A Reason To Leave [human(m)xbaxxid(f), romance,OOPs,nosmut]

A Reason to Leave (Human(M)xBaxxid(F), Out-of Placers, Romance, non-smut)


All Characters and setting were inspired by the OOPS webcomic and world created by Valsalia
http://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-of-placers/oops-35-2/
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/valsalia/
https://www.patreon.com/valsalia

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A Reason to Leave [Human(m)xBaxxid(f), romance OOPS no smut]
by Teether


>The cold rush of air enters your lungs as you clamber over yet another mound of rocks
>You can feel every sinew in your legs screaming in pain, muscles aching
>But you continue on, After all, you are of the Killrin clan of the mountains
>For Killrin there is no other option except to push forward, always
>At the peak of the rock mound you readjust your armor, claymore, and travel pack
>You brush the dirt off of the Killrin emblem, emblazoned into your leather armor
>You look inside your travelpack to double check everything’s still there
>Snug in your pack are twenty scrolls shining with wax seals bearing the name of Killrin house and a long jeweled golden chain of enumerable value
>It’s probably the thousandth time you’ve check since you started out from camp three weeks ago
>You can’t afford to take any chances on this delivery; a Killrin doesn’t leave room for failure
>You take a swig from your shoulder canteen and press on, heart still racing from the thin air of the mountains
>Things start to level off as you begin to drift back onto a main trail overlooking the mountain ranges surrounding you on all sides
>Even though you’ve lived in the mountains your whole life, the scenery never ceases to amaze you
I am almost there just a couple more weeks and I’ll be to Antock
>You come up to a long ancient-looking wooden suspension bridge crossing a wide canyon filled with mist
>You hock a gob of phlegm over the side and listen
*Nothing
>You begin to cross, hoping Antock has been keeping up with their bridge maintenance
>The bridge seems sturdier than it looks
>About half way through you swear you can hear whispers echoing from the mist off the canyon walls
>You begin to think back to all the ghost stories surrounding the mountains but quickly shake that out of your head
>You are a Killrin mountaineering messenger for fucks sake!
>You draw your short sword from your hip holster
“Alright scum! Show yourselves!” you yell
>The whispers stop for a minute but then you hear a cough and several squeaky laughs
Bandits! I Knew it!
>You sheath your short sword and begin to run towards the Antock side as fast as your already sore legs can carry your ass
>”CUT ZE ROPE ALREADY YOU IDIOTS!” You hear echo in a squeaky yet commanding voice
*OH SHIT!
>You’re almost near the end when six yinglets pop out behind boulders with torches and serrated knives
>The Yinglets with the torches toss them onto the bridge, which quickly engulfs in flame while the others begin to saw the supporting ropes
*DAMN IT!
>The fire singes some of your hair as you turn around to run back to the other side
>But it’s too late
>With a loud snap the bridge falls away under your feet
>You swing your arms wildly trying to grasp anything you can
>You grab a burning rope but slam into the side of the canyon, jerking the rope out of your hand
>You plummet into the thick mist
>The last thing you remember before everything goes black is the feeling of rock smashing into every part of your body

>”Come on you maggots we haven’t got all day!”
>You try to open you eyes and pick your head up but your body feels like lava and stone
>You’re barely able to open one eye encrusted with blood
>Everything hurts to look at and your brain rings like the echo of a bell
>You see hundreds of yinglets running around like ants as a larger yinglet yells obscenities at them
>They’re collectively carrying food, armor, a travel pack….
*NO!
>You try to prop yourself up on your right elbow before collapsing in a wave of pain
>You notice you’re only in your tattered civilian clothes you wore under the armor
>All the movement stops for a second
>”DID I SAY YOU LAZY FUCKS COULD STOP?!”
>The shuffling of hundreds of little feet continue
>You hear a larger pair footsteps come towards you as yinglet with a jagged tooth leans over your face
>”You survived ze fall eh?” it says in a high pitch but somehow still intimidating tone
>You notice that the yinglet has a black flag over its tail with an emblem, a scar on its nose, beads in its hair, a tooth necklace, a metal codpiece and a leather vest with…breasts?
*It’s female?
>The yinglet spits in your face before climbing onto your bruised chest and bringing up a hooked knife, pressing the tip into your neck
>”Zeska will not let you look her over like some common street attraction”
>She digs the knife deeper causing blood to flow from the point
>”You know I should just gut ze fuck out of you human scum. For everyzhing you have done. For existing, yes?”
>You try to say “I’ll kill you” but only let out a few slurred words
>The yinglet cackles with glee as she lightly rakes the knife up and down your neck creating new rivets of blood
*She’s enjoying this the sick fuck
>She climbs off of your chest and begins to walk away “You know I would love to stay but I have ozher treasures to collect and a herd of idiots to attend to”
>You hear the scrambling of rocks for a minute before the yinglet appears back over your head
>Holding a rock in her hands
>”One less stupid scum”
>The impact cracks right between your eyes as everything once more plunges into cold darkness

>All you feel is coldness and everything is distant
>The sound of thunder reverberates off the canyon walls as torrential down pour soaks everything
*I have to get up…A Killrin…A damn HigerHroth…Antock…....Fucking…Damn…Scavs…….
>Words swirl as you try to piece together a coherent sentence in your head
>As you feel your heartbeat slowdown even further something lifts you up from the nape of your shirt, dragging your body backward across rocky ground
*What?.....who?.....Iam…..dying……NO…..just….get……..over…with…..Scavs…
>After what feels like an eternity of moving you realize that the rain stopped falling on you
>You feel warm and your laying down again on what feels like grass instead of hard rock for once
*Finally…..peace…..
>You nod off back into the darkness
>What feels like days pass in your mind
>You feel the ache leave your bones and body, replaced by warmth and a numbing sensation
>The smell of roasting meat enters your nose as your stomach roars
>You roll your head to the right and open your eyes
>Your face to face with a charred squirrel carcass, eyes bulging from their sockets staring into your soul
*WHAT THE FUCK!
>You jump to your feet grasping for an imaginary sword
“Come out you dam Sca….!”
>You collapse in pain as your ribs and left leg revolt sitting you back down on the pile of dried grass you were sleeping on
>As you cradle your ribs, you look around and notice that you’re in a small round cave
>It’s surprisingly well lit with small, little, natural fire vents protruding from the floor
>”hhhhnnndon’t move, you’ll hurt yourselffff” echoes off the walls
>You look around but can’t find the source of the voice
>A baxxid peeks the tip of its head around the corner before dashing back behind the bend
*A baxxid? This far north?
>You’ve only seen baxxid in Antock guarding convoys of merchants as they come into the city to trade. A baxxid would never be in this cold of climate willingly.
>You look back down at the cooked squirrel carcass and realize that it is part of a well laid out meal on a piece of torn fabric with some fresh biteleaf and berries next to it
>You look down at your body and notice a green paste covering your cuts
*Mushed biteleaf
>You feel like an ass for trying to pull your sword earlier
“Baxxid? Please come out.  I swear on my honor I won’t hurt you”
>Nothing happens
>You begin to eat the cooked squirrel and berries
>A little crunchy but not bad
*How does a baxxid even collect berries? It must have been incredibly difficult
>You look up to see the baxxid slither towards you from behind the bend in the cave
*For a giant rock snake, it carries itself pretty elegantly
>You notice it has a tattered red covering over its head hiding all of its eyes except two and several rusted ring piercings in its skull fringe
>As it gets closer to the light you notice that its skin is completely covered in deep scars from head to tip of tail going in hundreds of directions
*Whoa
>It notices you scanning over its scars. It covers its face with its two giant scythe-like arms and quickly slithers back towards the bend of the cave
“Wait!”
>It stops for a brief second
“I just wanted to thank you for the food, and well…everything. You saved my ass and this couldn’t have been easy. Thank you”
>It looks back at you before moving back behind the bend in the cave to be alone
>You sigh and lay back down on the pile of dry grass staring at all the cuts and bruises along your body
*Guess I am not going anywhere at this rate
>You grab a wad of the biteleaf and begin to chew, feeling your body go numb
>With a full belly and stoned out of your head, you drift back to sleep

>Over the next couple days you wake up to a new meal lying next to you
>You always call out a thank you but only catch a glimpse of the baxxid sticking its head around the corner
>One morning you wake up to find two long, thick Y-shaped branches next to your bed and the baxxid sitting coiled next to you
> You prop yourself up with the crutches and begin to walk around on your right leg
>Everything still hurts but you can walk, and that’s all that matters to you
“I want to thank you again for everything, you really did save my life from those scavs”
>The baxxid once again begins to cover its face with its arms
*Is it…..blushing?
“Well, I need to be off, those fucking scavs have something very important and if I know Scavs they shouldn’t be too far off. Those disorganized rats couldn’t follow a straight trail to save their life”
>You begin to walk around the bend and out of the cave before tripping on a rock and falling
>Something catches you before you fall
>It’s the baxxid supporting you with its arms under your armpits
>”hhhnnpleassse don’t go, yourrr not well yet”
“I have to, I can’t just give up and stay here eating berries all day”
>You pick up your crutches and begin to walk out the cave entrance
>You see six different paths all going in different directions up and out of the canyon
*Fuck
>”hhhhthhen let me come with youuu. I can help sssmell where those bastarrrdsss went to,” said the baxxid sliding up beside you
>You’re a little taken aback by the fact that you’ve never heard a baxxid swear
>Your pride gets the better of you
“Sorry, but I really can probably find them on my own”
>You trip and fall again as the baxxid catches you
>You groan in pain
“Fine, lets go. Gather your things and we can be off”
>”hhhhnni hhhave nothhhing keeping me hhhhere, I am just a wanderer, letsss find those scavsss”
>You’re once again taken by such unusual bluntness coming from a baxxid. They usually politely dart around subjects instead of being so forward
*weird….
“Whelp, that settles it then, where did the yings get off to?” you say trying your best to sound cheery
>The baxxid raises its long head to the air and breathes in what seems like an endless amount of air and exhaling like a the bellows of a blacksmith
>It raises its claw pointing down a path off to the right of you
>”hhhhthhhaattt way”
>The both of you set off down the path and out of the canyon
>The wind begins to pick up, smelling of wet granite dust

>The sun begins to fall and you two decide to make camp
>Well whatever “camp” you could make
>You pretty much could only gather dry grass brush to make two “beds” in a ditch
>No fire, no tent, and no food except for scattered berries you collected along the way
>This mission already looks like it’s going end sooner rather than later
>You lay shivering on your grass pile daydreaming about a nice warm crackling fire as a gust of wind cuts through your bones
>You feel a load of brush land on top of you as you feel a giant, warm, serpentine body slither up next to you
“Hey? What are you..?”
>“hhhnnshutuppp, we’re going to freeze on thhhhisss mountain if we sssleep aparrrrt”
*Well it’s got a point there
*It….
>You just realized that you haven’t even asked the baxxid its name and it did kind of save your sorry hide
“So uhhh…. do you have a name or…”
>“hhhnnooo” it said in an irritated growl
>You lay awkwardly in silence for a couple minutes thinking about the fact that you probably shouldn’t piss off a large clawed snake laying behind you
>The baxxid lets out a deep guttural sigh
>”hhhnnwhhhat does it matterrr? I am an outcassst, namesss are meaningless”
*An outcast? Ok now you peaked my curiosity
“No, I am serious. I really want to know your story”
>The baxxid lets out what sounds like a chuckle
>”hhhhhnnA humannn wants to know a baxxid’s storrry? Are you really thhattt borrred?”
>You also chuckle at the absurdity of it too
“No really, If I am going to be traveling with you for the next couple days I want to get to know something about you”
>Silence
“Ok I’ll go first, I am Yargeth, a messenger of the HigherHroth unit, clan of the city of Killrin, soon to be promoted to the highest messenger class if I can find those damn swamp rats and finish my delivery”
>The thought simultaneously fills you with pride and overwhelming worry
*And if I don’t complete it…its…. best not to think about it….
>The baxxid begins to relax a bit after another laugh
>”hhhnnnmy name is, or ratherrrr wasss, Karahhhh”
*That sounds female? Are there female baxxid? Are there male baxxid for that matter?
>”hhhnni was the youngessstt hatchhhling of a wealthhhy merchannnt in Val Salia”
*Val Salia?  She traveled from that far south? It’s a miracle she’s even alive
>”hhhnni wasss hot hhhheaded and looking for somethhhing to prrrove, I was an unusual baxxiddd”
>”hhhnnni tried to work my way throughhhh the political rankssss to try an give the baxxid a biggerrrr say in the dealingssss of Val Salia”
>”hhhnnnthe Elders skirt around issuessss, never wannnnting to be confrontational with the humansssss and as to not come off rrrrude”
>””hhhnnthey’re afraid the trademasterrrrr may see them as assssking for too muchhhh and begin ignorrrring their requestssss”
>”hhhnnntheir ssstupid over politenessss leaves us with the short end and hurrrrts the baxxid of Val Salia, it makes me wannnnnt to puke”
>”hhhnnntime and again The Elderssss struck me down saying I wassss too brashhh and inexperiencedddd in dealing with the humanssss.”
>”hhhnnthen one day I was being berated by one of The Elderssss for what felt like tttthe thousandth time”
>You feel the serpent’s muscles tense
>”hhhhnnand I just…..just….sssnapped”
>”hhhhnnbefore I knew what was wrong, The Eldessst was strewn acrosss the floor…dead and I wasssss covered in bloodddd”
>”hhhnnnnat first tttthe other baxxid didn’t evennnn know what to do”
>”hhhhhnnbaxxid never kill their ownnnn, everrr, we punishhhh, but we don’t kill”
> hhhhnnnby the Eldest Laws dictated that I be given a thousand sssslashes and banishmennnnt from Val Salia
>hhhhnnnmy cuts are a warning signnnn to other baxxids, they know to keep away from a murdererrrrr…..
>hhhnnni’ve traveled all across the landdsss but no matter where I go I am not welcommme
>hhhnnnso now I jusssst……wanderrrr….….alonnnne……
>hhhnnni neverrrr meant to hurt himmmm, I don’t want to hurrrt anyone……
>You feel a shiver as the baxxid rolls over facing away from you
“Iam…Iam… so sorr-”
>”hhnnjussst go to sleepppp” Karah says in a agitated voice
>You feel like sleeping even less now
>You lay on your back staring into the night sky, listening to the high pitched wind scream over the ditch and down into the valleys of the mountains

>You can’t help but dream of falling into the misty canyon over and over again, immobile, unable to move your arms or legs
>You wake up in a sweat unable to move
>You begin to panic and struggle, fearing that you have become paralyzed again
>You hear snoring and rumbling along your body
>You looked down as you notice Karah slumped sideways over your torso, pinning you to the ground, scythe claws in the air twitching
>You try to lift the rocky snake off of you but she’s out cold
“KARAH! WAKE THE FUCK UP!”
>The groggy baxxid comes to and slides off your body
>”hhhnnnsorry, I tossss a lot in myyy sleep”
>You brush the loose grass from you body and begin to gather berries for breakfast
>You both eat in silence but laugh at the adorable awkwardness of seeing a baxxid attempt to scoop berries into its mouth from the ground
>In the morning light you suddenly notice how emaciated Karah actually looks
>You can see her long ribcage poking through the sides of her skin
>You say you’re not that hungry and offer her the rest of your berries
“Here let me help you”
>You scoop the rest of the berries off the ground and help place them into her mouth
>She graciously accepts with a calm “hhhnnthank you”
>After breakfast Karah smells the air and the both of you are on your way
>You begin to realize you were right about the yinglets
>The further you get down the trail the more trash and discarded waste you find along the rode
*Messy little fuckers, I Can only imagine how bad this smells to Karah.
>You look over and see what you can only describe as the baxxid version of wrinkling its nose with one arm crossing its face
>”hhhnnnhow do thesssse furballsss get so filthhy, its disgustinnnng”
>You laugh and the both of you move on, coming to a rotted lean-to near an open clearing on a cliff edge
>As you get closer you spot something gleaming in the sun against the lean-to
*My claymore!
>You drop your crutches and begin to hobble as fast as you can towards the sword but are enclosed by Karah’s arms
“What is wrong with you? Lemme go! That’s my sword!” you flail about
“hhhhnnnYargeth stopppp. It reeksss here. Somethingss not rightttt”
>You stop squirming as Karah lets you go
>Karah picks up a large branch in her mouth and slithers over to the claymore pushing it with the stick
>A snap can be heard as a net falls over the sword, entrapping it, before quickly dragging it over the edge of the cliff and into the abyss by a boulder attached to another rope
*My…sword…
>You hear a low-pitched “hhnnsssooorryy” as Karah nervously rubs her arms together
>You just stare at the spot for a couple of minutes until your hit by an alarming thought
“Wait! These yinglets can make traps? Like complex traps? I’ve never heard of the rats doing anything more complicated than make pointy sticks”
>”hhhnnnnwellll  at least one of them cannnn. I can smell herrrr all over thisss” says Karah sniffing where the net trap was
*Her…maybe this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought
>After checking the area for any more traps, you set up a fire with supplies from the rotted lean-to while Karah kills and brings back a mountain hare to cook
> After the hare is cooked you break it in half and give part to Karah
> She just sits coiled, staring into the fire
“You’re not going to eat it?”
>“hhhnnnit’s bad enoughhh I had to kill itttt……Afterrr being banissshed…..my appetite for meat disappearrrred, or forrr that matter much of anythinnnng” Karah says in a low sad tone
“But…you’re going to get sick”
>You put the hare down
”Well, if your not going to eat then I guess I am not going to either”
>Karah looks over at you
“I am not going to force you to hunt for me if it makes you feel guilty”
>”hhhnnnbutttt…..”
>Karah stares back at you in silence for a couple seconds, fire crackling
>Karah looks back down at the hare, sighing in a deep tone
>She spears it with her arm and in one bite swallows it whole
>”hhhnnthere happppyy?”
>You smile picking up your piece of hare
”Very” you say before biting into the greasy rump of flesh
>”hhhnnnYargethhhh O’ clan of mighhhhty Killrrrin?” Karah says in a sarcastic tone
“Yes?”
>”hhhnncan you tell me what thissss secrrret delivery I am helping you on isss?”
“Well, I uhhhhh…..”
>”hhhnnnncome on, I shared my storrry, now you tell me yourssss”
>You stare up at the sky “ok, fine, I guess it couldn’t hurt at this point”
>The baxxid lays down staring at you, crossing its arms under it’s under its chin like a child listening to story time
>You turn to look into the campfire after swallowing your last piece of hare and toss the bone into the embers
“Well, as far as I know Killrin is an isolated city completely cut off to all outsiders. Even I don’t know a whole lot about the city other than passing word in the slums. Supposedly, All of the trade that is done for Killrin is done through its biggest partner Antock, the hub of trading in all the Northern Mountains.  Killrin’s economy pretty much survives through creating some of the best mercs in all the land. And as far as rumor tells all of the money the mercs collect go directly back to the city.  Both, Killrin and Antock have got to be some of the wealthiest cities in all of the north but its not like I’ve seen much of it come my way.”
>You pause for a second to look at Karah to see if she’s still paying attention
>”hhhnnnnggoooo onnnn. Lesss about Killrrrin, I want to knnnnow about you. Yourrr personal storrry” she says nodding her head towards you
“Well, there’s not much to tell about me to be honest, Killrinians live by a strict military and honor code and unfortunately, I’ve always been a bit “soft” for Killrin’s liking. When I was a child, I failed the mandatory training for all of Killrin’s males. My punishment was to be exiled outside the city walls to a large encampment also known as “the slums”.  Eventually, I was given a “second chance” by becoming a messenger. Ever since then I’ve spent my whole life delivering messages between Killrin and the other mountain cities.
>You take a deep breath and scratch your neck
“It’s still a pretty good life compared with living alone in the mountains, even if we are living off the scraps from the main city.  You honestly couldn’t make it out here for very long without some supplies from the cities. “
>”hhhnnnyou still haven’t told me about the missssion”
>You try to swallow but your mouth is dry
 “Welll….I…If I fail this delivery….. Killrin will have my head”
>Karah abruptly sits back up with what you guess was a shocked reaction
“Before I got pounced by those ratbirds I had travel pack that contained very important messages and some jewelry that needed delivery to Antock”
“Before I left, the captain that handed me the messages said they were of the highest order, I would get a hefty reward and promotion If completed on time…And if not…”
>”hhhnnnif notttt?”
“I would be killed….Even Antock would behead me If I came to them empty handed”
>Karah brushes some dry grass off of her stomach with her claws and looks at you
>”hhhnnn you needddd to leave therrrre, you can’t live like thisss”
“In this condition? I am a fucking cripple right now!” you said pointing to your legs
“Anyway, they would just send their mercs after me if I fled, there’s nowhere in the realm I could run to get away from their reach”
>You begin to choke up, as tears begin to roll down your scarred face
>The baxxid just shakes its long head back and forth before sliding up behind you and lying down in the grass bed your sitting on
>It grabs you with its long arms and pulls you close as you stifle a sob
“Hey!”
>”hhhhnnnnjust go to sleep, everything will be betterrr in the morrrning, then we can get thosssse rat fucksss ”
>Karah lets out a bellowing purr that reverberates against your back, calming you down as you lay your head against her chest.
>You feel the bottom of her chin snuggle into your hair as she rumbles with heavy breathing
>You shut your eyes and fall into a deep sleep, completely safe in the arms of the baxxid
>The air blows gentle, filled with the smoky scent of a dying campfire and wet wood


>The next couple days are a series of disarming complex traps and following stench and discarded trash of yinglets
>You spend the nights with Karah huddled around the fire cooking, talking and joking until you both fall asleep together
>You haven’t been around another person, human or otherwise, for this long in...well since you got banished to the outside slums
>Everyone keeps to themselves and fends for themselves in the slums
>It suddenly hits you how lonely you’ve been most of your life
>You look at Karah moving next to you and feel warmth in your chest
>You pick up your pace to try an match her as she easily glides over the rocks
>Your body has begun to feel better, your ribs are still sore but the swelling has gone down across your body and you’ve even managed to begin limping on both feet
*Well…that’s pretty good for someone who fell down a fucking canyon
>Later in the evening as you head down a wide main trail covered in trees, you see what looks to be a tiny body in the distance
>You approach as quietly as possible, trying to hide your location among the brush and rocks
>The closer you get, you realize it’s a yinglet body lanced into the ground by a short sword
*My short sword!
>You poke the body with a stick to see if there are any traps
>Nothing
>The look on the yinglet’s face is one of fear
>”hhnnnguessing he pisssed off the wrong femmmmale? Said Karah examining the body
>You try to pull the sword out of the ground but it’s really lodged in hard
*Yeah, really pissed her off
“Yeah her name’s Zeska, she’s a nasty piece of work, she’s the one who jumped me with her gang of hundreds of scavs”
>”hhnnni’ve never heardddd of a gang of yingletssss largerrrr than ten or so, they’re usssually too disorgannnnized”
>You wiggle it around for a couple of minutes before it comes sliding out of the dirt as the yinglets carcass spurts blood
>”hhhnnnit’s still freshhhh. We’re not farrr nowww”
>You wipe off the blade with a piece of discarded cloth
>You find the scabbard and belt not far from the body, along with a small dagger you slip into your pocket
>It feels good to finally have some sort of weapon back in your hands
> You look up from the sword around your waist to see Karah staring at you
*Why do I feel like that’s a look of concern?
>”What?”
>”hhhnnnare you surrre you want to go thrrrough with thissss? Killrin cannn survive with one lessss messengerrrr dying for its caussse, forget your deliverrrry, you need to run farrrr away from herrrre, away from the mountains Yarrrrgeth”
>Your hands begin to tremble and you feel your vision going faint
”I still need to complete my mission, I still need to finish what Killrin has asked of me,” you say in a shaky voice
>Karah lets out deep and bellowing sigh “Yarrrgeth, what did theyyy do to youuuu? Beat you everydayyyy of your life until you complieddd? Until you had no otherrrrr choiccce? You always have a choiccce Yargeth, you need to think for yourselfff, Why do you want thissss miserrrrable life? Being trrrreated like theirrrr dog?”
>For a split second your mind goes completely white with images flooding your mind
>You suddenly feel incredibly small, your back being struck with a piece of leather, day after day for what feels like an eternity
>A large shadowed figure screams at you while slapping you in the face and choking your throat
>It’s impossible to breath
>Your handed a knife and told by the figure to slit the prisoners throat
>There’s a dark skinned woman tied to pole in the center of a courtyard sobbing
>You take one look as her and drop the knife as you begin to cry as well
>The shadowed figure punches you across the face knocking you out cold
>Next thing you know your naked, sobbing to yourself as you pound the gate of Killrin with your fists until the skin peels and blood begins to pour
>”Let me in….please……I promise..I’ll ….be…stronger…please…”
>”hhnYargethhh?” Karah says clacking her arms against each other trying to snap you out of your trance
>With your right fist to your chest you yell in robotic recital ”I am Killrin, We are of the highest honor and code, The purest of blood!, Killrin do not fail, and never shall we fall!”
>Tears are pouring from your eyes staring straight ahead at nothing
>Karah slides up closer to you cocking her head with concern “hhhnnnYargetthhhh? Honorrrr? Purrrrityyy? What arrre you talkinnnggg aboutttt?  Pleassse”
>She rubs a claw up and down you shoulder trying to calm you down
> You snap your head towards Karah with piercing bloodlust as you shove her arm away from you “Honor and purity is something I wouldn’t expect from a simple, disgusting, muck-eating worm” you say in a tone sounding like a completely different person

>Karah turns her head away from you shrinking back a couple feet
>You finally snap back to reality shaking your head, as your hands and body tremble
>You look back to your sword and realize that your left hand had begun to draw it from its scabbard
 >You slide the sword back into the scabbard and continue walking as Karah follows from a distance
“…Regardless of whether you think I should do this or not, this band of yinglets need to be cleared off of this mountain, for everyone’s safety, I am not going to let them kill anymore innocent travelers. Now are you still with me?”
>From behind you, you hear a very low almost inaudible “hhhnnyess”
>You both travel in silence for a while all while finding more yinglet bodies strewn amongst the trees, all with scared looks on their faces.  All with the same black clan tag as Zeska
*The sooner I kill this yinglet bitch the better. That is if she doesn’t kill all her own men first
>As the sun goes down you set up a fire in an abandoned fire pit the yinglets left behind
>Neither you nor Karah feels much like eating so you quickly gather materials from the yinglets to make your beds
>You both lay down on separate ends of the fire
>You begin to shiver as your back is exposed to the cold
>Tonight’s the first night you did not share a bed since meeting
*What’s gotten into her? What did I do?
>Suddenly you feel all alone just like in the slums, a small scared child
>You try to sleep but everywhere you toss and turn, bodies of dead yinglets stare back with varying degrees of odd facial expressions
*It’s gonna be a long night
>The air blows violently through the corpses surrounding you creating the sound of whispers as the air reeks of iron and muck

>You awake to swarms of flies running all over your body
>At first you think you’re in a nightmare, but then the stench of ripe hot death reaches your nostrils
>The yinglet bodies are beginning to rot
*Damn, why did we camp here?
>Karah is already twenty steps ahead, waiting for you down at the far end of the trail
>You collect your sword and belongings and get out of the plague of black flies as quickly as possible while dry heaving the whole time
>Good thing you didn’t eat the night before or you’d surely be puking all over the place
>As you walk you realize that your gait is back to normal and you stand up straight with renewed confidence as you begin to feel like your old self again
>You leave the crutches leaning against a tree and continue down the trail
*Just in time to teach some scavs a lesson
>As you get close to Karah she turns around and begins down the trail, keeping her distance
>You feel uneasy as you both travel in silence for what feels like hours, Karah doesn’t even look back at you, not even to acknowledge your presence
*What has gotten into her? She’s usually really talkative
>Eventually you decide you’ve had enough of the silent treatment and run as best as you can in front of her
>You block her path, extending you arms and legs in a joking manner with a wide smile
>She simply slithers around you and keeps going down the trail
>You turn around and cup your hands around your mouth
“HEY KARAH IAM OVER HERE YOU KNOW”
>She stops for a second but keeps going
>You run after her, saying her name over and over again like a persistent child
>Eventually, you run out of breath and have to stop
>You yell out to her, “WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM!?”
>Karah quickly spins around, sliding up into your face in the matter of a second
>She leans over you and glares you down with her deep black eyes
>”HHHNNNDO YOU NOT REMEMBERRRR A SINGLE FUCKINGGG THINGGGG YOU SAID LAST NIGHTTTT? ARE YOU DENSSSSE? HUMANNNN?” Karah said with more viciousness and venom than Yargeth had ever seen a baxxid use
>You try to recall but you come up blank, last night seems like a blurry spot in the back of your mind
“Noooo? Did I say your cooking was bad?” You try to say to lighten the mood
>Karah backs down from you and moves back a couple inches
>”hhhnnnwe didn’t eat last nighhhht……you serioussssly don’t rememberrrr anything?” she says
“Honestly, I don’t remember last night after I found my sword.”
>”hhhnnnyouuu called me a disgustingggg muck-eating worrrrm after spewing off a bunch of linessss about honorrr and purityyy. Youuu sounded like a completely different personnn”
>Your face goes white, “no, why would I do that? Karah Iam sorry but I seriously don’t remember any of that, you have to believe me, why would I say that to you?”
>”hhhnnn you tell meee O’ mighttttyyy Killrinnnn”
>You shift your weight feeling incredibly uncomfortable
“There’s something I need to tell you”
>Letting out a hiss, Karah folds her arms “hhhnnngggoooo oonn”
“I don’t remember much of my early life. In fact, I don’t really remember it at all. Some days it feels as if I’ve always been this age living in the slum.  Anything they did to me as a child, that is a different life. Hell, it might as well be a different reality.  Maybe they made me recite some dogmatic militaristic nonsense but in reality I couldn’t tell you what any of it was.  My mind, I think just wants to forget any of that happened. But somewhere deep in my psyche that little boy still exists, still jumps to the order of Killrin because the alternative is punishment...”
>”hhnnnyou mean they torturedddd youuuu, brainwashed youu?”
>You lower your head and look down at your feet like a sad puppy
>Karah shook her head once more in what was probably a look of pity and turned around, continuing down the path
“Karah you have to believe me that I don’t believe in that vile rhetoric, please, I’ve tried my whole life to keep it out of my mind”
>Turning her head around “hhhnnI want to believvvve you but……”, Karah turns back to the trail with a defiance in her voice, “hhhnnnncome on…..don’t youuuu havvvve a missionnnn to complete O’ pure Killrinnnnn great destroyerrr of yinglets”
>You stand there for a bit before slowly walking a distance behind Karah
>The mountain wind feels as stagnant as a bog and smells of sulfur

>You didn’t even bother setting up camp last night
>You and Karah lay on opposites sides of a cliffside trail
>You stayed up most of the night sitting against the rock wall, sword in your lap in case of an ambush
>You feel like shit. Your wounds are almost completely healed but you still feel like shit internally and mentally.
>Why’d you have to go and make Karah upset like that after everything she’s done for you?
*Why do you care if you hurt a worm?
>You slap yourself a couple times
>You’re not that person anymore
>And you haven’t been for a very long time
>But still in the back of your mind, you know its there waiting to pounce
“Goddammit that’s not me” you say to yourself
>You see the sun rising in the distance but black clouds quickly swallow it whole, followed soon after by thunder and rain
>You gather your things and begin to head towards Karah’s end of the trail
>She’s already up and moving, once again in silence as rain soaks your skin and hair >lighting cracks off in the distance
>After a couple hours of walking the trail you come to a stream and a clearing full of low lying brush
>In the clearing appears to be the heavily scattered ruins of an ancient castle
*It’s amazing any part of it is still standing at all
>Karah crosses the stream and hides behind some brush
*She senses something
>You run up and duck down next to her
>In the lowest voice a baxxid can possibly use Karah  says “hhhnnnthey’re here, thhhe smell is overwhelmingggg”
“Ok, I am going to try an get the scrolls and get out as quick as I can”
>You put your hand on Karah’s shoulder
“If anything happens to me, promise me you’ll get yourself to safety, I don’t want to see you get hurt for my mistakes, ok?”
>Karah stares at you for a couple seconds before turning her head
“hhhnnnplease be carefulll, don’t do anythinnnng stupiddd”
>You begin to crawl on the ground as quiet and inconspicuous as you possible can from brush to brush
>As you get closer to the remains of the castle you quicken your pace, noticing a dying campfire out front
*So they were here
>You crouch behind chunks of scattered ruins as you get closer to the castle
>It’s dead silent except for the patter of rain on stone and thunder in the distance
>You make one last run for the gate to the castle
>A loud whistling noise shrieks through the air getting closer until….
>SNAP!
> A small spear tears through the bone and flesh in your right thigh
>You scream in bloodcurdling pain collapsing to the ground
>A bolt is sticks out both ends of your thigh, covered in gore and sinews
>You quickly try to remove the large bolt
>Your hands slip, covered in blood and rain
 >You cry out once more
>You hear a cackling in the distance
>”Bullseye! See boys? Zhat’s how you deal with ze human scum”
> Hundreds of tiny cheers can be heard coming from the ruins
>You look around to see hundreds of yinglets with motleys of different armor, climbing out from the ruins
>You see Zeska climb off the top of a human sized crossbow, perched on a ruin stone like a small cannon in the distance
>She pulls out her curved blade and begins to walk towards you
>”Ahh ze filzy Killrin human returns to us once more”
>The yinglets boo and hiss in a loud frenzy, throwing trash and curses as they come out of the ruins to surround you and Zeska in a giant circle
>”I zought I put you out of your misery you scum, guess I’ll just have to try harder zis time”
>Zeska starts to run towards you
>You reach down to pull out your short sword
>But you’re too late
>Zeska slashes you across your left arm, dropping the sword
>Zeska kicks away the blade
>You sit, propped on your knees, covered in mud and blood holding your bleeding left arm
>You begin to feel woozy and your vision blurry
>The yinglet crowd goes nuts, howling with glee and lobbing rocks. Only a few make their mark
*One chance left
>As Zeska comes up behind you, you pull the small dagger from your right pocket, striking backwards
>You miss, stabbing the dagger into the muck as she jumps back a step
>Zeska slashes your right hand and then back across your face knocking you facedown into the mud
>She lifts your head from the mud by your hair and puts a leg on your broken ribs, causing pain to writhe through your chest like fire
>”Do you zhink zhat just because I am yinglet I am stupid?” as she slams your face back into the muck
>”Do you zhink zhat just because I am a “lesser form” zhat makes me deserving of deazh? I zhink not. And I zhink neizhier does your friend.
>You pick your head out of the muck and try to stand up
>”Come on out my baxxid friend, I can smell your reptilian odor from a million miles away.  My gang here means you no harm. We have ze same enemy. Yes? We have to stick togezher Yes?”
>Karah appears from behind a bush and slowly moves forward as the sea of yinglets part ways, letting here into the circle to see the pathetic mass struggling on the ground
>”hhhnnnwhat do you meannnn stick togetherrrr? Why would I runnnn with a pack of murderssss like youuu? Justtt let the humannnn go, pleassse.”
>A look of shock goes over Zeska’s face as she begins to cackle loudly
>“You’ve got to be joking me! Do you realize what you are dealing wizh here little snake?”
>”hhhnnn you’re murdererssss. You triedddd killinnng Yargethhh. How mannny more have you killedddd? You even killedddd your own mennn.  We saw them back along the trail murrrdered in cold bloodddd, you heartlesss bitchhhh”
>Zeska immediately stopped laughing as a hard scowl crossed her face
>”Zhose were a troop of my scouts, zhey must have been ambushed by one of ze Killrin squads. zhey sweep ze mountain occasionally “lessers” or anyone who would interfere wizh zheir trade routes.”
>Karah tilts her head in a confused but emotionless look “hhhnnwhattt?”
>”Looky here mister snake, you’re on the wrong side.” Zeska says putting away her curved blade and walking towards Karah
 >”The Killrin, Antock, and all ze lesser mountain cities want us dead, zilch, poof, gone!” Zeska says, waving her arms as the crowd booed
>”hhhnnnI don’t understandddd whyyy?”
>”Come on your not zhat dumb! zhey don’t want just yinglets dead, zhey want every ‘lesser’ species dead, and every non-mountain fairing human nords. Zheir amassing an army to descend from ze mountains and burn ze land and your helping zhem deliver messages to one anozher!”
>You try to prop yourself up, “no that can’t be true, I lived among them my whole life and I never heard anything like this”
>”Zhat because zhey brainwashed you dummy! Zeska said swirling a finger around her head looking at you
>”Killrin are as close to worker bees as humans come! You don’t zhink what your doing is wrong because zhey scrambled your brain like an egg idiot! Have you actually read one of ze messages ze Killrin send to Antock!
“No I haven’t, It’s punishable by death” you say in a weak voice immediately realizing how recited it sounds
>Zeska rolls her eyes, snapping her fingers as a yinglet comes up to her with Yargeth’s leather travelpack
Zeska reaches into the pack, pulling out one of the scrolls, breaking the wax Killrin seal and unraveling it
>Zeska holds the scroll up to Karah as she begins to read
>joining of forces
>purging of “lessers”
>purifying the lower lands
>All with the official seal of house Killrin, Antock, and the lesser houses
>”hhhnnnit’s true, its allll trrrue” said Karah looking back down towards you
”I swear, I didn’t know, Karah you have to believe that’s not me, I just delivered the messages, I didn’t know. Killrin doesn’t tell me anything. Karah!”
>Zeska rolls up the scroll back into the pack and kicks your head back down into the muck
>”Of course you didn’t know, little bee scum, you just do as you’re told” said Zeska in a mocking voice
>Zeska strolls over to Karah and raps a hand on one of her scythe arms
>”You know we could really use a natural killing machine like yourself in our ranks, it could help even our odds”
>Zeska looks up into Karah’s face with a large grin and points towards you “All you have to do is kill ze human Killrin scum”
>All the yinglets cheer Karah on “Kill!,Kill!,Kill!,Kill!”
>You look up into Karah’s face as she stares motionless back towards you
>The chanting gets louder and louder until you can’t even hear the rain
>”hhhnnnnnoooo” says Karah as the cheering dies down
>A confused look crosses Zeska’s face cupping a hand to her ear “come again? Little snake?”
>“hhhnnnnoooo morrre killingggg, I will not kill forrrr you or anyone elsssse. Jussst hand over the scrollssss and let the humannnn go”
>Zeska’s face is replaced with anger as she pulls out her curved blade and begins walking over towards you
>”I was afraid of zhat, boys kill ze snake, I’ll get ze human scum”
>Hundreds of yinglets gleefully descend on Karah stabbing her repeatedly with spears as Zeska picks your head out of the muck once more and slashes her knife across your throat spraying blood across the ground
>”HHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Karah roars in one of the most mountain-moving, earth-shattering sounds you’ve ever heard in your life
>Karah explodes from the mound of yinglets, throwing her arms into the air as the scavs go flying in all directions, landing on the ground all around you
>She rakes her claws in a giant circle around her bloodying and knocking many yinglets unconscious
>Most of the yinglets begin to scatter in all directions, throwing their weapons to the ground and running
>Zeska begins to raise her blade over her head, about to plunge it straight through the back of your chest
>Karah spots Zeska and charges her like an loose arrow, tackling her to the ground
>Entrapped in Karah’s arms, Zeska takes her curved blade and slashs Karah’s side
>Karah drops Zeska, leaning over in pain as blood spills from her side
>The yinglet excitedly tosses her blade back and forth between her hands like a knife dancer
>”Come on little worm scum, zhere’s more where zat came from”
>Zeska begins to charge Karah with both hands on her blade
>The yinglet leaps into the air, bringing the blade down towards Karah’s cheast
>Karah raises both her arms to shield her chest as the blade shatters on contact
>Zeska falls back, staring at the shower of metal fragments
>”Zhat was my favorite blade you stupid wo…!”
>Karah leaps, plowing Zeska into the castle wall with all of her weight as the yinglet’s head cracks against the stone, knocking her unconscious
>Zeska’s body slumps into the mud
>Some yinglet stragglers try throwing rocks at Karah but as soon as she turns her head they run away screeching, arms flailing
>Karah moves back over to you and rolls over your pale lifeless body
>She lowers her head to hear for a heartbeat
thump……..thump….
>She slithers as fast as she can into the woods to find a yinglet
>Karah finds one hiding behind the trunk of a tree, shaking with its hands over its head
>She picks it up by its scruff in her mouth as it yelps “Please don’t eat me! Mister snake Please….”
>”hhhnnsshhuuuttt uppp”  Karah growls
>The yinglet goes silent and limp
> Karah drops the yinglet beside your body and nods to the burning sticks in the dying campfire next to you
>”hhhhnnnssseal hisss wounds and I won’t have to kill youuuu”
>The yinglet jumps up and as fast as it could, grabs a still burning piece of char stick
>It proceeds to sear all your wounds
>You can hear a sizzling noise as the tip of the stick melts and reseals your flesh
>You moan in pain
>The baxxid snaps off the large bolt lodged in your right thigh with its mouth as the yinglet brings another red hot piece of coal sealing off the last of the muscle
>”hhhnnnoww mee” says Karah
>The yinglet quickly runs around sealing off hundreds of little holes stabbed into the
Baxxid’s flesh along wit the long cut on its side from Zeska
>After it’s all done, the yinglet drops the stick of coal and pleads with the Karah
>”hhhnnnnggggooooo nooowww before I channnge my minddd” She says with a menacing growl
>The yinglet sprints off as fast as it can, hands in the air zigzagging wildly while crying
>Karah turns around to pick up Yargeth’s travelpack in her mouth still full of scrolls and treasure from Killrin but something doesn’t feel right
>Karah turns back to look at the castle
>Zeska’s gone
>All that’s left are some staggered muddy pawprints left on the castle wall
>Karah quickly scoops up the nape of your shirt and strap to the travel pack in her mouth and begins to move away from the castle
>Its slow going as the last of adrenaline seeps out of Karah’s body to be replaced by exhaustion and blood loss from hundreds of tiny spear wounds
>She keeps going, determined to get you to safety and as far away from the ruins as possible
>Hours pass as she becomes weaker and weaker eventually making her way to a grassy ditch in a flat field near the base of the mountain
> She collapses into a grassy ditch with all her weight
>She holds you close in her long arms and wraps her tail around your lower body for warmth
>You’re cold as ice
>But your still breathing
>Karah nuzzles the top of your head once more and falls asleep
>The mountain storms begin to part as the calm air brings forth the smell of moss and flowers under the starry sky

>Beads of sweat roll down your face and over the burn scars across your neck and face
>The salt stings your wounds like the venom of a wasp
>The sun is blaring and for once its very hot outside, you can hear the bugs buzzing in the heat
>You try to move but realize that your wrapped in Karah’s arms and tail
>You panic for a second, fearing the worst as you try to shout her name
>Only a low raspy voice comes out of your mouth
>Zeska just barley missed your vocal chords but it’s still going to take a while for you to get back your full voice
>You place your head against her chest
>You hear breathing
>You let out a sigh as you wriggle free from Karah’s grasp, crawling out into the ditch and reaching into your travelpack
>You pull out your still full canteen and take a swig
>The pain all over your body is immense, especially from your right thigh
>You probably won’t be able to walk right ever again but after this whole ordeal your just happy to be alive. It really is a miracle either of you are still here.
“Me and you must have nine lives I guess for what its worth” you say to Karah as she sleeps
>You notice that the ditch is covered with beautiful strawberry plants
>They smell sweet and ripe in the morning air
>You begin to pick them the best you can without reopening any wounds
>It still hurts like hell
>Soon you have a whole sack full of them
>Karah wakes up with a grumble
“Hey I got us some breakfast, dig in”
>”hhnnnyou have any waterrr?”
>You go to hand her the canteen as she stares back you and laughs
“Oh yeah right….”
>You get up and pour the rest of the canteen into Karah’s mouth as she swallows it in one gulp
>Karah then begins to eat some strawberries from the sack as you take a couple for yourself sitting back against the ditch
“You know you saved me once again, Karah..…but……Why?”
>“hhhhnnnnwhat do you meannnn whyyy?”
>You begin to say something but then fall silent
>“hhnnshut upppp you idiotttt, youuu knowww whhhyyyyy I did ittt”
*yeah…..yeah…..I do
>You dig around in your rucksack and pull out some expensive purple cloth with gold lace and a jeweled necklace
“Well, since I won’t be needing these anymore…”
>You hobble over to Karah and take off her tattered head covering, and rusted rings
>You drape the purple cloth over her head and cut out the necessary holes for her fringes with a dagger from the rucksack
>You snap the large gold necklace around her neck
>Finally, you kiss her on the top of her head before sitting back down on the grass
“See, It looks way better on you then some fat fucking trademaster from Antock”
>You both laugh as Karah covers her face with her arms
*She’s cute when she blushes
>”hhhhnnnsooo now whatttt do we dddo? Where dddo we ggggo?”
“Well, we’re both officially outcasts by now”, you say looking down into the travel pack to see all of the official documents from Killrin and Antock”
“I guess we have to let the rest of the realm know what the northern mountain cities plan on doing” you say
>Karah seems to perk up immensely at the sound of that
>”hhhnnyou mean yourrr no longer Killrin?”
“In all honesty, I don’t think I ever was. I guess I never really fit in even in the slums but I was too afraid to leave the mountains. I didn’t know where I would go.  I was so afraid of what Killrin would do to me if I left.  Also, I guess I just felt I had no reason to leave” you say
“But now I have a reason to leave and someone to leave it with” you say
>Karah begins to make the blushing motion again
“So how about it? You follow me on one more mission to spread the message to as many surrounding nations as we can?”
>Karah begins to rise and slither under your right arm to support your leg
>”hhhnnnnsure buttttt thhhhis time promissse mee that we’ll avoiddd the all the bloodshedddd and stupidityyyy”
>You laugh as you two begin to move slowly down the path leading out of the valley and out onto the main road to the nearest lower land city
 >The looming mountain castles of Killrin and Antock to your back begin to fade away in the mountain mist
“I promise”



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Zeska Riptooth is a character created by shyala
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14518450/
All Characters and setting were inspired by the OOPS webcomic and world created by Valsalia
http://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-of-placers/oops-35-2/
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/valsalia/
https://www.patreon.com/valsalia