《Soulless: short stories》 Awesome human maids ¡°All right, novice, let us see how well you did this time.¡± Talindra stood solemnly in the corner of the room as her instructor scrutinized her work. She was certain she did everything right this time, but the unforgiving instructor would always find something to complain about. Something wasn¡¯t scrubbed right, or there were a few specs of dust left in the furniture gaps. She did her best each and every single time, and yet she¡¯d always be berated in the end, for some trivial mistake she made. But, that¡¯s what all novice maids have to go through if they want to be accepted by noble masters. And, no matter how unforgiving, her instructor was kind enough to take Talindra under her care. Out of dozens of maids who sought the instructor¡¯s help, she was the chosen one. Meaning that giving up was simply not an option. Her family would certainly never forgive that. Talindra dreaded to think what her grandmother had to do so she¡¯d have such a prestigious instructor. And if she proves herself, who knows? Maybe her instructor will put in a good word for her. Maybe she¡¯ll even get to serve general Maelyrra, just like her instructor. There could be no greater honor, for both her and her family, than to serve under the greatest elven hero. Maybe she¡¯ll even run into human maids a few times? After all, everyone knows the humans are constantly bothering general Maelyrra about all kinds of things. A stern voice interrupted her daydreaming: ¡°Hmm ¡­ it looks like you did your duty properly, this time. I have a hard time finding something out of place. But, after a decade of my close attention, it was about time. I was starting to worry about you.¡± Turning to face Talindra, the instructor stopped for a moment. ¡°Actually, there is something you missed. Wipe that big smile from your face. A maid is supposed to stay rational at all times.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mistress.¡± ¡°I am sure you are. Especially concatenating I and am like some peasant. That being said, you deserve some praise. So I will pretend I did not hear it this time.¡± The instructor approached her, grabbing her jaw and shaking it left to right. ¡°That smile is not supposed to deepen!¡± ¡°I am sowy, miswess!¡± The instructor let out a disappointed sigh: ¡°Are you daydreaming again? I understand you are just a decade into training, but it is time to stop.¡± In the very first year of her apprenticeship, Talindra realized that lying to her instructor is a futile endeavor: ¡°I apologize, mistress. I was just thinking about how much my skills have improved, thanks to you, and how much more they will.¡± ¡°It will take far more dedication. Far more than this.¡± ¡°I understand, mistress. Know that my dedication has no limits.¡± The instructor¡¯s stern face soured upon hearing those words: ¡°That is where you are wrong, novice.¡± ¡°I am speaking true, mistress! I will do anything you ask of me.¡± ¡°Would you clean windows on top of the tower, from outside, while hanging on a rope?¡± The very specific example made Talindra¡¯s ears twitch in confusion.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°I am waiting for your answer, novice.¡± ¡°I ¡­ what would be the point? The tower does not even have windows.¡± ¡°But if I would find you such a tower, would you clean them from the outside if I demanded you to? While hanging on a rope?¡± ¡°I understand mistress,¡± Talindra bowed her head respectfully, ¡°you are telling me there are limits to my capabilities.¡± ¡°Your only limit is your determination, novice. And reasonable people keep their determination reasonable.¡± ¡°I understand, mistress. I promise I will not make such foolish statements in the future.¡± ¡°Grab your tools, and let us go. There is never a lack of rooms that need cleaning.¡± As they walked through the hall, Talindra decided to speak. ¡°Mistress, you told me that I should ask you about anything that I do not understand.¡± ¡°Yes. Do ask.¡± ¡°I understand your point, but why rope? Why hanging on a rope? Cleaning windows from the outside is silly enough, so why insist on a rope?¡± Talindra could swear she saw her instructor smiling for the first time: ¡°Because that is what the human maids do.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°No huh, novice. Stop with the peasant tongue.¡± ¡°I am sorry, mistress. But, what do you mean, that is what the human maids do?¡± ¡°You know that human maids have become an ideal. Something all the other maids on this continent are striving to become like.¡± ¡°Yes, and I do not understand why. Why have even we, the elves, accepted the human maids as the most superior ones? I must admit, it irritates my high-elven blood to no end.¡± That made the instructor smile once more. ¡°Maybe you have heard of bizarre constructions the humans are building. The so-called skyscrapers.¡± ¡°All I know about them is that they are incredibly tall.¡± ¡°Yes, and most of them are built out of glass.¡± ¡°Glass?¡± ¡°Yes, glass.¡± ¡°There are all kinds of wild rumors about the humans. Do you believe that one is true?¡± ¡°I know it is because I have seen those skyscrapers with my own eyes.¡± ¡°Oh ¡­¡± ¡°It sounds impossible, but it is true. Those massive things have glass for walls. It is so polished, you can see your reflection in it, like in a mirror.¡± ¡°I ¡­ if you say so then I believe it to be true.¡± ¡°Now, here is a problem. Glass gets stained very easily and has to be cleaned often. So tell me, as an aspiring maid, how would you clean those tall, huge, sky-piercing walls made out of glass.¡± ¡°We open the frame and clean the glass from the inside.¡± ¡°You would open a wall?¡± ¡°Umm ¡­¡± ¡°You cannot open a wall, you have to clean it from the outside. But the glass is ten times, no, twenty times taller than the tower.¡± ¡°What is the point of having such a tall building?¡± ¡°Humans have very little land, just the city of Qalo and its surroundings. So, since they do not have enough land to build around the city, they are building up.¡± ¡°Is that where the rope comes in?¡± ¡°Yes, novice. That is why the human maids are held in such high regard. Only a human maid will climb on top of the building that is as tall as the clouds, wrap a rope around his waist, and clean glass while hanging in the air.¡± ¡°His?¡± ¡°Yes. I have only ever seen their male maids clean windows like that. There could be some females doing it, but I have not seen one.¡± ¡°Humans have ¡­ male maids?¡± ¡°Humans have all kinds of unbelievable things. Do you understand now? Why you should never compare yourself with a human maid?¡± ¡°But ¡­ why do it? That is insane! A maid is supposed to make her lady¡¯s life easier, not risk her life in the most outrageous manner possible! And for what, to clean some windows?¡± ¡°Humans are not intelligent creatures, that is for sure. But they make up for it with their dedication. You have probably heard of their impressive knowledge. The truth is, very little of it is a product of intelligence. It is a product of their dedication because, when humans are passionate about something, they will pursue their goal as if possessed. Maid, scholar, or a warrior, it makes no difference. So, when an elven mage dies after trying to cast some thunder spell, the other elves will realize thunder is not to be meddled with. Humans will do the exact opposite. They will dedicate their lives to understanding it and, eventually, after a pile of corpses, some human will figure it out. Also, you must have heard how humans hate it when their spouse has sex with someone else.¡± ¡°I have heard of it. What of it?¡± ¡°That is a great example of their dedication. Once married, it is unimaginable for them to even give a flirtatious look to someone who is not their spouse. Their society sees it as the ultimate betrayal. That all sounds silly, but, since dedication is the highest virtue a maid can have, it also means that humans are made for it. Therefore, no matter how hard you try, you cannot outdedicate a human. Even if they are not a maid.¡± ¡°I understand dedication, but going to such lengths is ¡­ disturbing. It sounds as if ¡­¡± ¡°After everything that has happened, they are still classified as demons for a reason. Even though we have accepted them.¡± No hoard? ¡°Ok, you all know why we¡¯re here, but let¡¯s make it official. Those pesky things which came through the portal are making a nuisance of themselves, engaging in a balance-shifting war, so it¡¯s up to us to make them realize their place in this world.¡± ¡°We just do what we always did. Kidnap a prince or a princess and make their rulers realize just how powerless they are. That always works.¡± ¡°Well, things are more complicated this time. I know most of you think meetings like this are pointless, but it will be different this time.¡± ¡°What, are you going to tell me these mortals can actually put up a fight?¡± ¡°First of all, these creatures have no nobles. And that means there are no princes or princesses to abduct.¡± ¡°What do you mean, there are no nobles? Someone has to rule!¡± ¡°They do have rulers, but all of them are perfectly replaceable.¡± ¡°So, they¡¯re like barbarians?¡± ¡°In a way, but not really. They don¡¯t have a single warlord who is ruling with an iron fist. They have dozens of them, each one specialized in managing a different aspect of their society. And if something happens to them, there are thousands ready to take their place.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible! You can¡¯t just replace someone with hundreds of years of experience in managing something! A newcomer doesn¡¯t have the necessary knowledge! Certainly, losing some of those managers would affect them!¡± ¡°They¡¯ve found a way to store information and memories. All a newcomer has to do is to look at those.¡± ¡°Meaning that they aren¡¯t barbarians, even though they don¡¯t have the noble class.¡± ¡°Their society is a strange mix of civilization and barbarism. It is organized in barbaric ways, where everyone is equal until individuals prove themselves, but they wield high technology and are very knowledgeable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Just take their gold. They can¡¯t fight a war without it.¡± ¡°That brings us to another issue. They have no gold whatsoever.¡± ¡°No gold?¡± ¡°We all know how disappointed you are, but no shiny trinkets for you this time.¡± ¡°How are they financing the war then? Surely, they must have some currency.¡± ¡°Yes, they do. But it¡¯s immaterial.¡± ¡°What do you mean, immaterial?¡± ¡°It exists in an artificial plane of existence.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It appears that they have created an artificial plane of their own, where they store the most valuable things like money and knowledge. We know very little of it, so I¡¯d rather not speculate.¡± ¡°Are you telling us, with a straight face, that those mortals know how to create worlds? If that¡¯s the case, then why would they be here? Why wouldn¡¯t they simply reshape this world to be as they will it if that¡¯s the case?¡± ¡°These creatures are quite bizarre, which is why the same can be said for this explanation. It appears that their knowledge of lower planes is very limited, even though they exist in one. However, it also appears that they have a highly advanced knowledge of the higher planes, which is why they¡¯re storing things in one of them.¡± ¡°Are you implying they¡¯ve created a higher plane? And artificial, higher plane?¡± ¡°Yes, and they can access it from any point in the lower planes. As long as they have the tools necessary to do so.¡± ¡°But the energy ¡­¡± ¡°While enormous amounts of it are necessary, they¡¯ve found a way to draw energy from lightning. That gives them all the energy they need for such an undertaking.¡± ¡°While that sounds impressive, lightning isn¡¯t common. Yesis isn¡¯t readily available.¡± ¡°They know how to create lightning themselves.¡± ¡°¡­¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Yesis exterminated them then?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know yet, but we do know it has played a pivotal role in maintaining the portal.¡± ¡°This raises so many questions ¡­¡± ¡°If true.¡± ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get back to the topic. We¡¯ll arrange a separate meeting to discuss all of this later. So, we can¡¯t kidnap a princess and we can¡¯t take their gold. Unfortunately, this leaves only one option.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to kill them ¡­¡± ¡°Regarding that ¡­ Zduhatija has observed these creatures for quite some time. It has also documented the war that is happening right now with its memories. I suggest we look at them first. Looking through its eyes is the best way to understand why I don¡¯t recommend this option either. Ok, starting ¡­ now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Look at that!¡± ¡°Are they exiting from the belly of a beast?¡± ¡°No, it has wheels.¡± ¡°Why are they covering their eyes? Shouldn¡¯t they see their enemies to fight them?¡± ¡°Look at it go!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a ¡­ a lot of glowing arrows in such a small time.¡± ¡°Are those exploding?¡± ¡°Oh, look! This one is moving left to right!¡± ¡°Oof! That host got torched!¡± ¡°All of them got! From such a distance!¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a long-range, fireball spell.¡± ¡°Are they riding these huge bugs?¡± ¡°I¡¯m yet to see a bug with blades swinging on top of its head.¡± ¡°Is that some, smoke-blasting chariot?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not smoke. Look at the stone in shattered.¡± ¡°Did that smoking arrow just turn to follow Pegasus as it tried to dodge it?¡± ¡°Ajajaj! It shredded it to pieces!¡± ¡°Can it shred scales like that?¡± ¡°So, their mages can do telekinesis.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any mages.¡± ¡°They have the same outfit as everyone else, but that guy had a staff on his shoulder.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t carry a staff on the shoulder!¡± ¡°These you clearly do!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of magic and alchemy. I see no spears, nor arrows. Are all of them mages?¡± ¡°It looks like all of them have some ranged weapons.¡± ¡°And they are shooting very fast. Look at it go!¡± ¡°That rate of shooting explains why they don¡¯t need close-range weapons.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think those are shooting arrows. It looks like bullets to me. See how it lodges in the wall? Nothing is sticking out of it.¡± ¡°What are those things shooting in the sky?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like they are hitting anything.¡± ¡°Ok, it¡¯s flying away. A long way.¡± ¡°What is that smoke in the distance?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s trying to show ¡­¡± ¡°No! There¡¯s just no way!¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s trying to show that those things were shooting at targets all the way here.¡± ¡°But they don¡¯t even see them!¡± ¡°That implies telepathy.¡± ¡°I was wondering how those soldiers were so well coordinated. Sometimes, it looked as if they knew where their enemies were long before they saw them.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way all of them know how to do telepathy!¡± ¡°Only a few of them need to know it to make it work.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, some of these contraptions sound like thunder when shooting.¡± ¡°Ah yes, good point.¡± ¡°It certainly sounds like thunder when the big ones hit.¡± ¡°Wait ¡­ that could be it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You said that they know how to make lightning and draw energy from it, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And they¡¯re also using thunder as a weapon.¡± ¡°But we didn¡¯t see them shoot lightning at their enemies.¡± ¡°Yes! Why aren¡¯t they shooting lightning if they know how to create it! Wouldn¡¯t it make a perfect weapon?¡± ¡°Can lightning shatter stone?¡± ¡°Ok that¡¯s ¡­ that¡¯s a good point.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t see them shoot lightning because they have something even more efficient at their disposal.¡± ¡°Shooting lightning would also drain their energy quickly. It appears that they¡¯re using more energy-efficient methods.¡± ¡°Ah yes, shooting hundreds of bullets at a few targets is energy efficient.¡± ¡°Those bullets are small and need very little energy to move fast. And it¡¯s enough to kill mortals.¡± ¡°They do have big arrows, like that smoking one. The one that follows its target.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it would take way too many bullets to hit a maneuvering target. Even though they are using high-energy weapons, they are trying to be as cost-efficient as possible.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s exactly why they¡¯re like that. They know they can waste their weapons easily because they¡¯re using high-energy weapons. So they¡¯re rationalizing their use as much as possible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy for them to do it now, when fighting other mortals.¡± ¡°They¡¯d certainly increase their energy spending when fighting tougher opponents.¡± ¡°So ¡­ a proportional response, huh?¡± ¡°Looks like it.¡± ¡°Do you think they could take us on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Sure, we¡¯d take casualties this time, but I¡¯m certain we¡¯d win.¡± ¡°There¡¯s one thing worrying me though. Why Yesis got interested in these creatures? Why has it gone so far as to interfere with the portal? It certainly knows something we don¡¯t. And then we have these creatures using lighting to generate energy. And wielding thundering weapons. Why would Yesis not only tolerate such arrogant infringement on its realm but actively seek to help them? Unless ¡­¡± ¡°Are you implying that its children may have returned?¡± ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t go that far. But I do think that if we¡¯d start killing them it would get involved. It has already invested too much in these creatures, so I¡¯m certain it wouldn¡¯t let us ruin its plans.¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ that¡¯s a good point.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t just sit idly by as the balance is being shattered right in front of our eyes!¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s exactly what Yesis wants!¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t fight it either.¡± ¡°Any news from the heavens?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t doing anything yet. They are as surprised as we are. That being said, these creatures aren¡¯t numerous, so we don¡¯t have to worry about them overrunning other mortals anytime soon. That, and they aren¡¯t murdering everyone in their path. They are being generous towards the civilians.¡± ¡°So ¡­ we can¡¯t kidnap a princess, we can¡¯t take their gold, and if we decide to fight them we may get Yesis breathing on our necks.¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°So ¡­ now what?¡± ¡°Zduhatija did a good job observing them so far. Maybe, instead of just observing them, we can try reaching them. We know that they¡¯ve allied themselves with the wolf-people, so we can assume they¡¯re somewhat reasonable.¡± ¡°I agree. Instead of fighting them, it would be better to trick them this time. Lightning or not, mortals can¡¯t compete with us when it comes to intelligence.¡± ¡°Sure! Let¡¯s challenge people who are creating higher planes of existence to a duel of wits! What could possibly go wrong!¡± Dangers of human beauty Tathaln was lucky enough to be accepted into the famous White City University together with the best and brightest minds of Greadinall. However, being a son of a successful merchant also meant that his family couldn¡¯t afford to get him his own personal lodging, so he had no choice but to apply for the communal ones instead, which he would have to share with two other students. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. you need a healer!¡± Leave the human alone ¡°Mom! Mom! I found one!¡± ¡°Found what?¡± ¡°A prey! I found one! Come and see it!¡± ¡°Hmpf ¡­ all right.¡± ¡°Come, come! This one is perfect! It¡¯s slow, clumsy, and yet, it smells juicy!¡± ¡°A prey like that is always big. It takes a whole pack to bring it down. I¡¯m not in a mood for that right now, I¡¯m not that hungry.¡± ¡°No, no! This one is tall but it isn¡¯t big! It¡¯s like a deer that walks on its hind legs. Imagine that, a creature walking on two legs only, and it¡¯s not a bird! Umm ¡­ why are your ears fluttering like that? Have I said something wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the creatures that walk on two legs, standing upright. But they¡¯ve always stayed away from our forest. We respect their territory and they respect ours.¡± ¡°Do they smell tasty?¡± ¡°Yes, they do.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go get it! I told you, it¡¯s perfect! It¡¯s slow, clumsy, and it¡¯s all alone!¡± ¡°Only the predators walk alone.¡± ¡°This one can¡¯t be a predator! It has no claws, nor the sharp teeth. I saw them, it has the teeth of a prey! It eats grass. It must¡¯ve lost its way, got separated from its herd somehow. It¡¯s wandering through the forest aimlessly.¡± ¡°Is that the prey you¡¯ve mentioned?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one! See how slow it is?¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­¡± ¡°Come on! Let me get it! You¡¯re the one who insisted I should go for the weak prey first!¡± ¡°I was thinking of rabbits when I¡¯ve told you that.¡± ¡°Even rabbits are faster than this thing! And, while it won¡¯t be dangerous, it will be challenging! It has nothing to defend itself with but it will take some time to bring it down. I can¡¯t go for its neck right away, I¡¯ll have to get its legs first, make it fall. It will be good practice for me!¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ no.¡± ¡°What? What do you mean no?¡± ¡°I mean no!¡± ¡°Why not? It can¡¯t defend itself and it¡¯s slow! It¡¯s perfect for my first prey!¡± ¡°First of all, I don¡¯t like your attitude. You don¡¯t get to question the pack leader. If you don¡¯t like my leadership, you¡¯re free to leave.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry ¡­¡± ¡°Second thing is, that¡¯s a human.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°You know how some prey can defend itself, how some deer have antlers, and so on.¡± ¡°But, this one has nothing!¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Do you see its upper legs?¡± ¡°Yes. What about them?¡± ¡°Do you see its paws?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Look at how long its fingers are. It has no claws because it doesn¡¯t need them.¡± ¡°What, is it going to slash me with its fingers?¡± ¡°No, it will grab you with its unusually long upper legs. See how those can contort themselves? It will contort one of its legs around you, stop you from moving, and then it will shove those long fingers into your eyes. That¡¯s why its fingers are long, so they can reach the back of your skull once they pierce your eyes. But you won¡¯t die right away, you¡¯ll suffer in darkness, dying in slow agony until you bleed out from your eye sockets.¡± ¡°Urgh!!!¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not all. All humans have those weird upper legs and long fingers, but some of them have even more. Just how some deer are more dangerous due to their antlers, some humans are also more dangerous than others. Some of them can kill you just by looking at you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve heard me! Some humans can kill you with a single stare. We stare at others to intimidate them, humans don¡¯t. They don¡¯t need to intimidate anyone, there¡¯s no point. If a human is staring at you, you¡¯re already dead.¡± ¡°That makes no sense, how ¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it is, boy, and you¡¯d be wise to remember that! Leave the human alone, that¡¯s the best thing to do. Yes, I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re tasty, but it¡¯s not worth it. Even if this human is harmless, it¡¯s not worth the trouble. They live in packs, just like we do, and if one of them gets eaten, the others come to exterminate the threat to their pack. That¡¯s the thing about the humans, most of them are prey but some of them are hunters, like you and me.¡± ¡°Do these human hunters have claws and big teeth?¡± ¡°No, they can kill you just by looking at you. Pay attention to what I¡¯m saying! Do you remember that tinny pack which begged to cross our territory?¡± ¡°Those who paid with their strongest youngins?¡± ¡°Yes, those. What do you think has happened to them?¡± ¡°The stronger pack took their feeding grounds.¡± ¡°Would they be so terrified and desperate if that was the case? To the point they¡¯d give us their strongest youngins just to run away?¡± ¡°Umm ¡­¡± ¡°They were fleeing humans. They¡¯ve eaten a lone human who has wandered into their hunting grounds. Then, they tried eating some more, because it looked like easy prey to them. They went into human territory. And that¡¯s when their strongest hunters were wiped out. The hunters fell dead as soon as the humans saw them. But the humans didn¡¯t stop there, they went after the rest of the pack, into its territory. They¡¯ve decided to exterminate the entire pack, even though it was no longer a threat to them. I guess they didn¡¯t want to wait for the next generation of hunters to grow up.¡± ¡°But ¡­ but that¡¯s not what prey is supposed to do!¡± ¡°Creatures aren¡¯t supposed to walk on their hind legs either, yet the humans do.¡± ¡°And they also aren¡¯t supposed to be coming towards us!¡± ¡°Wha ¡­ oh, it really is coming this way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s looking at us mom!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t move! If it wants to kill us, we¡¯re already dead! Just stay still, hopefully, it will realize we aren¡¯t a threat.¡± ¡°But ¡­ aren¡¯t we supposed to be a threat?¡± ¡°Just stand still!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ it¡¯s getting really close mom!¡± ¡°We¡¯re still alive so it has no ill intentions towards us.¡± ¡°But ¡­ why is it coming closer?¡± ¡°Who knows, just let it pass by.¡± ¡°Umm ¡­ now what?¡± ¡°Just stand still and make no sudden moves.¡± ¡°Mom, I¡¯m scared ¡­ its fingers are too long and too creepy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok, it¡¯s keeping the fingers to itself. See, it¡¯s putting them in front of its own head.¡± ¡°Is ¡­ is there something in its paws?¡± ¡°Could be, it looks like those fingers are very dexterous.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t how prey is supposed to act mom!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been telling you! When you see a human, leave it alone.¡± ¡°How long will it hold its paws like that? Mom, more of them are coming! There, they¡¯re coming out of the bushes!¡± ¡°Ok, this is slowly starting to irritate me.¡± GGGRRRRRR!!! ¡°It¡¯s running away! They¡¯re running away!¡± ¡°Not all of them, some are covering for the rest. I guess those are their hunters.¡± ¡°Those who can kill you with their eyes?¡± ¡°Just stand still and don¡¯t move. If they wanted a fight, they¡¯d already attack us.¡± ¡°Looks like they¡¯re slowly pulling back.¡± ¡°Hmm, they¡¯re not a danger then. Maybe they were testing where the borders are. Still, if you see any of them in the future, don¡¯t eat them. You can growl at them to scare them away but don¡¯t harm them. It looks like they won¡¯t hurt us unless we hurt them, which makes sense since they eat grass. Ok, let¡¯s go. We must tell the rest of the pack about this. You didn¡¯t get to hunt today but you did well. Had someone else seen that human first, everything could¡¯ve ended differently.¡± ¡°Thanks, mom!¡± Famished ¡°Sir, there¡¯s something on the road!¡± ¡°Where exactly?¡± ¡°Straight ahead, right next to the road. To the right of it.¡± ¡°¡­ yeah, I see it. Looks like a foot mobile. But something is odd here.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like a soldier. Probably a civilian.¡± ¡°A civilian, all alone, in a combat zone?¡± ¡°Should I keep going straight sir?¡± ¡°Yeah, just keep going down the road. Our roaring, metal beast will scare them and they¡¯ll move away.¡± ¡°Sir I ¡­ I think that¡¯s a kid.¡± ¡°You can see that form this far away?¡± ¡°Got plenty of experience with NVGs sir.¡± ¡°Me too but I still haven¡¯t learned how to focus the damn thing properly.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s definitely a kid. Not a little kid, more like a teenager, but still a kid. And she¡¯s of that cat sort.¡± ¡°I see now. Can you see what is it that she¡¯s holding in her hand?¡± ¡°Looks like some kind of doll to me. Like how kids back home would hold a teddy bear or some similar shit.¡± ¡°A young girl, walking down the road, all alone, at night ¡­¡± ¡°Plenty of disturbing shit going on during the time of war. She probably escaped. There¡¯s no way she¡¯ll last long all alone though. Thirst will get her first.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t she moving away from us? They scatter away as soon as they see our headlights, so why is she still walking towards us?¡± ¡°Maybe trauma? It¡¯s only natural for people to lose their shit when they go through it.¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ ok, stop the vehicle.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Do you think we should just let her go?¡± ¡°No, of course not. But it won¡¯t be my ass on the line for letting a civilian into the Humvee.¡± ¡°What is she going to do, shoot a TOW? Let the others know we¡¯re making a short stop. Interpreter, with me!¡± ¡±All victors, be advised, we¡¯re making a short stop to interrogate a civilian, over.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°First of all, tell her that we mean her no harm ¡­ now, ask her where her parents are.¡± ¡°She says that bad people have killed them.¡± ¡°When did this happen?¡± ¡°A week ago.¡± ¡°A week ago? Check that, just to be sure.¡± ¡°She claims it was a week ago. Some bandits came and fucked shit up. Her mother helped her escape but the rest of her family is gone.¡± ¡°Is it the village? If it¡¯s bandits then they¡¯ve probably left and her people have returned to the village.¡± ¡°No, she says they were a part of a caravan.¡± ¡°Is the caravan down the road?¡± ¡°No. She walked off-road so the bandits wouldn¡¯t find her.¡± ¡°Damn ¡­ we can¡¯t go off course. I was hoping we could just give her a ride back to her village.¡± ¡°Sir ¡­ she¡¯s asking to come with us.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she scared of big, bad demons?¡± ¡°She says she got nowhere to go and that she¡¯ll do anything we ask.¡± ¡°¡­ fuck it. Get her on board. Put her with the doc, he¡¯ll know how to handle her. Actually, let me go with you ¡­ hey, doc!¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°We got a lost, traumatized girl here. She¡¯ll die for sure if we leave her alone so she¡¯s coming with us. We¡¯ll leave her at the next village we find but I need you to take care of her in the meantime. She claims she didn¡¯t eat or drink anything for a week.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll give her some of our rations. I¡¯ll make sure she doesn¡¯t overeat.¡± ¡°And also make sure the other guys don¡¯t do anything funny. I¡¯m making you responsible for everything.¡± ¡°You got nothing to worry about sir, she¡¯s just like my little sister. But do let the other guys know I might rip their balls off if they try anything funny.¡± ¡°Huh, roger that.¡± ¡°Oh, one more thing. I¡¯m not fluent in timkik, let alone this cat language. Can you leave the interpreter with us? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to reason with her otherwise.¡± ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. Jake, you¡¯re with me! I¡¯ll switch you with the interpreter.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Aye aye.¡± --- ¡°Sir, I have to report something.¡± ¡°Is it about our passenger?¡± ¡°Yes. She¡¯s refusing to eat or drink anything.¡± ¡°What do you mean? I thought she didn¡¯t eat anything for a week?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing. When people don¡¯t eat for a week their stomach compresses itself, so they don¡¯t feel hungry anymore.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t she at least feel thirsty?¡± ¡°We¡¯re dealing with aliens here, so who knows? The point is, she refuses to eat anything and won¡¯t listen to reason.¡± ¡°And if she doesn¡¯t eat anything she¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°Exactly. And I don¡¯t think that leaving her in some village would fix the issue. She¡¯d probably refuse to eat there too.¡± ¡°And then the villagers will think we did something terrible to her and are the ones to blame.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I was thinking of giving her some infusion until she can finally be reasoned with, to at least prevent dehydration. But then I remembered that these people are terrified of needles. And if she starts resisting it could sever her vein. We¡¯d stop the bleeding but then she¡¯d have to be casevaced and I doubt they¡¯ll approve it for some local girl.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just force-feed her?¡± ¡°None of us know how to do it properly. I was never trained to do that and I doubt anyone else was. And it¡¯s all the more dangerous to do it to an alien we know nothing about.¡± ¡°So, what are our options?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t want to risk infusion but if she doesn¡¯t drink something soon she¡¯s almost certainly going to die. I just wanted to let you know.¡± ¡°Yeah ¡­ I see. I¡¯ve also checked the aerial photos again and found no villages on our path for several days. And taking a detour is out of the question.¡± ¡°I understand that.¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ as I understand our casualties are minimal, and we¡¯re not in a hot zone. We could try a casevac.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll approve it for a local? Under these circumstances?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll report a casualty of our own. Say we had a misfire during regular maintenance.¡± ¡°Elite soldiers having a misfire casualty?¡± ¡°Stupidity happens everywhere doc, you should know that by now. The important thing is that our casevac resources aren¡¯t strained at the moment, so why the fuck not.¡± ¡°You know you won¡¯t get away with it, sir.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t get away with it anyway. I¡¯d rather have my salary docked than regret not doing anything in twenty years.¡± --- ¡°Ok, bring the next one in!¡± ¡°Our next patient is a young hosagian female.¡± ¡°Aww, look at her! She¡¯s like a human kitty-cat! So cute! Anyway, what¡¯s wrong with her?¡± ¡°Apparently, she didn¡¯t eat or drink anything for a week.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t the soldiers give her something instead of sending her all the way here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing. They tried but she refuses to eat.¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ that could indicate some mental trauma. But let¡¯s check her first. Can you tell her I¡¯m just going to examine her? I don¡¯t want her thinking I¡¯m some pervert.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all women here.¡± ¡°Just to be sure. We can never be too careful with the natives.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°Yeah, it is. You¡¯d expect starvation to show but she appears to be in peak condition. Especially considering that these people aren¡¯t as durable as we are.¡± ¡°And she claims she didn¡¯t drink any water for a week.¡± ¡°Something is wrong here. How long has she been with the soldiers?¡± ¡°I think a day or two?¡± ¡°Maybe she lied to them for some reason?¡± ¡°She should be hungry even after a single day. Hell, I get hungry after a few hours.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s afraid. We¡¯ll do some additional testing, just to be sure, but I think there¡¯s nothing for us to do here. This is a job for psychologists.¡± --- ¡°Hi Osveta, how are you doing today?¡± ¡°How long do these demons intend to hold me here?¡± ¡°Until you finally eat something. Your willpower is amazing but you¡¯re being way too childish with it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not childish. I¡¯m just not hungry nor thirsty.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all the more reason to eat. The demons have explained how the stomach works to you, right? Come on, at least half a cup of water. I¡¯ll even take it first so you know it¡¯s not poisonous.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of that. They could¡¯ve done so many things to me yet they didn¡¯t. I¡¯m not afraid they¡¯ll hurt me.¡± ¡°So why not?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you, repeatedly, that I¡¯m fine! By the way, why are you working for these demons?¡± ¡°Why not? They don¡¯t appear to be bad.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they at war with your people?¡± ¡°You mean, our people?¡± ¡°No, I mean your people.¡± ¡°Huh, aren¡¯t you forgetting that you¡¯re a hosagian too?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re just being silly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a mortal, which is why I don¡¯t have to eat or drink, fool!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Osveta isn¡¯t a hosagian name. Have you ever heard of a hosagian with a name like that?¡± ¡°I ¡­ I think you have some ¡­ issues ¡­ which is why you¡¯re ¡­¡± ¡°How many days, three? Yeah, you¡¯re with me for three days, and you still didn¡¯t figure it out?¡± ¡°I ¡­ what?¡± ¡°What do these demons want with me?¡± ¡°I ¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way they¡¯d be this generous with some random girl. They knew what I was from the start. How did they know it?¡± ¡°I ¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s no wonder they didn¡¯t try to violate me. Now I¡¯ve wasted more than a week with these idiots, doing all kinds of tests on me. And the worst thing is that I don¡¯t have the right to retaliate! These demons are playing me for a fool, and I¡¯m tired of it!¡± ¡°Whe ¡­ where are you going?¡± ¡°Out of here! I¡¯ve had enough of these demons messing with me and wasting my time!¡± The hosagian girl rushed towards the door, opening them aggressively and stepping outside. As soon as she did, her body disintegrated like a pile of sand swept up by the wind, disappearing completely. --- ¡°Ahahahahahaha!!!¡± ¡°They already told you, huh?¡± ¡°Ahahahahahaha!!!¡± ¡°Go on ahead.¡± ¡°Ahahahahahaha!!!¡± ¡°Yeah, go ahead and laugh it out.¡± ¡°Serves you right! Ahahahahahaha!!!¡± ¡°Stop pretending you knew about it. None of us had any idea mortals could recognize us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing! They didn¡¯t! Ahahahahahaha!!!¡± ¡°Are you messing with me?¡± ¡°Ah, dude, you¡¯re such a fool! I mean, I always knew that, but this is a whole new level! Like, you¡¯re up here!¡± ¡°What do you mean they didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t recognize you!¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t ¡­¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t they violate a lonely lost girl? I don¡¯t know, you tell me?¡± ¡°Because they knew I¡¯m immortal.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re just being stupid, even more than usual. Tell me, why do you insist on eating bad people only?¡± ¡°Because they deserve it. I just don¡¯t feel like hurting good people, and most of them are good.¡± ¡°So, isn¡¯t it possible that you just ran into some good people?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no way. Those were soldiers and not ordinary ones. They appeared to be professionals. I¡¯m certain they¡¯re paid to do what they do, and no good person would kill others for money.¡± ¡°But is it wrong to kill? I mean, I know I¡¯m just repeating myself now, but killing is a perfectly natural thing to do. Those people you love so much kill animals each and every single day! By thousands!¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re just repeating yourself now!¡± ¡°So, when a butcher kills an animal, is he evil?¡± ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to say that there¡¯s nothing wrong with killing. It¡¯s just that these people are smart enough to realize the same thing. They know killing is just a part of nature so they don¡¯t feel bad about it. But assaulting a defenseless girl does. Just because they¡¯re ok with killing that doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re bad. After all, do you consider yourself to be bad?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same thing! I kill evil people!¡± ¡°And who¡¯s to say those guys don¡¯t believe the same thing? They could¡¯ve just tried to kill you right away but they didn¡¯t. In fact, they tried to help you. What makes you think those guys aren¡¯t selective about who they kill just like you are?¡± ¡°Ah ¡­ you think that¡¯s the case?¡± ¡°It would be stupid but hey, you exist. So why wouldn¡¯t the same thing be true for some mortals out there?¡± ¡°I guess that could make sense. After all, not all soldiers are bad, I know that. But the mortals who fight and kill for money usually are.¡± ¡°Usually. That¡¯s the thing. Usually.¡± ¡°Huh ¡­ I didn¡¯t consider it like that. Yes, that could make sense.¡± ¡°The others know for sure. Ask them if you don¡¯t trust me. Still ¡­ ahahahahahaha!!! Serves you right for having those stupid morals! Now tell me, what does starvation feel like?¡±