Gun Vs Crossbow
Stranger didn’t like a lot of things. Clakkerz, Outlaws, certain aspects of himself… and being outmanoeuvred by a creature that was obviously a lot younger and less able then he was, were some of them. Especially when said younger creature used underhanded tricks fitting of an Outlaw.
“You backstabbin’ liddle-”
“’Ey!” the creature looked mortally offended, “I ain’t backstabbed anyone.”
“Guns are fer cowards.” The creature raised an eyebrow,
“When you’re the smallest and most vulnerable living thing out there you need every advantage you can get. You might not think so but I doubt any one’s tried to eat you recently, other then the big spider thing.” Stranger frowned sceptically, he seriously thought that if anything had wanted to eat the creature, it would have probably happened. “What?” asked the creature,
“Eat yer?”
“Yes, eat me, you want me to spell it out?” Stranger scowled. “So put me down, right now. I have no problems with shooting you, and I will, even if you did save my butt. For which I’m grateful by the way.” The thing added,
“Ye got a funny way of showin’ it.” Stranger muttered.
“Just put me down.”
“Not until you get tha gun pointing in a friendlier direction.”
“I ain't movin’ till you put me down!” snapped the creature, “You don’t have a choice on this.”
“Oh really. Explain.”
“You either put me down or I shoot you, it’s that simple, either way I get
my way.”
“Is that a fact, well I got somat ter tell ye.” Stranger moved slightly so that he was holding the creature out in space. If he let go, the creature would become so much splattered mulch. “Ye shoot me, ye become fertilizer for the plants.” He grinned, “Whadda ya say ta that?” The creature thought it over for a grand total of three seconds,
“Damn, you got me.” It sighed and dropped the gun muzzle, and, as promised, Stranger put the creature down on it’s perch again. Stranger watched in interest as the creature slipped the gun behind it’s back, into some kind of holster behind the quiver of arrows.
“Clever.” He thought, “Now, you gonna be nice?” The creature crossed it’s arms and scowled darkly,
“Fine.” Stranger’s expression flashed briefly with triumph. The creature’s expression deepened. “Cocky, son of a-”
“Yer don’t want ta finish that sentence.”
“-Slog.” The creature stuck it’s tongue out, proving once and for all that it was juvenile. Stranger clenched his fists and took a deep breath, controlling his temper.
“Yer name?” he asked through gritted teeth, trying to remain civil and not strangle the jumped up little snit.
“Bailey.” The straight answer came as a bit of a surprise, Stranger waited for a smart mouth comment. But it didn’t happen.
“Bailey? What sorta name is that?” ‘Bailey’ shrugged.
“I dunno.”
“An’ what are yer exactly, never seen the likes o’ you round these here parts.”
“Not surprised, I’m human, of the female teenage variety and I come from the lil’ place known as Earth.” Bailey looked pointedly at him, Stranger got the hint.
“I goes by the name of Stranger.”
¤§¤
Driving the It up the wall was a riot. He got this violent eye twitch that Bailey found hilarious.
And then he’d hung her over the edge of a very long drop and Bailey knew she was beaten. Game over.
“I goes by the name of Stranger.”
Bailey blinked.
“And you thought
my name was weird? What sort of person has a name like
Stranger?” she said out loud, she didn’t voice her sarcastic inner thoughts though;
“How very fitting…”
“I does.” Stranger liked this sudden shift of power.
Bailey didn’t.
“Okay, fine, Stranger it is, so, what are
you?” there was a pause, as if Stranger was contemplating the answer.
Stranger eyed Bailey thoughtfully, what to tell a human from Earth? Not the truth, that was out of the question. But Stranger wasn’t the sort to blatantly lie, so in compromise, he decided on the truth – but not the answer Bailey was looking for.
“I’m a bounty hunter.” By Bailey’s scowl Stranger knew he’d hit paydirt and gave a cocky grin. Bailey muttered something barely inaudible under her breath but Stranger’s ears were more sensitive then Bailey had taken credit for and he heard every word, even if it was a bit disjointed;
“Smug, cocky, over-confident, over-grown fuzz ball doushbag.”
“Now tha’s not very nice-like.” Stranger admonished but he was still grinning and showing rather a lot of sharp teeth. Bailey’s insults couldn’t force him out of his good humour again, she was clutching at straws now. Bailey scowled again;
“I was right the first time. Only a bloke can be that
annoying…” she thought irritably. She glanced at the forest floor, it was a
very long way down. “So…how do we get down, I dunno about you but I’m starting to get dizzy up here.”
“That’s the easy part.” Stranger shrugged, but his eyes flashed worryingly, well, worryingly for Bailey at any rate.
Before she could move, protest or even ask for clarification Stranger pounced, slung Bailey over his shoulder and slid down the tree, using his claws to keep the descent steady. Bailey clung him and wailed plaintively, hiding her face in his shoulder.
When they hit the ground Stranger set Bailey on her feet again and brushed her down in mock concern.
“Ma apologies miss, was tha too fast for yer?” Bailey wasn’t amused, she pointed a finger and jabbed Stranger’s chest.
“If you EVER do that again, I swear on all that is holy I WILL shoot you. At Point Blank range, there won’t be anything left bigger then a bit of gravel.” Stranger put up his hands.
“Whateva yer say.” He grinned. Bailey made a frustrated noise like a stifled scream. Stranger just grinned.
“You are, the most, annoying…THING I have ever met!” Bailey yelled, Stranger started to lose his cool now. Losing control of his bad-temper,
“And yer the stupidest HUMAN
I’ve ever met!” he yelled.
“I’M THE
ONLY HUMAN YOU’VE EVER MET!” Bailey countered, shouting at the top of her voice now.
The two beings (who were too much alike for their own good) would have probably shouted until they had gone hoarse if not another voice had spoken just then.
“Well well, what ‘ave we ere, if it ain’t The Stranger.” A broad, strong arm wrapped itself around Bailey’s throat, Bailey automatically grabbed the arm as it pressed her back against something unpleasant and the cold barrel of a gun touched her temple.
Bailey watched as Stranger reached for the pouch at his belt, she felt the gun press harder,
“Ah, ah, ah, none a that, now, unclip that purdy crossbow and put it on the floor. Slowly.” Bailey expected Stranger to just keep right on moving, it wasn’t like he really cared. But to her surprise he froze and then began unstrapping the crossbow on his wrist. Bailey gaped,
“What are you doin’!?” she hissed, “Shoot the dirtbag!” Stranger gave a barely perceptible shake of his head in a negative. Bailey dropped her hands and the creature with the gun, which Bailey guessed was an Outlaw snickered unpleasantly.
“Tha’s right, nice and easy like and no one gets blasted.”
Bailey’s fingers brushed cool metal. The dagger at her belt. She suddenly met Stranger’s neon green gaze and cracked a grin, Stranger returned a small half smile and nodded. Bailey’s fingers closed on the dagger hilt and she brought it up, slashing the Outlaw’s arm. He yelled and let go of her and his gun. Bailey caught the shotgun look-a-like and fired.
The wayward shot actually hit something and the Outlaw dropped like a rock. Bailey scrambled to her feet, cheeks flushed, eyes bright, grinning in victory. She turned at an angry growl that was undoubtedly Stranger. There was another Outlaw behind the unarmed bounty hunter with a loaded gun aimed at his head.
Stranger glared at Bailey, with ‘This is all your fault’ clear in his green eyed stare.
“Oops…” murmured Bailey, she levelled the gun. This new Outlaw cackled,
“Oh no yer don’t shrimp, put the gun down.”
“Lemme guess,” Bailey said tiredly, “Nice and slowly?” the Outlaw snickered,
“You got it.” sighing Bailey did as she was told. “Now, hands behind yer head.” Bailey did so, not looking at Stranger, who was absolutely livid.
“Now say g’bye to ya friend here.” Bailey’s gaze snapped to the smugly grinning Outlaw and a furious sound rumbled deep in the teenage Earthling. Her eyes narrowed at the Outlaw, believing there was no threat to himself, he sniggered wickedly.
He didn’t believe anything Bailey had could possibly hurt him. His ignorance would come to bite him in the butt…it tended to happen when you were around Bailey.
Bailey drew her short bow and an arrow, aimed and fired, all in a few seconds. The arrow whizzed past an inch away from Stranger’s face making a faint hiss in the air. The Outlaw screamed, another hiss told Stranger that Bailey had fired another arrow. The screaming stopped and Stranger grabbed the Outlaw’s arm and threw him over his shoulder. The arrows had hit the Outlaw in the eye and the throat. Stranger had to admit, he was impressed.
“Tha snit’s got good aim…”
Bailey slipped her bow back into it’s holster and padded over to the Outlaw. With a grimace and an uncomfortable sound of disgust she retrieved her arrows and replaced them in the quiver. She then picked up the Outlaw’s guns and emptied one of it’s ammunition and put it in the other, fully loading it and hooked it onto her belt.
Bailey crept up to the shot Outlaw and peered at it, it must have been one of the most revolting things she’d ever seen, bar the Bolamites…and some other things…of course. She didn’t get a proper look at it though as just then, another hand, twice as big as her own closed around her wrist.
“C’mon, where there’s two, there’ll be more.” Said Stranger’s voice by her ear, she rubbed at the same ear,
“Don’t do that, your breath tickles.” Stranger sighed,
“C’mon.” and he set off at a brisk pace, Bailey trailing behind. Bailey looked back as they plunged deeper into the jungle of Oddworld.
“I think you made some people angry.” She said matter-o-factly,
“When yer take Outlaws ta jail fer a livin’ that tends ta happen.”
“So they were Outlaws?”
“Yup, the most ugliest beings ye’ll prolly ever clap eyes on.”
“Oh I dunno,” Bailey muttered darkly, “I’ve seen some pretty hideous stuff in my time believe-you-me.” And she left it at that, Stranger looked over his shoulder at Bailey and fixed her with an unfathomable gaze.
“Yer’ll have ta tell ma about that sometime.” He said, Bailey was surprised by his tone, it wasn’t his normal gruff growl, more of a softer rumbling purr.
“Hmm.” She muttered, then, “Where we goin’?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Away from here.” Came the answer, Bailey dug her heels into the leaf matter, bringing them to a stop and shook her wrist free of Stranger’s iron grip.
“Look, I ain’t goin’ anywhere until you tell me where we’re off too. D’you even know where you’re goin’?” Stranger smiled that feral smile, showing just enough teeth to be threatening. Bailey fidgeted nervously.
“I know. Trust me.”
“Fine, I guess I’m better off here then back there anyway.” Stranger nodded slightly and began moving again, Bailey trotting after him.
Stranger's Wrath: Oddworld Just Got Stranger
At least I know someone likes it, for a second there I thought I'd get beaten by the Oddworlders with Big Pointy Sticks... 
And I'd love to read your idea, put it up quick! 
That's purdy funny there, diablo. 'Specially when Bailey is talkin' out Stranger. Really good! Keep it comin'.
I thought it was about time someone got on Stranger's nerves, and it was fun to write! 
You really think I could be an author? Wow, you've made me all happy. 
Anyway I can't wait for your next chapter LoneDiablo!