Don't Start.

Spring 4348

The flash of red barely got to the door before Brotz snapped at her. "Don't start."
“Don’t start what, meathead?” Eupa snapped, whirling in the narrow doorway to her enormous companion.
“I have no idea, but don’t,” he rumbled firmly, and his huge boots thumped heavily when he set his feet on the wooden tavern room floor. He stood up as tall as he could, loomed as square as he could get, but she didn’t bother looking the slightest bit intimidated, and instead slunk sideways, movements smooth as a snake's. The door opened inward, she was about to try and make a run for it, he saw it coming.
“You are gonna quit telling me what the fuck to do,” she snapped, sharp voice getting quieter despite the vehemence. “This is twice now, you’ve started trying to tell me what to do, and I’ll fucking stab you for it.”
Brotz wasn’t intimidated, either. She couldn’t scare him, she couldn’t even make it hurt. He just crossed his arms and puffed up as big as he could, towered over her, tried his best to pull on every bit of the fighter he knew he was and gladiator he knew he’d been. “Then stab me for it, you know I’ll be right back up and angry,” he rumbled in return, and he finally rocked down to meet her dead yellow eyes.
The tense silence reigned for several long moments, but neither moved, not blinking and hardly breathing.
“Go fuck yourself,” Eupa snapped suddenly, and she whirled away. Brotz caught her arm before she could get away, and she stepped in, right under him, and he felt the cold in his ribs. Rather than let her escape like he used to, he tightened his grip, wrapped her in a bear hug, and fell on top of her.
When he woke up, Ro was in the room and Eupa was still under him. Ro was laughing wildly, shaking so much the beads in her golden mane were starting to rattle. Eupa was swearing with a ferocity that wasn’t all that odd for her swearing, but she was still outdoing herself and clearly livid. He was almost afraid to get up, except now that he was no longer dead weight, she had managed to wriggle enough to get away.
“You’re gonna be good,” Brotz rumbled, making every motion it took to get back to his feet as big and aggressive as he could. Gods, he wasn’t used to trying to scare anyone, normally it would be so easy, normally he wouldn’t want to. Rotten abomination. “You’re gonna keep your knife to yourself, and Ro’s gonna tell me if you haven’t, and we’re gonna leave town early and I’m gonna tie you in a sack and drag you in the river if you don’t stop!”
Ro was still laughing, but had migrated to the window. The leather-clad furry beast of a woman still didn’t want to be indoors, apparently. Eupa, skinny black-furred snake she was, fixed her red cowl around her neck and mouth angrily before trying to get her cloak on. The forceful motions kept making Brotz worry she’d hurled a knife.
“You won’t drag me in the river,” Eupa yowled quietly, but she was still taking his threat seriously enough.
“You know you’re not going to be able to kill him,” Ro reminded her. “You’ll be more irritated by his deaths than he will, after the long ones start.”
Eupa groaned, and with a whirl of scarlet cloak and a slammed door, she was gone.