FicWad

-Togot landed hard on his back and a groan of pain escaped his bloody lips as the dust settled. For the hundredth time, he slowly forced himself back to his feet. He looked at BlackFire standing a few feet away, sweat glistening on her skin in the noon day sun. Although her breathing had quickened, it was still steady. Togot just couldn't believe that she still wasn't tired.

-She had been beating the shit out of him for over a week now. Although he had managed to land a handful of lucky blows, they hadn't even fazed her. And through it all she never seemed to tire. She would sweat, her pulse would quicken and her breathing would hasten, but she never really tired out.

-Togot took a deep breath and charged her yet again. He shot to her left and dove forward but she saw him coming a mile away. She stepped toward him before his arm had fully extended and drove her fist up and into his stomach. The force of the blow lifted Togot off the ground, but before he could fall back down, BlackFire's other hand shot up into his gut to lift him even higher.

-BlackFire spun around and shot her right leg up to meet Togot's face, driving her heel into his cheek. Togot spun through the air and hit the ground hard, tumbling to a stop. He spit out another mouthful of blood and tried to catch his breath.

-"God...damn it!" He said to himself as he got up again. BlackFire patiently waited for him to come at her again, but this time there were no spectators. After the first day, when Togot had seen how hard it had been for Parmock to watch him take a beating, he had asked to fight BlackFire alone. He trusted that she wouldn't kill him; at least he hoped she wouldn't.

- Togot tried to focus but his left eye had swollen shut for the third time that day. He knew it would correct itself in a few minutes. The constant beatings he was taking had taught him about his knew body the hard way. But even if he had still been human, he would have continued on regardless of the danger to his wellbeing.

-Togot rushed toward BlackFire again. He shot a left punch at BlackFire's face, hoping to catch her off guard by switching his leading attack hand. BlackFire caught his fist with her right hand and drove her leg into his exposed side. She maintained her grip on him and drove her left knee up under Togot's chin, lifting him right off of the ground.

-Togot expected BlackFire to swing him around by the arm and throw him as she usually did, but this time she held on. Black fire continued to brutally punish Togot with powerful kicks and vicious punches. She finally released his hand and connected a back kick to his face and sent Togot tumbling away.

-Togot lied on the ground, beaten and bloody. He felt so thrashed that he couldn't get up again; no matter how much he wanted to, his body simply wouldn't rise. He cursed himself for his weakness and commanded his body to get up with every once of will that he had.

-Togot's shaky hand raked the dirt as he slowly lifted himself up. Every inch that his body moved exacted a price of agony from him, but Togot would not yield. After what seemed like hours, Togot managed to raise himself up to his knees. He heard BlackFire walking towards him from behind and felt the sense of urgency rush through his body.

-"Get up you pathetic runt," BlackFire said as she approached Togot like an animal going in for the kill, "I'm tired of wasting my time kicking you around. Even changed as you are, you are still weak. No wonder you couldn't save your family."

-BlackFire took another step, but then she stopped in her tracks. Something made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. Every instinct in her body told her to run, but she didn't know why; it was something about Togot. His body was no longer trembling; in fact he was perfectly still, but there was something foreboding about his posture that made BlackFire very uneasy.

-Togot shot a look over his shoulder and BlackFire felt a twinge of shock. It wasn't anger on Togot's face, nor pain. What was in Togot's eyes was pure blood lust, and those eyes were focused on BlackFire. He was baring his teeth at her and growling like a beast. BlackFire recognized the look in his eyes; it was the same look he had had the day they had met.

-BlackFire took a single step back and Togot dashed for her. Acting on sheer reflex, BlackFire landed a right punch into Togot's cheek but it didn't even faze him. Togot grabbed her wrist with his right hand and drove his left forearm into BlackFire's arm, breaking it at the elbow.

-BlackFire cried out in pain and tried to defend herself, but she couldn't react before Togot landed a series of blows into her body, each one more devastating than the last. BlackFire was too stunned by Togot's sudden ferocity to fight back. Again and again he buried his fists into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and smashing her insides.

-Togot threw one last left punch into BlackFire's belly and then planted his right fist under BlackFire's jaw with a rising uppercut that lifted her right off of the ground. BlackFire sailed through the air before landing on her back five feet away. She reared up into a crouching position and saw Togot rushing at her, roaring with a psychotic look in his eyes.

-BlackFire acted quickly, grabbing her broken arm and resetting the bone as Togot was upon her. She managed to grab Togot's hands with her own just in time but the enraged Togot didn't miss a beat. He drove his right knee up under BlackFire's chin, swung his own forehead down to slam into BlackFire's upturned face and then kicked off of BlackFire's chest.

-BlackFire tumbled to the ground, the taste of blood filling her mouth and pain nagging her body. Togot did a back flip and kicked off the ground second he touched down, heading right back at BlackFire.

-"That's enough," BlackFire said as she spat out a mouthful of blood and got to her feet. She clenched her teeth and her muscles slithered and bulged under her skin as she shifted into the beast form. Her shinny black fur and broad shoulders coupled with her fangs and claws made her an imposing foe, but Togot didn't so much as flinch as he continued his charge.

-Once again, Togot and BlackFire locked hands together, but this time, BlackFire's head was out of Togot's reach thanks to her longer arms and added height. Despite the fact that BlackFire had five times Togot's muscle mass and weight, he still managed to push her back.

-BlackFire dug her feet into the dirt to hold her ground but Togot would not stop. She could see the insane expression on his face as he put every ounce of strength he had into shoving her back. She could tell he didn't know who she was anymore, or who he was for that matter. The only thing she saw in his eyes was the all consuming desire to kill.

-BlackFire tightened her grip on Togot's hands and lifted him off the ground. She stretched his arms out to hold him but still he would not calm down. His teeth clenched with determination as he fought against BlackFire's grip and to her amazement, he began to win out over her.

-Inch by inch, Togot brought his hands together despite the fact that BlackFire's arms were each larger than Togot's body. BlackFire realized that Togot was about to break her hold and launch another attack. She tossed him away from her before he hand the chance and he fell to the ground.

-Togot rolled back to his feet and was up and facing BlackFire again in no time. He launched himself at her the moment he was facing the right direction, but when he looked at her, he saw her standing with her arms to her side in her human form.

-Togot blinked in shock and stopped his fist just before it struck BlackFire's face. She didn't even flinch, but Togot was trembling. He collapsed to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself as though he were in great pain. Tears poured down his cheeks as he continued to tremble uncontrollably.

-Togot felt cold inside, hollow. His body ached terribly all over but that wasn't the pain that bothered him, it was the pain he felt within that troubled him the most. It hurt so much that he wanted to die; such consuming hatred and rage had taken control of him that he had nearly killed BlackFire. Granted the two of them weren't exactly friends, but she was still a Fury, a pack mate. He didn't hate her and had no desire to kill her at all.

-"What the hell is wrong with me?" Togot asked, his voice shaking and scared. He had faced werewolves and demons without breaking a sweat, but now the thing that terrified him the most, was himself.

-"My guess is, a lot," BlackFire said casually as she spat out more blood, "but I guess that's to be expected given what you are. I take it you were reliving the death of your village just now?"

-Togot gave an unsteady nod, confirming BlackFire's suspicions. She knew that her remark about his family hadn't been why he was angry. The rage had been festering inside of him all those years; she had simply brought them to the surface.

-"MourningKill had hoped that being with Parmock and having a new family with all of us would help heal your wounds," BlackFire continued, "but I always knew that wouldn't be the case. The injustice of what you endured and the souls of those who perished wont let you forget. You will never find peace so long as you leave that score unsettled, so take some advice from a person who knows; get your revenge before your rage kills you."

-Togot let BlackFire's words sink in; he knew she was right and he knew why she was right. Even so, he was surprised to her such words coming from her. He felt a tiny bit of warmth come back into his shredded soul as he realized that he had gained some small measure of respect from her.

-Before either of them could say anything more, a loud, deep howl echoed through the air. BlackFire and Togot both directed their attention back to the compound. The howl had been a rallying call; something was wrong.

-The two of them raced back to the wall and found the rest of the Furies getting into position. Togot leapt up to the catwalk on the wall and looked down to see what the fuss was about. He was surprised to see a dozen burly looking men standing in front of the gate.

-Togot hadn't seen another man since he had come to the Furies, but he didn't remember them looking like this. They had on tattered animal skins and they didn't look very well groomed. Their eyes had an unintelligent look to them and they all looked unfriendly. But one of the men stood out from the rest and Togot blinked in surprise at the sight of him.

-In front of the others stood a man who was a nine foot tall mountain of rippling muscles. He had blonde hair tied into a short ponytail and a well kept beard of the same color that made him look even more rugged. His massive muscles were well proportioned with each other and to his height which convinced Togot that he was looking at a giant, but the part that made the man stand out the most was his eyes.

-The rest of the men had dull, dimwitted looks in their eyes, but the giant's were sharp and alert. He looked up at Togot with a familiarity that made Togot very uncomfortable, almost as uncomfortable as the massive double bladed ax that the giant wore across his back.

-The man let out a tremendously deep howl, one that Togot had never heard before. But some deep instinct inside of him knew what it meant. The giant was issuing a challenge.