Several hours after our unscheduled emergency stop, and several denials from the young wolf about my warning not applying to her because I already owned her, we left the Wolfrik Pack's territory and approached the cat women's town. To my surprise, they became anxious instead of relieved. I asked what was wrong and they wouldn't answer. It wasn't until our cart approached the town that my favorite let out a warning growl.
“Do not speak, Savior.” She hissed under her breath. “No matter what you see or hear. Promise me.”
“No.” I said and the other cat women let out meows of surprise. “If they do or say anything that I think is insulting to you or the others, I will speak, assuming I don't just kill them all.”
“Please, don't do that.” She said, her voice pleading. “Some of them are my family. They will be upset that I have been gone for so long, stolen by the Fangtooth clan to become their property, then my tail was removed and left behind as proof...”
“I was wondering why they did that.” I said.
“It was a daring raid and you know now what they had to cross to get here from there.” One of the other cat women said. “They were smart and bypassed the wolf lands both times.”
“So, you've been gone for quite some time, then.” I said and they all nodded. “They won't recognize you in the new leather outfit, hooded cloak, and face covering.”
“Yes, they will.” My favorite said as we came to a stop near the two large guards.
What is it with making the beast men eight feet tall or taller? I asked myself. They make me feel downright tiny by comparison.
My favorite stood up in the back of the cart and put her hands on my shoulders to balance herself. “Let me use your armor's loudness.” She said to me and I nodded. “MRRROOOOWWWW!” She bellowed and it carried to everyone inside the town.
I cast Search and it updated my map. Whatever she said, it definitely caused a stir. All of the red dots were moving around frantically, then a small group left one of the larger buildings and quickly approached the edge of the town.
I saw with my eyes as a very large humanoid, three smaller humanoids, and one half their size approached. They all wore thick cloth and had their faces covered; but, I could still easily make out the males from the females. The sexy body shapes gave the women away. They came to a stop just behind the two large guards.
“Daughter.” The large figure said.
“Father.” His daughter, my favorite said. “Forgive me for bringing shame upon the clan.”
“It is I that has caused the clan shame.” The figure said. “I should have left more guards.”
My favorite let out a short laugh. “The leader of the Fangtooth clan himself came to get me, father. More guards would have ended up just as dead as the two you left.”
The figure sighed. “If you are here, then he has done what he claimed he would do. You are with his child and our clans must join together, much as I loath to do so.”
“No, father.” My favorite said. “I was rescued before he could violate me against my permission.”
The slightly taller one of the two females let out a hiss of surprise. “Daughter, that... how could...”
“This man here.” My favorite said and all of their heads moved to look at me. “Thanks to him, not only has he rescued all four of us, the Fangtooth clan is no more. They have all been slaughtered.”
Everyone in front of the cart let out hisses of surprise, even the two guards.
“How could that be?” The large figure asked. “They have been a bane of our clan for decades.”
“They could not stand against someone more powerful than them.” My favorite said.
I wasn't sure why she wasn't telling them that I was a godling. Maybe it means something different to the cat people. I thought and waited. The wolves seemed okay with me being around, for the most part.
The large being stood there for about fifteen seconds before speaking. “Even though you are my daughter and the princess of this clan, I must sequester you and the others to keep you away from the rest of the clan.”
“Father, you can't just...”
“Silence. You will listen and you will obey.” The large figure said in a normal voice and I felt a strong pressure to submit. “I cannot let the Fangtooth's property roam through my clan.”
“That sounds a lot like you're putting her in prison.” I said and stood up. My armored form easily blocked my favorite from sight.
“This has nothing to do with you, stranger.”
“It has everything to do with me.” I said. “She offered herself to me and I took her.”
Startled meows came from both women beside the large figure.
“You would lower yourself to take someone else's property?” The large figure asked, angrily.
“No. I killed the Clan Leader first.” I said and they jerked slightly, even the large figure. “Then I took everything they had.”
“Savior, you are not helping.” My favorite said from behind me.
“If you enjoy taking other people's possessions like those damn Coons, then you can keep...”
“NO!” The slightly taller female yelled and elbowed the large figure in the gut.
“Oooof.” The large figure grunted and then growled.
“It's time for a more level head to speak.” She said.
“Wife, this is a man's matter.” The large figure said and rubbed his belly.
“No, this is a family matter.” She said and turned to us. “Can you not see our daughter's tail?”
“I see it every time we enter the living room.” He responded.
“No, you fool. That one right there.” She said and pointed.
The man froze still as he caught sight of his daughter's tail that was wrapped slightly around my leg. “No, that... how can it be? We have your tail in the display.”
“My Savior gave it back to me.” She said with a purr. “As well as this strong leather armor and expensive clothing.”
“Us as well.” The other three cat women said and stood up with their tails swishing behind them.
“You... are all restored?” The large figure asked with a soft voice.
“He accepted our offerings, too.” One of them said. “As you can see, we are equipped just like the princess, so we can continue to do our jobs.”
The large figure nodded. “I had not expected the Fangtooth clan to take my daughter and all three of her decoys.”
“He wanted to make sure that he actually got me, or so he claimed.” My favorite said. “I think he just wanted more women to expand his clan.”
The large figure sighed. “I don't know what to do with you.”
“I do.” The slightly taller woman said. “We will put everyone up in the closest home that's big enough to hold them all, then we will sit down with the Savior and our daughter to listen to their story.”
“Not in the same home.” The large figure said, a little disgruntled.
“Of course not. We will go to our home with the interested parties and talk there.”
The large figure's head moved, I assumed because he was looking at everyone in the cart, and sighed. “I won't argue.”
“Good.” She said and looked at the guards. “One of you stay, the other come with us.”
They nodded and one stepped forward to take the reins of the horse to guide it. The large figure, the two women, the other figure that I assumed was a personal guard, and the one that was half the size that I assumed was a child, walked ahead of us. We were led into the town to one of the larger buildings. A short discussion happened between the woman and the man at the door. He nodded and stepped aside as he waved inside.
“Your horse and cart will be taken care of.” The man said as we all climbed down.
The badgers picked up bedrolls from the cart and went inside the large home right away. They were directed where to go and went there without comment.
“I'm sorry for the inconvenience.” I said to the man and handed him several gold coins.
“I want to go with you!” The young wolf said, excitedly.
“I think you will have more fun waiting here.” I said and handed her several blankets from inventory. “If you find a nice spot, I'll help scratch your itch some more when I come back.”
“OKAY!” She yelled and ran into the house without waiting for directions.
“I will go with you.” The Freemartin said.
I leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “I don't really need a guard; but, having you there will help more than your absence would. Thank you.”
The Freemartin nodded slightly and we followed the large figure and what I assumed was my favorite's family. The second guard stayed near us and we all went to the very large building in the center of town. I thought that was a little cliche, then realized it wasn't a cliche at all. The richest people, and usually the most important, always had the largest homes. It was to show off their riches or to increase their prominence. Either way, it was the truth.
The second guard stayed outside as we entered, which meant it was for our protection and not to protect others from us. We were led into a spacious room with a large table and a dozen chairs around it. The large figure sat down at the head of the table and the two women sat on his left side with the short being sitting beside them. The other male that I had guessed was a guard, stood behind and to the side of the large figure, which confirmed my assumption.
My favorite sat at the other end of the table and the other three sat to her left, I assumed because they were precious to her. She pointed to the right of her and I sat down, while the Freemartin stood behind me.
Without a word, they all started to take off their face coverings. Just like the wolves, the males had distinct animal faces and the women all had pretty much human faces, except for the black nose tips, the fur on the sides of their faces, and hair mixed into the fur on their heads. I went to take off my helm and my favorite stopped me. The Freemartin left her face covering on, too.
“Daughter.” The large figure that had revealed his face to be that of a white Siberian tiger said. “Tell us your story.”
She did. She told him everything that happened, from her perspective, and even everything she heard. The best part was that she said everything, even my arrival and what happened with the rats. The other three cat women confirmed this with their versions, then my favorite continued with her story about leaving there and me killing the whole village of Coons.
That surprised them a lot, then she continued about the badgers and then going into the sheep settlement, the encounters there, and moving on to the wolves. When she described what I did to the Pack Leader, in pretty specific detail, all of their eyes went to me. She told them about everything that happened inside the pack and about us leaving the wolf lands. Her story ended with our cart arriving here.
“Is it true that you can heal any injury?” The slightly taller woman, who looked remarkably like my favorite, asked.
“Any physical injury.” I corrected. “It's one of the limitations to both healing and regeneration. It can only affect the body. It also hurts if done too quickly when growing new parts back.”
“It didn't hurt getting my tail back.” My favorite said.
“Well, I was... ahem... distracting you.” I said and she let out a purr.
“It was a great distraction.” She said and her purr increased.
Her mother's eyes went to the other three cat women as they started purring. Their faces turned slightly red as they remembered what I did; but, they didn't avert their gazes from hers.
“He is not one of us.” The Siberian tiger said.
“No.” My favorite said.
“He cannot be a part of the clan.” He said with a bit of a growl.
“I did not ask and he would not join if I did.” She responded. “He also did not ask for a reward, ask for my hand, or ask me to degrade myself or beg, despite being his property by right of ownership.”
That got all of their attention.
“Then why did he bring you back if not for a reward?” The Siberian tiger asked, confused.
“Because he could.” She said and let that settle into their minds.
I looked at her and she smiled at me. I guess she picked up a bit more about my personality than I thought she did.
“I've also seen his face while we mated.”
“You...” The Siberian tiger stood up, clearly angry. “That is reserved for those you intend to keep.”
“Oh? Does that mean you have found a suitable mate for me?”
“I did, just before you were taken.” He said and the woman next to him touched his arm to make him sit down. “Now, however...”
“Even with my tail restored, he won't want me.” My favorite said.
“I will talk to him.” The Siberian tiger said. “Once he hears your story...”
“I doubt he will want me, even if he knew.” She said and then smiled. “I also doubt that he will be able to satisfy me as a mate.”
They all had wide eyes, even the child, who was a white Siberian tiger just like his father.
“You would be best to give him to my sister.”
“He was promised to be with the first princess.” Her mother said.
“Once I was taken, we all knew that he wouldn't want to sully his family name with me.” My favorite said. “I was shamed and became property. You all know what that means.”
The Siberian tiger sighed. “What would you have me do, daughter?”
“Make my sister First Princess and let her merge the families together.” My favorite said.
“No!” The three cat women on her left said.
She turned to them. “You have all been great friends and have served me well all these years...”
“...and we will continue to do so.” The three of them said as one.
“The clan will need to appoint new decoys, since we are the same as you, princess.” One of them said. “We are not worthy of keeping the job we were born for, yet we are beholden and devoted to uphold the values in our hearts despite that.”
“I agree.” The second one said. “We have gone through too much together.”
“We have been together all our lives and I will never leave your side.” The third one said.
My favorite reached out and touched each one's hand briefly. “Thank you.”
“What will you do if I do this?” The Siberian Tiger asked.
“I don't know.” She said and looked at me. “Ask for my Savior to take me along? Stay here and be a pariah of my people? Go off on my own and start over?”
“Why not do all three?” I asked and everyone looked at me. “Stay here for a day and see how people treat you. If you don't like it, then ask me to come along. At any time you want to stop off somewhere and leave to do your own thing, I'm fine with that.”
“So you don't want her, either.” Her mother said, sadly.
“That's not what I said.”
“Yes, you did.” Her sister said.
“Where I come from, a woman's decision to do whatever she wants with her life is her own. People can give her advice and warnings, then tell her what she should do. It's her choice to make and no one else has to choose for her.”
“What if I want to stay with you for as long as you'll have me?” She asked me.
“You know why I'm here.” I said. “I could be gone a week from now or a year from now.”
She nodded and looked at her father. “If our clan cannot accept me as I am tomorrow, I will leave with my Savior. When his task is done, I will return to the clan as a new and different person.”
Her mother and sister let out hisses and her father let out a low growl, then he nodded once. With that done, the meeting was over and the four cat women went with us back to the home we were staying in.
Several hours after our unscheduled emergency stop, and several denials from the young wolf about my warning not applying to her because I already owned her, we left the Wolfrik Pack's territory and approached the cat women's town. To my surprise, they became anxious instead of relieved. I asked what was wrong and they wouldn't answer. It wasn't until our cart approached the town that my favorite let out a warning growl.
“Do not speak, Savior.” She hissed under her breath. “No matter what you see or hear. Promise me.”
“No.” I said and the other cat women let out meows of surprise. “If they do or say anything that I think is insulting to you or the others, I will speak, assuming I don't just kill them all.”
“Please, don't do that.” She said, her voice pleading. “Some of them are my family. They will be upset that I have been gone for so long, stolen by the Fangtooth clan to become their property, then my tail was removed and left behind as proof...”
“I was wondering why they did that.” I said.
“It was a daring raid and you know now what they had to cross to get here from there.” One of the other cat women said. “They were smart and bypassed the wolf lands both times.”
“So, you've been gone for quite some time, then.” I said and they all nodded. “They won't recognize you in the new leather outfit, hooded cloak, and face covering.”
“Yes, they will.” My favorite said as we came to a stop near the two large guards.
What is it with making the beast men eight feet tall or taller? I asked myself. They make me feel downright tiny by comparison.
My favorite stood up in the back of the cart and put her hands on my shoulders to balance herself. “Let me use your armor's loudness.” She said to me and I nodded. “MRRROOOOWWWW!” She bellowed and it carried to everyone inside the town.
I cast Search and it updated my map. Whatever she said, it definitely caused a stir. All of the red dots were moving around frantically, then a small group left one of the larger buildings and quickly approached the edge of the town.
I saw with my eyes as a very large humanoid, three smaller humanoids, and one half their size approached. They all wore thick cloth and had their faces covered; but, I could still easily make out the males from the females. The sexy body shapes gave the women away. They came to a stop just behind the two large guards.
“Daughter.” The large figure said.
“Father.” His daughter, my favorite said. “Forgive me for bringing shame upon the clan.”
“It is I that has caused the clan shame.” The figure said. “I should have left more guards.”
My favorite let out a short laugh. “The leader of the Fangtooth clan himself came to get me, father. More guards would have ended up just as dead as the two you left.”
The figure sighed. “If you are here, then he has done what he claimed he would do. You are with his child and our clans must join together, much as I loath to do so.”
“No, father.” My favorite said. “I was rescued before he could violate me against my permission.”
The slightly taller one of the two females let out a hiss of surprise. “Daughter, that... how could...”
“This man here.” My favorite said and all of their heads moved to look at me. “Thanks to him, not only has he rescued all four of us, the Fangtooth clan is no more. They have all been slaughtered.”
Everyone in front of the cart let out hisses of surprise, even the two guards.
“How could that be?” The large figure asked. “They have been a bane of our clan for decades.”
“They could not stand against someone more powerful than them.” My favorite said.
I wasn't sure why she wasn't telling them that I was a godling. Maybe it means something different to the cat people. I thought and waited. The wolves seemed okay with me being around, for the most part.
The large being stood there for about fifteen seconds before speaking. “Even though you are my daughter and the princess of this clan, I must sequester you and the others to keep you away from the rest of the clan.”
“Father, you can't just...”
“Silence. You will listen and you will obey.” The large figure said in a normal voice and I felt a strong pressure to submit. “I cannot let the Fangtooth's property roam through my clan.”
“That sounds a lot like you're putting her in prison.” I said and stood up. My armored form easily blocked my favorite from sight.
“This has nothing to do with you, stranger.”
“It has everything to do with me.” I said. “She offered herself to me and I took her.”
Startled meows came from both women beside the large figure.
“You would lower yourself to take someone else's property?” The large figure asked, angrily.
“No. I killed the Clan Leader first.” I said and they jerked slightly, even the large figure. “Then I took everything they had.”
“Savior, you are not helping.” My favorite said from behind me.
“If you enjoy taking other people's possessions like those damn Coons, then you can keep...”
“NO!” The slightly taller female yelled and elbowed the large figure in the gut.
“Oooof.” The large figure grunted and then growled.
“It's time for a more level head to speak.” She said.
“Wife, this is a man's matter.” The large figure said and rubbed his belly.
“No, this is a family matter.” She said and turned to us. “Can you not see our daughter's tail?”
“I see it every time we enter the living room.” He responded.
“No, you fool. That one right there.” She said and pointed.
The man froze still as he caught sight of his daughter's tail that was wrapped slightly around my leg. “No, that... how can it be? We have your tail in the display.”
“My Savior gave it back to me.” She said with a purr. “As well as this strong leather armor and expensive clothing.”
“Us as well.” The other three cat women said and stood up with their tails swishing behind them.
“You... are all restored?” The large figure asked with a soft voice.
“He accepted our offerings, too.” One of them said. “As you can see, we are equipped just like the princess, so we can continue to do our jobs.”
The large figure nodded. “I had not expected the Fangtooth clan to take my daughter and all three of her decoys.”
“He wanted to make sure that he actually got me, or so he claimed.” My favorite said. “I think he just wanted more women to expand his clan.”
The large figure sighed. “I don't know what to do with you.”
“I do.” The slightly taller woman said. “We will put everyone up in the closest home that's big enough to hold them all, then we will sit down with the Savior and our daughter to listen to their story.”
“Not in the same home.” The large figure said, a little disgruntled.
“Of course not. We will go to our home with the interested parties and talk there.”
The large figure's head moved, I assumed because he was looking at everyone in the cart, and sighed. “I won't argue.”
“Good.” She said and looked at the guards. “One of you stay, the other come with us.”
They nodded and one stepped forward to take the reins of the horse to guide it. The large figure, the two women, the other figure that I assumed was a personal guard, and the one that was half the size that I assumed was a child, walked ahead of us. We were led into the town to one of the larger buildings. A short discussion happened between the woman and the man at the door. He nodded and stepped aside as he waved inside.
“Your horse and cart will be taken care of.” The man said as we all climbed down.
The badgers picked up bedrolls from the cart and went inside the large home right away. They were directed where to go and went there without comment.
“I'm sorry for the inconvenience.” I said to the man and handed him several gold coins.
“I want to go with you!” The young wolf said, excitedly.
“I think you will have more fun waiting here.” I said and handed her several blankets from inventory. “If you find a nice spot, I'll help scratch your itch some more when I come back.”
“OKAY!” She yelled and ran into the house without waiting for directions.
“I will go with you.” The Freemartin said.
I leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “I don't really need a guard; but, having you there will help more than your absence would. Thank you.”
The Freemartin nodded slightly and we followed the large figure and what I assumed was my favorite's family. The second guard stayed near us and we all went to the very large building in the center of town. I thought that was a little cliche, then realized it wasn't a cliche at all. The richest people, and usually the most important, always had the largest homes. It was to show off their riches or to increase their prominence. Either way, it was the truth.
The second guard stayed outside as we entered, which meant it was for our protection and not to protect others from us. We were led into a spacious room with a large table and a dozen chairs around it. The large figure sat down at the head of the table and the two women sat on his left side with the short being sitting beside them. The other male that I had guessed was a guard, stood behind and to the side of the large figure, which confirmed my assumption.
My favorite sat at the other end of the table and the other three sat to her left, I assumed because they were precious to her. She pointed to the right of her and I sat down, while the Freemartin stood behind me.
Without a word, they all started to take off their face coverings. Just like the wolves, the males had distinct animal faces and the women all had pretty much human faces, except for the black nose tips, the fur on the sides of their faces, and hair mixed into the fur on their heads. I went to take off my helm and my favorite stopped me. The Freemartin left her face covering on, too.
“Daughter.” The large figure that had revealed his face to be that of a white Siberian tiger said. “Tell us your story.”
She did. She told him everything that happened, from her perspective, and even everything she heard. The best part was that she said everything, even my arrival and what happened with the rats. The other three cat women confirmed this with their versions, then my favorite continued with her story about leaving there and me killing the whole village of Coons.
That surprised them a lot, then she continued about the badgers and then going into the sheep settlement, the encounters there, and moving on to the wolves. When she described what I did to the Pack Leader, in pretty specific detail, all of their eyes went to me. She told them about everything that happened inside the pack and about us leaving the wolf lands. Her story ended with our cart arriving here.
“Is it true that you can heal any injury?” The slightly taller woman, who looked remarkably like my favorite, asked.
“Any physical injury.” I corrected. “It's one of the limitations to both healing and regeneration. It can only affect the body. It also hurts if done too quickly when growing new parts back.”
“It didn't hurt getting my tail back.” My favorite said.
“Well, I was... ahem... distracting you.” I said and she let out a purr.
“It was a great distraction.” She said and her purr increased.
Her mother's eyes went to the other three cat women as they started purring. Their faces turned slightly red as they remembered what I did; but, they didn't avert their gazes from hers.
“He is not one of us.” The Siberian tiger said.
“No.” My favorite said.
“He cannot be a part of the clan.” He said with a bit of a growl.
“I did not ask and he would not join if I did.” She responded. “He also did not ask for a reward, ask for my hand, or ask me to degrade myself or beg, despite being his property by right of ownership.”
That got all of their attention.
“Then why did he bring you back if not for a reward?” The Siberian tiger asked, confused.
“Because he could.” She said and let that settle into their minds.
I looked at her and she smiled at me. I guess she picked up a bit more about my personality than I thought she did.
“I've also seen his face while we mated.”
“You...” The Siberian tiger stood up, clearly angry. “That is reserved for those you intend to keep.”
“Oh? Does that mean you have found a suitable mate for me?”
“I did, just before you were taken.” He said and the woman next to him touched his arm to make him sit down. “Now, however...”
“Even with my tail restored, he won't want me.” My favorite said.
“I will talk to him.” The Siberian tiger said. “Once he hears your story...”
“I doubt he will want me, even if he knew.” She said and then smiled. “I also doubt that he will be able to satisfy me as a mate.”
They all had wide eyes, even the child, who was a white Siberian tiger just like his father.
“You would be best to give him to my sister.”
“He was promised to be with the first princess.” Her mother said.
“Once I was taken, we all knew that he wouldn't want to sully his family name with me.” My favorite said. “I was shamed and became property. You all know what that means.”
The Siberian tiger sighed. “What would you have me do, daughter?”
“Make my sister First Princess and let her merge the families together.” My favorite said.
“No!” The three cat women on her left said.
She turned to them. “You have all been great friends and have served me well all these years...”
“...and we will continue to do so.” The three of them said as one.
“The clan will need to appoint new decoys, since we are the same as you, princess.” One of them said. “We are not worthy of keeping the job we were born for, yet we are beholden and devoted to uphold the values in our hearts despite that.”
“I agree.” The second one said. “We have gone through too much together.”
“We have been together all our lives and I will never leave your side.” The third one said.
My favorite reached out and touched each one's hand briefly. “Thank you.”
“What will you do if I do this?” The Siberian Tiger asked.
“I don't know.” She said and looked at me. “Ask for my Savior to take me along? Stay here and be a pariah of my people? Go off on my own and start over?”
“Why not do all three?” I asked and everyone looked at me. “Stay here for a day and see how people treat you. If you don't like it, then ask me to come along. At any time you want to stop off somewhere and leave to do your own thing, I'm fine with that.”
“So you don't want her, either.” Her mother said, sadly.
“That's not what I said.”
“Yes, you did.” Her sister said.
“Where I come from, a woman's decision to do whatever she wants with her life is her own. People can give her advice and warnings, then tell her what she should do. It's her choice to make and no one else has to choose for her.”
“What if I want to stay with you for as long as you'll have me?” She asked me.
“You know why I'm here.” I said. “I could be gone a week from now or a year from now.”
She nodded and looked at her father. “If our clan cannot accept me as I am tomorrow, I will leave with my Savior. When his task is done, I will return to the clan as a new and different person.”
Her mother and sister let out hisses and her father let out a low growl, then he nodded once. With that done, the meeting was over and the four cat women went with us back to the home we were staying in.
