Breakfast was simple yet good, and definitely filling. It was what amounted to a lot of eggs, and a fatty meat that reminded me of bacon, yet it wasn't in the traditional sense. Not that it mattered to me all that much. It was good, and I felt a few pounds heavier after eating. We left shortly after.
We were currently high in the sky as we flew towards the Yellow Plains Village at a decent pace. We'd be there in roughly 10 minutes, give or take. The flight consisted of Cici, Clarissa, Delphia, and Sheila this time. Valerie and Serena really didn't care to go back to the village, and no one else was awake enough to be interested too much to go along. Sheila seemed very interested in seeing this place, and when she asked to come with us, I saw no reason to say no. Not to mention, I did like having her with us.
"From what I heard from Serena and Valerie, Raizen's siblings did not take the news very well. I'm also kinda pissed that they made her talk about all of that horrible shit. I know it's not right to blame them for this, but that really pisses me off." Sheila said, her teeth bared.
I thought the look was rather cute on her, and despite how she acted sometimes, she was already clearly protective of Delphia. The woman was practically an angel as she was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. She took to my girls well, Valerie and Sheila very well, and surprisingly, she truly cared about Kharie despite not knowing her for very long as well, not to mention what her brother had done to her and the others. You'd truly thinking she a had Framework related skill related to mothering.
"I really hope I'm just overthinking this." Delphia muttered to herself, although given how good everyone's hearing was, everyone heard her.
"I'm sure everything is fine." Clarissa said reassuringly.
"It hasn't even been a full day, Delphia. What do you think could have happened in that time?" Cici said, also trying to be reassuring, but not dismissing her worries.
"I don't know... I just have this feeling in my stomach. Like..." Delphia said, hesitating before adding, "It's Kharie. I feel like she needs us. Something just feels off."
"We'll be there soon, I promise." I told her, trying my best to reassure her with a smile, "Whatever it is, we'll handle it."
I didn't want to worry her, but ever since she had mentioned that, I also started to get odd feelings about it. I wasn't sure if it was something instinctual, or if it was just her worry rubbing off on me. Regardless, I increased our speed a tad, and zoomed off towards the village.
■ ■ ■
We touched down right at the front gates this time, where we were met by the same guards as last time. They started for a minute, hands inching towards their weapons, before they realized it was us, and noticeably relaxed. No one in the village knew what truly happened with Raizen, and whether or not they would be told was ultimately up to Kharie and her brothers.
The men at the gate looked between all of us. They gave me a respectful and slightly fearful nod, before their eyes shifted and lingered on both Delphia and Sheila for longer than was necessary, their eyes drawn to their chests. I feel a surge of annoyance and anger wash over me almost instantly, but before I could lay into them, Sheila beat me to it.
"You better control your eyes before I do it for you. I only want one person looking at me like that, and it's not either of you." Sheila growled, and the men actually paled, before looking at the ground.
"S-sorry ma'am. Please... go inside. Our leaders should be at their home." One of them said, and we left them shortly after that, everyone's glare making them gulp audibly.
"Not the best first impression." Sheila said, still sounding annoyed.
Delphia actually giggled softly as she came up and wrapped her arm around Sheila's shoulders. The woman tensed for a moment, but then she relaxed, and leaned into to Delphia slightly, her tail wagging happily. I thought it was adorable.
"You sure told them, little wolf." Delphia said affectionately, making Sheila blush quite furiously, "You get used to it, but it does get old fast. It's not like we can control the size of these things."
Delphia gestured to her own and Sheila's chests, and I did my best to ignore the first part. She was right, even if I did personally give appreciative glances towards Sheila's chest more than a few times myself. These women were all more than just their bodies and their good looks though. All were wonderful women with unique personalities and kind hearts. That being said, I was a man who very much liked tits, so I did understand to some degree. Didn't mean I liked men oogling any of them.
My two women more privy to my thoughts just giggled as we made our way towards the large home towards the back of the village, which I pretended to ignore. Once we arrived, I stepped up first, and just decided to knock pretty damn loudly. I wasn't sure if anyone was asleep or not, but I knocked loud enough to make sure as hell that they weren't anymore.
We had to wait a few minutes, to which I knocked even harder before someone finally answered. Vikoss greeted us, looking both annoyed and tired as fuck. The man looked like he didn't sleep. He stared at me for a while, his braining trying to catch up with his eyes. He didn't look particularly happy, but his mood shifted quite considerably when he saw Delphia, who just smiled at him. Vikoss yawned as he spoke.
"What... are you all doing here so early? I only just fell asleep an hour ago..." He said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"We wanted to check on you all, and make sure you were okay." Delphia said, stepping forward with that same gentle smile, "I've felt weird about something all day. Are you brother and sister awake?"
Vikoss yawned again, and then he gestured for us all to come inside.
"I ran into Rory in the hallway. Thought someone was breaking down the damn door. Rory went to go and make sure Kharie was awake. I don't think he slept at all." Vikoss said as he walked into the living room, and then bellowed, "RORY! KHARIE! IT'S JUST DELPHIA AND THE OTHERS!"
He then sat down in one of the couches, and sighed as he sank into it. Then, he looked us over again, and his eyes stopped on Sheila, and he got a look in his eyes that I didn't quite like. It wasn't letcherous or anything, but it showed a clear interest in her that I didn't appreciate seeing.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Vikoss said with a smile, and offered his hand to her, "Name's Vikoss. What should I call you?"
I almost said something right then and there, but I decided not to since I had spent enough time around Sheila to know that she didn't need me for something like this. Still, while it hasn't happened yet, I was intent on making Sheila mine in the future, so I was feeling rather possessive.
Sheila nodded to him, but pointedly did not take his hand. Once he realized this, he lowered his hand slowly, looking a little defeated.
"Name's Sheila. Nice to meet you Vikoss." She said, and then walked closer to me, her tail reaching out to bat against the back of my legs, "I appreciate the compliment, but I'm taken."
Her words made me smile, and also drove home how insanely wonderful my life had become. It also made me very adamant to start working harder at winning them all over sooner rather than later. The only one I truly worried about was Valerie. I was making smaller moves here and there, but I still feared I'd make her uncomfortable and ruin it somehow.
My thoughts were interrupted as Vikoss chuckled, shaking his head as he looked at me.
"Taking all of them, aren't you?" He said, but his eyes showed something different in them as he looked at me, "You gotta be doing something right. Bad men just take what they want, but good men? They attract those around them. They earn their respect, their love, and their loyalty. I... might have misjudged you at first." He admitted, which made not just my eyebrows raise, but Cici's and Clarissa's as well. Delphia though? The woman had a proud smile on her face like she was watching her own child own up to their mistake.
"That's... not at all what I expected to come from you." I said, still genuinely surprised at his attitude.
"I did a lot of thinking last night while I dove in my craft. Helps clear the mind, and gives me a chance to breathe. I'm still at a loss about what happened... I still can't believe my own damn brother had become so monsterous. I was angry at you... but I don't think that's fair to you. Not anymore."
He sat there, quietly contemplating while I just stared in disbelief. This man was yelling and screaming at us just the other day, and now he was speaking calmly as he poured out his thoughts to us. I guess first impressions weren't everything.
"From your perspective, you simply stopped a bunch of men from hurting people, of taking advantage of them... doing unspeakable things to them. What kind of man would I be if I was mad at something like that?" He said, then he looked between each of us, his eyes landing on Delphia finally, "To all of you, and to you ma'am. I am truly sorry. My words are not... can not ever be enough to take back what has happened. Even so, they need to be said."
Delphia actually teared up as she stepped forward and clasped the man's hand.
"For me... your sincerity is more than enough. I never blamed you or your family for his actions." She said, and then she smiled brightly at the man, who looked at her with surprised eyes, "You are a really nice boy after all."
Her words made the large man blush, which made me snort. Despite that, my respect for the man grew. He did kinda remind me of myself in away. Nice and friendly towards those he liked, and an absolute asshole to those he did not.
"T-thank you, Delphia." Vikoss said, stuttering only a bit.
Before Delphia could respond further, Rory actually ran into the living room, his facial expression looking very worried. That put everyone on edge almost immediately.
"Kharie's gone!" He shouted as he stumbled and caught himself in his hurried steps.
"What??" Vikoss asked, suddenly shooting to his feet.
Delphia's face went pale. It looks like the hopes of her feeling being wrong was dashed. Rory looked panicked as he grabbed his hair frantically.
"I knocked for a few minutes, but when she didn't answer, I just opened the door and walked inside. She was nowhere to be found." He said, but his face portrayed more than just his worry. He looked like he knew something that everyone else didn't.
"Could she be somewhere in the village? Maybe..." I asked, but he shook his head almost immediately, cutting me off.
"No... Kharie is a heavy sleeper. If she doesn't have to get up, she'll sleep half the day away." He said, then his face turned a little grim, "Not only that, but her weapons are gone. Her daggers, and mother's bow and quiver."
Vikoss immediately paled as well.
"What is she thinking?? Hold on..." He said, and Rory looked a little nervous before he spoke next.
"You know as well as I do that Khaire takes after mother a bit too well. She likes hunting to clear her head. And.... there's only one place that could give her the challenge she needs."
"Don't fucking tell me..." I said, my heart actually skipping a beat.
"The Dead Lands?!?" Vikoss actually yelled, his previous state returning to him.
Rory looked very nervous before he spoke again.
"I've... seen her leave a couple of nights before. I was confused because she didn't say anything, so I followed her. I had to use a speed potion to keep up with her, as well as one to hide myself as I did. I figured there was a reason why she didn't say anything. I panicked when I realized where we were going and-"
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS??" Vikoss yelled, walking up to Rory and grabbing his collar.
"I- I-" Rory said, but was cut off.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?? WHAT WERE YOU-"
"ENOUGH!" I roared, walking up to them and forcing Vikoss's hands off of Rory. The man seemed genuinely stunned by my strength, "I understand that you're upset, Vikoss, but yelling and screaming is doing fuck all right now."
Vikoss opened his mouth, but Delphia's hand on his shoulder, and her pleading look made him close it again. I gave her a grateful nod, and turned to Rory.
"Rory, finish what you were saying." I said, and he looked at me strangely for a moment. A bit of that fear I remembered, but also gratitude, and the obvious worry for his sister.
"Right... so... I followed her. She was going towards the Dead Lands. I wanted to stop her, but she looked determined, so I just decided to watch after her to make sure was safe. Not that she needed it. She definitely takes after mother, Vikoss. The way she hunted those beasts in there without even breaking a sweat... it was insane. She didn't go far in. She looked at peace when she was done, and then I followed her back here, and she just acted like nothing happened. I saw her leave a few more times, and I followed her a couple more times, but it was the same thing. She was always back before sunrise."
Vikoss listened, his face still red with anger, but also lined with worry.
"Why would she do that without saying anything??" He asked, clenching his fists.
"It's probably because of this, my dear." Delphia said, her own face etched with concern, but she did her best to calm down the large man, "You love your sister a lot. I can see that. I'm sure she knows it too, and the thought of her possibly being in danger scares you. Take it from a woman's perspective... she probably thought she was saving you from worry that she found unnecessary."
Vikoss once again opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He just looked at the floor, and closed his eyes tightly.
"Then... where the hell is she??" He asked, and when he opened his eyes, they were red and slightly damp, "Something must have happened to her. She needs me! I can't lose my sister!"
He made to leave, but I stopped him. He glared at me, and I glared right back, not backing down.
"I'll go and find her. I can get there faster than anyone else." I said, and his eyes flashed with fury again.
"STAY HERE WHILE MY SISTER NEEDS ME?! YOU BETTER MOVE OR I'LL-" He said, and made to move me, but I didn't even budge an inch.
"You. Will. Stay. Here." I said firmly, a bit of my aura leaking out of me as my annoyance spiked, "I do get it. Your sister is important to you, but you'd only slow me down, and make me worry you'd do something stupid. And right now, I'm wasting time by arguing with you."
He made to open his mouth again, but Delphia thankfully came to the rescue once more.
"Vikoss." She said, her voice soft but surprisingly stern. The man froze as her voice seemingly commanded his attention. "Elias is right, although he could have chosen his words a bit better. If he says he will help her, then he will. I don't know anything about that terrible place... but it feels bad. Just looking at it fills me with dread. Khaire is in there by herself, and she needs help. Just look at the bags under your eyes... you're in no shape to go trudging into a place like that. Trust me when I say this, because I have seen it with my own eyes. Elias will save her. He is strong, and I almost feel bad for anything or anyone that tries to hurt her. Almost."
She gave him a smile as she tried to inject some levity into the situation. He didn't say anything, but he just continued to look into Delphia's kind eyes, and I visibly saw him slump.
"Damn it..." He said, turning away and looking at the ground, "Fine.... you're right. I'm strong, but I'm not a fighter. Kharie herself could run circles around me, and if something there is stopping her from coming home..."
"You'd just be putting yourself at risk." Delphia said, putting a hand reassuringly on his shoulder, "And I don't want to see any of you get hurt."
I could see the conflicting emotions on his face. He knew she was right, but his pride and protective instincts towards his sister were trying to spur him into action. I commended that honestly, and I thought it was an excellent trait to have. The issue was that damned place. I could feel how wrong it felt. Hell, I could even feel it from here. Something was intrinsically wrong with that place, and I needed to go now.
"I'm leaving." I said, nodding gratefully at Delphia before turning to the 3 other women with me.
None of them had commented during Vikoss's explosion, but I definitely felt their thoughts. Cici understood his worry and his emotions, but she also thought he really needed to work on controlling his temper. Clarissa just felt bad for the man, and understood his emotional outburst was mostly from worry. Sheila looked annoyed, but decided to let me and Delphia handle it.
"Girls, I'm going to ask you all to stay here. I don't want any of you going near that place." I told them, and they all nodded resolutely, as it was clear none of them had any inclinations to go near that place if they didn't have to.
I gave Cici and Clarissa a quick kiss and told them not to worry. Then, I turned to Sheila, and decided to be a bit bold. I gave her forehead a quick kiss, which made her blush immensely through a small smile.
I then turned to Delphia, Vikoss, and Rory.
"I will bring her back." I said, because entertaining the idea of something having happened to her was not even something I wanted to consider.
"Please..." Rory said, his voice shaking.
"I'm going to listen to Delphia and trust in you... don't break it." He said, and I just nodded at him. That was fair given the situation.
"Bring Kharie back, Elias. Please." Delphia said, moisture gathering in her eyes.
With a look like that, I couldn't possibly fail now. Determination burned within me as I turned, and exited the home. I leapt into the air with so much force that the air cracked around me with a thunderous boom. I soared upwards at an impressive speed as I summoned my wings. Another loud boom exploded around me as I shot forward towards the Dead Lands.
"Please be okay, Kharie."
■ ■ ■
Kharie's breathing came shallow as she kept running, burning through her stamina faster than it could regenerate. She couldn't help but think it was all pointless the more she ran though. The sounds of her persuers never faultered or slowed, and in some odd way, part of thought that the stronger ones were just toying with her. Enjoying the chase before they finally trapped their prey. It was different to be the one being chased, but she also wasn't so prideful that she'd let her irritation over that stop her from try to flee.
Life, fate, or whatever, seemed to also be having fun with her, as she had to come up a stop. Strong, thick strands of webbing stopped her dead in her tracks, blocking the path ahead of her. She looked around and saw that they were connected to various rocks and other structures methodically, effectively caging her in. She surprised herself by letting out a bitter chuckle.
"Is this my punishment?" She asked herself, the blame and guilt in her heart still in place.
She turned around, and was met with sight of many dozens of the Spiders approaching her, mandibles clicking together like longswords. She could have sworn they were laughing at her, despite that sounding crazy. That made her narrow her eyes. The Elites stepped out from the fog next, and behind them, the massive Queen made its presence known once more.
Khaire couldn't parse anything from their sickly black eyes, but there was something cruel about the way it gazed at her. Like it enjoyed seeing her cornered like that. She reached behind her back, and clenched her hand around her bow as she drew it. She was outnumbered, and outmatched. Despite that, she refused to give up without giving them everything she had. Her eyes locked with the Queen's, and she snarled.
"Come on then, bitch."