Walker Ch. 01.14

Chapter 1.14

Walker was woken by the front door. Edwin slouched into the room, took off his boots at the door and stepped around the bodies before the fire to retrieve the bottle of whiskey. 'I brought your silver.' he said setting the bag beside the hearth.

His silver streaked black hair was disheveled but his uniform still neat under layers of dirt. His sword lodged at an awkward angle and he unbuckled his belt one handed, simply tearing it off his hip and letting it lie beside him. He filled a glass and poured it down his throat before dropping to the couch.

Edwin noticed the tiger watching him, his words slurred with fatigue 'You two ever gon' use the guestroom?'

Walker kept his voice low for the snoring girl beside him 'Hrmm. What time is it?'

'Early evenin'.' the man rubbed his face then refilled his glass.

'Did you learn anything?'

'Aye some things. Beastkin were reporting that groups of these bastards were roaming and capturing beasty tribes months of trekking to the north. They catch some beasties, force em into their army, then split off with less men to catch more. Capture, convert and split. Our two hundred band had maybe eighteen men. They say there's some more men in the forests but the two hundred was the main group. Women we spoke to said the same.'

Walker frowned 'Could be a danger.'

'Aye. But none will talk of the men.'

'Hrmm.'

'Fuck, the way I feel I envy the dead.'

There was a long silence as the man stared blankly into the flaming hearth 'I seen death.' he said eventually, 'I seen ugly things. Usually there's a reason for it, accident, punishment, old age. Torture for extremes. Even killed some men fighting em...' he drained the second glass. 'You know how many you've killed?'

'Hrmm. No.'

Edwin opened his mouth as if about to speak but closed it again, then he spoke 'You haunted by their spirits?'

'Some I regret.' Walker admitted.

Tired, the man pulled his lip up in a weak smile 'Regret. Seems a weak word for what I'm feeling.'

The tiger waited as the man shifted on the sofa, as if he could not find comfort in any position he chose to sit 'Today was the worst day 'f me life. We interrogated some o' the women; mostly they're steaders, got kidnapped, tortured til' fear drove em to obedience. Asked em questions, got no answers. Chopped one's head off to scare the others. Did not work. Tied the second down, plugged her puss 'n had the dogs drag their dicks through her arsehole ti'll she bled and moaned. Started whippin' her halfway through. Bled out in front of the others. The third we took our time with. She pissed herself afore we even raised her ankles to the rafters in the mess. Used the lash so we wouldn't break skin, fucked her throat for hours, almost drowned her in a bucket. This poor woman, pleadin' fer death "I can't tell. I can't tell." she kept croaking as we got more intense. About midday we drag her back before the others. Set the dogs ta chewing on her so the others could see. Them bastards was laughing at us all the way, killed one of em too by the way. About then a guard gets an idea 'n asks her, "They use magic on yous?" and they says "I can't tell. I can't tell.". I put my sword through her then, save her more pain.'

Edwin seemed old and decrepit then. He drank and stared at the fire. Fuck, he muttered, fuck.

'The men?' the tiger whispered.

'Oh aye, the shivers they give me. Started with one o' em. They all got tattoos on em, like jungles and vines and animal teeth and shite. So, we work the first one hard, just as he dies the other five, as one man, they fuckin' chew their own wrists open but... more than that. We didn't notice the chewing right off, when we do notice they start chewing each other's' necks like fucking animals. Just goin' at it. A fucking massacre... never seen anything like it in my life. Pulled em off each other. Four bled out right there, we try saving the last one but too late, his neck's been gnawed up good. Just fucking gnawed up. Fuck. Worst fucking day of my life. Worst fucking day, the things we did. Things I did.'

The man threw back a third glass, 'Ever see anything like it?'

Walker gave no answer.

'I preferred us killing each other to this shite. A wounded man, you can help him or kill him. But this... killing feels more honest, it don't sit on my soul like this.'

'It is war.'

'Oh aye, I guess. It's been stuck in my mind all day. I want to talk about last night. Everything that's happened, seems obvious to me you wasn't just some soldier or warrior in your homeland. We're strangers to you but you insisted on commanding and to my eyes it looked like you're blessed at it. You knew exactly what to do, when to do it. If there's more fighting to come, I want you with us...'

The man stopped at the tiger's piercing glare, its eyes betraying anger or resentment. There was a tense silence before Walker broke it 'I leave in the morning.'

'Look,' Edwin said urgently, 'the old man's willing to give you a house. A nice one off of one of the dead guards. Pay you a salary.'

'Not my land. Not my town. Not my race. Not my fight.' Walker's words were quiet but insistent 'The Norrish have soldiers.'

Edwin leaned forward speaking with urgency 'A boat's gone to the city with a report and request. The Elderman and I are both skeptical whether they'd even believe our story. And even if they do send soldiers, the war with the south men keep killing Norrish boys as fast as the kingdom can make em. Why hurry? There's nothing happening now. Stay a while. Make your money, take the house.' he pointed at the slumbering girl 'Have some fun. Live a good life. This ain't a rush choice.'

The Tigreni thought about the girl beside him, 'Alright.' he muttered.

'So who are you?' the man asked mystified.

'A traveler.' Walker answered before turning away and closing his eyes.

Meri found her man drunk on the couch soon after, mumbling of the fear to sleep and to dream. Walker listened to their whispering as she fed him, encouraged him to a bath and then taking him up the stairs with the sisters in tow.

Come the morning Edwin woke him with a toe in the ribs, 'I have to go. Cedric will be by with house keys. I think he'll be glad to be away from the interrogations.'

'Hrmm.'

Edwin left then. The tiger stirred finding the girl literally glued to his side. He rolled her to her back, his furred pulled at the skin. She mumbled in a doze, her front covered in a layer of orange fur. He sat up wincing as the gash in his side reminded him of its existence.

The house was still warm but the fire had burned down to faintly glowing embers.

He took a deep breath and crossed his legs, placed his palms on his knees and straightened his back. Filling his lungs deeply, he exhaled slowly. He felt like he'd slept well enough but there were wordless thoughts that bothered him, images that seemed to annoy him.

Clearing his mind he continued the breathing, reminding himself of the dream while actively seeking to set aside his troubling internal dialogues. It was like watching his own mind, paying attention to its tendency to deliver upon him an image or string of words that demanded he grasp it, bring it to the front and work at it like a knot. Instead he breathed and gently swept away each image, each sentence, each problem that his mind presented to him. His mindless focus turned on the sounds around him, human voices near and far, the girl's breathing, the scent of the wood-smoke mixed with the sweetly smell of his dried semen, the thickness of the carpet beneath and the sharp tugging of his wounded flesh. It felt as if his soul emerged to the fore, a peace settling over him.

His breathing continued until the thoughts ceased their intrusion upon him and suddenly there it was, the awareness of the energies in the world around him like an ocean of life, swirling and dancing all about. He began swaying motionlessly as if trying to dislodge himself from his physical body. He felt that silent snap as he escaped from the flesh and blood thing on the carpet. And there he was, peacefully drifting in the shallow end of the dream.

Colors both vivid and pale flowed about him, purples, yellows, reds and the darker muted colors too. Then he spied another in the room with him, a wraith like figure floating in hues of all green. The humanoid creature had the shape of an oversize arrowhead; a body with a wide bottom as if a cape made of leaves and moss twisted in the wind. It seemed to notice him, bobbed as if in greeting, then extending a part of itself towards him.

Countless times in his life had he done the meditation but never had he experienced this. His focus intensified and with an effort of the will he imagined himself bobbing down in an effort to mirror the apparent greeting from the other creature. It twirled in a joyful motion sweeping up other colors around it then extending its spectral arms throwing the colors outwards in a bright explosion of spiritual energies. It drifted, as if swimming towards him, reaching out to touch him.

The Tigreni warrior known as Walker felt arms wrap around his neck from behind. His eyes flashed open.

'Good morning.' Shuq whispered in his ear as she pressed her soft breasts to his back.

His head snapped back to the couch where a moment before he had seen another entity, invisible to his eyes.

'Good morning.' he grumbled as sensations of the flesh washed over him again 'Sleep well?'

'Aye, very well.' she draped herself on his shoulder, 'You?' Her hands idly explored the contours of muscle on his chest.

'Same.'

'I enjoyed what we did.' she sounded blissful 'You're very strong.'

He nodded smelling his cum on her breath.

'What are you doing?'

'Meditating.'

'Why?'

'I was in the dream.'

'Oh, I see.' but it was clear she didn't see, 'Where are we going when we leave?'

'Hrmm. We're not. They gave me a house.'

Her hands stopped moving 'I don't understand, we're staying?'

'We're staying, for a time.'

Shuq was quiet and he could almost hear her mind working, 'We'll have to buy things.'

'Aye. We'll do that.'

Her palm settled under his muzzle. She raised herself up, turned her head and planted her lips on his mouth.

Unsure, he remained passive as her tongue slid between his teeth and seemed to toy playfully with his. He responded, opening his mouth and folding the wide girth of his tongue around hers. There were moments of awkwardness but arousal came to both.

Shuq pulled away smiling pleasantly at the tiger's face. She licked his nose 'I'm glad.'

Unable to smile as humans do he showed her some teeth as his eyes narrowed with mirth.

'My new name. What does it mean?'

His brow raised at the abrupt change in topic, 'Despair.'

Her disappointment was palpable 'It sounds ugly too.'

'Hrmm. Our language is not like Norrish.'

'But why despair?'

He shrugged as if it should be obvious 'Context of use changes the applicability.'

'Oh aye? Lofty words but what does it mean?'

'Despair before hope. An attempt at betterment. Sadness and joy. Strong feeling. Prospect of loss. It is understood to mean what makes sense in a situation.'

Her hair folded over his ear making it jump involuntarily 'What did you understand it to mean when you chose it?'

'A sad girl. We were in a bad situation. I felt despair. Other things.'

'Hrmm. I see.' she imitated in an almost mocking tone 'And your Norrish name is Walker? Walker walks. Walking Walker walks. Walk walk Walker.'.

'Aye.' he answered mocking the Norrish affectation 'Defined by what you do.'

Kissing his neck she said 'Well, today I'm feeling hopeful.'

Meri herded the naked sisters downstairs. Both girls had their eyes glued to their feet, their hair was disheveled and they had red marks round their ankles, they trundled wordlessly through the dining area. Edwin's woman wore a plain woolen robe but carried a fresh lavender house dress in her arms as she descended the stairs.

'Go wash your cunts outside. Eat something then go clean the upstairs bedroom before you start your chores. Add more wood to the bath first.'

She found her guests in their usual spot by the hearth. The unnatural thickness to the tiger's muscle still brought her to pause as each time she saw him her mind had to adjust to the uncanny appearance. He was barely taller than she but at a distance the weight on his frame made him seem much larger in stature. With Shuq draped over his shoulder she seemed like a child in comparison. The girl wistfully whispered into the tiger's cone shaped ear.

'Mornin' you two.' she greeted cheerfully ' Stay there, I'll get you some breakfast.'

She brought leftover soup and some bread that Edwin had presumably warmed earlier. The woman lounged on the couch, her legs stretched out before her with crossed ankles. Her robe had slipped open revealing the darkened nipples while her vaginal mound displayed the slightly enlarged clitoris.

'You'll be staying in Lumberton a while I hear.' she said as they ate 'I know the house, it's about a block to the south, closer to the square than ours.'

Walker acknowledged the words but it was Shuq who asked 'Is it nice ma'am?'

'Ahh,' Meri bobbed her head as if saying there was good and bad, 'the little I knew about the man is that he was frugal in life. At the least it'll have a bed and the necessities for life. Tell me girl, what skills do you have?'

Shuq let go of Walker's neck, sitting beside him so she could better be part of the conversation, 'Well, I know chickens and livestock breeding. I can count and read well I think, kept track of my da's money. Kept da's house clean and cooked for my sisters as well as I could.'

'That's a start.' the older woman said, 'Mister Walker, I'll teach her about home making if you'll allow it, and train her up a bit.'

The tiger, chewing on a strip of meat, shrugged. It was Shuq who answered 'I'd appreciate that Miss Meri, thank you.'

'Good, Lumberton isn't a homestead and trouble is easy to find if you don't know our way of life. Your master seems to be an inexperienced slave owner.'

Walker interrupted her with a question 'Teaching and training. That come from your dog training books?'

'Ahh!' the woman exclaimed 'I was about to impress on your property here that my tutelage might not be very pleasant all the time. You see girl, what your master is alluding to is the difference between knowledge and having your mind and body conditioned for certain behaviors.'

Shuq placed a hand possessively on Walker's thigh 'I want to learn, to do what you do.'

'Alright, look at the two little bitches outside. They are being trained, not taught. Though learning is part of the process, teaching is not the focus. I am conditioning into them a sense of obedience, acceptance that when I, or Edwin, tell them something there will be no reflex of questioning or rebellion. It is taken for granted that whatever they are told to do, there is much, much worse waiting for them if they refuse. It is not a thought, but a reflex; this is usually an easy adaption as loggers treat girls poorly from the start. I can see that you do not like this idea but that's a difference between loggers and steaders. I'm guessing your father is not a smart man, all you probably knew was that the food had to be waiting his return and that the home was tidy, chickens and sheep were fed and all that. Am I right?'

'Yes ma'am. I guess so, he never paid us much mind.'

'But he would hit you if there was a problem right?'

'He would get angry.' Shuq acknowledged.

'So you conditioned yourself you see. If certain conditions were not met, then there would be unpleasant consequences. To avoid the consequences you adapted to the conditions. That is unintentional. I will set conditions and you will adapt to them. Not always pleasant. Sina and Trish do not see it as hardship because this life is much more comfortable than their old one, as long as they learn to take a cock up the ass. They'll get used to it and within a week or two it'll be still be unpleasant, but it won't be a hardship. After, we'll focus on their throats until that too becomes easy for them. If you've a strong spirit in you, which I believe you do, then you'll become self-motivating.'

The girl gulped looking towards the tiger for a response.

'Warriors train.' he told her 'Good warriors never stop.'

'What will you train me to do?' her voice shook slightly.

Meri spoke to Walker, a sly smile on her face 'I'll focus on things she can take on the road with you eventually; cleaning, washing, cooking and fucking. ' To Shuq she said 'You want to help your master aye?'

'I do.'

'Then you have to be taught how to slut. There can be good money for him in selling your body.'

The girl blushed 'I'm a farm girl ma'am.'

'Ahh shush. Blow that shame shit out your arse, men will pay much for a great fuck. Slavejacks open their legs and suck on cocks, any puss or mouth can make a man cum, a good slut can make a man feel like a king and men will spend fortunes for that feeling. Some become addicted to it. Look at me,' Meri squeezed her breasts together 'when these things sag and my cunt loosens too much my man won't want to put his cock in me, not when perky little tits and tight cock sleeves are running about the house. Do you know how I will keep him? How I will keep this life of mine? Do you know?'

Shuq shook her head, no.

'You should by now. I do everything I can for him. But when he doesn't want me for my puss, I'll train up another batch of fucksluts for his cock while I do everything else. There's a book, a tale that speaks of a thing called love, a prince falls in "love" with a steader girl and magically wants to be with her for eternity. The truth for us is that we are used for as long as we are useful. Listen to that word, use-full. There are too many Norrish women, that is why they trade us, fuck us, use us until we're used up.'

'We're animals...' the girl said sadly.

'Ehh, more like livestock, worth more'n a sheep, less than cattle. A warrior like Walker, he has no need of a burden. You'd have been chopping trees or emptying shit buckets if you had enough value for him to sell your sorry arse. Lucky for you, he seems to like you. Do you want to stay that way?'

Tears ran from the girl's eyes and her voice shook 'I'll learn ma'am.'

'Good. Before you feel sorry for yourself, consider this; your master is a warrior, life means pain and injury, giving and receiving. For a fuckslut it means giving pleasure, and sometimes receiving it. Sometimes there is pain but with the right attitude you'll enjoy getting ass fucked by a dog when the time comes. Get your mind right girl, this could be fun.' Meri tried to sound as reassuring as possible, 'You're in a very privileged position with a man... a male like your master.'

Walker tipped the last of the soup into his mouth 'Hrmm, one wonders how the males dominate?'

This question seemed to confuse the woman 'Because there are so few men?'

'Women like you reach high places among my tribe.'

'Like the king's harem?'

Walker struggled to find the right word in Norrish 'What is the word for female king?'

Meri burst out laughing 'It's Queen. But that's a word like love Mister Walker, you won't ever hear it used. I don't think our men even know it. I've only ever seen it written in copies of ancient texts.'

'Hrmm.' Walker, aware of the sensitivity of such issues, decided to keep quiet on the point 'Seems there's a deep want for more men. If women are livestock, are there breeding farms?'

'No, no need. I mean the slavejacks are bred throughout their lives, if you go down to the lumber barns, you'll see swollen bellies aplenty. Some have many babies, some die in birth. If it's a boy the child is taken care of, the girls, well, most don't live long in the forest and few become women. What of your children?'