Bound by a Blade (PauPat)

Chapter One - The Lonely Mercenary

"A pessimistic outlook on life is the best one to live by," the young man stated, gently stroking the rabbit on his lap. "Everything is either a pleasant surprise or exactly what you expect."

The large buck beside Pau licked his cheek, causing him to smile. "For example, I definitely didn't expect all of you to be here tonight. I was expecting to spend the night all alone, but I was pleasantly surprised."

The doe laying at his feet looked up and blinked at him, before resting her nose between her front legs and falling back into a peaceful sleep. Pau's chest felt warm at the sight of the sleeping deer, the rabbit curling up against his stomach. The bird perched upon the fallen tree he was sitting on chirped cheerfully, bouncing ever so slightly to face him. He chuckled, causing the small bird to cock its head to the side. Pau had lived his life ostracized by humanity, so he had developed a knack for charming the animals he met, whether it be a deer or an alley cat.

The rustle of something hitting a tree startled the woodland animals. The bird was the first to flutter away, followed by the deer and rabbit. Pau gasped, reaching out in the direction the animals ran off in, groaning in frustration as he watched his friends disappear into the darkness. He was snapped out of his frustration when he heard the slow crunch of someone walking in the packed snow that covered the ground. Drawing his lackluster sword from the sheath on his belt, he narrowed his eyes. "Who's there?"

Pau flinched as a figure clumsily rushed into his line of sight, swinging an axe too close to his face. The mercenary just managed to dodge the attack as another attacker emerged from the darkness. He swung his sword at the axe wielder, landing a cut on his arm. Examining his attacker's outfit, he was able to determine that this was nothing but a group of bandits.

While Pau was in thought, a third bandit landed a hit to the back of his head, causing his body to fall limp in the snow. Darkness enveloped the edges of his vision, blood from his wound dying the snow a sickly red. It took him a few moments to realize that he had dropped his sword. He immediately began to flail his dominant hand around him, desperately searching for his misplaced weapon. He let out a choked cry of pain as a heavy boot slammed down on his chest.

"Stop," he begged, his voice barely a whimper. The bandit only ground his heel into Pau's stomach, earning a strained groan from the young man.

The bandit standing over him looked toward his gang. "Grab everything you can find! Food, money, anything!"

Pau looked up, opening his mouth to protest. He was quickly cut off by a kick to the side of his head. His eyes rolled back as he slipped out of consciousness, despite how hard he tried to hold on.

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"What the hell are you doing? Don't hold him by his side, hold him by his shoulders!"

"Hey, I was never formally taught how to carry an unconscious man, okay?"

Pau couldn't see. Pain pounded through his head and torso in a rhythmic pulse. His ears rang so loudly that he could barely hear the bickering voices on either side of him. He groaned pathetically, almost immediately starting to cough. His throat was dry and tasted of iron, which sent a wave of nausea over him.

One of the people at his side gasped. "I think he's waking up! Come on, we have to get him to camp!" the feminine voice shouted, her tone becoming more demanding with every word.

The other voice shushed the woman. "Shut up! He got beaten half to death, I'm sure he at least has a headache. Your yelling won't help with that."

The woman groaned, and the two went silent, causing Pau to let out a weak sigh of relief. He felt the people assisting him lumber through the snow slightly faster. Although panic was building inside him, he didn't resist.

I might as well just submit to them, he thought, wincing from the migraine that was afflicting him. There's nothing I can do about it. Besides, no one will miss-

"Eriko!" the woman shrieked, causing Pau's body to tense as he fought to not be sick. "Can you keep your eyes on what's in front of you for one damn second?!"

The male voice shushed her again as Pau attempted to relax his muscles. "Quit screeching, would you? He looked like he was about to lose his... whatever he last ate."

The woman sighed in defeat. "You almost tripped. You and this mystery swordsman would have fallen face-first in the snow." Pau cringed at the thought of his wind burned cheeks being enveloped in the freezing, unforgiving snow.

The two went silent once again, much to Pau's relief. His eyelids felt heavy, and he could barely fight the temptation to let his eyes fall shut.

This is strange. People have never been kind to me. What makes these ones different?

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When Pau woke up, he felt pressure being applied to his head. It gave him relief from his wounds, which caused him to immediately sigh in relief upon waking up. He let his eyes shut again, his now cleaned hair resting in wild strands on the heavenly pillow beneath his head. It had been so long since he slept with a comfortable surface beneath him. The best thing he had felt in his sleeping conditions up to this point was a ratted blanket separating his body from the rough earth, so the pillow felt like magic. He let out a small hum of comfort, his chapped lips slightly curling up into a weak smile.

"Ah, you're awake."

The voice on the other end of the quiet tent startled away the euphoria that had enveloped Pau's mind, much to his dismay. He turned his head in the direction of the soft voice. A dark skinned man wearing healer's robes was sitting on his knees in the corner of the tent, a pleasant smile on his face. Pulling his long, dark brown hair back into a hair tie, he stood up and closed his dark eyes. "I hope I didn't startle you."

Pau stared at the young man, his accent-laced voice resonating in his head.

"My name is Pat. Welcome to the Red Resistance."

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Oh boy, that was fun. Poor Pau, getting beaten, robbed, and nearly freezing to death. At least he got to meet the hot nurse.
I hope you enjoyed Chapter One! Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it. I'm really excited about this story, and I can't wait for the rest of this story to play out. Again, thank you so very much for making it this far, and I'll try my best to maintain a consistent update schedule.