PREDATORS
by Chimera Bloom
Part 15
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They walked into the Claw ready to face the unexpected. Narlene had been inside several times before. In the past, it had been to find out what all the gossip and illicit rumors were about. Tonight, she had gone in to reserve a room.
But now, as Narlene walked in with the nameless warrior on her arm, all eyes were clearly on them. She could tell that the whispers and murmurs had little to do with her appearance. It was the warrior that had caught their interest.
This hybrid was apparently well known in the underworld of the Gallion. She was certainly a threatening presence. But as Narlene again looked at her steely body, she couldn't help but wonder what she was getting herself into.
The entrance to the Claw was littered with a multitude of intoxicated patrons. Most of them were jaguars, dingoes and panthers. At first glance, Narlene came to believe that they were the only true jungle cats in the place. It wasn't that the observation truly bothered her. It was just that Narlene preferred to stick with her own kind.
But her strange companion seemed to pay the others no mind. She kept a possessive grip on Narlene's arm as they walked through the smoky entrance. And after they had carefully stepped over a few more passed out customers, they had finally reached the service counter.
It was a long flat wooden panel barely able to stand erect. The wood was rotted and aging. And there were various stains covering it that Narlene could only guess at the origin.
"You came back…" The voice of the employee from behind the counter startled the girl.
Narlene hated wolves. She knew on some level that they were natural enemies and that only kept her unsettled in their presence. But it was more then that. She simply didn't trust them. They were sneaky predators that preferred to capture their prey by surprise and stealth. And Narlene refused to have any respect for a predator that didn't fight honorably and in only the most forthright manner.
"We want to go up now." Narlene whispered trying to avoid the glowing red eyes of the wolf hybrid.
She could tell that this creature was old. This wolf had probably seen more then her fair share of unspeakable perversities. And on closer inspection, Narlene could tell that the wolf herself had been no stranger to the darker side of pleasure.
All over her body were the telltale bite marks and missing pieces of flesh. Both her ears and nose were covered in a smattering of silver staples and wide thick jewelry indicating not only her tribal wealth, but also her ability to take pain. All in all, the wolf presented quite a menacing image.
"All right, I need you guys to sign in." She said indicating the registration book. Narlene reached for the waiting pen but the wolf kept it just out of arm's reach.
"Now by signing this you agree to the house rules. We are not responsible for any wounds, rape, and or accidental death that may occur. If anything happens up those stairs that either of you have a problem with there's nothing that can be done about it. By singing this you agree to forego your right to seek a tribal retribution for any wrongdoing. Now, do you both understand?" The wolf asked glaring at the two jungle cats.
"Just let us sign the damn book." The hybrid sighed obviously very familiar with the Claw and all its inner workings. Narlene couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved at the revelation. She wasn't sure that it was such a good idea to have alone time with an obvious regular patron of this rather criminal establishment.
But quickly, the book was thrust at them and Narlene found herself signing it before she could change her mind. And then it was there in bold black letters, Narlene of the Fasara. And right next to it, the nameless warrior signed her own name for all the world to see.
"All right Narlene and Kellis of the Fasara, have fun but remember to be safe. Before you go can I offer you any extra tools or accessories for the evening?" The wolf said instantly pulling out a large gray box filled with only the most indescribable sexual toys. Narlene winced as she simply stared at the metal casing. She certainly didn't want to see it's insides.
"No thank you. I think we'll be going natural tonight." The warrior said to the wolf.
"Suit yourself." She answered quickly putting the box away. The warrior gave Narlene one long smirking smile before she tried to pull her up the waiting stairs. But the girl stopped her with one firm hand on her chest.
"Wait…I need to go over to the body shop for a little while. I'm going to have some work done." Narlene said gesturing to the closed doors just off to their right.
"Oh, kitten…What kind of work?" The warrior asked obviously very intrigued and excited by the idea.
"It doesn't concern you. I want you to go upstairs and shower while you wait. This could take awhile." Narlene said thinking of all the alterations she needed to have made to her form.
The warrior stared at her slightly startled by the command. She wasn't used to having women give her orders. And she certainly wasn't accustomed to taking them, especially from a woman like Narlene.
But the thought of a warm shower was simply to inviting to pass up. She couldn't remember the last time that she had had one. Living on the streets certainly hadn't done much for her personal hygiene.
"All right…" The warrior acquiesced turning to leave the girl to her errands. She was absolutely certain that Narlene got stranger every single second that she knew her.
"When you're done come back down here. I should be in the paint parlor by then. I want you to find me and make sure that you only answer to Kellis. We'll be putting on a little performance." Narlene said hoping that the warrior was bright enough to follow her simple request.
"Fine…By the way, what's in the bag?" The warrior asked wondering what else Narlene had in store for them.
"Just go." Narlene seethed storming towards the body shop. Cautiously, she clutched the tiny bag in her hand. She didn't want it to get ruined by this place. Because inside, it held her beautiful blue lingerie. And it was the only truly perfect thing that she had left of this disastrous evening.
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Yamina had gone up and down the hall at least thirty different times. She had knocked on every single door hoping to find someone to help her search. But there was no one, and this entire situation was apparently hers alone to resolve.
What frightened her most was the fact that the voice had stopped calling out. It had given up in a strangled call of exhaustion and break. Yamina was worried. Feeling pain was always pure torture. But moving beyond the pain, was normally a sign of mortal defeat.
She still didn't know who it was that needed her assistance. She could hardly recognize the strangled screams of someone's suffering. But all throughout the screams she had paid close attention.
And now, her search had narrowed. She had decided that the voice had to be coming from one of two rooms. But as she knocked on the doors she got no response.
The one room belonged to Narlene. And the other belonged to Halauris. And for some reason, Yamina had this sinking feeling in her stomach that something was terribly wrong behind Narlene's locked door. Yamina didn't know what could possibly be taking place. Or what could have gone so horribly wrong. But she knew that is was up to her to find out. So taking the role of protector and heroin, Yamina bravely braced herself to forcefully knock down the door.
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"That's enough Halauris!" Lineva screamed silencing the crying female lying helplessly on the ground.
Recounting the evening to the snake had taken everything out of her. The invisible barriers between her pain and fear had suddenly come crashing down. And now, Halauris was pitifully weeping for everything she had seen. And everything that she had lost.
"It was so awful…She was going to kill us." Halauris wailed binding herself up into a tight little ball.
It was quite obvious that she jungle cat was in need of comforting. And Licara preferred not to touch their kind. Pure mammalians were always so sickeningly warm to the touch. But under the circumstances it seemed like the easiest way to reach her goal.
Kneeling down onto the dirt, Licara easily took the weeping woman into her arms. She tried to quiet the shrieking waves of tears that were threatening to overcome Halauris' body. But she was unsuccessful. The jungle cat lost all control as she wept onto her slithering reptilian form.
Vainly, the cobra tried to demurely pat the jungle woman in a futile attempt to offer some sort of comfort. But it wasn't enough and Halauris was still desperately sobbing. And yet unfortunately, Licara realized that the weeping cat was the very least of her worries.
Glancing over the woman's shoulder, Licara was disturbed to see the warrior glaring down at their coupled form. At first, she thought that it was jealousy. But soon the snake realized that it was more then their close contact that was disturbing the jungle warrior. It was her strength.
A mere garden-snake hybrid would never have the strength to hold a sobbing jungle cat in her arms. She should have been knocked clean over onto the ground by Halauris' obvious superior mass. But yet she remained erect, easily taking the brunt of the woman's weight in her supple cobra muscles.
In a normal circumstance, she would have fallen in an attempt to keep up the masquerade. But she didn't have that luxury now. At the moment she was too focused on finding the name of the shark that now, she simply must destroy.
"Who almost killed you? Who hurt Elila?" Licara whispered directly in the woman's ear. She was using all the mind-bending techniques available in her arsenal. And thankfully, Halauris was easily responding to every single last one of them.
"I don't know. Some shark… It was so awful…" Halauris continued to weep.
The cobra bent down once more in a bold attempt to wring more detail from the woman. But she had pushed the jungle warrior too far. And it was obvious that Lineva wasn't about to let her little interrogation continue.
"All right…that's enough!" The warrior snapped pulling Halauris from her arms.
In that one gesture Lineva told her all that she needed to know. Though the woman had gone spiraling towards the warrior, Lineva had been unable to prevent their collision. Lineva was clearly exhausted. Even her muscles were unresponsive and spent. And in short glance, Licara realized that this jungle warrior posed absolutely no threat to her.
"Lineva, we left her there…we left her there to die!!!" Halauris screamed in a voice so loud the cobra was certain that the entire Gallion Village had heard.
"Stop it! You have to get a hold of yourself." Lineva snapped mentally cursing the snake for bringing forth this onslaught of tears.
Lineva knew that even though she was directing her screams at the trembling woman in her arms, she was just as angry with herself. She wanted to give into her tears. She wanted to weep uncontrollably.
But she couldn't. The warrior knew that she had to make sure that they both made it back to the Lodge. She still had a responsibility to care for their safety. And she wouldn't let her emotions consume her, not until she was certain that Halauris was out of harm's way. And not until, she had spoken to Kellis. Her duty as a warrior had to come first.
Licara watched the scene unfold before her. It was blatantly obvious to her that if the woman didn't stop crying soon, the warrior was going to become very agitated. And as she watched the muscles coil and flex all across Lineva's body, the cobra knew that decisive violence was about to ensue.
But the snake just couldn't let that happen. She still needed information from Halauris. And if Lineva slapped her back into sanity, that was going to make her task all the more difficult.
"Where did this happen? Where did the shark find you?" Licara asked thinking over all the known shark hunting grounds that surrounded the Fasara territory.
"Stop it!" Lineva screamed at her.
The cobra watched on as it became apparent that she was now that target of Lineva's anger. She supposed it was just as well. She could take a punch or slap far more easily then Halauris. And besides, if the let the warrior attack the woman Licara knew that she would get no more information where the troublesome heron was concerned.
"It was by the medical center. She just came out of nowhere." Halauris answered screaming through her tortured tears.
Licara watched, as the woman became bright red with exhaustion and uncontrollable grief. She could easily tell that Halauris was about to succumb to the rather nasty effects of her mind-bending influence. But she didn't want to stick around for that. She always found vomiting so distasteful.
"The Lodge is just up ahead on your left. You'll see it as soon as you pass through the clearing." Licara said quickly turning on her heel to leave.
Lineva watched the retreating form of the snake. She had the distinct feeling that something poignant had just taken place. The snake had simply been far too interested in Elila and the shark. And what's more, she seemed like she had strength that couldn't be contained by her small body. Lineva didn't really know or understand all that had transpired but she suspected that in time, she would look back on this moment and cringe.
"Halauris, we have to go." Lineva said looking down at the woman in her arms. She used a softer voice this time, shamed by the fact that she had nearly lost her temper.
"I'm gonna be sick." The woman whispered walking over to the peace and quiet of the nearest bush.
Lineva stood and waited for her companion to return. She wouldn't push Halauris anymore. They would slowly make their way back to the Lodge. And she would treat the woman with kindness. All she had left was her duty of honor, and Lineva wasn't going to loose that too. After all, she had already lost Elila.
Yet somewhere off in the rapid distance, Licara made her way back to the cobra nest. She had to tell the tribe of her victory. Now that the heron had been killed, her reputation would be returned.
But she knew that the information would be met with mixed feelings. Though the tribe would be pleased to know that Licara's prey had not gone unpunished, there was a rather glaring problem. Licara hadn't been the one to consume the rather bothersome Elila. Some shark over in the Midali tribe had stolen her kill and she couldn't be more displeased.
Though there would be time to correct the error. Killing the heron would certainly have done much to restore her reputation. But successfully hunting down a shark would surely have in her in prime position to finally claim the thrown as tribal Alpha.
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She awoke to the sound of water. It sounded angry and loud. It was almost like she was standing next to the very sea itself.
Or perhaps, she was even in the sea. Her body felt damp, like she had been swimming for a great distance. And somewhere behind, she knew there were waves. Every so often she would hear a giant rush of water. Then a few moments later, her body would moisten with the effects of the crashing liquid current.
She was definitely wet. Every part of her felt soaked through. Even her hair seemed tangled with heavy beads of drenching water. She didn't remember swimming. In fact, as the exhaustion began to clear her sleep saturated mind, Elila very clearly remembered that she most certainly didn't know how to swim.
Jolted into the sounds of a strange reality, she sat up finding herself in a foggy and unclear environment. There was something wrong with her eyes. At the moment, she couldn't quite see much of anything. But after several long rubs with her careful fingers, her vision finally cleared enough for her to see.
At first, she was startled and just a little frightened. Elila could only assume that she was in the Aquatic Hall. She was carefully perched on a small piece of smooth white tile. But her body was lying very dangerously close to the watery hall below. Looking down, she imagined that the drop would be at least six feet. And it was a distance she cared to never experience.
But it was more then the water that alarmed her. There were sharks as far as the eye could see. Below, they were swimming and socializing in small fast groups. Every once in a while she would see one off in the distance alone, simply floating in what must be very warm waters.
The entire hall was gently filling with the humid air of a familiar steam. And as Elila tried to mentally count up all the numbers below she imagined that the entire Midali tribe was in fact swimming beneath her. To say the least, the thought was petrifying.
Elila felt her heart speed up in chest when she realized that she had nowhere to go. She was virtually trapped on this small tile inlay. It was barely large enough to fit her body on. And now that she was wide-awake, she began to imagine the prospect of slipping right off the wet tile and right into the hot waters below.
She felt her throat close up and lungs burn with a frantic terror. She couldn't fall into the water. There were so many of them. She would never survive it.
Closing her eyes, the heron became immersed in the memory of drowning. The water hurt as it came pouring into her lungs. Then, there was the intolerable torture of her heart hammering in her small bruised chest. And she desperately looked around the room trying to even remember how it was that she came to be here.
And that's when it happened. Rising out of the water like some sort of prehistoric god, a shark latched onto the tile around her. Terrorized she looked at the long steely arms that were so easily holding her captive. Her body quaked as the splashed water saturated her form. And when she looked at its face, Elila knew that she was far too frightened to even scream.
"Hey, are you okay?" It took the words several minutes for them to even penetrate her horrified mind.
But eventually the sentence came to hold some meaning for the trembling heron. Looking at the shark so easily hanging effortlessly in the air, Elila realized that for the first time she just might not be in imminent danger. Because it was the rather friendly and quite docile Zeranna that was cautiously speaking to her.
As she looked around the hall, Elila realized that she had expected Pedryn to leap from the water and steal her back into the liquid depths below. But after careful searching she did see the Alpha shark. But Pedryn was clear on the other side of the hall standing proudly on a stage dressed in only the most beautiful ceremonial robes.
And in that moment, Pedryn looked at her. She was standing there with a long ribbon in her hands blatantly studying the heron. And for just a moment, Elila felt her heart stop.
She realized that everything wasn't what she had first assumed. Elila still didn't know what exactly she was doing in the Midali Hall, but she was beginning to think that it wasn't a lust for blood that had delivered her to them. Pedryn seemed far too calm and reserved for that.
"Elila?" Zeranna asked concerned by the girl's stunned silence.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm fine. Why am I here?" She asked obviously confused and disoriented.
Zeranna glanced into the water behind looking for the healer but Baysha seemed to have conviently disappeared. In all honesty, she didn't know why the heron had ended up in the ceremonial hall. And she really wasn't sure what Pedryn would want her to tell the girl.
"Oh my god! What's happened to me?" Elila squeaked out noticing the pale blue tint to her skin.
"Don't worry…It's okay. Pedryn said it will go away in time." Zeranna said trying to calm the girl.
"What would go away? What is this?" Elila said trying to keep her voice low. It was obvious that there was some sort of awards ceremony going on and the heron had no real desire to interrupt it.
"It's venom. We were hoping that you could tell us what happened? I don't know much. But I do know that right before the ceremony started Carielle brought you in. She tore through here trying to get you to the healer. You were suffocating on venom. You were a lot more blue then this when you first arrived…Anyways Baysha treated you." Zeranna said looking for some kind of recognition from the heron. But it was clear that Elila had no memory of the events that she was describing.
"So, Carielle eventually went to get Pedryn. And she said that you were going to be fine. And then she told the tribe that a cobra had hunted you and that's why you are here. She asked me stay with you during the ceremony." Zeranna said hoping that the heron was in fact all right. During the few brief moments that Elila had regained consciousness, the shark could tell that she had been nothing but dazed and confused.
"I don't understand. How did I end up with Carielle?" Elila asked thoroughly perplexed by all the events that the shark had just described.
"Well, I don't know. You were already unconscious when she brought you here." Zeranna asked wondering if the heron would at least remember blacking out.
"Oh gods…" Elila clasped her hand over her mouth finally remembering what had transpired in the Fasara banquet hall.
"I started getting sick. And I couldn't find a healer. I was talking to a hybrid. I started getting really dizzy and I thought that I was going to pass out. I couldn't even move. I…I don't remember anything else." Elila explained realizing that she must have fainted in the banquet hall of her very own tribe. But if her memory was accurate she couldn't understand how she had ended up with Midali.
"A hybrid? What species?" Zeranna asked wondering if Elila had been foolish enough to let a snake get within inches of her body.
"It was jungle cat from my tribe. I think she said her name was…Soudarra. I'm not really sure. I'd never met her before. Zeranna how did the snake find me? I don't even remember seeing her." Elila quickly pleaded becoming more then a little concerned for her safety.
"Well, it's okay. Don't worry. I'm sure Pedryn will know what to do." Zeranna said trying to sooth the obviously frightened heron.
Listening to the words Elila couldn't help but turn to look at the stage. Pedryn was once again staring at her, almost like she knew that she had just been discussed. And truthfully, Elila really had no idea what to do.
Looking around the Aquatic Hall, she suddenly felt like she didn't know much at all. But she did know that somewhere out in the dark world of the Gallion Village, there was a virulent snake that wanted her dead. And she stiffened at the thought that in some terribly ironic way, Pedryn might just be the only person that could save her life.
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She walked into the room not surprised to see it filled with smoke and littered with the unconscious body of patrons that had obviously overindulged. There were a few people awake at the very end of the room. One was seated behind what could only be described as a make shift desk. The other was propped up on a stained sofa hurriedly draining a shiny bottle of all it's rollen juice.
Narlene was far from impressed. But she had to do this. And truthfully, this was probably the best place to come for this particular need.
"Excuse me?" Narlene said walking towards the plywood that was obviously the make-shift service counter.
"You lost kitten?" The hybrid snarled at her.
Narlene looked the hybrid over wondering if this was really such a good idea. The hybrid was obviously of mixed lineage, most noticeably lion. But it really wasn't her mixed heritage that was bothering Narlene. It was her surly and gruff appearance. And even from a few feet away, Narlene was literally overwhelmed by the odor pouring off her body.
"No, I'm not lost. I'm here to be clawed." Narlene said moving to remove her wallet from her bag.
"Clawed??? Sweetie, this ain't no beauty parlor. We can't give you a manicure." The hybrid next to her slurred out in intoxicated mumbles.
"Yeah, you don't want to be here." The lion agreed obviously trying to dismiss her.
"Look, I know what I want. And I want you to perform this procedure. NOW!" Narlene hissed out wondering if either of the hybrids would dare to challenge her physically.
She suspected that the lion was far too old and damaged to be much of a threat to her. And well the other, though much younger she was obviously far too inebriated to be much of a threat. Besides, Narlene had every confidence in her ability to defend herself.
After all, she was of pure predator lineage. She wasn't mixed, not like these two. And as she carefully glanced at the creature lying to her side, she struggled to see any dominant trait in the girl's features at all. She looked to be a bit of everything. If anything, she was a complete and total mutt.
"Kitten, I wouldn't come in here and make demands. Not if you know what's good for you." The lion said finishing her statement with what could only be described as a feeble roar.
"Is that so? Funny, I don't seem to recall asking you what was good for me." Narlene said storming past the lion to stare at the metal shaped claws on the wall.
"I want these ones here. I want you to do it now." Narlene commanded walking back over to the lion to slam her credit slip onto the plywood.
The room grew silent for a moment as both hybrids struggled to make out the markings on the credit slip. Neither of them had ever seen an actual plutonium slip. Oh sure, they had heard of their existence but they never actually imagined that they would see one. And the lion couldn't resist touching it just to feel its essence roll through her fingers.
"You must have one rich wife." The lion commented unable to stop her sudden desire to place the cool sturdy slip against the damage skin of her face.
It felt so cold and firm in her hand. She wanted to make it hers. And she couldn't wait to tell everyone she knew that she had serviced a jungle cat so wealthy she paid in plutonium.
"I don't have all night." Narlene said thinking briefly of Keima waiting all alone in the Lodge for her return.
"Right…what length do you want?" The lion asked removing the solid gold claws from their protective casing against the wall.
"Mmm…what are my options?" Narlene asked running her fingertips over the cold shiny metal that was soon to become a part of her very body.
"Well, there's the social length. Which is about here." The lion said marking off a few scan inches of the gold metal.
Narlene couldn't help but smile as she thought of the fashion statement she could now make. A few other women in the tribe had been clawed. But none of them had anything quite as extravagant as this. Most of them had filled their body with a metal substitute. No one had gold filling the very tips of their fingers. No, she would be all alone in her wealth and beauty.
"Or there is weapon length…" The lion tossed out the comment not expecting the demure jungle cat to become so interested in the suggestion.
"Weapon length?" Narlene asked very aroused by the idea.
"Yeah, like this…" The lion commented stepping away to show her hands more clearly to the jungle cat.
First her nails were a modest length, nothing that would alarm anyone. Then they slowly extended to a longer more fashionable length. And finally, they rose from her fingers like long jagged knives gleaming in the very air around them.
"Oh, what is this?" Narlene asked cautiously touching the length of one extended claw.
"It's just a metal blend." The lion answered wishing that she could afford the gold claws that the jungle cat was so casually purchasing.
"I want weapon length." Narlene said firmly. She walked over to what she could only assume was the medical station. Glancing around at her less then cleanly environment, she hoped that she didn't catch something dreadful from being in this place.
"Are you sure?" The lion asked trying to give the girl a chance to reconsider. Not many women were interested in defending themselves through razor sharp claws. But apparently, this lone jungle cat was the exception to the rule.
"Yes…But I want to be clear on one thing. The claws will be fully retractable. Won't they?" Narlene asked knowing that sexual intimacy would be completely impossibly with razor sharp claws adorning every single one of her fingers.
"Of course…" The lion answered with a widening smirk.
She knew why the girl had asked, and for some reason it set her heart at ease. This girl wasn't so terribly different from all the others. She had someone that loved her. And this jungle cat wanted to make sure that her new gold nails wouldn't interfere with a loving embrace. And the lion had to respect her caution.
"You're really gonna do this?" The hybrid suddenly chimed in. She looked at the jungle cat through a complete aura of disbelief and amusement.
Narlene was growing weary of this creature's company. She hated to be judged. People made assumptions about her all the time. Even Keima had held one very ill-fated notion about her behavior and character.
The warrior had mistakenly thought that she would patiently wait. And now because of her arrogance, she was gagged and locked away in her private rooms. No one would know that Keima was even there. Not until she had already set her trap. And by that time, it would far too late for anyone to help the golden warrior…
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CONTINUED...