Chapter 3:
Behind the Warleader
The companions walked briskly through Kettering, and sure enough Miranda was right about them creating a spectacle. The various townsfolk openly gawked at the nine of them as they purposefully trod out of town, the eclectic group obviously carrying enough supplies for a long journey.
Nameless would have been self conscious but he found that his concern for Nina and Volka drove all the attention from his mind.
Just as promised they met up with Yana Brael and her tac-team outside of town and the Amazons formed around them while they set out on their quest.
They would journey first to Wayfelt, then take the long road east until they descended into the lowlands and the wilds beyond.
As they left his home behind it quickly became apparent that Nameless had a reputation amongst the warrior women. And despite his own worries he found himself growing increasingly uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny he received from them.
One in particular sidled up to him as he walked and launched into conversation.
“Well met Valkyrja ! I am Kar, third behind the warleader.”
Though like all of the other Amazons she was quite tall, Kar was built differently than Yana and Kala, less muscular and more lithe, a stalking panther rather than a charging lioness. Her long dark-blonde hair was kept in a loose ponytail flowing down her back.
She carried the typical Amazonian spear but also wore a brace of throwing knives on her wrist. Her sparkling blue eyes held a joyful warmth that the numerous scars on her honey coloured skin did nothing to diminish.
It was that warmth that Nameless picked up on, finding her to be less intimidating than the others and so he was able to remember his manners… mostly.
“Er, hello. I-I’m Nameless.”
“Indeed you are! Make no mistake, your name, or lack thereof, will soon be known to all those who stand against the darkness!”
“Um... thanks?”
“Ha! Modesty is not a virtue my people are used to! Truly, you behave as if you are not Valkyrja at all!”
“What does that word even mean?” Erica huffed from Milly’s right, none too happy with the attractive woman’s nearness to her master.
“It means that you have bonded with a great man, and this makes you great as well, little sister.” Kar said affectionately.
Erica didn’t know how to respond to that.
“You are pretty great kitty.” Milly said with a big smile for the often insecure Katje.
“I do believe it refers to someone who has been blessed by the Valkyrie.” Ophelia called from above them.
Her fluttering wings carrying her in lazy loops around the group, though Yana had quickly requested that she not go far when she first took flight.
Kar nodded up at the flying woman.
“Indeed! You brought the Gigas out of her darkness, and she nearly took my head off with that hammer of hers so getting as close as you did speaks of great courage.”
“Or stupidity.” Nina said with a snort.
She trailed along behind them, her mood somewhat improved at the memory of him saving her.
Kar chuckled at the giant’s words.
“Still, your man brought a girl out of total regression. Such a feat has not been accomplished since the time of the Valkyrie. And after this achievement you set out on a quest into the wilds to rescue yet another lost girl?” She shook her head, impressed; “You can understand, I think, why myself and the other unbonded amongst my war-sisters have taken an interest in your husband!”
Nameless had turned tomato red; he was thoroughly unaccustomed to such flattering words, and from a total stranger no less.
“Th-thanks?”
Kar abruptly sidled up to him, one firm breast pressed against the top of his shoulder as her hand trailed down his spine while they walked.
“ Valkyrja , you have many women to satisfy, what is one more? I assure you, I am a very skilled lover…” She whispered down at him, her voice husky as her hand drifted ever lower.
Reading the woman’s intentions, Milly firmly grabbed her hand to remove it before she reached his ass. The Amazon resisted, but her strength wasn’t a match for the protective Minotaur.
Kar looked at her arm and gave a low whistle, impressed.
“Well done youngling! You are strong, yet you have so few scars?”
“I don’t like hurting people, unless they mess with my mate.” Her chin jutted out pugnaciously as she spoke.
She drew him close to her side, he would have been embarrassed by her protective stance, but he was too flustered by the woman’s forwardness and so he leaned into her embrace.
“Mmm, a gentle nature, and clearly he appreciates it… I shall have to work on that, we warriors are so rarely gentle!”
Nina frowned, their failure the other night still fresh in her mind.
“S-so how long have you been with the Aegis?”
The woman seemed quite happy to walk alongside them, and Nameless felt it would be rude to ignore her so he did his best to make small talk despite her handsy approach to breaking the ice.
“Since the warleader was tamed by Aegis Booker.”
“Tamed? Really?”
These girls struck him as anything but tame.
“Indeed.” Her tone was light; “It is a thrilling tale if you wish to hear it?”
Nameless nodded, curious. She tilted her head in thought, deciding where to begin.
“It was many years ago, Juni, the Undine on her back, had bonded with him a few years prior, making his promotion to operative official. He was in the wilds far to the north, chasing down a man wanted for murder. Unfortunately for the scum he ran into us instead! We made short work of him, but then this dashing stranger burst out of the bushes, an Undine’s water surrounding him, prepared to do battle with the man we had freshly dispatched.”
She was getting into her story now, so were Nameless and the others for that matter.
“Seeing that he was of the Aegis, the warleader sought to challenge him, to test his mettle and see if he would make a worthy mate.” She shook her head in awe; “I will never forget that fight for as long as I live! She moved like lightening, and yet this human matched her blow for blow! They fought for nearly ten full minutes, neither gaining an advantage over the other. He was human though and his endurance waned, and so her victory seemed assured. Until he did the unthinkable…”
She trailed off dramatically, pleased to note that her audience was so rapt with attention.
“What did he do?” Milly breathed out.
Many of the other Amazons were also listening now as Kar finished her tale.
“He let her hit him in order to get through her guard.”
“That’s it?” Erica was skeptical.
“‘Is that it?’ she says!” Kar chuckled; “The blow did cost him an eye!”
“What!?”
Nameless jaw dropped and Kar laughed at their appalled expressions as did more than one of the Amazons around them.
“Anything less and he would have lost! He allowed her to crush his eye so that he could maneuver himself to deliver a final throw, taking the warleader to the ground. She is one of the strongest fighters amongst our people and it was one of very few times in her life that she has been laid low, and by a human no less!”
She laughed again.
The others laughed as well, albeit a bit nervously. All of them thinking the same thing: Amazon courtship was brutal .
“The rest is history!’ She continued with a dismissive wave of one hand; “She surrendered her stone to him almost immediately after regaining her feet and bandaging his eye, and soon enough she joined with Juni as his wife. That left the rest of us with a choice: fight it out to determine the new warleader and continue to live as we had, or follow her and her new husband to the Aegis.”
“Wow.” Erica breathed.
“Indeed, she is a great leader and so it was no choice at all, though truly I think more than one of us had their eyes set on Aegis Booker as well! So impressed were we with him.” She tilted her head and her expression turned thoughtful; “Except young Kala, though I imagine it would be too strange to couple with the same man as your sister.”
“Wait, so Kala really is Yana’s sister?” Erica asked.
“Yes, though she is many years younger, and is as yet un-blooded. That is something we all know she is eager to change, so it is good that she married such a shrewd woman as Aegis Holt, keeps her out of trouble.”
“Except when she tries to murder our master for no reason.” Milly muttered while shaking her head slightly.
Kar’s eyebrow rose incredulously.
“Well now! It would seem I am not the only one with a story to tell! And I would also like to hear how you all bonded to your husband. I’ll admit I am a sucker for a good love story!”
It took a while but Nameless and the others soon told Kar of their initial meetings, with each other and with Miranda and her bond-mates.
She was a good audience, gasping at all the right moments, and laughing when appropriate.
In fact, she laughed so hard she had tears streaming out of the corners of her eyes when they recounted how Jezebel and Kala had ambushed him, having mistaken him for a rapist.
“Because you are so tiny! Ha!” She gasped in a breath and smacked her thigh repeatedly.
Nina laughed nearly as hard, as she hadn’t heard the story either. Though the other girls didn’t find it as funny, and more than a few dirty looks were shot at the back of Kala’s head where she walked beside Miranda and her bond-sisters.
They travelled in silence for a while after that, until Erica broke it again.
“Hey, I’m curious, the other Undine who was with Miranda, um Nadia? Nalia? She walked with us on the way home from Wayfelt. So how come Juni rides in that big jug thing?”
The mirth left Kar’s face as her look turned grave and she heaved a sigh before she spoke.
“A few years ago, a smuggler set a warehouse we were raiding ablaze, brave Juni stayed behind to try to contain the fire, but she ran out of water and was badly burned.” She shook her head, her tone mournful; “She is afraid to leave the water at all now, save to join her husband and wife in bed.”
“That’s awful.” Milly said with a sniffle.
Kar nodded solemnly before continuing.
“I have never seen my warleader angrier than she was that day, so rest assured the woman who set that fire met a bitter end on the point of her spear. After that she pledged to always carry enough water for her sister-wife to never have to fear fire again. And that is no mere jug either! A Gnome formed that gourd out of her clay and Xalanth herself fired it, so it is well nigh indestructible.”
She had a slight grin then as her look turned wistful.
“Ever since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to see Dragon-fire.”
So intrigued were they by her story that none of them thought to mention they had seen it that morning…
They walked on, thoughtful expressions on their faces as they considered the back of Yana, who walked alongside Miranda, deep in their own conversation. Juni was partly emerged from her water, leaning over Yana’s shoulder to join in the conversation, her blue skinned back exposed to them.
“It must be very heavy…” Ophelia observed.
Kar shrugged.
“Indeed, but she does not see it as a burden. And beyond doubt, I have witnessed her strength grow from carrying it all this time and I suspect she could match even you Milly. There are none amongst our number who could best her in combat now. And woe-betide any foe who angers her to the point that she actually sets that gourd down!”
As they walked Nameless found himself relaxing around the friendly woman. It certainly helped that she quit trying to grab his ass, and even though she expressed more than a passing interest in bonding with him, she was being fairly polite about it.
Nameless was pleased to note that after a few miles Milly seemed to be accustomed to her shoes, happily clopping along the packed dirt of the road. This meant he had plenty of time to worry about his own feet which, after several hours, were stiff and sore.
Fortunately they made camp in the late afternoon a few miles east of Wayfelt, and he quickly realized that he was the reason, the rest of the party fully capable of traveling for several more hours if need be.
“It’s your first day on the road kid. I remember you said this Volka chick wasn’t in any imminent danger so let’s not overdue it.” Miranda told him as she and Kala worked to set up their tent.
The experienced operative had taken one look at the gathering clouds and pronounced that it would rain in a few hours.
“Aye Valkyrja , save your strength. My warriors and I will see to the physical needs of your journey, at least as far as we are able.” Yana agreed.
Nameless wanted to object but he was pretty tired from the long walk.
“Yeah, we’d be happy to see to your physical needs.” Another Amazon chimed in while deftly setting up a simple lean-to, her words gained a laugh from the others.
“Tread carefully Tiana! You may anger both a Minotaur and a Gigas if you do not!” Kar threw back with another laugh.
The easy camaraderie between the Amazons was quite charming to the orphan and he felt a bit wistful, the problem with Nina still hung over him and his girls. And so after they had set up their own big tent Nameless took Miranda’s advice and tried talking with her again.
“Um… Nina?”
“What?” She said flatly.
Not a great start.
“I-I just wondered if we could talk a bit.”
The other girls had frozen in the midst of setting up their bedding at the start of the conversation, not daring to interrupt.
“You gunna say you’re sorry again?” She flopped down onto her bedroll in the corner, her hammer hitting the ground with a heavy thud beside her.
“Do you want me to?” He kept his tone as level as he could.
She sat up and considered him for several seconds before shaking her head.
“No, I don’t. But would it be okay if…” She trailed off and took a breath.
He waited, and after a few more seconds she let out a gust of air and continued.
“Would it be okay if I apologized to you? To all of you?”
There was a beat.
“Oh Nina, dearheart…” Ophelia fussed; “You have nothing to apologize for!”
Milly nodded and Erica spoke quickly.
“Yeah! Look, I should have been more patient with you!”
Nina huffed again.
“You fuckers need to learn how to accept an apology. I mean, do you know how many times in my life I’ve offered one? I was being an ass-hat.”
The all shared a nervous laugh at her candid words.
“Nina, I promise, we’ll figure this out. Together.” Nameless swore, meaning every word.
But she was shaking her head again.
“No, we need to focus on finding Volka, though if you lot want to bone I’m okay with it. In fact, I’d be mad if you didn’t.”
More nervous laughter.
“That sounds lovely dear, but first we have things to take care of. It is way past time for us to properly milk Milly, and I imagine she would appreciate it.”
Milly raised both hands in front of her to protest but a nodding Erica was already tugging on her shirt.
“Come on hot stuff! Show us the goods!”
A few minutes later and Ophelia and Erica were both suckling at Milly’s breasts. Being unable to realistically milk her while they traveled, they had decided to simply drink their fill from her whenever they had a few moments but that first day they simply hadn’t had a chance.
She mooed in satisfaction; feeling definitely spoiled as she sat on her thighs and fed her sisters while her master stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders.
“How are your feet?”
Nameless spoke softly, not wanting to ruin the relaxed atmosphere that had abruptly settled over them.
“They’re fine. These shoes are great…” She sighed, utterly blissed out at the feeling of Erica purring against her nipple.
Of the two girls Erica was definitely the more active suckler, while Ophelia certainly enjoyed Milly’s milk she was much more polite about getting at it. Nina had made a hasty exit, saying that she needed to talk with the Amazons about something while Erica was still wrestling Milly’s shirt off.
“And the other thing?” He was trying to be delicate, so it was no surprise that she missed his cue.
“Hmm?”
“It’s just, you were so upset when I bonded with Nina and we really haven’t had a chance to talk much about it.”
“Oh! Master, it really is okay now!”
“Are you sure? It went from the two of us to the six of us in just a few days, and after last night…”
She leaned back into him as he worked his fingers into her neck muscles, Erica and Ophelia both watched from her breasts.
“I never told you about the arena did I?” She asked.
Her eyes were distant while her fingers absently played with Erica’s ears and Ophelia’s hair.
“No, you never did, though I saw some of it in Nina’s mind.”
He didn’t want to pry into her painful past but if she wanted to talk about it then he would certainly listen. She thought for a few moments and then began to speak again.
“The worst part was seeing how it upset Erica, and knowing that Brant only did it to hurt her. There was an entry fee you see, and he knew since I didn’t want to hurt anyone that he was just throwing the money away. But he was willing to do it to keep my sister in line…”
Tears formed in Erica’s eyes and she made to pull away from Milly’s pink nipple, but the Minotaur held her in place.
“Kitty isn’t done her meal yet.” She scolded quietly.
Erica tried to protest but Milly shook her head.
“It’s okay Erica, I am not scared anymore and he needs to know what Nina did for us.” She smiled down at her beloved sister.
Erica met her eyes for a long moment, then nodded and continued to drink her fill. Ophelia was finished though and gently wiped at her lips with a wet cloth.
“I would like to know as well dearheart.” She said quietly and ran the soft fabric in a circle around the cow’s moist nipple.
Milly lowed again, eyes closing briefly with pleasure, and then continued her tale.
“It was a horrible feeling, knowing that he was paying money to hurt us. And it went on for months, and then one day I was put in the ring again… and this little girl shows up! I was pretty mad that they wanted me to hurt someone so small, and I thought it was a horribly cruel joke… right up until she hit me.”
Oddly, she smiled at the memory.
Milly caught Ophelia’s furrowed brow and explained.
“Every time I was in the ring, I was always terrified of what the other girl would do to me, because I knew that the more I was hurt, the more Erica would be hurt. But from that day onwards, whenever the little red girl was in the arena with me, I knew that I had gotten lucky. The spectators wanted a fight but neither of us gave them one, not really. She would hit me, because she had to. But after the first time it was never even hard enough to leave a bruise, she was just pushing me over. She was the only one who I could count on to let me lose without hurting me.”
Milly suddenly spoke louder.
“I was always so grateful, and wished I could thank her in some way. Come back inside please Nina, join us?”
There was a rustle from outside, and Nina walked into the tent. They all looked up, even Erica, with her acute hearing, had missed her presence outside the tent.
“I told you, it wasn’t like I was doing you a favour or anything. It just wasn’t right to fight someone who didn’t even want to be there.” Nina studiously avoided looking at Milly’s bared breasts.
“Maybe not, but you still did it.” Ophelia said warmly as she fluttered over to the diminutive girl.
She took the Gigas by the shoulder and led her to stand with the others.
Erica had finally drunk her fill, and after a few quick licks to Milly’s nipple she turned to Nina.
“Yeah, you did, and we’ll always love you for it. Now our sister wants to thank you, and I think I know exactly how.” She grinned; “So I hope you’re hungry!”
“What?! No, I’m fine thanks!” Nina tried to back pedal but Ophelia hugged her from behind and whispered something in her ear.
Nameless didn’t catch it but Erica did.
“You did promise, lover.” Her smile was smug.
“That was-! I said I would lick her pussy, not suck on her tits!”
Milly pouted, and Nina suddenly looked guilty.
Erica rolled her eyes.
“Same thing! Milly has too much milk right now so we all need to pitch in, and that includes you, now drink up!”
Nina opened her mouth to say something else but Milly’s pout was working its way through her defenses. That and her eyes kept flicking back to Milly’s naked breasts, a curious hunger in her belly.
She had drunk her milk before; there was no way she couldn’t have in the time they had already spent together. Though drinking a glass from the icebox was a teensy bit different…
She vacillated some more, so Nameless shifted down in front of Milly in a bid to take the pressure off the Gigas.
“I actually wouldn’t mind a drink myself.” Calmly he hefted her breast to his lips and licked her nipple into his mouth.
Milly managed to hold back on letting out another moo at her master’s attention, instead keeping her gaze fixed on Nina, pleading with her eyes.
Mighty warrior or not, Nina was no match for Milly’s loving stare and soon stood next to her kneeling master, both hands hefting Milly’s massive breast to her lips.
“It’s okay Nina, I need this. Will you please help me out again?”
Nina groaned at Milly’s words and stamped a petulant foot, causing the tent walls to shake from the impact.
“This is just so weird !”
Ophelia rested one hand on Milly’s shoulders and shook her head down at the Gigas.
“It really isn’t dearheart. It’s the most natural thing in the world, and the best thing I have ever tasted.” She gave Milly’s shoulder a firm rub.
The Minotaur smiled in response, biting her lip at the memory of Ophelia’s face between her thighs...
Nina would have hesitated some more, but Erica snuck up behind her and whispered in her ear.
“Time for talking is done sweet-cheeks, now it’s time for some tit-sucking action. Or are you too scared?”
That did it.
“I’m not afraid of anything you dumb cat!”
The determined Nina abruptly engulfed Milly’s nipple and sucked forcefully.
Milly yelped at the almost violent suction but quickly recovered as her cream flooded the red-skinned girl’s mouth. Nameless once again marveled at the rich flavour; he doubted anything in the world could be as satisfying. Soon enough Nina felt the same way.
“We’re family now Nina, you can trust us. We’ll never hurt you, or let you deal with this shit alone.”
Erica surprised everyone with her heartfelt words as she stroked Nina’s hair behind her ears with her fingers. The Gigas continued to suck on Milly’s nipple, studiously ignoring the Katje.
Ophelia let out a breath and gave Erica a worried look, the cat girl stretched out her hand and they entwined their fingers.
“We’ll figure it out. She’ll come around.” Ophelia murmured, low enough that only Erica could catch it.
Erica squeezed her sister’s hand in response.
Nameless and Nina continued to feed, and as they did he hesitantly outstretched his arm and put it around her narrow shoulders, giving her a hug. He felt her tense up in his arm, but didn’t release her.
Milly leaned her head down and began to groom the pair of them with her tongue, but that quickly proved to be too much for the Gigas. She released the cow’s nipple with a wet pop and stammered out a thank you before fleeing to her corner of the tent and flopping onto her bedroll on her side facing away from them.
The Minotaur’s shoulders slumped, and Nameless hugged her around the middle. He was also done with his meal so he nestled his face between her soft breasts and breathed her scent deeply as she returned his embrace.
“We’ll figure it out.” Ophelia said again, louder this time.