The House Dahan, Chapter XI: The Wolves Rise
#12 of Dahan
Well, the bugger took a while, but here she is. Chapter eleven of the story (in case you're new, there's a bunch of handy-dandy links up top :P). I went through several versions of this damn thing before I found one that worked for me. I've checked it twice, but I apologise if there's any inconsistencies left.
Any comments are, as usual, not only welcomed but encouraged! No really, don't pull any punches on constructive criticism, it's the only way to improve as a writer.
blablabla, diclaimer stuff here, please read tags and please enjoy!
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The House Dahan, Chapter XI: The Wolves Rise
Having made it back to the family estate swiftly and safely, ignoring a few cuts and bruises, Ling, Fei and Chen rushed to meet Li, not even taking the time to change their looted clothes and wash. They found him in his war room, always one of his favoured hideouts. It was not a large room, small even for as rich an estate as the Dahan's. There were no windows, the only light coming from candles on the table. The walls held finely crafted arms, mostly for show as well as several bookcases filled with works on the art of war. The only other furniture in the room was a large dark table and few simple chairs.
Li was brooding some maps scattered across the table. As the grey warrior wolf looked up, his immense relief was plain to see. He jumped up and embraced his wife and shook his adopted heir by the shoulder (because he's a manly man). After the enthusiastic greetings, they sat down around the large, stout mahogany table.
"By the gods am I happy to see you in one piece! Tell me what happened, please."
Ling began telling them everything that had happened to them after the battle (tastefully leaving out a certain scene), while Chen and Fei filled in the gaps for her. As they arrived at the interrogation of their prisoner, who was by now safely confined in the Dahan dungeon, Li's eyes flared in anger. His claws raked the dark wooden table and he bared his teeth, Chen was surprised by his usually stoic sire.
"That overgrown lizard DARES plot against me?! The wolf has served that family of brutes for decades! My own father gave his life to fight for them and now that I have lands of my own they would take them from me by evil deceit? By murdering my heir?!"
The wolf rose in anger and grabbed his sword from the table. He growled fiercely as the blade bit deep into the solid table, cracking the wood loudly and cleaving one of the maps were it showed the Dragon Lord's palace. He left his blade there, took a deep breath and sat back down. His face turned to stone, his voice soft and threatening.
"This means war..."
Chen looked shocked by Li's outburst, Fei trembled outright. Ling nodded, her face as stony as her husband's. The black wolfess stood, graceful as always despite her ragged clothing.
"I will gather the commanders, we must start our planning."
She walked out, towing the other two with her.
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An hour later Ling and Chen returned with the most important officers, refreshed and changed into clean clothes. The officers came in one by one. First came the fox sergeant Pin, the lowest ranking officer present but longest serving man of the Dahan. He remained a sergeant only by choice. Next was the lean tiger known only as "The Hunter" or Hunt for short, he's renowned for his hunting feats and archery and is captain of the bowmen. Then came a pale grey wolf, clad in black armour, with cold icy eyes. He was the sort of man to strike fear without so much as a sound. That was Torun, captain of the horse. Lastly came an especially burly brown canine, some said a cross of wolf and coyote, though best not to mention the coyote to his face. One ear lacked a tip, taken by an enemy swordsman who he swiftly disembowelled. He was named Wun and led the foot.
Li motioned them all to be seated and they gathered around the table. Chen sat at his right hand, Ling at his left.
"It would appear the house of Han has seen fit to attack ours. I'm certain Pin has informed you of the manner and the reason. Needless to say, this will not do. I have never harboured hostility to the dragon, but this...crime, needs to be answered in blood. I think you'll all agree?"
The officers nodded, Wun scowled as he spoke "If those lizards want a fight, they'll have one my Lord, we're all with you."
"Good, then let us make preparations. Does anyone have any urgent concerns to begin with?"
Hunt spoke first, his voice was soft for a tiger, almost musical. "One difficulty that springs to mind my Lord, is that both the Dragons and the Wolves are vassals to warlord Youliàng. If he should intervene, it is Han that holds richer lands and Han he would sooner support."
Li nodded, a question he anticipated."Our wise and noble Warlord has fortunately seen fit to include laws regarding this situation in his new legislation. Disputes between vassals may be settled in the field, provided they observe the codes of conduct and refrain from devastating the land and the people. Whichever party is guilty of such offences would be stripped of all holdings."
Wun snorted derisively "And were in the code of war does it say 'you may slay your foe's heir in vile ambush'?"
Li's eyes flickered in anger. "Unfortunately there is no way to prove these accusations. All we have is the confession of a single man, Han could dismiss it as being extracted under torture. The best route open to us for our vengeance is to march. So my question to you is, can we?"
Torun spoke, his voice cold and soft. "Our horse is the most numerous and well trained, there we hold great advantage, this much I know. Our infantry will be of lesser strength and outnumbered. Battle on the open field will suit us best. Perhaps we can anger him, to make him rush towards us on ground of our choosing?"
Pin nodded "You have the right in that Torun, but Han has never been rash. However, he has always been greedy. If we march into his fields and take his villages and storehouses, he would be forced to meet us, lest he lose taxes in silver and rice. And that is one thing the golden Dragon is loath to do."
The Hunter grunted. "Tis true the dragon has always been hungry for more gold to gild his palaces and warm him in his bed, but he might also strike at our lands himself. Perhaps even this stronghold, his and ours are separated only by two days ride through the woods after all. It is risky. I would sooner await his first move."
Wun growled "Let them try and march through, even Dragon soldiers roast in a forest fire! I say we leave a garrison to watch the woods, with stocks of torches and pitch, then march into his heartlands to provoke him! "
As the officers argued amongst themselves, Li stared at the maps, lost in thought. As he glanced to his right, he noticed Chen frowning at the suggestions. He turned to him and asked "What would you do, son?"
Chen looked up in surprise, as did the officers. "Wha...I ehm...."
Li patted him on the shoulder. "Come on son, you are my heir and we've been teaching you the art of war for some time. Ling says you learn quickly. What would you do in my stead?"
Chen looked at the officers one by one. Torun with his cold, piercing gaze was stoic, Wun seemed on the verge of laughter, Hunter looked on with interest and Pin nodded in support. He gathered his courage and spoke, his voice cracking at first.
"I...Sun Tzu says t-that deception is the most important aspect of war." His voice steadied as he proceeded. "If we marched on his stores or if we just sit in waiting, we will give up surprise. If he doesn't expect our attack, his men won't be gathered. Same as ours, he would need several days at least to collect and organize them. If we strike through the woods now, under cover, we can encircle his walls within the week with the infantry, which would outnumber his garrison. The horse rides on and attacks the holdfasts and forts, routing his standing troops. They will not expect attack and will break easily as long as they have room to flee."
Li smiled and turned to his officers. "Then that is what we shall do."
Wun's grin was wiped off his face, replaced by a pensive frown. "While the Han might be forewarned by the failure of his action earlier...it is indeed unlikely he would summon his troops to him immediately...it might work. Assuming we remain undetected." He agreed reluctantly.
Pin and Hunter agreed, Torun simply showed a slim smile. The rest of the evening was spent hammering out the finer details. They would march in 4 days, as soon as the troops could be organized and supplied.
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The tan feline named Song, (former) captain of Sun Han, woke up in the dark. He was confused at first and sat up in alarm, before remembering that he was in a Dahan dungeon, for the crime of kidnapping the Lord's wife and son. He groaned and sank back onto the hard, lumpy straw mattress. His cell was completely dark, tucked away as it was in the deepest reaches of the guard's tower next to the main mansion. He had a hard bed, a bucket and chains binding him to the wall wrapped around his ankles. Even if I get out of here alive, Lord Han would have my head...eventually. The thought of enduring the Dragon Lord's idea of punishment was unspeakable.
As he lay cowering under his sheets, he heard soft footsteps through the door, a flickering light shone through the gap beneath. The feet stopped at his door and the lock loudly clacked open. The sudden bust of light that flooded in blinded him, he raised an arm to protect his eyes. The guardsman holding the torch unchained him. "His Lordship would like a word, follow me." He followed the guard meekly, trying to escape would just get him killed...sooner.
He was led up the stairs, outside and into the mansion. As they arrived in the Lord's study, the cat looked around for Li, he saw only Chen. The young white wolf wore a fine blue silken tunic and white trousers, both embroidered in silver. Song felt like a beggar in his filthy brown clothes, he supposed he was. Chen stood in the middle of the room, paws behind his back. He looked angry.
The feline sank to his knees and looked at the wooden floor "My Lord, you sent for me?"
Chen said nothing, looking over the feline. The cat grew anxious and squirmed under the accusing gaze. "I...I had no choice my Lord, Lord Han would have killed me if I refused. I never wanted to do it!"
"But you did."
The cat looked up, his fear plainly written on his face. "I did, I can only ask for mercy my Lord. I'll be your man, I'll swear myself to you. Allow me to redeem myself."
Chen tilted his head slowly. "Mercy...you kidnapped myself, my mother and our close friend. You allowed your men to have their way with us and planned to hand us over to our enemy...and you want mercy?"
The cat looked back down at the floor in shame. Chen bit his lip as he thought. After a while, he spoke. "My father has given me the choice of what to do with you. He always tries to be a kind Lord, I should do the same...I will be merciful."
Song looked up, astonished. "You will?"
"Merciful, yes. You will be punished for kidnapping me and again for the maltreatment of my mother and her handmaid. But you can live, if you swear yourself to me."
The cat bowed flat against the floor. "I swear it my Lord! On the gods I swear I am your man!"
Chen nodded, "Good. Guards! Bring this one to the courtyard for his first punishment."
Two guards came in and lifted the cat up by his arms. They walked towards the central courtyard, a wide open square awash with neat rows of garden plants and flowers. The path formed a cross in the middle of the courtyard, with a raised platform in the middle. Servants and warriors crossed the square in small groups, it was always busy here. Many looked curiously as Chen ascended with his prisoner. As the young wolf stood, people gathered around to hear him speak.
"Loyal servants of the House Dahan! This is the man responsible for the attempted kidnapping of myself and Lady Ling, my mother." The crowd sneered and howled.
"I bring him here to suffer his punishment where all can see. The traditional punishment for this crime would be death..." The crowed vocally agreed with this"...but I have decided to be merciful. Bring forth the stocks!"
Within seconds, several men came up to the platform with a heavy wooden stock and placed it in front of the prisoner. Chen swung it open and gestured to the cat. Song stepped up and bent over, so his hands and neck would be held in place by the contraptions. Chen closed and locked it. The feline thought the position uncomfortable, but bearable. The white wolf turned to his crowd again.
"He will remain in these stocks until this time tomorrow. Until that time, you may punish him yourself as you see fit, provided he is not wounded."
Song thought, Some rotten vegetables, some filth and a beating or two, and counted himself lucky.
Chen continued. "I will be the first to punish him." He stepped behind the prisoner and shredded his trousers with one sweep of his claws and pulled off the rags. Song startled and squirmed in the block. I guess I'm doing this naked then. A cold night and some humiliation...
Song stopped his line of thought when he felt a pressure at his tailhole. His eyes flew open with realisation and shock, he tried covering himself with his tail. The young Lord, now naked, pulled it aside and rubbed some spittle on his hard cock. He lined himself up and pushed forward slowly. Judging from the extremely reluctant sphincter, this one was a virgin. The cat groaned and squirmed as he was penetrated, his flesh giving away slowly to the invading wolf member.
He heard laughter, the men gathered sneered and jeered at him. Most servant girls looked on spellbound, fascinated but shy. Some laughed as much as the men, making obscene gestures and grabbing their crotches. One wolf warrior grabbed a fox girl from behind and squeezed her breasts through her clothes, which earned him a slap. He grinned and grabbed another girl, who squeezed him back, giggling.
Chen started pumping his bitch in earnest, sliding out almost to the tip and pushing back in again in a single hard thrust. The cat was tight, but loose enough. He grunted as he adjusted his angle, thrusting even deeper.
Song whimpered as he rocked back and forth, his tailhole burned his every thrust. He bit his lip and closed his eyes. Just let it pass, at least you'll live!
One of the warriors declared something to his comrades in a loud voice, causing a ripple of laughter. The tiger in question strode up the steps to the platform and dropped his pants to his ankles, he stroked his large half-hardened cock a few times for the public, getting cheers from the men and flustered looks from the shyer girls. He grinned widely and turned around to face the feline, his eyes still closed. We wrenched open the jaws with one paw and stuffed his meat in his maw with the other. Song's eyes flew open and he gagged in surprise, but he was powerless to resist. The tiger grabbed his ears and started thrusting forward, getting yet more cheers from the men. Chen grinned and timed his thrusts to match the helpful tiger's.
"Yeah! Show that kitty what a real feline feels like!", shouted a fellow tiger warrior, grinning widely. He reached over to his right and snatched a servant girl against him, a flustered looking coyote. His free paw roamed her chest and slipped under her tunic. "I'll show you how that criminal's feeling sweetie. I'm going to breed you hard." The girl flushed and looked away, but didn't try to stop him. He tore her tunic apart with one stroke and pushed her down on all fours, mounting her from behind. His paws roughly squeezed her fleshy tits as he fucked her for all to see. The coyote girl made exquisite soft sounds of pleasure.
This action broke a dam of sorts and more warrior men tried their luck. Some girls hurried out of the courtyard, others rushed to claim their mate of choice. One male, one of the young boys that tended the stables looked around bashfully, unsure of himself, only to be dragged down to the floor by one of the bolder girls. That one lost his virginity right there and then. Some males didn't bother with the girls, there weren't enough anyway, and grabbed a boy. Some warriors were wrestling each other, the victors mounting the losers.
Chen looked over all of it, a mass of copulating couples and gaping onlookers. A few pseudo-rapes and one or two actual rapes. The sight spurred him on further and he worked to knot the tan feline at his mercy. He breathed heavily and pushed forward harder and harder, his swollen knot straining to break the tight barrier. He grabbed on to the bitch's rump and growled, hammering it home. As the warm, tight flesh closed around him he bared his teeth and closed his eyes, flushing the unfortunate feline with his seed.
As his orgasm died down, he wasted no time to tear himself loose. An eager male was already waiting to take his place, honoured to have the Lord's sloppy seconds. Others lined up to use the prisoner's maw for their pleasure. After all, it's their duty.
Chen sauntered over to a stone bench near the square and sat back, next to him pair of foxes were rutting. He looked on as the male squirted his seed into the female, the scent hitting him immediately. He could feel his cock hardening again, it seems he wasn't sated just yet. He glanced around the courtyard. Stable boys were getting their first blowjobs, cleaning girls their first mounting. Some were in groups, some in pairs. He saw a white tiger, a guardsman he knew, ploughing into one of the older female servants. He saw one of the boys in training sucking the cock of a carpenter. Everyone was mixed up like a salad.
He made up his mind and walked over to a young girl, about his age. The girl was a lizard, covered in a typical green scale pattern with small horns protruding from her head. Something he had yet to experience. Small developing breasts were hidden under a plain servant's tunic. She was sitting, looking at a couple of canines fucking opposite her, fascinated. As he approached her, the girl raised her slitted green eyes to him. Those eyes widened as she recognised him. "M-My Lord!"
Chen smiled warmly at her and reached down with one paw. She took it and he helped her to her feet. Chen pulled her towards him and kissed her on the mouth. The girl startled, but immediately gave in to it. Chen's tongue danced, exploring the unusual reptilian counterpart his paw stroked across her back and side, slowly rising up to her chest. As he touched her breasts, the girl stiffened. He broke the kiss and looked at her. "What your name?"
"They call me Lily, if it please my Lord" She answered nervously, her face flushed
"It does." He smiled again. "Are you nervous? I promise, I'm not always so rough as with him. I won't hurt you."
The girl looked around her hesitantly. "I...I've never..."
Chen smiled, She's a virgin then "I see, come with me, then I'll find someplace quiet."
The girl nodded meekly and the wolf led her back inside. He entered in the servant's quarters, empty at this hour and picked out a room, simple small and dimly lit. He shut the sliding door and pulled the girl up against him. His hardening cock rubbed up against her, yearning for release. His paws squeezed her rump and he kissed her again. She was harder than others, the scales rubbed against his through her tunic? Her tongue felt strangely cold. Well she IS cold-blooded. He thought.
He pulled the girl to the bed, tore off her clothes and layed her down on her back. Her breasts were scaled like the rest of her, rough yet yielding to the touch. He licked them, caressed them, coaxing slight moans out of the inexperienced girl. His paws roamed all over her, looking for sensitive spots, they lingered where he found them. He looked the lizard girl in the eye, "Ready?"
The girl nodded hesitantly and opened her legs slightly. Chen reached down and found the slight bulge where her pussy was hiding. He gently coaxed open the protective skin and placed his throbbing cock onto it. He grabbed one of her legs and moved it up slightly, then pushed slowly inwards. Lily gasped and clasped her arms around him tightly. Chen moved deeper gently, feeling her maidenhead break as he penetrated deeper. The girl flinched as it happened, but didn't say a word. Chen found the girl exhilarating, exotic. Rough scales, a moist and slick pussy that felt colder than any other he'd had, even her scent was all different. He rose up on his arms and looked down at her, thrusting into her gently.
"How does it feel Lily?"
The girl looked up at him, her bright green eyes shining in the dim light. Those are almost as green as mine. "It's good my Lord...ugh!...I like it."
He went down on his elbows and grinded against her, their young bodies rubbing together urgently. He sped up his movements as the girl relaxed, his knot was starting to press against her entrance. No, too soon.
He stopped himself from tying her and slowed down again. He payed extra attention to her breasts and licked her tenderly. The girl was starting to move her hips against his now and her hands digged into the bright white fur on his chest. Her breathing grew heavier and her movements more urgent. He kept grinding into her until at last, she showed signs of climaxing. She gasped and arched her back, her inner walls contracting slightly around his member. When she did, he pressed forwards and tied her. The girl screamed as the knot popped inside of her, but more in pleasure than in pain. His cock pulsed painfully powerful jets of cum into her young pussy. He growled loudly as the powerful orgasm hit him, still grinding.
As he spent his load and slumped onto the girl, he felt her hands stroking across his back. Wow, that was intense...
He looked at her and smiled. She returned the smile, showing him her sharp white teeth for the first time. The young wolf felt his stomach flutter when she did, his gaze drawn to those deep green eyes. Gods those are beautiful "Thank you Lily, I liked that a lot"
She grinned "So did I my Lord." Lily fidgeted under him. "Could my Lord get up?"
"Call me Chen, please...and no I can't actually." He tugged lightly at his knot to illustrate the point.
The girl giggled. "I see my Lo...Chen. How long does that last?" her laugh is like music.
Chen shrugged "Might be a few minutes...I don't mind." I hope it lasts all day. He leant down and started kissing her again. They didn't stop until the knot deflated and Chen pulled out. He got up on his knees and looked down at her. I wish this never ended..
He got out of bed and helped Lily to het feet. "I'm sorry about your clothes, they're sort of ruined."
Lily shrugged "I can get new ones, the head maid might try to beat me for ruining them though."
Chen was horrified at the idea. "No!...Come with me, I'm sure we'll have something you can wear."
The girl shook her head "The head maid would just take them away, we have to wear servant's clothes. And then she'd beat me twice as hard for stealing."
Chen thought a few seconds. "Well then, you'll be my personal servant then! They can wear whatever I want them too."
Lily's jaw dropped in astonishment. "Me? The Lord's handmaid? Yes, please! I'd love to my Lord...Chen!"
Chen put his arms around her, kissed her and carried her off to bed again.