Kin of Jörmungandr

Dragging the two opposing faction warrior castes back to the site of the ambush was only slightly annoying. They squirmed and screamed initially, but as they realised there was no escape, they resorted to pleading and negotiating.

"Aren't you tired of being treated as a second class citizen?" the man asks. "They may have helped you get that body for now, but do you really think they'll remain nice and amicable once the war is over?"

I cast a curious eye back at the duo pressed tightly together in a loop of my tail. Instead of creating a distortion and carrying them back to the ambush site immediately, I decide to take the indirect path — or, well, a straight line for any without spatial bends — and let them talk. Captured and overpowered, I'm curious what methods they might try to escape. There might be something to learn.

The man seems to pick up on my interest and grows excited, though I'm pretty sure he's mistaking the origin of my interest. The woman beside him does not share his enthusiasm. Though, I'm not sure if that's based in scepticism, or simply the fact that her cheek is pressed roughly against his. Her snarl is ferocious, at least for one of her species.

"You portians have never been given the respect you deserve," he continues, emboldened. "If you help us, Henosis will reward you with anything you-" He cuts off with a yelp.

The woman besides him pulls as far back as my tight grip will allow — which isn't much — revealing a bloody ear with clear toothmarks. "Don't fucking speak, you idiot," she hisses. Clearly, she's trying not to be overheard, but fails. I neglect to mention such.

"But this is an opportunity," he whispers back. "I didn't know it was even possible for portians to control beasts this strong. We'll be treated like kings if we bring an elite like this back with us. We'll be treated like the Emperors themselves if we convince their entire race to defect."

"You think the pact nations would ever gift such power to any they didn't think were perfectly loyal?" she sneers under her breath. "Don't be a fool."

"Under normal conditions, sure. But you've seen the state of things here; they're on the verge of collapse. They would try anything to win this war."

The female albanic opens her mouth to protest, but closes it again with thoughtful expression. Apparently, it's a convincing enough argument. I'm not sure exactly why she thinks so; everything I've seen so far has been impressive. They have no direct predators, and have countless hives to support themselves, so unless the competitor for the territory wins the fight, I'm not sure what he means by 'collapse'.

Interested in how their land differs from what I've seen so far, I prod them back to the subject. "Say I go with you… what is Henosis like?"

The woman twists her face as if she ate something sour, but doesn't stop her companion from speaking.

"It is the land of abundance and unity," he exclaims with excessive flair for someone currently crushed against one of his own and bleeding from the ear. "Unlike this hodgepodge of states all with their own biases and interests — of which I'm sure you know doesn't welcome the minor races — Henosis rewards all that work for its interests. We hold no hatred for any that benefit the empire, regardless their… quirks."

Is that what I asked? I meant more along the lines of what they've built, and the things they eat. What more is there? I guess I can somewhat see his statement about these pact nations being unwelcoming to the less common species; they did attack me when I first arrived, after all. But why focus on that as the difference? Do these Henosis welcome all possible predators into their nests without verifying if they'll kill everyone? That sounds foolish.

The way these sapients live is still very new to me, so I don't stop the albanic.

"We can offer safety and prosperity for the young portians, and resources to empower the rest. Your kind won't be squandered and abilities suppressed, as they currently are. Henosis will make the portians flourish." He tried to spread his arms, but pinned as they were, the gesture fell flat. His inviting grin inclined awkwardly, but he said no more. From his eyes, it was easy to guess he was waiting for a response.

"I think you're confused." I know he is; that last part had nothing to do with Henosis. "I'm not a portian."

"Huh?" he asks, dumbfounded. "What else could you be?"

I create a hole in space and drop the two on the gravel before a fretting Ceph. "A jötnorm."

The woman is already swearing under her breath when she realises where she'd been dumped, while her partner is unable to bring his attention away from me. "The fuck is a yoot-norm?"

Ceph is quick to interrupt, as she leaps on both, shoves their heads into the ground, and holds knife to each of their necks.

… I would have stopped them if they tried anything. As curious as it is to see her act so aggressively, it feels somewhat pointless after I've already dealt with them.

"Are there more of you? How many officers did you infiltrate with?" Ceph demands.

"We have no idea what you're talking about. We're but simple citizens fighting our oppressors." As soon as the male albanic says so, his partner turns to glare at him.

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"Oh?" Ceph muses. "So you aren't from Henosis?"

"Them? Why would you even think that," he says, almost too dismissive considering the blade at his neck.

"You're not?" I ask curiously. "But you were just telling me how you would welcome the portian into Henosis as if it were your own nest."

The female albanic snarls at her companion before dropping her head with a frustrated grunt. "You're an idiot. I told you it was a bad idea," she murmurs.

With a conflicted look, Ceph turns her eyes between myself and the man beneath her. His careless appearance has been wiped clean, and for some reason he glares at me. I'm not sure what I did, but right now, I'm an observer. The one he should worry about is Ceph.

"So, trying to recruit within our borders were you?" the dohrni presses hard enough to pull blood. "I won't ask again. How many did you bring with you? Where are you set up." The anger in her voice is surprising. I've heard her frustrated plenty of times, but never this aggressive and hateful.

Glancing around the road, a dozen corpses have been wrapped in sheets besides the trucks. A few others — those in the trees — have been left unmoved. Though I notice their weapons have been taken. I had thought Ceph hadn't known this group. I mean, with how many sapients there are living in these pact nations, it's unreasonable to think she knows everyone. Why would she show a similar anger that I felt towards Scia's killer?

Maybe it's their hive mentality that allows such emotion, rather than sapience itself. They consider all that is a part of their colony or nation as those to be cared for. That, or Ceph truly does know those who died.

"Where is the commander!" she suddenly shouts to the survivors of the convoy, many of which stare dumbly over my enlarged form.

Despite having given her warning to the two beneath her, neither have spoken a word. It's surprising, considering how chatty they've been until now. The albanics clench their jaws against the threat of her knife and hold their tongues. Though it's pointless, I've already heard their conversations from earlier.

"They mentioned they are the only two in the area. The rest in the ambush were locals."

Both suppressed albanics glare at me, before they turn to one another as if to ask what else I might have heard.

Oh! I think I actually read through their wordless gaze! I'm getting better at this with each day.

Ceph is watching me with that favourite conflicted expression of hers, and I tilt my head in question. Her eyes flicker to the dense treeline around us, and a second time in a row, I think I understand.

"Would you like me to bring back the other ambushers?" I offer.

"No," she says. "Without Henosis officers, they won't be difficult to deal with. I'll have some of this group follow the stragglers back to wherever they are hiding out."

She really is trying to keep me from the less ideal aspects of their lives. I knew it! It would take me but a few seconds to gather them all, yet she asks for nothing. For a moment, I consider just doing so anyway, but I decide to cast aside the thought. I shouldn't disrespect her wishes, especially when she seems to be on top of the problem.

I, too, would hate to have someone come along and steal prey from me.

"Commander Alasoic, Ma'am."

Ceph and I turn at once to the khirig who just introduced himself.

"I appreciate your timely intervention." He tries to keep his head stiff and as straight as his voice, but there's no hiding the slight flickers of his eyes moving over my form. Though, he hides his uncertainty much better than the other sapients.

"Alasoic, do you have the means to contain Beith-equivalents?" Ceph's voice is sharp, and to the point. A vast distinction from how she usually acts around me.

"We do not."

"That is unfortunate," she says in a tone that even I can tell is untruthful. "Then I guess there's no choice but to kill one of you. But I'll be kind; I'll leave the decision on you two. The first who gives reliable information on any other agents will survive."

The two albanics stare at each other again. Unfortunately, I can't read their wordless expression this time. The woman glares, but her partner's eyes seem to see through her.

I'm not sure whether the woman opens her mouth to speak, or it's simply a twitch from the pain of the knife pressing further into her neck, but the man clearly takes that as an invitation. "Your snake said it; we know nothing about any other groups."

"I see." Ceph doesn't wait even a moment before she drives her blade up through his jaw and into his brain. "I don't believe that for a second."

The remaining albanic clenches her teeth as she watches the life drain from her partner right before her eyes. She doesn't speak, but her frustration is clear. I was hoping to see what methods they would use to escape from this, but apparently just looking at me is enough to stop their struggles. Not ideal. I can't learn anything if they give up.

"You might be the only Henosis in the area, but I doubt you are the only pair sent back here to stir up nonsense." With one now dead and limp, Ceph turns her full attention on the woman. "And he didn't seem like the type to be trusted with national secrets."

The remaining albanic glares hatefully, but it does nothing to stop what happens next.

Ceph takes the woman's arm and stretches it out. That apparently tells her exactly what her intentions are, and she suddenly fights against Ceph's hold. I slide forward to intervene, but the dohrni has everything under control. Held in four of her tentacles, the albanic can do nothing as Ceph whips down a fifth tentacle. The hardened back of the knife slams into the side of her elbow, and I hear a distinct crack as the bone breaks.

The albanic, impressively, simply grunts and holds her tongue. Even as Ceph moves on to disabling her other elbow then her knees, she does nothing more than grit her teeth.

I doubt I'll ever need to face a creature as strong as myself that I have any intent of keeping alive, but should such a scenario ever happen, shattering their weapons is a good method to keep them from fighting when I don't want them to. Though, it's not exactly something I couldn't have come up with myself.

"You wouldn't happen to have a mage with you?" Ceph asks Commander Alasoic suddenly.

"No," he says bluntly, as if it should be obvious.

"Ah well," she lifts the two bodes with a single tentacle. One groaning and the other silent. "I guess I'll have to wait until Sruthland for the inheritance ritual. That is where you're heading, correct?"

Alasoic gives his confirmation, before quickly moving off to order the other warrior caste away from gawking and back to fixing the trucks and loading the dead.

"Sorry about this, Orm. We'll be travelling with this squad to the áinfean and portian home village."

She really shouldn't feel sorry about letting me see their battles, but I won't mention it because of all the effort she's gone through to hide them. I'll just be satisfied with having seen a different side of Ceph. I didn't know she could be so brutal. If she had true sight, I wonder how she would hunt down in the warped tunnels?

But it looks like we'll finally be reaching the portian's hive soon. I can't wait to see if there's any of their kind that have taken the form of a snake.