Calm before the storm

It was now the final day of preparations...

Kara sits over one of the blankets, swiftly assembling arrows for her bow.

Maggie, yet again, remains locked up in the store-room/alchemy lab. Mixing her remaining ingredients with the help of the two slobbery wolves.

Agis moves stuff from room to room with Rhea by her side. The elf carries one wooden box full of materials while the minotaur effortlessly carries two under each arm.

You spend the day trying to help the girls however you can; though constantly being interrupted by your clingy little sister hugging you and saying how much she loves you and Lola dragging you towards the bedroom for multiple quick fucks in between your tasks.

Hours go by. At some moment you can see Agis quickly walk outside of the cave with some kind of rope on her hands and re-enter various minutes later. "Theo. Come with me, I have to show you something..." She says in a serious tone, gesturing you to follow her. With a confused look, you comply.

An uncomfortable silence forms between you two as you walk through the dark tunnel. "What happened?" You ask. The elf stays silent.

The sun's glare temporarily blinds you as you finally reach the exit. You feel the soft grass squashed under your boots, the breeze caressing your face, the unmistakable smell of nature... the cave was cozy and all, but you really needed some fresh air after so many days locked up.

"So what do you want to show me...?" You say, covering the sun with your hand and finally regaining your eyesight. Right in front of you, Agis stands with one of those lesser orcs tied up and kneeling down next to her.

Short, fat, green- he doesn't really stand out from the rest. He wears a pair of ragged-up dark blue pants and a dirty white shirt that fails to cover his prominent belly. His arms and legs firmly tied behind his back, making it almost impossible for him to escape. His monstrous face gazes up at you with a scared expression, his red eyes wide open and constantly darting from side to side. "HOOMAN, PLEASE LET ORC GO! PRETTY ELF LADY CRAZY, AND MEAN, AND-"

"Shut up!" Agis loudly exclaims, kicking the side of the orc's body, making him yelp. "...I caught this one wandering by the river. He was alone. I don't think anyone is going to look for him if he goes missing."

"ORC NOT ALONE! ORC HAVE MANY MANY MANY FRIENDS! HOOMAN CAN BE FRIEND TOO! ELF CAN'T, SHE MEAN."

"I said: Shut up!" Agis repeats, kicking him harder. You simply stand still, fear on your face as you are slowly starting to see where this is going...

"...Why did you bring me here, Agis?" You ask.

"This is the final part of your training. I need you to kill him. Prove to me that you can do it."

Despite having figured that out already, her words didn't fail to send a chill down your spine. You killed already. You had to kill animals to eat and survive... But... you never actually killed something that could beg for its life.

"NO HOOMAN, DON'T KILL ORC! ORC HAS THREE SHINY ROCKS IN POCKET. YOU CAN HAVE THEM IF YOU LET ORC LIVE." The orc stutters, trying to reach for his back pocket with his stubby, tied-up hands. Agis stops him with another kick.

"...N-no. Forget about it." You say with a frown. "This is not self-defense, this is an execution. I'm not going to kill him like this..."

The orc lets out a relieved sigh but tenses up again when Agis gazes down at him with an irritated look. "...Theo, you can't be serious... If things go wrong tomorrow, it's kill or be killed..." She takes a step towards you, her big green eyes firmly staring at yours. "I need to know that you aren't afraid of doing what's necessary. I don't want you to get cold feet in the middle of the battle and... d-die." She mumbles the last word, getting uncomfortable by the sole thought of you getting hurt.

"I can't..." You whisper, looking down to the grass. "This isn't right. I-i can't do it."

"YES HOOMAN, YOU ARE GOOD HOOMAN. I LOVE HOOMAN!" The orc cheerfully says.

"Alright..." The elf sighs. "...I'll let him go, then. Since that is 'the right thing to do', huh...? I'm sure he definitely won't come back with the rest of his friends to kill and **** us all..." She sarcastically grunts in a bitter tone of voice, angrily frowning at you.

"Ag..." You stutter, looking at her with a shocked expression. You can't believe this is the same cute girl you were having fun with just yesterday. "It's just... he's defenseless... he is tied up. T-there is no point in this."

"...They had no problem attacking defenseless people and **** their wives, didn't they? They are monsters, Theo. They don't deserve your compassion... You would be dead already if this monster was in your place... He wouldn't show any mercy, so why the hell should you? I'm not letting you get killed by one of these things because you suddenly felt bad for them..."

You stay silent again. Your last discussion with Gina comes to your mind. To you, she seemed like a dumb, confused teen... but right now... you actually think you are just as confused as she is. All this destruction... all this ****... solved with more destruction and ****? That doesn't sound okay... but... you weren't so naive as to think that this could be resolved peacefully... Maybe Agis was actually in the right? ...just ...just do it and hope all of this ends soon.

You take a deep breath and pull your sword out of its sheat. Agis softly nods her head in silence.

"ORC LIKES SHARP STICK, HOOMAN. VERY PRETTY. FREE ME NOW PLEASE."

You slowly move your weapon towards the orc's neck, poking his throat with the blade's sharp tip. The terrified expression returns to his face, sweat falling across his forehead.

"H-HOOMAN? W-W-WHAT ARE YOU-"

You close your eyes and quickly stab the orc in the neck. It disgusts you how easily the sharp blade tears through his skin. You hear a soft gurgle that stops after a pair of seconds that feels like hours. He was finally dead. You killed him... Opening your eyes, you can see his limp, lifeless corpse standing in place by the sword spearing its neck. You pull it back, the orc quickly falls to the ground with a 'thump', a pool of blood appearing under him, turning the grass from green to red. You sigh and sheathe your sword back into the scabbard on your hip.

"It gets easier with time... You did what you had to." She softly says, rubbing your shoulder and planting a kiss on your cheek. "I love you, Theo. I'm doing this for your own good. You will understand it after all this mess ends."

"...I know..." You simply sigh. The elf's words would make you feel better if there wasn't a butchered corpse right in front of you. "I just need some time to think."

"I understand." She says, giving you another quick kiss on the cheek before walking towards the orc. She grabs both of his legs and starts to drag him away. "I'll hide the body. You go inside and drink some water, or read one of Maggie's books, or... you know, just relax." You just softly nod your head, turn back, and re-enter the cave.

You can't sleep much that night. You just lay still on the bed with your lovers hugging you and placidly slumbering. Your head resting over Kara's tender stomach, soft girls clinging to every part of your body, the fluffy animal pelts of the bedding brushing your bare back. You couldn't be more comfortable than this... Yet you couldn't get sleep. You felt guilty, but you didn't had a reason to feel like that. Right...?