Maneater

I'm Human

Hushed whispers fill the street as I ride my horse into the town. I've never been here before, but it's obvious that stories of me have reached here. The men on the street look down in fear, refusing to meet my eyes. That's how I like it, I thrive off of their fear. Because, as long as they fear me, they will never lay a hand on me.

"You're not welcome here, Maneater!"

I pull my horse Loki to a stop and dismount. The second my feet hit the ground, the man who had yelled at me takes off down an alley. My eyes land on a stable boy, his hands shake as I approach him.

"Have any empty stalls? Loki here would love to rest."

The boy nods and leads me to the empty stall. I hand him coins with a smile, "Keep the change."

He smiles back, although his smile is nervous. I remove the saddle and the rest of my equipment from Loki. He lets out a whinny in response, and I smile, "I told you I would find a place for us."

Loki snorts at the horse in the stall next to him, and I laugh. "I think you've found a new friend, so I'll leave you two alone now."

I walk out of the stables, pulling my cloak tighter around me. There's an inn down the road, so that's where I go. I just hope they have an empty room because it is way too cold to camp outside. As I walk to the inn, I notice that everyone is watching me. I'm used to the staring, but their stares were different.

I push my way through the inn's doors to see that it's a bar on the bottom floor. So, the rooms must be upstairs. A woman smiles at me as I approach the counter.

"What will it be for you?"

"Are there any rooms available?" I ask.

She nods, "You got here in time. There's just one room left."

I hand her the money for the room, and she hands me a key. I thank her and head upstairs. Prostitutes line the halls, waiting for worthy customers. There's even a male prostitute who approaches me.

"Not interested," I say, pushing by him.

I unlock my door and shut it behind me. The bed is a reasonable size, big enough for me to spread my limbs. I hang my cloak on the rack along with my bag and begin taking off my armor. The leather drops to the ground with a quiet 'thud', so I step over it and set my sword down before collapsing onto the bed. A short nap wouldn't hurt.

~~°°••°°~~

"Get away from me!"

I open my eyes at the shout, my instincts kicking in as I immediately grab my sword. The woman yells again, and I make my way over to the window. The window has a view of the dark alley below, and as I squint my eyes, I see that five guys are surrounding a young girl.

"This is gonna hurt," I mutter, climbing through the window.

My feet hit the ground, sending shock waves of pain up my legs. The men look at me in surprise. My body moves faster than my mind as I swing my sword around. The first guy drops to the ground in seconds, holding his bleeding stomach. I notice that the girl has picked up a sword and is fighting alongside me.

"You can fight?"

She gives me an offended look, "Yeah, no shit."

The two of us take down three more guys. I face the last guy, getting ready to swing my sword, but the blade of another sword pierces through him. The blade pulls out, and the man's body drops. I look up from the body to see a tall man with yellow eyes.

He swings his sword at me, but I dodge it. The girl lets out a yell, "Geralt, stop it!"

Our swords clash against each other as the two of us fight. He reacts quickly, much quicker than a regular person would. My eyes travel back to the girl. She's watching us with panicked eyes. The man uses my distraction to his advantage and knocks my sword out of my hand.

The blade of his sword raises to my neck as he slams me into the wall behind me.

"What are you?"

"Shouldn't the question be 'who are you?'"

He grits his teeth, "No human is able to fight me as long as you did. Especially a woman your size. So, what are you?"

"I'm human," I say.

I shove him off of me and pick up my sword. He watches me, his yellow eyes narrowed into a dangerous stare. I approach the girl slowly, "Are you okay?"

"Geralt! She was saving me. You could've killed her!" She yells at the man behind me.

My eyes dart back and forth between them. The girl isn't afraid of him, but I find it odd that she's traveling with a man much older than her. Another guy joins us, his longish brown hair swaying as he shakes his head. "Geralt, you have got to stop starting unnecessary fights. It's become a problem now."

The new man turns to me, his eyes growing wide. "Shit! We've got to get out of here. Come on, Geralt. We're not safe, not safe at all!"

"What are you talking about, bard."

His voice is low and cold, almost like he's growling instead of talking. I watch the scrawny man curiously as he tries to drag the white-haired man away.

"Geralt! Do you not know who she is?!"

I swing my sword around with a grin, and the man gulps in fear. The tall man looks at me before turning back to his friend. "She's a woman."

"She's the Maneater!"

The three people look back at me, each wearing shocked expressions except for the tall man. I glare at the two men before, turning to the girl, "Do you know these men?"

"Unfortunately," she responds.

I hold my sword out in front of me, "Are you traveling with them against your will?"

She grabs the end of my sword and lowers it. "They're my family."

I continue glaring at the white-haired man when something shiny catches my eye. My eyes trail down to the necklace around his neck, "A fucking Witcher. Great."

My mother always told me to stay away from them. She said they were the worst kind of men. They were the worst monsters of all. She despised them, and I do as well.

I give the Witcher one last glare before walking back towards the entrance to the inn. The girl speaks again, "She jumped out of the window just to save me."