//------------------------------// // Ch.2: Night Mare(Revised) // Story: An (Ex)Raiders Wanderings // by Resurgent Wanderer //------------------------------// Sia had awoken a short time ago, but in her enjoyment of the downy spread had neglected to get up. The mattress she was laying in was by far the most comfortable thing she had found herself sleeping in since she could remember, and really she just didn't feel like being anywhere else. On top of that her body still ached from the strain she'd been put through the day prior. After what felt like ages of floating in the feathery softness of the bed, Sia decided to finally rise. Coincidentally it was this time that a soft knock came from the door, followed by a softer voice. "Ah dinnae know the state yer in, but Ah've got some things for ye tae try on, so Ah'm coming in." Turning, Sia was somewhat surprised when a Diamond Dog only half a foot or so taller than her walked in. The Dog had a number of things in a basket in her arms that she was ready to present. "M'friend Amais is outside still. He said ye would might want more'n jest a light tunic since ye don't have our fur or the inner fire tha' a dragon would, so Ah brought some of m'undersized clothes and we had some shoes fashioned for ye. M'name is Oran by the way." The Diamond Dog smiled. Unsure of how to, or whether she even should, take this offering, Sia stood silent. Oran just seemed to take it in stride as she moved over to the bed and began to lay out numerous tunics, breeches, skirts that Oran called kilts, leggings, a couple pairs of boots and some gloves. "Come on then you, Ah'm sure we can make something halfway fashionable out of this lot," encouraged Oran. After several different mix and match attempts with various different articles of underclothing, with Oran facing the door, Sia found herself wearing a bra like top that was shaped like an upside down T and a pair of semi loose shorts that went about a third of the way down her thighs. "I think this is good, Oran. I just need to figure out some outerwear. And you can turn around now, I actually wouldn't mind your help if that's okay," Sia said, nearly giggling. She couldn't recall a time she'd ever been so carefree or happy, but the time spent with the friendly Diamond Dogs was obviously the tops so far. Turning about, Oran took a moment to size up the woman in front of her. While obviously skinny and short, once you looked past the covering of tattoos, one could see that see was not out of shape, muscle tone obvious from simply having to survive. She then turned and began to dig through the pile of clothes with Sia, putting her questions about the woman's origins to the back of her mind. After a bit of rummaging, Sia began to doubt she was going to find anything that fit her body right. A number of the tops were made for the lower set teats of a she-dog than those of a human that sat higher on the torso. After pulling a rather revealing top from her body, Sia couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, my dad would have totally been okay with that shirt, right? Ha, he'd've whipped my tail end if I'd dressed like that back home," the young woman laughed. Eyeing Sia, Oran couldn't help but giggle along with her and commenting, "Aye, ye looked like a regular tail-lifter in tha' one. So, ye've got your pa waitin' back home for ye tae return?" Sia's shoulders immediately sagged and the mirth left her eyes as her head dropped. "Not anymore..." A pensive look crossed Oran's face before it set in a determined visage. "Hey, Sia, Ah'll be righ' back, Ah think Ah may have summat for ye." Looking up, Sia did her best to shake the dark thoughts out of her head and took a few moments to recompose, which was just long enough for Oran to come loping back into the room. In her hands was something that looked like nothing Sia had ever seen before. It held the appearance of the deepest blue night sky with the brightest stars that still twinkled. Oran proffered the clothes to Sia with a wide grin, "My father made this from Astral Wolf pelts. I'm almost one hundred percent sure that they will fit and cover you well." Sia almost reached out and took them, but Oran's words gave her pause. "Would your father be okay with this? These look like they'd be expensive..." Shaking her head, Oran tossed the items onto the corner of the bed before grabbing the first garment, a tabard that hung from a belt, and wrapped it around Sia's waist, letting the belt simply lay on her hips while the pelt hung to just above her knees. Next came the arm pieces, attaching just below Sia's under arms. It took moments to figure out that, due to physiological differences, the sleeves were too long for her arms and leggings too short for legs, so Oran flipped them about. The sleeves now attached a few inches below the bottom hem of Sia's undershorts, about mid thigh, and ran to her ankles where they flared out a bit. The leggings, on the other hand, were fastened just above her elbow, and ran down to just behind Sia's knuckle with the dew claw opening serving as a hole for her thumb. Oran stepped back and eyed up Sia, satisfied with how everything was fitting. It just needed the final piece. Lifting the jacket-vest up from the bed, Oran guided Sia's arms through the holes and fastened the leather straps. The jacket ran down and almost resembled a duster due to proportional differences in how their torsos were shaped, and the strap placement caused the duster to open just above Sia's navel and fan out to the sides slightly, but over all provided a near perfect covering for the woman. "Ye look… well… ye look pretty damned good Sia, but Ah forgot the time, and Ah have tae be off. I'll leave these clothes here with you. Uh...Have a good day, ye ken?" Before Sia could say anything in the way of thanks, Oran was out the door in a heart beat. Confused, Sia walked to the open door to find Amais eyeing her, looking surprised to say the least. "Oran let ye have those tae wear?" Cheeks burning self-consciously, Sia rubbed her right arm as she nodded. "She didn't really say anything about them, she just presented them and kinda put them on me..." Amais looked over Sia once, nodding approval. "It definitely works for ye lassie. Ah'd advise keepin' it as well. If Oran is giftin' it tae ye, then it's because she like ye." Amais grinned, "Which is nice in o' itself, since she's been a bit o' a shut in for quite a bit now." Sia was pretty sure there was more to it, but if Amais wasn't telling her, there was a reason for it. Dropping the subject, Sia looked down at herself and had to agree, and while parts looked either tribal or, in the jackets case, Khan styled, the clothes fit rather well. What gave her the most pause was the odd sensation of having shoes on when she hadn't put boots on yet. Amais responded by stomping on her foot and laughing at the stunned reaction before explaining enchantments meant to protect a dog’s paws, or in this case her feet. "That's..." Sia trailed off, really wanting to question the logic behind the now leggings, but giving up, "Really useful actually. So I don't need shoes?" Amais shook his head and looked down at Sia, who was now bouncing and bending her legs, testing how well her 'bare' feet worked on the ground. "Once yer finished, Sia, perhaps Ah could show ye 'round the Burrow. If you plan on stayin' fer any givin' time ye'll need tae learn yer way about," offered Amais. Agreeing, Amais and Sia set out down the hallway. Sometime later the two were still wandering the Burrows, but were now chatting animatedly about the differences and similarities between their homes. Amais was also spending time to explain the differences between the Northern and Southern Dogs, as well as going into a rant about the Cult. The Cult apparently followed an unknown figure that went by the name of 'He-Who-Flies-True'. How the bull-man, a minotaur, that Sia had met was Mons Montis. A brutal and efficient fighter, and brilliant tactician, Mons Montis was believed by most to be the leader in combat since He-Who-Flies-True is more of a figurehead. The Cult had started just a year or so ago, and ever since they had been enlisting and kidnapping many different species, and specifically targeting the caravans that would stop in between the Crystal Kingdom and Icene Peaks to rest. What Sia got from all of this was that they were a band of highly organised raiders causing trouble, and as she thought about it, could see why Cassandra had been so adamant about eradicating the slavers and raiders alike. Though she still disagreed with the methods. As conversation continued, Sia began to learn more about the Tauth Clan. That they had an affinity for music and enjoy songs and poems. They also practiced the culinary arts, brewing, painting or drawing with charcoal and sewing. They proved to be far from simple warriors, though they were most definitely skilled in that art form as well. Sia soon found herself enthralled in the camaraderie and culture the Dogs held. It was so different and unique from what she'd grown up with. "Which, as ye've noticed, makes just abou' everyone here friendly tae anyone they dinnae perceive tae be a threat," Amais said, gesturing to a couple of Dogs waving to them as Sia waved back. "And while we're no all blood kin, we treat each other like we are anyway, cause we can, ye ken?" Nodding, Sia had to laugh at how just simply wonderful this place was before she spoke. "So, don't make a threat out of myself and...I can be 'friends'? Like not 'you cook and heal my wounds and I don't just kill you and take your stuff' compatriots, but actual friends?" Amais' feature grew serious as he turned and spoke. "Ye used tae only have allies cause ye had summat they wanted tha' they couldnae get on their own?" "It's how the Wasteland worked," shrugged Sia. "Well, you're old home sounds like it sucked, lass," Amais groused, before pulling the smaller woman into a one armed hug. "Fer what its worth, Ah'll see to it tha' the Tauth Clan treats ye righ'." Sia stood awkwardly in the embrace for a moment, adjusting to the sudden grabbing of her person, before smiling slightly and doing her best to hug Amais back thankfully.The young woman found herself crying into Amais' kilt again. Wordlessly, the Dog lifted her and brought her back to her current room, laying her down, as she had fallen asleep again while he walked. As he made to leave, he paused for but a moment to really look at Sia. Even outside of his species, she wasn't ugly, and had a soft look about her face, and the tattoos served to be equally mesmerising. Smiling one more time, he turned and walked out of the room, ensuring that he locked the door behind him. Sia ran. Sia ran as the most evil of demons chased after her. The words 'raider’ 'murderer' and 'rapist' floated next to her like thousands of sand particles in a storm. But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was that no matter how fast she ran, nor how far she thought she'd get, the most horrifying being remained hot on her heels, and was merely walking. It was a being that many in the Wastes feared, an unconquerable monster that fed on death. Piercing, radioactive green eyes, narrowed and wreathed in flames, glared after her, mounted on an armoured and duster draped body. As it slowly gained, an electric blue knife appeared in its outstretched arm as its mouth grew into a terrifying, fanged grin. "Die!" screeched the demon as its clawed offhand wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her up into a soft, furred embrace. It took Sia a moment to calm down and recognise Oran's voice repeating the same phrase over and over, 'You're okay.' As reality washed over the young former raider, she realised that she'd had a nightmare and must have been thrashing and crying in her sleep. Looking up, Sia found Oran looking down at her with a worried expression. "Sia, are ye feelin' better? Was it jest a night terror?" asked the friendly she-dog as her paws ran softly, comfortingly, across Sia's back. Simply nodding, Sia allowed herself a few more moments to savour the feeling of being comforted before slowly pulling back, allowing Oran to gather the hint and release her. The two sat on the bed apart from each other, Oran giving Sia a moment to collect herself, and Sia attempting to that exact thing. After minutes of simply basking in the silence and not having to address her problem, Sia finally spoke up. "I'm sorry for all the, uh, crying. I've been doing it a lot. I just..." Sia's words ended as one of Oran's fingers came up and rested on her lips. "Ye don' need tae excuse yerself tae me, Ah understan'. Jest get yerself dressed, Ah think Ah know what'll get yer spirits up." The she-dog smiled as she stood up from the bed, holding out a paw to help Sia up as well. "We've got clearance tae head up topside for a spell o' abou' three hours. Ah'm thinkin' ye may enjoy the fresh air, an' maybe a dip in the hot springs as well." Reaching up and taking a grip of Oran's paw, Sia extricated herself from the tangle of bedsheets and stood, stretching out her body. Crouching, Sia fumbled around under the bed for a moment before her eyes lit up and she pulled out the clothes from the prior day, grinning up at Oran happily. “These work great, by the way. That and the thing that makes your paws safe? It protects my feet. It’s really cool,” Sia thanked as she pulled the garments on before tucking her karambit into the belt. The pair made their way out the door and Sia couldn’t help but feel an excited fluttering in her chest at the idea of getting out of the Burrows. She didn’t mind them, mind you, but she was eager for some fresh air and if memory served, there was spatterings of grass and trees out there. A rush of giddiness flashed through the woman’s body and she suddenly found herself hopping up and down giggling, completely ignoring the Dogs’ looks as they made their way towards the exit tunnel. “Excited for summat, Sia?” laughed Oran, mirth obvious on the she-dog’s features. “Of course!” Sia exclaimed, “I’ve barely ever seen living plant or fresh water before! You have no idea how eager I am for this!” “How long’s it been since ye’ve seen healthy growing nature?” Sia stopped for a moment while debating if the geckos, coyotes or nightstalkers could be considered healthy before shaking her head. “I never have…” Without a word more Oran swept the Sia up and onto her own back where the woman automatically wrapped her arms around Oran’s neck to not slip off when the she-dog took off racing past other Dogs towards the ever growing light at the end of the tunnel. For her part, Sia just held a tight grip around the fur on Oran’s neck, both hoping she wasn’t hurting her, and that she wouldn’t lose said grip and fall off. As the light ahead grew brighter and brighter Oran began to move faster and faster until the light caused her to clench her eyes shut just as Oran came to a sudden stop. “Well Sia, are ye gonna hop off an’ take a gander at th’ sights?” As Sia’s eyes came open, she froze, her grip slipping and falling from Oran’s back. Even as her feet hit the ground, her legs did little to aid her and she quickly found herself sitting in a patch of grass. Amazed, she ran her bare fingers through the grass, her mouth falling slack at the sheer feeling of living, healthy, grass beneath her. Moving on shaky legs to the nearest tree, having only just rediscovered the ability to stand, Sia ran her hands across the bark and through the smooth, vibrant green pine needles. The entirety of the sights that laid before Sia’s eyes went against almost everything she knew of the Wastes. The grass was soft, the colours bright. None of it made any sense, yet Sia knew this was what it naturally should have been. Conflicting emotions raced through the small frame of the woman, both aching her heart for what the Wastes should have been, and filling her with awe and joy at having a chance to experience untainted nature first hand. “Is there more?” Twitching her ears to try to decipher the faint utterance, Oran leaned a bit closer, giving Sia a questioning look. “Is there more to see?” Sia clarified. “To witness, to touch, to smell? I want to see it all!” Grinning wide, Oran beckoned for Sia to follow as they delved further into the expanse of the out hot springs. “So how do you think our little mystery girl is doing?” Ethan asked his wife as they began to fly home upon his blue hoverbike. Cassandra had her arms around his waist and was gazing off into the Wasteland. “Probably dead, she didn’t seem to be the ‘survivor’ type,” Cassandra replied neutrally. To be honest, ‘Sia’ wasn’t even a blip on her radar. “Not curious?” the man asked, glancing away from the controls and back at his wife’s hard face. “Ethan, since when have you ever cared about whether or not a single raider is dead?” she asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Eh, I don’t honestly,” Ethan replied, turning back to the controls. “Besides, she didn’t really act like a raider. Other than the whole stabbing me thing, but it’s not like that matters much does it?” Cassandra let out a small sigh and rolled her eyes slightly. While in truth, neither she or Ethan was at much risk from a knife... he’d stopped caring at all about the intent behind such an attack for the most part. “Well, she was one regardless. She even admitted to it and you know the punishment for that,” she stated flatly. “Drop it.” “Fine, fine,” Ethan agreed with a small shrug. “Lucy’s coming over tonight right?” “It is the end of the month,” Cassandra answered with a small smirk. “So what do you think?” “That you and I might finally get lucky,” Ethan replied, smirking back. After a practically magical traipse through the trees and grass, Oran had finally led Sia to what she wanted to show the woman. Sia, for all her wonder, could only stare, absolutely transfixed by the crystal clear waters before her. Stepping to the edge of the pool, the amazed young woman dropped to her knees and stuck a fingertip into the pool and put it in her mouth. There was no tang of dirt, no bitterness that came with the irradiated variation either. It was pure, undiluted water at its finest. Any other astonishment disappeared from her mind as a large amount of said water splashed into her face. Shaking her head to clear the water from it, Sia looked up to see Oran grinning cheekily from the shallows, wearing nothing but a bodice on her waist and underpants. “Oops, was tha’ me? Well silly lass, are ye jest goin’ tae stare at it, or are ye goin’ tae hop in and join me? You can drop yer outerwear next tae mah tunic,” Oran mock chided. Nodding, Sia stood and pulled the sleeves and leggings off first before moving her hands to her top. Half way through unlacing it, she suddenly snapped her head up with cheeks blazing as embarrassment made itself known as she felt someone watching. Looking about, Sia realised it was only her and Oran, and Oran was looking away pointedly. Shrugging the feeling off as just being unused to exposing her feminine body, Sia continued. Meanwhile Oran’s heart was thundering in her breast as she realised how close she’d come to getting caught after losing herself watching Sia remove her outer clothing and was now chiding herself for being so foolish. Managing herself, Oran kept herself looking pointedly away so that she wouldn’t run the risk of either being caught nor making Sia uncomfortable. It was working well until- “Banzai bitches!” A surprisingly large wave rushed forth and swept over Oran’s back and head, plastering her ears down as well as her fur. Suddenly Sia waded past her, giving a second splash up the front of Oran and laughing as she went. “Oops, was that me?” “Ohohoho aren’ ye a cheeky lil git!” Oran laughed uproariously, tailing after Sia and swiping a paw through the water sending a multitude of droplets hurtling after Sia. In response the woman scooped up two handfuls of water and tossed them back at the she-dog, her own laughs ringing clearly through the air. The pair continued their water fight for what seemed like ages until the two wound up lazing about in the shallows, idly passing the time with chatter. “So, how often do you guys come up here? It’s pretty amazing.” “Abou’ two tae three times a month as a group tae vent the air down in th’ burrows. Independently, whenever we feel like it. Ah personally prefer comin’ up here abou’ two times every three or four days. Ah like th’ sunsets and th’ stars,” Oran droned, enjoying the warm spring water in her fur. “Watch the sunset and look at stars? Doesn’t sound very appealing, no offense. I guess you don’t have anything like Nightstalkers coming out at night then?” “Nightstalkers?” “Yep,” grunted Sia, her own eyes closed as she floated amongst the steamy, warm waters. “Nasty things with snake heads and coyote bodies. They like to poison you and then track you back to wherever you run off to for safety so they can either get a new den or find more prey.” “Jings, we don’ even have any beasties here tha’ devious. Ah mean, we’ve got th’ odd manticore, but they only travel in pairs at mos’ and are not tha’ very bright abou’ it,” Oran balked. “Is what it is. Hey, shouldn’t we be getting back? I think its been three hours, if not more.” “Only if ye want tae get back. Ah tend tae stay out s’long as Ah want an’ they ken,” Oran spoke easily. “An’ they know you’re wi’ me. Ah generally soak fer a bit, swim fer a bit, enjoy th’ sunset and some stars. Simple stuff tha’s more worth appreciating than most realise.” Smiling, Sia let her eyes close and allowed her mind to make like her body and drift. It wasn’t much longer until she found herself napping. Eyes fluttering open, Sia looked about the spring to realise she was alone in it. Confused, the woman stood up in the water and waded back to shore to find no trace of Oran’s tunic. Climbing onto the bank, Sia made to get her clothes when there was a rustling in the bushes. “Oran, is that you?” Rather than hear a call back, a Nightstalker leapt out and rushed at her, biting viciously into her leg. Screaming in shock, Sia turned and began running down the bank as fast as she could, intent on putting distance between herself and the predator. As she ran deeper into the woods, Sia found her legs beginning to not cooperate. Soon after, the woman fell to the ground at the feet of someone she only just noticed the presence of. Looking up, thankful for the sudden appearance, all hope were shattered as Sia’s blood froze. Above her was the piercing green stare of none other than Cassandra. The woman knelt down and pulled her blue bladed knife from her jacket. “Filthy vermin,” the woman sneered as she stuck the tip of the blade into Sia’s skin, drawing out a cry. “All you raiders deserve is death, so I’m going to hunt you all down, and when I track you all I will ensure that…” The knife cut deeper. “... you…” Cassandra began dragging the blade along one of the lines of Sia’s tattoos. “... suffer…” With a cry and much flailing, Sia shot awake and immediately sank under water, having offset her buoyancy. Due to Sia’s outburst, Oran was also startled from her nap, and after a yelp and quick submersion the she-dog rose from the water to see Sia looking quite chagrined. “Sorry, another nightmare,” Sia muttered lamely as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Want tae talk abou’ it?” “I do… and I don’t. There are things I want to say, but others I don’t,” explained Sia, “I just… I wound up here because I met someone whose ideals varied from mine. She wanted to do good by her nation, and had rules on how to do that. It’s just that her rules about people like me were inflexible and ruthless. Needless to say, I escaped to here, only to wind up prisoner to the cult mind you, but she left an impression. She comes after me in dreams, to kill me.” “Oh, Ah see,” Oran breathed as she looked over the sight of the obviously troubled young woman. The more she looked, the more she truly began to notice. Faint scars, the tattoos were obviously of some sort of tribal derivative. That coupled with her skittish demeanour, weapons, and the few hints about her past gave rise that ‘her kind’ were from some sort of clan that she obviously hadn’t identified well with. “So what were yer peoples like then? Iffen ye dinnae care tae tell me.” Debating with herself, Sia began to weigh the pros and the cons of admitting that ‘her people’ were no better than the Cult. On one hand, the Tauth Clan would continue to look at her as an individual, on the other they would… well... Shuddering at the idea of the Tauth Clan becoming a Clan of ‘Cassandras’, Sia decided to test the water. “What if… say you, or… uh… Amais, went somewhere where they didn’t like Diamond Dogs. Because the dogs they know are southern ones. And they arrested you and wanted to punish you for it?” probed Sia. “Well, firs’ off, tha’ wouldnae happen. We don’ act nor sound akin enough fer it tae be possible. But, fer th’ sake of th’ argument, Ah’d be rather pissed off tha’ they wouldnae listen tae reason. Why d’ye ask?” “My people, which I hated being with by the way, and only really cooked or medicated, were a bit like the cult. They would steal, murder and pillage because it was an easy living. The person I met wants to kill them all, which is a great idea really, cause most all of them are evil and revel in others’ pain, but she wanted to punish me too. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I was scared, and I only was with them cause my dad raised the group around me, or raised me around the group I guess… please don’t hate me…” Sia looked down and shut her eyes, fully expecting the wrath of Oran to reign down on her. She visibly flinched and audibly whimpered when she felt the two damp, yet warm, arms of Oran envelop her sides and prepared to have something terrible to happen. Instead Sia began to realise that she was simply being hugged. “It’d be jest a wee bit hypocritical of me iffen Ah thought ye should be blamed for the actions of th’ majority, don’t ye think ye silly bairn.” Oran chuckled softly as she hugged Sia to her chest. “I suppose it would…” “S’pose t’would,” Oran parroted jokingly as she rubbed Sia’s head in a motion that was meant for ruffling ears or fur. “Sia, yer a wonderful lass, and ye’ve got th’ makings of a great friend. S’far as Ah’m concerned, you chose whom ye want tae be and ye prove it. No one can do it for ye, even if they were who ye grew up with.” Comforted by these words, and the fact that Oran hadn’t abandoned her, Sia hugged the she-dog back and the two kept their embrace for a few moments longer before Sia realised the sun was beginning to set. Vocalising her sighting, Oran and Sia moved back to shore, the she-dog shaking excess water off of her fur and donning her tunic while Sia settled for putting on her leggings and letting the rest of her body dry off regularly. Oran then led Sia off to a nearby outcropping, the large rock being smooth enough to lay against with no discomfort or sharp edges to watch out for. As the sun finally settled and darkness took the sky, Sia couldn’t help but find herself amazed as one by one the stars, then constellations, filled the deep blue sky. Above them, a brilliantly shining moon rose opposite from where the sun had faded. “It’s beautiful…” “Ah told ye, it’s th’ wee things tha’ ye usually wouldnae pay attention tae,” Oran responded smugly. “I guess I don’t know much outside of making food out of dead things, patching wounds, and trying to stay out of trouble,” sighed Sia as she began to slip into the rest of her clothes now that she was dry. Stretching out an arm, Oran put a paw softly on Sia’s left arm before speaking softly. “I could show you…” Subconsciously Sia lifted her free hand and placed it over Oran’s paw, the night sky twinkling above them as they lay next to one another. “I think I would like that, Oran, a lot.” The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence as they laid there, one occasionally nudging the other and pointing to a specific constellation. As more of the night sky was revealed, Sia began to question different shapes seen made by the stars. To answer such questions, Oran regaled Sia with tales of their deity, a Goddess by the name of Dorch Speur. How Dorch Speur had arrived many centuries ago and taught their clan of Dogs to write and read, to grow their own food, and basically civilise them. How the Goddess would confide with their clan elders, and would sometimes influence things on the planet to protect them. As fascinating as it was, and as enthralled as Sia got, the night time eventually did what it did best and sent the young woman away to dreamland. Smiling at the feeling of having made a good new friend, Oran began to close her own eyes when Sia snorted and rolled into her side, the woman’s arm errantly falling across Oran’s torso. Rather than push her off, as Oran had almost done immediately, she instead brought a paw up to Sia’s arm and left it there as she too fell away into slumber. Sia stood stock still as one blue furred brahmin creature and another short brahmin creature eyed her up. The things looked similar to the two brahmin creatures she had seen after going through Ethan’s portal. While part of her felt that the creatures were nice, having just utterly decimated the demonic, hellish illusion of Cassandra, the young woman couldn’t help but feel off put, as if the beings were ready to put her down. “Hello, child. I must say, when Twilight advised I track some of the nastiest nightmares featuring humans to find the raider that had stumbled through her portals, I was more expecting a traumatised foal over that of the actual human…” the being’s voice rang out from all directions, “Care to explain?” Unsure of what the being meant for her to explain, Sia just settled for the simplest thing, explaining the nightmare. “Cassandra scares the hell out of me I suppose…” Letting out a tinkling laugh, the blue one nodded in agreement. “She is quite good at that. I think though, I am finding myself more of Ethan’s viewpoint that you’re a silly lost child.” “I’m not a ‘silly lost child’,” Sia snapped defiantly, putting a single foot forward as she did so. In response, the smaller brahmin creature stepped forward as well, armour appearing on its form out of nowhere. “Give me a reason, raider!” it barked hostially. Blinking in shock and the realisation that she had mouthed off, Sia backed down, her eyes growing wide in fear. The larger brahmin creature put a wing on the smaller one and smiled. “Calm yourself Glen. Now then, young one, maybe I should introduce myself. I am Luna, Princess of Equestria and an Alicorn. This is my lover Glen, she is an Earth Pony. And you are?” “Sia… um, I don’t really have a title…” “And there is nothing wrong with that.” Luna smiled gently. “But there is an issue. You see, humans aren’t at all commonplace on this planet yet, so I can’t have you running about willy nilly.” “Oh, well, I’m not really running around. I’m staying with some allies… er, friends, they’re my friends actually,” Sia grinned, correcting herself and feeling a flutter in her chest, “They’ve been helping me, and I’m trying to… adapt… and adjust… to their ways. It’s weird having things bigger than me not trying to kill me.” Luna chuckled at the sheepish tone Sia used before her face grew serious again. “And who are these friends of yours? Just imagine them and your mind’s version of them will appear.” Doing her best, Sia decided to think about the moment she first met the Diamond Dogs, specifically Amais, Oran and Glic. She decided it’d be best to introduce the three to Luna and Glen one at a time, and probably when she’d first met them. The darkness around the trio faded as a scene flickered to life, revealing the black furred Amais frozen in the process of stepping over Sia, his gunstock arcing upward and the gryphon Iron frozen in midair, his entire face and beak smashed and shattered. “I passed out right after this, but this is Amais. He saved me from… things… and killed the ones trying to do those things.” The next scene showed Sia backed up against a wall while trying to stand on a bed. Opposite of her was a old, silver coated Diamond Dog with a kind smile on his face. “And this is Glic. He treated my wounds and made sure I was okay after I woke up. He is Amais’ dad.” Finally, the scene altered itself one more time to reveal the form of Oran, the she-dog’s cinnamon hued fur oddly shinier than Sia remembered, as well as a brighter smile than the woman could recall. Putting this to the back of her mind, Sia introduced the she-dog. “And this is Oran. She brought me clothes right after I woke up. She also showed me outside for the first time. It had healthy grass and trees, and it was awesome. Oran’s also my friend,” beamed the young woman, enjoying the use of actually verbally stating these things. “Actually I think I fell asleep while we were looking at the night sky.” Luna took a moment to eye each of the Diamond Dogs critically. The Alicorn noted that each of them looked far more wolf like, better proportioned and far from stupid. “And these Diamond Dogs, they are… nice?” Nodding, Sia couldn’t help but laugh at the notion of the dogs being anything other than nice. “I see. Very well, I will do what I can to suppress your nightmares for now, young one, and expect to see me again in about a week’s times.” Before Sia could question a thing, everything faded to black. Oran smiled as she felt Sia shift by her side, the young woman letting out a cute, squeaky yawn. “Morning sleepy.” Oran smiled as Sia looked up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “What? We fell asleep out here? What time is it?” mumbled Sia incoherently. “Time for you two love birds to pay attention to the fact that you’ve done goofed,” sneered a greasy voice from behind the pair. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Sia mimicked Oran and shot up, spinning around to get a good look at the two gryphons about Oran’s height, a pegasus better matching Sia’s height and an easily six foot tall minotaur. After a brief staring bout, the minotaur spoke. “Lay down any weapons and we will enslave you peacefully with minimal harm. This is the promise of He-Who-Flies-True!” Before Sia could say a thing, Oran launched herself towards the nearest gryphon, her paws lashing out in lightning strike blows faster than anything the young woman had seen before. Oran sent the first two blows, beginning with one to the gryphons right shoulder, then the second to his throat. The next pair raced forward, striking the inside of the left elbow joint of the gryphon’s foreleg, followed by another jab at his throat. Unable to stand on his wounded limbs, and unable to take a breath through his damaged throat, the gryphon fell to the ground with a wheeze as Oran beckoned the next gryphon to come at her. He obliged willingly as the pegasus cultist darted past the she-dog towards Sia. Seeing the incoming threat, Sia grabbed her karambit from her belt while dodging off to the left. As she did she felt the wind whip past her as a stinging sensation was drawn from her right arm. As she rolled back to her feet, she looked down to find that her arm had a nasty gash in it, and when she faced the now landed pegasus she saw blades hidden in his feathers. Silently cursing everything that had to do with the thrice damned cult, Sia adopted her battle stance, realising immediately that this would be a fight to the death. The pegasus charged forward and lunged, sweeping out his wings towards Sia. In response, the woman ducked forward into a roll and kicked out as the pegasus passed over head. Spinning about, Sia saw that her opponent was favouring one of his back legs, most likely because of her kick to his haunch. Whipping his wings forward, the pegasus launched a trio of blades towards Sia, but with a graceful spin and masterful catch the woman sent one of the blades hurtling back at her aggressor while ignoring the pain of another that had found itself sheathed in her thigh. The pegasus let out a growl as he ripped his own returned blade from his shoulder and launched himself at Sia yet again, only to find himself struck, then crushed, by the flying and falling of Oran as the minotaur had just struck a vicious kick against the she-dog. As the gryphon tried to move perpendicular to Sia in an attempt to chase after Oran, the woman intercepted him and used her surprise advantage to immediately drive her blade into the feathery neck. Rising from her fallen foe, Sia turned see the minotaur moving towards Oran, who was laid out on her back with blood gushing from a wound around her eyes. With an outraged scream, Sia used a higher set rock to launch herself in the air, envisioning burying an axe into the beast head. Sure enough as Sia willed it, the tomahawk reappeared from Gods know where and settled itself in her palm. Just as she was sure she’d land the blow, the minotaur’s massive hand came up and wrapped around Sia’s torso, jolting her to a halt as an iron strong grip squeezed the breath from the woman before cracking an unknown number of her ribs. With a scream of pain Sia swung her weapon blindly, burying the head of the hand axe into the bicep of the arm gripping her. Letting out a grunt, the hulking beast dropped Sia to the ground before kicking out, connecting a lash to the woman’s already bruising stomach and sending her bouncing off the rocky shore and into the shallows of the spring. Smirking at the ease of the battle, the minotaur turned back to the she-dog only to find a large dog towering over him as it swung a fearsome blow from its club into the side of the minotaur’s head, effectively shattering its jaw. Falling to all fours, the bull tried to drag itself away only to have the hulking Diamond Dog kick him over onto his back, pushing a foot-paw against the minotaur’s throat while hefting the club up. “Ah’m bigger’n y’are, Ah’m meaner’n y’are, an’ Ah’m no feert oh ye, ye gangin quint. Now Ah’m goin’ tae pan yer heid in.” The last thing the minotaur saw was the business end of Amais’ Hackit Stick as it smashed into his face. Satisfied with his work, Amais quickly moved to his fallen friends, knowing that back up would arrive in moments. Lifting Sia from the waters, he gently placed the woman next to Oran before looming over the two of them as if an avenging angel. As far as he was concerned, nothing would make it past him until his friends were safe.