Scroop couldn't place the she-devil anywhere in his head. As she stepped out of the shadows, he finally got a better look at what she really was. A humanoid figure. But her two legs ended in furry hooves. That's why it makes that weird, dull knocking sound when she walks on the planks. She balanced her stance with a thick, plump tail. Wide hips and muscular thighs and arms. Clawed, four-fingered hands. Her head was reptilian, with a long nose, but not scaly. She had soft skin that was yellow like fresh fire. A thick, blond mane fluttered in the sun's wind between two lightning-shaped horns. Her eyes... well, those were more chilling than her grin full of sharp teeth. Her eyes were black, and her pupils glowed red with a pointed, thin line in the middle. Almost demonic. Devils have eyes like that in fairy tales. The small trapezoidal white patch between her eyes is not a tattoo, but a natural pattern.
“What do you want, little lady?” Scroop hisses at her with a mocking, disgusting grin, trying to maintain his authority. “Do you need a little help getting off my ship?”
“It will be in two cuts.” Scroop drew one arm back and locked his scissors into a stabbing position.
That disgusting, confident laugh again. It’s as if the female really enjoys the prospect of a fight. She playfully examines her outstretched wrist blades, as if wondering if they will be enough against Scroop’s claws. There was nothing flashy about the rest of her equipment. She wore silver breastplate with round shoulder guards. It covered just enough, leaving the female's yellow skin exposed. She wore loose, brown, slightly worn trousers that reached down to her knees, from which silver plates protected the lower part of her legs till the fur on her hooves, and a round knee guard similar to her shoulder armor protected her knees. She had another weapon in her belt. Some kind of longsword in a leather scabbard decorated with alien writing. Its hilt was wrapped in long, black leather straps. The end was decorated with a reptilian skull cast in gold. It somehow stood out from the female's other equipment. It looked more expensive. And the hilt somehow fit so close to her side, as if it should be as comfortable and natural as possible for her to reach it.
“I’m shy, you know? I need some space to work and others not being in the way. Something told me I needed space with you. A lot of it. I’ve hunted arachnids before. I know you’re fast.”
“Crawna Yu Lan. Your nightmare.”
Scroop sighed as all the details fell into place and the picture came together. And he realized he’d walked into a trap he’d set for someone he wanted to kill.
“I wonder what your skull looks like under that face. I need a new candlestick for my nightstand.” a mocking, innocent blink. “You’ll be with me forever. So, give me some exciting fight before you die, okay?”
Scroop growled. It was as if he had heard the young him from twenty years earlier.
Great. There’s another psychopath on the ship.
Yu Lan pointed with one of her claw blades.
“I didn’t hear EVERYTHING. But I know you were planning to kill the others. And you do have a plan, right?” the metal claws hissed into place. “Before I open you up and rip everything out of you, you’re going to tell me what it was.”
“I’m a curious little girl.”
That wide, smug grin said it all. Scroop gritted his teeth and cursed to himself. He wasn’t going to play with a smug female. He’d gut her before she could say another word.
He raised one of his scissors menacingly and pointed at the female.
“Then come on, bitch! Get your ugly face here and we’ll see who’s the better killer!”
Yu Lan's red eyes lit up with some kind of satisfaction and she laughed out loud. Her sharp teeth were frighteningly white, cast in the orange light. As if she relished the challenge. And Scroop also felt a strange impatient excitement in his hearts as the female leapt from the top of the navigation cabin. His mind, which had been bored until this moment, now began to enjoy plotting how to open Yu Lan's chest between her ribs and tear her in two.
Hey! I managed to make a new chapter. TvT
The Rival, The Stranger and The Exploding Sun - Elia_Vraay - Treasure Planet (2002) [Archive of Our Own]
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