For the Whored Ch. 089

Elunara followed him out to the camp. This time, everyone was looking more injured and bedraggled than before. While three hundred and twenty three was a more manageable number of orcs, she still had to find some way to scrape them off. He led her to the wagon of gate pieces. She picked through them and nodded. "This is acceptable."

He bowed "I am glad you are pleased."

She picked up a small stone. "Have them broken into pieces about this size. I can turn them into augment stones for my warriors. They will go into their next battle better prepared."

"I wish that you would join me. Command the army by my side." He brushed her fingers across her cheek.

"This army pleases me. Perhaps I will." Pulling out a sheet of paper, she began to sketch. She pushed around some of the stones and set them aside. When she was done, she handed him the sheet. "I want these pieces attached to the skull. I will be able to use it to bolster our troops while they are here."

"Yes, my goddess. It pleases me to hear you call them "our" troops."

She shrugged. "Technicality." She ran her fingers under his chin. "Rest up. I shall be back when it is convenient."

She made her way into Renwa's office and gave her report.

"Impressive."

"I also regret to inform you..." She winced.

"Yes?"

"That Grogek has forgiven his brother."

Renwa and Zelinnia started laughing hysterically at the same time.

Admiral Duchie frowned and looked back and forth. "What's so wrong about that?"

Renwa stopped laughing first. "Elunara here won't be able to bring herself to slit his throat without justifiable cause. It's one thing when she's still pissed off that the asshole took the life of her husband, it's another when said husband forgives the man."

"Am I always that fucking obvious?"

"Yes." Renwa and Zelinnia said at once.

Elunara crossed her arms. "I should kill Grogek for giving me a fucking conscience." She grumbled.

Zelinnia snorted. "You'd keep him alive, if only for the fact you can't function without him."

"Don't make me kill him on principle."

"Don't make me call your bluff." Zelinnia gave her a cat smile.

"I used to be able to intimidate you."

"I didn't know you then." Zelinnia flipped through her papers. "Or the parts of you." She mumbled.

Renwa and Elunara looked at each other. Zelinnia went bright red and pointedly buried her face in her paperwork.

"All of that aside, isn't it a problem when your best operative won't kill her target?"

"The problem is, he has to present me with a reason to kill him. I didn't say I wouldn't. He crosses ANY of the lines I have given him, and I'll gladly turn the bastard into hamburger. However, he is worshipful, modest and does everything I say. It's like having a well bred pet. If the pet turns and bites the hand, it's put down with some measure of mercy for the pet it used to be."

"My information is that you've been having sex with the beast."

"Would you like a list of men that I have killed while still in the bed with them? It's quite lengthy. Hell, Renwa has witnessed a few. On three separate occasions I have snapped a man's neck while he had his tongue in my pussy. I don't give a rat's ass about the men I've fucked for the sake of the mission. I get what I want, and then they die. That's how it works." She gestured out the window. "Right now, I have an army at my disposal and they have done each task I asked of them. Tell me the part where I should dispose of him at this juncture."

She walked down the path and the boys jogged up to her. "Momma! We have a question!"

"Where's Lydia?"

"I'm here!" She huffed and puffed, "I'm here."

Elunara picked her up and put her on her shoulders. "Now, what is your question?"

"Since Charnak is Papa's brother, does that make him our uncle?" Darguni cocked his head to the side.

"He hasn't earned the right to be called your uncle."

"What does that mean?"

"Some time ago, when you were still a baby, Charnak killed your father."

Both boys gasped and put their hands over their mouths.

"In my rage and anger, I unlocked a part of myself that I didn't know existed. I killed... a lot of Orcs, and then I went into the nether and yanked your father's soul away from oblivion. I tried to do the same thing for your father Bradly, but he was brought to me too late. Anyway, bringing Grogek back took a great deal of energy and opened my body to the presence of a dark star, that almost killed me in the process. You saved me." She reached down and scrubbed her hand on Darguni's head.

"As it happens, instead of killing him, like I wanted to... he bowed down and swore allegiance to me. He called me a goddess, and in some ways, I have been. In any event, I decided to release him and track him. He had valuable information on the locations of his kind, people we could route out and take down, or absorb into our ranks. I told him to bring me an army, and he has. So now, each time he does what I say without question, he earns more rights. The other day he came and apologized to your father and swore allegiance to him. Begged him for forgiveness, and even bowed to Jordan, of all things. Your father has forgiven him, and now I must decide what to do about it."

"What rights has he earned?"

"I'm not about to tell you that one. You are definitely not old enough." Elunara snorted.

"Ugh, parents always say that." Lydia groaned.

"Not our Momma."

"She always speaks to us like she would an adult."

"She doesn't believe in kid speak."

"If she doesn't want us to know,"

"It's best not to ask." Both boys nodded at each other.

"Why are we at the healer building?" Lydia frowned.

Elunara took Lydia off her shoulders. "Because I need Ina's help."

"With what?"

Elunara sat Lydia on the front table. "Ina!"

"What?" She stuck her head out of a door.

"I need a favor."

Ina blinked. "You don't ask for favors often. What do you need?"

"Can we get a private room?"

Ina nodded. "I got one upstairs."

Elunara picked Lydia up again and carried her up the stairs.

"Can we come, momma?"

"If Lydia says it's ok."

She looked down at them and blushed. "Yes."

They bounded up the stairs and slipped into the room.

Ina closed the door. "What's up?"

"Are you aware of Lydia's legs?"

"You said you wouldn't tell." Lydia frowned and shifted uncomfortably.

"Aye, her mother told me, and I felt them when she broke her arm."

Tears ran down her cheeks.

"Ina, I need your help. I'm going to try something, but I need you to guide me. I may be able to see the body, and I may be able to heal it, but we're working with something I don't quite understand."

"I'm following you, but I fail to see what you're trying to do."

"I want to ease her pain. I think that I might be able to flood her body with my energy. I need you to guide it to the right places."

Ina frowned, her finger pressed against her chin. "It's radical, we can't be sure you'll even DO anything, but I'm willing to try it."

"Are you ready, Lydia?" Elunara looked at the girl.

"Yes." She whispered.

Elunara put a hand to the girl's hip and linked her hand with Ina. Ina put her hand on the other hip and closed her eyes. Elunara closed her eyes and poured her energy into the little girl. Silently she began her prayer. Even if she didn't understand the situation, she prayed the little girl some relief. She prayed her body would heal and relax those painful muscles, for strength in the bones. The energy hummed between them and Ina felt as though she was just guiding, not really doing. It amazed her, what she felt pumping out of Elunara's body. She wished she could convince the woman to come to the building more often.

Elunara fluttered her lashes and stopped the energy transfer. She might have overdone it, because she was feeling light headed.

"THAT WAS SERIOUSLY COOL!" Bradly yelled.

They both ran over and bounced up and down.

"Did you feel it?" Darguni asked.

"Did it work?" Bradly asked.

Lydia stared down at her legs. "They don't hurt." She marveled. She yanked up her skirts and started at her bare legs. They were still not right, but the muscles had relaxed in some places. She jumped off and walked around in circles. "They don't hurt." She whispered.

Elunara held her head. "Oh good, it worked. I need to go find Grogek or Jordan or... somebody." She shook her head.

"We'll help, momma!" Darguni and Bradly wrapped their arms around her waist.

"Help her what?" Lydia asked.

"Momma gets energy from people's affection towards her."

"That's much better." She smiled and rubbed her hands on their heads.

"Oh!" Lydia wrapped her arms around Elunara's waist.

She laughed. "I just poured energy into you, I won't get as much back at the moment." With a sigh, she dislodged them. "Thank you for the snack, but I need some serious recharging." She looked at Ina. "Thank you. Maybe we'll try again another time, make more progress."

Ina shook her head. "I'm not even sure how you could. Her legs are... well, you did a huge amount, but I don't know if further is possible."

Elunara nodded. "Then we start retraining her legs. Work with what we've got." She stretched out and motioned. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

"Can we stop and get Yoona?"

"Sure."

Elunara's little parade made it down to the training yard.

Grogek raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're up to three kids and two cats, what's your goal?"

She grabbed him by a fang and yanked his mouth to hers. His hands came around her waist as he danced his tongue and mouth with hers. She leaned back and smiled. "Ahh, much better."

The kids giggled.

"What was that about?"

"I just burned a huge store of energy on an experiment."

"Ah, in that case." He wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed her taste.

"What did I miss?"

Elunara grinned back at Jordan. "I burned up a store of energy. Just getting a recharge."

"In that case." He tugged her over to him and proceeded with the same ritual.

"Your parents are weird." Lydia whispered.

"The best kind of weird." They replied in unison.

Elunara laughed. "That's my boys."

Grogek and Jordan each had an arm wrapped around her back. She wrapped and arm around each of theirs.

"Feeling better, love?" Grogek grinned.

"Oh, much. It's always so nice to have a yummy pair of husbands." She grinned.

"We're always happy to help." Jordan grinned.

"So you have TWO husbands?" Lydia marveled.

"And a wife. But don't follow me kid, I'm bugfuck nuts." She rocked her head back and forth. "Also, don't tell your mother I used the phrase "bugfuck", she might never let me speak to you again."

"Everything Elunara does is unique to her and wouldn't work for other people." Jordan shook his head. "It is because Grogek is who he is, that Elunara is able to continue as she is. After that, the rest of us just fell into place."

"You won't find people like us." Elunara shrugged.

Lydia looked back and forth between Bradly and Darguni. Darguni had positioned himself so that Grogek had his hand on the kid's head. Bradly had positioned himself so that Jordan had his hand on him. Maybe she had.

Elunara scratched her head and opened the door. She got covered in arms again. With a sigh, she untangled herself. "Hello, Linda."

"What an amazing person you are!" Tears streamed down her face. "My baby girl was able to RUN! She RAN and she went up the stairs without pain."

"If I'd known you were going to weep on me, I wouldn't have done it." She pulled her sticky shirt away from her.

"You can't fool me. I know what an amazing heart you have." She clapped her hands to her chest.

Elunara pulled off her shirt and tossed it into the laundry pile, grabbing a fresh one from the downstairs closet.

"Oh my, you just don't care who sees you, do you?"

"Not overly." She tugged the shirt down. "Come in and shut the door."

"I can't believe you did such an amazing thing for my little girl. The healers couldn't even do anything for her."

Elunara flopped down on the couch. "Eh, Tulani says I have a compulsive need to save people." she shrugged. "Listen, I'm a little wiped out. I drained a good hit of my reserve power on your kid, and I wasn't even sure it would work. I just couldn't stand seeing her walking around in such pain, and doing her damnedest to hide it. She's still not that great off, but the boys have taken a liking to caring for her."

"Yes," Linda smiled as she sat primly down on the couch. "She told me how they picked her up and carried her when she couldn't run fast enough to keep up."

"That's my boys." Elunara grinned.

"I believe Lydia may have already have developed a crush on the both of them." She sighed.

Elunara raised an eyebrow. "I'll be curious to see how that one plays out."

"I'm a little worried; children can be so easily heartbroken."

"Eh, who knows? With the examples shown in this house..."

"Everyone tells me that I shouldn't let her come here. That your house is a bad house for little girls."

Elunara snorted as she leaned back and put her arms behind her head. "People say lots of shit, doesn't make it true."

"My own child has picked up your saying, that it doesn't matter what people think, so long as you know the truth."

"I spent about twenty five years as an SI:7 mission specialist. I had to lead people to believe whatever they wanted to believe in order to get out of them what I needed. I know the truth and that's all that ever matters." Elunara shook her head. "The end result is that I am who I am, because I made myself this way. I wasn't traumatized, I wasn't tortured, and I most certainly wasn't messed with. I may have some odd philosophies, and I may do some really questionable things, but no child comes to harm under my roof.

Everyone, men, women and children are told that MY house is a safe house. Anything said or done under this roof stays under this roof. You will not be bullied, picked on or laughed at. No matter how bad you think it is, I've seen worse. If you need just a safe place to get away from things, then you can do it here. If you're in trouble, you let me know what's going on, and I'll handle it the best way I see fit."

"That's a fascinating policy."

"I've told my kids, I don't do kid speak. I will talk to you like a person, and you will speak to me as such. If I have to re-explain something, that's fine. But I don't fart around with bullshit." She shook her head. "So, forgive me, for I do believe I've cussed around Lydia, I don't think to censor myself."

"You..." Linda put a hand to her mouth. "You healed her. I went to Ina and I asked her to explain to me how, but even she didn't know. She told me..." Linda swallowed the lump in her throat. "That you had a plan in mind and she was to guide you to it, but you did it just fine on your own, and she got to watch. She describes it as beautiful." She sniffled and wiped her eyes again. "Whatever your past, whatever you're doing now, I can't really argue." She choked on her words.

Elunara leaned forward and patted her on the back. "Deep breath, relax, let it go. Deep breath, relax... that's the way." Elunara brushed her hair off her face. "Deep breath, relax. You're doing good."

"You must think me completely ridiculous."

"I think you're a mother overcome with emotion. It's happened to me a time or two."

"Oh, Gods, my baby walked without pain." She started weeping into her handkerchief.

Elunara reached under the couch and handed the woman a towel.

"Do I want to know why you have a bucket of towels under your couch?"

"They're all clean. I change them out daily."

"Ok, I don't want to know why." She sniffled into the towel. "I don't know how I could possibly repay you."

"See, that's the thing about me. I don't want payment. I don't need it. If you want to feel like you're paying me back, then always be kind to my kids."

Elunara spent the next couple of weeks working exclusively with Lydia in her spare moments. She was coaching the kid when Charnak made his next appearance in the training yard. She blatantly ignored him and focused on finishing the kid's training.

"Alright kid, you're released from the torture." She tossed her the skin of water. "Go rest up."

A panting girl chugged at the water before moving off to sit down.

Elunara strolled over to Charnak and ran a hand over his chest. "There you are. Your wounds have healed nicely."

"Who is that child?"

Elunara glanced back. "Oh, that's Lydia. She's under my training now."

"Fascinating."

"I refuse to tell you more than that, her situation is... delicate."

"You do not treat her delicately."

"It wouldn't help her if I did. What brings you into town?"

His attention was redirected to her. "I missed you, my beautiful goddess. It's been so long since I saw you last." He brushed a hand over her cheek. "How desperately I wish to kiss you."

"I have yet to decide if I should let you or not." Which was the truest statement she could have made.

"You are so pure hearted; you even take time to train the young ones yourself."

"Only under special circumstances." They slipped past the barrier. She looked back. "That little girl was born with bad legs. Instead of throwing her aside, her parents kept her, to great burden. I have healed her legs and have taken her on as my own, to train her properly."

The next thing she knew, he cupped her chin and was pressing his lips to hers. With a growl she cracked him in the face. He dropped down to his knees, hands on the ground. "Please forgive me my goddess. I was overcome with emotion. Do not kill me, for I have made a horrible error." He put his face in the grass.

She continued to stand over him and growl. She reached down and grabbed him by the shirt, hauling him up into the air. He flailed his legs in shock, before staring down at her. "Do NOT presume too much! I have told you that I decide what I do. You do not make forward attempts! DO you HEAR ME?"

"Yes, my Goddess, forgive me. Please, please forgive me." He whimpered.

She tossed him to the ground. "I am too angry to deal with you right now." She kicked him in the side. "I'm going in, before I decide to eradicate you. I will return tomorrow, when I am less infuriated. Keep your ass out here until I return." She stomped away.

She made her way to Grogek and sat down, arms crossed.

"What plagues you, my love?"

"Charnak kissed me."

"Does he still live?"

"Barely."

"Then you must actually care for him." Grogek shrugged.

She gawked up at him.

"That was your moment to slit his throat and dispose of the army as you saw fit. You did not, so even you must feel... something."

She put her chin on her fist. "Well, it is like you to know me better than I know myself."

He reached down and stroked her hair. "I support you. Whatever you decide, I will always support you."

She grabbed his hand and kissed it, before rubbing it against her cheek. "You are the best kind of person. I love you with all my being."

"As I love you, my vicious little she-wolf."

"Besides, I could use a slave. The army's not bad... and it royally pisses of Duchie that I keep him." She grinned with the ferociousness he'd come to love.

She'd decided to let him stew for a few days. No need to lose the situation over a stupid kiss. Rather him think her in a rage, than in love with him. She shuddered at that thought. Pet, yes. Love, no. She whistled as she swept the front porch.

Darguni ran up and gasped. "MOMMA! THEY TOOK BRADLY!

She dropped her broom. "WHAT?"

"A big, bald human man came and asked if he was Bradly, then... grabbed him. Said he was... taking him back... to his mother." Darguni pointed. "They went that way! Lydia is trying to follow!"

"No! Nonononono NO!"Tell whoever comes here that I will be back. Tell them what happened!" She took off running.