The Devil’s Armpit

"I would like to start all this with first thanking y'all for coming all the way out here to help with this here mission."

Fredrick Jones, a.k.a, the Texan Ranger. The man wasn't all that interesting to Malik so he'd decided to just tune him out and stare up at the dust filled skies of Texas. 

Malik didn't know Jones outside TV appearances where he was either representing the DM Guild or was being hauled away by the police for starting fights with reporters. 

Hated by the press, but loved by the public, especially in his home turf of what was left of big ol' Texas after it had been ravaged by the Six Winds as they called it. Six massive tornadoes hitting the state back to back had left little to nothing of the area.

"Pay attention, will ya?" Marie had elbowed his side rather aggressively, but he responded with a quiet flinch. "Get your head out of them fucking clouds for once, Mal. This mission's serious shit for us."

He glanced down at the woman on his right and stared at her openly, waiting for an apology.

She fidgeted under his unblinking stare, glancing from him back to the DM guild's little speech in nervousness.

He felt a slight feeling of accomplishment when she'd cracked.

"Gods help me. Fine. Sorry. Just blink, I'm begging."

Malik faced forward to the crowd of DM members in front of them with his unchanged expression but one could've easily imagined the smug aura surrounding his body.

"Creepy fuck." Even Marie's whispered insult couldn't have brought him down despite the high stakes situation they were all being presented with.

Ehn. I've been called worse. 'Mutt' takes the cake.

"Finally, I'd like to thank these brave people to my left." Malik paid attention then, realizing the Ranger was referring to their little group of low-ranked part-timers.

They'd been standing there, in front of the closed off gate that was covered with a barrier that could've only been entered and walked out of if one had a Blessing. It was why most of the creatures within couldn't escape it.

Though there had been anomalies, like the cyclops last year that had wreaked havoc in the now abandoned country of the Maldives. There had been no saving of the small country and so much blood had been spilt that day.

Malik had stopped paying attention again, so he was a little confused as to when the Ranger had moved from his little podium to stand in front of them.

The young hunter lowered his head to look at the higher ranked man, tilting it slightly as he watched the fake concern on the older man's face.

"You did not have to sign up for it but we bless you for doing so," Jones said, looking at each of them, and placing a hand on Marie's shoulder. Malik glanced to the side to see the woman practically vibrating to get that hand off her body.

"Alright, alright." All eyes went to look at Taylor's cousin, Timmy, who had finally interrupted Jones' speech. "Let us in this fucking thing already."

Malik was surprised the volatile man had waited that long, what with how much he had been fidgeting.

But Jones seemed to have been taken off guard by the interruption, his mask of empathy falling for a moment to reveal the rage within the blonde man's eyes. He quickly replaced it with an expression of amusement, turning back to his Guild members and the few press they'd let in.

"Someone's eager," he joked, earning a few laughs, before turning back to the cousins with a tight grin. 

"Alright y'all. I'm guessing you know the protocols here? You go in, scope the area, you come out. No fighting, now. If ya can help it anyway. You see anything outta the ordinary, ya call us in, and if you have to fight, ya call us in. This ain't a gate y'all can handle with ya ranks here, s'why we've given you gear ya probably ain't ever heard of."

"He just called us weak and broke without calling us weak and broke," Louis said from Malik's other side, scoffing quietly but keeping up a charming smile for the cameras in front of them. "Prick."

I can agree with you there but it ain't like he's wrong either, Malik thought as he eyed the B ranked hero in his Old West styled suit. If Jones wasn't such a prominent figure in the South, he doubted he would've heard of him. 

The bigger hunters in the States were usually staying up in more secure cities like New York or round Washington, and the even bigger players were spread across the globe.

There were too many big shots in their world so a small southern press junkie with a too big love for women and beer was almost too insignificant for the young hunter to even care about. Also, too much of a cliché for most worldly figures to find that interesting.

I like the cowboy hat at least. Incredibly useless and inconvenient for an actual fight, but it's stylin'. 

Jones took a step back from the five of them and even gave them a salute.

Okay. Okay he's doing too much now.

"Dark Mountain Guild and the rest of America thanks you for your service."

"Now he's acting like we're in the army. I fucking hate cliché," Marie commented in Creole, rolling her eyes as she began to recheck her gear, all five of them turning to face the golden gate covered in leaves and vines.

Malik ignored the sounds of cameras shooting behind them as he looked down at Nala who was sleeping in his thigh pouch.

He had second thoughts about bringing her in with him, but he knew that he'd have needed her to stay calm during a raid. Malik was glad he'd tweaked the little pouch, placing a shield around it to stop anything from hitting her and to keep her from falling out, but he was still slightly worried.

"Hey."

He looked to his side to see Louis checking through his plasma rifle, his dark green eyes glowing slightly with his blessing from a hawk spirit.

"Do us all a favor," the older man continued. "None of that disappearing act shit. This ain't like those swamp puppies. You know how raids go. We don't see a team member when it's time to leave, they're assumed to be dead. So don't fucking disappear."

"…Are you worried about me?"

The disgusted look that appeared on Louis' face nearly made Malik laugh.

"Just don't…die. Would hate to have to tell Cynthia. She's really set on you joining our guild."

Not like I was planning to and I'm good on the guild thing, but thanks for the worry.

"Y'all rea—"

"Go! Go! Go!" Timothy had cut off Marie's question and ran right through the dark abyss of the gate, his cousin following in with a mocking 'Yeehaw!'

"Dickheads," she muttered before following with Louis at her back.

Malik stood there for a moment, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He ignored the murmurs he was beginning to get behind him and waited, enjoying the feeling of the toxic smoke entering his lungs.

"Uhm…Son?"

He nodded as he turned to look at the ranger, not before letting out the smoke upwards. He was gentlemanly like that.

"Are you not…joining them?" Jones looked incredibly confused by his actions but that wasn't Malik's problem.

"Almost done. It's a short ciggie." He took in a big breath of the cigarette, never reaching the butt completely before dropping it to the sandy floor and stepping on it. "Calms the nerves."

"Ah…Right." Jones was still confused and again, wasn't Malik's problem.

He removed the hoverboard from his back and hopped on it, facing the gate as his suit and board lit up a pale blue.

As he glided into the gate, he just hoped it was a cold region on the other side. The Southern summer heat was killing him.

In the words of his mama, it was like living in the devil's armpit.