[MGE] More Than Friends

She finds him huddled on the floor along the building’s side, his physical state akin to a malnourished dog. He hunches over amongst the cold stone ground as passerbys momentarily glance in his general direction. Through the happy clamor of the public, he sticks out as an isolated figure forgotten and discarded, like leftover waste. His bony limbs shiver in exhaustion as he picks a piece of rotting bread off the foul streets of the city. The boy’s skin strains amongst his fragile flesh as he picks apart his meager meal.

She approaches the disheveled boy - despite her father and mother’s warnings - and covers him in a warm blanket which was originally a birthday present from a close relative of hers. She props him up with his back against the shadow linings of the wall. Upon appearance, his hair was littered with grime and living insects, which hid his eyes underneath. She parts his locks of hair and gazes innocently into his eyes, as if looking for something from him. As he studies her more closely, she had two protruding horns that poked through her rich dark brunette hair. It was very peculiar but he supposed that she was one of the many monstergirls from the city.

“Are you lost?” she asks, enraptured by his frail form.

“N...no.”

She blinks several times and continues with, “where are your parents?”

His voice is raspy and raw, breathing deeply in before answering again. “They put me here. I’m waiting for them to come back.”

“How long have you been here?”

“A few weeks now. I don’t know when they’ll be back…” His eyes droop down in longing silence.

The girl conjures up an idea: one that could appease both her parents and the boy. She grabs the boy by the wrists and pulls him up with ease, almost dislocating his hands in the process. The shock startles the boy due to her random surge in strength.

Perplexed, he curiously stares at the eccentric little girl standing in front of him.

“You can come with us! We can fix you up and you can help us in return! We need another hand around the farm after all!” Her expression lightens up the boy’s cold heart as he momentarily forgets the past’s transgressions against him.

“Ok...I trust you.”

---

Sweat trickles down his face. His muscles have filled out moderately well as an older adolescent. The boy’s feeling of surprise was to be expected as she didn’t go back on her promise. It’s been 4 years since he initially arrived onto their humble farm where they taught him all the necessary steps into becoming another farm worker, albeit at a very young age. It was the little girl with the peculiar horns, who he learned later was a Holstaurus, that persuaded her mother and father to adopt him as surrogate parents. They disliked the idea at first because of the boy’s dirty appearance as well as the notion of suddenly picking up a random vagrant off the streets. However, they couldn’t help but smile that their child bloomed at the sight of seeing his face. Perhaps she wanted another playmate or someone her age to talk with. While selfish in theory, it took some of the burden off the farm with an extra helper on-hand. Regardless, everyone was satisfied with the unfolding plan.

Although they gave him food and lodging, they worked the boy to the bone with chores such as tending the cattle, tilling the fields, picking the herbs, and occasionally buying groceries at the local markets in the city. It was difficult in the beginning as the boy struggled to work for several hours at a time due to his frail condition. However, he grew enough to mature and assuage his lack of prior confidence.

He was grateful that he’s received a second chance at life and would forever be in their debt. The boy’s relationship with their daughter also flourished; her name was Anaya. Likewise, she got to know him as Ren. Her favorite hobbies were taking long walks in the forests and helping cook meals with her parents. On several instances, he found her favorite spot to relax in: an arrangement of lush willow trees past a garden expanse that overlooked a silent, shallow pond. She favored a quiet and calm natural place devoid of public presence over the loud and busy city. It was their secret, something only the two of them knew. Not even her parents noticed that she would take frequent rests in between working out in the fields. The boy and the Holstaur’s bonds grew stronger as they became inseparable. The duo even begged Anaya’s father to build a bunk bed so that the two of them could share a room. They disliked being alone in the dark and found solace in each other’s company. Each morning during breakfast, they would sit together and chatter amongst themselves, sometimes about dreams or food. They looked out for each other wherever they went.

---

On a particularly warm morning, Anaya’s parents sent the boy and the Holstaurus on an errand to fetch them some groceries; they desired specific ingredients for some occasion. Her parents were prepping a gift to their buyers, since they were farmers, and would be out of the house for the day, collaborating with other farmers at a city-wide event. As such, the boy and the Holstaurus went on their way. Through the cobble streets and crowds of people, they made their rounds around the local market. Several purchases later and they finish with the errand in just under an hour.

As they walk home with groceries in tow, they could spot from the corner of their eyes a group of figures trailing behind them. When they rounded several corners, they were still following the two from a considerable distance away. Ren halted and confronted them while the Holstaurus shyly peered from behind his back.

“Can I help you?” His eyes glaze over the bunch.

They were the sort to attract bad intentions. Their clothes matched the quality of their faces: coarse, unkempt, and dangerous. The group exuded an immature and condescending presence as they slowly approached. There were about 6 present.

“Yea!” calls the tallest one. “Who’s your friend behind ya’?” He points a gnarled finger just to the right of Ben.

Even so, Ben maintained his wits. He needed to get to work today before Anaya’s parents were home. “We don’t want any trouble here. Could you please leave us alone?” He hoped they would not call his bluff.

The tallest boy slumps in posture and folds his arms. “We’ll go once we see who you’re hiding!”

“No.” The boy utters, his calm attitude was beginning to crumble under the pressure of their soon-to-be assailants.

The older boy fumes, maddened with irrational rage. “What was that? Did ‘ya just say no? To us? Do you even know who we are?” He whistles to his entourage. “‘Sic him!”

Three of the boys encircle Ben and the Holstaurus, chiding them to swing first. Fear begins to overwhelm the two as a fight was imminent.

The misfit boy in front of Ren swings a wide but telegraphed punch aimed right at Ben’s face. In that moment, Ren drops his groceries and rushes for the boy’s legs by ducking under the punch. The boy is flipped to the ground by Anaya’s protector. Unperturbed, the other two, who were much larger, decide to charge the duo in an exchange of fists. Ren challenges their advance by giving them a few well-placed punches, mostly directed to their chests and stomachs, momentarily halting their charge. Amongst the barrage of blows, Ren goes down to the ground heavily bruised after one of them land a glancing blow right to Ren’s chin, leaving Anaya exposed for them to see. They ogle and sneer at the sight, turning their attention to Anaya.

“Well get a load of this! It’s a fat cow!” Ironically coming from a rather chubby child.

Anaya, with tears welling up in her eyes, screams in protest, “No, I’m not. Please don’t call me that!”

Her words fall on deaf ears as they chant at her. Anaya hides away her chest in embarrassment, as she blushes at their accusations. She tries to face away from their prying eyes but they had her and Ben surrounded.

All the while, some of the boy brigade kicked at Ben while he was vulnerable to ensure he couldn’t defend her, even going so far as to spit on him. In a matter of seconds, they stop kicking and chanting altogether and all unanimously turn to face something.

From out of the group emerges a Salamander and a smaller Lizardman girl, who seems to be her little sister as they both shared similar golden irises and red hair. Her glare, as she looks amongst her band of punks and the two cowering kids in front of her, was sadistic. With a wicked grin, she steps forward brimming in overconfidence. The group part ways for her and her sister.

“Well, what do we have here? Two brats who dared to challenge our group?” the Salamander scoffs.

Anaya cowers on the ground alongside Ren as the Salamander approaches them. The boy steadily got up and focuses his attention on the Salamander.

“We were just about to go home when your group attacked us” he motions calmly, shaking off some of the exhaustion from the skirmish.

One of the boys chimes in amongst the crowd. “He made us!”

“Quiet!” Her voice pierces their frustrations and immediately silences him.

“I’m terribly sorry for my group’s rudeness,” she sardonically replies. “Although, now that I look at you, you’re quite different from this bunch.”

“Huh, why’s that?” The boy stood there confused.

“I see that you’re not from here. Out in the rural area, huh? And a quiet one as well.” She muses at her own impression of him as she sizes him up. “I like them shy. See, it makes me feel so much better about myself when I can just dominate a guy without much resistance.”

A nasty expression begins to form on the Salamander’s face.

“I’ll have you then!”

Anaya finally speaks up. “You can’t!”

All eyes fixate on her.

“He’s with me…”

As her voice tapers off, the Salamander quickly changes from smug to livid aggravation as she storms up to the little Holstaur.

“What are you going to do about it, cow?” Her heavy emphasis on the last word causes the Holstaur to panic, forcing her conscience to decide for her.

Ben looks in awe as Anaya frantically shoves the Salamander several feet away. In an act of defiance, even the bully was caught off guard by Anaya.

“Okay, you piece of shit, let’s settle this right here and now! I’m going to tear your fucking limbs from their sockets when I beat you senseless, bitch!”

Before any vengeance could be served from the Salamander, her little sister interrupted the boiling conflict with arms spread out to block her older sibling’s way.

“Sis! We gotta’ do it properly! We c-can’t just duke it out on the streets! They’ll know it’s us!” the Lizardman stutters.

“Ugh, fine. You were always the moral one anyways.”

Her attention shifts to Ben and Anaya, but especially Anaya.

“You’ve got 10 weeks,” the Salamander coldly warns.

“For what?” Ben questions, still reeling from the fight earlier.

“A duel, at the stadium. You both better be there or else!” Venom drips from her words.

They both stare in disbelief at her declaration, anxiety pounding at their chests and blood ringing in their ears. Tension rising even higher.

“We aren’t fighting!” The Holstaur yells back.

The eyes of the Salamander narrow. “Yes, you are! Or I’ll take your ‘precious’ boyfriend away from you by force!”

The Holstaur, now sweating bullets, shakes her shock tactic off and sputters out, “We’ll just tell the city guards, then!”

The Salamander laughed maniacally at Anaya’s last chance to sway her.

“My dad’s in the honor guard. They’ll just write this off as an innocent affair. While we can’t fight you here in the streets, we will know where you live. I’ve got eyes here in the city so you’ll never set foot here again!”

The two were at a loss for words but the Salamander continues on.

“I bet…” she says out loud, “I bet I can take the both of you on. I’ve already defeated all the kids here in the city, what’s two more to add to the count?”

Her needless insult plucks at the heart of the Holstaur, stirring a deep and unbridled hatred from within.

“You better prepare yourselves. Especially you, cow!” Her serrated teeth gleam brightly as she smiles again. “I’ll see you both at the coliseum.”

The Salamander and her sister turn to leave, their tails mindlessly swinging back and forth. Ben could see that the Salamander’s fiery tail burned fiercely as they departed with their mischievous band of kids in tow. The boy and the Holstaur were left in their own misery, unable to utter another word to each other.

Silently, they pick up their groceries and walk home.

---

Over the 10 weeks, the two trained together trying to muster up a workout routine. However, the Holstaurus was shown to be a pacifist and disliked the ruthless nature of fighting. Whenever Ben urged her to try something, she would refuse his demands outright. She was not used to intense and rigorous labor as well because she would often take breaks to avoid working for consecutive hours. It was up to Ben to make up for their lack of decisive strength. While she has shown a lot of potential with her hidden power, Ben did not force the issue further so as to not discourage her. In the end, Ben only used a hefty wooden stick as a makeshift sword, and a nearby tree as the dummy and whacked it until his arms became exhausted. They kept the coliseum fight situation away from Anaya’s parents as most children did when hiding dangerous secrets. When her parents asked why Ben was badly bruised, they lied outright that Ben was attacked by one of the cattle to which their parents slowly dismissed over time.

The training regime was inconsistent to the extent that Ben would sometimes contemplate his inner turmoil and lay under the shade rather than condition himself for the fight. Even then, Ben and Anaya spent more time together at the ranch as the Holstaurus clung to Ben even more, afraid he would be separated from her forever. She was scared to be alone again and that all her previous memories would be wasted on something so trivial. In her mind, she blamed herself for being too weak and that Ben rescued her from their ridicule. She needed to stay strong for him and to show she wasn’t a liability anymore. She was a big enough girl after all. However, it was only a matter of time before the battle would tell of their fate. In her cowardice, she counted down the upcoming days in the meanwhile.

---

Ren wakes up with a start. The day of reckoning has arrived. He yawns and looks to see if Anaya was still sleeping at the top bunk of their bunk bed. More than often, the Holstaur sleeps fervently, well into the late hours of noon. However, she seems to not be in her bed, which struck Ren as odd. He quietly searches for the missing girl but to his discontent she was nowhere to be seen. An idea finally comes up. She was most likely at her favorite spot; it was the quietest place he and Anaya knew of. He tiptoes out of the house, careful not to wake Anaya’s parents.

Through the thickets of the morning grass, he peers through the morning trees. His eyes lock onto a sobbing Holstaur, sitting on the ground with her arms encircling her legs. It just wasn’t right, he thinks to himself. However, they had to stick with each other to the end even if it meant that they might ultimately lose each other in the process. He finally musters up the courage to console and comfort Anaya, helping her stand up and embracing her to ease her anxiety.

“I don’t want to-“ was all she could say as Ren silences her with a deep hug.

“I know. I’ll protect you until my last breath. I won’t leave you...I’m not letting them take me.”

Anaya pulls him closer to herself. Her muffled sobs could be heard as tears stain Ben’s shoulder.

He leaves her there for a few more minutes until he tells her it’s time to go.

In their mournful trek to the coliseum, they held each other’s hands. It reminded them of their younger years when they would work tirelessly during the day so at night, they could relax under the stars together.

---

Cheers and roaring applause could be heard throughout the coliseum as the Salamander, adorned in her black iron armor, strides out from the rising gates. Wielding a fiery long sword and buckler, she riles up the crowd by making a prideful pose, accentuating her charm to the audience.

Fans of hers lined near the epicenter of the seats were struck by her boastful appearance, trying to get a good look at her from the sidelines while also vying for her attention.

To the opposite side, the coliseum gates open revealing a boy decked in leather braces with a standard-issue sword and circular oak shield as well as a horned girl with leather armor and a square-stone hammer. The hammer weighed unusually light in her hands as the both of them strode out from the darkness.

The girl’s armor was rather tight around her form, hugging her in places that made her very uncomfortable, especially amongst a large crowd. She grasped the boy’s hand tighter as they reached the center of the stadium. From the spectator’s view, they appeared incredibly mediocre and not fit to fight at all.

The announcer boomed from his throne the names of the contestants that would battle today. Each word was accented, crisp, and sharp so that people near the center could hear. The announcer also points out that all participants wear magical armor and weapons to avoid any grave injuries and inevitably death.

As expected, the audience cheered for their champion and jeered at the newcomers with snide remarks, belittling the duo as they stared down their opponent.

Time slows down as Anaya looks at Ren from behind who was focused ahead. Her thoughts portrayed exactly what he felt at that moment: to win and get out.

Suddenly, a single trumpet horn blasts through the air, cutting off the girl’s concentration.

Ren’s eyes study the Salamander’s athletic form from her chiseled abs to the beads of sweat lining along her face. Her posture seemed relaxed but ready. She had already warmed up beforehand and was ready to utterly defeat them.

“You look so cute together!” She chides. “Too bad she’ll just be the mistress when I’m done with the both of you!” Her voice booms across the stadium for everyone to hear.

Her crazed laughs were drowned out by the endless shouts of the masses.

Ren let go of Anaya’s hand to confront the Salamander. A pang of uneasiness bubbles within the guts of the Holstaur, her vision becoming unfocused momentarily. Now was the time to stop thinking and let the actions speak for themselves.

“Come and get me, cherry-boy!”

Ren nods to Anaya, signaling the start of their uphill battle against the Salamander and proceeded first. He charges her from the side, hoping to rush at a blindside. In that moment, he goes for a fast swing to the Salamander’s exposed side but is knocked to the ground by her armored tail as she whips it around. She plants a foot on his chest and grins down at him, expecting him to struggle out of the hold. Quickly standing back up, he twists out of her grip and destabilizes her balance but not before he gets nicked in the back on wake up by her flaming flamberge. A searing pain shoots up Ren’s back as it cuts through his weak armor and singes some of his skin. Using her tail as a crutch, the Salamander readies a full-frontal slash of her blade. As Ren raises his shield, her long sword smashes it upon impact, splintering everywhere as Ren is blasted backwards to absorb much of the force.

The crowd gasps before they are renewed with fresh excitement, cheering on for another decisive strike from the Salamander.

Ben pushes on the offensive again and goes for a low blow, this time careful about the range of her tail. With no shield wielded, he charges with both hands clutched to the hilt of his sword. Due to Ren’s inability to quickly multitask, he is unable to avoid the Salamander’s counterattack. She butts him with the end of her sword to stun him. Unable to predict her strike, he sees stars and attempts to shrug it off but not before receiving several shield bashes to the face followed by another slap from her tail across his body. A resounding crack fills the stadium as Ben falls down again. His battle with the Salamander ended in less than a minute.

Dazed from the flurry of attacks, Ren lays on the ground groaning in pain. Anaya, mortified for the first time in her life, watches Ren get one-sidedly destroyed by their bully. She didn’t want this at all. She wished this was all a bad dream, a nightmare she can escape from. As her reality tore apart, Anaya tries to run to Ben but soon enough, the Salamander blocks her.

The Salamander beats at her chest to intimidate the Holstaur. “Now the real fight has begun! Hope you’re ready to get your shit kicked in!”

This time the Salamander goes first, pushing the Holstaur into a defensive stance. She wails on Anaya as she scuffs her armor with multiple, precise slashes and jabs. As monstergirls, their strength and power were on full-display for all to spectate. The Holstaur’s armor - particularly the hand wraps and chest piece - is trashed from the Salamander’s onslaught, even burning some of Anaya’s hair and fur. Once again, the Holstaur desperately tries to block every attack the Salamander girl dishes out, but each reminder of pain only fuels Anaya’s desperation. What the Salamander did not anticipate was the Holstaur to outmaneuver the female lizard with her hammer, which immediately connects to the side of her chest.

The sudden blunt force flings her several meters away, scuffing up her precious skin as she struggles to get up. This was the cue for the Holstaur to get Ren out of there. She did not care if it was a cowardly act or that they might come for them again in the future. All she wanted was for her and Ren to be alone again, if only for a moment. She reaches for his barely conscious body.

“Please! Please get up! We need to get out of here! I don’t want to be here anymore…”

As tears began to stream down her face, Ren remained dazed, unable to hear her pleas. Instead, he points in a particular direction as she stares at him. As she slowly turns, she gets a brutal suckerpunch to the face by the Salamander and drops Ren on the sandy ground. She reels from the hit, a sharp stinging sensation clouds her mind as something warm drips from her nose. Trembling, she wipes her face with the back of her hand, realizing that it’s her blood. Something primal stirs within her and the life from her eyes dissipate in an instant. Her muscles relax and her face neutralizes into an expression of unearthly serenity. She slowly stands back up and mindlessly sprints towards the Salamander, who was about to claim victory on Ren. The Salamander hears the air behind her whistle before reflexively bringing her shield up and turning to face the rampaging Holstaur. The shield and some of her armor caves in, as the hammer crushes her only defense, resulting in the evisceration of several bones in her arm. With a reverberating crunch, the Holstaur surprises the Salamander with her full power. Even the coliseum’s protection magic was rendered powerless in stopping most of the damage as the Salamander is once again thrown like a doll, tumbling along the sand. She gushes blood from her mouth as she lies on the ground, wailing in pure agony and unable to breath in her own pool of blood. The crowd is silent, stunned that their champion has fallen to a nobody, an outsider.

The Holstaur comes back to her senses and realizes the aftermath. Horrified, she drops the bloodied hammer. She picks Ren up and rushes out of the stadium.

The crowd inside scream upon the aftermath and rush toward the center of the stadium to mourn their fallen goddess.

Until the two were significantly away from the public eye, the Holstaur clutches her dear friend close to her as she carries him all the way home. With tears in her eyes, she props Ben up against a tree. He finally comes to after several minutes pass. Ren looks up to see Anaya's face contorted in anguish.

“It’s okay.” His half-lidded expression and slightly slurred speech tells her that he is still not fully conscious.

“But it’s not! You were forced to defend me again and I almost killed her because I couldn’t even fight back and…”

He takes a deep breath, pushing out all the memories of the unfortunate events that occurred, before whispering, “it’s okay. It’s over now.” A genuine but tired grin is all he could muster for the time being.

He holds a steady hand up to her face and caresses it, wiping some of the tears from her cheeks.

“We can finally be at peace now,” he weakly smiles. “No one will dare lift a finger against us anymore.”

She cries again as she hugs him gently, sobbing into his shoulder.

Her uneasy voice calms down.

“You know...I’ve loved you ever since we first met. I knew you’d be the one for me and I’d be the one for you. A-and despite everything, we’ve had each other’s backs and even if I...messed up you never hated me for it…" Her eyes shifted to a more resolute expression. "We can run away...to another city, just the two of us. Alone again, just like old times...”

She sniffles for a few moments before asking her final question.

“Do you love me?”

Without hesitation, Ren simply says, “I do,” before he is assaulted with another wave of crying by the Holstaurus. This time with tears of joy rather than sadness.

“You saved me from myself, from the streets. Even if my parents abandoned me, you were always there for me when I felt down or alone. You’re my friend, my best friend…

She looks up to face him, her eyes still watery.

“...but from now on, we’re more than friends...”

Ren and Anaya lean into each other, closing in for a kiss, but not until Ren adds:

“...but inseparable lovers.”