Archive of Our Own

“You’re not saying you do this every day, right?” Sherri kicked a rock as she walked ahead. Flvoq smiled, keeping a good eye on their surroundings.
“I do what I’m told,” he replied. “I’m here to guard, and Bailey tells me to do rounds. So rounds I do.”
“Sounds boring,” Sherri shrugged. Yet the younger had asked to come along herself. They loved the cave, but a bit of fresh air was no unnecessary luxury. She had also hoped for at least a little bit of action, but unfortunately for her, the forest was very quiet today.

After walking for a while they reached the top of a hill. Flvoq stopped walking, taking a moment to look out over the grassland that stretched out before them. On the horizon you could see the walls of Ferrum, the city the Survivors had left far behind them. The Cave still laid safely between the borders of Nova Iter, but it was best to be a fair bit away from civilisation. 

Flvoq was about to turn back around when he spotted a group of people at the bottom of the hill. They were a bit away, but Flvoq could easily recognise the markings of the Anti on their clothes. It had taken him a while to learn them, but Bailey was a good teacher (and Sweet was a patient one). 

Keeping his eyes fixated on the group, Flvoq took a step back and sat down on one knee, making sure he could get up if he had to. For now, the Anti seemed to be minding their own business, but Flvoq would make damn sure they wouldn’t get near the cave. 

“Why’d you stop?” Sherri asked, standing right next to her friend. Flvoq didn’t answer, he just silently pointed down the hill. As soon as Sherri spotted the group, a small smirk appeared on her face. She reached down and grabbed a stone off the ground. Before she could stand back up, Flvoq grabbed her by the wrist.

“Don’t,” he hissed. “They haven’t seen us, I’d like to keep it that way.” He quickly let go again, and looked back at the Anti.
“Come on Flvoq,” Sherri replied. “Where’d your sense of humour go?”

In less than three seconds, Sherri had gotten back up, pulled their arm back and threw the stone as hard as they could. Flvoq tried to stop her, but to no avail. He jumped up and pulled Sherri back from the edge. They couldn’t see the Anti, but they could hear a very clear “ow, what the fuck?” sound from below.

“What’d you do that for?” Flvoq asked, holding Niko by their arm. 
“I was feeling a bit silly,” Sherri grinned. “Come on man, when did you get all serious? It’s not like they saw anything.”

“It came from up there!”

“Oh did they now?” Flvoq rolled their eyes. For a moment he contemplated just bolting, but he knew that would be a bad idea. He wasn’t that much of an idiot. Besides, it wasn’t like he had much choice anymore. The sound of rapid footsteps quickly increased behind them, and Flvoq knew they were in for it now. 

The two turned around and saw a tall man standing in front of them. A small trail of blood trickled down from his right eyebrow, and in his hand he had a rock that I think everyone can guess where it had come from. He glanced from Flvoq to Sherri and back.

“Want to explain this?” he asked, holding up the rock. Sherri pretended to think hard.
“It looks like a rock.” The man did not find this funny.
“Shut up, bitch,” he snarled, but quickly regained his composure. “Look, I’m not saying you’re in deep shit here, but I am saying that if you don’t kindly apologise this might end less pretty.”
“Who says it was me?” Sherri defended, putting her hands up.
“Was it you?”
“Yes.”
“You’re in deep shit.”

The man raised his hand, but Flvoq stepped in between the two, giving him an angry look. It didn’t take long before the man showed a smug smile.
“Well look at what we’ve got here,” he said, as if he hadn’t even noticed the other before. “I know you. The hero of the story. Or, that’s who you want to be, right? Protecting your friend?”

“Leave her be,” Flvoq answered, keeping his voice as calm as he possibly could. “I’m not looking for a fight right now.” 
“Is that so?” the man taunted, sounding just as calm. He raised his hand, and with just two fingers he beckoned over the rest of the group. Flvoq had started to wonder where they were. 

“I’ve seen people like you before,” the man continued as if ten people hadn’t just appeared behind him. “You’ve got a bit of muscle, so you take on anyone who looks at you weird. You protect those you love, you fight those you hate. Easy, right?”
“Your point?” Flvoq asked, not really understanding what on earth this man was monologuing about.
“I’ve seen you fight before. I know the look in your eyes. You want to know what your problem is?”
“Not really.”
“You would rather start a war then to admit your friend here is in the wrong. You would put the whole entire world against you, just to protect your friends. But you’re too easy. People like you, you don’t think ahead. So all I have to do is wait for you to make the wrong move. So which move is it going to be, boy?”

“It’s really not that complicated,” Flvoq said, getting a bit annoyed. “But come to think of it, there’s only one thing I truly live by.” He stepped forward, clenching his fists. The man simply responded by raising his hand. Immediately, the men standing behind him pulled out all kinds of weapons. 

Ten men, 4 different weapons. Five swords, two bows, two axes and a mace. Of course the Anti wanted to be all fancy with their make the right move bullshit. Well, Flvoq would show him the exact move. 

Three steps forward. A bow in one hand, a neck in the other. An arrow, an eyeball, a death.
Four steps to the side. A bow, a twist, a shattered shoulder, a fist to the nose.
One step back. A mace thrown to the side. The snap of a neck, a death.

Dodge. Dodge. Grab the handle. An elbow to the chin. Axe in hand, axe in head, a death.
Keep the axe. Dodge, block! Axe to the side, a groan, a death.
Duck, try not to- ouch, sword. God, those are sharp. Focus, focus! No choice.

Grab the blade. A fist to the stomach. A broken arm. 

My sword now.

One, two, three men. One slice. One man on the ground still alive -a sword- nevermind. Which means there is only one left.

Flvoq went to look at the man from before, but when he turned his head there was nobody standing there. A half-quiet voice behind him spoke up.

“Flvoq?” Flvoq shot around, and saw that the man had managed to walk past him during the fight, and was now standing right next to Sherri. He had one hand on Sherri's collar with a tight grip, and a knife in the other. He stared Flvoq right in the eyes.

"Wrong move."

Without a word, Flvoq let the sword he was holding drop to the ground, not bothering to give any of the bodies as much as a glance. He then turned to the man completely, and started walking towards him. The grip on Niko's collar tightened, and despite the tough stance the man was holding, Flvoq could see a tiny flash of fear in his eyes. Less than a second, but it was all he needed. “One thing I live by,” he hissed.

He stopped walking when he was right in front of the other, close enough to smell the stench of war and death on him. He leaned in a bit, and his eyes seemed even darker than before.

"I would rather see all light leave your eyes, than to see a single scratch on my friend."

Before the man could respond, Flvoq had their hand on his wrist, and suddenly twisted, hard enough for a loud crack to echo in their ears. The man gritted in pain, but he didn’t get much time to feel anything. 

With one swift movement, Flvoq snatched the knife from the guy's hand and planted it in the side of his neck. He yanked hard, and the sharp metal slid through the flesh like it was warm butter.

That seemed to do the trick. The guy gasped loudly, but it was quickly replaced with a muffled gargling that would bring chills to most people. It didn't seem to bother Flvoq though, and he took a step back to watch the man grasp at his throat, desperate to get some air in. He struggled for a moment, before collapsing to the ground. It didn't take long for him to stop moving completely.

Flvoq and Sherri looked at the body, then at each other.
"Wow, you destroyed those guys," Niko commented, a little perplexed. 
"Yeah," Flvoq replied, as if nothing had happened. "You good?" Sherri nodded, fixing her collar.
“I’m good.”
“They didn’t hurt you?”
“Nah.”
“Okay, good.” 

Suddenly, Flvoq shoved Sherri away from him, making the other stumble a bit.
“Then what the fuck were you thinking?!” he yelled out. “I told you to keep it down, to just lay low, and this is what you do?”
“Okay, I didn’t-” Sherri tried, but she didn’t get the chance.
“There’s a reason I go on these rounds, you know? There’s a reason you’re living in a fucking city instead of in a ca- wait no. A cave instead of the city! These people, that’s why. Believe me, Bailey’s told me the stories. The whole point is to keep them as far away from us as possible, and to not fucking provoke them. What would’ve happened if they found our cave?”

“To be honest, you didn’t seem to have much of a problem there,” Sherri said with a soft chuckle. “We would’ve been fine.”
“Forget it,” Flvoq snapped back. “We’re heading home. Won’t be long before someone comes looking for them. And next time, I’m going out alone.”

He turned and walked away from the bloodshed he just caused, using the back of his hand to wipe a bit of sweat off his forehead. He looked at his hand, noticing he was still holding the bloody knife he used to kill the man.. He stopped for a moment, turning his head to look back at Sherri.

“Do you want this? I don’t use knives,” he asked. Sherri smiled.
“Yeah.”
“Alright, cool.” 

Flvoq quickly wiped the knife on his sleeves -they were already stained anyway- and handed it to Sherri. She accepted it with a grin and wrapped it in a cloth before sticking it in their back pocket. 

“You know Bailey’s not going to like the idea of me walking around with a knife,” she joked, but Flvoq just shrugged.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. It’ll be funny.”
“Very funny.”