox's body language and expression, got ready for what was to come.
He took in a deep breath and then sighed, freeing his muscles and loosening his joints.
He looked at Kenser through the corner of his eyes and saw the concern she had for him on her face.
"Sorry" He whispered to her because his actions had made things go the way she feared they would then he looked at Vox who was exuding great levels of bloodlust.
"Kenser, help me tell him that I would like us to take this outside. Don't want to ruin the place more than it already is" Avery said then turned to Kenser once more and smiled.
"Don't want to cause any more problems for you or Centshuu" he said
"Avery" she replied, saddened.
She didn't want to relay the message because she knew the consequences.
There was nothing anyone could do if Avery went out of the Velvet Serpent with Vox and the rest.
They would kill him if that happened, she thought and that was the last thing she wanted.
With her heart racing anxiously, Kenser looked at the curtain covering the entrance of the passage that led to Madam Bell's room.
/'Come on, Makieth. Where are you?'\ Kenser thought but wasn't given much time to continue checking for Madam Bell's appearance when she suddenly heard a disappointed chuckle from Avery, drawing her attention to him.
"So you're not going to do as I've asked. I had a feeling you wouldn't tell them what I said but it was still worth a shot." Avery said, shrugging off how her refusal to relay his message made him feel.
"Anyway, thanks for looking out for me Kenser but what's about to happen can't be prevented by whoever you seem to be waiting for," Avery said then looked at Vox's angry face.
"This guy doesn't look like he's in the mood to take requests right now and since I can't get him to step outside, I can at least do this," Avery said then started stepping to the side, giving space between himself and the counter, most especially Kenser so she wouldn't be hit by accident.
Vox grinned as Avery made it clear that he was ready for the beatdown that was about to happen.
/"Stupid brat. Anyone with an ounce of sense would have been looking for the slightest opportunity to run away, but surprise surprise, your dumb ass is still here. Well, now that I think about it, anyone with an ounce of sense wouldn't have been stupid enough to cut me in the first place because they'd have known that there's no escaping my wrath."\ Vox said then looked at Avery from head to toe as the young man kept stepping away.
He scoffed.
/"I can't believe you seriously think you stand a chance of surviving this. What a mega idiot you are. A mega idiot and a dead one at that."\ Vox said to Avery who now had his back facing the stage.
Vox looked at his friends, signaled with his eyes and they all nodded in understanding.
/"That's it for you brat. No more moving."\ Mikie said after rushing and getting behind Avery, blocking him from moving further back.
/"Where you are is perfect enough"\ Graham, the last friend of the group, said as he stood at Avery's right side and blocked him from moving that way.
Avery looked to his left and there was Fez, blocking any escape from that side too.
He was surrounded by Vox's friends, leaving Vox, who was in front of him and was walking closer, to begin the beatdown.
Avery, ready for what was about to happen, took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes and, without thinking, he did what felt like the most natural thing to do.
Vox and everyone by the bar became shocked and confused as they saw the fighting stance Avery had assumed.
Avery's hands were held up, fists clenched and protecting his face and sides of his head. His lead hand which was his left—although being ambidextrous— was positioned at his eye level while his rear hand—his right— was kept close to his cheek.
His elbows were tucked in to protect his body, especially his ribs, from attack.
His front left foot pointed to his opponent, Vox. His rear right foot was turned slightly to the side, spaced shoulder-width from his front foot which allowed quick mobility.
His knees were slightly bent and his torso slightly tilted forward, making him both extremely stable and a smaller target for Vox to attack.
After opening his eyes and seeing the confused looks everyone was giving him, Avery looked also down at himself and how strange, yet very familiar, the fighting stance he had taken up was.
He thought, 'What kind of stance is this? Why did I suddenly position my body like this and why for some reason does it feel like the right thing to do? Is this something that'll make sense once I have all my memories?'
Mikie, who was looking at Avery from behind grimaced and said /"What the hell kind of stance is the freak doing?"\
Vox, who heard his friend, shrugged
/"Beats me. Maybe he's trying to dance with the spirits I'm about to send him to."\ he said.
"Is it just me or does it look like the pug is about to break into a song and dance?" Mosey said to Kove as he focused all his attention on Avery and wondered if he should help.
Again, he didn't want to do something that would put Centshuu in trouble and since Avery wasn't a part of their group, he didn't have a reason to help except for the fact that Centshuu would be angry at him for not doing anything when he kept Avery under his watch.
Kove, who was going through the same dilemma as his friend and group mate, groaned.
"Yeah, it's a very strange stance to look at. If it's a fighting stance then it's one I've never seen before. It could be indigenous to wherever he's from but I wonder how effective it is." Kove said and after some more seconds of observing the stance, he saw its usability.
He saw how great it was for simultaneously attacking and defending against an opponent's attacks and instantly he became impressed.
"Now I know why Centshuu took such an interest in him," Kove said.
Mosey, who wondered why Kove looked so impressed, groaned and said "Nah! I'm sure Centshuu just wants directions to the Ferallith and that's all"
Kove shrugged "If you say so. Anyway, you know what we have to do right?"
Mosey took in a deep breath and huffed
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Centshuu would tear our ears out if we just—" Mosey said as he was about to get up from his chair but then Kenser interrupted him.
"What do the two of you think you're doing?! Aren't you going to help Avery out with this?! I thought he was your friend. Do something to stop that bastard before it's too late—" She said but Mosey glared and shut her up.
"Hey broad," Mosey said and she jolted.
"I know you and the pug were hitting it off before this whole mess started, but don't think that gives you the privilege to yap to me like we're friends. Basically, shut the fuck up…respectfully" he said then glared at Vox's back