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@this-is-not-an-alien

LOL Liorah actually stopped screaming to pet the dog! Ferran seems to be a very good influence XD

LOL! ‘Shut up, pet the dog’ is a fairly dependable technique to calm Liorah down XD

@sparrowhawke

Sorry it was so long. And the writing is pretty bad.

Don’t worry! This isn’t a prose competition, you did great 😉 And make it as long as you like! Ooh, I can’t wait to see what the other characters do! I love him already 😉

@irishcelticredflowercrown

Yikes! That was a bad move, he got everyone mad at him XD This is going to be glorious!

I hope you don’t mind, I’m going to change the scene a little, because Ferran was acting a little out of character. (Though Liorah’s lines are gloriously sarcastic XD) I generally try to limit other character’s actions and only write dialogue for my own characters since that’s really easy to get wrong. (If you need another character to reply to something briefly, that’s fine though, and you can break the rules if you do it spectacularly XD)

Ooh, this is going to be good!

@rusted-knight

“Liorah!” Her brother snapped. “Don’t provoke him! Please!”

Just wanted to clarify, Ferran isn’t her brother. Ferran is a friend, I took Gavril out a while ago. Sorry for the confusion 😉

Liorah

“Is this a joke human? I think you all know exactly who I am. Everyone and their blind and deaf mother knows who I am!”

My grin widened. I had an opportunity to make fun of this arrogant fool and I couldn’t wait. Ferran looked dubious and closed-off, but that was hardly unusual.

The aforementioned arrogant fool tossed his head and looked at me haughtily.

“They call me the Phantom Ranger. Perhaps you’ve heard of that name?”

Phantom ranger? Who was he kidding? Even his name was overdone and self-important.

I tapped my chin, as though thinking hard.

“Ummm… let me see… Nope! Doesn’t ring any bells, unfortunately.”

He tilted his head, surprise and bewilderment taking over his expression. It must be disorienting for him, to suddenly drop among all these people who had no interest in praising him.

“I am the High Queen’s most esteemed assassin and spy. I have killed more people than you can count on your fingers.”

I smiled crookedly. My uncle, the regent of our tribe, had said that a need for assassins was a sure sign of a poorly run government. I tried to translate his rank. He’d probably be one of the nobles in our tribe, perhaps slightly below the Elders. I outranked him, but I could only tell him that once and now wasn’t the time. I wanted to see him embarrass himself properly.

“May I ask how?” I asked, mockingly. “Let me guess, using your death stare?” 

Ferran shot me a look. He was tense and kept a sharp eye on the stranger. Interpreting Ferran wasn’t hard, I knew him so well I knew what he was thinking. Stop that, this isn’t a good idea.

I had no interest in listening.

The stranger smiled, then vanished. One second he was there, then he was gone.

Then he was right in front of me, his hands clamping around my throat. It felt like an iron band around my neck. I choked, then my instincts took over and I kicked him as hard as I could, hitting him squarely in the shin. He didn’t even flinch.

Red spots danced before my eyes and he lifted me off the ground without the least effort.

“Like this,” he whispered, then he dropped me. I collapsed onto my knees, gasping for breath. It felt like the time a horse had kicked me in the chest. I could barely breathe.

“Seeing as we are now acquainted with one another, and we are stuck in this hellhole for who knows how long, you may call me Lorcan.” The stranger’s black eyes were sharp with triumph.

Rage and humiliation pulsed through me. He would pay for this.

Ferran’s staff pushed the stranger away from me. He stumbled backward, surprised.

Ferran

Anger pulsed at my temples, hotter than I had felt in a long time. How dare he? How dare he hurt Liorah?

I stepped between her and the stranger, trying to keep myself from knocking Lorcan off his feet.

My hands ached from gripping the staff so tightly.

“As long as you’re here, I expect you to be respectful,” I bit at the stranger.

The words came harder and quicker than usual. My accent was more pronounced, a sure sign of my anger. I didn’t even try to stop it. Gavril would have talked this out reasonably, but Gavril would sell his soul to keep the peace, so he wasn’t a good example.

“We have no interest in antagonizing you, but this is unacceptable. Where I come from, we don’t harm or frighten others to prove ourselves, especially not girls. And that’s ignoring the fact that both girls here are able and willing to kill you. Do you understand?”

I heard a soft hiss behind me and I didn’t have to look around to see what it was.

“Liorah, put that back.” I knew she had drawn her sword.

“Can’t I decapitate him just a little?” She snarled.

“Maybe later,” I answered.

Klein’s weapon was drawn and pointed at Lorcan. A red light flickered across his face. A warning.

A large shape appeared somewhere to our left, but I didn’t take my eyes off Lorcan. If I wanted to, I could break his skull with a single strike. I did want to but took a deep breath. Not now.

“Welcome, warriors, the run who ran away! He may seem gentle, but a coward only looks for himself,” the castle spoke. I risked a glance at the newcomer. He looked like a large tortoise and I frowned, surprised. That was unexpected.

The person-creature- whatever, sat down on the floor, bewildered, then started crying.

There was another hiss behind me, but this time I recognized it as Liorah’s sword returning to its scabbard.

“This isn’t over, you illegitimate son of a camel,” Liorah snarled at Lorcan, then spun around and strode toward the newcomer.

Azar was quivering somewhere behind me. I heard her tail sweeping the floor. I gave her the sign for ‘good girl, go ahead’.

Her nails ticked over the stone floor as she bounded after Liorah, feathery tail wagging.

I didn’t look away from Lorcan. The newcomer seemed harmless, but Lorcan certainly wasn’t.

I heard Liorah sitting down.

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry, it’s not so bad here. You’ll be home soon. I’m Liorah, what’s your name?” Her voice was soft, gentle even. There couldn’t be a greater contrast between her now and when she had threatened and insulted Lorcan a few minutes ago.

Her ability to be kind to those who needed it was one of my favorite things about her. It never failed.

_______

Liorah’s mom-friend mode: Activated! XD