Thread: Slaves of the Beastfolk (PsionicCuttlefish & Feral.Desires)

After the girls had been put to bed, the night passed uneventfully even as they tried to stave off their troubled, uneasy sleep. The occasional crunching of footsteps could be heard around them every now and then, and the sounds of the night forest was everpresent yet quiet enough to be tuned out. One by one, the bodies of the girls succumbed to sleep, restless though it was. A sharp, but unharmful blunt jab from a finger lightly struck Elena's shoulder, accompanied by a deep voice of Arright, wake up you, but stay down. Take a minute, remember where you are. I'll be back in a moment. At the same time, Elena may have tried to open her eyes, yet everything was still dark. Slowly, the sensations began filtering back into her mind as it regained conciousness Lying on a soft, but slightly lumpy bedroll, her arms tied to her sides with cruel rope, an iron collar around her neck, and fabric firmly bound over her eyes. Similar words were being spoken nearby, no doubt to the other three girls. After a few moments, one of them burst into muffled sobbing--could only have been Margo. There was the sounds of activity all around her, many footsteps, rustling saddlebags, clinking implements, and low, cryptic whispers. Moments later, Elena felt one pair of footsteps arrive beside her. The bedroll's blanket was pulled off of her, exposing her to the chill morning forest. Two strong hands took hold of her shoulders and hauled her to her feet, causing the chain tying her collar to the tree to bang around. There was a metallic clinking against the back of Elena's neck, and the rounded iron collar came off. Moments later, something just as surprising happened she felt the ropes tying her arms loosen up, and come off. Don't try any funny business, now. A voice said--not the leader. You're surrounded and we're faster than you. Move your arms. We tie good knots, but have to make sure you didn't cut off circulation while sleeping. Get that blood flowing. Elena felt her arms held up aside her and her sleeves pulled up as some furry fingers poked along her arm, apparently checking for any significant bruises or pinched veins, while making her bend her arms in a normal range of motion to also ensure nothing was wrong there though her hands were slapped away forcefully if she tried to remove her blindfold. Seemingly satisfied, her arms were again held tightly against her sides as ropes were tied around her arms again, in a different way than the first time, either deliberately or accidentally avoiding most of the sore spots from where the first ropes were tied. Elena heard the other girls being given the same treatment, one by one, and by this time Margo's sobbing had quieted down to sniffling. It also seemed checking up on the girls was the only thing left to do, for not long after it was done, Elena felt herself being pushed and led in one direction, before again being picked up and hoisted into a horse's saddle, with a large beastfolk's body pressing against her back and a powerful arm holding her in place, just like last time. With a command from the leader's voice a few horses away, the bandit convoy set off once more. For whatever reason, the bandits weren't riding at the fastest breakneck pace they had been yesterday, and instead settled for a gallop that was a more sustainable pace, which they still kept up for almost a solid day's worth of riding. There had been three brief rest-stops where they let the horses take a break and also let the girls do their business. Finally, for the last time, the leader called out a halt. Once again, by the cooling air and the darkening of her blindfold, night had fallen again. But there was no way of knowing how far they had traveled, or even what direction, but it did seem as if they had gone up a consistent, almost unnoticeable shallow incline. Increasing elevation? Like last night, the girls were taken off the horses and made to kneel on the ground in a line as the leader gave cryptic orders, but it was deducible they were setting up camp again. So they still weren't at their final destination. A few minutes passed, and something new spread across the campsite smoke. The smell of fire. The beastfolk bandits had gathered wood and made a firepit. Elena could hear it crackling merrily in front of her, she could even feel the occasional draft of warm air. But this was significant they didn't make a fire yesterday, but were today. It couldn't have been just random inconsitency, the bandits were clearly too good for that. No, usually, when one camps out and doesn't start a fire, it's because a fire makes an attractive signal if you're still in enemy territory. And if the beastfolk were confident enough to make a fire now , that meant... A new smell reached Elena's nose, along with the smoke. Something that, to her empty stomach, must have smelled good . Hot food. Stew of some kind? The smell of the food was left to torture the four girls for several minutes as it cooked, but eventually, someone started banging what sounded like an empty metal bowl. Hot food! Get yer fresh, hot stew here. Fills your belly and warms your soul! The leader's voice had returned, calling throughout the camp. His voice then sounded closer to the girls. Alright you four little lovelies, listen up. Gonna be a little different today. Got some nice meat and vegetable stew here for you. Even some fresh wild fruit one of the boys gathered. I'll give it to you, but you gotta say something first. You have to say 'Please, may I have some food, sir' before I give it to you, and say 'thank you, sir' after you're done. You have to ask me for food. If you don't, you go hungry. And if you don't thank me afterwards, well...then you'll be in pain. Just some words. That's all you have to do. I just like hearing those words. A few footsteps, and Elena could sense he had knelt down in front of whatever girl was to Elena's immediate right. You're first. Come on, say it. There was a shuddering breath beside Elena, and Christine's voice spoke out. Please...may I have some food, sir...I'm so hungry, I need to eat so bad, please sir...please... Quickly enough, Christine was met with a response from 'leader'. That's it. Good girl. Yes, you may have some food. Here you go... A few minutes of noisy slurps, chewing, and relieved moaning later, the leader spoke up again. Alright, that's all for you. And now...? There was a moment of hesitation before Christine spoke again. Th....thank you, sir...thank you... The leader spoke back. Very good girl. Alright, chain her to the tree and put her to bed...and you know what? Put some padding in her collar first. She was cooperative yesterday, she's earned it. With a shuffle, Christine was taken away from Elena's side. Which then meant... Alright, you next. The leader's voice spoke directly in front of Elena. You're gonna be a smart girl tonight too, right? holy dang I can't believe my posts keep getting this long!