Bayacrux Chapter 3

The girl dusted off her white lab coat, sand getting caught in her waist-length brown hair. She stood up and backed away from the monster, holding one of her swords in front of herself for protection, her hand tightening on the other one, ready to attack. She bared her teeth, and from under the monster's foot Fre got a good look at the inside of her mouth, with teeth in an average shade of light yellow and oddly placed canines. He was reminded of the tale that there were 64 original people with Mayao powers on the Octogon, each with a defining physical characteristic, but their powers and abilities overlapped so many of the original characteristics were lost. He remembered reading about a family of Mayao with odd canines.
The girl charged toward the monster, coat and hair blowing behind her. She ran to the right, opposite of the paw that was holding Fre. Jumping on top of the creature's leg, she ran across the top of it's head and started stomping on the leg that kept Fre prisoner.
That's right, Shed thought. Speed-type swords-people aren't effective attacking from the top unless they dive.
The monster turned it's two good eyes to look at the girl and sent a puff of smoke toward her as a warning. It kept it's eyes locked on her as she jumped down.
"The eyes are the weak point", Shed called to the girl.
She turned her head and nodded, running toward the creature head on. She slashed at it's eye, and the same clear liquid oozed out. The crimson god let out a mighty roar and lifted it's foot. Fre escaped.
"It hasn't been attacking us", Shed said. "If we don't attack it first"
"Damn deus ex machina girl. We could take care of ourselves"
But the girl was looking at something else. The creature was staring at them, it's mouth moving in an effort to speak. It finally managed to say a few English words in a deep, gravelly voice.
"Forest man..." He was referring to Shed. "Your monster... dead... go... home". It choked up a spurt of blood that landed at the feet of the Mayao.
The girl hung her swords back on her belt.
"How do you know it won't just reach out and kill you?", Shed said. "After all the trouble you went to..."
The girl did not speak, but called up to her partner on the surface of the desert. Soon a rope dropped and she began to climb up it.
Shed and Fre stared at the girl climbing the rope. Then they stared at the monster, and put away their weapons.

*******

"WHAAAAT?", Shed exclaimed. "Look at that... that thing! It's part human, part monster!"
The creature did not answer. It wiped the forehead of it's dragonlike face, cerulean blue scales gleaming with the liquid on them. His hands and feet were the same color and texture as his face, but he walked on two legs and wore human clothes - black pants, and a black shirt with a short sleeved blue one over it. He had blue hair and an canteen strapped to his back, like the girl.
"You can't judge a book by it's cover", the girl mumbled, ripping a hangnail off of her pinkie. She was right. The Field wasn't a place to judge by appearances.
"Nice monster you got there, anyway. Looks intelligent. Where'd you find him?" Shed walked closer to the monster and stared at him. He stared right back, the grinned.
He grinned. "I can talk, you know".
Shed backed away, but Fre just crossed his arms. "Well I'll be, a talking monster"
"I'm suprised too. For a second I thought there was a little Martian pulling levers in that empty head of yours", the creature retorted.
The girl stepped in. "He's not a creature, he's a Mayao"
Fre laughed. "And why exactly does he look like this?"
"I had some... bad luck", the creature said.
"Umm... I believe we never properly introduced ourselves. I'm Shed, and this is Fre"
the girl looked enthusiastic. "Really? We've been looking for you", she said, pointing to Shed. "I'm MM and this is Drake, we met up in Kurichaa and took on the job of searching for you"
"Searching... for me?", Shed asked.
"Yeah", Drake said. "A bard that came into town asked some Mayao if they had seen Shed. He offered a reward for finding him and bringing him to Kurichaa. We tracked you here"
Shed sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll come with you. Fre, did we leave anything in Ganzai?"
Fre chuckled. "Do you think I'm that dumb? If you leave anything alone in Ganzai it's apt to be stolen. We brought everything with us"

*******

"Hey Shed, long time, no see" A man with an electric guitar leaned against a polar bear that was a bright shade of lime green, his red hair standing out more than it already did on the contrasting fur. He plucked the string of the guitar, though the sound was hardly audible in the hustle and bustle of the square. Mayao of all appearances and their monsters walked around the stone tiles, shopping, chatting, or sitting.
"Yes.. hello, Pyre", Shed sighed. "Is that your monster?"
"No", Pyre replied. "It's the monster of a girl I'm traveling with. Her parents are evil, and she asked me, the first Mayao she saw pass by, to escape and help her become a Mayao. She's a Traveler. Has serious potential. She's not here right now, but my partner is."
A cleric with short brown hair peeked his head out form the other side of the polar bear. "Hey", he said causually. He stepped out and picked up his staff, which was leaning near Pyre. It had a design of two pairs of scissors overlapping at the handles.
"You shouldn't run with scissors", MM said matter-of-factly.
"But that's my nickname! Everyone calls me RWS because this staff I stole when I was a theif looks like a pair of scissors"
Everyone stared awkwardly until Pyre spoke up.
"So Shed, you owe me a favor. And at the moment I have something to ask of you..."