Her Blood On Your Hands: Part 1

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*This story is from Old Age Canon. Some of the lore may have changed.

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Author: WinterAnswer Continued: Her Blood On Your Hands: Part 2

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"You're perfect," the older Reono officer commented, reviewing the new recruit's figure.  "You look like a northerner,"  Nuly could felt the officer's hot breath as her snout hovered close to the hair on her chest, sniffing at her , "and even smell like one."  Nuly didn't speak as the female officer paced around her, examining every part of her unclothed body.  "So tell me," she said, stopping in front of her as she smiled, gray eyes locking with Nuly's blue ones, "are you from north?  Born there?"

"Yes, ma'am.  My parents were originally from the north.  They were part of one of the clans that had decided to unite with Clan Shigu."

"Ah.  Did your parents leave the clan?"

"Yes, ma'am ."

"For what reason?"

"They disagreed with the joining of the clans.  My parents wanted their clan to be independent from Rain's."

"So instead of resisting outright, they abandoned their clan?"

"Yes ma'am."  The answer stung more than it should have. Was this Reono sergal suggesting that her parents were cowards?  She didn't ask and kept her emotions in check.

"Good thing they did.  Clan Shigu would have killed them and anyone that didn't agree to join Rain.  And with you, you provide a great opportunity for us."

Nuly had joined the ranks of the Reono army a few weeks ago, and her presence was immediately noticeable.  It was easy to single out her black and white fur out of the sea of tan and blond colored recruits as they pledged their loyalty to Clan Reono.  One would also notice she was a bit taller than most in the camp.  Some had mistaken her as a Shigu spy, catching the attention of many onlookers as she enlisted.  They reviewed her citizenship and found it to be genuine, but that didn't stop the stares and not-so-friendly remarks she had caught from a number of fellow recruits.  Now she was here, called upon by her superiors for some unannounced business in a large tent which sheltered the officers from the sweltering heat.

"How has life been with us so far?  With the Reono I mean."  The officer was pacing around her again, feet pattering against the bare impacted ground.

"It has been well."

"I see.  Has it been hard on you and your family for being northerners?"

"There have been incidents."

"Like what?" she asked curiously.

"Name-calling.  Rotten food and trash thrown at us.  Fights.  But that's all really."  A visible scar could be seen on the right side of Nuly's back, but no attention was called to it.

"Hmmm...it's a bit of a stigma, isn't it?"

"I guess you could say that."  She didn't like where this was going; digging up the past, calling back bad memories.  It was like she was prying open old wounds that were starting to heal.

"Like a heavy burden it is, I can imagine.  And to remove that burden, well, that would quite nice wouldn't it?"  She leveled her muzzle upwards to spoke into her ear.

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Indeed it would.  Serving in the Reono army would most definitely remove most of that burden from you.  But one other act would remove this stigma from both you and your family completely."  Nuly stayed silent, listening intensely to the officer's excited words.  "To kill the Brutal General.  To kill Rain Silves."

Nuly's back straightened, her breathing becoming quieter as her body surge with an emotion that was a mixture of both fear and curiosity.

"Does that interest you?"  Her volume was low like a whisper now.

"Yes," Nuly responded.

"Hmmm, yes."  Her voice changed in tone to something more sinister.  "Such a honor would echo throughout Vilous.  It would destroy every trace of that stigma of yours."

She turned the possibility over in her head.  She couldn't say the officer was wrong about the result from this hypothetical act they were discussing.  "Are you suggesting that I assassinate General Rain?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Exactly.  Her leadership is the core binding of the Shigu army.  Without her and some other primary individuals, the Clan Shigu advance would be no more.  Without her, the clans of the north would splinter and divide.  It would soon bring our conquest of the north into full realization."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Yurgie."  The voice came from the corner of the room from another officer who had been silent until now.  He was older, his fur a light brown with specks of gray, his glaze completely calm as he watched the two trade words.  A stripe of scared flesh was particularly noticeable on the top of his muzzle.

"Don't worry, Iskoali," Yurgie told him, "I'm just excited at the prospect."  She turned to Nuly again.  "I'm offering you a chance to become an assassin for Clan Reono.  You seem to a strong person with the potential of becoming a very potent soldier.  To have this opportunity would be a great honor to anyone.  Your training would be the finest of all the Reono military.  You would be trained to fight behind the front lines; to sabotage and to slow the Shigu advance."

"Training will be difficult," Iskoali added, still sitting in his chair.

"Indeed it will, but I think you have the resolve to get through it.  I think you have the spirit to help stop Clan Shigu."  Nuly was about to say something, but Iskoali spoke again before she could, sitting up to place his elbows on his knees as he did.

"You won't be tasked with Rain's assassination at first.  You need to be trained and conditioned before doing so.  You will be tasked with gathering information about troop movements, tactics, and high ranking individuals.  You would be going undercover as a Shigu soldier without any assistance from anyone.  You would be on your own."  Nuly's and Iskoali's eye locked for a moment.  She could tell he was deeply serious about this matter.  As it should be, she thought.

"But," Yurgie cut in, "if you refuse, then it will be like this discussion never happened.  You would be trained like any other soldier here and put at the front lines.  More direct, but to be completely honest, Rain's troops are very well trained.  Savages as well.  They wouldn't hesitate for second to have you as a meal.  Your survivability would be cut in half.  Maybe even more."

They both were trying to sway her decision, Nuly knew that, but the choice was already made.

"I'll do it."  A sharp grin grew on Yurgie's face as she heard those words.  She put out an open hand and Nuly accepted the gesture, their fingers enclosing and embracing around their palms.  Iskoali lifted up from his chair and did the same, but his expression was just as empty as the desert.  He just said, "It's going to be a challenge, hard, but I believe you can do it."

Nuly hoped for the same.  She had an interesting disdain for her northern brothers and sisters, even though she understood she was just one of them.  Even so, she knew what they had done to so many clans.  She knew of the violence that had spread across Vilous since Rain's rise to power.  She wondered what it would feel like to have the General's blood on her hands. The idea made her smile.