Ogres and Ogresses Ch. 05

"You don't understand," he said pulling her to him. "You may die at any moment! You should make your memories sweet! How can you continue to rebuff me when I know you have feelings for me?"

Zyra shook her hand but he held on, bruising her with his grip.

"Hanto let me go. I am sorry, but I do not feel the same for you. Now stop before you do something you regret."

He reached for her other wrist but she turned her body and elbowed him in the stomach. His grip loosened and she reached for her knife, but he tackled her to ground. She struggled, grunting as his heavy weight bore her down.

"Hanto you fuckta! Stop!"

"No," he growled bending his lips down to her neck. "I desire you! How could I resist you when you flounce about wearing almost nothing!"

She felt his hand slide up her thigh and squeeze her. He let out a moan as her pressed his hard manhood against her.

"Zyra, your skin is so soft. Melt for me...please."

Panic set in as she recalled the accident in the forest. No, not again. Not more.

She screamed and forced her knee between his legs. Gathering all her strength, she lifted her and his body up just to give her the leverage she needed to knee him in his groin. He shouted and she rammed her head into his, feeling blood, his blood run down into one of her eyes.

He cursed venomously at her as she pushed him off her and scrambled up. She grasped her spear facing him but before he could full stand they heard the strain of a pulled bow string.

Gharla stood behind Hanto with an arrow aimed for his head, murder in her blue eyes. They practically glowed in the moonlight.

"Give me the order Zyra," she spat mercilessly. "Tell me and he will be no more."

Rell and Enui ran through the trees and stopped short, seeing the scene.

Rell gasped, and then looked at his brother whom nursed his bleeding head.

"What have you done brother?" Rell demanded furiously.

Hanto did not answer him, unable to take his enraged eyes off of Zyra's face. Zyra looked from Hanto and Gharla, trying to ignore the fury coursing through her own veins. He had tried to force her, just as she thought he might. He talked about understanding her, but really he was just a violent man whom had a lust for challenges.

He would be a detriment to the team. Still, she had made a promise to the Chief. As a Rovian huntress, her word was her law. She was bound by it.

Moving silently, she went to stand beside Gharla. Her muscles were still tensed with the quivering arrow waiting to be released in Hanto's head.

"Gharla, stand down."

Gharla bit her lip in frustration. She could understand her conflict. She sought to obey and protect.

"Gharla...sister...peace'tdia."

Gharla snarled like a wild thing, throwing crude hunter code curses but she lowered her bow. Zyra put a hand on her shoulder as she turned to the others.

"Enui, grab your things. Gharla and I will make a separate camp."

Rell looked extremely conflicted and confused but she spoke firmly to him.

"We rise at dawn," she instructed. "If you are not ready when we come for you, we will leave you."

Rell's lips drew into a thin line and he bowed, guilt in his gaze. Gharla watched him once again with contempt in her eyes. All Rell's work had been undone.

They walked past him, Gharla positioning herself behind her. Even now she could feel Hanto's eyes boring her.

"Hanto," she said without turning.

"You disappoint your father." She let her words linger enough to soak in the tension filled air, then they walked away.

A frightened Gharla could not be reasoned with. She showed fear through aggression, and worry through demands. Though she was the leader, Zyra understood that allowing your other hunters to lead sometimes showed you had faith in them. This made the group stronger. So she obeyed when Gharla chose their new camp ground, made them put their nets in higher trees, and made them sleep beside her. She was the eldest so her instincts were naturally protective. They ate a bit more while Enui checked her for wounds. She had nothing but Hanto's finger marks on her wrist. This still made Gharla angry, but she and Enui soothed her.

Sleep did not come easy for Zyra who could not help but worry about what tomorrow would bring. Though Gharla was 5 summers her senior, she still was slow to reason. She could hear her soft child like snores behind her.

"Enui," Zyra whispered. "Are you awake?"

The shadow of Enui lifted her head. "Yes. What is it Zyra?"

"I'm...worried."

"Don't worry Zyra. You are not alone in this."

"It is just...I do not know what I am dealing with. I don't feel...prepared for this."

She didn't want to admit her weakness, but she needed to have one stable head around. Rell was as reliable as his loyalty to his brother. Gharla was loyal to a fault.

"You are not supposed to," Enui said stifling a yawn. "We are going into magical land where universal laws pronounce we are dead if found. You could never have been prepared for what we are about to face, here or in the border."

Zyra nodded, though Enui could not see her. She laid back down against the weightlessness of the net. Somehow Enui's words of perilous inescapable danger had given her comfort. This wasn't her fault.

"Don't worry Zyra. I will support you," Enui mumbled.

Sleep was coming to her. Zyra felt her own eyes growing heavy. Good time too, the moon was brightening, the middle of the night drawing near.

"Thank you Enui," she mumbled.

She was doing her best, she just hoped it would be enough.

A night bird called in the distance, a strange dream began to unfold.