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[b][u][center]Training the Human

Chapter 3: Coalition Underfoot

For Guy_Threepwood

By Draconicon[/center][/u][/b]

It had been two days since the incident with the skunk assassin, and Lord Denar had suffered two other attacks in that time. Less than he'd expected, considering the threats that Sankun and his coalition had made against him, but the tiger wasn't going to complain about that. Not when everything else was balancing on the edge of a knife.

Lord Narrad and his rabbits had required two more fights to prove that the human was strong enough to warrant freedom, and one more besides that to bring the harassment to a stop. Two rabbits were still stuck in the infirmary, healing from their injuries after the fight, and the third had to walk around with bandages on his head.

[i]Still, at least they've learned, even if the others hadn't,[/i] the tiger thought, leaning forward over his horse as the sun continued to set behind him. The caravan would be coming to a halt, soon; the skunks and bears didn't like to travel at night, though his men could continue if they had to. They were in the minority, however…deeply in the minority. He doubted that Sankun's coalition would be able to declare open war, but if it came to that…

Denar shook his head, dismissing the thought. He would end the coalition tonight, and show them his power.

“Nnngh…"

He was so deep in his musings that he had almost forgotten that his slave was beneath him, but the groan brought him back to the moment. Chuckling, he looked down at the round, bare ass that was swallowing his cock with each step the horse took, and took one hand off of the reins to give it a spank.

The human jumped, of course, but it made him tighten up for a second or two.

“You're slacking off, slave."

“It's not like I can do much while I'm tied to the top of a horse, master."

The human's complaint was less bitter than it had once been, but the notes of annoyance were still there. A pity, of course, but it was definitely improving. The tiger would take that as a moderate success.

Still, he spanked the human again. He couldn't allow the slave to mouth off too much.

Picking up the pace – and feeling his cock pounding that hole a little harder as a result of the quicker movements – the tiger moved up the wagon line. His eyes flicked over the different cages, taking in the slaves, checking on their condition. Obviously tired and tanned from the sun, they looked like they were slowly losing the will to struggle. Where most had been screaming at the bars or glaring through them at the masters sliding by when they'd set out, now they were settled back, sitting in the corners of the cage and looking down, as if they couldn't pull together the energy to do anything else.

It was part of the breaking process. Most of them would be helpless by the time that they reached the capital, too eager to get out of the cage and hoping never to return that they would obey any order given to them.

[i]Perhaps I should have kept my slave in there for a while,[/i] the tiger thought. He dismissed the idea almost immediately. [i]Heh, with how stubborn he is, he would have started a riot on the second night. Possibly even gotten himself killed, and then where would all that potential be?[/i]

He chuckled, shaking his head as he kicked the horse, picking up the pace again and leaving his slave grunting and gasping from the sudden gallop. The tiger's cock was squeezed tight in that hole, which seemed to grip him more eagerly every day. He reached down, stroking that smooth, soft ass, and smiled.

“You're doing better and better as a toy, slave. It's a good thing that you're a quick learner, or I'd think that you might be better at this than fighting."

“Ugh…you know…I'd always be better at fighting."

“Yes, but something tells me that you're enjoying this more than you want to admit."

Silence. He knew he was right, and didn't push it; the human would admit it in due time.

They reached the front of the wagons, where the soldiers marched as a forward guard. They were mostly skunks, likely put here because there was no danger of someone striking the front of the caravan, while his own men guarded the back. He slowed as he came up to them, adjusted his chest armor, and matched their pace as he came up alongside. One of the skunks turned to him, and he nodded at the officer.

“How long until we stop for the night, soldier?"

“Another half hour."

“We only have the sun for another hour; do you plan to set up tents in the dark?"

“We're out in the open."

“Better to see anyone coming."

“…"

“Of course, it is up to your lord, but if he chooses to keep moving forward, it won't be him that receives the complaints from the others setting up their tents in the dark."

The skunk glared at him, but Denar only smirked in return. Admittedly, it was slightly unfair to drop that on top of the soldiers, to remind them that they were at the bottom of the food chain and wouldn't be getting away with hampering others regardless of the fact that they were following orders. It was petty, but it worked. The officer started calling out to his men to make a halt, and the wagons started slowing.

He started turning his horse, only for his slave to grunt and slap at his thighs. Denar looked down, just in time to see the human pointing off to the side, and a tingle of [i]something[/i] raise the fur on the back of his neck.

“Get down!"

His slave's keen eyes saved them both as he threw them over the side of the horse. A burning sphere went shooting through the air where he'd been sitting, and some of it caught the horse's mane. The screams of the burning mount filled the air, and everything devolved into a panic.

Grunting, he pulled himself free of his slave, his cock popping out of the human's slick hole and slapping against his belly as he got to his feet. A fireball like that required a mage – sometimes two – and he needed to find them before whoever it was got a better vantage point and made another attack.

[i]Two mages in Sankun's coalition…they're desperate, it looks like,[/i] he thought, his eyes flicking through the scattering skunks at the head of the column. Soldiers on the wagons were pulling their horses to a stop as his own mount went running, fleeing from a fire it couldn't escape. Other soldiers – bears, mostly – were working on settling down the slaves in the caravan, guarding them.

There was no sign of the mage, though.

“Slave. Describe what you saw."

“One fucker in a fancy set of steel armor, master," the human grunted, pulling himself to his feet. “Only one glove, though. Had the other one off while he was making the fireball."

“Anything about the one casting it?"

“He was a skunk. Um…nick in the left ear, I think."

That would narrow it down. Considering how prissy they could be about their appearances – though justifiably, in many cases – there weren't many that would allow that to remain. He nodded, taking a step forward –

[i]Tingle.[/i]

Only to step back as a crackling bolt of energy zapped the ground in front of him. If he'd kept walking, that would have taken off the bottom half of his leg.

“Where?"

“Top of the third wagon, master."

And so it was. A skunk on the third wagon was looking down at him, barehanded and with a nick on one ear. Denar glared at the mage, bending his knees slightly.

“Watch for more. Shout if you see anything, slave."

With that, he kicked off of the ground. All the years of training he'd put himself through launched him through the air at high speed, throwing him past one of the wagons and onto the top of the third. The roof of it crunched beneath his feet, and the skunk barely dodged backwards enough to avoid his first kick.

The second and third, however, broke the mage's casting arm, shattering it at the wrist and elbow.

Denar pushed down, trapping the mage's broken arm underneath his heel, and – despite being half-naked – glared down at his attacker.

“Name yourself."

“…"

He pressed down, harder, and gave a twist of his heel for good measure. When the screaming stopped, he repeated his command.

“Name yourself."

“Eck…Eckrin…"

“You are not nobility."

The skunk shook his head.

“You are under one?"

“Yes."

“Within Sankun's plot?"

“Ugh…yes."

“Was this sanctioned?"

“…"

“Was." Stomp. “This." Scream. “Sanctioned?"

“YES! By Lord Sankun, he sanctioned it against you!"

[i]But not by someone higher than him. The General wouldn't have the authority to make an order of execution on me; maybe on lower lords, but not me. And Sankun's coalition isn't supported by the lords, or he'd be able to execute me with the help of other soldiers,[/i] he thought. [i]A last-ditch effort before I could show how I've improved my slave.[/i]

Sankun would have been furious at such progress, not least because it showed that the humans were capable of learning to be equal to the other species in the world. Half of the slave trade focused on the fact that humans were weaker, less suited to take care of themselves than their owners. Taking that away, showing their capability, would leave some of the bigger traders with less moral rights than they had. The same legality, but it would open the doors to some of the dragon arguments for ending the whole thing.

Not that it mattered to him. He cared about his legacy, about his style being passed on, being shown as something strong and worthy. If it happened to be a human to start that, so be it.

He shook his head at the skunk beneath him, and lifted his foot from the broken arm. A final kick knocked the mage out, and he dismounted from the wagon, shaking his head as he walked back to his slave.

“Get the tent set up, and bring me the rest of my armor. As soon as it's ready, we're paying the coalition a visit."

“What kind of 'visit' are we talking about here?"

“The kind that ends with a great deal of screaming."

“…I like that idea, master."

“That's why I picked you."

#

Rick wasn't sure what would happen when they got to the other tent, but his master was confident, so he took some of that for himself.

[i]He's gonna kill them, I bet. I mean, what else are we gonna do? They tried to kill him…and me.[/i]

It was weird, thinking of the offense of the tiger being killed as the more important thing. He hadn't thought that Denar mattered to him that much, but then again, the tiger had done a lot to help him out over the short time that they had known each other. The fighting training had been the least of it, when one got right down to it, and he was surprised to find that he was actually looking forward to this beatdown. Not just for getting the chance to show off, but also to see his master get revenge.

That wasn't to say that he didn't have a few thoughts as to escaping, at some point. The chance had been there when the skunk was attacking his master, but he'd put it aside at that point. There was no way that he was getting out of there without catching someone's attention, and there were far worse masters than Denar among the group. He wasn't going to risk that, when he had a good…well, tolerable thing going.

But he wasn't going to give up. Not just yet.

He didn't even blush as he walked naked through the camp, completely bare compared to the tiger at his side. Not even a bit of cloth to cover his dick, or to keep his ass from being ogled as they walked by some of the bigger barracks. He felt clawed hands and slippery fingers working their way around his groin and towards the back every time that he turned around, and despite himself, he was getting hard from all the attention.

“Master, is that ever going to stop?"

“Unlikely, slave. There are too many exotic things to your body for us to just ignore it."

He grumbled under his breath. So much for people eventually getting used to him. But…well, it was something he could tolerate.

They walked through a good deal of the camp, most of the tents only half-raised, others still in the process of being unpacked. Only the nobles seemed to have their tents put together already, and unlike the last few days, it wasn't set up like a town around the wagon line. Instead, it was almost like everyone had just stopped and put up their tent where they happened to be.

Which still didn't explain the fortifications around the tent of this Lord Sankun. Wooden planks, bits of half-overturned wagon pieces, and pieces of armor had been thrown down in the gaps between rising tents and the bigger one in the center. Rick shook his head.

“Not really that bothered about looking guilty, is he?"

“No. But he only has to kill me for his guilt to be washed away."

“Wouldn't someone else here tell someone about what he did?"

“His offense wasn't against them, but against me. If he can kill me, then the offended is not there to state that offense was given."

“You have some fucking weird rules…master."

“Perhaps compared to humans. It works for us, however."

[i]Yeah, we'll see about that.[/i] He'd noticed that him living wasn't something that would help. It was something to hope for, he supposed – if Denar died, it didn't mean that he'd have an immediate death sentence – but he preferred to hope for victory.

They stopped by the front cart that blocked the way in, and the tiger gestured at him.

“Break it."

“You…think I can?"

“You broke the skulls of multiple rabbits beneath your heel. If you've been training properly, you can do this."

“Well…"

He paused, then swept his leg up over his head. In the days past, there was no way that he could have managed that sort of flexibility, but these days, it came all too natural. His exposure was something that he was still getting used to, the feeling of air brushing beneath his balls and against his ass, but the feeling of power and muscle tone was worth it.

He held it there, and then brought his leg down on the middle of the cart. The wood held for a split second, and then splintered beneath his leg, crashing apart.

The sight of such easy destruction left him staring, his jaw dropping at how easily he had accomplished that. There were martial artist experts back home that couldn't have broken something that easily…particularly not after training for barely a week, if that.

[i]How…what is wrong with this world?[/i] he thought to himself, following the tiger through the splintered wreckage. [i]There's no way that I should be this strong already. I should…I should be a lot weaker than this…how…[/i]

It didn't matter, he decided. He pushed it out of his head, and forced himself to think about what was coming up. There were people in that tent that wanted him and his master dead, and the last thing that he needed was to be distracted while they were plotting.

They were almost at the big, silver and blue tent when the flaps opened, and a big, armor-clad grizzly bear came out. He held a sword in hand, and his master stopped in front of him. One hand stopped him, as well.

“You're insisting on standing with them, General?" his master asked.

“They are correct in many ways, Lord Denar. You are breaking the customs, and you are teaching him how to fight. Slaves should not be allowed such skills."

“You believe that they are that far beneath us?"

“I have seen what you've taught him, and I saw what he did to the cart." The bear shook his head. “There's something wrong. You've given him potions, or hired a mage, or something. There is no way that a human could learn how to do these things."

“You saying that I can't fight, you ass?"

Both the tiger and the bear looked down at him, and for a split second, it took everything that Rick had to not look away. Embarrassment heaped itself high on him…and then the moment passed, and he went back to glaring.

“What, you think I can't talk like you? That I shouldn't? Look, I might be a slave, but I'm a fighter. That's why Master Denar decided to keep me. You don't like it? Show me what you got."

“I will not fight a slave. You will merely dirty my sword with your blood."

“Yeah? Try me."

“…Yes, I believe that would be a good challenge for you, General." His master chuckled. “Fight my slave. If you can win, I'll give them another day to try and make a hit on me."

The grizzly blinked, and so did Rick. He'd been talking out of his ass, angry more than anything else; he didn't have a weapon, didn't have armor, and he was a good bit smaller than the big bear. If the master thought he could win, he was insane.

Yet, the tiger stepped aside, giving the pair of them fighting space. Rick looked up at the General, the grizzly standing a good three feet taller than him, and covered in steel from shoulders to feet. There was no weak point save for the head, and even his leg stretched out over his own head wouldn't reach that high.

The bear shook his head, shifting his blade around.

“This is nothing personal, slave. If shedding your blood keeps this from escalating, however, I am happy to do it."

“Oh, piss off."

The first blow came almost too fast to see, the bear's sword chop almost taking off his arm. If it hadn't been for the slight 'tink' of the armor clicking against itself, he wouldn't have known to move at all. The blow had come out of nowhere…

He rolled to the side, and then forward to avoid another blow. The bear's thrust was enough to give him space to slide between the armored legs, coming up on the other side. Rick threw a punch, only for the blow to bounce off the bear's armor and echo through the camp. His hand stung, and he was half-sure that he'd broken at least one finger.

“You are stupid, slave. There is no getting through this armor."

[i]Well, I'm gonna have to find a way. I doubt I'm climbing up your back or anything, and there's no way that I'm getting that weapon off of you,[/i] he thought as he worked to stay behind the bear, dodging left and right as the General tried to turn and face him. It was hard to anticipate the movements, but as the fight went on, he found it easier and easier. Almost like he was getting used to it.

Or…or like he was slipping back into the fighting style.

[i]The Way of the Stalking Cat is to wait, to learn your opponent until you can make that final, world-ending strike,[/i] he remembered his master saying. [i]As you learn, your opponent will seem slower, but it is really you learning how he moves, seeing the signs and being able to respond faster. There is nothing magical about it, just knowledge and power, and how you use it.[/i]

Well, it was definitely getting easier to avoid the blows, that much was certain. He was ducking and dodging with ease, putting himself under strikes and making sure he wasn't in place when the heavy chops came down. The sword never stuck to the ground, never stayed in place long enough for him to strike back, however. Everything was just…too fast, too protected.

[i]Unless…[/i]

He was avoiding striking at the armor because he thought that there was no way that a kick could get through. Yet, he'd managed to crack through the cart with a proper blow. If he could time it right…

Rick slid left and right, ducking and weaving around the horizontal chops, the blade flashing in midair every time that it tried to take off a head or an arm. He leaned forward, inviting a chop –

And there it was. It came down as if in slow motion, and he turned, waiting for it to reach the end of the arc. It came down the same way it always had, stopped –

And this time, rather than letting it go back, he kicked up from beneath, hitting the bear right in the wrist. He felt the bones in his foot take the hit, hard – hard enough to leave him hissing – but the blow was hard enough to knock the bear's arm backwards. The General went tumbling backwards from the sudden strike, overbalancing, and falling back.

He kicked off of the ground, throwing all of his energy into this last strike. Rick brought his leg up, and then down, pointing it right into the bear's nose.

CRACK!

The blow was enough to crater the ground around the General's head, and as Rick limped off of the body, the bear didn't move. He groaned as he put weight on his damaged foot, but didn't stop walking, making his way back to his master with a small smirk.

[i]Impossible, my ass…[/i]

The tiger greeted him with a pat on the shoulder and a smile, his master nodding approvingly.

“You did well. Now, we can deal with the others."

“…Please tell me that means that YOU will deal with the others?"

“Feeling too weak, slave?"

“I just about broke my foot!"

“Is it broken, though?"

“I don't know, probably? I just kicked a massive chunk of metal as hard as I could."

“And yet, you're walking, only a bit sore."

“A bit?!"

“I need your aid. And I will have it."

“…Fuck…Master…"

“Come."

#

Lord Denar didn't truly need his slave's help, but at the same time, it was better that the human be present for this. If nothing else, he would offer another pair of eyes, and that would give him something to examine the situation later.

He forced his way into the tent, knocking down a robed skunk lord in the process, and looked over the assembled nobility. The tiger didn't stop the human from walking on the knocked-over skunk, nor did he make the slave step away when the skunk complained. Considering that his slave had beaten the General, it was deserved.

[i]Beaten, not killed,[/i] he told himself, though it was only a hope rather than a fact. [i]He beat the bear's face in rather badly…I hope that it wasn't enough to kill him. The old man doesn't deserve that much.[/i]

As he looked over the skunks and other bear, he labeled them in his head. Lords Geran and Heran, the wizards of the group. One of them had probably been the one to put Eckrin up to his assassination, or at had at least subsidized it. Another skunk, one he didn't know but had the fine clothes of a financier, and the weight of one, besides. The bear, looking like another fighter, and then, finally…

Lord Sankun. The oldest noble at the table by at least a decade, the skunk leaned forward from the other side of the tent, glaring at him.

“Where is the General?"

“I am afraid that he's not going to be joining us."

“You fought your friend? This slave matters that much to you?"

“[i]I[/i] fought –"

“Quiet, slave." Denar shook his head. “My slave was the one that fought the bear. And my slave was the one that defeated him."

“…Impossible."

“Very possible, if any of you want to look outside the tent. He's still lying out there."

The tent went quiet, the mages looking at each other with an expression that he knew well. They were wondering if they'd backed the wrong person, if perhaps he was right. He smirked to himself, looking around the small group.

“As it stands, the only one that I have taken offense from is Lord Sankun. Anyone that leaves this tent in the next five minutes will be exempt from the satisfaction I take."

“You think that you can threaten away our coalition?" the financier said. “Lord Sankun has raised good points. You cannot be treating a slave like this. They are not capable of handling the responsibilities of free life, or of standing as our equals."

“I've done nothing of the sort. I haven't uplifted them, or given any group equal status." Denar shrugged. “All I've done is taught one how to fight, to show that this technique can be taught to anyone."

“You say that this is all from a motive of profit?"

The tiger shrugged slightly. The financier would likely see it that way, even though it wasn't entirely true.

“I developed the style, and for its most effective spread, I must show that anyone can learn it. Speak true; if you heard that something was so easy that even a human could learn it, would you believe you could?"

“…That is true."

“I do not gift this to others. They must pay for it, in labor or coin. But for someone so low to defeat someone so high, it is a cost worth paying."

“Stop speaking nonsense!" Lord Sankun growled. “You claimed this slave without buying him. You've taught him how to defy his betters. You've given him a tool that he could use to free all the slaves out there. You think that this is good?!"

“I think, Lord Sankun, that you're giving me motives that I don't have."

Lord Denar chuckled to himself, looking down at his slave. The naked human still leaned on his side, looking a bit wounded from all the pain in his foot, but he was still looking more proud than he had before. The barbs of the lords did nothing to diminish that. The tiger cleared his throat.

“Tell me, slave. Would you teach this art to the other humans?"

“Only if you made me, master."

“Why is that?"

“Because it'd be a pain. Most of 'em wouldn't want it."

“And why do you say that, then?"

“Because we're idiots. You had to force this on me, and I was already really, really fucking good at street fighting. If I wasn't, then I wouldn't be nearly this good."

“You'd be surprised, human. You'd be surprised."

He left that with a slight glare at the human, a reminder not to down-talk his work. The last thing he needed was for the reputation that the human was building to be questioned. After all, he needed to make sure other people learned this as well.

Looking back at the financier, he saw the doubt spreading across the skunk's face. A few seconds later, the skunk shook his head.

“I hereby release myself from the coalition."

Sankun, the bear, and the two mages whipped their heads around at him, and the financier shrugged.

“I have no issue with another pursuing profit, and I believe the slave. Humans are too stupid to reach for something that would save them. If it were to spread, we would catch it long before it would threaten our rule. I remove myself."

The tent went silent as the skunk walked to the door, nudging the tiger's slave out of the way to get the other skunk off of the floor. That left the bear, the mages, and the original plotter himself. Denar smiled, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked between them.

“One down, four to go. In conspirators, and minutes."

“You can't think…" Lord Sankun groaned. “This won't stand. You are breaking the rules!"

“I am doing what I wish. That is part of being a lord, Sankun. Just as what you're doing is part of being a lord. The difference being, my wishes don't interfere with yours. You just decided that they might."

“A true enough statement," the bear muttered before suffering a glare from the old skunk.

The mages, it seemed, were losing confidence as well. He could see them out of the corner of his eye, the way that they looked at each other again and again, questions passing in expressions. The way that they backed from the table, inch by inch, towards the rear of the tent. They might not defy Sankun openly, but they would run as soon as push came to shove. As the old skunk berated the bear, he gave them the slightest of nods; he would not chase them if they ran.

Then Sankun was back on him.

“If you think this stops tonight, you're wrong. Even if you end this, there will be others. Humans are slaves. Even if they [i]can[/i] handle the tools you give them, they don't deserve them. They're lower than dirt; they deserve to be nothing more than laborers."

“I don't care what you believe about what they deserve. I've never stated anything about what they need, or what they should have. All I have done is teach one human how to do one thing. Slave? Demonstrate."

For once, there was no questioning. His slave stepped forward to the table between him and the others, and slammed his good foot down into it, cracking it down the middle and sending papers, maps, pens, and who knew what else flying through the air. In the chaos that came afterwards, Denar stepped forward.

“There are two minutes left. If you want to survive this, you'll leave now, bear."

“…I couldn't defeat the general. I will not be able to defeat you. I –"

“Traitor!"

A knife flashed, but not faster than the tiger's leg. The short blade's course was diverted before it was halfway to the bear, and Denar stood over Lord Sankun. The mages had disappeared, fleeing the tent the minute that the focus was off of them, and the bear was already departing.

There was only the old skunk left.

“You made an enemy that you couldn't afford, skunk. I might have left this alone, if you'd just screamed the way that all the other lords do when they're angry. But no, you decided that I had to die, that the idea had to die with me. And that…well, that can't go unpunished. Slave."

The human stood next to him, the pair of them standing over the old lord. Denar gestured down at the old man.

“You are entitled to one blow, if you wish."

“Heh…just one, master?"

“…I suppose I can grant you two."

#

Morning came, and with it, the utter lack of threats that the tiger was used to. He rose from his bed, sliding his legs over the edge to rest them on top of his slave. The warm, bare body was always a lovely 'rug' for his feet to rest on as he woke up, particularly with the slave's tongue working over the toes of one foot, and the slave's morning wood a convenient resting place for his toes.

“Good morning, slave."

“Nnngh. Morning master…"

“Finish licking my toes, and then fetch us tea. This will be a relaxed morning, I feel; we won't be setting off as quickly as normal."

“How do you – mmmph – know?"

“The death of a lord, and the others fleeing their own disgrace, will leave us a bit at loose ends. The soldiers will take time to establish a proper pecking order, and that will put us about an hour behind schedule. Until then…Lick."

He pushed his toes past the human's lips, and closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. As always, the warmth, the slippery tongue, and the general worship left him smiling.

Rick was a good slave. He would have to reward him later.

[b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]