Force2reckon

  Meatra flicked his tongue into the air to [Taste Heart] as he prowled through the quieter streets of Occiden. The distant sounds of travelers coming and going from one of the many markets even here on the southside filled the air. Yet here it was quiet, only small groups of locals who knew to use these routes to avoid the crowds.

  Meatra's tongue flicked again as he wandered past another alley and he stopped. He could taste... He flicked his tongue again. Confusion. Worry. And just a dash of fear but not much. He could work with that. Gently he exhaled a [Enfming Vapor] into his palms, then reached up to run it down the long bright blue sail fin along his neck. Down the silvery blue scales of his shoulders and back.

  Quickly he twisted his long neck as if examining his back, but really he was checking for observers. A quick scan of the passersby, and a flick of [Taste Heart], and he was certain no one was looking. Calmly, as if taking a natural route somewhere, he ducked into the alley and followed the strong scent of confusion to its source.

  When he found his target he thanked his ancestors, divine and sea, for their blessings. There stood a shining beacon of beautiful crimson scarlet cascading downward. The human woman turned as she walked down the alley muttering to herself. Her red hair lifting gently in the cool mountain breeze as her finger tapped her lips.

  Her face was surprisingly soft, she must have been nobility to afford the tinctures and ointments to make her skin so youthful. The deep green and red yered dress she wore looked almost as if it was grown just for her. The longer left side fluttered with each soft step, as did the incredible bounty on her chest.

  Humans weren't really to Meatra's taste, normally. Such a beautiful noblewoman though? A risky catch, but almost certainly worth it. With the right [Twisting Words] he could at the very least get a good cash reward, if it went really well? Well the dress already left barely anything to the imagination, but he looked forward to seeing what was under it.

  "Excuse me miss? Are you lost?" Meatra spoke softly his [Twisting Words] calming for now.

  "OH!" The woman turned and pced a hand on her chest in shock.

  Not surprising, most travelers are probably used to a sea satveak, but his divine ancestry gave his already tall and lithe nature more height and bulk. He knew his scales glimmered in the noonday light as he bowed low, bending his foot long neck down lower.

  "Apologies, I did not mean to frighten you, but you seem to need assistance and my mama would beat me pink if I were to ignore a beautiful maiden in need." Meatra assured the woman.

  "Oh really?" She said, looking him up and down. "Well, I'm fine thank you, my Daddy will be along soon."

  Daddy? Well even better, rich father of a rich girl would certainly be grateful for his help.

  "Is that so? Well please-" Meatra stepped closer extending a hand toward her. "-allow me to at least escort you until he arrives, for your safety. This city can be dangerous." Meatra made sure to shift his [Twisting Words] to incite fear at those st words.

  "Really?" The woman said, but didn't step back. Her face wasn't what Meatra would expect, and a quick flick of his tongue to [Taste Heart] expined it.

  There was no fear.

  "Yes of course, our great city is a center of trade, but that makes these back alleys-" Meatra stepped closer and saw the girl look him up and down. "-rife with criminal vagrants and thugs." He leaked more power into his [Twisting Words].

  A flick of the tongue and... Still no fear? Well that's quite shocking. A different tact then.

  "I dunno, my Daddy would be really mad if he caught me relying on another guy..." She said sweetly.

  Yes! Perfect!

  "Really? What kind of father would be so possessive of his sweetheart?" He added a bit of worry to those words, pressing on something he knew she was feeling. "Surely he'd want you safe!" Now a bit of comfort as he stepped closer, his hand came to rest on her shoulder.

  "I suppose..." She trailed off, examining his body, the [Enfming Vapor] clearly exciting her just as it increased the potency of his words. He stepped even closer, leaning his neck down to look her in the eye as he slipped a hand around her shoulder.

  "Surely you can trust me, after all if I were a danger I wouldn't announce myself would I?" He whispered to her. [Twisting Words] instilling trust into his words.

  "Yeah, you wouldn't would you?" She said with a smile. "C-can I ask you something um... embarrassing?"

  Yes!

  "Of course, what is it?" He tried to contain his excitement.

  "Ah... Lean closer." She said, leaning down and motioning towards him as they continued walking.

  He leaned down closer as the stepped around a corner and completely out of sight of the only truly trafficked path here. Her hand slid up his soft, silver-blue scaled back to his sail fin and fluttered across it causing him to shiver slightly. He flicked his tongue and froze as [Taste Heart] fired.

  Rage.

  The hand stopped softly tickling him as it grasped his fin firmly. A small, metal object appeared in her other hand and pressed into his stomach as her hair began to glow dimly and lift from her back. The next words out of her mouth were spoken with such vitriol, such conviction that he didn't dare try to pull away, despite the massive difference in their sizes.

  "Who the fuck do you think you are? Huh? Why shouldn't I blow a hole in your gut right now, go on, give me a good reason." She hissed into his earhole.

  He heard a click from his gut as his fin began to burn at her touch. He gnced down to see what appeared to be an incredibly expensive tool. Gleaming metal shimmered from a solid half cylinder above her hands. Said hands gripped a sturdy looking column of a shaft with a strange protrusion where her index finger rested.

  "I-I'm sorry, have I said something to- URK!" His attempts to pcate her were cut off.

  "You think I can't tell when someones fucking with me? Huh? Nice little [Power] you got there, what was your pn? Convince me safe, isote me in some seedy tavern where I'm even more afraid and then get in my pants so you'll take me home?" She growled.

  How had she- No that wasn't important right now.

  "No of- of course not! I just wanted to-" The object pressed more firmly into his gut and he stopped talking.

  "You may not understand what this is, so let me expin it to you. Imagine I'm holding a heavy, repeating crossbow to your gut, one which fires bolts at triple the normal speed and power. Now imagine the fucking hole that will put in your stomach if you try to lie to me again."

  A-a handheld crossbow? No, Meatra had heard of devices like these, but they were incredibly expensive magical tools weren't they? The kind of things only Divines could really afford! Surely she had to be bluffing! But... If she wasn't...

  "What on ea-ah Ermudab is going on here." A deep voice resonated from behind him.

  Meatra breathed a sigh of relief, now there was a witness she couldn't do anyth-

  "Oh hi Daddy!" The girl said in a bright, cheerful tone. "Just teaching this asshole that he's not gods gift to women, and that rape is a no-no even if you talk them into it with smooth words and [Power]s!"

  Oh gods, what kind of trouble was he in!

  "I- I assure you sir I had no such intentions with your da-"

  "*Silence. Don't move.*" The words cracked with power and Meatra felt his body freeze on command. "Come here little T." The voice said warmly.

  "Okaaaaaaaay~!" The girl said, releasing him and skipping over to the voice.

  Meatra tried to turn to look but he could feel whatever [Power] had been used in that command holding him. Suddenly, he had a very, very bad feeling about what might be coming next. [Power]s like his own, which subtly influenced people through words, were rare enough. [Power]s that could directly controlled another?

  "Are you okay?" The voice asked.

  "Yes Daddy, I can handle myself you know that." The girl replied quietly.

  "Are you absolutely certain? It's not like you to pull a gun on someone so-"

  "Yes, god! He was obviously being a creep and so I was defending myself that's it." The girl snapped back. The man must have done something with his face because she followed up with a whispered. "Sorry..."

  "You, by my [Dominion] I order you to *answer all questions until we leave here truthfully*. Understood?" The voice barked.

  "YES!" Meatra replied without thought. Meatra heard the girl whisper to the man.

  "Ah, and *no using [Power]s while answering.* Good call little T." The man said.

  "Of course, big T!" Little T replied happily.

  "Now. *Turn and look me in the eye, then don't move again but to speak.*" Big T rumbled.

  As slowly as he could, driven by a fear he didn't know he could have, Meatra stood and turned to face the newcomer. He screamed a bit in shock at what he saw. A human man towered in the space, shorter than Meatra at his full height, but it didn't feel like it. It felt like the heavyset man, with a face more troll than human, filled the nearly ten foot wide alley, and towered even further.

  His dark underclothes and heavy bck boots indicated to Meatra he was used to travel. The short bde at his hip upon which one of his bck gloved hands rested, indicated he would fight. And based on his build, it would be a savage rending of limb from limb. The bright orange and red striped triangle of thick woolen fabric told Meatra that he probably was well off too.

  Meatra gulped and opened his mouth to speak, to try and say something to assuage this man. His cold eyes examined Meatra as if staring into his very soul, and suddenly Meatra was frozen in fear. If he hadn't just used the bathroom he might have evacuated his bowels right then and there.

  "What were your intentions?" Big T, the troll-man, asked.

  "A-as she guessed, I was going to bring her to a pce I know and convince her to let me sleep with her, then rob her and leave her somewhere naked unless I thought I could get a better reward from bringing her home safely." The words spilled out before Meatra could stop them.

  "Called it! Gods, scum like you are all the same no matter where you go are they?" Little T huffed.

  "I wouldn't know, I don't consider myself scum, after all you're just a human right? Where's the harm in having a bit of fun with you?" Meatra answered the clearly rhetorical question.

  Big T facepalmed. "I guess I did say all questions."

  Meatra wished he could csp hands over his mouth. It may have been true but to say that in this situation was dangerous. Stupid, stupid. How long was this going to st?

  "Yeah well this 'just a human' just held your life in her hands, and this other 'just a human' is holding you still and interrogating you, how's that make you feel?" Little T said, one hand resting on her hip as she snapped it outward.

  "Honestly all I can feel right now is fear." Meatra said with a gnce at Big T whose return gre froze Meatra up once more.

  "Well, what do you want to do Little T?" Big T asked the girl.

  She thought for a long moment, hand pressed to her hip where she must have reholstered her... what had they called it? Gun? Whatever it was she was clearly fingering it as she bit her lip. The next words out of her mouth terrified him.

  "I mean, we'd be protecting a lot of women if we just killed him right here, right?" She asked Big T.

  "I'm doing no harm! I'm helping people, getting them out of genuinely dangerous pces! And these women are usually happy to let me-" Meatra took the opportunity to try to jump in but...

  "*Silence.*" Big T snapped and Meatra's jaw was closed without being able to complete his argument. "Little T, I'm almost proud that you're so... willing to kill now but we're guests in this city. Surely Mr. Hware or someone else at the estate has a more... legal solution?" Big T proposed.

  Hware? Hware. Hware. Hware. Why was that name so familiar?

  "I-" Little T looked at Big T with wide eyes, then looked away embarrassed. "-You're right, sorry I just really hate assholes like him."

  "As do I. You there, *answer me truthfully and fully.* What is your name?" Big T demanded from him.

  "Meatra Ciang Phlu." Meatra replied in an instant.

  "Hmm." Big T nodded after thinking for a long while.

  Slowly the towering half troll strode with confident, assured authority towards Meatra. Each step made him more imposing, more looming and terrifying. Meatra felt his own instincts overwrite whatever [Power] held him as he screamed and fled. Tripping over his own tail as it thrashed in panic.

  #

  "Well, that works too." Temate said, turning to Toni with a smug expression. "Don't think he'll be a bother again for awhile."

  "Yeah, not for us at least." Toni practically growled.

  Temate examined her carefully, just as he had all week since they came to Occiden. He was gd to see her up and about again, no longer eaten away by the guilt of her actions but... She was different. In some ways it was good, she was more assertive, more confident and self-assured. Yet she'd also become surprisingly... aggressive.

  "You couldn't have killed him even if you wanted to. The gunshot would have drawn attention." Temate pointed out.

  "Coulda just burned him, or cut out his tongue." Toni replied with a soft smile. "But joke aside, you were right. We're in a city again, no reason to take the w into our own hands."

  "Especially with a rich friend." Temate joked. Toni ughed and leaned into him.

  "Sorry you had to come get me, I thought this was a shortcut but I guess I still don't know the pce very well." Toni hummed as the two began walking together.

  "Nah, it's only been a week I'm not surprised you're still figuring it out." Temate replied.

  "You've adapted pretty well." Toni said with a jab of her finger into his stomach.

  "I got... very good at memorizing maps and new locations back home. Traveled a lot for work basically my whole life." Temate said.

  "What... kind of work did you do? You never really talk about home." Toni asked cautiously.

  "I don't have a lot of great memories from home personally. I used to work for my Ali'i but then I moved away and became a writer." Temate answered.

  "A writer?! Like... published author?" Toni pulled away to look up at him

  Temate took her around a corner straight onto a side street which led directly into the market space she got lost looking for. He lifted his hand to pat her on the head and smiled at her.

  "Yeah, I had an upsettingly popur series called Under Dark Boughs. Was kind of-"

  "AAAAAAAAH! WAIT WAIT WAIT REALLY?!" Toni shrieked and started hopping up and down, both hands firmly grasped to his arm.

  Temate stopped just short of the loud market square. In the distance he could see Mims, Rose and Kezzik waiting as they examined some wares at a stall. He looked down at Toni with a slight smile.

  "You were a fan I take it?" He asked.

  "Are you KIDDING me! Gods, Lord Dmire's rise to power in the first book only to be overthrown by his steward when his kindness was perceived as weakness! Leading to his joining the very rebellion designed to overthrow his tyrannical rule and falling in love with the deposed princess, their torrid love affair and then her pain upon discovering his true identity during the Stewards triumphant destruction of the rebellion! All leading to him ciming his rightful position once more and uniting the hidden loyalists to create a new dark empire to rise against his own Steward leading to the climactic battle of the fractured, desperate rebels, Dmire's new loyalist rebels and the Stewards traitor army in which Dmire tried to die along with the Steward to prevent any true power from rising again so the people could be free but the Princess saves him because she'd come to realize she loved him regardless of who he was and seeing his attempted sacrifice she knew he was truly good at heart so they fled into the night to live in quiet peace! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

  Temate blinked at the endless, near perfect synopsis of his most popur trilogy. All in a single breath. Then he started ughing a genuine deep belly ugh.

  "W-what?! IT WAS A GOOD STORY!" Toni said with a blush as she pushed him slightly. "Stop ughing at me!"

  Temate didn't stop, he put a hand on her shoulder and the two headed off into the crowd. They had friends waiting, and a party to shop for.

  Force2reckon