Casus Belli Ch. 13: Pack-Bonding

"But I'm just a prize, a pleasure slave," Cassandra reacted.

"That night you'll just be a female who we want to show how sorry we are that we didn't manage to protect her," Kasho said, "that night there will be no pleasure slave, that night there will just be a lovely young female the six of us want to pleasure."

"I only want one thing from the six of you," she said softly, "and that's that you'll take good care of my girls, that you make them happy."

"Don't worry," Yakha said, "they're going to be our mates, so we're going to take good care of them for sure..."

Cassandra swallowed, "Those girls are my world, and have been for years. They have always been my sounding board, where it came to matters of the heart. Once I became Kangess, I had a whole council to assist me regarding matters of state, but for morale issues the girls were my anchor." Her eyes moved from Yakha to Kasho and back. "So I have been wondering, are you guys just Bashuk's body guard, or is there more to you?"

Kasho chuckled, "I'm a historian, specialized in military history. It's my task to provide Bashuk with strategical and tactical advice. Now our leader is an accomplished strategist and tactician all by himself already, but I'm there to point out all the weaknesses in his thinking... Also, when we're out in the field, I do all the cooking."

"And I'm the close combat specialist," Yakha chimed in, "as you already know. It's my task to advance the pack's close combat skills, and I'm also responsible for the maintenance and repair of the pack's armor in the field."

She nodded, "And the others?"

"Kurgan is Bashuk's second in command," Kasho said, "he basically runs the pack so Bashuk can concentrate on running the tribe. On top of that he's also our resident swordmaster, charged with increasing the pack's armed combat skills. And he's really knowledgeable when it comes to the code, and all the other tribal rules."

Yakha chuckled, "He's also a stickler for the rules, and the exact opposite of Bolar, who thinks rules are just there to challenge you into finding ways to circumvent them."

"As a result Bolar's also the male who can 'organize' about anything," Kasho added with a smile, "and he also has some basic engineering skills."

"If you want to bring something down just ask Bolar where to hit it, and with what," Yakha chimed in. "Oh, and he's also in charge of amusement. Bolar plays the circe, and he's pretty good at it."

"What's a circe?" Cassandra asked.

"It's a wind instrument, made up of a row of small wooden pipes, increasing in length from one end of the instrument to the other," Yakha answered, "It produces a beautiful warm sound."

"During the victory celebrations, I was wondering about the absence of music," Cassandra said.

"That's the only festivity without music," Kasho reacted, "and also the only one without the pack-girls and pack-mates. Usually there's a band, and the females will dance to the music."

"Just the females?" Cassandra reacted in turn, "the males don't dance with them?"

Both males shook their heads, looking surprised. "Do human males dance?" Kasho reacted.

"With the females?" Yakha added.

"Yes, of course," she answered.

The males looked at each other wide eyed. "Uh oh...," Yakha said.

"The girls are going to expect for us to dance with them...," Kasho added. He locked eyes with Cassandra, looking worried. "Is it difficult to learn? Dancing with females I mean?"

She chuckled. "Well, that depends... Now I think about it, you males are all rather big and bulky, so maybe there's a reason orc females only dance with other orc females..."

"They often dance alone too," Yakha chimed in, "singling out a male in the public, to show him they're interested in having sex with him..."

"That's NOT how a proper lady dances," Cassandra answered, "that's how a whore dances for an intended customer." She blushed, "Or a pleasure slave for her master I presume..." A short silence fell. "So what about Batul and Durgat, what do they do aside from being Bashuk's bodyguard?" she then asked.

Yakha shrugged, "Batul is our combat medic, it's his task to keep you alive till the kombar-karan, the combat healers, arrive, and he's also a master carver, producing anything made from wood or bone we need." He pointed at her chest, "Like that nifty clasp keeping your cardigan closed."

Cassandra reached up and her fingers caressed the smooth wood, "Batul made this?"

"I don't know for sure," Yakha said, "but that cardigan used to be Roshin's, so probably yes."

'They were once the prized possession of a female most precious, who has no need for them anymore,' she remembered Daitan saying. Her eyes grew as her fingers caressed the front of the cardigan. "Bashuk's Roshin?" she whispered.

"Yes," Kasho replied, "Roshin was a river orc, from the Randac delta, which is why she was a little small for an orc female. She also had much the same figure you have, which is why her clothing fits you so well." Cassandra was a little shocked by their revelation. "Maintenance and repair of weaponry is Durgat's responsibility," Kasho continued, clearly oblivious to the impact his earlier remark had made, "and he's also our tracker, and the one with the most knowledge where it concerns plants and animals."

"Durgat's the one who can tell you what to eat and not to eat, and he's also a great hunter, and our best archer," Yakha added.

Kasho chuckled, "He's our only archer, the rest of us all suck at shooting a bow. Durgat's supposed to teach us, but for some reason we never get down to it, something always gets in between."

Cassandra pushed her contemplation regarding the origins of her clothing aside for a moment. "Maybe he should teach the girls then," she offered, "and provide the pack with its own archer support that way."

Kasho's brow rose, and then he nodded approvingly. "That's smart thinking...," he reacted. Meanwhile the pleasure slave's thoughts returned to why she had been gifted the clothing of an orc female her master had been so deeply in love with.

"Now about this dancing...," Yakha said, returning to the males' earlier subject of interest.

Cassandra talked with them about dancing for a while, and told them how Denora had played a big part in her learning to dance herself. "So if you want to learn how to dance, Denora's your girl..." she concluded with a wink. Both males nodded, and then noise coming from the private hallway caught her attention. It sounded like the girls, and she realized that, if krujac training was over, they would now be heading for the bathroom. She would have liked to join them, but 'go bathing' hadn't been among the choices her master had allowed for.

"You don't need a bath," Kasho said with a chuckle, clearly having read her face correctly, "but I understand why you would like one..." She pouted, and Kasho surprised her by hugging her close. "I'm sure the girls miss you as much as you miss them," he then said softly. Cassandra melted into him, and then she felt Yakha's hand on her legwarmer, caressing her too. She relaxed, and enjoyed their affection for a little while, until noise originating from the private hallway drew her attention once more. It was too early for the girls to have finished bathing already. "That's the boss," Kasho said, and then, "time for you to get into your chair..."

She nodded, slipped from his lap, and moved to the comfy chair. She had barely sat herself in it, and pulled her legs up beneath her, when the doors to the private hallway opened. Kurgan entered first, followed by Bashuk and the other males. "Are the girls still training," her master asked, looking at Kasho and Yakha.

"No," the latter answered, "we heard them come by on their way to the bathroom some ten minutes or so ago."

Bashuk removed his harness, put his sword up against the nearest wall, and then he undid and pulled off his upper armor. His pleasure slave got up as he arrived at the comfy chair, dropped the heavy leathers on the floor next to the chair before he sat himself. He patted his lap, and Cassandra complied, deciding her master's woolen undershirt felt nice and cozy as she snuggled up against him. "Well," Bashuk said after a moment, "whose lap was it that you cheated on me with?" She blushed fiercely. "It's either that or you're running a fever," he added with a grin.

Kasho chuckled, "It was mine... I couldn't stand her being neglected by her master."

"Yeah," Yakha chimed in, pulling a face, "Kasho beat me to it..."

Bashuk lifted her face by her chin. "Were they nice to you girl?" he asked smiling. She nodded, and then she snuggled up against him once more.

The other four males dropped their weapons and got out of their upper armor too, before they sat down on the couches, and then Kasho and Yakha asked about the barracks, and she listened to Bashuk and the others fill them in. They were basically happy with the buildings, and so, apparently, were the orc troops that had already been stationed there. As the males started discussing the troops deployed for Bromodin's defense her thoughts drifted away, to the clothes she was wearing, and their origin. Not much later muffled female voices interrupted those thoughts, and then the doors to the private hallway opened and the girls burst in. It didn't take long for the half dozen empty male laps to get claimed by eager females.

Cassandra watched her girls reacquaint themselves with their male of choice. "We missed afternoon tea," Denora said once they had all finished hugging, "but it's too early for dinner yet."

"There's beer," Bashuk said, gesturing at the cask of Boganon ale on the low table against the wall.

"On an empty stomach?" Vala reacted, "are you trying to get us drunk?"

Bashuk chuckled, and then he looked at Kasho, "Emergency rations?"

The big orc just nodded in response, and Polly slipped from his lap as he got up. "Come with me?" he asked his favorite pack-girl. Polly nodded, and then followed him as he moved away towards the doors.

"You have clean mugs?" Bashuk then asked Denora, who nodded and got up from Batul's lap. The scarred orc rose after her, and they provided the others with mugs of beer together. By the time everyone was seen to Polly returned, with Kasho in tow. The petite blonde was carrying a large dried sausage, and held the door open for Kasho, who was carrying a small dark colored cheese wheel beneath one arm, and a stack of wooden cutting boards beneath the other. Cassandra watched Kasho put his load down on the dining table, after which Polly put the sausage next to it. The big orc then produced a large knife, and started cutting.

Not much later wooden cutting boards filled with slices of sausage and small chunks of cheese arrived at the couches. Cassandra fed Bashuk a chunk of the dark yellow cheese, and then she picked up another and took a bite. The cheese was hard, but not too hard, and had a pretty strong, smoky flavor, which went excellently with the dark beer. The dried sausage then proved to be quite hard too, and nicely seasoned. "This ain't half bad, for 'emergency rations'," Leavy chuckled, while chewing on a chunk of the tasty cheese.

"You must never forget that an army marches on its stomach," Kasho reacted, "which is why plenty of good food should always be available." The males all nodded enthusiastically, making the girls giggle.

Once they had finished the beer, and the cheese, and the dried sausage, Moiga got up. "I'm sleeping with Batul tonight," she told Durgat, "but I want some private-time with you first..."

Durgat smiled as he got up. "You can forget about sleeping tonight," Batul called after her as she moved away.

Don't worry Moiga, Denora said as she got up from Batul's lap, "once I'm finished with him he'll be glad if you allow him some sleep tonight..."

The pleasure slave was watching it all, and when Denora and Batul followed Moiga and Durgat towards the private hallway, and the girls' bedrooms, the remaining girls got up too, except for Polly. Once they were all gone she looked at Polly questioningly. The petite blonde shrugged, "I'm going to spend the night with Kasho anyway..." The girl looked up at her favorite male, "Or would you like some attention before dinner too..." Kasho smiled, and then he shook his head, after which Polly snuggled up to him.

Cassandra took in the scene smiling, feeling happy for Polly's happiness, and then she realized she was lacking as a pleasure slave. She looked up at Bashuk in alarm, "My Lord, would you like to..., as I'm fit for use again I mean..."

The huge orc smiled softly, and then he pulled her close and pecked her on her forehead. "There's no hurry girl, tonight's early enough."

Was that disappointment she felt? She felt herself blush, and Bashuk's eyebrows rose in response. "Your prize has naughty thoughts...," she whispered, and his fingertips gently caressed her face. Cassandra snuggled up against her master for a moment, and then something surfaced inside her mind, and she looked up at him once more, "I noticed that the Green Vale orcs have smaller canines than the ones I saw in illustrations earlier. Were those illustrations exaggerations, or do Green Vale orcs have small canines for orcs?"

Bashuk chuckled, and then he shook his head, "No those weren't exaggerations, the orcs from some tribes have, on average, bigger canines than others, and black orcs have bigger canines than green orcs too." He winked, "big canines, small brain..." It begged a certain question, which made her blush. The huge orc laughed, "No, there's no connection between canine size and the size of other parts of the orc anatomy." His eyes twinkled, "Am I not large enough for you, girl?"

The former Kangess heard her former junior maiden giggle. "Your size actually has been quite satisfying Sir," she answered softly, as she snuggled up against him once more.

Bashuk and Kasho chatted a little, mostly about the defenses of Iriskan, while cuddling with their female company. Almost an hour passed before some traffic between the maiden's bedrooms and the bathroom was to be heard, and half an hour after that, just before dinner time, the missing pack members started arriving back at the living room, couple by couple. They were all in high spirits, and had dinner not much later, which turned out to be a nice roast served with a green salad and mashed potatoes. "There's mayo in the salad...," Vala said as she chewed on her first mouthful, "and it's delicious."

The other eaters agreed with her one by one, and Cassandra winked at a proud looking Polly, "Your mayo is going places it seems..."

After dinner they moved to the couches, and the males had another beer while the girls had wine, except for Cassandra, because this time Bashuk stood his ground when Polly arrived in front of them with a glass meant for her. She knew her master was just reminding her that, no matter the privileges she had already been granted, she still was his prize, his pleasure slave. "It's okay Polly," she whispered at the petite blonde. The huge orc ruffled her hair, and then he presented her his mug of beer. She took a good sip from it, to show him her appreciation, and then she snuggled up against him again.

The pack just chatted for a time, while enjoying some more wine and beer, and when the Mercandon were mentioned Leavy told her story about nearly being captured by them once more. The girls had heard the story before, but the males hadn't, and listened intently to her tale. Once the platinum blonde had finished, the males started asking questions about the Mercandon, clearly pumping the girls for every bit of information they could deliver. "I already got that the Nigawan people consider the Mercandon a much more dangerous enemy than the Lorasians," Bashuk said at some point, "mainly because of the way in which they treat a conquered population."

"Yes," Kasho agreed with him, "and while the entire border with Loras consists of a pretty big river, which is difficult to cross, the border with Mercandon is all land, and thus much easier to cross, probably even to cross unseen."

"It's a pretty porous border indeed," Bashuk reacted, "so I think we should increase the density of our border patrols, if only to make sure slavers won't be able to get through unseen, to prevent Nigawan females from getting abducted."

Kasho nodded, "I'll see to it." He cocked his head to the side, "Any instructions on how to treat any Mercandon that get caught?"

Bashuk shrugged, "They prey on the defenseless, torture and abuse them, which renders them easily as bad as murderers and traitors in my book... So let's just impale them, and decorate the border with them, as a warning to anyone else coming to Nigawa with the same bad intentions they had..."

"The males from Kragos' pack, who committed treason, they got impaled?" Polly asked, sounding upset.

Kurgan shook his head, "No, they weren't." He grinned, "They didn't spill the beans regarding their treasonous plans out of regret, they did it because it would mean the axe instead of the pole for them..."

A short silence fell. "Impalement is a very cruel punishment," Moiga then stated, sounding a little upset too.

Bashuk nodded, "It is, but murdering someone, taking his or her life, and hurting their loved ones, is very cruel too. And treason is even worse, because it can result in the maiming, the deaths, and the enslavement of many." His voice softened, "Not every murderer or traitor ends up getting impaled, Denora, it's a punishment reserved for the worst cases. Most will end just like Kragos' males did, fast and painless."

"Mercandon slavers abduct innocent young girls and deliver them to a horrible live of torture," Denora said next. "Remember that story Cerny's dad told us, about those two girls he saved from a slaver? As far as I'm concerned it's a pity you can impale such bastards only once..."

"We only condone slavery as a punishment," Bashuk said softly, "and as a retribution for waging war against us."

Denora blushed, "I didn't mean..."

"I don't blame the orcs for my enslavement," Cassandra interrupted her. She locked eyes with her master, "I'm just paying off a terrible debt," she swallowed, "and I'm being treated much better than I deserve..."

Bashuk hugged her close. "You're to blame and not to blame, and my treatment of you just reflects that." He nuzzled the top of her head, "and you're very difficult not to like anyway."

The discussion moved to less unsettling subjects, and after a while the light in the living room slowly dimmed as the sun set and darkness fell. "Should I turn on the crystals?" Denora asked at some point.

"No, it's time for bed anyway," Bashuk answered, "so don't bother." It resulted in some uneasy shifting of butts on laps as the eyes of five of the girls scanned the couches for the male they were going to spend the night with, which, except for Polly, wasn't the one who's lap they were currently occupying.

The five got up next, and headed for the male in question. "Don't look so scared!" Batul chuckled as Moiga sat herself down on the lap Denora had just vacated, "I won't bite..."

The other girls sat themselves down too, Vala on Durgat's lap, Leavy on Bolar's, Syldan on Kurgan's, and Denora on Yakha's. Moiga relaxed as Batul hugged her close, and so did the other girls as they too got hugged close by the male they were going to spend the night with.

"Oh," Bashuk said, "before I forget, as my pleasure slave is fit for duty again, I won't be needing any servicing by the harem in the morning..."

Once the males had left the living room, all cradling a girl in their arms, Bashuk got up too and carried his prize to the bedchamber. He dropped her next to the bed, and as he started undressing she followed his example. By the time he had removed the woolen shirt and his boots she was naked, and stepped up to him to assist him getting out of the rest of his clothes. She knelt down in front of him, and as she pulled down his underpants found herself facing his big, half-hard cock. Cassandra felt her pussy tingle as she took in the view of him. Bashuk stepped out of his underpants, fully naked now, and she reached out and placed her hands on the outsides of his muscular thighs.