Banished Pt. 09

I considered her argument, before deciding to throw a little wrench into the equation.

"What if I released you from your pledge?"

She bit her lip, and I studied her reaction carefully.

She had been making calculations from the start based on the power I held over her, and the power she perceived to be in my possession, hadn't she?

"You would do that? What about the rest of the group?"

"Well, maybe not immediately, but I'm sure I could talk them into it. You've been behaving and everything... or I could do it and just not let them know."

She licked her lips a little, as she considered my suggestion.

"And what's that gonna cost me?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" she asked, as she continued to eye me, and I nodded.

She thought about it for a while, before speaking again.

"Okay, forget about the status for a moment. What if I want emotional support?"

"Hn~. You mean apart from doing things like this?"

She nodded.

"I don't like to sleep alone. What's it gonna take for you to sleep with me?"

"That's a difficult request to grant. I mean, the group won't like it at all. Maybe when everyone's more comfortable with trusting you," I offered.

"And you would do that, asking nothing in return?"

I nodded.

"I wouldn't say nothing. Sleeping with company is in itself, pretty nice... sometimes."

"What about sex?" she asked.

"What about it?"

"What if doing stuff with you is part of what makes me feel more comfortable with you?"

"Are you trying to suggest that blowing me is part of the emotional support that you may need?" I asked, chuckling a little, and she frowned.

"Yeah. I mean, let's just say, what if it is?"

"Well, I guess I'd have to say that I have my own conditions for getting into that sort of thing, kind of like what I said earlier. I don't do those things unless I feel there is a mutual interest at stake."

"Fine. I can negotiate. What if I let you kiss me? Guys like kissing my body, so that should be enough, right?"

"I guess; that depends, though," I replied.

"On what?"

"On how the kissing goes," I replied. "Do you want me to kiss you? Or are you just trying to fulfill some minimum requirement on the way to getting yourself into a particular place at my side?"

She shook her head.

"I actually want to kiss you," she admitted. "I thought about it... a lot. After you saved my life, and after the first time we talked."

My eyes focused on her as she spoke, and I noted that her response actually did seem genuine.

She suddenly seemed a little shy, and she shifted her shoulders nervously as I kept my eyes on her.

I snickered a little, as I approached her and reached out, taking her hand in my own.

I pulled her up from her little perch on the rock beside the fire, then reached for her nose, and wiggled it a little between my fingers, and she giggled a little.

"Do you like it when I act like a child?" she asked, retreating an arm's length away, and swaying girlishly while holding onto my hand.

"It's cute. Endearing even."

"That's what they all say at the start," she said.

"Hm? Who's the they?"

"Everyone."

I snickered a little.

"Well, if it helps, Casey can't stand it at all," I replied, and she smiled.

"I know. She can't stand me, but she keeps an eye on me, because I think she knows I'm a threat."

I raised an eyebrow.

"To the group?"

She shook her head.

"No, not that. I meant, to her position by your side."

"Casey knows her worth," I countered, and she smiled playfully.

"As your advisor? Sure. But she wants to stand by your side as more than that. You just don't realize how bad it is; and I don't think it's down to just hypnosis."

"Hn~. And did you ever figure out who the hypnotizer was?"

She thought about it for a while, then answered.

"Your princess?" she asked, and I smiled, nodding.

"See? You're not just smart, you're brilliant!" I said, pulling her in, and ruffling her hair playfully.

She smiled happily, before studying me again.

"You don't seem to hate that I act childishly, yet you didn't try to rip my clothes off yet. In my experience, people usually react to this kind of behavior with either one of the two things," she said, watching me closely.

"Were you trying to convince me to jump you?" I asked.

"Maybe," she answered, her tone playful and suggestive, and I snickered.

"Well, it won't work. Besides, I know you're only acting like that because I didn't kiss you yet, and you're trying to hide how nervous you are about it."

She pouted a little, and folded her hands defiantly, as I snickered at her some more.

"Oh please! I've got more experience than you, in case you're forgetting. I'm waay past getting all nervous about something like- wha? Hey! What're you-"

I began to advance on her, and as she backed up to the little rock she'd been sitting on, she tripped, and fell a short way onto her butt, as I placed my foot beside her on the rock, and leaned down.

I grabbed the hem of her shirt, and cut off any further retreat, as I nuzzled my nose against hers.

Her chest heaved as she panted, suddenly seeming flustered and out of breath.

"Don't discount the experience that comes with age," I chided her, as I pulled her nose, then retreated, smiling wickedly as I turned my back on her and headed back to our supplies.

"What? That's it? I thought you were gonna kiss me?" she called out.

"Maybe~," I teased, and she folded her hands and glared at me as she pouted with an almost exaggerated tenacity.

"You're not playing fair," she complained, and I laughed in response.

"Well, maybe you should stop playing games, and just be honest about what you want," I countered.

I left her to stew for a bit, as I began to gather up our things, as if I were preparing for us to leave, when suddenly, she crashed into me, and we went tumbling down the side of the bank, to the damp, sandy stretch on the river's edge.

We landed with a dull thud, and I stared up at her, her hands on my chest, grasping onto my armor firmly, as she stared at me with a fiery expression.

She licked her lips, but as she moved in for the kill, she faltered, pausing in her approach, and I frowned, as I saw her intent quickly fading.

Her hands loosened their grip on me, and for a brief second, I saw that look, and I recognized it as the one that matched what I'd felt, through her, when she had offered her pledge.

I took her hand, and held her in place as she moved to get up, and as she studied me, I leaned forward, and as her eyes closed shut, I let my lips brush gently against hers; the faintest of touches, before she leaned to meet me, and we kissed; a soft, but pressing kiss, that lingered into a five second long-eternity.

"What was that?" she said, smiling despite herself, as we finally broke apart.

"What was what?"

"I chickened out, but you kissed me anyway," she said, staring at me with a curious look.

"As long as you take the first step, I'll take ten more to meet you," I replied, and she blushed as I brushed her cheek affectionately with my hand.

She moved to kiss me again, this time, her eyes flicking between my lips and my own gaze, as she hovered above me, like a cautious child being told that it was okay to go for the cookie jar before dinner, and not knowing if it really is allowed or not.

I let her take the first tentative moves, before she leaned down and our lips pressed together, before her tongue made an exploratory incursion, searching for its opposite member.

I reached out with my own tongue, and as our lips met, again and again, our tongues played little darting games with each other, and we made out for several minutes until eventually, she withdrew, panting slightly, and gripping her chest as she sat beside me, studying me with a sheepish grin.

"I've never had a kiss like that before."

"Well, maybe you might have if you'd given your middle eastern charity case a fair chance," I teased, and her eyes went wide.

"Oh my God; that was literally the first thing I thought!" she exclaimed, and I snickered as she shoved me playfully in retaliation.

"Was that one of those 'reading my mind' things?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"I can't read your mind; not unless you send the thoughts to me yourself," I reminded her.

She eyed my lips again, but as I moved to kiss her, she put her hands on my chest, and positioned me into a sitting position, then began to fiddle with my belt plate.

"How does this come off?" she asked, and I raised an eyebrow.

"There's a clasp. What're you doing, though?"

"We kissed. Now I'm gonna blow you. That was the deal, wasn't it?"

I shook my head, and chuckled at her.

"You need to learn to take things a little slower," I chastised her, flicking her on the forehead, before getting up, and she pouted.

"Then why did we even kiss?" she asked, a little bitterly.

"Because you wanted to, remember?"

She folded her arms crossly, then bit her lip, as she couldn't really find an argument to make, and I patted her on the head, before heading for our stuff.

We'd probably spent more time on this excursion than we should have anyway.

Bianca dragged her feet a bit as we got ready to leave, but she gave in as I pointed out that we were still in a fairly dangerous zone.

After consulting my map, I figured we could make the run in just over an hour, and although it took some pushing for me to get Bianca to keep a steady pace going without stopping for breaks, we eventually made it back to the camp, and I breathed a sigh of relief, as everything seemed peaceful when we got there.

To my surprise, however, Lucia was up, and seemed quite well rested, and eager for another round of training.

"Are you up for depleting your core?" I asked Bianca, and the girl made a whining sound in response.

"Do I have to?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"You've done a lot today," I said, brushing her cheek affectionately, and she smiled.

As I turned my attention to Lucia, however, she pouted, and followed me with a determined look on her face.

"I changed my mind!" she declared, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

Competing with a child? I thought.

Although, it wasn't a half-bad way to motivate her.

As we headed for the open area north of the camp, which I now noted had been completely cleared of geisterung and aufhöcker corpses, I heard a grumbling sound, and raised an eyebrow at Lucia, as it had most certainly come from her stomach.

"When was the last time you ate?" I asked. "Was it this morning?"

She nodded.

The Kobalt actually didn't seem to do lunch, as far as I'd seen.

Just two meals; breakfast and dinner, more or less.

We took a quick detour to Miriam's sleeping area, where to my relief, I found Gisela.

"Hey. Did you sleep well?" I asked, and the girl nodded sheepishly.

"Forgive my absence, Herr Nathan."

"It's fine. You must have been exhausted after last night. Is there something we can get for Lucia to eat, though?"

Gisela studied the child with a confused expression, and she spoke to her quickly, before shaking her head.

"She says she will wait until the day-end meal," Gisela said, and I shook my head.

"She's just acting tough. She'll need to eat more to deal with the added stress of her training," I explained, and she nodded.

She motioned to one of the nearby Kobalt girls, speaking to her, and the girl hurried off, returning with one of the gourd-type fruits I'd seen Gunter and the others collecting the day before.

I began to wonder if it was edible, when I noted that a strap, fashioned from some kind of reed, was attached to the thing, and as Gisela took the object, she twisted the top, and it came off, like a cover, and as she held it up to me, I was surprised to find that the inside was filled with strips of dried, roasted meat, wrapped into a ball like shape, so that individual strips could be picked out in a sort of roll, one piece at a time.

"The runners carry these for sustenance when on long, tiring, journey. Will it suffice?"

"How long do they last?" I ask. "I mean, does the meat spoil?"

She shook her head.

"The curing process, and storage, preserves the vigor. One of these, filled, lasts an adult runner a month," she explained, and I nodded.

As I handed the gourd to Lucia, however, I caught her glancing at Gisela with a dubious expression.

The look seemed to say, 'is this really alright?' and I quickly remembered the way Gisela had reacted when I'd offered meat to her back in Palancar.

The Kobalt weren't accustomed to eating meat, were they?

I decided to ask, and Gisela nodded.

"It is true. The meat of the geisterung is like delicacy; reserved for those of elevated status."

"Really?" Bianca cut in. "Doesn't even taste that good..."

I shot her a disapproving stare, and she quickly turned to Lucia, and fished out one of the strips, and began trying to stuff it into the little girl's mouth, which caused her to resist quite vehemently.

"How much meat did we manage to get?" I asked Gisela, as I left the two to their shenanigans.

Gisela gestured to the far end of the camp, and I noted for the first time that there was a veritable contingent of Kobalt over there, working on smoking and storing the meat for travel.

"We have managed to procure a lot."

"Will the other villages trade for it?"

Gisela nodded.

"It is highly valued by my people. We may be able to procure the cloth, and other supplies, using it."

"What about the people here?" I asked, and she tilted her head in confusion.

"Our people have no item for trade," she began, and I raised a hand to stop her.

"No, I mean. Are we going to distribute any of the meat to our people?" I explained.

"The Gods?"

"No; your people. The Kobalt," I explained, gesturing to those around the camp, and she nodded, understanding.

"Only in the direst of circumstance would we resort to such means to feed them," she explained, and I frowned.

"I'd prefer if we could distribute some amongst them. There's certainly more than enough, isn't there?"

She studied me.

"One might consider this a waste of valuable commodity," she replied, and I shook my head.

"They're putting their lives in danger to come with us. I think this is the least we could do," I countered, and she studied me again.

"I will deliver your recommendation to the princess," she said, and I nodded, before heading off to join Bianca and Lucia, and lead them in their training.

"Did she eat any?" I asked, as I caught Bianca snacking on a little bit of meat.

"Wha-? Yeah. By the way, this actually tastes pretty good when it's prepared properly."

Wow, thanks, I thought, even though Bianca seemed quite oblivious to the jab she'd made at my cooking skills.

I stooped down to study Lucia.

"Did you eat?" I asked, and as she nodded timidly, I shot her a suspicious look.

"Food and sleep are important if you're gonna get stronger," I said, but I noted again that the look on her face was more one of fear than reluctance.

I took the gourd from Bianca, and as I took one of the strips out, I broke off a piece and ate it, before offering it to Lucia.

She studied me as I chewed, waiting until I swallowed, before nodding, and accepting the piece from my hand, and taking a small bite.

She seemed to be looking between me and Bianca, as if waiting for some kind of reaction, and as we simply waited for her to eat, she took another bite, and eventually ate the entire piece.

"Do you want more?" I asked, and she nodded, eating two more strips before she decided that she'd had enough.

I then offered her my waterskin, and she drank for a while, before handing me the container.

We walked to the stream, and as I refilled the thing at the stream, she shot a little glance at it, and I offered it to her again.

I studied her as she drank, draining half of the skin, before returning it to me, and I refilled it again.

"You need to tell me, okay? When you're hungry, or thirsty. My eyes can see when your core is weak, but I can't tell what your body needs."

She nodded.

"Okay," she said, and Bianca turned to her, a look of surprise on her face.

"She speaks English?" Bianca asked, and as the girl shook her head, I snickered.

"She will," I added, as we moved on to training.

"This is a god-weapon," I began, as I took out the dagger from its place, clasped onto my shin guard. "Now you need to be careful, because if you cut anything but the armor, it can cut right though, and really hurt someone."

Lucia's eyes flicked to the dagger, and she nodded, her hands firm as she accepted the weapon from me.

She bit her lip as she took a moment to weigh the weapon in her hand, before she nodded, letting me know that she was ready to start her training.

Since Bianca was basically worn out, I decided to let Lucia stab at her armor with the little dagger, while I monitored her core with my sensory perception ability.

"Can't I stab her instead?" Bianca whined, and I snickered.

"You want to stab a child?" I teased, and she frowned, as Lucia stabbed at her again with a determined look on her face, almost knocking Bianca back a little.

"Just you wait!" Bianca shot, keeping her eyes on the girl. "It might look like you're winning, but I'm gonna kick your butt!"

As I oversaw the session, Cameron and Jeannie made their way over to us.

"What are they doing?" Jeannie asked, a curious look on her face as she studied the unusual scene.

"Core training," I replied.

"Should we all be doing it?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"When our cores deplete, we lose the ability to use our weapons and armor, so it'll be a little dangerous for us to do it until we're in the clear. I'm basically using Bianca since she's not allowed to do things like carry weapons, or keeping watch just yet," I explained.

"I heard that!" she shot, and I snickered a little as I continued:

"The training is mostly for Lucia... our brave little warrior from the battle last night."

"Do they have implants? Like ours?" Cameron asked, and I shook my head.

"Just cores, so it's a little difficult for them to master abilities... or actually, it's the other way around. Our implants are basically cheat tools that allow us to learn things much quicker than the natural route."

"So, learning, healing... it basically accelerates everything, huh?" Cameron asked, eyeing me as she did, and I nodded.

Jeannie frowned.

"After last night, I feel like if I could use some kind of instruction though. I'm nowhere near as useful in a fight as you or Francesca."

"Francesca's a natural," I replied. "I wouldn't even stand a chance against her if I wasn't in superior armor... but training may not be such a bad idea. I had Jordan and Francesca spar once, and I think Jordan improved as a fighter as a result. We'll just need to make sure we regulate the training, so that no one really wears their cores down, in case we have another crisis to handle."

Jeannie and Cameron watched as Lucia actually managed to deactivate Bianca's armor several times, but as her core began to flicker out, and she let out a tired yawn, stumbling a bit as she did; I called the session to an end, and retrieved the knife from her, before scooping her up into my hands.

This time, however, she didn't fold her hands defiantly, and she put her arms around me and relaxed as I carried her, followed by my entourage, to the sleeping area.

As I tucked her into her little spot on the bedding, I suddenly noted Cameron's eyes on me, a sparkly look in them, and I smiled a little to myself as I could easily guess what she was thinking.

"Are we done for the day?" Bianca asked.

I took a quick look at her core, and realized that while her energy levels were indeed low, she still had a little bit of juice in her.