Ogres and Ogresses Ch. 13

"Kail the ogre!"

He turned and saw a huntress approaching him. She had her spear in hand.

"You have been summoned to the Chieftess' tent."

He nodded and followed the huntress accordingly. He would not apologize for putting an obnoxious woman in her place. He was not an animal, and he did not enjoy being toyed with. Zyra had not exactly treated him as a human, but she had never demeaned him. She attempted to appear to be doing so often, but her actions spoke louder than her words.

Why was he thinking about her again?

He snarled, unintentionally making the huntress in front of him start. A jumpy lot, he mused. He had snarled, growled, even snapped at Zyra and she hadn't so much as...

He was thinking about her again.

When he reached the Chieftess' tent the huntress pulled the curtain back and her crawled in. Kyzu was laid out on a bed of furs and pillows. He didn't know they made pillows. He had not seen a single pillow in either Ginger or Zyra's tents. Kyzu had four.

Her long hair had been oiled to shine like obsidian and lay loose along her back and shoulders. She wore a thin white dress that appeared to be draped over her long lengthy body. It accented her graceful sexuality, the small tips of her nipples poked against the fabric. Her breasts were unbound.

"Would you help me with an elixir ogre?" she asked. He eyed her warily. What exactly was she planning to mix?

"What kind of elixir?"

"One that will give me more energy. I want to be about more to perform my duties. I tire too easily."

He looked at her for a moment longer then complied, going over to her cabinet of herbs. Seeing she had dried several of the cuts he needed he began to gather them.

"You will need to find some more herbs, but these seeds here..."

He stopped. She had come to kneel behind him, placing her hands on his back.

"Go on," she lulled.

Kail put the jars back and turned to her.

"What are you doing?"

Kyzu laughed, running a finger along the neck of his shirt. "Come now ogre. Let us be plain. Surely you know what I do."

"Let's say I do not."

"Well, would you like to quench your desires with me?"

Kail pushed her finger off. "Thank you, but I'll kindly refuse."

"You will not," Kyzu declared walking back to lie on her pillows. "Do not forget your place ogre. You will come here and draw your pleasure from my lips. Now come."

Kail felt an enraged vein begin to pulse in the back of his head. He was not amused. Kyzu was a very rude woman. Perhaps it ran in the family. He noticed what Kyzu said was not echoed in her body language. Another foil? Another opposite to Zyra?

He wasn't sure he could handle many more.

"Will you just stare at me ogre?"

He would. It was getting dark and he was waiting to see what color she would shine. When the sun tucked behind the land he was not disappointed. Just as he had suspected she was not gold at all. Kyzu was not even the slightest bit aroused. Instead she shimmered slivers of green indicating envy and dots of red hinting anger. Yet the brightest emotion was an ominous purple cloud that was drunked with jealousy.

"What are you hoping to gain by this?" Kail asked her.

Her calm smiliing face never betrayed the raging emotions inside her.

"Why pleasure of course. I want you Kail. Let me accept you. I'm beautiful am I not?"

Kail shook his head. "I decline. Excuse me."

He made a motion to draw the tent and he heard a crash behind him. Kyzu had throw a jar of herbs at him and missed.

"You will not leave this tent," she seethed furiously, red flaming through the tumultuous cloud above her. "You are on my land!"

"This land is not yours," Kail interjected sharply. "You cannot control the forest. You are merely borrowing its resources. Even your younger sister seems to understand that."

"MY SISTER IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!"

Kyzu's scream confirmed his suspicions.

"Your jealous is unbecoming," he snarled. "Did you think I would not notice?"

Kyzu froze like a startled deer before her face finally betrayed her true emotions. She sneered at him evilly.

"So the rumors are true. You do desire each other. Did you think I would not notice? How she tries to keep you away from the rest of us so that she can have you all to herself. She comes here pretending to be so "selfless" when she is really a selfish..."

"Quiet."

Kyzu looked at ogres face and he could see fear seep into her emotions. She was making him angry, angrier than he had been in a long time. He watched as her face became sensual again as she decidedly switched tactics.

"Listen ogre, there's no need to make this personal. I won't tell her. I know you must be frustrated with her refusal. You might desire her, but that desire could easily be transfered for a night. Can't you see how beautiful and soft I am?" She held her breasts in her hands and smiled. "Compared to Zyra who struts about like a man, I'm a goddess."

Kail smirked at her, his teeth glinting in the lantern light.

"You'd like to be," he quipped. "But you're not. Your jealousy makes you ugly. You are not worthy to speak her name."

Before she could pull her dropped jaw off the floor he exited her tent. He heard her running after him, cursing his name.

"I AM CHIEFTESS!" she screamed. "I AM THE DECIDER OF YOUR FATE YOU FOUL BEAST! I OWN YOU! If you leave...you will be exiled permanently!"

Kail chuckled and turned to face the flustered woman.

"The only owner of fates is Zyra, our keromedio. In case you have forgotten, she saved your life and the life of your child. The owner of my fate is not pathetic Kyzu. And that is what you are."

He disappeared back into the forest leaving Kyzu to stew in her hatred.

__________________________________________________

Henna sighed dreamily as she stared at the stars.

Somewhere under this same sky was Kail.

He could stare at the same stars she looked at and no matter how far apart they were, they would always be together.

"Hey Henna! Why are you sighing so much over there?"

"Ooh I know who she's thinking about."

The huntresses snickered as Henna blushed.

"Oh quiet!" she snapped.

They were at the camp resting before the hunting of the Nemlock. Nemlock were a nocturnal cross between a wildcat and a bear. They were vicious, but could be easily rounded up if there were enough hunters were with great precision. Nemlock were reliable because they were pack animals. Find one Nemlock find them all. As long as you knew their number, you could round them up.

Imjah nudged Henna, handing her a flask of water. She took a swig, passing it on as she plucked a fistful of berries from a passing basket. Crunching on a red one she smiled at their sweetness. Sweet...sweet like Kail.

"You know," Imjah said teasingly. "You've been sighing since you were sent to deliver that message to the ogre."

All eyes turned to her suddenly.

"Oh my...did you?"

"You did, didn't you!"

"Did it fit?"

Henna smiled nervously, the attention addictive. She was about to tell a half truth and let the girls think she had slept with the ogre but Rair interjected.

"Impossible."

Henna looked at her in surprise. "Why is it so impossible?"

Rair's mouth thinned and she turned from them. They waited a minute before realzing that was probably all the commentary they would have from her for the rest of the night.

Paj gave her a rueful smile. "Well you know. It is said he only has eyes for one of us."

"And who is that?"

The other huntresses said nothing, but their gaze floated to Zyra. She was braiding the hair of one of the village girls who had come to help them. Her fingers were fast and deft. When she finished she put a small flower in the girl's hair and gave her a smile as the girl thanked her.

Henna's blood began to boil.

"Impossible," Henna snapped. "Kail doesn't even talk to her. She tried to exile him!"

"That may be true," Imjah said. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't want her. It only means she doesn't want him."

"Unless she's trying to keep him all to herself."

"Yes that's possible."

"What do you think Bellen?"

"Well I think..."

Henna was no longer the center of the attention, nor the focal point of the discussion. Henna looked over to Zyra who was now lying on her back. She didn't know why she was so special.

Sure she was kind of pretty and a good huntress, but Henna would grow up to be even prettier and even more skilled. She had the drive and the determination. Zyra was short tempered and rude with Kail, she didn't even smile at him. That behavior would make his infatuation flaccid in no time.

Still, she couldn't help but recall moments when he left the group to speak with Zyra exclusively. Of course that was because she was a leader. Yet maybe it was because they had a unique bond.

Kail was abnormal, and Zyra was a freak.

There was no doubt about it. She was above everyone, but still believed herself to be part of the group. She was in a league of her own, and she broke nails trying to dig down to their level. It was sick.

Part of Henna was disturbed that she had ever look up to her. Her eyes drifted to her bandaged arm and she shivered.

Kail couldn't want Zyra, Zyra was all wrong.

When the Nemlock hunt began Henna had been told to stay behind. Zyra did not know that Henna took this as a personal slight. Zyra knew Henna liked Kail. She was trying to show how much better she was. Well Henna wouldn't have it!

Logically it made sense. It was dangerous and she was slight in stature. At night the depth of everything was different. Not to mention that she had only recently become adequate in archery. Henna did not care. After the huntresses left she snuck off after them. She would show them, she would show them all.

__________________________________________________

Zyra grit her teeth in concentration.

Five paces down was the Nemlock cave. Outside it were three mature male Nemlocks. She, Rair, and Imjah had coordinated to shoot them at the exact same time. They had no idea how many of the Nemlock were in the cave. If the males alerted the inside before they could get a number, they might be overwhelmed.

The bow string in her hand was held taunt as she judged which one she should take. She made an owl call and hooted twice. She would take the second one from the left. She heard three hoots on her right and one on her left. Good, they were all on the same front.

Staying rigid she stood in the shadow of the tree. Her huntresses followed her, the others were ready with bows and spears.

One...two...th...

There was a rustle in the brushes. The males head popped up and their heads snapped in the direction. Far off Zyra could see the shadow of a small figure. She forced her sight to focus. It was Henna. The Nemlock began to growl and stood up menacingly. Their vision was perfect at night, they saw her too. The middle one lurched into a run and out of instinct Zyra took it down before it could charge the bushes.

It let out a loud yelp and two others followed. A rumbling began to sound in the cave. It was a building crescendo, becoming louder and louder until the ground began to shake beneath them.

There were too many.

And they were coming out.

"Run!" Zyra shouted.

She launched herself through the trees, and her group followed on her ankles. A swarm of the Nemlock males burst out of the cave mouth charging towards the moving figures. One came up on Rair's right. Rair turned and shot it between the eyes. The others were doing the same, fending off the torrent of Nemlock that were trying to overwhelm them.

"HEAD TO THE STREAM!" Zyra shouted.

She hoped they realized there was no way they could head to camp. They might lead the Nemlock to the village girls. Dark purple Nemlock blood hit her face and she fought the nausea.

Suddenly she heard a scream. Running backwards she saw Henna was trapped in a tree.

"Help!"

She was crying, screaming as four Nemlock scratched and growled the tree's bark. They stretched, trying to snap at her dangling foot. The branch that held her had no room for it. One lucky snap and they'd pull her down.

Imjah grabbed Zyra's arm and turned her forward.

"Leave her! She will be safest in the trees."

"Help me! Sisters!"

Zyra stopped.

"Zyra no!"

"Sisters!"

Rair halted when she saw Zyra stop. Zyra glanced at her and Rair gave her a nod. Understanding passed among them. She took a deep breath as she crouched. Rair did the same in the opposite direction. Then they blasted off, Rair sprinting to take the lead and she going back to save Henna.

Adrenaline pumped harshly through her veins as she felled the Nemlock over and over. She was cutting across diagonally. Violently she stabbed one and flipped over its body to cut another. She had never felt so light and athletic, never felt so deadly. Her shot of overconfidence was knocked out of her as she was rammed behind. She fell on her knees as one jumped on her back. Grunting she forced it overhead and felled it with an arrow.

A white haze began to seek out of her arm. Looking down she saw her bandage coming apart. When the light burned through the bandage her tattoo was exposed, glowing silver. With impossible speed she shot four arrows into the Nemlock by the tree. The others around her retreated, blinded by the light's glare.

"Jump!"

Henna did as she commanded. Lunging forward Zyra ran with intentions to pass the tree. Henna landed roughly into her arms. Mid stride she set the girl down and grabbed her hand. Henna's breath was heavy and she kept tripping, but Zyra's hand kept her upright. They ran frantically the furious Nemlock behind. Finally they plunged head first into the water.

Submerged, Zyra opened her eyes and watched as the Nemlock growled, pacing the shore. Nemlock could not swim. Zyra heard Henna whimper and hugged her closer.

"Don't make a sound," she whispered.

Finally they left. Zyra let out a relieved sigh.

"Are you alright?"

Zyra turned to Henna and saw fear in her eyes. Shocked she turned behind her to see the cause. Had a Nemlock tried to swim? There was nothing. There was only...

Henna jerked her hand out of hers.

"Henna..."

Henna shook her head and swam to the bank.

"I wasn't asking you," she said brokenly. "I wasn't asking for you to help me."

Henna scurried up the bank, leaving Zyra hopelessly confused.

When she arrived back to the camp the huntresses were chewing out Henna. The girl was shaken up, but the huntresses had little pity for her. Zyra decided to leave the situation be. She was heading to her sleeping place when a hand extended a stick of meat out to her. It was Rair.

"Are you alright my huntress?"

Zyra nodded and accepted the stick.

"Yes, thank you."

Rair looked at her like she wished to speak, then instead bowed her head to her and went off to her own spot. Zyra ate quickly and tried to sleep. She listened and heard each of her huntresses doze off. When the fire had blown out and they were enveloped by the darkness Zyra sat up. Sleep was pointless. The fear in Henna's eyes had been real. The fear of her was real. That look would keep her up all night.

When second dawn came, they packed up and headed towards the Nemlock cave to see if the bodies were carried off. Sure enough a good set of the Nemlock were still there. Carefully they cut off the necessary parts and stuffed them in the salted bags to be stored for now. Once home they would dry the meats for storage and share out the dark blue and purple furs. The huntresses were shocked by the amount of bodies they collected in the clearing, but the trail of bodies that lead to the tree was atrocious. It was nothing short of a massacre, bodies on bodies mingled in sick purple blood.

Zyra put a hand to her mouth. She had done...that? Turning to her huntresses she noticed they had all clumped together just a bit away from her. Uneasiness filled her. Why were they looking at her that way? She had saved Henna. It was...

Her tattoo. She had not spied her arm since that night.

The white tattoo was now purple.

She stared at it wide eyed before she reached down and tore the mouth of a salt bag. Taking the tatters she bound her arm. Then she resumed her duty in silence. The huntresses and village girls, both wary followed after.

Henna wouldn't even look at her.

The way back was tensioned. It was building high and higher, on the verge of snapping.

It wasn't her fault! Why were they blaming her?

Her thoughts made her angrier and angrier. When the village was in sight she heard Henna say, "Zyra is so brutish."

Zyra turned on her like a stepped on snake.

"What did you say?"

Henna's eyes widened, but she repeated herself. "I said...you're brutish."

"And what right do you have to say that?" Zyra snarled. "You nearly got us killed! Yourself included! If I had not saved you..."

"I would have been fine," Henna spat. "I was in a tree remember? I could have waited."

"Then you shouldn't have called us then," Zyra said stepping forward into the girl's face.

"Maybe." Henna defiantly put her hands on her hips, the attention forcing her to be brave. She would show everyone that was afraid of Zyra that she wasn't afraid. She was Zyra's equal. She was worthy of Kail.

"But you didn't have to listen to me. That was a judgment call that a proper leader would have made."

Zyra's blood ran cold as an uncontrollable fury held her in its grasp. She could feel her body trembling from the effort it took not to lay hands on the girl for the grave insult.

In a voice softer than a whisper she asked,

"Do you contest my leadership?"

Henna swallowed hard but squared up her shoulders.

It was too late to back out now.

"Yes."

A loud chorus of gasps met her ears. Zyra looked beyond her and saw that the village women were watching the scene.

Of course. Sometimes she felt like she was surrounded by animals. Sometimes she hated them all.

"Are there any more among you who feel this?"

The village hum stopped as Kyzu stepped forward. Her sister was in a green robe, her hair pinned back in a long braid. She felt relief that dried,withering when she saw Kyzu's expression.

"Then, how about a duel rite?"

Another louder gasp went through her sisters.

No one had had to enact a duel rite for leadership for over a century.

It was no contest that Zyra was the rightful leader. Questioning it was a greater insult then the one Henna had given her.

"That is highly uncalled for!" Zyra shouted. "I have proven time and time again that I..."

Kyzu's eyes met hers in challenge.

"If you feel you cannot complete the task, then perhaps they are right."

She narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"This is nothing short of an insult."

Kyzu said nothing. It was true, what could she say. Instead she turned to the huntresses.

"Which of you will compete?"

Zyra's teeth clenched when Henna stepped forward. No one else moved.

"We need two other champions," Kyzu said eying the huntresses. She stalked in front of them like a tigress.

"Hm...Imjah, what about you? You are a seasoned huntress."

Imjah nodded and avoided Zyra's gaze as she stepped forward. Kyzu went up the line again. This time, she stopped in front of Rair. She was staring at the ground.

"Rair?"

Rair's face grew grimmer, if possible.

"...I would rather not my Chieftess."

Kyzu's bony finger tilted up her chin.

"Go."

Rair stiffly went to join the line of competitors.

"Is there any justifiable cause to have any member not participate?" Kyzu said to her as well as the crowd.

Zyra could not respond to her, the depth of her betrayal bleeding the bonds that had made them blood sisters for so long.