The manticore released an odd melody like a demented trumpet from its humanish features. The open mouth revealed three rows of teeth, sharp thin cones. It's large bat wings beat blasts of wind at me. I shrieked back at it, dragging forth the Other's voice from within me. The manticore reacted, jerking to a halt over me upon hearing one of its own coming from a human.

It pulled back its wide mouth, a smile stretched from ear to ear. Little songs rose and fell from its lips, seeking to communicate. I closed my eyes to listen better. It was hard to decipher what it was saying. I had never actually heard a manticore's tune before now, though different parts of my blood sought to harmonize with it.

An arrow shot through the air, knocked away with a flick by the manticore's tail. The boy had finally made it up the make-shift tower. He rushed forward, another arrow at the ready to defend me. The manticore's nostrils flared as he smelled the halfling. His eyes began glowing a deep red. He hissed a grating note. I didn't need to know the song to understand what that meant.

I jumped onto of him, forcing him to the ground. A swing of the powerful tail brought a rain down of spike needles, all laced with the deadly poison of the manticore. Many drove deep into me, but it didn't seem any cut him. I guess he was lucky.

"Oh shit! Don't move. I'll, I'll pull them out."

I shook my head, moving to stand up. He tried to follow and I roughly shoved him back down with one hand.

"Do you like me?" I whispered, my eyes gazing into his silver ones.

He gulped, unnerved by my unwavering weight in the question. "I mean, I could maybe, you know if I got to know you better."

I blinked, breaking the trace. "I suppose that will do." I grabbed one of the arrows from his quiver. "Don't worry half-human, your savior is here. Your Alice has returned."

The manticore hummed diving down, it brought out its claws. The great creature brought the massive paw, the size of my face, arcing across my body. I dodged, bending backwards so I was creating a human bridge. I stared upside down at the boy's surprised face. Kicking over, I touched back on my feet. I needed something to block within. I should have searched for my swords among the rubble instead of exploring.

More spikes were launched, and I had to run in front of the halfling acting as a living shield. The needles buried deep into my skin, stinging painfully where they leeched into my bloodstream. I wondered what color the manticore bled. The scorpion-type stinger on the tail lashed out, looking to pierce through me. I bent, an inhuman flexibility and agility, allowing me to move and grab the connection point of the tail and stinger. The stinger, twice the size of my forearm, whipped about. However, I held on white knuckling against the beast. Digging my feet into the earth for balance, I pushed toward the manticore and then abruptly pulled back to me. My other arm rose from behind me, speeding the arrow right into the lurching manticores eye.

A slight stream of blood seeped from around the arrow, a redish-orange, when the gargoyle's blood took hold. The stone spread quickly in a spidering fashion. Like cracks racing through ice, the stone took hold of the beast. I released him as he became to heavy to hold. He started dropping to the ground from the weight, the giant wings not able to withstand the extra weight and eventually they too stopped flapping. The now statue dropped to the ground and shattered, blending in with the rest of the destroyed rock.

"What...what are you?"

I peered over the edge at the debris a moment longer and then turned back to see his face ashen with fear. I thought he said he liked me.

"They call me Alice."

----

I sat dangling my feet over the edge of my rock pile. I had claimed and defended it, that made it mine. Still the boy sat on my rock pile without invitation or even thanks. He hadn't spoken to me since I told him what they call me, still he hadn't left either. I didn't see why he was so mad. I had been his savior, his Alice despite him not being fully human. If anything he should be showering me with gifts and praise, or at least apologize for looking at me like that...like I was one of those words.

The hole again was leaking those dark thoughts I had been buried with. I could see it from hear and it seemed to be sucking all the light into it, my tomb. Night had fallen and the boy had built a small fire over by him. I didn't cold though so I wasn't bothered when he didn't invite me over...that's what I kept repeating. I lay back looking to the stars for some sort of guidance.

"Pitri."

"Hm?" I flipped over to rest my head on my elbow-propped hands, watching him.

"Pitri, my name is Pitri. I thought you should know, since you told me yours."

"I didn't tell you my name." I shifted again, laying my arms flat so I could lay my cheek across them. "I told you what they call me. There's a difference."

"That makes no sense. If that's what people call you then it's your name."

"No, then that's their name."

"Weirdo." He muttered, poking at the fire with a stick after a moment he sighed. "Will you just get over here so you don't freeze to death or something."

I smiled, crawling over. He looked away, uncomfortable with my four-legged gait. My he was an odd one for being part Other. I was told Others were savages, yet this boy seemed anything but. I sat cross-legged, looking into the flames.

"We should really get those out of you."

I flicked one of the needles, feeling the radiating pain as it wiggled in my arm. "But it'll hurt."

"So you want to walk around the rest of your life with manticore spines in you?"

"I don't see why not." I jutted my chin out, remembering my lessons. "Manticore needles are barbed at the end similar to a porcupine which means they have microscopic backwards facing bards that make it hard to pull out once in."

"Don't be a baby. Let me pull them out." He got up, advancing on me.

"I said no!" 

"Fine." He put his hands up in submission. I nodded, when a sharp pain caused me to squeal. "One down only maybe twenty more to go." He said waving the needle in my face.

I yanked it from his hand and threw it into the fire, glaring at him I resigned to my fate. "Careful of the ends, they may still have poison on them." I whimpered as he wrenched out another.

Into the fire spines upon spines piled. Tears were freely falling down my face at this point and he didn't even pause. Ruth would have held my hand and comforted me. The scientists would have gotten me ice cream, but this boy ignore me. Instead he just continued his work as though it didn't matter, as though my tears were anyone's tears.

"There last one." He twisted it between his finger tips. "You know this could make a useful weapon."

I grabbed it and tossed it into the flames with the others. I wiped at my face, angry, in pain, and frustrated.

"Never mind I guess."

I flopped over and curled up into a ball. Stupid harpy-human halfling. A warmth coated me, a blanket had be draped over me. My eyes darted between it and the silver eyed boy returning to his spot on the far side of the fire.

He wasn't anyone's and he seemed happy. He didn't need their name to do good things and help people.

Could I ever be like that? Could I ever be Alice?