{"sf1_id":1961372,"sf2_id":"4nAZAQG1","title":"A Reason to Leave [Human(m)xBaxxid(f), romance OOPS no smut]","author":"Teether","words":9402,"posted_at":"2023-03-05T04:40:19.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Baxxid","Greentext","Human","Romance"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1961372-a-reason-to-leave-human-m-xbaxxid-f-romance-oops-no-smut","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/4nAZAQG1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/40/ff/40ff11c3-19de-408f-92e8-e0c65a4c07eb","description":"A human messenger travels through the mountain ranges of his home only to meet with an unexpected baxxid wanderer who helps him find strength and freedom he never knew he had.","content":"All Characters and setting were inspired by the OOPS webcomic and world created by Valsalia\n\nhttps://www.furaffinity.net/user/valsalia/\n\nhttp://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-o.....ers/oops-35-2/\n\nhttps://www.patreon.com/valsalia\n\n  \n\nZeska Riptooth is a character created by shyala shyala and valsalia valsalia\n\n  \n\ndescription: A human messenger travels through the mountain ranges of his home only to meet with an unexpected baxxid wanderer who helps him find strength and freedom he never knew he had.\n\n  \n\n(Out of Placers webcomic FanFiction, Human(M) x Baxxid(F), Romance, non-smut)\n\n  \n\n(story is written in the format of first person greentext)\n\n  \n\n  \n\n  \n\n  \n\nA Reason to Leave [Human(m)xBaxxid(f), romance OOPS no smut]\n\nby Teether\n\n  \n\n  \n\n\\\u003eThe cold rush of air enters your lungs as you clamber over yet another mound of rocks\n\n\\\u003eYou can feel every sinew in your legs screaming in pain, muscles aching\n\n\\\u003eBut you continue on, After all, you are of the Killrin clan of the mountains\n\n\\\u003eFor Killrin there is no other option except to push forward, always\n\n\\\u003eAt the peak of the rock mound you readjust your armor, claymore, and travel pack\n\n\\\u003eYou brush the dirt off of the Killrin emblem, emblazoned into your leather armor\n\n\\\u003eYou look inside your travelpack to double check everything’s still there\n\n\\\u003eSnug in your pack are twenty scrolls shining with wax seals bearing the name of Killrin house and a long jeweled golden chain of enumerable value\n\n\\\u003eIt’s probably the thousandth time you’ve check since you started out from camp three weeks ago\n\n\\\u003eYou can’t afford to take any chances on this delivery; a Killrin doesn’t leave room for failure\n\n\\\u003eYou take a swig from your shoulder canteen and press on, heart still racing from the thin air of the mountains\n\n\\\u003eThings start to level off as you begin to drift back onto a main trail overlooking the mountain ranges surrounding you on all sides\n\n\\\u003eEven though you’ve lived in the mountains your whole life, the scenery never ceases to amaze you\n\nI am almost there just a couple more weeks and I’ll be to Antock\n\n\\\u003eYou come up to a long ancient-looking wooden suspension bridge crossing a wide canyon filled with mist\n\n\\\u003eYou hock a gob of phlegm over the side and listen\n\n\\*Nothing\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to cross, hoping Antock has been keeping up with their bridge maintenance\n\n\\\u003eThe bridge seems sturdier than it looks\n\n\\\u003eAbout half way through you swear you can hear whispers echoing from the mist off the canyon walls\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to think back to all the ghost stories surrounding the mountains but quickly shake that out of your head\n\n\\\u003eYou are a Killrin mountaineering messenger for fucks sake!\n\n\\\u003eYou draw your short sword from your hip holster\n\n“Alright scum! Show yourselves!” you yell\n\n\\\u003eThe whispers stop for a minute but then you hear a cough and several squeaky laughs\n\nBandits! I Knew it!\n\n\\\u003eYou sheath your short sword and begin to run towards the Antock side as fast as your already sore legs can carry your ass\n\n\\\u003e”CUT ZE ROPE ALREADY YOU IDIOTS!” You hear echo in a squeaky yet commanding voice\n\n\\*OH SHIT!\n\n\\\u003eYou’re almost near the end when six yinglets pop out behind boulders with torches and serrated knives\n\n\\\u003eThe Yinglets with the torches toss them onto the bridge, which quickly engulfs in flame while the others begin to saw the supporting ropes\n\n\\*DAMN IT!\n\n\\\u003eThe fire singes some of your hair as you turn around to run back to the other side\n\n\\\u003eBut it’s too late\n\n\\\u003eWith a loud snap the bridge falls away under your feet\n\n\\\u003eYou swing your arms wildly trying to grasp anything you can\n\n\\\u003eYou grab a burning rope but slam into the side of the canyon, jerking the rope out of your hand\n\n\\\u003eYou plummet into the thick mist\n\n\\\u003eThe last thing you remember before everything goes black is the feeling of rock smashing into every part of your body\n\n  \n\n\\\u003e”Come on you maggots we haven’t got all day!”\n\n\\\u003eYou try to open you eyes and pick your head up but your body feels like lava and stone\n\n\\\u003eYou’re barely able to open one eye encrusted with blood\n\n\\\u003eEverything hurts to look at and your brain rings like the echo of a bell\n\n\\\u003eYou see hundreds of yinglets running around like ants as a larger yinglet yells obscenities at them\n\n\\\u003eThey’re collectively carrying food, armor, a travel pack….\n\n\\*NO!\n\n\\\u003eYou try to prop yourself up on your right elbow before collapsing in a wave of pain\n\n\\\u003eYou notice you’re only in your tattered civilian clothes you wore under the armor\n\n\\\u003eAll the movement stops for a second\n\n\\\u003e”DID I SAY YOU LAZY FUCKS COULD STOP?!”\n\n\\\u003eThe shuffling of hundreds of little feet continue\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a larger pair footsteps come towards you as yinglet with a jagged tooth leans over your face\n\n\\\u003e”You survived ze fall eh?” it says in a high pitch but somehow still intimidating tone\n\n\\\u003eYou notice that the yinglet has a black flag over its tail with an emblem, a scar on its nose, beads in its hair, a tooth necklace, a metal codpiece and a leather vest with…breasts?\n\n\\*It’s female?\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet spits in your face before climbing onto your bruised chest and bringing up a hooked knife, pressing the tip into your neck\n\n\\\u003e”Zeska will not let you look her over like some common street attraction”\n\n\\\u003eShe digs the knife deeper causing blood to flow from the point\n\n\\\u003e”You know I should just gut ze fuck out of you human scum. For everyzhing you have done. For existing, yes?”\n\n\\\u003eYou try to say “I’ll kill you” but only let out a few slurred words\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet cackles with glee as she lightly rakes the knife up and down your neck creating new rivets of blood\n\n\\*She’s enjoying this the sick fuck\n\n\\\u003eShe climbs off of your chest and begins to walk away “You know I would love to stay but I have ozher treasures to collect and a herd of idiots to attend to”\n\n\\\u003eYou hear the scrambling of rocks for a minute before the yinglet appears back over your head\n\n\\\u003eHolding a rock in her hands\n\n\\\u003e”One less stupid scum”\n\n\\\u003eThe impact cracks right between your eyes as everything once more plunges into cold darkness\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eAll you feel is coldness and everything is distant\n\n\\\u003eThe sound of thunder reverberates off the canyon walls as torrential down pour soaks everything\n\n\\*I have to get up…A Killrin…A damn HigerHroth…Antock…....Fucking…Damn…Scavs…….\n\n\\\u003eWords swirl as you try to piece together a coherent sentence in your head\n\n\\\u003eAs you feel your heartbeat slowdown even further something lifts you up from the nape of your shirt, dragging your body backward across rocky ground\n\n\\*What?.....who?.....Iam…..dying……NO…..just….get……..over…with…..Scavs…\n\n\\\u003eAfter what feels like an eternity of moving you realize that the rain stopped falling on you\n\n\\\u003eYou feel warm and your laying down again on what feels like grass instead of hard rock for once\n\n\\*Finally…..peace…..\n\n\\\u003eYou nod off back into the darkness\n\n\\\u003eWhat feels like days pass in your mind\n\n\\\u003eYou feel the ache leave your bones and body, replaced by warmth and a numbing sensation\n\n\\\u003eThe smell of roasting meat enters your nose as your stomach roars\n\n\\\u003eYou roll your head to the right and open your eyes\n\n\\\u003eYour face to face with a charred squirrel carcass, eyes bulging from their sockets staring into your soul\n\n\\*WHAT THE FUCK!\n\n\\\u003eYou jump to your feet grasping for an imaginary sword\n\n“Come out you dam Sca….!”\n\n\\\u003eYou collapse in pain as your ribs and left leg revolt sitting you back down on the pile of dried grass you were sleeping on\n\n\\\u003eAs you cradle your ribs, you look around and notice that you’re in a small round cave\n\n\\\u003eIt’s surprisingly well lit with small, little, natural fire vents protruding from the floor\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhnnndon’t move, you’ll hurt yourselffff” echoes off the walls\n\n\\\u003eYou look around but can’t find the source of the voice\n\n\\\u003eA baxxid peeks the tip of its head around the corner before dashing back behind the bend\n\n\\*A baxxid? This far north?\n\n\\\u003eYou’ve only seen baxxid in Antock guarding convoys of merchants as they come into the city to trade. A baxxid would never be in this cold of climate willingly.\n\n\\\u003eYou look back down at the cooked squirrel carcass and realize that it is part of a well laid out meal on a piece of torn fabric with some fresh biteleaf and berries next to it\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at your body and notice a green paste covering your cuts\n\n\\*Mushed biteleaf\n\n\\\u003eYou feel like an ass for trying to pull your sword earlier\n\n“Baxxid? Please come out. I swear on my honor I won’t hurt you”\n\n\\\u003eNothing happens\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to eat the cooked squirrel and berries\n\n\\\u003eA little crunchy but not bad\n\n\\*How does a baxxid even collect berries? It must have been incredibly difficult\n\n\\\u003eYou look up to see the baxxid slither towards you from behind the bend in the cave\n\n\\*For a giant rock snake, it carries itself pretty elegantly\n\n\\\u003eYou notice it has a tattered red covering over its head hiding all of its eyes except two and several rusted ring piercings in its skull fringe\n\n\\\u003eAs it gets closer to the light you notice that its skin is completely covered in deep scars from head to tip of tail going in hundreds of directions\n\n\\*Whoa\n\n\\\u003eIt notices you scanning over its scars. It covers its face with its two giant scythe-like arms and quickly slithers back towards the bend of the cave\n\n“Wait!”\n\n\\\u003eIt stops for a brief second\n\n“I just wanted to thank you for the food, and well…everything. You saved my ass and this couldn’t have been easy. Thank you”\n\n\\\u003eIt looks back at you before moving back behind the bend in the cave to be alone\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh and lay back down on the pile of dry grass staring at all the cuts and bruises along your body\n\n\\*Guess I am not going anywhere at this rate\n\n\\\u003eYou grab a wad of the biteleaf and begin to chew, feeling your body go numb\n\n\\\u003eWith a full belly and stoned out of your head, you drift back to sleep\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eOver the next couple days you wake up to a new meal lying next to you\n\n\\\u003eYou always call out a thank you but only catch a glimpse of the baxxid sticking its head around the corner\n\n\\\u003eOne morning you wake up to find two long, thick Y-shaped branches next to your bed and the baxxid sitting coiled next to you\n\n\\\u003e You prop yourself up with the crutches and begin to walk around on your right leg\n\n\\\u003eEverything still hurts but you can walk, and that’s all that matters to you\n\n“I want to thank you again for everything, you really did save my life from those scavs”\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid once again begins to cover its face with its arms\n\n\\*Is it…..blushing?\n\n“Well, I need to be off, those fucking scavs have something very important and if I know Scavs they shouldn’t be too far off. Those disorganized rats couldn’t follow a straight trail to save their life”\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to walk around the bend and out of the cave before tripping on a rock and falling\n\n\\\u003eSomething catches you before you fall\n\n\\\u003eIt’s the baxxid supporting you with its arms under your armpits\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnpleassse don’t go, yourrr not well yet”\n\n“I have to, I can’t just give up and stay here eating berries all day”\n\n\\\u003eYou pick up your crutches and begin to walk out the cave entrance\n\n\\\u003eYou see six different paths all going in different directions up and out of the canyon\n\n\\*Fuck\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhthhen let me come with youuu. I can help sssmell where those bastarrrdsss went to,” said the baxxid sliding up beside you\n\n\\\u003eYou’re a little taken aback by the fact that you’ve never heard a baxxid swear\n\n\\\u003eYour pride gets the better of you\n\n“Sorry, but I really can probably find them on my own”\n\n\\\u003eYou trip and fall again as the baxxid catches you\n\n\\\u003eYou groan in pain\n\n“Fine, lets go. Gather your things and we can be off”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhnni hhhave nothhhing keeping me hhhhere, I am just a wanderer, letsss find those scavsss”\n\n\\\u003eYou’re once again taken by such unusual bluntness coming from a baxxid. They usually politely dart around subjects instead of being so forward\n\n\\*weird….\n\n“Whelp, that settles it then, where did the yings get off to?” you say trying your best to sound cheery\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid raises its long head to the air and breathes in what seems like an endless amount of air and exhaling like a the bellows of a blacksmith\n\n\\\u003eIt raises its claw pointing down a path off to the right of you\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhthhhaattt way”\n\n\\\u003eThe both of you set off down the path and out of the canyon\n\n\\\u003eThe wind begins to pick up, smelling of wet granite dust\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eThe sun begins to fall and you two decide to make camp\n\n\\\u003eWell whatever “camp” you could make\n\n\\\u003eYou pretty much could only gather dry grass brush to make two “beds” in a ditch\n\n\\\u003eNo fire, no tent, and no food except for scattered berries you collected along the way\n\n\\\u003eThis mission already looks like it’s going end sooner rather than later\n\n\\\u003eYou lay shivering on your grass pile daydreaming about a nice warm crackling fire as a gust of wind cuts through your bones\n\n\\\u003eYou feel a load of brush land on top of you as you feel a giant, warm, serpentine body slither up next to you\n\n“Hey? What are you..?”\n\n\\\u003e“hhhnnshutuppp, we’re going to freeze on thhhhisss mountain if we sssleep aparrrrt”\n\n\\*Well it’s got a point there\n\n\\*It….\n\n\\\u003eYou just realized that you haven’t even asked the baxxid its name and it did kind of save your sorry hide\n\n“So uhhh…. do you have a name or…”\n\n\\\u003e“hhhnnooo” it said in an irritated growl\n\n\\\u003eYou lay awkwardly in silence for a couple minutes thinking about the fact that you probably shouldn’t piss off a large clawed snake laying behind you\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid lets out a deep guttural sigh\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnwhhhat does it matterrr? I am an outcassst, namesss are meaningless”\n\n\\*An outcast? Ok now you peaked my curiosity\n\n“No, I am serious. I really want to know your story”\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid lets out what sounds like a chuckle\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhhnnA humannn wants to know a baxxid’s storrry? Are you really thhattt borrred?”\n\n\\\u003eYou also chuckle at the absurdity of it too\n\n“No really, If I am going to be traveling with you for the next couple days I want to get to know something about you”\n\n\\\u003eSilence\n\n“Ok I’ll go first, I am Yargeth, a messenger of the HigherHroth unit, clan of the city of Killrin, soon to be promoted to the highest messenger class if I can find those damn swamp rats and finish my delivery”\n\n\\\u003eThe thought simultaneously fills you with pride and overwhelming worry\n\n\\*And if I don’t complete it…its…. best not to think about it….\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid begins to relax a bit after another laugh\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnmy name is, or ratherrrr wasss, Karahhhh”\n\n\\*That sounds female? Are there female baxxid? Are there male baxxid for that matter?\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnni was the youngessstt hatchhhling of a wealthhhy merchannnt in Val Salia”\n\n\\*Val Salia? She traveled from that far south? It’s a miracle she’s even alive\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnni wasss hot hhhheaded and looking for somethhhing to prrrove, I was an unusual baxxiddd”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnni tried to work my way throughhhh the political rankssss to try an give the baxxid a biggerrrr say in the dealingssss of Val Salia”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnthe Elders skirt around issuessss, never wannnnting to be confrontational with the humansssss and as to not come off rrrrude”\n\n\\\u003e””hhhnnthey’re afraid the trademasterrrrr may see them as assssking for too muchhhh and begin ignorrrring their requestssss”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnntheir ssstupid over politenessss leaves us with the short end and hurrrrts the baxxid of Val Salia, it makes me wannnnnt to puke”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnntime and again The Elderssss struck me down saying I wassss too brashhh and inexperiencedddd in dealing with the humanssss.”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnthen one day I was being berated by one of The Elderssss for what felt like tttthe thousandth time”\n\n\\\u003eYou feel the serpent’s muscles tense\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhnnand I just…..just….sssnapped”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhnnbefore I knew what was wrong, The Eldessst was strewn acrosss the floor…dead and I wasssss covered in bloodddd”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnnat first tttthe other baxxid didn’t evennnn know what to do”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhhnnbaxxid never kill their ownnnn, everrr, we punishhhh, but we don’t kill”\n\n\\\u003e hhhhnnnby the Eldest Laws dictated that I be given a thousand sssslashes and banishmennnnt from Val Salia\n\n\\\u003ehhhhnnnmy cuts are a warning signnnn to other baxxids, they know to keep away from a murdererrrrr…..\n\n\\\u003ehhhnnni’ve traveled all across the landdsss but no matter where I go I am not welcommme\n\n\\\u003ehhhnnnso now I jusssst……wanderrrr….….alonnnne……\n\n\\\u003ehhhnnni neverrrr meant to hurt himmmm, I don’t want to hurrrt anyone……\n\n\\\u003eYou feel a shiver as the baxxid rolls over facing away from you\n\n“Iam…Iam… so sorr-”\n\n\\\u003e”hhnnjussst go to sleepppp” Karah says in a agitated voice\n\n\\\u003eYou feel like sleeping even less now\n\n\\\u003eYou lay on your back staring into the night sky, listening to the high pitched wind scream over the ditch and down into the valleys of the mountains\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eYou can’t help but dream of falling into the misty canyon over and over again, immobile, unable to move your arms or legs\n\n\\\u003eYou wake up in a sweat unable to move\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to panic and struggle, fearing that you have become paralyzed again\n\n\\\u003eYou hear snoring and rumbling along your body\n\n\\\u003eYou looked down as you notice Karah slumped sideways over your torso, pinning you to the ground, scythe claws in the air twitching\n\n\\\u003eYou try to lift the rocky snake off of you but she’s out cold\n\n“KARAH! WAKE THE FUCK UP!”\n\n\\\u003eThe groggy baxxid comes to and slides off your body\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnsorry, I tossss a lot in myyy sleep”\n\n\\\u003eYou brush the loose grass from you body and begin to gather berries for breakfast\n\n\\\u003eYou both eat in silence but laugh at the adorable awkwardness of seeing a baxxid attempt to scoop berries into its mouth from the ground\n\n\\\u003eIn the morning light you suddenly notice how emaciated Karah actually looks\n\n\\\u003eYou can see her long ribcage poking through the sides of her skin\n\n\\\u003eYou say you’re not that hungry and offer her the rest of your berries\n\n“Here let me help you”\n\n\\\u003eYou scoop the rest of the berries off the ground and help place them into her mouth\n\n\\\u003eShe graciously accepts with a calm “hhhnnthank you”\n\n\\\u003eAfter breakfast Karah smells the air and the both of you are on your way\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to realize you were right about the yinglets\n\n\\\u003eThe further you get down the trail the more trash and discarded waste you find along the rode\n\n\\*Messy little fuckers, I Can only imagine how bad this smells to Karah.\n\n\\\u003eYou look over and see what you can only describe as the baxxid version of wrinkling its nose with one arm crossing its face\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnhow do thesssse furballsss get so filthhy, its disgustinnnng”\n\n\\\u003eYou laugh and the both of you move on, coming to a rotted lean-to near an open clearing on a cliff edge\n\n\\\u003eAs you get closer you spot something gleaming in the sun against the lean-to\n\n\\*My claymore!\n\n\\\u003eYou drop your crutches and begin to hobble as fast as you can towards the sword but are enclosed by Karah’s arms\n\n“What is wrong with you? Lemme go! That’s my sword!” you flail about\n\n“hhhhnnnYargeth stopppp. It reeksss here. Somethingss not rightttt”\n\n\\\u003eYou stop squirming as Karah lets you go\n\n\\\u003eKarah picks up a large branch in her mouth and slithers over to the claymore pushing it with the stick\n\n\\\u003eA snap can be heard as a net falls over the sword, entrapping it, before quickly dragging it over the edge of the cliff and into the abyss by a boulder attached to another rope\n\n\\*My…sword…\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a low-pitched “hhnnsssooorryy” as Karah nervously rubs her arms together\n\n\\\u003eYou just stare at the spot for a couple of minutes until your hit by an alarming thought\n\n“Wait! These yinglets can make traps? Like complex traps? I’ve never heard of the rats doing anything more complicated than make pointy sticks”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnnwellll at least one of them cannnn. I can smell herrrr all over thisss” says Karah sniffing where the net trap was\n\n\\*Her…maybe this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought\n\n\\\u003eAfter checking the area for any more traps, you set up a fire with supplies from the rotted lean-to while Karah kills and brings back a mountain hare to cook\n\n\\\u003e After the hare is cooked you break it in half and give part to Karah\n\n\\\u003e She just sits coiled, staring into the fire\n\n“You’re not going to eat it?”\n\n\\\u003e“hhhnnnit’s bad enoughhh I had to kill itttt……Afterrr being banissshed…..my appetite for meat disappearrrred, or forrr that matter much of anythinnnng” Karah says in a low sad tone\n\n“But…you’re going to get sick”\n\n\\\u003eYou put the hare down\n\n”Well, if your not going to eat then I guess I am not going to either”\n\n\\\u003eKarah looks over at you\n\n“I am not going to force you to hunt for me if it makes you feel guilty”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnbutttt…..”\n\n\\\u003eKarah stares back at you in silence for a couple seconds, fire crackling\n\n\\\u003eKarah looks back down at the hare, sighing in a deep tone\n\n\\\u003eShe spears it with her arm and in one bite swallows it whole\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnthere happppyy?”\n\n\\\u003eYou smile picking up your piece of hare\n\n”Very” you say before biting into the greasy rump of flesh\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnYargethhhh O’ clan of mighhhhty Killrrrin?” Karah says in a sarcastic tone\n\n“Yes?”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnncan you tell me what thissss secrrret delivery I am helping you on isss?”\n\n“Well, I uhhhhh…..”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnncome on, I shared my storrry, now you tell me yourssss”\n\n\\\u003eYou stare up at the sky “ok, fine, I guess it couldn’t hurt at this point”\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid lays down staring at you, crossing its arms under it’s under its chin like a child listening to story time\n\n\\\u003eYou turn to look into the campfire after swallowing your last piece of hare and toss the bone into the embers\n\n“Well, as far as I know Killrin is an isolated city completely cut off to all outsiders. Even I don’t know a whole lot about the city other than passing word in the slums. Supposedly, All of the trade that is done for Killrin is done through its biggest partner Antock, the hub of trading in all the Northern Mountains. Killrin’s economy pretty much survives through creating some of the best mercs in all the land. And as far as rumor tells all of the money the mercs collect go directly back to the city. Both, Killrin and Antock have got to be some of the wealthiest cities in all of the north but its not like I’ve seen much of it come my way.”\n\n\\\u003eYou pause for a second to look at Karah to see if she’s still paying attention\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnnggoooo onnnn. Lesss about Killrrrin, I want to knnnnow about you. Yourrr personal storrry” she says nodding her head towards you\n\n“Well, there’s not much to tell about me to be honest, Killrinians live by a strict military and honor code and unfortunately, I’ve always been a bit “soft” for Killrin’s liking. When I was a child, I failed the mandatory training for all of Killrin’s males. My punishment was to be exiled outside the city walls to a large encampment also known as “the slums”. Eventually, I was given a “second chance” by becoming a messenger. Ever since then I’ve spent my whole life delivering messages between Killrin and the other mountain cities.\n\n\\\u003eYou take a deep breath and scratch your neck\n\n“It’s still a pretty good life compared with living alone in the mountains, even if we are living off the scraps from the main city. You honestly couldn’t make it out here for very long without some supplies from the cities. “\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnyou still haven’t told me about the missssion”\n\n\\\u003eYou try to swallow but your mouth is dry\n\n“Welll….I…If I fail this delivery….. Killrin will have my head”\n\n\\\u003eKarah abruptly sits back up with what you guess was a shocked reaction\n\n“Before I got pounced by those ratbirds I had travel pack that contained very important messages and some jewelry that needed delivery to Antock”\n\n“Before I left, the captain that handed me the messages said they were of the highest order, I would get a hefty reward and promotion If completed on time…And if not…”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnif notttt?”\n\n“I would be killed….Even Antock would behead me If I came to them empty handed”\n\n\\\u003eKarah brushes some dry grass off of her stomach with her claws and looks at you\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnn you needddd to leave therrrre, you can’t live like thisss”\n\n“In this condition? I am a fucking cripple right now!” you said pointing to your legs\n\n“Anyway, they would just send their mercs after me if I fled, there’s nowhere in the realm I could run to get away from their reach”\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to choke up, as tears begin to roll down your scarred face\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid just shakes its long head back and forth before sliding up behind you and lying down in the grass bed your sitting on\n\n\\\u003eIt grabs you with its long arms and pulls you close as you stifle a sob\n\n“Hey!”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhnnnnjust go to sleep, everything will be betterrr in the morrrning, then we can get thosssse rat fucksss ”\n\n\\\u003eKarah lets out a bellowing purr that reverberates against your back, calming you down as you lay your head against her chest.\n\n\\\u003eYou feel the bottom of her chin snuggle into your hair as she rumbles with heavy breathing\n\n\\\u003eYou shut your eyes and fall into a deep sleep, completely safe in the arms of the baxxid\n\n\\\u003eThe air blows gentle, filled with the smoky scent of a dying campfire and wet wood\n\n  \n\n  \n\n\\\u003eThe next couple days are a series of disarming complex traps and following stench and discarded trash of yinglets\n\n\\\u003eYou spend the nights with Karah huddled around the fire cooking, talking and joking until you both fall asleep together\n\n\\\u003eYou haven’t been around another person, human or otherwise, for this long in...well since you got banished to the outside slums\n\n\\\u003eEveryone keeps to themselves and fends for themselves in the slums\n\n\\\u003eIt suddenly hits you how lonely you’ve been most of your life\n\n\\\u003eYou look at Karah moving next to you and feel warmth in your chest\n\n\\\u003eYou pick up your pace to try an match her as she easily glides over the rocks\n\n\\\u003eYour body has begun to feel better, your ribs are still sore but the swelling has gone down across your body and you’ve even managed to begin limping on both feet\n\n\\*Well…that’s pretty good for someone who fell down a fucking canyon\n\n\\\u003eLater in the evening as you head down a wide main trail covered in trees, you see what looks to be a tiny body in the distance\n\n\\\u003eYou approach as quietly as possible, trying to hide your location among the brush and rocks\n\n\\\u003eThe closer you get, you realize it’s a yinglet body lanced into the ground by a short sword\n\n\\*My short sword!\n\n\\\u003eYou poke the body with a stick to see if there are any traps\n\n\\\u003eNothing\n\n\\\u003eThe look on the yinglet’s face is one of fear\n\n\\\u003e”hhnnnguessing he pisssed off the wrong femmmmale? Said Karah examining the body\n\n\\\u003eYou try to pull the sword out of the ground but it’s really lodged in hard\n\n\\*Yeah, really pissed her off\n\n“Yeah her name’s Zeska, she’s a nasty piece of work, she’s the one who jumped me with her gang of hundreds of scavs”\n\n\\\u003e”hhnnni’ve never heardddd of a gang of yingletssss largerrrr than ten or so, they’re usssually too disorgannnnized”\n\n\\\u003eYou wiggle it around for a couple of minutes before it comes sliding out of the dirt as the yinglets carcass spurts blood\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnit’s still freshhhh. We’re not farrr nowww”\n\n\\\u003eYou wipe off the blade with a piece of discarded cloth\n\n\\\u003eYou find the scabbard and belt not far from the body, along with a small dagger you slip into your pocket\n\n\\\u003eIt feels good to finally have some sort of weapon back in your hands\n\n\\\u003e You look up from the sword around your waist to see Karah staring at you\n\n\\*Why do I feel like that’s a look of concern?\n\n\\\u003e”What?”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnare you surrre you want to go thrrrough with thissss? Killrin cannn survive with one lessss messengerrrr dying for its caussse, forget your deliverrrry, you need to run farrrr away from herrrre, away from the mountains Yarrrrgeth”\n\n\\\u003eYour hands begin to tremble and you feel your vision going faint\n\n”I still need to complete my mission, I still need to finish what Killrin has asked of me,” you say in a shaky voice\n\n\\\u003eKarah lets out deep and bellowing sigh “Yarrrgeth, what did theyyy do to youuuu? Beat you everydayyyy of your life until you complieddd? Until you had no otherrrrr choiccce? You always have a choiccce Yargeth, you need to think for yourselfff, Why do you want thissss miserrrrable life? Being trrrreated like theirrrr dog?”\n\n\\\u003eFor a split second your mind goes completely white with images flooding your mind\n\n\\\u003eYou suddenly feel incredibly small, your back being struck with a piece of leather, day after day for what feels like an eternity\n\n\\\u003eA large shadowed figure screams at you while slapping you in the face and choking your throat\n\n\\\u003eIt’s impossible to breath\n\n\\\u003eYour handed a knife and told by the figure to slit the prisoners throat\n\n\\\u003eThere’s a dark skinned woman tied to pole in the center of a courtyard sobbing\n\n\\\u003eYou take one look as her and drop the knife as you begin to cry as well\n\n\\\u003eThe shadowed figure punches you across the face knocking you out cold\n\n\\\u003eNext thing you know your naked, sobbing to yourself as you pound the gate of Killrin with your fists until the skin peels and blood begins to pour\n\n\\\u003e”Let me in….please……I promise..I’ll ….be…stronger…please…”\n\n\\\u003e”hhnYargethhh?” Karah says clacking her arms against each other trying to snap you out of your trance\n\n\\\u003eWith your right fist to your chest you yell in robotic recital ”I am Killrin, We are of the highest honor and code, The purest of blood!, Killrin do not fail, and never shall we fall!”\n\n\\\u003eTears are pouring from your eyes staring straight ahead at nothing\n\n\\\u003eKarah slides up closer to you cocking her head with concern “hhhnnnYargetthhhh? Honorrrr? Purrrrityyy? What arrre you talkinnnggg aboutttt? Pleassse”\n\n\\\u003eShe rubs a claw up and down you shoulder trying to calm you down\n\n\\\u003e You snap your head towards Karah with piercing bloodlust as you shove her arm away from you “Honor and purity is something I wouldn’t expect from a simple, disgusting, muck-eating worm” you say in a tone sounding like a completely different person\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eKarah turns her head away from you shrinking back a couple feet\n\n\\\u003eYou finally snap back to reality shaking your head, as your hands and body tremble\n\n\\\u003eYou look back to your sword and realize that your left hand had begun to draw it from its scabbard\n\n\\\u003eYou slide the sword back into the scabbard and continue walking as Karah follows from a distance\n\n“…Regardless of whether you think I should do this or not, this band of yinglets need to be cleared off of this mountain, for everyone’s safety, I am not going to let them kill anymore innocent travelers. Now are you still with me?”\n\n\\\u003eFrom behind you, you hear a very low almost inaudible “hhhnnyess”\n\n\\\u003eYou both travel in silence for a while all while finding more yinglet bodies strewn amongst the trees, all with scared looks on their faces. All with the same black clan tag as Zeska\n\n\\*The sooner I kill this yinglet bitch the better. That is if she doesn’t kill all her own men first\n\n\\\u003eAs the sun goes down you set up a fire in an abandoned fire pit the yinglets left behind\n\n\\\u003eNeither you nor Karah feels much like eating so you quickly gather materials from the yinglets to make your beds\n\n\\\u003eYou both lay down on separate ends of the fire\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to shiver as your back is exposed to the cold\n\n\\\u003eTonight’s the first night you did not share a bed since meeting\n\n\\*What’s gotten into her? What did I do?\n\n\\\u003eSuddenly you feel all alone just like in the slums, a small scared child\n\n\\\u003eYou try to sleep but everywhere you toss and turn, bodies of dead yinglets stare back with varying degrees of odd facial expressions\n\n\\*It’s gonna be a long night\n\n\\\u003eThe air blows violently through the corpses surrounding you creating the sound of whispers as the air reeks of iron and muck\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eYou awake to swarms of flies running all over your body\n\n\\\u003eAt first you think you’re in a nightmare, but then the stench of ripe hot death reaches your nostrils\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet bodies are beginning to rot\n\n\\*Damn, why did we camp here?\n\n\\\u003eKarah is already twenty steps ahead, waiting for you down at the far end of the trail\n\n\\\u003eYou collect your sword and belongings and get out of the plague of black flies as quickly as possible while dry heaving the whole time\n\n\\\u003eGood thing you didn’t eat the night before or you’d surely be puking all over the place\n\n\\\u003eAs you walk you realize that your gait is back to normal and you stand up straight with renewed confidence as you begin to feel like your old self again\n\n\\\u003eYou leave the crutches leaning against a tree and continue down the trail\n\n\\*Just in time to teach some scavs a lesson\n\n\\\u003eAs you get close to Karah she turns around and begins down the trail, keeping her distance\n\n\\\u003eYou feel uneasy as you both travel in silence for what feels like hours, Karah doesn’t even look back at you, not even to acknowledge your presence\n\n\\*What has gotten into her? She’s usually really talkative\n\n\\\u003eEventually you decide you’ve had enough of the silent treatment and run as best as you can in front of her\n\n\\\u003eYou block her path, extending you arms and legs in a joking manner with a wide smile\n\n\\\u003eShe simply slithers around you and keeps going down the trail\n\n\\\u003eYou turn around and cup your hands around your mouth\n\n“HEY KARAH IAM OVER HERE YOU KNOW”\n\n\\\u003eShe stops for a second but keeps going\n\n\\\u003eYou run after her, saying her name over and over again like a persistent child\n\n\\\u003eEventually, you run out of breath and have to stop\n\n\\\u003eYou yell out to her, “WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM!?”\n\n\\\u003eKarah quickly spins around, sliding up into your face in the matter of a second\n\n\\\u003eShe leans over you and glares you down with her deep black eyes\n\n\\\u003e”HHHNNNDO YOU NOT REMEMBERRRR A SINGLE FUCKINGGG THINGGGG YOU SAID LAST NIGHTTTT? ARE YOU DENSSSSE? HUMANNNN?” Karah said with more viciousness and venom than Yargeth had ever seen a baxxid use\n\n\\\u003eYou try to recall but you come up blank, last night seems like a blurry spot in the back of your mind\n\n“Noooo? Did I say your cooking was bad?” You try to say to lighten the mood\n\n\\\u003eKarah backs down from you and moves back a couple inches\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnwe didn’t eat last nighhhht……you serioussssly don’t rememberrrr anything?” she says\n\n“Honestly, I don’t remember last night after I found my sword.”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnyouuu called me a disgustingggg muck-eating worrrrm after spewing off a bunch of linessss about honorrr and purityyy. Youuu sounded like a completely different personnn”\n\n\\\u003eYour face goes white, “no, why would I do that? Karah Iam sorry but I seriously don’t remember any of that, you have to believe me, why would I say that to you?”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnn you tell meee O’ mighttttyyy Killrinnnn”\n\n\\\u003eYou shift your weight feeling incredibly uncomfortable\n\n“There’s something I need to tell you”\n\n\\\u003eLetting out a hiss, Karah folds her arms “hhhnnngggoooo oonn”\n\n“I don’t remember much of my early life. In fact, I don’t really remember it at all. Some days it feels as if I’ve always been this age living in the slum. Anything they did to me as a child, that is a different life. Hell, it might as well be a different reality. Maybe they made me recite some dogmatic militaristic nonsense but in reality I couldn’t tell you what any of it was. My mind, I think just wants to forget any of that happened. But somewhere deep in my psyche that little boy still exists, still jumps to the order of Killrin because the alternative is punishment...”\n\n\\\u003e”hhnnnyou mean they torturedddd youuuu, brainwashed youu?”\n\n\\\u003eYou lower your head and look down at your feet like a sad puppy\n\n\\\u003eKarah shook her head once more in what was probably a look of pity and turned around, continuing down the path\n\n“Karah you have to believe me that I don’t believe in that vile rhetoric, please, I’ve tried my whole life to keep it out of my mind”\n\n\\\u003eTurning her head around “hhhnnI want to believvvve you but……”, Karah turns back to the trail with a defiance in her voice, “hhhnnnncome on…..don’t youuuu havvvve a missionnnn to complete O’ pure Killrinnnnn great destroyerrr of yinglets”\n\n\\\u003eYou stand there for a bit before slowly walking a distance behind Karah\n\n\\\u003eThe mountain wind feels as stagnant as a bog and smells of sulfur\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eYou didn’t even bother setting up camp last night\n\n\\\u003eYou and Karah lay on opposites sides of a cliffside trail\n\n\\\u003eYou stayed up most of the night sitting against the rock wall, sword in your lap in case of an ambush\n\n\\\u003eYou feel like shit. Your wounds are almost completely healed but you still feel like shit internally and mentally.\n\n\\\u003eWhy’d you have to go and make Karah upset like that after everything she’s done for you?\n\n\\*Why do you care if you hurt a worm?\n\n\\\u003eYou slap yourself a couple times\n\n\\\u003eYou’re not that person anymore\n\n\\\u003eAnd you haven’t been for a very long time\n\n\\\u003eBut still in the back of your mind, you know its there waiting to pounce\n\n“Goddammit that’s not me” you say to yourself\n\n\\\u003eYou see the sun rising in the distance but black clouds quickly swallow it whole, followed soon after by thunder and rain\n\n\\\u003eYou gather your things and begin to head towards Karah’s end of the trail\n\n\\\u003eShe’s already up and moving, once again in silence as rain soaks your skin and hair \\\u003elighting cracks off in the distance\n\n\\\u003eAfter a couple hours of walking the trail you come to a stream and a clearing full of low lying brush\n\n\\\u003eIn the clearing appears to be the heavily scattered ruins of an ancient castle\n\n\\*It’s amazing any part of it is still standing at all\n\n\\\u003eKarah crosses the stream and hides behind some brush\n\n\\*She senses something\n\n\\\u003eYou run up and duck down next to her\n\n\\\u003eIn the lowest voice a baxxid can possibly use Karah says “hhhnnnthey’re here, thhhe smell is overwhelmingggg”\n\n“Ok, I am going to try an get the scrolls and get out as quick as I can”\n\n\\\u003eYou put your hand on Karah’s shoulder\n\n“If anything happens to me, promise me you’ll get yourself to safety, I don’t want to see you get hurt for my mistakes, ok?”\n\n\\\u003eKarah stares at you for a couple seconds before turning her head\n\n“hhhnnnplease be carefulll, don’t do anythinnnng stupiddd”\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to crawl on the ground as quiet and inconspicuous as you possible can from brush to brush\n\n\\\u003eAs you get closer to the remains of the castle you quicken your pace, noticing a dying campfire out front\n\n\\*So they were here\n\n\\\u003eYou crouch behind chunks of scattered ruins as you get closer to the castle\n\n\\\u003eIt’s dead silent except for the patter of rain on stone and thunder in the distance\n\n\\\u003eYou make one last run for the gate to the castle\n\n\\\u003eA loud whistling noise shrieks through the air getting closer until….\n\n\\\u003eSNAP!\n\n\\\u003e A small spear tears through the bone and flesh in your right thigh\n\n\\\u003eYou scream in bloodcurdling pain collapsing to the ground\n\n\\\u003eA bolt is sticks out both ends of your thigh, covered in gore and sinews\n\n\\\u003eYou quickly try to remove the large bolt\n\n\\\u003eYour hands slip, covered in blood and rain\n\n\\\u003eYou cry out once more\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a cackling in the distance\n\n\\\u003e”Bullseye! See boys? Zhat’s how you deal with ze human scum”\n\n\\\u003e Hundreds of tiny cheers can be heard coming from the ruins\n\n\\\u003eYou look around to see hundreds of yinglets with motleys of different armor, climbing out from the ruins\n\n\\\u003eYou see Zeska climb off the top of a human sized crossbow, perched on a ruin stone like a small cannon in the distance\n\n\\\u003eShe pulls out her curved blade and begins to walk towards you\n\n\\\u003e”Ahh ze filzy Killrin human returns to us once more”\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglets boo and hiss in a loud frenzy, throwing trash and curses as they come out of the ruins to surround you and Zeska in a giant circle\n\n\\\u003e”I zought I put you out of your misery you scum, guess I’ll just have to try harder zis time”\n\n\\\u003eZeska starts to run towards you\n\n\\\u003eYou reach down to pull out your short sword\n\n\\\u003eBut you’re too late\n\n\\\u003eZeska slashes you across your left arm, dropping the sword\n\n\\\u003eZeska kicks away the blade\n\n\\\u003eYou sit, propped on your knees, covered in mud and blood holding your bleeding left arm\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to feel woozy and your vision blurry\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet crowd goes nuts, howling with glee and lobbing rocks. Only a few make their mark\n\n\\*One chance left\n\n\\\u003eAs Zeska comes up behind you, you pull the small dagger from your right pocket, striking backwards\n\n\\\u003eYou miss, stabbing the dagger into the muck as she jumps back a step\n\n\\\u003eZeska slashes your right hand and then back across your face knocking you facedown into the mud\n\n\\\u003eShe lifts your head from the mud by your hair and puts a leg on your broken ribs, causing pain to writhe through your chest like fire\n\n\\\u003e”Do you zhink zhat just because I am yinglet I am stupid?” as she slams your face back into the muck\n\n\\\u003e”Do you zhink zhat just because I am a “lesser form” zhat makes me deserving of deazh? I zhink not. And I zhink neizhier does your friend.\n\n\\\u003eYou pick your head out of the muck and try to stand up\n\n\\\u003e”Come on out my baxxid friend, I can smell your reptilian odor from a million miles away. My gang here means you no harm. We have ze same enemy. Yes? We have to stick togezher Yes?”\n\n\\\u003eKarah appears from behind a bush and slowly moves forward as the sea of yinglets part ways, letting here into the circle to see the pathetic mass struggling on the ground\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnwhat do you meannnn stick togetherrrr? Why would I runnnn with a pack of murderssss like youuu? Justtt let the humannnn go, pleassse.”\n\n\\\u003eA look of shock goes over Zeska’s face as she begins to cackle loudly\n\n\\\u003e“You’ve got to be joking me! Do you realize what you are dealing wizh here little snake?”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnn you’re murdererssss. You triedddd killinnng Yargethhh. How mannny more have you killedddd? You even killedddd your own mennn. We saw them back along the trail murrrdered in cold bloodddd, you heartlesss bitchhhh”\n\n\\\u003eZeska immediately stopped laughing as a hard scowl crossed her face\n\n\\\u003e”Zhose were a troop of my scouts, zhey must have been ambushed by one of ze Killrin squads. zhey sweep ze mountain occasionally “lessers” or anyone who would interfere wizh zheir trade routes.”\n\n\\\u003eKarah tilts her head in a confused but emotionless look “hhhnnwhattt?”\n\n\\\u003e”Looky here mister snake, you’re on the wrong side.” Zeska says putting away her curved blade and walking towards Karah\n\n\\\u003e”The Killrin, Antock, and all ze lesser mountain cities want us dead, zilch, poof, gone!” Zeska says, waving her arms as the crowd booed\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnI don’t understandddd whyyy?”\n\n\\\u003e”Come on your not zhat dumb! zhey don’t want just yinglets dead, zhey want every ‘lesser’ species dead, and every non-mountain fairing human nords. Zheir amassing an army to descend from ze mountains and burn ze land and your helping zhem deliver messages to one anozher!”\n\n\\\u003eYou try to prop yourself up, “no that can’t be true, I lived among them my whole life and I never heard anything like this”\n\n\\\u003e”Zhat because zhey brainwashed you dummy! Zeska said swirling a finger around her head looking at you\n\n\\\u003e”Killrin are as close to worker bees as humans come! You don’t zhink what your doing is wrong because zhey scrambled your brain like an egg idiot! Have you actually read one of ze messages ze Killrin send to Antock!\n\n“No I haven’t, It’s punishable by death” you say in a weak voice immediately realizing how recited it sounds\n\n\\\u003eZeska rolls her eyes, snapping her fingers as a yinglet comes up to her with Yargeth’s leather travelpack\n\nZeska reaches into the pack, pulling out one of the scrolls, breaking the wax Killrin seal and unraveling it\n\n\\\u003eZeska holds the scroll up to Karah as she begins to read\n\n\\\u003ejoining of forces\n\n\\\u003epurging of “lessers”\n\n\\\u003epurifying the lower lands\n\n\\\u003eAll with the official seal of house Killrin, Antock, and the lesser houses\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnit’s true, its allll trrrue” said Karah looking back down towards you\n\n”I swear, I didn’t know, Karah you have to believe that’s not me, I just delivered the messages, I didn’t know. Killrin doesn’t tell me anything. Karah!”\n\n\\\u003eZeska rolls up the scroll back into the pack and kicks your head back down into the muck\n\n\\\u003e”Of course you didn’t know, little bee scum, you just do as you’re told” said Zeska in a mocking voice\n\n\\\u003eZeska strolls over to Karah and raps a hand on one of her scythe arms\n\n\\\u003e”You know we could really use a natural killing machine like yourself in our ranks, it could help even our odds”\n\n\\\u003eZeska looks up into Karah’s face with a large grin and points towards you “All you have to do is kill ze human Killrin scum”\n\n\\\u003eAll the yinglets cheer Karah on “Kill!,Kill!,Kill!,Kill!”\n\n\\\u003eYou look up into Karah’s face as she stares motionless back towards you\n\n\\\u003eThe chanting gets louder and louder until you can’t even hear the rain\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnnnoooo” says Karah as the cheering dies down\n\n\\\u003eA confused look crosses Zeska’s face cupping a hand to her ear “come again? Little snake?”\n\n\\\u003e“hhhnnnnoooo morrre killingggg, I will not kill forrrr you or anyone elsssse. Jussst hand over the scrollssss and let the humannnn go”\n\n\\\u003eZeska’s face is replaced with anger as she pulls out her curved blade and begins walking over towards you\n\n\\\u003e”I was afraid of zhat, boys kill ze snake, I’ll get ze human scum”\n\n\\\u003eHundreds of yinglets gleefully descend on Karah stabbing her repeatedly with spears as Zeska picks your head out of the muck once more and slashes her knife across your throat spraying blood across the ground\n\n\\\u003e”HHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Karah roars in one of the most mountain-moving, earth-shattering sounds you’ve ever heard in your life\n\n\\\u003eKarah explodes from the mound of yinglets, throwing her arms into the air as the scavs go flying in all directions, landing on the ground all around you\n\n\\\u003eShe rakes her claws in a giant circle around her bloodying and knocking many yinglets unconscious\n\n\\\u003eMost of the yinglets begin to scatter in all directions, throwing their weapons to the ground and running\n\n\\\u003eZeska begins to raise her blade over her head, about to plunge it straight through the back of your chest\n\n\\\u003eKarah spots Zeska and charges her like an loose arrow, tackling her to the ground\n\n\\\u003eEntrapped in Karah’s arms, Zeska takes her curved blade and slashs Karah’s side\n\n\\\u003eKarah drops Zeska, leaning over in pain as blood spills from her side\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet excitedly tosses her blade back and forth between her hands like a knife dancer\n\n\\\u003e”Come on little worm scum, zhere’s more where zat came from”\n\n\\\u003eZeska begins to charge Karah with both hands on her blade\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet leaps into the air, bringing the blade down towards Karah’s cheast\n\n\\\u003eKarah raises both her arms to shield her chest as the blade shatters on contact\n\n\\\u003eZeska falls back, staring at the shower of metal fragments\n\n\\\u003e”Zhat was my favorite blade you stupid wo…!”\n\n\\\u003eKarah leaps, plowing Zeska into the castle wall with all of her weight as the yinglet’s head cracks against the stone, knocking her unconscious\n\n\\\u003eZeska’s body slumps into the mud\n\n\\\u003eSome yinglet stragglers try throwing rocks at Karah but as soon as she turns her head they run away screeching, arms flailing\n\n\\\u003eKarah moves back over to you and rolls over your pale lifeless body\n\n\\\u003eShe lowers her head to hear for a heartbeat\n\nthump……..thump….\n\n\\\u003eShe slithers as fast as she can into the woods to find a yinglet\n\n\\\u003eKarah finds one hiding behind the trunk of a tree, shaking with its hands over its head\n\n\\\u003eShe picks it up by its scruff in her mouth as it yelps “Please don’t eat me! Mister snake Please….”\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnsshhuuuttt uppp” Karah growls\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet goes silent and limp\n\n\\\u003e Karah drops the yinglet beside your body and nods to the burning sticks in the dying campfire next to you\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhnnnssseal hisss wounds and I won’t have to kill youuuu”\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet jumps up and as fast as it could, grabs a still burning piece of char stick\n\n\\\u003eIt proceeds to sear all your wounds\n\n\\\u003eYou can hear a sizzling noise as the tip of the stick melts and reseals your flesh\n\n\\\u003eYou moan in pain\n\n\\\u003eThe baxxid snaps off the large bolt lodged in your right thigh with its mouth as the yinglet brings another red hot piece of coal sealing off the last of the muscle\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnoww mee” says Karah\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet quickly runs around sealing off hundreds of little holes stabbed into the\n\nBaxxid’s flesh along wit the long cut on its side from Zeska\n\n\\\u003eAfter it’s all done, the yinglet drops the stick of coal and pleads with the Karah\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnnggggooooo nooowww before I channnge my minddd” She says with a menacing growl\n\n\\\u003eThe yinglet sprints off as fast as it can, hands in the air zigzagging wildly while crying\n\n\\\u003eKarah turns around to pick up Yargeth’s travelpack in her mouth still full of scrolls and treasure from Killrin but something doesn’t feel right\n\n\\\u003eKarah turns back to look at the castle\n\n\\\u003eZeska’s gone\n\n\\\u003eAll that’s left are some staggered muddy pawprints left on the castle wall\n\n\\\u003eKarah quickly scoops up the nape of your shirt and strap to the travel pack in her mouth and begins to move away from the castle\n\n\\\u003eIts slow going as the last of adrenaline seeps out of Karah’s body to be replaced by exhaustion and blood loss from hundreds of tiny spear wounds\n\n\\\u003eShe keeps going, determined to get you to safety and as far away from the ruins as possible\n\n\\\u003eHours pass as she becomes weaker and weaker eventually making her way to a grassy ditch in a flat field near the base of the mountain\n\n\\\u003e She collapses into a grassy ditch with all her weight\n\n\\\u003eShe holds you close in her long arms and wraps her tail around your lower body for warmth\n\n\\\u003eYou’re cold as ice\n\n\\\u003eBut your still breathing\n\n\\\u003eKarah nuzzles the top of your head once more and falls asleep\n\n\\\u003eThe mountain storms begin to part as the calm air brings forth the smell of moss and flowers under the starry sky\n\n  \n\n\\\u003eBeads of sweat roll down your face and over the burn scars across your neck and face\n\n\\\u003eThe salt stings your wounds like the venom of a wasp\n\n\\\u003eThe sun is blaring and for once its very hot outside, you can hear the bugs buzzing in the heat\n\n\\\u003eYou try to move but realize that your wrapped in Karah’s arms and tail\n\n\\\u003eYou panic for a second, fearing the worst as you try to shout her name\n\n\\\u003eOnly a low raspy voice comes out of your mouth\n\n\\\u003eZeska just barley missed your vocal chords but it’s still going to take a while for you to get back your full voice\n\n\\\u003eYou place your head against her chest\n\n\\\u003eYou hear breathing\n\n\\\u003eYou let out a sigh as you wriggle free from Karah’s grasp, crawling out into the ditch and reaching into your travelpack\n\n\\\u003eYou pull out your still full canteen and take a swig\n\n\\\u003eThe pain all over your body is immense, especially from your right thigh\n\n\\\u003eYou probably won’t be able to walk right ever again but after this whole ordeal your just happy to be alive. It really is a miracle either of you are still here.\n\n“Me and you must have nine lives I guess for what its worth” you say to Karah as she sleeps\n\n\\\u003eYou notice that the ditch is covered with beautiful strawberry plants\n\n\\\u003eThey smell sweet and ripe in the morning air\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to pick them the best you can without reopening any wounds\n\n\\\u003eIt still hurts like hell\n\n\\\u003eSoon you have a whole sack full of them\n\n\\\u003eKarah wakes up with a grumble\n\n“Hey I got us some breakfast, dig in”\n\n\\\u003e”hhnnnyou have any waterrr?”\n\n\\\u003eYou go to hand her the canteen as she stares back you and laughs\n\n“Oh yeah right….”\n\n\\\u003eYou get up and pour the rest of the canteen into Karah’s mouth as she swallows it in one gulp\n\n\\\u003eKarah then begins to eat some strawberries from the sack as you take a couple for yourself sitting back against the ditch\n\n“You know you saved me once again, Karah..…but……Why?”\n\n\\\u003e“hhhhnnnnwhat do you meannnn whyyy?”\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to say something but then fall silent\n\n\\\u003e“hhnnshut upppp you idiotttt, youuu knowww whhhyyyyy I did ittt”\n\n\\*yeah…..yeah…..I do\n\n\\\u003eYou dig around in your rucksack and pull out some expensive purple cloth with gold lace and a jeweled necklace\n\n“Well, since I won’t be needing these anymore…”\n\n\\\u003eYou hobble over to Karah and take off her tattered head covering, and rusted rings\n\n\\\u003eYou drape the purple cloth over her head and cut out the necessary holes for her fringes with a dagger from the rucksack\n\n\\\u003eYou snap the large gold necklace around her neck\n\n\\\u003eFinally, you kiss her on the top of her head before sitting back down on the grass\n\n“See, It looks way better on you then some fat fucking trademaster from Antock”\n\n\\\u003eYou both laugh as Karah covers her face with her arms\n\n\\*She’s cute when she blushes\n\n\\\u003e”hhhhnnnsooo now whatttt do we dddo? Where dddo we ggggo?”\n\n“Well, we’re both officially outcasts by now”, you say looking down into the travel pack to see all of the official documents from Killrin and Antock”\n\n“I guess we have to let the rest of the realm know what the northern mountain cities plan on doing” you say\n\n\\\u003eKarah seems to perk up immensely at the sound of that\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnyou mean yourrr no longer Killrin?”\n\n“In all honesty, I don’t think I ever was. I guess I never really fit in even in the slums but I was too afraid to leave the mountains. I didn’t know where I would go. I was so afraid of what Killrin would do to me if I left. Also, I guess I just felt I had no reason to leave” you say\n\n“But now I have a reason to leave and someone to leave it with” you say\n\n\\\u003eKarah begins to make the blushing motion again\n\n“So how about it? You follow me on one more mission to spread the message to as many surrounding nations as we can?”\n\n\\\u003eKarah begins to rise and slither under your right arm to support your leg\n\n\\\u003e”hhhnnnnsure buttttt thhhhis time promissse mee that we’ll avoiddd the all the bloodshedddd and stupidityyyy”\n\n\\\u003eYou laugh as you two begin to move slowly down the path leading out of the valley and out onto the main road to the nearest lower land city\n\n\\\u003eThe looming mountain castles of Killrin and Antock to your back begin to fade away in the mountain mist\n\n“I promise”"}