The Thief and the Barbarian

The Barbarian

A young boy opened his eyes hesitantly as light filtered through the leaves above him. He'd fallen asleep against a tree that sat next to a burbling brook after his night of mischief. He slowly sat up with a groan and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as a yawn escaped him. He jumped when he heard a snort next to him, but let out an exhale of relief when he remembered the horse he stole the night before. He smiled and reached a hand up to pet the horse's snout.

"Thanks for getting me out of there, girl. That was a close one, huh?" The horse gave a gentle whinny before leaning down and continuing to graze. The boy stood up and stretched before reaching into his satchel and taking out some biscuits he'd stolen from the nearby elf kingdom. They were his favorite. As he enjoyed his breakfast, he noticed a tag on the horse's ear. He grabbed it and examined it. It had a word engraved in it.

[FLUFFY]

The boy scoffed. Who names their pet "Fluffy"? Especially a horse? He shook his head before grabbing his knife from his belt.

"Here, girl, let me get that for you." He said as he cut the tag off. The horse seemed to either not notice or not care as she continued grazing. The young thief patted the horse's neck before walking over to the brook and leaning down. He scooped some water into his canteen for later. "Alright...time to get going."

He walked back up to his horse before hopping up onto her back with the help of a tree stump. He snapped her reigns and off they went. He had no particular destination in mind. He mainly liked to explore and find new kingdoms and territories that had unique goods for him to swipe. He didn't do it because he was a bad person. He predominantly did it out of necessity, stealing food, clothes, and the like. But he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't find it fun.

~o~O~o~

"Die, mongrel!" The barbarian shouted as he hucked a spear at the boy while he fled on his horse. The boy grinned as he looked behind him, carrying a sack filled with food and several knickknacks that caught his eye while sneaking around the barbarian encampment. Unfortunately, he'd eventually been spotted, but in all the years he'd been stealing, no one had ever caught him, and they certainly weren't going to now. The horse really came in handy in that endeavor.

"Too easy..." The boy chuckled as he escaped out of the dangerous territory, a cocky grin on his face. Little did he know of a pair of eyes that glared at him from the trees.

After a while and a few miles later, the boy slowed his horse to a stop by a stream so it could take a drink after such a run. He patted the horse's back as he remained seated on it.

"Another good haul." He smirked proudly as he rifled through his sack of newly stolen goods. "I thought barbarians were known for...endurance and never giving up, or whatever. Guess not." He took out a brown scarf made from who-knows-what. Whatever it was, it went well with his outfit. And not only would it keep him warm, but it also covered up to his mouth, making his face less recognizable. He wrapped it around his neck before closing the sack and hanging it back on his belt. "Oh, well. I was hoping for a challenge, but maybe the next place we go to will be better." He was about to flick the reigns to get the horse moving again when he suddenly heard something whiz through the air before feeling a sharp pain sear through his arm. "AGH!" He yelled as he grabbed his arm, falling off of his horse and hitting the ground hard. "Fuck!" He groaned as he looked and saw an arrow sticking out of his upper arm. He grabbed it and tried pulling on it, but that just made it hurt more, and he could feel the flesh start to tear. "God...g-goddamn it..." He muttered as he kept pulling.

He immediately stopped when he noticed an arrow pointed directly at his forehead. He looked up and saw a young boy, about his age, standing over him with his arm pulling the arrow back in his bow, ready to shoot. The young boy wore a scowl, and had messy blonde hair, traditional barbarian body paint, and probably the prettiest blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"Who...who are you...?" He asked the barbarian.

"I should be asking you that, thief." He growled, his eyes, seemingly unblinking, remained trained on the young thief as he kept his arrow pointed at him. The boy held up his hands.

"F-feldspar..." He replied slowly. The barbarian pulled his arrow back further. His eyes seemed to bore into his own.

"That's not your real name...Who are you, really?" He pressed. How the fuck did he know that? The boy held up his hands further.

"Okay, okay. My name is Craig. There, happy?" The barbarian was silent. "And...you are?"

"You're not really in the position to be asking me questions." He said as he lowered his arrow ever so slightly.

"Well, that's not really fair."

"Life's not fair. You were happy enough to show us that when you took our stuff!"

"Look! Can we just...put the arrow down and talk...civilly? Please?"

"Not until you hand back what belongs to my people."

"Dude, I took, like, four things!"

"Four things too many..." The barbarian snarled, pulling the arrow back once more. Craig panicked slightly and wondered how he could get himself out of this. He was in a very compromising position.

"Okay, okay! Look, see? I'm getting the sack...Just...don't shoot, okay? Let's just..." He reached down towards his belt and grabbed what he was looking for. "...remain..." He pulled it out. "...calm..." Suddenly, knife in hand, he made a wide swipe at the barbarian, causing the boy to jump back in surprise. Before the barbarian could pull back his arrow again, Craig swept his leg underneath him, causing him to fall hard on his back.

"Hey! Stop!" The barbarian yelled angrily. Craig yanked out the arrow, causing him to hiss in pain as blood seeped from the now openly flowing wound. He clumsily hopped back onto the horse and snapped the reigns, and the horse began galloping away from the scene. He winced as he saw arrows flying past him way too close for comfort. He thought he was in the clear when he suddenly felt one lodge right into his side.

"Ack, fuck!" He yelled, immediately pulling it out as the horse kept running. His adrenaline kept him going, but he could tell he was starting to lose a decent amount of blood. He held the wound on his arm, which was now matted with blood. Maybe he could stop the bleeding. That was his last coherent thought as his vision started growing fuzzy. He urged the horse on, still, hoping to put enough distance between him and the barbarian. But, as they went, his grip on the reigns loosened, and his touch with what was around him did as well. He couldn't focus on anything. He tried to keep his eyes open, but couldn't, eventually falling off the side of the horse and grunting as he hit the ground. He closed his eyes and gripped his arm. What the fuck was he supposed to do now?