How to Train Your Orkhai

The sun's warm rays were very welcome to Tarai while she knelt between the tree's roots, and the orkhai softly hummed a song during her work. Leaves rustled underneath her wrapped hands as she looked for just one more little treasure to take home - whether it'd be shared with her family or sold at a market, it was always worth it. But it didn't seem like this particular set of roots was going to prove fruitful.

"Drat," Tarai muttered, standing up and stretching her toned arms swiftly. It didn't take long for a new smile to take the old one's place, however. "Let's see about you, then," she said, looking at a birch that stood a dozen paces away, separated from her by a small creek. Her legs may have been long, but even then she couldn't avoid stepping into the softly murmuring stream once, soaking her shoes and sending chill up her skin. "The sun needs a while longer to warm you up, huh?" Tarai thought with a sigh, but in truth she didn't mind in the slightest. Really, she liked it here, quiet as it was away from her clan, with her work only being joined by the sounds of the forest. Spirits, she loved them dearly... but it was so relaxing to have some time by herself for a bit. While absolutely far smaller than the great Ever Forest, these woods felt far more tranquil in their own right.

Again, she got down on her knees, carefully inspecting the white bark at the base for the subtle signs she was looking for. "You've got something for me, don't you?" she said, mostly to herself. "The forest has been very rewarding today already, but... surely you can spare one more?" It didn't look likely at first, as she couldn't find anything in the layer of dry leaves, moss and dirt until her eyes widened slightly. A tiny vine stuck out from underneath one of the roots, and with a victorious smile she carefully removed the delicate plant from underneath the tree that served as its host. "Six pieces of honeythread in one day! I can't believe it," Tarai smiled happily, already thinking of what she could do with such a bounty. She'd share most with her clan, but even if she'd just keep one there were plenty of uses.

When dried, the outer layer of the root could be ground into a fine near-golden powder with a lovely spicy sweetness - a taste that she knew plenty of culinarians adored to use. "All that's left is to remove the seeds and spread them around, so others can also..."

Then, a shout in the distance caught her off guard. She could hear a... woman? A man as well, nearby - and they sounded angry. "...What?" the orkhai mumbled quietly, looking around the glade and finding absolutely no one. Still, they had to be close.

Concerned, Tarai put the root in a small pouch and moved to where she could hear the people from, and soon the thumping of heavy paws joined the voices. "What's going on?" Tarai wondered, not having really expected to find people in this part of the woods. It wasn't until she'd made her way the edge of the hill that oversaw a road of sorts that wasn't as overgrown with trees that she saw the three strangers - two of them on large lizard-like steeds as they circled a much-smaller neko.

"...You really think you could hide?" one of the so-called horned ones asked the catgirl, her voice mocking while she held a lasso in one of her hands. "As if such a housecat could ever manage to find her way out here..."

"Easy way or not, you're coming with us!" what Tarai assumed to be her companion barked, another horned one albeit a fairly muscular male. "Don't make this harder for yourself than it has to be." The club he held looked rather vicious, and the orkhai saw the neko look at it for a moment. "Are they kidnapping her?" She couldn't just stand here and watch it, could she?

Before she could even make up her mind, however, the neko raised her hands. "Look, a girl knows when she's beaten..." she admitted, looking at the man as she bit her lip. "Someone like you knows what to do now, right?" The catgirl sounded almost... excited? Tarai watched in confusion.

"Cowards, the lot of you," he spat, but a wide grin split his broad face as he guided his mount closer and readied a set of shackles. "But at least you're a clever one, at least for a ne-" He didn't even have time to finish his sentence as the neko darted forward. After a swift cut to his saddle and a harsh smack to the lizard's flank he was thrown off the animal quite roughly, slamming against the undergrowth as his companion and Tarai were left surprised - the male beastkin could only grunt painfully while his mount ran off.

"Bullheaded idiots!" the orkhai could hear the neko shout as she fled further down the clearing, not stopped by the other horned one who instead rushed to help her partner. It didn't take him long to get back up, even if he wheezed in pain.

"After her!" the man shouted while he was helped onto the other beastkin's saddle, who with nothing but a grim nod set chase to the catgirl. "...They'll catch her again, and there's no way they'll take any chances next time," Tarai realized, and she knew there wasn't much time. "I can't just stand here, can I?" The orkhai knew this part of the forest, and that 'road' would lead anywhere but a dead end, not far away. There'd be no way she could catch up by following them - but luckily, there was an alternative.

Turning around immediately, she began to sprint through the forest, without any care for the mud or water she stepped into at times, hoping to find the neko through the shortcut before her pursuers could catch up. Tarai really didn't think she could forgive herself if she'd let something happen to someone innocent like that...

With her heart pounding in her chest, the athletic orkhai reached the dead end where she found the neko looking around for any way out while both of them could hear the chasing horned ones come close. Perhaps she'd heard the orkhai come closer, but the catgirl soon realized Tarai was there. Their gazes locked for the briefest moment, while a single, desperate plea came from the wide-eyed neko: "Help!"

The orkhai didn't think twice as she ran over to the panting beastkin's side, but there wasn't time for any questions anyway - the horned ones were there, and they looked angry. "Another of your bunch, huh? How'd you slip away?!" the woman barked, getting off the lizard while her companion winced and did the same.

"Just means a bigger payday!" the male beastkin growled, his club at the ready. At first, Tarai had hoped to diffuse the situation, but with how they looked at her she realized there wasn't much chance of that. "I'll enjoy this..."

"Just turn back and go away," the orkhai said, trying to suppress the nervous shiver in her voice. The only response she got from him was a spit on the ground before he swung his weapon wildly, an attack which Tarai only narrowly dodged. The other horned one's strike, however, she could not avoid, as the swift woman delivered a painful blow to her unguarded side. As much as it hurt, however, this wasn't the first time Tarai had been forced to fight, and she didn't need to wield a weapon for it...

Stepping back as the female assailant attacked again, she struck back with her palm to break the horned one's balance before punching with her other hand to knock the woman on her back. "Heh, got some fight in you, huh?" the male beastkin noted with a mocking grin. "A shame that treacherous cat left you already!"

"...What?" Tarai thought in disbelief, looking over her shoulder and finding out he wasn't lying - the neko was gone. "Where'd she go?!" Pain blossomed when her arm ribs took another hit when the horned ones took advantage of her distraction. Retaliating with another practised blow, the orkhai had to focus on defending herself - not to say she didn't manage to deliver some harsh blows herself. For all her strength, though, she wasn't able to defeat one of them before the other interfered, and she felt herself tire and bruise. "Did I make a mistake?" she asked herself, worried that putting her faith in the catgirl had been a mistake while she braced herself for another attack - a vicious headbutt from their horns this time.

Before the man could hit her, though, a rock hit his head and with his balance gone he crashed against a thick tree instead, falling over dazed. His companion yelled in anger, trying to strike down the orkhai with one final blow - but Tarai's fist was faster, knocking her on her back, unconscious. Then, everything was quiet in the clearing once more, leaving the exerted orkhai with little but her heavy, tired breathing. Her hands hurt from the strikes even despite the wrappings, and she knew that her body was going to develop some painful bruises... At least she still stood.

"Damn... well done, stranger," the neko spoke up, her lips curled with how impressed she was. "Taking on two horned ones by yourself - mostly, anyway... That's quite the feat, even for someone so big."

The orkhai felt a felt a bit of heat creeping to her face. "Was she just waiting for the right moment to throw that rock...?" Tarai had to wonder as she looked over the far shorter catgirl. "So you didn't run?"

"Running away when someone's so willing to help a stranger in need? Please..." the neko replied while she shook her head slowly. As she turned towards their beaten attackers and picked up the rope one of them had kept on a belt, she looked back to Tarai, raising an eyebrow. "Can you help me before they get back up? They're a bit... heavy."

At first Tarai was worried the woman was planning something dangerous, but her fears faded as the neko merely began to tie their wrists together with a quick knot. Stepping closer herself, the orkhai helped to get the two of them into a better position so the neko could begin to bind both of them without having to struggle with an unconscious body.

Even as she watched the woman work, Tarai had more than a few questions, and if she didn't ask them now she might never be able to. "Why were they chasing you...?" she asked a bit quietly, hoping that she wasn't raking up anything too personal for the cute neko.

The woman froze in her motions for just a moment before she looked over her shoulder towards her rescuer. "Probably to snare me and take me to whatever camp these brutes call their home. Surely you've heard just what those rape-happy horned ones do to anyone they find 'weak', hidden away in their forests?" the shorter catgirl pointed out - calmer than Tarai was expecting, honestly. The thought of someone like her being brutally taken wasn't one that the orkhai wanted to think about for too long. When both were tied up, the beastkin's slender hands slipped into the pockets of their clothes and fished out two small pouches that jingled pleasantly, offering one to Tarai. "It's only fair if we help ourselves to their belongings as revenge!"

Tarai didn't notice at first, though. Instead, she was looking at their clothes herself, noticing that they looked far more uniform and in far better clothes than she'd have expected from a tribe of horned ones. Besides... "I didn't think we had any groups of their kind living in these woods," she mentioned with a slight frown. "I've heard the Ever Forest is full of them, but my clan's passed through these lands often enough that we should've noticed... Did we just miss them, somehow...?"

"Whatever the case, they're harmless now," the neko said rather quickly as she pocketed the pouches while she looked up to Tarai with a smile and stood up. "Look... you saved me from a bad fate, and I'm really happy for it. I thought they'd carry me off, but the way you were able to handle them... I owe you one, really."

That same heat from before returned all the fiercer as Tarai's eyes cast downwards, hoping that she wasn't blushing too fiercely. It took her a little bit before she could even look at the catgirl again, but eventually she regained at least some of her nerves. "She... she really is pretty," Tarai thought when she finally took the time to properly look the beastkin over. "So different from the others at home..." Given that she mostly had ogres to compare the neko to, it didn't surprise her she was not at all like them. Unlike them, the girl wasn't tall in the slightest - the orkhai figured she was shorter than the average human she saw whenever visiting their towns, and she was just so lithe... While they were streaked with dirt, the neko's clothes were nonetheless well-made - black thigh-high boots with a knife strapped to them, matching gloves and tight cloth pants mixed with a leather corset over a blouse that exposed a few inches of generous, fair-skinned cleavage, all combined making for a sexy yet classy outfit. Slim as the rest of the catgirl was, it was clear that her chest more than compensated in all of their ample splendour - something that Tarai found kept her gaze for quite a while. They were definitely far bigger than her own...

It wasn't until she saw the amused glimmer in the girl's slitted, purple eyes that Tarai realized she'd been staring so very awkwardly - a realization that only made her blush all the brighter. Her face was so very alluring too... full lips and a cute nose were joined by darker facial markings almost like claw marks at the side of her face, and that fuzzy yet sharp spiky silver hair contrasted perfectly with ears that looked positively soft. "I-I... well, you d-don't owe me," the orkhai stammered as she instinctively rubbed some of her covered bruises. "I couldn't just leave you to your fate..."

"Humble, too?" the neko giggled while her long furry tail swayed. Her mirth didn't stay for long, however , as her expression turned more serious when she looked down the road she'd come from. "I... already asked a lot out of you, but do you know somewhere safer than here?" She gestured towards the still-unconscious horned ones. "More of them might come, and I don't want either of us to get hurt."

Tarai didn't have to think about her answer for long, not with the way those beautiful eyes looked at her. She couldn't say no to someone in need, could she...? "Come with me, there are plenty of safe spots in these woods!" the orkhai said with an eager nod as she turned around and began to walk, forgetting to wait for the neko's response in her excitement.

"Lead the way, Fists," the neko chuckled as she cast one last glance at the horned ones with a relieved smirk.

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Lanica really hadn't been expecting the day to go as it had. Stealing a haul of cargo like that was supposed to have been easy, unattended as it was said it'd be... but of course it was a trap. "How many others got away...?" the neko wondered curiously as she stepped over a thick root. It might very well just have been sheer luck that she was able to flee from the bounty hunters at first. Not that she was safe, however, as it'd turned out. Of course, it hadn't ended there...

As her rescuer showed her the way, the neko took her time to inspect the impressively tall woman that she'd stumbled upon. And damn, she was tall. "That has to be, what, seven feet? Give or take a couple inches," Lanica thought, already having checked her shoes for any large heels and finding this really was her height. Compared to her own modest length, she was huge! It was a shame her clothes covered most of her body aside from her arms, but she could see that the girl was very fit, with clearly defined musculature that promised quite a bit of strength. They weren't all that bulky, though - in a way, it reminded Lanica of a swimmer's body. Even though the rest of her physique was hard to gauge, the neko wouldn't at all be surprised if she wasn't especially broadly built - admittedly, that might be odd for a woman that took on two strong horned ones... "Did she try to dress for practicality or does she really just have that bland a sense for fashion...?" the neko asked herself as those less-than-fancy clothes drew her eyes not at all impressed by them in the slightest. "With how long those legs are, would it kill her to show a bit of it?" Her bronze skin had a lovely reddish hue, and already Lanica was imagining countless outfits to compliment the girl's traits...

At times she had to quicken her step when her own lack of comfort with the forest's soil and her rescuer's far bigger paces made her lag behind, but the amazonian woman slowed down to wait for her enough that two could stay close. It wasn't quite as clear as it was mere minutes before, but the blush on that bronze skin would never slip past her notice. Black dreadlocks that became more orange as they went on framed her face in a way that Lanica had to admit suited her rather nicely, and her face, while perhaps a bit rough around the edges... well, it certainly wasn't hard on the neko's eyes at all, even if she knew there was a lot that she could do with just a bit of makeup. Lanica had even noticed that her eyes were heterochromatic - quite a rare trait!

Still, there was so much she didn't know yet. What race was she even? She didn't smell like a typical orc despite sharing some traits, and there was a grace to the girl that was only rarely found among their kind anyway. "There's something almost... elven about her." Was the girl a hybrid, like what was known to happen? Perhaps the neko would find out later - she could look all she wanted now, but that wasn't something she could answer herself. Instead, her eyes travelled all over her rescuer when she wasn't looking back, intent on inspecting every inch that she could. If Lanica had to guess, the girl was just a couple years younger than herself at most - certainly no older than her early twenties, at least. The thought of those eyes, one green and one purple would no doubt look amazing staring up to the neko from between her legs...

"Now's not the time for that," Lanica chided herself. Could she even trust this girl, or was she being led into a trap...? The neko was certain that she wasn't with the bounty hunters, but had the tall girl bought her lie? Lanica didn't quite know what to think of her yet, but it wasn't like she had many options aside from following her through the woods.

After a few more minutes of quiet walking, the two reached a small glade that, while overgrown with a lot of plantlife, seemed to be entirely free from signs of civilization, both primitive and otherwise. There was little to be heard but the song of a few birds and the wind rustling through the leaves. "We're safe here," her guide said with a nod, seeming a bit less nervous than before at least - not that that was a high bar.

"Thanks a lot for your help, miss..." Lanica began before looking up with a playful and curious smile. "Say, what do I call you? I've got to know the name of my rescuer, don't you think?" she asked as she sat down on a fallen tree to give her weary legs at least some respite.

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"T-Tarai," the orkhai replied, already annoyed by herself as she felt the trembling in her voice sounded so very silly. "Why can't I just stay calm?!" She didn't talk much to people outside of her clan, but even when she did spend some time among the humans she never felt this way!

The smile on the neko's lips widened, but thankfully she only seemed a bit amused - a relief for the embarrassed orkhai, however small it may be. "Tarai, huh? That's a lovely name..." the catgirl said, her slitted eyes running over the tall woman's form. "Very fitting for such an impressive girl, too." Then, she gestured to herself. "My name is Lanica, and while I really wasn't expecting the day to go as it has I've been lucky to cross your path."

"Lanica..." Tarai thought, deciding she liked the sound of it. "Anyone would've helped you, it wouldn't have been right to, you know, leave you to them."

"Aw, there's no need to downplay what you did, tough girl... It takes a brave woman to charge two rampaging horned ones like that!" Lanica protested with wide eyes before she tapped the log she sat on invitingly. "Why don't you sit down and relax a bit yourself? I promise I don't bite - usually," she chuckled.