The Warlord's Kitten

"Could work, but if Gur thinks you're implying that he's gay, he'll decapitate you on the spot. Saw it happen before." Huza winced a little.

"Really? What a prick." Go'a sighed angrily and rubbed his temples with his spare hand.

"Hey, Cap'n, we need to pick a destination soon, and... why does the cat girl have a dick? Do Rakshasa girls have dicks?" A voice from above decks called down as one of the orcs from before peeked his head down.

"No, you idiot. We kidnapped a boy on accident. We're discussing where to take him. You know any warchiefs that'd be interested?" Go'a snapped back.

"Oh. Maybe Rugana?" The newcomer replied.

"Rugana... good idea... Does she like slave boys?" Go'a asked Huza.

"No idea, she just overthrew the previous chiefs of that area like a month ago. I guess it makes sense that she would? Seems like it's worth a shot."

"Alright then, Rugana's territory it is," Go'a shouted back up at the orc, and then looked back at Lin'qa with a sigh. "Fine. Catboy or Catgirl I guess we still need to keep him in good shape. You gonna stop screaming on us, boy?"

Lin'qa's ears twitched, and she glared at the big orc angrily for several short moments. "Quit calling me a boy and I will." She finally spoke, her voice quiet and bitter. It was finally sinking in how much trouble she was in. She wasn't about to just waltz out of this one.

"Fine. You can be a girl while you're on this ship all you want, princess. You'll have to take that point up again with Rugana though. Let's get you some food, you're probably starving. You certainly look like you've never eaten a proper meal." After letting her get dressed, they went back above decks, and Lin'qa gasped softly. They definitely weren't in the Astral plane anymore, this had to be the Prime Material Plane. A long series of hills and forests spread out beneath them, and there they were headed for a massive series of mountains that spread out across the horizon as far as she could see. The sky was... so blue... and the light in the sky was so bright.. It made her squint.

"Pretty, innit?" Go'a chuckled. Territory of the Fifty Clans. There's not actually fifty right now, we're at fourty eight, I think, but the name is always the same. Not that you'd know, they'd never let a representative sit at the table at Lek. Only Orc they ever let in there would be a laborer or a sword arm."

"Maybe not even that. Mother is going to throw a fit over this. Wouldn't surprise me if she runs all of you out of the city." Lin'qa muttered. It wasn't really meant to be a threat, she just knew her mother was capable of something like that.

"That so? Well, we're keeping our heads down for a bit anyway. You're a bit higher profile of a job than we usually do, kiddo."

"I'm honored," she rolled her eyes as they headed back to the cabin and Go'a sat her down on the bed. He went over to a nearby chair and grabbed a piece of wood and a knife and started whittling. Lin'qa noticed there was already a sizable pile of wood shavings on the floor before he even got started. Huza came in a few moments later with a steaming bowl of... something that did not smell particularly great and a few pieces of dried meat. He sat them down on the table next to her and left without a word.

"If I let you have your hands free to eat then you're gonna behave, isn't that right, princess?" Go'a asked as he set his half-done sculpture down, but kept the knife. "Neither of us wants me to pour that soup down your throat, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get me out of these stupid... what is this? Twine? You don't have real rope?" she grumbled, the itchy material binding her wrists together was starting to chafe horribly.

"Nah, magic suppressing shackles cost us a bundle." Go'a chuckled as she turned around and he took his sweet time untying her wrists. She flexed them as they came free, and groaned at how sore they were. Go'a handed her the rest of the waterskin and went back to his stool and his whittling.

The food was every bit as awful as expected, but she ate it anyway. The airship was unsteady and twice she was convinced they were about to fall out of the sky, but they made the journey alright. One of the orcs stayed with her the whole time, Huza and the other one ignored her, while Go'a chatted amicably like they were friends or something.

When they got there, it was dusk and Huza was watching her, the old orc was using the opportunity to have a nap. Go'a opened the door, and frowned at him. "Oy! Huza, you're supposed to be watching her, especially since we're on the ground now." He growled, giving the other orc a kick. Huza woke with a start and blinked at him, confused. "Ugh. Look, we're gonna see if Rugana wants to see hi-her, or not. Just stay awake for an hour or two, okay?"

"Right, right." Huza muttered.

"You sit tight, little missy. Don't think that even if you get off the ship that you're going anywhere. And no, you can't fly it either, in case you were thinking that." Lin'qa glowered at him as he left. Flying the ship was exactly what she'd been thinking. She fumed a little, but with Huza awake and watching her, she decided it might be best to just sit still. Maybe this Rugana would ransom her, and this would all work itself out, minus a bunch of her family's money. Go'a had said an hour or two, but it felt like much less when he returned. "She's interested. Bring her. Let's go get paid." Lin'qa rose up to her feet and started to head out the doors when Huza grabbed her.

"Nuh-uh. Wrists behind your back, cat."

She sighed and did as she was told, and he re-bound her wrists with that same awful itchy twine. The two orcs led her out off the ship, and into a massive settlement. She'd honestly be expecting a shanty town made out of straw and mud, but while the settlement lacked the sophistication of her home, or even the sophistication of Lek, it far exceeded her expectations. A massive fortress made out of stone and iron stood before her. It wasn't built into the mountain the way a dwarf kingdom would build it, but rather it looked like it wound in and out of it, half cavernous, half towering spires made out of wicked-looking dark metal. A pair of soldiers, both women, were waiting for them at the bottom of the ship's exit ramp.

"This the one?" One of them asked Go'a.

"Yep." He replied cheerily, sounding like he was in a good mood as Huza nudged her forward.

"He's so small. Thought a Rakshasa would be bigger than that. He's got magic suppressing shackles on?" The other asked.

Go'a lifted the sleeve of Lin'qa's shirt to reveal the runed metal band wrapped around her forearm, and the soldier grunted in acknowledgement. Being led through the big fortress filled Lin'qa with a sense of bitter nostalgia, it felt so much like being led through the Palace back on Lek. The winding halls looked like a sort of mish-mash of different cultures, probably most of it stolen art, and then also a lot of animal pelts. Lots of animal pelts... They arrived at a bit set of wooden doors, and one of the soldiers knocked.

"They're back, Chief," She called, and received a bid to enter from a muffled voice within.

The Orcess inside who could only be Rugana looked up from inspecting the long, curved blade of an axe that she held. She was a good six and a half feet tall, her body solid muscle unlike the ones that captured her. She was covered in scars, including one that split her face in two down the middle. Her hair was pulled back away from her face in a dark braid, and one of her tusks was broken off, leaving her with an almost human-looking face, albeit a battle-hardened one. Her gaze fell upon Lin'qa immediately, and she her expression turned sour, and disappointed. Lin'qa resisted the urge to return the dirty look, and used every diplomatic bone in her body to simply avert her gaze to the floor.

"This is the one, huh?" She asked, her voice sounding very unimpressed.

"Yep. Kept him in good shape for you, Chief," Go'a replied amicably.

She sighed. "Warlord of three clans. Killed two other Chieftans to get here. And this is the first thing I get offered," she growled, stalking up to Lin'qa and glaring at her like she'd done something wrong. Finally she gathered her courage and met the Orcess' stare, frowning right back at her.

"Hey now Chief, we aint ever come to you before cuz we were feeling the situation out a lil. Not disrespect just cautiousness. You know how it is," Go'a laughed nervously.

She sighed, and looked over at Go'a. "Two fifty. Another two hundred if and when the family pays up."

Go'a's mouth opened and his eyes went wide. After a moment he sighed. "Take our refuelling costs out of the two hundred and you've got a deal."

Rugana frowned at that but nodded. "So long as you refuel here. Gods know we don't sell enough airship fuel. Stuff's piling up. See to it that they get their money and leave me with him," She addressed the soldiers.

The four shuffled out, leaving the little Rakshasa staring defiantly at the huge Orcess, neither of them speaking.

Finally, she started to laugh. "What an idiot. I'd easily have paid a thousand for a gem like you." She grinned at her, the sour expression vanishing to be replaced with a smug, cocky look.

"I'm glad you could get me at a discount," Lin'qa replied bitterly, narrowing her eyes.

Rugana's jovial expression changed again, and she reached down and pinched one of Lin'qa's ears between thumb and forefinger and pulled. "My pet is NOT going to have an attitude. If I have to train it out of you, I will." She didn't sound angry, but Lin'qa recognized the voice of a woman who was used to getting what she wanted.

"Oww! Let me go that really hurtsss," Lin'qa squealed and tried to pull away from the immovable object that was Rugana's arm.

"First lesson. I am not Warchief, Chief, M'Lady' Ma'am, or Rugana to you. You're gonna call me 'Momma,' understand?" she pulled a little harder.

"Wha? That's so weir- ow ow owwww! Okay fine! Just let me goooo!" tears started to fill her eyes at the way that the Orcess cruelly pulled on her ear.

"Say it, slut! And apologize!" She snarled impatiently.

"I'm sorry, Momma, I'm sorry!" she blubbered, squirming in Rugana's hand as she cried. Mercifully, that seemed to satisfy her captor, and she released Lin'qa's ear. She tried to wriggle away from the powerful Orcess' hand but she just moved it down to the back of her neck and squeezed.

"What's your name, little kitty? Tell me who your old family was" she asked, her voice softening but only slightly.

"Lin'qa. Born during the eight hundred and fifty second celestial cycle. First daughter of house Talla," she replied dourly.

"Daughter? They told me that you're a boy. Why would they tell me that, little kitty?" She asked her with a smug, knowing grin. She didn't seem upset or confused at all. Lin'qa blushed and looked away, biting her lip.

"Answer me, little kitty," Rugana growled threateningly. "Always answer your Momma when she asks you a question."

"I..." she tried to look away but Rugana squeezed her neck when she tried. "I have a penis..." she finally murmured, her shame and self loathing burning bright.

Rugana grinned triumphantly, and Lin'qa knew immediately that her admission had come at no surprise to the warlord, she'd just wanted to hear her say it. She almost felt angry at letting her emotions be toyed with so easily. "I am going to shatter your pride as I train you, kitty. The prissy little noble in you will be ground down to dust, but your body..." The Orcess grinned predatorily. "Your body is MY trophy. Understanding that will be part of your training too." She inched her face closer to Lin'qa's, getting well within her personal space. She had an earthy, sweaty scent to her, it was so incredibly alien, cleanliness was almost an obsession in Rakshasa culture. The invasiveness of it made Lin'qa start trembling, and the eye contact became too much for her. She squeezed her eyes shut, whimpering softly.

Rugana chuckled cruelly, and let her go. "Nissa!" she bellowed.

Lin'qa opened her eyes and saw a human woman enter the room through a side door. She had the look of a matronly older servant and was wearing a plain, dark dress with a white apron.

"Yes, Chief?" she asked in a calm relaxed voice. She didn't look cowed or browbeaten, she didn't strike Lin'qa as a slave.

"This is Kitty, my new slave. Get her out of these clothes and take measurements for a collar. Keep a guard in the room, I think Kitty knows better than to attack you but I'd rather be safe."

Nissa looked at Lin'qa skeptically. "How old is she, Chief? She looks like a child, you know how the clans feel about collaring children."

"Kitty is..." Rugana's brow furrowed. "How old are you?"

"Seven and a half celestial cycles," she answered quietly.

"Sev-! You are NOT seven years old, kitty, don't lie to me." Rugana growled at her but she seemed like she might be second-guessing herself.

For a few moments, she considered lying to the Orcess, but quickly decided against it. "No... one celestial cycle is like... a little over ten years on the PriMat? I think?" she decided that if she was gonna lie about something, it should be about something not easily verified with a scrying stone.

"There. She's eighty. Now go do what I pay you for," Rugana shoved Lin'qa over towards Nissa, who put her hand on Lin'qa's shoulder to steady her.

"Are you... an adult?" Nissa asked her quietly as she led Lin'qa through a side-door into what was probably her quarters as a servant, and then, through that into a little bathing room.

"Yeah... technically..." Lin'qa mumbled, as she tried to calm her nerves. She'd gone into that meeting thinking to calmly and brusquely talk the Chief into how best to ransom her back to her family, and she'd left a nerve-wracked mess.

"Alright, sweetie, just stay here for a second while I fetch a guard to watch us. I don't believe you'd hurt me but you don't 'interpret' what Rugana tells you, if you know what I mean." She grabbed a stool and set it down next to a washbasin, and headed back out again. She was gone for less than five minutes when she returned, followed by a big orc woman wearing the same uniform she'd seen before. "Just need you in the room for an hour or two. Chief doesn't want to take any chances with her new pet," Nissa explained. The soldier grunted gruffly and leaned against the wall, looking bored.

"Okay... let's get you untied, for starters..." Nissa said cheerfully, turning Lin'qa around and untying the twine around her wrists. She grunted in appreciation as her arms came free. To her surprise, Nissa then went and fiddled with the tub, and some water came pouring out of a nearby pipe.

"Thought they didn't have running water in the PriMat..." Lin'qa commented as she took a seat on the floor as the basin filled.

"Most places don't. We're in a Chief's palace though, kitten. You gonna take those clothes off for me or am I doing it for you?" Nissa chuckled at her.

Lin'qa looked at Nissa, then to the soldier, and finally, sighed in defeat. She peeled off her clothes, her favorite purple tunic and tightly-fit black pants. The bulge in her panties made Nissa raise an eyebrow, but she didn't comment on it directly. "Those too," She said instead, gesturing to the panties as she turned off the water, the wash basin filled with several inches of steaming water.

Lin'qa did as she was asked and stepped into the basin, and sat down. The water wasn't quite as hot as she normally liked it, but she was grateful to have a bath at all, she smelled like alcohol and orc sweat. Nissa grabbed a sponge and started washing her down, running the soapy sponge across her pale skin. She wet down Lin'qa's snowy white hair and black and white striped feline ears, scrubbing around the ears gently, working with a familiarity that came with years of experience. Lin'qa found herself purring softly and slumping down in the tub, relaxed. Her tail swished gently through the warm water, weighed down by the wet fur.

"I guess cats actually do purr, huh?" Nissa snickered playfully as she washed Lin'qa's messy shoulder length hair.

"Too tired to worry about bein' a stereotype... Lil' hungover too..." Lin'qa murmured sleepily. It felt weird to open herself up like this but she was too worn down to care or to fight, especially when Nissa was being kind. She'd save her strength for fighting Rugana.

"Is Rugana always like that?" She finally asked, her eyes closed and head craned back. Nissa gave her ear a little pinch, and she opened her eyes with an indignant mewl.

"Call her Momma, Kitty. It'll be easier on you if you just think of her that way. Besides you never know when she'll overhear." She gave her a sad smile to go with the advice.

Lin'qa sighed softly and avoided arguing with her. She blushed a little and averted her face when Nissa washed her cock. It wasn't that she'd never had a servant do that before, but, that had been her servant, before.

"Right, just hold still, I need to get your size..." Nissa took out a measuring tape and started wrapping it around Lin'qa's neck loosely.

"Is that... cmon you don't have to..." Lin'qa pulled away grumpily, ruining Nissa's measurement.

"Hey! Do what she tells you, cat, or I'll hold you down while she does it." The guard yelled at her angrily, and Lin'qa flinched as Nissa re-wrapped the tape and checked the measurement.

"Got it. I'm gonna let the Chief know we're done, you mind watching her for a little bit?" She asked the guard.

"Course I do. I'm not a babysitter, but I'll take that up with the Chief later. Go." The soldier waved dismissively and Nissa left them alone.

Several silent moments passed as the water started to go lukewarm. Lin'qa gathered up her courage and spoke. "So... my family is really-"

"Shut up slut. I aint stabbing the chief in the back for nobody, and especially not you." The Orcess growled at her threateningly, and she shrank back, hiding in the wash basin a little bit.

She didn't try to talk to the soldier again. She thought that she should probably reserve those kind of offers for serious leads. If she sent too many out, it'd get back to Rugana. She'd only have so many opportunities to find a sympathetic ear.

Nissa returned with a towel, a metal loop, and a length of chain. "Apparently we had one your size. C'mon, up, up, out," She coaxed Lin'qa out of the basin and gave her a quick pat-down with the towel. Before Lin'qa even realized what she was doing, Nissa placed a heavy iron collar around her neck and it snapped shut with a soft click.

"H-Hey... you can't..." Lin'qa pulled at it, but it was tightly locked on her neck already.

"Oh quit fussing. You knew this was coming." She hooked the four foot length of chain to the collar, and gave it a tug. "Chief wants you. Come with me. Chief says you can go, by the way." She addressed the soldier, who took off without even a second glance.

"I'm naked." Lin'qa deadpanned, giving Nissa a look, wondering how she couldn't have noticed.

"Yeah? Sweetie, you know you're a slave, right?" Nissa laughed at her.

"But... I can't just walk around in the open without..." A pit grew in Lin'qa's stomach. Everybody would see...

"Look, honey, if I have to go get that lady to come back to drag you to the Chief, she'll be pissed. The Chief will be pissed. We'll both get in trouble, and you'll get dragged naked through the hallways anyway." Nissa frowned at her, looking legitimately annoyed with her for the first time.

"I... I can't..." Nissa apparently didn't think much of that answer and just turned around, tugging on the leash, forcing Lin'qa to follow to stop the cold metal from digging into her skin. She only put up token resistance, Nissa proved to be physically a fair bit stronger than Lin'qa, since she was stripped of her magic. Doing what little she could, she covered her crotch with her hands as they walked. The trip through the fortress was probably short, but it seemed like every Orc they passed by spent hours staring at the spectacle. Lin'qa kept her eyes glued to the floor, pretending that if she couldn't see the people around them, they wouldn't be able to see her, either.