A Dark Promise

A government that hid behind its economy, a military that hid behind its technology, and a society built on the labor of slaves, was this really all that stood in your way? Special factions like the rangers might be challenging obstacles, but your victories would hardly be satisfying at all without some measure of difficulty.

One important question in particular had waited patiently at the back of your mind, like the sun waits for the clouds to part. Your hesitation to ask it was not a matter timidity but rather a matter of tact. How does one creature ask another to change its way of life? You could see in her a resolve not entirely unlike your own, to a different end perhaps, but it’s intensity and direction were strikingly similar to your own. She too would be driven from this place much as your forebears had been, whilst the usurpers of the land toasted to your collective misfortune. She was hardly necessary to your cause, however, she would undoubtedly prove quite valuable should she join your number. There was only one thing she truly wanted, one thing she needed above all other things. You could see it in her eyes and hear it in her heart despite her fragile but consistent attempts to disguise it. Now you have the opportunity to offer her exactly what she so desires. You can offer her the promise of vengeance.

“You have given me what I asked for, Sugain, should we discuss what it is you want?” You say peering down into her eyes. As you step back and give the woman room to respond, Rigga interjects, “Doesn’t matter what she wants, what she needs is exercise!” Just like that, you are ever so grateful for the language barrier that separates the two of them.

“What I want? Obviously I want you to turn around and walk away.” She huffs, crossing her arms and pouting slightly. You can’t help but feel somewhat amazed how similar these two are to one another in their childlike attitudes.

“I could do that, in fact I very well might, or I could help you get what you really want.” You assert, not allowing her to deflect you.

“An endless supply of mutton?!” Rigga giggles under her breath. You respond to your mates wayward commentary by shooting a harsh gaze in her direction, your unamused and intense expression clearly worried her. Such childishness cannot go unchecked. For now, merely a severe glance from you proves enough to curb her unsightly and attenuant attitude toward the current situation. She clearly saw the Atmoran woman as nothing more than a peculiarity, like finding a fish with feathers, a spectacle to be laughed at and then subsequently disregarded. Rigga could be excused for her behavior to a slight degree however, when you consider that she was unable to understand the content and importance of the information this woman had already provided to you. Your eyes fall upon the woman again, looking at her with less aggression and a little more understanding. Her outward scars pale in comparison to those within, deeper wounds than flesh can sustain or scars can depict. She was, in your eyes, emotionally **** to a much greater extent even than she was physically ****.

“What exactly do you suppose that is, man?” She says reclining against a nearby tree as she covers herself. She speaks with a condescending curiosity in her voice clearly meant to disguise her fear and uncertainty.

“You wish to realize your mentors dreams for a free Atmor do you not? To give her in **** what she could not attain in life.” You ask half amused, with this one question you bait the trap to be closed by your next. She already outwardly considered you inferior by virtue of being a male, a weakness you could exploit by first confirming her inference and then confounding it. She expects you to be a fool and so you confirm that expectation by asking a question that infers a flawed understanding of her motivation.

Her demeanor shifts slightly, your question has clearly made her more comfortable with the situation, comfortable enough to take the bait without hesitation. “Free from what exactly? One tyrant replaces another, power and wealth seduce what was once pure and the cycle begins anew. Your rule would change nothing. A new banner flies but the same law applies. I owe nothing to this country, nothing but the pain I have received from it. Your offer interests me not at all, oaf.” Now your trap slams shut, you have the chance to confound her expectations unexpectedly by proving your intuitive understanding of her goals and motivations, and by so doing should be able to convince her that her own understanding of you is incorrect. By sowing that doubt in her mind you may yet be able to convince her of your intentions and capabilities.

“Your life until this very moment has brought you only pain, I am offering you a chance to experience life anew. The path you tread before we met can offer you escape, but I can offer you retribution. The far away lands of this world may offer you refuge but I can offer you your homeland. You told me yourself that Atmor has taken everything from you. Your mother, your mentor, and your freedom. As you yourself have already said, you owe nothing to this country or it’s government, rather according to our laws this country owes a debt to you now. We call this a blood fine, a debt incurred on the guilty who wrongfully take a life. I can provide you with both a chance to take what is owed to you and a chance to stand resolutely in the face of your betrayers. Vengeance is a right my tribe honors eternally.” Her vengeance, the vengeance of your ancestors, they were alike but not the same. Her rage was still young, there was of course a chance that it might burn out. Yours however, was many generations old, an undying ember destined to consume the structures of its creators. As her bold azure gaze meet yours you can see the gravity of her desire plainly reflected, mingled with the realization of her miscalculated understanding of you.

“Who can trust the promises of fickle men? Suppose it were true that **** is my hearts desire, what makes you think I need you to accomplish that? What difference to me is it if I take what is mine with your help or without it?” Her tone is harsh and low, to you it seems almost like a challenge. Her struggle against your snare is as understandable as it is futile, now you have but to secure your hold.

“The difference is this Ranger, if you join me I won’t be in your way, instead I will stand behind you in support and not interfere when the time comes. If you don’t, however, you’ll have to move quickly or I will take your prey before you ever get the chance to try. Together they will not escape us.” The change in her attitude is immediate. For the first time you have yet seen she appears to be genuinely confused and speechless. Her silence is brief but satisfying to you.

“Bryn was right about many things and yet I still find it most difficult to believe she might actually be right about men. I have always felt men were like horses; pretty, strong, and stupid. I must admit that there is a distinct possibility that they aren’t all as mindless as their behavior makes them seem.” She pauses for a moment, clearly deep in thought.

Without turning your head you call to your mate, “Rigga, return her belongings, she has a decision to make.” As she begins her approach she also begins a litany of complaints. “Okay I know she looks harmless.” She says, her tone clearly one of apprehension, “She may have even had a few rough days.” The sarcasm in those words was unmistakable. “However, we’re not obligated to assist her in collecting any blood fines nor should we be responsible for aiding her to that end. She’s not one of us and from what you have said it sounds like she’s not even one of them. She’s weak, she’s slow, she’s loud, and she’s hideous. When we encounter any animal that matches that description we usually eliminate it so it doesn’t happen to reproduce don’t we? We could at least show her the same mercy.”

Her reasoning likely would be your own, were it not for your goal of saving the people from themselves instead of just mindlessly slaughtering them. It would be an empty victory indeed to defeat your enemy only to find that you have become exactly like them. Rigga carelessly dumps the woman’s belongings on the ground in front of her and turns to face you, arms crossed and expression displeased.

“She is not a wounded elk Rigga, she can heal, she can learn. I am confident you know this too, though it seems you are loathe to admit it.” You state, hoping that you can convince her to abandon her line of thought. The blonde woman turns her face up at you, for but a split second she seems to visibly admire you.

“Alright, I’ll admit you’ve convinced me. I’m interested in seeing how this all plays out. What now?” She begins to stand and brush the dust off of her body, her milky white tits bouncing deliciously as she does so. Your male brain is hypnotized by this for a moment until you feel your mates heated stare nearly burning a hole through the side of your skull.

“Now, you will follow us. First however, you should gather your belongings and cover yourself.” You instruct, glad to be removed from her distracting cleavage yet sad to know it will be hidden from your sight at the same time. “Yeah thanks for that, you could’ve asked nicely you know, who knows I might’ve undressed voluntarily.” She says humorously, you are well aware she would not have. “You shouldn’t look at me like that, your mate looks like she’s about die from sheer jealousy, and if she doesn’t I still might.” She finishes.

“You can’t be serious, Ogma!” Rigga protests. “She will never survive!” Your eyes meet hers again and you can see through the anger of her outward mien into the deeper feelings from which it stems. She is anxious, uncertain of what this Atmoran addition to your number might mean for the future of your tribe, for the future of your relationship. Her anger stems not from hate but from an inability to convey her anxiety to you for fear of appearing weak herself. It is an issue which she must ultimately resolve in her own heart, the only way you can help is by giving her some measure of control over the situation. “Since you are so concerned with her survival, she will be your charge. You are henceforth responsible for ensuring her survival and teaching her our ways. By bearing this burden you may prove your strength to me yet again.” Both Rigga and Sugain look at you with mouths agape and brows furrowed, completely dumbfounded by your decree. They seem to agree with each other at last, if only to disagree with you. After an awkward silence they begin to simultaneously **** you with dissenting opinions.

“Her! If she’s my ward I’m as good as dead!”

“Just look at her! The amount of food it would take to feed her would take me all week to find!”

“She’ll strangle me in my sleep!”

“She’ll eat us into starvation!”

“All she would have to do is hide my body.”

“She’ll steal the food right out of our mouths!”

Grateful that neither of them can understand the other but displeased that you have to listen to their petty complaints, you finally assert yourself.

“Quiet!” You boom; assuming dominance of the conversation. “Ranger. If you fear for your life then you are wise, nothing in this world is ever truly safe. If my mate attacks you, it would be prudent to defend your life.” Your eyes turn to Rigga, your stern admonition of her behavior tempered with your undeniable love for her. “Rigga. If anything ill happens to her for the next three moons you shall be accountable for it, do not doubt that I will not hesitate to punish you accordingly. I have given you an opportunity to prove yourself to me once more by preserving her life and fostering her growth. However make no mistake, I do this out of love for you. You must learn compassion if you are to grow and help me lead our people in the age to come. I am trusting you with this my love, I know you are uncertain of what may come but we all will face it together. She is one of us now, that is all I will hear on the subject.” You let your words sink in, both of the women are in quiet, and albeit indignant, reflection on your words and their own concerns. Rigga has visibly softened her manner a bit, although Sugain seems no less concerned.

“You know you can trust me Ogma. I’ll do what you ask but I’m allowed to have my doubts.” She replies cocking her hips and eyeing the ground beneath her feet, unable to maintain eye contact with you.

“Of course you are. You are my..” You hesitated for a second. Calling her your mate was so impersonal, and while she was indeed your mate it was not at all uncommon for a man to have many mates. “You are my most beloved companion. I am not yet capable of expressing how precious you are to me. Please do as I say and head back to camp ahead of us? You can gather the the group leaders and spread the word of what we found. Let them know I will not tolerate hostility toward her.” You could not help but feel weak for asking her to do as you said instead of commanding her, but you hoped to ease some of the anxiety she clearly seemed to feel.

“And leave you two in the woods alone? I’ve seen you looking at her, you are MY mate, and you say that you love me. Do not play with my emotions.” She certainly hadn’t taken your openness as well as you had hoped.

“Rigga you have both my love and my trust, do not give me one and deny me the other.” The memory of your tryst with Zeitsya, stings you anew as you speak. Wordlessly your mate turns from you and departs, the sway of her backside quickly disappearing into the distance. “She’s a loving person, once you get to know her.” You say over your shoulder to the ranger. “You’ll do well amongst us in time.”

“I’ll just have to take your word for it then. She’s protective of you, that much is more than obvious, being alone with you probably isn’t going to increase my odds of survival. In fact I’m quite certain that the longer we’re alone together the worse off I will be. We should get moving.” Looking back at her you can see that she has rewrapped her chest and covered herself as best she can with what remains of her clothing, her gear seems to be in order as well. “Of course. Rigga will get there far ahead of us as it is I’m sure. I have plenty to explain to you on the way.”

“It’s not like I have anything better to do.” She shrugs and you can’t quite determine the meaning of her expression now.