"Annie, Kayleen. Who won?" Dragena asked with her hands behind her back.

"Wolf hag Kayleen won as usual, warlord." Annie quickly bowed, while Kayleen simply shrugged and pointed at Annie wordlessly.

"Wise choice, scout. Your mischief annoys me, however. My pack is supposed to hold themselves to greater standards. As a punishment, both of you will fix the broken floor and serve as cooks for next week. Cleaning duties will also be on you both for next month. If you have so much energy to spare, you will manage to keep our toilets clean," Dragena's one ear moved slightly, and she narrowed her eyes, putting her right hand on her own belly, "Both of you look unworthy. Off to the barracks to clean yourselves up, then back here for repair duty. I will appraise the damage and apologize to the personnel, after using the restroom. "

"Yes, warlord!" Saluted both Kayleen and Annie before storming out of the kitchen.

The wolf hag leaped forward, ignoring Annie or her own wounds, crossing several meters with each leap. Annie wanted to charge after her, but noticed the familiar figure near the entrance, outside of the kitchen building. Lia, the cub of the Insect Commune, was standing close to the entrance. Her outer chitin was shredding bit by bit, revealing a gorgeous looking blue chitin shell underneath. She now possessed both arms that resembled those of a human, one of her eyes changed to a square shaped compound eye of yellow coloration. Before, the thin arms of the girl were thinner than the wrists of a normie, now however, all of her limbs looked much thicker. Annie once saw Lia turning a piece of stone into dust with a simple hit of her palm, all under the guidance of Alpha.

Next to a girl stood a man on one knee. He was dressed in a simple-looking green suit, one that many traders wore in the region. The man had short black hair, his skin was unusually pale for the region. He looked just like every other person in the Wastes, there were nothing remarkable or memorable about him, aside from his calm posture. Most locals were uneasy when speaking with members of the Insect Commune.

"… Please think about your future. If you decide to go back, you will have no choice. They will force you, not persuade, force you to give an oath. Is this what you really want?" The man’s words sounded like a snake that was wrapping around the hypnotized victim, "Choice and free will are the two greatest things in this world."

"But… Ma will miss me." Lia muttered, and the man put his hand on her shoulder, showing no sign of distress upon touching the chitin. This cemented the idea that he was a trader in Annie's mind. These people often go for goods in Oathatker's lands.

"Of course, she will miss you. I fully understand your concerns, and this is why she and anyone else whom you want to see will be allowed to see you at any given time, you may even invite others to go and live with you in the Core Lands. Don’t worry, you won’t lose anyone anymore. But please, right now you must make the right choice. You are not a thing, you do not owe anything to anyone. You are a living being, a being who has free will. Please do not throw away your ability to choose, at least not until you have seen the world. You deserve a better life than this."

"Sir, I want to see my mother. I will go back to my homeland," Lia almost whispered these words, "Please let me go, I have things to do."

"I appreciate your honesty and I do not want to hold you against your will, but are you sure that you understand the consequences of losing free will? You will not be able to choose right from wro…" The man continued to speak, refusing to remove the arm from the shoulder of a cub.

Annie felt increased annoyance at the situation. One, the cub should not be outside at such a late time. Two, the soldiers should be here, escorting this weirdo to the closest cell and leading Lia back to the safety of the ward. And yet, patrols seemingly ignored the situation.

Fine, I will do it myself if needed, you lazy bastards.

"Hey, asshole!" The man turned toward Annie in a surprise, looking at her with purple eyes, "The cub asked you to leave her alone. Get your paw off her, before I shove it down your as…"

She squeaked in sudden pain as someone lifted her in the air like a child lifting a doll. Annie saw neither the attacker, nor the movement, in one moment she was standing on the ground, the next moment she was looking at the top of the kitchen building with her legs dangling in the air, unable to reach the ground, while an unknown attacker was choking the life out of her with a hold, more resembling an industrial press.

"How dare you speak like this with…" Annie finally saw the one who grabbed her. Outsider. His clawed hand covered with chitin was holding her by the throat. His calm voice disappeared, burning fury ready to be unleashed into a storm was now behind his every word. A sense of utter despair fell on Annie, she could find no strength to even resist his hold. Once something underneath the black hood looked at her, her will to resist was just gone in an instant, scout no longer even had the strength to breath, much less to speak. Outsider’s grasp held her neck close to the point of snapping, however Annie made no attempt to frantically fight back for her life or try to unclench his cruel grasp. What’s the point in anything…?

"Commander! Let go of the scout, no harm was meant to anyone." Calmly said the purple-eyed man.

The hold on Annie’s throat disappeared, and she nearly fell to the ground. And yet somehow, her fall slowed to a crawl, as if her entire body was wrapped in a thin membrane that held her entire body in the air. The desire to breathe, the desire to live came back once again and the scout blinked in surprise, unsure of what just happened. The strange force that enveloped her lowered her to the ground gently, and Outsider stepped back, not once stopping looking at the man. Annie tried to touch her neck and understood that she couldn’t reach either skin nor even fur. Like a collar made of air, something was around her neck, massaging it and helping blood run freely. In a couple of moments, the mysterious force was gone and the fingers of the scout reached her neck.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Annie took a deep breath before Lia ran toward her, asking if she was fine.

"Yes, of course I am fine." She swallowed, unsure of what had just happened to her. How could she not even try to defend herself? Was it because her opponent was Outsider? Was she really this cowardly to abandon the fate of her pack and accept death?

"But you have blood on you knuckles and…" The cub argued, pointing to the injuries and bruises.

"That’s not my doing. She was in brawl before…" Outsider started.

"You will have to prove it in court, mister! Annie, you should sue his ass for physical assault and possible sexual harassment!" Lia stomped on the ground.

"The what?!" Outsider and Annie asked in unison.

"Her mother works for the Oathtakers as a lawyer, the girl does not really understand what she is saying." said the purple-eyed man.

Before Annie could say anything else, she felt a tingle of fear, as if some unknown predator was closing in on her. She looked around: the refugee center was still brightly lit, soldiers and patrols were inspecting the area, tired-looking maintenance teams were hauling broken items into hangars for repair, and trucks carrying food and medications were arriving even now. And yet every single bone, every single hair on her screamed: Grab the cub and run. Hide! Run!

Something softly landed from the roof two steps away from Outsider. Warlord Alpha raised her head, standing up. Her topknot was gone, her crimson hair freely running across her back. She was dressed in half a shirt and black pants, long gloves made of reinforced material covered her paws, running all the way to her elbows. At her paws, gloves formed a sphere, fully hiding the dreaded claws and giving Alpha an uncanny resemblance to a boxer. Lia whimpered from fear as Alpha looked around. The eyes of the warlord looked at the cub, and a wave of fear disappeared, as if someone had turned on the light in a dark room, revealing scary silhouettes to be nothing more than a pile of clothes.

"What are you doing outside the ward at such a late hour, child?" Alpha demanded to know, utterly ignoring everyone around her.

"I wanted…" Lia staggered for a moment, then quickly continued, "I wanted to ask something Annie, yes that it!"

"What exactly?" Annie asked in confusion.

"It’s… uh… it’s a secret. Not for the ears of the others. And then this strange man started speaking with me, and Annie saved me, and then an even scarier man appeared and beat up Annie…"

"Slander and exaggerations!" Outsider snapped with anger in his voice, but quickly calmed himself as the purple-eyed man lifted his hand, "I only choked the scout a bit, after she dared to threaten…"

"That is what is called assault in our lands, commander Outsider." Kassandra said in a cheerful voice, coming to them from the corner of a building. Despite black circles around her eyes and sweat on her skin, her eyes gleamed with energy. The agent tugged at the collar of her coat, making sure it still fit perfectly, "You are not a Wolf Tribe member, so you have no right to lay hands on a fellow soldier," she said fearlessly as she approached a figure shrouded in a cloak, smiling to the darkness beneath the hood, "The soldiers here are all volunteers, and you initiated the fight with one of them right in front of the refugee's eyes. Breach of protocol aside, in what light does it paint us before ourselves and others, commander?"

"It was my fault," The man in green clothes said in an assured voice, spreading his arms wide in a gesture of peace, "I merely wanted to help you with persuading our little guest from making the worst mistake in her life."

"And by doing this…" As Kassandra turned to him, her long coat swirled and created a black circle around her legs, "… You scared our guest. Will this help us in any way? Please stop helping us like this, sir, we no longer live in the days of the Fall. Today are civilized times and we must settle everything with civilized methods just as y…"

"I accept this reproach and will strive to become better," The man placed his right hand on his chest, right over his heart, and bowed, "Agent Kassandra, I will leave this place in your care. Please watch over the weak and vulnerable, keep them safe from harm."

Saying this, the man turned away from the kitchen and walked toward the hangars in the north, waving his hand over his head in goodbye. Annie briefly wondered what sort of trader he was when she noticed that the eyes of Alpha were still burrowing into the scared cub, making Lia grab the clothes of the scout in fear.

"Your scent was all around camp. If you merely wanted to find Annie, you sure went out of your way. Will you give me an honest answer, or do you no longer trust me?" The warlord's voice was surprisingly calm and soothing, despite her appearance.

"I wanted to find some apples. He screams at night again," Lia looked at the ground in shame, "Please don’t tell anyone, I don’t want others to tea…"

"It makes sense, boy lost his arm after all. Lia, you should have come to me right away, kid needs someone to speak with, not treats right now. He raced from your hometown to refugees in the Ravaged Lands, carrying you in his arm and severely injured. Most people will be scared after such a trial," Alpha stopped for a moment, then looked at Outsider, "Outsider." Kindness was gone from the voice of the warlord, her regular threatening speech returned in just a single word.

"Alpha." Outsider responded with an icy tone.

"You ever lay a hand on one of my kin again, I will take this hand away. We clear?"

"We are all allies here and in front of guest. Please do not fight on my…" Annie tried to say something, but both beings ignored her while looking at each other. Outsider was slightly lower than Alpha, but surely the warlord could not hope to threaten someone of his rank and power.

"You may take it right now," Outsider extended his arm, "I messed up and mistakes must always be repaid. Go on, doctors will grow a new arm for me in a couple of days."

"Too big of an honor for you to get off so easily. You heard the girl, she wanted to find apples. You got my clue?"

"Tomorrow the wards will be flooded with apples, strawberries, oranges, and treats. I will order delivery right n…" The eyes of Alpha kept burrowing Outsider and he sighed, "Fine. Tonight. I will fly after them myself, not like anything can happen here, not with you around."

"Then, if we are all friends once more, let us escort young Lia back to the ward." Kassandra clapped her hands together and smiled and extended her arm toward Lia, but the young cub went to Alpha instead. The agent, still smiling, only shrugged her shoulders carelessly.

Alpha nodded at her own right shoulder and Lia jumped on it, crossing the distance in a single leap and holding herself tightly with four limbs.

"Thank you for trying to help, Annie!" Lia waved her hand.

"Don’t mention it! Sleep well!" The scout returned the smile.

"Come, we have a boy to speak with." Said Alpha, walking away.

"One more thing, please! Mister Outsider, are you a former member of the Insect Commune?" Lia asked, and Alpha slowed down her walk.

"Unfortunately, I do not have an honor of being a member of such noble people, nor do I have any blood ties with them. Have a good night, young one." Outsider leaped into the air, a shimmering disk appeared under his feet, a disk that lifted him above the buildings. The edges of the disk flowed upward, encasing the being on the disc within a bright sphere that hung in the air for a couple of moments before shooting outside the borders of the refugee center, leaving a shining trace behind like a comet.

"Well, all is well, that ends well. You play cards?" Kassandra asked.

"Sorry, I have a kitchen to repair and food to serve." Annie smiled back with a guilty face.