Adventure of Rekka Ch. 08

"Rekka don't mess around, she can manage a lot of lovin' in two weeks," he replied. Rekka crossed her legs and began to buff her claws, looking smug. Bill was surprised to find he wasn't exaggerating, Rekka really had filled him with a great deal of love in such a short span, though not the kind he implied.

"I don't believe you. Is he a wizard?" asked the boar woman.

"Nah, not as far as I can tell. He's jus' strong," Rekka said with a shrug.

"Larry's the wizard, I'm jus' the comic relief," Bill said into the carpet. "Anyway, what's your name? I can't keep thinking of you as "boar woman" you know. I'm Bill, thas Rekka, nice-ta-meetcha," he breathed out, feeling a little out of it.

The woman's eyes began to gleam as she struggled to her feet and struck a pose with her hands on her hips. Bill of course didn't see any of this.

"You stand.. well, lie, before Suidaena, Queen of the Orcs!" she crowed, her voice again husky and filled with confidence.

"Yeah. Ok. Whas' your real name?" Bill asked. He tried to turn his head to look at her but gave up.

With a sigh she sat back down, picking up her boar plush and smoothing back the ridge of fur along its back.

"Sarah," she said dejectedly.

"Thas'a nice name, better'n Sua-whatsit," Bill replied, his eyes now closed.

"Yeah, we can say that one!" Rekka said with a giggle.

"Whatever. Why'd you people even come here. Not that I'm ungrateful, but now that I'm not dying I have to figure out what to do with you. My girls expect a lot out of me, and I don't want to disappoint them. We.. we'll probably need to fight," she explained, looking unhappy about the situation.

"Nuh-uh. We're teamin' up. Gonna fight some other guys. Need your help," Bill explained.

"What? Why would we do that?" Sarah asked cautiously.

"Mmph. Rekka, you tell her. My amazin' plan. I'ma sleep. Or die. Hopefully Helena wakes up firs'. Jus' tell her to get me back on my feet," Bill mumbled, still managing to be concerned for his healer's continued well-being.

Rekka hopped off her seat to kneel down next to him, brushing her paw hand through his hair gently.

"Okay husband, just rest now.. Shhh.." she whispered gently. A few minutes passed in silence until she was sure he was asleep, a small smile on her face as she watched him. Finally she stood and turned to sit back down on her treasure trove throne.

"I'm so jealous," Sarah said, "I thought.. I was so sure by now we'd all have one. The quarry looked like easy pickings."

"Don't worry, you'll get one. Bill will see to it. He really wants to help us, y'know.. all mamono." Rekka said, once again smiling down at her husband.

"What do you mean? I was surprised he was the one doing the talking. You don't need to force him anymore?" Sarah asked, looking shocked.

Rekka let out a breathy, happy little sigh.

"I never had'ta. Y'know.. when I first caught him, an' found out he was stronger than me.. I thought I'd have'ta maybe ..rough him up a bit, so he'd figger out that didn't matter," Rekka said, shrugging as if that were normal. Well, it was normal for some mamono, hellhounds in particular.

"But I didn't have'ta. He.. He didn't even try to get away! He talked to me.. asked me questions, y'know? Like.. Like I wasn'.. me. He din' try to fight, an' he wasn't even scared after he saw what I was," she said, still hardly able to believe it herself.

"One'a the first things he said to me.. that I was cute," Rekka continued, her voice a mixture of disbelief and joy.

Sarah fell onto her back, pressed her face into her boar plush and muffled her squeal as she kicked her feet in the air. Finally she quieted, holding the doll above her as she stared at it with longing eyes.

"I'm so fucking completely jealous. Does he have a brother? Father? Uncle? Do they even make more like that?" she demanded.

Rekka's smile became a little sad at that point.

"Dunno, he don't talk about home much, his family at least, an' I don't ask.. That way he don't ask about mine," Rekka said.

"Oh. Sorry," Sarah said, understanding. Few could say they hadn't lost anyone to the fighting. Many had lost everything, it was hardly worth getting into. It was considered rude to even ask.

Rekka knew it was different with Bill, he'd want to know eventually. If only to try and make it better, the loveable fool. She only hoped it would be tomorrow.. Every day. Her time with her husband was too precious and wonderful to be marred with stupid sad stories. She breathed in deeply, shrugging off melancholy thoughts to beam a smile down at him, who'd done something outrageous again.

She couldn't help but be proud of him, even if he'd been so stupid as to get hurt doing it. It was just like him, doing everything he could for her. If he hadn't pulled that dumb stunt they'd likely be beating the entire pack of orcs into submission, instead of talking to their chief like old friends. Despite her usual feelings on fighting she found this was somehow nicer.

"Y'know, he didn't do that cause I told him to," Rekka said, pointing at the huge hammer lying embedded in a carpet. "He jus' did it, knowin' it might make things better for us."

Sarah rolled to a seated position, her eyes wide with shock.

"You.. you let him do what he wants? Is.. is he.. No. He couldn't be.. Not with a.." she now waved up and down at Rekka, indicating her species' famously untameable reputation.

"He isn't in charge, right?" Sarah asked, incredulous.

"Hah! No, nothin' like that. Jus' seems like everythin' he does is fun. I kinda jus' like seeing what'll happen next, y'know? Plus.." she said, going silent for a moment. "He's doin everything for me."

"I know.. I just know if I told him we're stoppin, goin home.. back to my stupid cave with.. with nuthin. He'd go. He'd be disappointed.. but he'd go," Rekka finished, a bittersweet smile flashing on her face for a moment. Her time alone had been far more unhappy than she had known now that her world was filled with companionship and love.

Her expression grew dark, staring straight into Sarah's eyes as she growled, "I won't have my husband disappointed."

Sarah looked incensed, her hair seemed to lift as her back muscles flexed. The contest of wills went on for a long moment, Rekka's fiery unwavering and absolutely fearless gaze winning out. Sarah huffed out a breath, looking away to her boar plush and pulling bits of errant fluff from it.

"I get it. It's just like my problem. What are we going to do about it? My girls.. They're having fun tonight, but tomorrow they'll expect something from me. My mommy set too high a bar, I have to show them I can deliver. Food, shelter, men. They'll stick with me no matter what, but we'll.. fall apart if I can't get what we need, I'll lose them," she explained, desperation in her voice. She knew despite her effect on her friends they could lose the will to fight if things didn't improve soon.

Silence reigned for a moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Rekka wished Bill hadn't fallen asleep, he was good at finding something funny to say that would make everything simpler.

Had Bill heard this conversation the only thing he'd have to say about it is that they'd both let down the women's side by failing the Bechdel Test. Which wouldn't have helped much but he'd have gotten a good chuckle out of it.

"Oh yeah! Bill's stupid plan!" Rekka cried, remembering what he asked of her.

"His.. stupid plan?"

"Yeah, his plans is terrible. You ain't gonna like it."

"Why in the hells would I help you then?" she asked, confused.

Rekka's grin was fiercely proud, her hellfire flaring out.

"Cause no matter how bad his plans are an' no matter how stupid they really go, they work."

-

"Really Bill, was this entirely necessary," Helena asked, exasperated.

Bill tried to shrug while lying on his back, still inside the tent. It had been Rekka who moved him onto his back before going to check on the others. Before and after his healing he'd been unable to so much as twitch a muscle. Previously it had been the strain, but now it was the fact that every muscle was loose, not answering his orders to move.

"Maybe. I'm pretty sure the alternative was fighting the whole clan, and God knows how that would have turned out," Bill said, luxuriating in his pain free existence.

"Yeah, I would have had to. Your people probably would have won, though. I could tell my girls weren't into it. Still, had to try," Sarah said, standing over them.

Helena let out a frustrated huff before asking, "Why must there always be fighting before diplomacy. Could we not have simply talked out our differences?"

Bill met Sarah's eyes for a moment before replying, "I'd love to talk everything out. It requires trust and understanding. We didn't have any of that, so I did the next best thing. Show we wouldn't be easy pickings."

"Yeah, luckily for you your little bluff worked out," Sarah agreed. "I'm glad it did, I don't always want to fight, but we're orcs. It's what we do."

"It wasn't a bluff. I just didn't want to have Rekka and Tabitha tear this place apart first. I'd prefer you and your friends were healthy and ready to fight. Someone else, that is," Bill explained. "Also, you don't have to fight everyone. Who cares what expected of you, or what they think. Fuck it. Do what's best for you and yours, everything else can fuck right off."

Sarah sighed. "It's not that easy. My mommy is the best warleader you ever saw. She never backs down, and she wins every time. I have to live up to that. I just have to."

"Fuck that. I bet she'd be calling you a fool right now. You ask her, you just ask her next time you see her. I doubt she started up with a few friends and just rushed into every fight because it was expected of her," Bill growled out. "You're smarter than that, and you know it. Stop living in your mother's shadow and make your own reputation. Winning is all that matters. Living is all that matters."

Sarah sighed, looking skeptical. He hoped she was taking it to heart, he'd hate to see her and her "girls" wasted in pointless fighting when cowardly trickery and subterfuge worked so well for him.

"Listen. There's a saying from my world: Victors write the history books. Just do whatever you need to get things done, then lie. Lie your ass off. Tell them you took everyone down in single combat while your girls cheered you on and looted the place clean. Who's going to make an issue of it when you're the one with an army of victorious orcs at your back?"

"That.. that could work, really," Sarah said, her eyes filling with a vicious cunning.

"Yeah, just don't try that shit with me, I'm better at it than you'll ever be. My people once crossed a frozen river. At night. On the biggest holiday of the year. Caught those fuckers completely by surprise. Killed them while they slept and were too drunk to fight back. We're proud of that shit, guy is one of our historical heroes. We won. And that's the only thing that matters in the end," Bill stated, foolishly exposing guerilla warfare to an attentive audience.

Sarah was looking at him with a mixture of disgust and awe at this point.

"Oh, and could you tone that sex smell you're giving off? I fucking love bacon, but I think its going to make it boring for me soon. That's a crime, you know. Plus I'm pretty sure Tabitha is going to straight up kill Larry soon," Bill said, listening to the groaning and chuffing coming from behind the tent.

Helena turned bright red then, sputtering out, "Yes please, I have already had to heal him several times. The chafing is becoming extremely worrying. Dealing with his dehydration is very.. uncomfortable. Quite often we cannot get Tabitha to stop while giving them water. Felix is simply not experienced with affection of this kind, and quite honestly neither am I." She shared an embarrassed look with Felix, who kept a hand on Helena's back to ward off the high orc induced lust.

"Hah! Nope, you'll just have to endure, nothing I can do about that," Sarah leered.

"Shit, Helena. I know it takes it out of you. Sorry about this. At least you only got me back on my feet, right? I did say that.." Bill said, worry creeping into his voice. He really didn't want his healer in a coma when they might need her.

"Nonsense. Sarah's healing was.. an unusual circumstance. I assure you I am fine now, and your injuries were hardly taxing. While very extensive as a whole, the healing was quite simple. You will be back to form, ready to do something extremely foolish in a few hours."

"Well, if you're sure.. Thanks, Helena. Running into you is probably my best luck besides meeting my Rekka," Bill said, smiling at the memories. Suddenly his eyes jolted wide.

"Where is she? We're not fighting so only one thing is on her mind right now," Bill said, rolling his eyes about, searching and screaming at his limbs to move.

With this the tent flap was thrown back, light flooding the tent and forcing Bill to shut his eyes.

"Everyone. Out!" Rekka ordered, glaring at Bill with mad intensity.

"Oh dear, more chafing," Helena said, sighing as she hastily climbed to her hooves to follow Sarah in full retreat.

Felix gave Bill a look of sympathy as he made his escape with Helena.

Bill despaired for a moment, then opened his eyes and glared right back at Rekka.

"Fucking fine. Show me what you got."

"Oh sugar, finally yer gonna see what a hellhound can really do. You ain't stronger than me now. You just lie back, enjoy yourself. With Helena here I don't even have to hold myself back."

Rekka stalked forward, losing what little clothing she had as she closed on her defenseless prey.

"Prove it," Bill demanded. He'd be crying and begging in a bit, but right now he only wanted to make her happy.

With a snarl of lust, which Bill gamefully echoed, Rekka pounced.

-

"We should have thought of this before your dumbass went and fucked yourself," Larry said, no heat in his voice as he leaned back in the cold water. He was surprised steam hadn't boiled off of his groin when he sat down.

They were both quite comfortable in the freezing mountain runoff, their new camp far upwind of the orc camp. They'd have preferred ice packs and cold beer, but the pure rushing water was the best this world could offer them.

"Hell, that's your job. You knew what was up, start using that big brain of yours," Bill replied, eyes closed, neck deep in the cold stream.

"I didn't have time. Soon as those "orcs" dropped their weapons and started partying Tabby had me pinned. In front of everyone. They were cheering her on," Larry said, smiling despite himself. The last few days had been sweet torture. "God damn but I was in the same state, trying to give back as good as I got. Didn't manage much, but Tabby sure enjoyed the effort. Pretty sure Helena and Felix were the only reason we lived through that."

"I'm not sure, Helena is a hell of an asset but I'm pretty sure she was more of a curse than a blessing there. I can't see Rekka or "Tabby" actually hurting us, they'd probably have calmed down long enough for us to recover. They just didn't have to, with her there to perk us back up."

"It's Tabitha to you, prick. You're probably right, I have the feeling she'd chew off her own arm before doing any lasting damage to me," Larry replied with an even tone. He was too exhausted to really get into it about Bill using Tabitha's private nickname. "Besides, if it's my job to think of things like this why are we relying on your hillbilly ingenuity for making plans?"

"Cause, fuckhead, you'd overthink it and complicate things. It'd be too smart. They might have already thought of it. If I don't know what I'm doing, they'll damn well never see it coming," Bill responded, equally without fervor. They lapsed into silence for a bit, enjoying the numbing water.

"Glad you decided to stick it out with us, I was planning to beat you half to death before you bought your return ticket," Bill said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. Even before I learned.. I'm.. glad, really glad I met Tabby. Hell, I was just being stubborn I guess, I hated this world so much for so long. I had no idea what was outside my prison. I missed modern conveniences. Beer, video games, indoor plumbing. Deep down I knew I'd miss Tabby more."

"Taxes, nine-to-five, traffic, pollution, laws and regulations. I don't miss a damn thing. I was just going through the motions, there was nothing I was really living for," Bill admitted. "If I hadn't met Rekka I don't think I'd ever have known what it was like to be happy." Once again they went silent, thoughts on their new reality.

"I'm starting to get why you're so happy here, you know. I thought maybe you'd lost your mind coming here. Still kind of do, but we've got women we love, and they love us back. We don't give a shit about what this world thinks of us, and we're pretty much complete outlaws doing whatever we want. It's fun. Sociopathic and psychotic but who can blame us. Aside from Felix and a few other bottom tier guards everyone in a position of power here has been an absolute scumbag. I'm not saying we go Bonny and Clyde, kill everyone that gets in our way and to hell with the consequences.. but we don't have to fuck around either," Larry said, splashing at a fish that was inspecting his toes.

"Yep, the world is our oyster, I figure we ought to be running things. Or at least in charge of policy," Bill replied, "We could pull a coup-d'etat, and control the puppets from the shadows with an iron fist. Make these people stop killing each other."

"I'm in. Shouldn't be hard. We just have to get you near whoever's in charge. You'll bring the place down by osmosis. Everything you touch is thrown into chaos," Larry snarked half-heartedly. "And where did a redneck like you learn that word, and manage to pronounce it correctly?"

"We get the internet in Missouri, you elitist prick, I was pretty much raised by it," Bill replied, unperturbed. He didn't think about home much, briefly wondering what his sisters and father thought of his sudden disappearance. Maybe he'd strong arm a wizard into dropping a letter off at some point, it would be comforting to let them know he was having the time of his life.

"Missouri? I thought that was a myth, like Camelot. Didn't know anyone actually lived in those states I flew over to get to civilization," Larry replied. His own family had likely already moved on by now. They weren't particularly close, though he realized it was probably his own fault. He now realized his life had also been fairly empty, sliding along the path of least resistance toward an unfulfilling conclusion.

"I think I see why you're worried about getting sent back now, turns out you're not as dumb as you look. May wonders never cease."

"About time. I see another portal and I'm chucking those grenades at it until it goes away. You skinny shit."

They spent a few minutes trading friendly jabs as they relaxed in the cold water, their replies becoming less coherent as their teeth began to chatter involuntarily. Bill checked to see if his dick wasn't ground down to a nub, but unable to really tell. Rumpleforeskin had shrivelled up in the cold water and his hands were going pretty numb anyway.

"We should probably get out before we die," Bill finally admitted.

"Yeah, we should, but they're waiting on the bank," Larry said, his head sliding down a bit more, only his nose and eyes above water.

"Alright you two, c'mon out. We ain't smelled that girl for hours now," Rekka said, standing near the bank with her paws on her hips. Bill peeked one eye at her, noting she was breathing deeply and had that gleam in her eyes. He closed it and thought about letting the current take him.

"Nope. You get in here for at least five minutes with us. You too, Tabitha. We're not falling for your womanly wiles," Bill said, beginning to float a bit and heading down stream.