Mouse smacked a stick against the side of a hibernating tree. It held strong, the thinner branches shaking just enough to knock small clumps of snow loose. He marched through the snow, hitting the next tree with his stick.

  “What are you doing?” Field called at him from behind. He, Ku, Telania, and two other mercenaries Mouse didn’t recognize followed several paces behind Mouse, following his footprints.

  “Hitting a tree?” Mouse answered lazily, eyeing the lake only a short way through the trees. “You said the possible den is this way?”

  “Yeah, once we get around the bend of the lake, where the river meets the wall of Winolin.” Field shook off a clump of snow as it dropped onto his hat from the overhanging branch. “And stop causing the snow to fall!”

  Mouse promptly ignored him, hitting the next tree a little harder just to spite him. Field fumed silently from behind. As they rounded the lake, Mouse watched folded over rolls of ice rock up and down against the shore.

  “Why’s the ice like that?” He pointed out towards the water with his stick.

  “Ah, the kikaua keep the water moving too much for it to freeze over entirely.” Ku shoved his hands beneath his cloak, shaking his head from fallen snow. “So the half frozen ice folds over itself.”

  “I see,” Mouse replied, bored already.

  “Why did he even ask if he didn’t care?” Telania spat to her friends quietly. She probably thought she was out of hearing range. But well, Mouse wasn’t human.

  “A better question,” one of the other mercenaries Mouse didn’t know spoke in the same hushed tone, “is why you invited him in the first place? I’ve heard he’s got half a brain, and uses it all for violence.”

  Did he just call Mouse an idiot? Mouse slammed his stick against the tree, hoping it would fall directly on that one’s head. If there really were demons up ahead in this den, he’d leave that one to fend for himself. Fuck him in particular.

  “Because,” Ku spoke a little louder before Telania shushed him, and he lowered his voice. “He’s strong. Even if you don’t like him, he’s an ally you want in a fight. Especially if we don’t know what we’re facing.”

  Hmm. Mouse might defend Ku from demons. Maybe. At least he saw Mouse’s value. It lightened his mood, and he hopped forward as one of the mercenaries cried out. He turned, seeing that buffoon one covered in wet snow. A smile spread over Mouse’s face as the man cursed profanities to the sky.

  Mouse cackled, and none of the mercenaries said anything under their breaths after sharing a look between them. Around the lake and into deeper brush, Field took the lead. Mouse followed behind, lagging to the back as the other mercenaries pushed past him.

  Why did he have to deal with these people? He wasn’t wanted, and these humans couldn’t even bother to conceal their dislike for him. Humans were all the same. Disliking whatever was different from them. And Telania looked at him as if he were lesser; some beast meant to be squashed.

  Even now, she looked over her shoulder towards him, her glare of unrestrained hatred made him tap the pommel of his sword. He hated her as much as she hated him. The least she could do was not show it. He may protect Ku, but at this rate, he’d turn his sword on her.

  And he wouldn’t mind.

  He never minded.

  Though he knew their position with the guildhall would be compromised. And Mouse couldn’t risk Taiga getting sicker if they got kicked out. But if she attacked him first, he wouldn’t hold back. That much should be permitted, right?

  “It’s here, see it?” Field called, waving Mouse over.

  Mouse picked up the pace, jogging around the brush to where Field and Ku squatted. When he approached, Field pointed ahead of them “There.”

  He followed Field’s line of sight, shifting around a tree to get a better view. Past a couple trees and bushes, darkness delved beneath the crook of an old, large tree. Mouse pressed forward, silencing his steps as much as the snow allowed, pressing gently into it before setting weight into each step.

  It could be a bear den, though it was a little small. Something else? Magical beasts? Or were there really demons living on land? If Taiga were there, he’d be to see if the land was corrupted or not. But Mouse didn’t have such talents.

  Something scritched from within, and Mouse froze, listening.

  “Hey, Mouse?” The loud, untethered voice from behind startled him, and he spun around, glaring at the mercenaries.

  “What a fucking fantastic idea. Approach the den as loudly as you can, huh??” Mouse snipped through seething breaths.

  One of the mercenaries he didn’t know the name of, the short-haired one, drooped his head. “Ah, right, sorry.”

  Mouse huffed his annoyance once before stilling, listening. Nothing. The buffoon spooked whatever awaited them in the den. And from the scritch, he’d say it had claws. Shuffling behind him interrupted the silence, and a whisper of his name nearly made him throw the closest rock at the short-haired buffoon's head.

  He moved back beyond the trees and slid beside the mercenaries. “What??”

  “I don’t know about this,” the other, longer haired mercenary eyed the den uneasily, “maybe we should call for backup?”

  Mouse slammed his hand to his face, squeezing his temples to keep from grabbing the mercenary by the neck. “I am the backup!”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Oh.”

  “He’s right,” Field said, sighing, “I brought Mouse for this reason specifically.”

  Mouse stewed in silence while they whispered. Absolute fools. So painfully human. Disgusting. As he sighed again, he caught Telania glaring at him. The fuck does she want? She looked away when he stared back. As if she could intimidate him. What a joke.

  A shift above caught his attention. Then branches shook, a single dead leaf rattled. Some snow fell and bounced once free. But nothing moved otherwise. He stilled, listened, and watched. A slither to his left and he drew his gaze across the bare tree branches.

  He stood, unsheathed his sword, and stepped around the mercenaries. It was something small, a shadow of movement. He followed it with his eyes, barely catching a glimpse of it everytime, a tail slinking out of view every time he caught up.

  “Mouse? What’s wrong?” Ku asked as Mouse approached him. Ku sat at the base of the tree, and Mouse stepped up beside him, sword in hand.

  “Don’t move.” He waited for the shadow to slither around the tree. Just as it came around, he stabbed the shadow through its middle.

  A shrieking series of clicks sounded from it, and Ku scrambled away from beneath Mouse. Pinned to the tree was a black lizard of a sort, its back lined with two rows of eyes, all of which teared and cried as blue blood sloshed from the wound Mouse inflicted on it. The demon was small, no longer than his forearm, trying to wrangle itself free from where Mouse pinned it. But it failed and bled out, going limp after a minute.

  “A demon! So there are more!” The long-haired mercenary exclaimed.

  Mouse studied it, having never seen such a small and defenseless one before. Sure, it had the stealth to wander close while undetected by humans, but it wasn’t built to protect or attack. How did something like that, something which had no purpose being in their realm, get there?

  Clicks drew his attention back towards the den. They were mute, unnoticed by the mercenaries. “Draw your swords,” Mouse hissed at them.

  “What, there’s more?” Field readied, stepping in front of the others and beside Mouse. “Where?”

  Mouse pointed to the den, “they’re coming.”

  The clicks and scritches did not fail him as two demons, one small and the other near the size of a howler, appeared from the shadows of the tree’s den. The large one slammed a large paw, resembling the ferocity and lethality of a bear, against the side of the opening. It drew its claws across it, carving deep slashes into the tree’s bark.

  “I don’t think we can take that one.” Ku slid a step back.

  Mouse rushed forward, getting as much of a surprise on it as he could. He whipped around the side of a tree, drew his sword beside him, and slashed up at the large demon the moment he came in range. “Get the small one!”

  The mercenaries moved behind him, and he focused solely on his target. The demon lunged back, the sword’s tip slicing up and across one of the demon’s two eyes. It screeched a deafening chorus of clicks, driving the mercenaries and Mouse to their knees as the sound overwhelmed their brains.

  Thoughts melted and his vision spotted for a few moments until the clicks lessened. While he shook the spottiness away, something pounded over him, slamming him to the ground. Pain pierced one of his shoulders, two of the claws hooking into his flesh.

  Mouse bit back the pain, sliding his sword beneath the great paw and slicing through the clawed fingers, narrowly missing slicing his own nose off. The demon cried in agony, pulling back with missing fingers still lodged in Mouse’s shoulder.

  The cry seethed in clicks again, and he turned away from the noise, feeling hot red drip from his ears. The clicks rattled his brain, searing a hot iron through his head and dragging him to the ground.

  He needed to end the fight quickly, or the demon would get the better of him. Mouse yanked the talons out, tossing them to the side. When the clicks receded, he rushed the demon again.

  But it prepared for him this time, and it waited for him to close the gap between them before spiking hidden spines from its fur. It swatted at him, and while he dodged the impact, a dozen spines sunk into Mouse’s arm. In his dodge, the demon rounded him, pinning Mouse to the edge of a tree and forbidding escape.

  Pinned between a tree and the demon, it breathed deep, the throat of it expanding like that of a frog’s. Mouse stuck his sword against his side, holding it steady, before lunging into the demon. Spines burrowed into every inch of him, but he held his grip, plunging his blade deep into the demon’s expanded throat.

  It popped, then air emptied through the puncture in such a fast pace, Mouse reeled at the stench of decay and rot. He stood, watching the demon, once his height, deflate to nothing before him. As if the whole demon were made of air, its skin flattened to the land. Bits of blue blood spouted about, sinking into the snow or sizzling his cloak’s wool.

  He stepped over the dead thing, turned, and stomped towards the small demon, it’s back to him as three mercenaries kept their defense strong. Mouse took his sword, raised the handle over his head, before spearing it.

  The demon cried out three small clicks before dying, not even able to turn to see who caused its demise. Mouse breathed, listening for several long moments in the silence for any more clicks or movements. When he was satisfied there were none, he slunk his sword into the snow and ground and began pulling out the spines, handful by handful. The pain made him grimace with every pull.

  “Are… are you serious…?” The short-haired fool asked, watching him. “Doesn’t that hurt? Just wait, we can get them out back at—”

  “Taking them out later doesn’t lessen the pain, does it? Might as well do it now, since we have more work to do.”

  “More work…?”

  He rolled his eyes at the idiocy of it before pointing towards the den. “We still need to investigate, don’t we?”

  “You took that thing down by yourself?” Telania spat, looking from the larger demon to Mouse. He wasn’t sure who that spit was for, and his nerves shot up. The way she said ‘thing’ drove him beyond reason.

  “Oh, my bad,” he took several steps towards her, “Did you want the glory of its kill for yourself? Or are you saying you’re too pathetically weak to kill it? I can’t tell through your hypocrisy.”

  She took two steps back as he came at her, and a hand moved in front of her. Mouse followed it to Field, who stepped between them. “That’s enough.” Mouse at least appreciated that Field turned and said it to her and not him.

  Ku and the other two mercenaries watched from the sidelines, holding their breaths. Mouse stared at Telania until she retreated to look at the ground. “Fucking pathetic.”

  “I… I think it was impressive!” Ku laughed a little. “I’m glad Field brought you along, Mouse. I don’t want to think about how many of us that demon would’ve taken out.”

  Mouse pulled out the last of the spines, placated by Ku’s attempt, for now at least. He flexed his arm, glad his dark cloak hid how much damage he’d taken and how quickly he’d healed. He didn’t even need the cloak, since his body ran so hot, but he was glad he’d taken Taiga’s advice to wear it now.

  “So, uhh,” the long-haired mercenary started towards the den, peering in from a safe distance. “Who wants to go in first?”

  Mouse sighed, stepping forward. “Why did you even come if you were scared of a little adventure?”

  “You… consider this extremely dangerous hunt for demons an adventure, huh?” He laughed nervously, sidestepped a pace further from Mouse. “What do they feed the farmers in the west?”

  Mouse quirked an eyebrow at him until he remembered that was he and Taiga’s cover before becoming mercenaries. He shrugged before stepping into the shadows of the den.