This would be my first time to write (and post) something like this.
Criticism is welcome as well as ideas on how to make it more enjoyable for you.
So without ado here is chapter one
Spoiler: show
The Menagerie: Chapter One - Out in the Woods
You dredge through the dark forested foothills, the midnight moon a lone illumination in the sky and exhaustion from a long day's journey as your only companions. It's been several weeks since you have been on the road, roaming the wilderness and living off the land. Just as you decide to stop and make camp you spot the familiar glow of another campfire in the distance.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" you say to yourself and set out towards the flame. The thick underbrush somewhat slows your progress but your well traveled legs keep you from tripping and you shrug it off. As you get closer to the flame you feel a unpleasant sensation of something sticky on your face.
"Ughh...spiderwebs" you mutter as you wipe the thread off your face. With slow but sure steps you get closer to the flame and spy four colorful wagons, one large and the other three smaller, surrounding the modest campfire in a semi-circle, horses nibbling hay out of a makeshift trough. Strangely enough there does not seem to be anyone in the camp. You feel alarm bells going off in your head. An abandoned caravan? No, the fire is too fresh. Bandits? Wild animals? Monsters? This is the wilderness after all. It could be anything.
Those thoughts run through your head as you obsereve the campsite. Suddenly one of the doors on the wagons opens and you let out a small groan.
"Well so much for a quiet evening and a good nights sleep" You think to yourself as you see the figure stepping out of the wagon. Outwardly a girl but paws instead of hands and feet, the fur ending at her elbows and knees with a rim of extra fluffy fur, a tail and cat-ears poking out from underneath her shoulder-lenght hair were a dead giveaway. Judging by the size it would be either a Nekomata or a werecat and considering its the middle of nowhere limits the choise only to a werecat. You stand as still as you can, knowing only luck would get you out of this situation without getting caught, after all, catfolk are notorious for their superb senses. The werecat appears to have brownish fur and worn travel clothes made of leather and linen of the similar coloration though you it's hard for you to make out the exact color due to the flickering light of the campfire being the only illumination. The cat-girl turns her face back towards the open door of the wagon.
"Nyah...where are those two? I'm getting hungry." She loudly complains to whomever else was in the wagon.
"Those two...? That means there is atleast four of them in this group." you think to yourself, the situation getting more precarious. As your mind desperately and rapidly devises ways to escape this situation. A loud crash halts your train of though and your breath catches as a large figure walks into the firelight. Two horns poking out from underneath her darkish hair and legs ending in hooves. A minotaur! A way to large bow was slung over her shoulder, a quiver filled with arrows large enough to be fired from a ballista rather than a bow hung from her belt. In one of her hands she held what appeared to be a tree trunk, in the other the body of a large elk, one of the huge arrows sticking out of its side. Upon spoting the minotaur the werecat began exitedly jumping up and down.
"Yay, Mara is back!" She exclaimed happily but then stopped and eyed the minotaur, "But hey...wasnt Riku with you?" she asked quizically while tilting her head to the side.
"She saw some herbs that are good for seasoning in the woods so she stayed behind to pick them" The minotaur responded, her deep voice a stark contrast to the cat-girls shrill voice. You realize that both of the monster-girls are quite young judging by their voices. Realizing that one of their companions was still in the woods you risk a quick look around yet you see not even a shadow of anyone except the two by the fire.
The minotaur girl carefully placed both the tree trunk, which turned out to be the whole tree and the elk's body on the ground next to the fire and unslung the bow and quiver of arrows, placing them in a compartment on the side of one of the wagons.
"Where is Aziel? Also wait until Syra cooks it before you dig in" She asked the cat-girl in her booming voice tinted with slight annoyance, which startled the cat-girl who was slowly edging towards the elk.
"Nyaack! Dont scare me like that" The cat-girl responded in an abashed voice "Brother is still reading in the wagon and for your information I was only going to look" she said with an upturned nose. "Do you really think i couldn't control myself at all?"
The minotaur girl laughed: "I'm sure you could but i don't want cat hair in my meat just yet dear little sister"
The cat-girl growled at her and pounced, landing on her shoulders. Holding on to one of the minotaur's horns she began playfully tussling her hair.
"Well now you have cat hair everywhere" another voice called out as a figure emerged from the wagon. You had no doubt, that voice belonged to the man who just came from the wagon. And it was a human. A young man with short-cropped dark hair and a slender build.
"Now Leona, leave your sister alone before she swats you back to last tuesday" he said with an amusment filled voice, "After all, she is the reason you get any meat today, so be patient"
Much to your amazement the cat-girl leaps off the minotaurs shoulders and turns to her: "I'm sorry sis, I guess I did get a little excited" she said in a sad voice, her tail and ears drooping. The minotaur crouched beside her and gently pet her tinutive head: "You don't have to apologize to me for that. Thats just the way you are and the way we like you" The cat-girl purred and gave her a hug even though her arms could barely reach around the minotaur.
Even through the darkness you could see the gentle smile on both the minotaur's and young man's face. The surreal scene unfolding before your eyes leaves you stupefied. You mentally pour over everything you know of monster-girls yet you cant come up with an explanation that would bring any reason or logic to the scene in front of you. Monster-girls are lustful, and given half the chance will rape you, whether you want it or not, especally the young ones, and he had never heard of monster-girls of different races ever cooperating like this. Yet these two showed no such notion towards the young man or any kind of hostility towards eachother. Infact they looked more like a family. They even called each other brother and sister.
"Leona be a dear and call Syra out, since i am quite famished aswell. But we travelled a good way today." the man asked turning to the werecat
"Okay" the cat-girl called Leona answered in her cheery tone and ran to the largest wagon and jumped in.
"By the way Mara, where is Riku? Wasn't she with you?" He asked the minotaur
"She saw some good herbs to spice up the elk I caught so she stayed behind. Speaking of which, she said it would only take five minutes or so, so she should be back pretty soon" Mara answered whilst taking pieces of portable furniture from the top of one of the wagons and placing one of the chairs next to the man.
"I see...Thank you Lil Sis" he told the girl as he sat down.
"You are welcome" She answered in a happy voice and continued taking more of the furniture out. Two more chairs and a table. Then she went to the tree that she had brought with her earlier. With a swift hand movement and a rather audiable crack she broke a piece of the trunk and put it next to the man's chair, making a seat for herself and then proceeded back to the tree and promptly began tearing smaller pieces from it.
You stare, uncapable of comprehending what was going on. Those girls and that man...they really seemed like family of peddlers traveling from place to place to sell their wares. But that was was not at all how monsters normally behaved. You had heard the stories and have had the unpleasant experience of witnessing suchs attacks before hand yourself. Though you had never been the target of those assaults, you knew about them. Just then the cat-girl slipped back out of the large wagon.
"Nyahh Syra will be out in just a moment. She just needs to finish one more stitch on Rika's tunic and then she'll be out to cook." She looked at the elk and licked her lips in anticipation, "But i don't get why we couldn't just start cooking it ourselves. I mean how hard could it be?" Mara looked away from the tree she was demolishing into smaller chunks and answered: "Because none of us can cook as well as she can and honestly...I would rather wait a little for something amazing rather than have something mediocre right away"
Leona tilted her head side to side, then nodded: "I guess you are right"
"Isn't she" another new voice answered. This one sounding more mature than the minotaurs booming voice and a whole lot more mature than the werecats high-pitched voice but still youthful. After a moment you spot the owner of the voice as she stepped into the light of the campfire. Different from the other two girls she was wearing a greenish linen dress rather than pants and shirt like the others but you immediatelly realize that she too was not human. Two pointed ears ending with small tufts peaked through her fair hair and two fluffy tails waving behind her. Cradeled in her hand was a simple woven basket full of herbs. "But we all know you prefer your meat raw little sister" She said with a smile while sitting down in one of the chairs Mara had taken out earlier.
Another one!? There is another one. A kitsune this time. And like the other two, she shows no sign of hostility or lust towards the young man sitting on the folded chair.
"Now, now...Riku...don't bully your sister." The man said, truly sounding like a parent or a big brother scolding a younger sibling, then added with some bemusement, "But Riku, don't you prefer yours on the raw side too...As i recall, when we first met..." The rest of his sentence was cut off as the kitsune called Riku lunged at the young man, nearly knocking the chair he was sitting in over. Even in the poor illumination of the campfire you could tell that her face was flushed red in embarrasment.
She gave him a furious look and said something in his ear that you could not quite catch. After a moment you see that the young man nods as Riku stepped back.
"Brother, that was unfair," you hear Leona speak up, "We promised never to speak of our pasts when we were saved by you..." She said with a sad tone, her ears and tail drooping. You could feel a blanket of silent misery suddenly cover the camp, even Mara stopping.
Then the man spoke up: "You are right Leona. I'm sorry. Your past is your past, and it shall stay there. We are a family now." He turned to Riku, "I'm sorry...I should have not said anything. Will you forgive your good-for-nothing brother?" She looked at him then once again lunged at him and caught him in a hug
"There is nothing to forgive" she answered with a smile. And with that, the air of misery that had covered the camp disappared like it had never existed in the first place.
"Now then" He clapped his hands together after the kitsune let him go from her hug and turned right towards where you were hiding, "How long are you going to crouch in those bushes" You let out a gasp. "We know you are there so you might aswell join us. It's much cozier near the fire rather than belly down in the dirt"
Slowly you lift yourself of the ground, muscles tense from lying down for so long and from the uncertainty of the people by the campfire. You roughly brush the specks of dirt and leaves off your travel-worn clothes and step closer to the fire.
"How did you know I was there?" You ask the young man as you step closer. Now that you got closer, you got a better look at this young man. As you spotted earlier, his hair was black and he was rather on the short-side aswell, maybe a metre and sixty-five centimetres tall. But his most dominat feature was the eye-patch covering his left eye. His other eye was a deep emerald green. Wearing traveling clothes much like yours, he appeared an otherwise unremarkable man, a youth like any other. If you had to guess he was twenty-twenty one years of age. But his face was angular and rugged like a man used to harsh conditions of the outdoors.
He placed his forefinger on his lips and smiled: "It's a secret" then changing the subject, "So fellow traveler, what might your name be?"
You introduce yourself to the strange group. Each of them politely bow their heads in welcome. You ask the same of them.
"Ohhh nya first, nya first" Leona spoke up, all smiles and cheerfulness, and ran up next to you, giving you a start.
"I'm Leona, and I'm a Werecat and the youngest sister in this family" She said with a smile on her face, extending her arm towards you. She was short, maybe a metre and a half at most with almost childlike figure and both her hair and fur were indeed a light brown tone. You can see the claws on her paws retract back in their pads. You give the man a hesitant look but he nods you on. You carefully clasp her hand and shake it. Much to your suprise the paw is soft and pleasantly warm though you can feel hardness of her claws underneath her skin. It is somewhat unnerving you admit to yourself. After she lets go of your hand the cat-girl merrily dances away, only to be replaced by the large figure of the minotaur, her more than two metres tall, and rather well endowed body overshadowing yours. Her hair was a tint darker brown than Leona's had been. Inadvertedly you nervously swallow but she just smiles and bends her knees slightly bringing her face on level with yours and extending her arm infront of you. Slightly shaking you clasp her hand.
"My name is Mara and I'm the second oldest sister. I'm a minotaur" She says with a smile and shakes your hand. You are suprised how gentle her handshake is considering with those same hands she tore a tree into chunks just minutes ago. As she let go, she looks you in the eye: "Would you like a chair to sit in...it might take a while till Syra cooks and i would hate to have a visitor stand when the rest of us sit"
You nod and she goes off to the wagon and fishes another chair from ontop of it. The last of the girls stands infront of you, her long blonde hair gently waving in the soft breeze. She was slightly taller than the young man with an attractive hourglass figure. She extends her hand towards you in rather matter-of-factly manner. Yet there is a gentle smile on her face. "My name is Riku, the oldest sister of this family and I'm a Youko"
You arch your eyebrow questioningly, never having heard of that name before and it does not go unnoticed by Riku. With a smile she answeres the unasked question: "It's a rarer subspecie of the Kitsunes you know, atleast around here"
With that question answeres she retreated after the handshake and sat back down in her chair. At the same time Mara places another foldable chair next to you. The young man stands up next and walks up to you in a leisurely manner and extends his hand aswell. You cant help but notice small scars and callouses on his hands. He firmly shakes your hand. Despite his age you feel strenght and certainty eminating from the young man.
"And I'm Aziel, the oldest brother and these four are my family, although adopted" He says with a smile, "Oohh yeah...and I'm just a run of the mill human" he adds with a smile as you shake his hand.
"Not very "run of the mill" considering the company you keep." you answer with a wry smile. You think for a moment...
"Wait you said these four...but i only see three" You ask Aziel.
Aziel looks at you then laughs and turns to Riku: "Riku, tell Syra that the family is hungry and her amazing cooking skills are required to the utmost" He turns back to you, "Sorry my sister is sometimes a little forgetful. When she is doing something she focuses all her attention on it and forgets to keep track of time"
You look at the Youko walk to the large wagon and pound her fist on its side and moment later a small hatch opens on the side and Riku delegates what Aziel said word for word and upon hearing a inaudiable responce closes the little hatch.
"She says she just finished fixing my tunic, you know the one i tore a hole into the last time I went out foraging." Riku reported to Aziel. Then gave me a suspicious look. "You sure our guest wount freak out...I mean most folks do when they see her for the first time"
"I'm sure it will be fine" Aziel answered with a smile, "She is a good girl and her cooking is sure to impress our guest to no end. I mean...she managed to make a salad so delicious that even Leona ate tons of it...And god know your lil sis hates her greens" Both Riku and Aziel chuckled while you could hear Leona's quiet disappointed mutter: "Thats not fair" which prompted another burst of laughter, this time from all three. You could not help but smile a little. These four really were like siblings.
You hear the creak of hinges as the largest wagon door slides open and you stiffle a gasp as you see the last member of this strange family emerge. Her pinkish-pale hair was shoulder-lenght her eyes nearly perfect ovals and entirely red. Her pale body was lean, but still effeminate, wearing a tunic with dark coloration. But that was not what made you gasp. Where her legs should have been...was the body of a spider, dark blue, almost black glossy chithin reflecting the light of the campfire. With practiced movements she climbed out of the wagon, six of her eight spider legs supporting her body. If she stretched them out she would tower over even the minotaur, but bent as they were, she stood only a little shorter than the minotaur. You uncounciously take a step back. The last member of this family was an Arachne, who were know to be some of the most violent of all monsters.
"I told you our visitor would freak out" Riku muttered with a smug face, while Aziel threw her a glare.
"Sorry...I got a little carried away with my work...I'm sorry, I'll start cooking right away" Her voice did not match her looks at. She sounded so...girly. It was not like the high-pitched, ear-rupturing shrill that Leona sometimes sounded like. It was sweet like honey, the voice you would never expect to hear from an arachne. You expected something rougher, maybe more coarce. But not this innocent girly voice.
Before she could skitter her way to the dead elk Aziel stopped her. "Syra, cook for six today. We have a visitor"
The moment those words left his mouth, the arachne spun around with incredible speed and faced you. You could not help but stare back. Apart from the monotone red eyes her face was just like any other girls. Slowly a furious red blush built up on her cheeks and she put her hands to cover her face while she skittered backwards to hide behind one of the wagons from where she cautiously peeked out, her face still visibly red.
"Sorry she is a little shy" Aziel explained her unexpected behaviour. He turned towards Syra: "Come now, look this guy is not scary and he is not gonna hurt you. He promises. Right?" Aziel said and turned towards you. You feel a chill run down your spine as there was an almost inhuman intensity in his green eye. You swallow and then nod: "I promise." His smile returned once again as he turned back to the arachne: "See nothing to worry about"
Cautiously she emerged from behind the wagon and with unstable steps came closer. Even if her eyes were just a monotone red you could read the fear in them. Suddenly Aziel slaps you on the back. "Well don't keep the lady waiting. Introduce yourself" He says with a smile. With a slightly wavering voice you do.
She looks at Aziel with pleading eyes but he just gives her an assuring nod.
"I'm...ummm...My name is Sy...Syra" She stutters, "I'm...the second oldest sister and I'm an arac...."Her voice trails off and she gives Aziel another pleading look.
"I wonder which of the two is more afraid of the other" You hear Riku mutter another comment but she is quickly shushed by Mara.
Aziel just gives her another reassuring smile and nod. She takes a few more steps forward and extends her shaking hand: "N-n-n-nice to meet you" she stutters. You carefully grasp her slender hand and shake it. You can feel her quivering through it. As soon as the shake is done she thakes a few quick steps back and looks at you with uncertainty. With a near silent pat Leona lands on her back, giving Syra a start and places her paws around her, tigghtly hugging her.
"Nyah...you did well big sis." Leona said with a wide smile on her face and gave Syra a kiss on her cheek which caused her face to blush an even deeper shade of red. Aziel walked up to Syra aswell and put his hand on her side.
"See you can do it lil sis" he said calmingly, "I'm really proud of you." While the shade of red did not diminish one bit a small smile dawned on her face.
You start to understand how this family works...they all rely on one another, and perhaps they are more close to eachother than some blood related families are. That thought of yours was interrupted by a loud groan.
You spin around to see Mara holding her stomach, a faint blush on her face. There was a moment of absolute quiet.
And then laughter. Clear, melodious laughter. You turn back and see Syra laughing, her blush almost gone. "I think it's about time i started cooking before her stomach makes the earth shake"
You let out a breath you had no idea you were holding while Syra moved over to the table Mara set up earlier. With no effort at all she lifted the dead elk on the table, Leona still standing ontop of her spider body and looking over her shoulder, eyes glittering and mouth watering in anticipation. Syra probed the elks body with two of her forelegs then remarked: "This is a fine beast, and it will make a finer dinner still. Leona be a good girl and fetch me my cooking utensils. Mara make the fire a little stronger as we need lots of hot coal. Riku could you help me prepare the seasoning? These herbs need cut and ground for the flavor to really kick in"
Within a second all three were in motion, Leona galloping into her wagon, Mara feeding wood to the fire and Riku taking a place next to Syra at the table. You cant help to notice that they work like clockwork, in almost perfect sync with eachother. You spot Aziel calmly relaxing in his chair, stuffing tobacco into a long stemmed pipe, lighting it and taking long puffs from it. There is a gentle look on his face, the face of someone both proud and happy. The familiar smell of tobacco wafts through the air. Soon after Leona returned carrying a medium-sized leather-strapped case which Syra placed on the ground next to the table and opened. From it she retrived two knives, a pestle and mortar, and a chopping board made of some black material you had you had not seen before. After handing everything but one of the knives to Riku she got to work, skinning and butchering the elk into smaller pieces of meat, while Riku cut and ground the herbs from the basket, Leona sitting on her back and watching. You couldn't help but notice the profficency and elegance the arachne prepared the meat. Using both her hands and the first pair of her eight spiderlegs effectively giving her 4 hands, 3 of which could be used for cutting, she quickly and precisely extracted usable meat from the intestines, organs and fat. Methodically working she began humming a tune. Her light voice carried through the night air and was joined by another, high-pitched one as Leona sitting crosslegged on her back joined in with her voice rocking her body side to side in tune, then Riku's mellow lower hum and Mara's lower and slightly louder hum. You find the melody catchy but can't help but feel there is an underlying sadness, a tune of loneliness to the melody. Yet with all four of them humming, it sounded like a unified choir.
Some minutes later their choir quites down and they smile to one another before resuming their work (except Leona still just sitting on Syra's back).
You turn to Aziel and ask about the tune.
"Its something I taught them so they would not feel alone" He answers, a shadow crossing his face, "I gave them something nobody could ever take away from them" Given the look he just had you refrain from asking any other questions and instead resign to observing the girls.
You dredge through the dark forested foothills, the midnight moon a lone illumination in the sky and exhaustion from a long day's journey as your only companions. It's been several weeks since you have been on the road, roaming the wilderness and living off the land. Just as you decide to stop and make camp you spot the familiar glow of another campfire in the distance.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" you say to yourself and set out towards the flame. The thick underbrush somewhat slows your progress but your well traveled legs keep you from tripping and you shrug it off. As you get closer to the flame you feel a unpleasant sensation of something sticky on your face.
"Ughh...spiderwebs" you mutter as you wipe the thread off your face. With slow but sure steps you get closer to the flame and spy four colorful wagons, one large and the other three smaller, surrounding the modest campfire in a semi-circle, horses nibbling hay out of a makeshift trough. Strangely enough there does not seem to be anyone in the camp. You feel alarm bells going off in your head. An abandoned caravan? No, the fire is too fresh. Bandits? Wild animals? Monsters? This is the wilderness after all. It could be anything.
Those thoughts run through your head as you obsereve the campsite. Suddenly one of the doors on the wagons opens and you let out a small groan.
"Well so much for a quiet evening and a good nights sleep" You think to yourself as you see the figure stepping out of the wagon. Outwardly a girl but paws instead of hands and feet, the fur ending at her elbows and knees with a rim of extra fluffy fur, a tail and cat-ears poking out from underneath her shoulder-lenght hair were a dead giveaway. Judging by the size it would be either a Nekomata or a werecat and considering its the middle of nowhere limits the choise only to a werecat. You stand as still as you can, knowing only luck would get you out of this situation without getting caught, after all, catfolk are notorious for their superb senses. The werecat appears to have brownish fur and worn travel clothes made of leather and linen of the similar coloration though you it's hard for you to make out the exact color due to the flickering light of the campfire being the only illumination. The cat-girl turns her face back towards the open door of the wagon.
"Nyah...where are those two? I'm getting hungry." She loudly complains to whomever else was in the wagon.
"Those two...? That means there is atleast four of them in this group." you think to yourself, the situation getting more precarious. As your mind desperately and rapidly devises ways to escape this situation. A loud crash halts your train of though and your breath catches as a large figure walks into the firelight. Two horns poking out from underneath her darkish hair and legs ending in hooves. A minotaur! A way to large bow was slung over her shoulder, a quiver filled with arrows large enough to be fired from a ballista rather than a bow hung from her belt. In one of her hands she held what appeared to be a tree trunk, in the other the body of a large elk, one of the huge arrows sticking out of its side. Upon spoting the minotaur the werecat began exitedly jumping up and down.
"Yay, Mara is back!" She exclaimed happily but then stopped and eyed the minotaur, "But hey...wasnt Riku with you?" she asked quizically while tilting her head to the side.
"She saw some herbs that are good for seasoning in the woods so she stayed behind to pick them" The minotaur responded, her deep voice a stark contrast to the cat-girls shrill voice. You realize that both of the monster-girls are quite young judging by their voices. Realizing that one of their companions was still in the woods you risk a quick look around yet you see not even a shadow of anyone except the two by the fire.
The minotaur girl carefully placed both the tree trunk, which turned out to be the whole tree and the elk's body on the ground next to the fire and unslung the bow and quiver of arrows, placing them in a compartment on the side of one of the wagons.
"Where is Aziel? Also wait until Syra cooks it before you dig in" She asked the cat-girl in her booming voice tinted with slight annoyance, which startled the cat-girl who was slowly edging towards the elk.
"Nyaack! Dont scare me like that" The cat-girl responded in an abashed voice "Brother is still reading in the wagon and for your information I was only going to look" she said with an upturned nose. "Do you really think i couldn't control myself at all?"
The minotaur girl laughed: "I'm sure you could but i don't want cat hair in my meat just yet dear little sister"
The cat-girl growled at her and pounced, landing on her shoulders. Holding on to one of the minotaur's horns she began playfully tussling her hair.
"Well now you have cat hair everywhere" another voice called out as a figure emerged from the wagon. You had no doubt, that voice belonged to the man who just came from the wagon. And it was a human. A young man with short-cropped dark hair and a slender build.
"Now Leona, leave your sister alone before she swats you back to last tuesday" he said with an amusment filled voice, "After all, she is the reason you get any meat today, so be patient"
Much to your amazement the cat-girl leaps off the minotaurs shoulders and turns to her: "I'm sorry sis, I guess I did get a little excited" she said in a sad voice, her tail and ears drooping. The minotaur crouched beside her and gently pet her tinutive head: "You don't have to apologize to me for that. Thats just the way you are and the way we like you" The cat-girl purred and gave her a hug even though her arms could barely reach around the minotaur.
Even through the darkness you could see the gentle smile on both the minotaur's and young man's face. The surreal scene unfolding before your eyes leaves you stupefied. You mentally pour over everything you know of monster-girls yet you cant come up with an explanation that would bring any reason or logic to the scene in front of you. Monster-girls are lustful, and given half the chance will rape you, whether you want it or not, especally the young ones, and he had never heard of monster-girls of different races ever cooperating like this. Yet these two showed no such notion towards the young man or any kind of hostility towards eachother. Infact they looked more like a family. They even called each other brother and sister.
"Leona be a dear and call Syra out, since i am quite famished aswell. But we travelled a good way today." the man asked turning to the werecat
"Okay" the cat-girl called Leona answered in her cheery tone and ran to the largest wagon and jumped in.
"By the way Mara, where is Riku? Wasn't she with you?" He asked the minotaur
"She saw some good herbs to spice up the elk I caught so she stayed behind. Speaking of which, she said it would only take five minutes or so, so she should be back pretty soon" Mara answered whilst taking pieces of portable furniture from the top of one of the wagons and placing one of the chairs next to the man.
"I see...Thank you Lil Sis" he told the girl as he sat down.
"You are welcome" She answered in a happy voice and continued taking more of the furniture out. Two more chairs and a table. Then she went to the tree that she had brought with her earlier. With a swift hand movement and a rather audiable crack she broke a piece of the trunk and put it next to the man's chair, making a seat for herself and then proceeded back to the tree and promptly began tearing smaller pieces from it.
You stare, uncapable of comprehending what was going on. Those girls and that man...they really seemed like family of peddlers traveling from place to place to sell their wares. But that was was not at all how monsters normally behaved. You had heard the stories and have had the unpleasant experience of witnessing suchs attacks before hand yourself. Though you had never been the target of those assaults, you knew about them. Just then the cat-girl slipped back out of the large wagon.
"Nyahh Syra will be out in just a moment. She just needs to finish one more stitch on Rika's tunic and then she'll be out to cook." She looked at the elk and licked her lips in anticipation, "But i don't get why we couldn't just start cooking it ourselves. I mean how hard could it be?" Mara looked away from the tree she was demolishing into smaller chunks and answered: "Because none of us can cook as well as she can and honestly...I would rather wait a little for something amazing rather than have something mediocre right away"
Leona tilted her head side to side, then nodded: "I guess you are right"
"Isn't she" another new voice answered. This one sounding more mature than the minotaurs booming voice and a whole lot more mature than the werecats high-pitched voice but still youthful. After a moment you spot the owner of the voice as she stepped into the light of the campfire. Different from the other two girls she was wearing a greenish linen dress rather than pants and shirt like the others but you immediatelly realize that she too was not human. Two pointed ears ending with small tufts peaked through her fair hair and two fluffy tails waving behind her. Cradeled in her hand was a simple woven basket full of herbs. "But we all know you prefer your meat raw little sister" She said with a smile while sitting down in one of the chairs Mara had taken out earlier.
Another one!? There is another one. A kitsune this time. And like the other two, she shows no sign of hostility or lust towards the young man sitting on the folded chair.
"Now, now...Riku...don't bully your sister." The man said, truly sounding like a parent or a big brother scolding a younger sibling, then added with some bemusement, "But Riku, don't you prefer yours on the raw side too...As i recall, when we first met..." The rest of his sentence was cut off as the kitsune called Riku lunged at the young man, nearly knocking the chair he was sitting in over. Even in the poor illumination of the campfire you could tell that her face was flushed red in embarrasment.
She gave him a furious look and said something in his ear that you could not quite catch. After a moment you see that the young man nods as Riku stepped back.
"Brother, that was unfair," you hear Leona speak up, "We promised never to speak of our pasts when we were saved by you..." She said with a sad tone, her ears and tail drooping. You could feel a blanket of silent misery suddenly cover the camp, even Mara stopping.
Then the man spoke up: "You are right Leona. I'm sorry. Your past is your past, and it shall stay there. We are a family now." He turned to Riku, "I'm sorry...I should have not said anything. Will you forgive your good-for-nothing brother?" She looked at him then once again lunged at him and caught him in a hug
"There is nothing to forgive" she answered with a smile. And with that, the air of misery that had covered the camp disappared like it had never existed in the first place.
"Now then" He clapped his hands together after the kitsune let him go from her hug and turned right towards where you were hiding, "How long are you going to crouch in those bushes" You let out a gasp. "We know you are there so you might aswell join us. It's much cozier near the fire rather than belly down in the dirt"
Slowly you lift yourself of the ground, muscles tense from lying down for so long and from the uncertainty of the people by the campfire. You roughly brush the specks of dirt and leaves off your travel-worn clothes and step closer to the fire.
"How did you know I was there?" You ask the young man as you step closer. Now that you got closer, you got a better look at this young man. As you spotted earlier, his hair was black and he was rather on the short-side aswell, maybe a metre and sixty-five centimetres tall. But his most dominat feature was the eye-patch covering his left eye. His other eye was a deep emerald green. Wearing traveling clothes much like yours, he appeared an otherwise unremarkable man, a youth like any other. If you had to guess he was twenty-twenty one years of age. But his face was angular and rugged like a man used to harsh conditions of the outdoors.
He placed his forefinger on his lips and smiled: "It's a secret" then changing the subject, "So fellow traveler, what might your name be?"
You introduce yourself to the strange group. Each of them politely bow their heads in welcome. You ask the same of them.
"Ohhh nya first, nya first" Leona spoke up, all smiles and cheerfulness, and ran up next to you, giving you a start.
"I'm Leona, and I'm a Werecat and the youngest sister in this family" She said with a smile on her face, extending her arm towards you. She was short, maybe a metre and a half at most with almost childlike figure and both her hair and fur were indeed a light brown tone. You can see the claws on her paws retract back in their pads. You give the man a hesitant look but he nods you on. You carefully clasp her hand and shake it. Much to your suprise the paw is soft and pleasantly warm though you can feel hardness of her claws underneath her skin. It is somewhat unnerving you admit to yourself. After she lets go of your hand the cat-girl merrily dances away, only to be replaced by the large figure of the minotaur, her more than two metres tall, and rather well endowed body overshadowing yours. Her hair was a tint darker brown than Leona's had been. Inadvertedly you nervously swallow but she just smiles and bends her knees slightly bringing her face on level with yours and extending her arm infront of you. Slightly shaking you clasp her hand.
"My name is Mara and I'm the second oldest sister. I'm a minotaur" She says with a smile and shakes your hand. You are suprised how gentle her handshake is considering with those same hands she tore a tree into chunks just minutes ago. As she let go, she looks you in the eye: "Would you like a chair to sit in...it might take a while till Syra cooks and i would hate to have a visitor stand when the rest of us sit"
You nod and she goes off to the wagon and fishes another chair from ontop of it. The last of the girls stands infront of you, her long blonde hair gently waving in the soft breeze. She was slightly taller than the young man with an attractive hourglass figure. She extends her hand towards you in rather matter-of-factly manner. Yet there is a gentle smile on her face. "My name is Riku, the oldest sister of this family and I'm a Youko"
You arch your eyebrow questioningly, never having heard of that name before and it does not go unnoticed by Riku. With a smile she answeres the unasked question: "It's a rarer subspecie of the Kitsunes you know, atleast around here"
With that question answeres she retreated after the handshake and sat back down in her chair. At the same time Mara places another foldable chair next to you. The young man stands up next and walks up to you in a leisurely manner and extends his hand aswell. You cant help but notice small scars and callouses on his hands. He firmly shakes your hand. Despite his age you feel strenght and certainty eminating from the young man.
"And I'm Aziel, the oldest brother and these four are my family, although adopted" He says with a smile, "Oohh yeah...and I'm just a run of the mill human" he adds with a smile as you shake his hand.
"Not very "run of the mill" considering the company you keep." you answer with a wry smile. You think for a moment...
"Wait you said these four...but i only see three" You ask Aziel.
Aziel looks at you then laughs and turns to Riku: "Riku, tell Syra that the family is hungry and her amazing cooking skills are required to the utmost" He turns back to you, "Sorry my sister is sometimes a little forgetful. When she is doing something she focuses all her attention on it and forgets to keep track of time"
You look at the Youko walk to the large wagon and pound her fist on its side and moment later a small hatch opens on the side and Riku delegates what Aziel said word for word and upon hearing a inaudiable responce closes the little hatch.
"She says she just finished fixing my tunic, you know the one i tore a hole into the last time I went out foraging." Riku reported to Aziel. Then gave me a suspicious look. "You sure our guest wount freak out...I mean most folks do when they see her for the first time"
"I'm sure it will be fine" Aziel answered with a smile, "She is a good girl and her cooking is sure to impress our guest to no end. I mean...she managed to make a salad so delicious that even Leona ate tons of it...And god know your lil sis hates her greens" Both Riku and Aziel chuckled while you could hear Leona's quiet disappointed mutter: "Thats not fair" which prompted another burst of laughter, this time from all three. You could not help but smile a little. These four really were like siblings.
You hear the creak of hinges as the largest wagon door slides open and you stiffle a gasp as you see the last member of this strange family emerge. Her pinkish-pale hair was shoulder-lenght her eyes nearly perfect ovals and entirely red. Her pale body was lean, but still effeminate, wearing a tunic with dark coloration. But that was not what made you gasp. Where her legs should have been...was the body of a spider, dark blue, almost black glossy chithin reflecting the light of the campfire. With practiced movements she climbed out of the wagon, six of her eight spider legs supporting her body. If she stretched them out she would tower over even the minotaur, but bent as they were, she stood only a little shorter than the minotaur. You uncounciously take a step back. The last member of this family was an Arachne, who were know to be some of the most violent of all monsters.
"I told you our visitor would freak out" Riku muttered with a smug face, while Aziel threw her a glare.
"Sorry...I got a little carried away with my work...I'm sorry, I'll start cooking right away" Her voice did not match her looks at. She sounded so...girly. It was not like the high-pitched, ear-rupturing shrill that Leona sometimes sounded like. It was sweet like honey, the voice you would never expect to hear from an arachne. You expected something rougher, maybe more coarce. But not this innocent girly voice.
Before she could skitter her way to the dead elk Aziel stopped her. "Syra, cook for six today. We have a visitor"
The moment those words left his mouth, the arachne spun around with incredible speed and faced you. You could not help but stare back. Apart from the monotone red eyes her face was just like any other girls. Slowly a furious red blush built up on her cheeks and she put her hands to cover her face while she skittered backwards to hide behind one of the wagons from where she cautiously peeked out, her face still visibly red.
"Sorry she is a little shy" Aziel explained her unexpected behaviour. He turned towards Syra: "Come now, look this guy is not scary and he is not gonna hurt you. He promises. Right?" Aziel said and turned towards you. You feel a chill run down your spine as there was an almost inhuman intensity in his green eye. You swallow and then nod: "I promise." His smile returned once again as he turned back to the arachne: "See nothing to worry about"
Cautiously she emerged from behind the wagon and with unstable steps came closer. Even if her eyes were just a monotone red you could read the fear in them. Suddenly Aziel slaps you on the back. "Well don't keep the lady waiting. Introduce yourself" He says with a smile. With a slightly wavering voice you do.
She looks at Aziel with pleading eyes but he just gives her an assuring nod.
"I'm...ummm...My name is Sy...Syra" She stutters, "I'm...the second oldest sister and I'm an arac...."Her voice trails off and she gives Aziel another pleading look.
"I wonder which of the two is more afraid of the other" You hear Riku mutter another comment but she is quickly shushed by Mara.
Aziel just gives her another reassuring smile and nod. She takes a few more steps forward and extends her shaking hand: "N-n-n-nice to meet you" she stutters. You carefully grasp her slender hand and shake it. You can feel her quivering through it. As soon as the shake is done she thakes a few quick steps back and looks at you with uncertainty. With a near silent pat Leona lands on her back, giving Syra a start and places her paws around her, tigghtly hugging her.
"Nyah...you did well big sis." Leona said with a wide smile on her face and gave Syra a kiss on her cheek which caused her face to blush an even deeper shade of red. Aziel walked up to Syra aswell and put his hand on her side.
"See you can do it lil sis" he said calmingly, "I'm really proud of you." While the shade of red did not diminish one bit a small smile dawned on her face.
You start to understand how this family works...they all rely on one another, and perhaps they are more close to eachother than some blood related families are. That thought of yours was interrupted by a loud groan.
You spin around to see Mara holding her stomach, a faint blush on her face. There was a moment of absolute quiet.
And then laughter. Clear, melodious laughter. You turn back and see Syra laughing, her blush almost gone. "I think it's about time i started cooking before her stomach makes the earth shake"
You let out a breath you had no idea you were holding while Syra moved over to the table Mara set up earlier. With no effort at all she lifted the dead elk on the table, Leona still standing ontop of her spider body and looking over her shoulder, eyes glittering and mouth watering in anticipation. Syra probed the elks body with two of her forelegs then remarked: "This is a fine beast, and it will make a finer dinner still. Leona be a good girl and fetch me my cooking utensils. Mara make the fire a little stronger as we need lots of hot coal. Riku could you help me prepare the seasoning? These herbs need cut and ground for the flavor to really kick in"
Within a second all three were in motion, Leona galloping into her wagon, Mara feeding wood to the fire and Riku taking a place next to Syra at the table. You cant help to notice that they work like clockwork, in almost perfect sync with eachother. You spot Aziel calmly relaxing in his chair, stuffing tobacco into a long stemmed pipe, lighting it and taking long puffs from it. There is a gentle look on his face, the face of someone both proud and happy. The familiar smell of tobacco wafts through the air. Soon after Leona returned carrying a medium-sized leather-strapped case which Syra placed on the ground next to the table and opened. From it she retrived two knives, a pestle and mortar, and a chopping board made of some black material you had you had not seen before. After handing everything but one of the knives to Riku she got to work, skinning and butchering the elk into smaller pieces of meat, while Riku cut and ground the herbs from the basket, Leona sitting on her back and watching. You couldn't help but notice the profficency and elegance the arachne prepared the meat. Using both her hands and the first pair of her eight spiderlegs effectively giving her 4 hands, 3 of which could be used for cutting, she quickly and precisely extracted usable meat from the intestines, organs and fat. Methodically working she began humming a tune. Her light voice carried through the night air and was joined by another, high-pitched one as Leona sitting crosslegged on her back joined in with her voice rocking her body side to side in tune, then Riku's mellow lower hum and Mara's lower and slightly louder hum. You find the melody catchy but can't help but feel there is an underlying sadness, a tune of loneliness to the melody. Yet with all four of them humming, it sounded like a unified choir.
Some minutes later their choir quites down and they smile to one another before resuming their work (except Leona still just sitting on Syra's back).
You turn to Aziel and ask about the tune.
"Its something I taught them so they would not feel alone" He answers, a shadow crossing his face, "I gave them something nobody could ever take away from them" Given the look he just had you refrain from asking any other questions and instead resign to observing the girls.
Spoiler: show
The Menagerie: Chapter 2 - The Five-Spoke Wheel
Not soon after the succulent pieces of meat were hanging above the campfire, strung up in a tight net of Syra's silk. The mouth-watering smell of cooked meat soon covered the entire camp. You sit there, a little ways away from the fire and observe the unusual family. Mara and Leona were animatedly talking about something and Aziel had taken out a board of chess and was playing Riku, concentration plain on both of their faces. Syra was tending to the meat, moving it ever so often. You still couldn't quite get your head around how these girls were so...docile. You notice that Syra is giving you small glimpses every so often but quickly turn away as soon as you take notice. She went back to her shy behaviour as soon as she was done preparing the meat, although she was not hiding behind a wagon anymore. Your eyes move back to the man, Aziel. He was the greatest enigma of them all.
How had he managed to tame them so? You had heard of wizards who were capable of forcing monsters under their own will but even then a constant tether of magic was required lest the monster went out of control, a tether that would be exhausting to maintain even by a circle of magi. Those thoughts plague your mind until you are suddenly jolted out of it by Mara sitting on the ground next to you with a thunk, carrying a small pouch.
"You look like you got some heavy things on your mind" she says with a smile on her face, "Either that or you have stomach problems" She laughs and points at Leona who was now walking circles around the camp on her hands who in return, now balancing on only one of her pawed hands waves back.
"Look at my lil sis go. I could never do that. Mostly because these things are too heavy" She pats on her calves just where her hooves begin. "Trust me I tried, nearly crushed poor Riku underneath myself when I fell" She explains with a laugh as she noticed your rather confused look. She took out five colorful balls from her pouch and held them up for you to see. "But I can do this" She began juggling three of them, then added the other two. You look with utter astonishment as those large hands juggle the small balls in the air with no effort. You had seen a circus act or two in your life but you would have never expected to see a minotaur juggling. The sight is so bizarre that you let out a small laugh. She smiles as well and with a flick of her wrist sends all five balls in the air all at once. You stare in amazement as the balls fly through the air. She deftly catches all of them just before they hit the ground.
"I can actually do up to twelve balls but I figured a simple small demonstration would cheer you up more" Mara says as she lifts her large body off the ground, "We aren't all scary monsters" she says over her shoulder before she leaves. The smile on your face freezes in shock. She hit the nail on the head alright but there in itself lay the problem. All your life you had been told that monsters are evil, cruel and sadistic. Basically creatures just as their name would imply. And yet these girls were nothing like what the stories told. Your curiousity gets the better of you:
"Wait." you call after her, "Can I ask you a question?" She steps back towards you: "Shoot, I'm all ears." You notice how her ears actually twitched slightly as she said that.
You have the perfect chance to ask questions like who they were, how were they so docile, to find out more about this menagerie. But in the end only one question remains in your mind which you just blurt out: "Just who is he?"
She stares at you with a blank look on her face. You mentally curse yourself. Her brow furrows as she tries to thinks of an answer but she gets cut off when a pitched voice next to your ear answers
"Simple...He is our brother. What he used to be does nyot matter for us" With a start you twist around coming face to face with Leona's only centimetres away from yours. You notice that she has thin barely noticeable whiskers that were slightly twitching sprouting from the top of her upper lip. Mara nods as well "Leona is right. He is our brother. Not much else matters to us. After all, we are a family" That answer gave you more questions than it answered. Carefully you think and ask one more: "How did you become...a family?" I mean how did you meet him?" The two remain silent and look at one another. An uncomfortable silence hangs in the air. Clearly that was a slightly touchy subject. You open your mouth to tell them it's alright if they don’t answer but before you can Leona answers: "He saved us" Mara just nods in agreement. You would like to ask from what he saved these girls from but decide against it, considering the solemn mood of the two. Neither of them was smiling anymore.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to dredge up unpleasant memories for you" you apologize to the two, bowing your head slightly. "It's alright...just..." Leona answers slowly, "We made an agreement not to talk of our pasts."
You nod your head as you begin to understand that those two had unpleasant pasts, and most likely so did Riku and Syra. A sudden cold gust of wind blows through the camp, making you shiver slightly. With a elegant somersault, Leona jumps over you and grabs your hand, her smile back on her face although you notice a slight hint of sorrow underneath it."Well no point on freezing out here." she says and grabs your hand, dragging you upright and towards the fire, "Besides," she sniffs the air, "The food should just about be ready." She pulls you with surprising force considering her diminutive and slender frame. You knew that monsters were much stronger than they let on but it was still rather unexpected. She drags you towards the fire and sits you down causing Syra to make a twitchy sidestep away from you. "Much better." Leona practically purrs as she sits down next to you on your right and stretches her hands towards the fire. You still find it a little strange sharing a camp with monster-girls however you don't feel as uncomfortable as you did in the beginning. After all, they do seem rather harmless and seemed to harbor no ill intent towards you. You look at where Riku and Aziel were still engaged in their game of chess. Though the pile of taken pieces was larger in front of Riku, her brow was furrowed in concentration while Aziel's face held the slight beginnings of a smile.
"Those two still at it?" Mara asked Syra as she sat down beside Leona. Syra gave the two playing chess a look and nodded. "Though it looks like it's almost over. I have seen that look on his face before." And as if by some kind of charm, Aziel, after moving one more of his pieces called out: “Checkmate." Riku stared at the board, brow still furrowed. You could see her eyes move from piece to piece on the board. Then she sighed and threw up her hands. "You win." She said with a annoyed tone, "I really thought I had you there but no, you just have to pull some genius tactic out of your back pocket." Aziel laughed "To be fair, for a moment there you almost did. You have most definitely improved a lot. You did good." He got up and gave the youko a pat on the head. She shook her head. "But I didn't beat you." She sighed again. "Hehe maybe one day you will. No, I'm sure one day you will." he encouraged her. "Besides I think Syra is just about done, at least judging by the smell." he said as he sniffed the air. He notices you looking at them and with a grin asks you: "You play as well?" while pointing at the chessboard.
"Not much but I have played chess before." you give him an honest answer.
"Then how about a game after we have finished our meal?" he asks you. You think about it for a moment. Playing would give you a chance to ask some questions about the group. Mind made up, you nod towards him: "Why not. Although it's been a while so go easy on me."
"Yeah, no chance of that happening." Riku scoffs as she sits down on your left, "He is absolutely brutal." Aziel laughs again "Come on now, it's not that bad." Riku gives him a sideways glance and shakes her head causing the tufts of hair on the top of her ears to sway. "You better prepare yourself for a royal thrashing." she tells you. You give her an awkward smile yet somehow you are pretty sure that was not a joke. You feel like you got yourself into quite a situation as you see Aziel grinning at you while taking a seat on the opposite side of the now low burning campfire. You look up at the sky and the almost full moon faintly illuminating the forest around you. You judge that it might be a little past midnight.
Minutes later the food is served on simple clay plates, the smell already enough to make your mouth water. Looking to your side you see that Leona literally has a string of drool hanging out the side of her mouth as she intently stares at the food. She herself seemed unconcerned about it.
"Well dig in." Syra says with a cheerful tone and you oblige. The meat is just as tasty as it's smell. The it was juicy and the herbal seasoning added a gentle subflavor. On your side you see Leona shoveling her piece in her mouth, cheeks bulging. She looked more like a hamster than a werecat whereas Mara and the others on the other hand savored the taste, slowly chewing through every piece of the delicious dish. You are surprised to see that despite their race all of them were using a fork and knife with skill. Even Leona with her pawed hands had no problems using the utensils.
"You have once again outdone yourself Syra." Aziel compliments, "This dish is on par with the stuff served at the Royal Palace." Riku and Mara nod in agreement and you can’t help but agree as well. The rest of the meal passes in silence, everyone too focused on devouring the meat. The elk had been rather large but all the meat off it was eaten with ease on account of Mara and Leona's appetite.
"Nyaaah." Leona sighs in satisfaction, now actually purring, as the last piece of meat disappears into her mouth. You too grunt in satisfaction, your belly full and sated. On your side you notice Mara stifling a yawn which Aziel notices "Well time for bed." He announced and without grumbling the quartet of girls make their way into the wagons: Mara and Syra into the largest one and Leona and Riku into one of the smaller ones. One by one they say their goodnights, to each other, you and Aziel, and vanish into the wagons. Aziel turns to you: "Now then, you owe me a game." He pulls the table closer to the campfire which was now little more than glowing embers. With practiced movements he sets up the game: "You want to play blacks or whites." He asks you as you seat yourself at the table. You give him a shrug "Really does not matter, you pick."
"Alright, then you play white." he says with a smile "Whites play first."
Within the first few minutes you realize that you are in way over your head as he effortlessly crushes all your strategies and plans. Soon enough you have lost nearly half your pieces while his were practically untouched.
"I bet you have about a hundred and one questions?" he says as he looks up from the board, “I will answer them to the best of my power."
You nod and think what you should ask since he pretty much gave you the green light to ask anything.
"Well...first and foremost," you start, "Who are you really?"
"Straight to the point I see." he smiles and moves one of his pieces, "And unfortunately one of the questions I can't really answer. But I can tell you that I'm not your enemy."
That was about as vague as answers go. He can see by your look that you are not satisfied with the answer so he continues "We made an agreement not to speak of our past since it's…already in the past. There are somethings that are best left there." A shadow quickly passes over his face and for a moment you can read an old pain clearly written on his face. You give him an unsure nod.
"That’s true but then let me ask this if I may: Who are you now?" You ask as you move your piece. For a moment he cocks his head to the side, thinking.
"I guess...we are a family of traveling entertainers." He answers as he moves one of his pieces.
"Entertainers?" you move and take one of the black pieces.
"Yeah. Entertainers. You saw Leona and her acrobatics right. And Mara's juggling." You nod again. "Well Riku plays the lute and Syra is an excellent puppet master." He explains as he moves another piece and calls check. Your eyes dart back on the board. He pretty much has your king pinned but quickly thinking you manage to salvage the situation, losing only a few of your own pieces while somehow managing to take several of his. A few turns pass in silent concentration.
"What about you?" You ask him.
He looks up from the board
"Me...well I'm the manager." He bemusedly answers, "But I guess I do some sleight of hand tricks. Kids love that stuff." He takes one of your taken pieces in front of him and holds it up. With a practiced flourish of his hand the piece vanishes and with another flourish it reappears in his other hand, although you could have sworn he never brought his hands close to each other. "Something like that." he says as he places the piece back on the pile in front of him. "We call ourselves the "Five-Spoke Wheel" since there is...you know, five of us and we are traveling. Check." Once again you find your king under fire. While desperately trying to save your king you ask the next question that had popped into your mind after hearing about their entertainment careers.
"But...are people not afraid of monster-girls? I mean...they do have a bit of a...reputation."
He laughs: "Well it definitely hasn't been easy. But as long as we steer away from larger cities it's fine. Smaller villages however are more than willing to pay a some coppers and on occasion even a silver for the entertainment even if it’s source is monsters. Once people realize that we are not dangerous. It's all about how you advertise yourself." He gives you a wide grin "Checkmate."
You look down on the board to find that he is right. No way to get yourself out of this one. You sigh. Looks like Riku had been right on the money, he did not pull any punches. He had absolutely and mercilessly beaten you.
While Aziel was packing the board folding it and placing the pieces into a small weathered leather pouch you ask your next question as your devastating defeat had briefly derailed your thoughts.
"How did you meet them?" you wave your hand towards the wagons where the girls were sleeping, "And how come they call you brother?"
He stops for a moment, thinking, and answers: "They call me their brother because that’s exactly what I am for them and as to how I met them…Let’s just say I saved them."
"Saved them from what?" You question.
"Themselves." he answers. "And they returned the kindness in kind." For a moment Aziel looked much older, sadness and loss once again clearly written on his face. But that visage lasts only for a split-second. You realize that this his past must have been difficult. You can't help but be a little curious. Just what could that have been but you don't dare to ask. You notice that he is about finished with cleaning up after the game, the neatly folded board and pouch of pieces resting in a small case which he closes with a decisive click.
"Now then shall we?" He asks you, pointing at his wagon, "I'll give you the cot."
"No-no!" You begin object, ”The ground is good enough for a traveler like me." You say as you pat the bedroll at the top of your worn backpack.
"Nonsense. Being our guest I can't let you sleep outside. My sisters would butcher me." He laughs off your objection, "Now come on!" He says in a demanding voice as he waves towards the wagon. Dejected you walk with the young man towards the wagon.
The brightly colored wagon looked much more cozy than the cold ground you admit to yourself. It was a mediocre sized wagon,so it felt just a little claustrophobic with both of them inside. A lit lantern on the right of the door illuminated the insides revealing a small cot in one corner taking up nearly a fourth of the floorspace in the wagon. On the the opposite side of the cot was a desk, laden with papers with a folded up chair resting against the side of the desk.. To your left there is a chest of drawers taking nearly the entirety of the wall. You look around and see a map of Angilef pinned to the wall next to the cot and directly across from the entrance. Not something you’d usually notice but this map had something that caught your eye. It had the entirety of Angilef mapped on it...including the northern Angilef, otherwise known as the Demon-lands. Maps that show the northern part of the continent are rare, very much so. Yet this unorthodox man had one in his possession. The map itself was somewhat faded yet fresh ink lines are drawn into the map. You quickly think back.
A map like this has not been written in decades, not since the royals at Mithrilix decreed that the northern part of the world, the part infested with monsters...does not deserve to be even be mapped and nearly every map containing north Angilef was burned without mercy. Yet this man had a near perfect map of both the south and north, it’s lines and color faded by time, but parts of it clearly renewed by him, fresh ink spots and lines showing the settlements and roads in the south but also including some of those of the northern regions. To find such a map here, in the hands of this unorthodox man and his “family”. And not only that, the fact that parts of the north were also quite recently renewed, meaning that they had actually been on the other side of Saint Leiz [Saint Liiz], the wide river separating the two sides of the continent.
“This is…? Where did you get something like this?” you ask as you stare at the map and the additions made on it.
“Ahh this is a parting gift from an old friend.” he answers without hesitation while taking fresh bedding from the small cupboard above the cot and setting it.
You step up to the map, trailing your fingers over the ink lines drawn into the old parchment.
“You have been to these places? In the north I mean?” You ask as you point to some of the dots in the north. Upon closer view you notice that names are written next to the dots in fine script.
“I have. It’s been several months since the last time I was but I have indeed.” he answered truthfully. But you see an opportunity for yourself.
“Though I have not been too far north.” He walked up to you and drew an imaginary line on the map with his finger.
“Haven’t been further than that.” He smiled at you.
“Amazing.” You mutter, “What’s it like?”
“Not much different than what we have here just a little bit dryer and warmer.”
“I thought it was mostly a wasteland?” you decide to question him some more. Not often one gets to ask questions about the Demon-lands. The royals in Mithrilix made sure of that. Much of the knowledge of North-Angilef was taboo with most of the knowledge there was being propaganda and slander, lies made up by the throne. Even if it had been nearly half a century since the war but humans still remembered the horrors that came across the river when the demons awoke. After that humans shunned everything that had even the slightest connection to the north, knowledge or physical. Actually meeting someone who had been there was a rarity since most of those who pushed back the demons never returned, dying to the many natural dangers that the land offered. Only a few hundred of the tens of thousands of soldiers made it back to the south. and even they were now old men, those who were still alive that is. So finding someone who had been across and was willing to share his or her knowledge was rare.
“Well...near the Scar it is a wasteland, but other than that it’s more like a steppe. Or desert further up north.”
“The Scar? What’s that?”
“The Scar is the trail that demons left when they invaded the humans. That is indeed a dead wasteland.”
“Such a thing exists? But the war ended nearly fifty years ago. How is it that it’s still dead?” You ask the man.
“Demons and their creations are inherently made of pure malice or evil for the lack of a better term. So everything their flesh touches becomes infected with that very malice. And a large army of demonspawn walking in a set line... Well I’m sure you can imagine the rest. And before you ask, after the war was done the nobles spent a fortune so the church would remove the malice and bless the land on our side. On the other side the Scar supposedly runs straight to the Ebony Citadel. Not that I could vouch for it.”
You think for a moment before it clicks in your head: “Demonspawn? You mean monsters?”
“Yes and no. Demons created the demonspawn out of their malice given physical form. The demonspawn just spread the malice. It was the malice that was spread by the spawn that caused the mutation into monsters. So the war was waged between humans and the combined forces of demonspawn and monsters created by them.”
“So your sisters...they too carry that malice?” You carefully asked. Much to your surprise Aziel chuckled.
“You don’t seem to know what malice is, do you?” He asks you to which you shake your head
“I have...not heard of that term yes. I mean I know what malice means but not what you have in mind here.”
“Malice in the context I mean was energy or rather a twisted version of magic brought to this world thousands of years ago when the demons fell into this world. It’s an energy that corrupts and twists anyone or anything it comes in contact with it, to better suit the needs of the demons. But humans as such are more resistant to it’s effects.” He gives you a sly smile, “Especially the women.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” you ask, confused
“The corruption was incomplete, hence they retained some of their human features whilst the men...did not. That did not change their...appetites if you will. But it is possible for them to overcome those appetites. How else do you think human settlements are possible in the north.”
He shook his head: “Although some choose to follow these new urges instead.”
Upon seeing your slightly frightened face he calms you down
“Fear not, my sisters will not assault you in any way. As i said, It’s a matter of choice”
You are not sure he himself realised it but there was pride in his voice as well as confidence in his own words.
“And there is the answer to your question.”
By now he had finished setting up the cot and was placing his own bedding on the floor.
“Sorry it’s going to be a bit of a tight fit but we’ll manage.”
You nod signaling it won’t be a problem for you and resume looking at the map. You find it quite curious. The fresh ink seems to be mostly detailing the countryside, keeping away from larger towns. There are red pushpins pinned to several different locations, mostly on the northern side, and a green one to one place.
“These are?” you ask pointing at the pushpins.
“The red ones are places to stay away from and the green one is our approximate location.”
“Places to stay away from? Are those places dangerous? Why?” you ask him. Seeing he travels in a group of monster-girls, and strong ones no less, you find it curious that he would consider some places that dangerous.
As if he read your mind he answers: “I will not put my family in danger for no reason. Those places,” he paused, “Have naught but horrors and hate. The war might be over for humans but the truth is that it is far from over.”
You stop pursuing that line of thought though you give him a questioning look. What did he mean by the war not being over you can only wonder over.
“There, done.” He said and stood up. “Time for sleep. Got an early morning tomorrow.”
You walk to the cot and strip down your travel-worn over clothes and settle yourself in the narrow cot.
Aziel walked to the lantern illuminating the insides of it. Before extinguishing it he looked at you: “Good night.” and the wagon was plunged into darkness. Moonlight gently shined through the small curtained window on the drivers side of the wagon, barely enough to illuminate more than a few centimetres from. You hear rustling as Aziel too settles in his shabby bedding on the floor. You feel slightly uncomfortable, after all you did take the better bed. You take a breath and open your mouth but before you can utter a single word you hear his voice in the dark.
“Worry not, I’m quite comfortable.” followed by a chuckle, “But I appreciate the concern.”
You shut your mouth again and close your eyes. The whole day had been quite an experience. What had started as another day on the road had turned into something a little more bizarre. You feel exhaustion flood over you, aided by the belly full of food. Before you knew it you were sleeping soundly.
Not soon after the succulent pieces of meat were hanging above the campfire, strung up in a tight net of Syra's silk. The mouth-watering smell of cooked meat soon covered the entire camp. You sit there, a little ways away from the fire and observe the unusual family. Mara and Leona were animatedly talking about something and Aziel had taken out a board of chess and was playing Riku, concentration plain on both of their faces. Syra was tending to the meat, moving it ever so often. You still couldn't quite get your head around how these girls were so...docile. You notice that Syra is giving you small glimpses every so often but quickly turn away as soon as you take notice. She went back to her shy behaviour as soon as she was done preparing the meat, although she was not hiding behind a wagon anymore. Your eyes move back to the man, Aziel. He was the greatest enigma of them all.
How had he managed to tame them so? You had heard of wizards who were capable of forcing monsters under their own will but even then a constant tether of magic was required lest the monster went out of control, a tether that would be exhausting to maintain even by a circle of magi. Those thoughts plague your mind until you are suddenly jolted out of it by Mara sitting on the ground next to you with a thunk, carrying a small pouch.
"You look like you got some heavy things on your mind" she says with a smile on her face, "Either that or you have stomach problems" She laughs and points at Leona who was now walking circles around the camp on her hands who in return, now balancing on only one of her pawed hands waves back.
"Look at my lil sis go. I could never do that. Mostly because these things are too heavy" She pats on her calves just where her hooves begin. "Trust me I tried, nearly crushed poor Riku underneath myself when I fell" She explains with a laugh as she noticed your rather confused look. She took out five colorful balls from her pouch and held them up for you to see. "But I can do this" She began juggling three of them, then added the other two. You look with utter astonishment as those large hands juggle the small balls in the air with no effort. You had seen a circus act or two in your life but you would have never expected to see a minotaur juggling. The sight is so bizarre that you let out a small laugh. She smiles as well and with a flick of her wrist sends all five balls in the air all at once. You stare in amazement as the balls fly through the air. She deftly catches all of them just before they hit the ground.
"I can actually do up to twelve balls but I figured a simple small demonstration would cheer you up more" Mara says as she lifts her large body off the ground, "We aren't all scary monsters" she says over her shoulder before she leaves. The smile on your face freezes in shock. She hit the nail on the head alright but there in itself lay the problem. All your life you had been told that monsters are evil, cruel and sadistic. Basically creatures just as their name would imply. And yet these girls were nothing like what the stories told. Your curiousity gets the better of you:
"Wait." you call after her, "Can I ask you a question?" She steps back towards you: "Shoot, I'm all ears." You notice how her ears actually twitched slightly as she said that.
You have the perfect chance to ask questions like who they were, how were they so docile, to find out more about this menagerie. But in the end only one question remains in your mind which you just blurt out: "Just who is he?"
She stares at you with a blank look on her face. You mentally curse yourself. Her brow furrows as she tries to thinks of an answer but she gets cut off when a pitched voice next to your ear answers
"Simple...He is our brother. What he used to be does nyot matter for us" With a start you twist around coming face to face with Leona's only centimetres away from yours. You notice that she has thin barely noticeable whiskers that were slightly twitching sprouting from the top of her upper lip. Mara nods as well "Leona is right. He is our brother. Not much else matters to us. After all, we are a family" That answer gave you more questions than it answered. Carefully you think and ask one more: "How did you become...a family?" I mean how did you meet him?" The two remain silent and look at one another. An uncomfortable silence hangs in the air. Clearly that was a slightly touchy subject. You open your mouth to tell them it's alright if they don’t answer but before you can Leona answers: "He saved us" Mara just nods in agreement. You would like to ask from what he saved these girls from but decide against it, considering the solemn mood of the two. Neither of them was smiling anymore.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to dredge up unpleasant memories for you" you apologize to the two, bowing your head slightly. "It's alright...just..." Leona answers slowly, "We made an agreement not to talk of our pasts."
You nod your head as you begin to understand that those two had unpleasant pasts, and most likely so did Riku and Syra. A sudden cold gust of wind blows through the camp, making you shiver slightly. With a elegant somersault, Leona jumps over you and grabs your hand, her smile back on her face although you notice a slight hint of sorrow underneath it."Well no point on freezing out here." she says and grabs your hand, dragging you upright and towards the fire, "Besides," she sniffs the air, "The food should just about be ready." She pulls you with surprising force considering her diminutive and slender frame. You knew that monsters were much stronger than they let on but it was still rather unexpected. She drags you towards the fire and sits you down causing Syra to make a twitchy sidestep away from you. "Much better." Leona practically purrs as she sits down next to you on your right and stretches her hands towards the fire. You still find it a little strange sharing a camp with monster-girls however you don't feel as uncomfortable as you did in the beginning. After all, they do seem rather harmless and seemed to harbor no ill intent towards you. You look at where Riku and Aziel were still engaged in their game of chess. Though the pile of taken pieces was larger in front of Riku, her brow was furrowed in concentration while Aziel's face held the slight beginnings of a smile.
"Those two still at it?" Mara asked Syra as she sat down beside Leona. Syra gave the two playing chess a look and nodded. "Though it looks like it's almost over. I have seen that look on his face before." And as if by some kind of charm, Aziel, after moving one more of his pieces called out: “Checkmate." Riku stared at the board, brow still furrowed. You could see her eyes move from piece to piece on the board. Then she sighed and threw up her hands. "You win." She said with a annoyed tone, "I really thought I had you there but no, you just have to pull some genius tactic out of your back pocket." Aziel laughed "To be fair, for a moment there you almost did. You have most definitely improved a lot. You did good." He got up and gave the youko a pat on the head. She shook her head. "But I didn't beat you." She sighed again. "Hehe maybe one day you will. No, I'm sure one day you will." he encouraged her. "Besides I think Syra is just about done, at least judging by the smell." he said as he sniffed the air. He notices you looking at them and with a grin asks you: "You play as well?" while pointing at the chessboard.
"Not much but I have played chess before." you give him an honest answer.
"Then how about a game after we have finished our meal?" he asks you. You think about it for a moment. Playing would give you a chance to ask some questions about the group. Mind made up, you nod towards him: "Why not. Although it's been a while so go easy on me."
"Yeah, no chance of that happening." Riku scoffs as she sits down on your left, "He is absolutely brutal." Aziel laughs again "Come on now, it's not that bad." Riku gives him a sideways glance and shakes her head causing the tufts of hair on the top of her ears to sway. "You better prepare yourself for a royal thrashing." she tells you. You give her an awkward smile yet somehow you are pretty sure that was not a joke. You feel like you got yourself into quite a situation as you see Aziel grinning at you while taking a seat on the opposite side of the now low burning campfire. You look up at the sky and the almost full moon faintly illuminating the forest around you. You judge that it might be a little past midnight.
Minutes later the food is served on simple clay plates, the smell already enough to make your mouth water. Looking to your side you see that Leona literally has a string of drool hanging out the side of her mouth as she intently stares at the food. She herself seemed unconcerned about it.
"Well dig in." Syra says with a cheerful tone and you oblige. The meat is just as tasty as it's smell. The it was juicy and the herbal seasoning added a gentle subflavor. On your side you see Leona shoveling her piece in her mouth, cheeks bulging. She looked more like a hamster than a werecat whereas Mara and the others on the other hand savored the taste, slowly chewing through every piece of the delicious dish. You are surprised to see that despite their race all of them were using a fork and knife with skill. Even Leona with her pawed hands had no problems using the utensils.
"You have once again outdone yourself Syra." Aziel compliments, "This dish is on par with the stuff served at the Royal Palace." Riku and Mara nod in agreement and you can’t help but agree as well. The rest of the meal passes in silence, everyone too focused on devouring the meat. The elk had been rather large but all the meat off it was eaten with ease on account of Mara and Leona's appetite.
"Nyaaah." Leona sighs in satisfaction, now actually purring, as the last piece of meat disappears into her mouth. You too grunt in satisfaction, your belly full and sated. On your side you notice Mara stifling a yawn which Aziel notices "Well time for bed." He announced and without grumbling the quartet of girls make their way into the wagons: Mara and Syra into the largest one and Leona and Riku into one of the smaller ones. One by one they say their goodnights, to each other, you and Aziel, and vanish into the wagons. Aziel turns to you: "Now then, you owe me a game." He pulls the table closer to the campfire which was now little more than glowing embers. With practiced movements he sets up the game: "You want to play blacks or whites." He asks you as you seat yourself at the table. You give him a shrug "Really does not matter, you pick."
"Alright, then you play white." he says with a smile "Whites play first."
Within the first few minutes you realize that you are in way over your head as he effortlessly crushes all your strategies and plans. Soon enough you have lost nearly half your pieces while his were practically untouched.
"I bet you have about a hundred and one questions?" he says as he looks up from the board, “I will answer them to the best of my power."
You nod and think what you should ask since he pretty much gave you the green light to ask anything.
"Well...first and foremost," you start, "Who are you really?"
"Straight to the point I see." he smiles and moves one of his pieces, "And unfortunately one of the questions I can't really answer. But I can tell you that I'm not your enemy."
That was about as vague as answers go. He can see by your look that you are not satisfied with the answer so he continues "We made an agreement not to speak of our past since it's…already in the past. There are somethings that are best left there." A shadow quickly passes over his face and for a moment you can read an old pain clearly written on his face. You give him an unsure nod.
"That’s true but then let me ask this if I may: Who are you now?" You ask as you move your piece. For a moment he cocks his head to the side, thinking.
"I guess...we are a family of traveling entertainers." He answers as he moves one of his pieces.
"Entertainers?" you move and take one of the black pieces.
"Yeah. Entertainers. You saw Leona and her acrobatics right. And Mara's juggling." You nod again. "Well Riku plays the lute and Syra is an excellent puppet master." He explains as he moves another piece and calls check. Your eyes dart back on the board. He pretty much has your king pinned but quickly thinking you manage to salvage the situation, losing only a few of your own pieces while somehow managing to take several of his. A few turns pass in silent concentration.
"What about you?" You ask him.
He looks up from the board
"Me...well I'm the manager." He bemusedly answers, "But I guess I do some sleight of hand tricks. Kids love that stuff." He takes one of your taken pieces in front of him and holds it up. With a practiced flourish of his hand the piece vanishes and with another flourish it reappears in his other hand, although you could have sworn he never brought his hands close to each other. "Something like that." he says as he places the piece back on the pile in front of him. "We call ourselves the "Five-Spoke Wheel" since there is...you know, five of us and we are traveling. Check." Once again you find your king under fire. While desperately trying to save your king you ask the next question that had popped into your mind after hearing about their entertainment careers.
"But...are people not afraid of monster-girls? I mean...they do have a bit of a...reputation."
He laughs: "Well it definitely hasn't been easy. But as long as we steer away from larger cities it's fine. Smaller villages however are more than willing to pay a some coppers and on occasion even a silver for the entertainment even if it’s source is monsters. Once people realize that we are not dangerous. It's all about how you advertise yourself." He gives you a wide grin "Checkmate."
You look down on the board to find that he is right. No way to get yourself out of this one. You sigh. Looks like Riku had been right on the money, he did not pull any punches. He had absolutely and mercilessly beaten you.
While Aziel was packing the board folding it and placing the pieces into a small weathered leather pouch you ask your next question as your devastating defeat had briefly derailed your thoughts.
"How did you meet them?" you wave your hand towards the wagons where the girls were sleeping, "And how come they call you brother?"
He stops for a moment, thinking, and answers: "They call me their brother because that’s exactly what I am for them and as to how I met them…Let’s just say I saved them."
"Saved them from what?" You question.
"Themselves." he answers. "And they returned the kindness in kind." For a moment Aziel looked much older, sadness and loss once again clearly written on his face. But that visage lasts only for a split-second. You realize that this his past must have been difficult. You can't help but be a little curious. Just what could that have been but you don't dare to ask. You notice that he is about finished with cleaning up after the game, the neatly folded board and pouch of pieces resting in a small case which he closes with a decisive click.
"Now then shall we?" He asks you, pointing at his wagon, "I'll give you the cot."
"No-no!" You begin object, ”The ground is good enough for a traveler like me." You say as you pat the bedroll at the top of your worn backpack.
"Nonsense. Being our guest I can't let you sleep outside. My sisters would butcher me." He laughs off your objection, "Now come on!" He says in a demanding voice as he waves towards the wagon. Dejected you walk with the young man towards the wagon.
The brightly colored wagon looked much more cozy than the cold ground you admit to yourself. It was a mediocre sized wagon,so it felt just a little claustrophobic with both of them inside. A lit lantern on the right of the door illuminated the insides revealing a small cot in one corner taking up nearly a fourth of the floorspace in the wagon. On the the opposite side of the cot was a desk, laden with papers with a folded up chair resting against the side of the desk.. To your left there is a chest of drawers taking nearly the entirety of the wall. You look around and see a map of Angilef pinned to the wall next to the cot and directly across from the entrance. Not something you’d usually notice but this map had something that caught your eye. It had the entirety of Angilef mapped on it...including the northern Angilef, otherwise known as the Demon-lands. Maps that show the northern part of the continent are rare, very much so. Yet this unorthodox man had one in his possession. The map itself was somewhat faded yet fresh ink lines are drawn into the map. You quickly think back.
A map like this has not been written in decades, not since the royals at Mithrilix decreed that the northern part of the world, the part infested with monsters...does not deserve to be even be mapped and nearly every map containing north Angilef was burned without mercy. Yet this man had a near perfect map of both the south and north, it’s lines and color faded by time, but parts of it clearly renewed by him, fresh ink spots and lines showing the settlements and roads in the south but also including some of those of the northern regions. To find such a map here, in the hands of this unorthodox man and his “family”. And not only that, the fact that parts of the north were also quite recently renewed, meaning that they had actually been on the other side of Saint Leiz [Saint Liiz], the wide river separating the two sides of the continent.
“This is…? Where did you get something like this?” you ask as you stare at the map and the additions made on it.
“Ahh this is a parting gift from an old friend.” he answers without hesitation while taking fresh bedding from the small cupboard above the cot and setting it.
You step up to the map, trailing your fingers over the ink lines drawn into the old parchment.
“You have been to these places? In the north I mean?” You ask as you point to some of the dots in the north. Upon closer view you notice that names are written next to the dots in fine script.
“I have. It’s been several months since the last time I was but I have indeed.” he answered truthfully. But you see an opportunity for yourself.
“Though I have not been too far north.” He walked up to you and drew an imaginary line on the map with his finger.
“Haven’t been further than that.” He smiled at you.
“Amazing.” You mutter, “What’s it like?”
“Not much different than what we have here just a little bit dryer and warmer.”
“I thought it was mostly a wasteland?” you decide to question him some more. Not often one gets to ask questions about the Demon-lands. The royals in Mithrilix made sure of that. Much of the knowledge of North-Angilef was taboo with most of the knowledge there was being propaganda and slander, lies made up by the throne. Even if it had been nearly half a century since the war but humans still remembered the horrors that came across the river when the demons awoke. After that humans shunned everything that had even the slightest connection to the north, knowledge or physical. Actually meeting someone who had been there was a rarity since most of those who pushed back the demons never returned, dying to the many natural dangers that the land offered. Only a few hundred of the tens of thousands of soldiers made it back to the south. and even they were now old men, those who were still alive that is. So finding someone who had been across and was willing to share his or her knowledge was rare.
“Well...near the Scar it is a wasteland, but other than that it’s more like a steppe. Or desert further up north.”
“The Scar? What’s that?”
“The Scar is the trail that demons left when they invaded the humans. That is indeed a dead wasteland.”
“Such a thing exists? But the war ended nearly fifty years ago. How is it that it’s still dead?” You ask the man.
“Demons and their creations are inherently made of pure malice or evil for the lack of a better term. So everything their flesh touches becomes infected with that very malice. And a large army of demonspawn walking in a set line... Well I’m sure you can imagine the rest. And before you ask, after the war was done the nobles spent a fortune so the church would remove the malice and bless the land on our side. On the other side the Scar supposedly runs straight to the Ebony Citadel. Not that I could vouch for it.”
You think for a moment before it clicks in your head: “Demonspawn? You mean monsters?”
“Yes and no. Demons created the demonspawn out of their malice given physical form. The demonspawn just spread the malice. It was the malice that was spread by the spawn that caused the mutation into monsters. So the war was waged between humans and the combined forces of demonspawn and monsters created by them.”
“So your sisters...they too carry that malice?” You carefully asked. Much to your surprise Aziel chuckled.
“You don’t seem to know what malice is, do you?” He asks you to which you shake your head
“I have...not heard of that term yes. I mean I know what malice means but not what you have in mind here.”
“Malice in the context I mean was energy or rather a twisted version of magic brought to this world thousands of years ago when the demons fell into this world. It’s an energy that corrupts and twists anyone or anything it comes in contact with it, to better suit the needs of the demons. But humans as such are more resistant to it’s effects.” He gives you a sly smile, “Especially the women.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” you ask, confused
“The corruption was incomplete, hence they retained some of their human features whilst the men...did not. That did not change their...appetites if you will. But it is possible for them to overcome those appetites. How else do you think human settlements are possible in the north.”
He shook his head: “Although some choose to follow these new urges instead.”
Upon seeing your slightly frightened face he calms you down
“Fear not, my sisters will not assault you in any way. As i said, It’s a matter of choice”
You are not sure he himself realised it but there was pride in his voice as well as confidence in his own words.
“And there is the answer to your question.”
By now he had finished setting up the cot and was placing his own bedding on the floor.
“Sorry it’s going to be a bit of a tight fit but we’ll manage.”
You nod signaling it won’t be a problem for you and resume looking at the map. You find it quite curious. The fresh ink seems to be mostly detailing the countryside, keeping away from larger towns. There are red pushpins pinned to several different locations, mostly on the northern side, and a green one to one place.
“These are?” you ask pointing at the pushpins.
“The red ones are places to stay away from and the green one is our approximate location.”
“Places to stay away from? Are those places dangerous? Why?” you ask him. Seeing he travels in a group of monster-girls, and strong ones no less, you find it curious that he would consider some places that dangerous.
As if he read your mind he answers: “I will not put my family in danger for no reason. Those places,” he paused, “Have naught but horrors and hate. The war might be over for humans but the truth is that it is far from over.”
You stop pursuing that line of thought though you give him a questioning look. What did he mean by the war not being over you can only wonder over.
“There, done.” He said and stood up. “Time for sleep. Got an early morning tomorrow.”
You walk to the cot and strip down your travel-worn over clothes and settle yourself in the narrow cot.
Aziel walked to the lantern illuminating the insides of it. Before extinguishing it he looked at you: “Good night.” and the wagon was plunged into darkness. Moonlight gently shined through the small curtained window on the drivers side of the wagon, barely enough to illuminate more than a few centimetres from. You hear rustling as Aziel too settles in his shabby bedding on the floor. You feel slightly uncomfortable, after all you did take the better bed. You take a breath and open your mouth but before you can utter a single word you hear his voice in the dark.
“Worry not, I’m quite comfortable.” followed by a chuckle, “But I appreciate the concern.”
You shut your mouth again and close your eyes. The whole day had been quite an experience. What had started as another day on the road had turned into something a little more bizarre. You feel exhaustion flood over you, aided by the belly full of food. Before you knew it you were sleeping soundly.
