"My boot got wet. How… unsightly," The woman before Annie lifted her left leg, dispassionately looking at her own boot for a moment. Putting her leg back on the ground, she addressed Annie, "My name is Camelia Wintersong, and you and I will have a talk."
Annie took one step back against her will. Sword saint, one of the greatest members of the Ice Fang order. Equal to warlords in both skills and military insight, these individuals often wielded more than one power. Even a single sword saint was enough to make shamans fearful, as these were truly the opponents worthy of warlords. To make it worse, the individual who stood before Annie was famous even among other sword saints, ruling as a matriarch over the third strongest house in the Ice Fang order. Known as the Striking Blow, Camelia once had a sparring match against warlord Zero, a sparring match that the sword saint gracefully won. In a war, sword saint Camelia was known for being able to leave a trail of destruction in her wake, even enemy tanks often ended up being crushed into a pile of rubble with a single hit from Camelia. Annie knew all the rumors about this woman, yet the scout was confused by the weapon of the sword saint. Camelia was known for her superheavy long spear, not for her prowess with the sword. No wolfkin of the Ice Fang order would ever part with their personal weapon willingly.
"What… what do you want to talk about?" Annie forced herself to be calm. There were rumors about the explosive temper of this woman, but no shaman ever claimed that Camelia was a danger to other wolfkins. They were all allies, surely nothing bad could happen.
"Our dear cousins of the Wolf Tribe are such a rare sight to see in the Core Lands. Keep calm, for in my presence you are safe from harm, young one." Camelia’s burning gaze locked itself on the eyes of Annie. The crimson flame in the eyes of the sword saint looked unnatural for the scout. Instead of spilling out like a light, the crimson color in the pupils of the sword saint devoured the whites of her eyes, coloring them entirely red.
"Safe? Just like warlord Kalaisa was safe in the very home of the Ice Fangs?" Annie allowed herself to mock this inane proposition, "Thanks, but I ref…"
Scout bit her tongue and took one more step back. The expression of the being before her did not change, the lips of Camelia were still locked in the straight line and there was calmness in her eyes. And yet anger, not rage but pure, undistilled anger, sprouted in all directions from the elegant form, hitting Annie as physically as a real whip could. Scout wanted to fall on her knees and beg forgiveness or try and run away. Anger emanating from Camelia felt akin to a natural disaster, one that flattens everything in its path rather than anger directed at a person. And in a flash, that anger was gone, as if someone had turned another channel on a TV. Instead of raging fire, ice calmness wrapped into a human form now stood once more before the scout. Fear let go of Annie's chest, and the scout took a deep breath, warily watching the being before her.
"You were saying something. Carry on," Camelia lifted her paw in a generous gesture before cocking her head to the left side, looking at Annie like an archeologist would look at the curiosity, "I scared you. Annoying. Make something clear to me then. The majordomo of the Sunblade clan reported that you attacked young Zeke. Why did you do that?"
"Lies!" Annie clenched her fists, biting her tongue to feel the blood. She should have known. Blasted ice boys, always flipping everything upside down to... She closed her eyes, tasting blood in her mouth and calming herself by force. Opening her eyes, she continued speaking calmly, "It was not an attack. He and I had a proper sparring match. But in this match, I did break my own rules and went overboard. I ask forgiveness for this."
"Sparring match, you say? This was not what I heard," Camelia said. Not allowing Annie to refute or explain the situation, Camelia produced a golden terminal from the right pocket of her jacket. Her fingers pressed something, and she elegantly lifted the terminal to her ear, calling someone, "Zeke? Apologies for the call at such a late hour," The sword saint asked with a hint of steel in her voice, "I want you to clear something for me. Your majordomo told me that you came under attack by the wolfkin named A…" She fell silent for a moment, listening to heated words on the other side of the terminal. Finally, the sword saint nodded, speaking in a slightly more honeyed tone now, "I see. No, there will be no need for this, I will clear up all misunderstandings myself. One more thing, Zeke. Never interrupt a sword saint ever again. Protocols exist for a reason." Not allowing the person on the other side to answer, Camelia put the terminal back into her pocket, looking a bit more warmly at the wolfkin before her, "I suppose your scramble with young Ulrica was blown out of proportion by her guardian as well. Just when you think that we are supposed to be better than this… On behalf of the Ice Fang order, I ask thee to accept our apologies for this slander," The sword saint made an elegant bow to the surprised Annie, "Oaksters will be informed about…"
"Apologies accepted and there is no need to speak with anyone about this any further. Please, just let me leave in peace." The scout said quickly, feeling a strange sensation. It felt almost like someone’s eyes were locked at the base of her neck.
"In a few moments, perhaps. There are still things to clear," Camelia said, walking in a circle around Annie and pointing to the distant mansion with her paw, "I spoke with young lady Svetlana when she first arrived here, but she had no answer for me. "Nonetheless, allow me to say that Svetlana is a charming young lady with a bright future ahead of her. You should be proud to have such sister."
"I am proud of her," Annie responded calmly, unclenching her fists and allowing claws to slide freely out of her fingers, "If you plan to hurt her in any way or…"
Another surge of anger stopped Annie mid-sentence, but this time scout stood her ground, looking in the crimson eyes of the deadly being before her. Camelia was ancient, she saw Ravager and even fought side by side with her. And now this being is clearly insulted. A mere gesture from this being could have easily ended the life of Annie in an instant. Sword saints were accustomed to being respected, even revered by those they considered to be their inferiors. For all their rumored manners, sword saints were a product of the older era, they were just as wild as members of the Wolf Tribe.
"No, I will never harm her. This I swear," The sword saint hissed, stopping in place with the mansion behind her. Running a paw over her perfect muzzle, Camelia calmed herself, "Your distrust is… annoying, cousin. I merely want to have a healthy conversation with you."
"What do you want, cousin?" Annie asked plainly.
"Aranea Wintersong. Where is she?" Camelia replied in the same tone as Annie. The long ears of the sword saint twitched in annoyance at the familiarity, but otherwise the woman showed no sign of anger.
"She is dead and buried."
"Who is the liar now? You just threw an accusation about dear Kalaisa against me. However, there was no accusation made against me about her daughter's fate. Surely, after seeing the Core Lands even you have to admit that the Wastes are not the place for a child to grow up. Certainly not among the cruelty of the Wolf Tribe," Camelia once more tilted her head to the side, waiting for a response. Annie pressed her lips, afraid to say anything that might give the hint to this woman, "Nothing to say? Come with me then."
"Where to?" Annie blinked in surprise.
"I saw you going out of the mansion’s window," Camelia giggled, pressing her right paw to her mouth, "Ah, it reminds me of the days of my youth… Your hostility towards the Ice Fang order is somewhat expected, now that I know that Sunblades once more jumped to conclusions and muddied the waters."
"You have a point?" Annie looked around, desperately wanting to hear the sound of the engine, "I am waiting for someone to pick me up."
"The point is, based on what command told me about you, you're on leave, and there's no reason for you to flee civilization so quickly," Camelia smiled, speaking to Annie like one would speak to a scared cub, "Your fears are easy to guess. If you are afraid of spending time with your sister, how about you spend several days as a guest at my house instead? We have quite a number of things to teach and to show you. And it will do wonders for the youth of my house to get a taste of the might of their cousins. And I am sure we can clear up all misunderstandings between you and your sister as well. You saw cruelty, now you will see the other side of life. Maybe after getting to know Ice Fangs a bit better, you will even tell us where Aranea is, hmmm?"
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"Thanks, but no thanks." Annie took a step back.
"Alas, my proposition is not negotiable," Camelia took two steps forward, easily covering the distance between herself and Annie. The scout hit with her right paw, closing her fist at the last moment and slamming her bare knuckles into the chest of the sword saint. She may as well try to punch the mountain for all the good that her attempt to resist has brought to her. The knuckles of Annie failed to even push the flesh of the sword saint, while the fur and jacket of Camelia fully absorbed the impact. Annie swallowed drool, awaiting inevitable punishment for her attempt to resist and for breaking the law. Lowering herself on one knee before Annie, Camelia instead smiled, like an adult would smile at a stubborn child. Seeing fear in the eyes of Annie, the sword saint calmly spoke, "Fear is understandable, but unneeded. No one will hurt you. First, we will go to Oaksters and explain everyth…." The paw of the sword saint extended to Annie…
And pushed the scout back several steps, while the sword saint herself jumped back in the opposite side, narrowly evading the blow that was coming from the skies above. An elephantine shape landed between two people, smashing the ground where the sword saint was just a moment ago. The newcomer's punch was like an artillery strike, and Annie felt tremors beneath her feet. A small crater appeared beneath the mighty form, at the center of the strike, the ground had been pushed inward for at least ten to fifteen steps. The person stood up, casually stretching her back.
Warlord Ygrite, dressed in a simple gray turtleneck and loose cargo pants, smiled at Annie while cracking her neck. She wore an eyepatch over her left eye, the center of the eyepatch was torn, giving way to a tip of needle-sharp new fang. A small, dried-up trickle of blood ran down across the fur from the left eye all the way to the jaw of the warlord.
"You are like a magnet for disaster, Annie. Was it really hard to give me at least one night of a good sleep?" The mouth, filled with countless fangs open, allowing the rasping voice of the warlord to come out. Despite her straining tone, the warlord clearly was in a good mood, "Ah well, it’s all water under the bridge now."
"Warlord Ygrite?" Annie saluted the superior, "Pardon for asking, ma’am, what are you doing here?"
"At ease, Annie. We are supposed to be on leave," Ygrite yawned. She loudly blew her nose before continuing, "Curse this cold. Dragena forced me to visit the Core Lands, to allow eggheads to try and maybe develop a cure for my condition," Ygrite tapped the fang in her eye, "And she gave me the order to keep an eye on you, in case any trouble. Speaking of, good night and what the hell was that, Camelia?"
Shaking off the ground and grass from her perfectly white costume, the sword saint stood up, visibly relaxed. Taking her jacket by the lapels, Camelia fixed the position of her clothes, critically checking herself, before finally bowing to the warlord with the grace of a dancer:
"Good night to you as well, lady Ygrite. If I am guessing right, you moved into position for an attack the moment I stepped onto the river, is that right? By timing your movements with a flow of water, you managed to hide your presence from me, am I correct?" Ygrite only smirked at these words, continuing to stare upon the face of the sword saint. Camelia sighed and shook her shoulders, "If by "hell" you mean me sneaking after the scout, then the answer is that I wanted to test my skills and to see what our cousins could do. If by "hell" you mean my invitation, then I simply want to provide the best possible experience for my sweet cousin."
"And, from what I could see, you couldn't take no for an answer," Ygrite turned away from Camelia, returning her gaze to Annie. Annie's ears caught the sound of a moving car behind her. The dim light of the distant headlights caused the shadow of Annie to spread before herself, stretching forward bit by bit with every movement. Angoro was coming just on schedule. Ignoring the sword saint, Ygrite walked to the scout, dwarfing the woman before her, "You are aware of the law, right Annie?" The Warlord asked softly.
Annie nodded. A non-aggression pact between the Wolf Tribe and the Ice Fang order. Devourer and Wyrm Lord forced it upon the wolfkins of the Wolf Tribe, after they both got sick of the constant fighting of youths from both sides. Even when wolfkins were separated in various regions, hot heads from both sides challenged each other to meet on neutral territory in the Core Lands. Such meetings were extremely rare, but almost always resulted in horrific wounds for everyone involved. The Wolf Tribe could care less what their people were doing during leave and during free time, as long as their endeavors were legal. The Elders of the Ice Fang order, meanwhile, were in genuine shock upon seeing their youth savaged and demanded a stop to challenges. Thus, the law of non-aggression was passed. When in the Core Lands, before throwing the first punch, both sides had to properly challenge each other and agree upon the rules of the sparring match in the presence of either trained personnel, a warlord, or a sword saint. In the Wastes and in the Ravaged Lands, it was still free for all, but wolfkins of the Ice Fang order rarely visited these places. But even when ice boys visited the lands of the Wolf Tribe, warlords and shamans were often around to reign in the hotheads of the Wolf Tribe. This was the law that Annie broke by throwing the first punch. Meanwhile, Annie could have sworn that Ygrite missed Camelia on purpose. Warlords and shamans were tasked with upholding this law.
Why am I always the one to make mistakes? Annie wanted to ask but decided against it. She was the one who willingly broke the law, and now she will pay the price, as was proper. She took off clothes from the upper part of her body and threw her backpack on the ground, bowing to the warlord and showing her neck.
"You will not do it," Camelia said in an icy tone, walking to stand between Annie and Ygrite, "I push no charges."
"This is not for you to decide, honorable sword saint. Please respect our laws and step away." Annie felt no fear. Physical punishments were not something unusual, Spirits know that she has endured a lot of them by now. But the burning shame was. This time, the scout had done something truly bad. By breaking the non-aggression law, Annie cast a shadow on her own warlord. And Dragena did not need any stress right now.
"I will not allow to…" Camelia looked at Annie briefly. Her words were cut short when Ygrite picked this moment to bite Annie. The jaws of the warlord closed on Annie’s back in a blurring motion.
This was the first time Annie experienced punishment from the warlord. Zero never punished anyone. Dragena never used physical punishment. Now, in a sense, Annie had finally become a proper member of the Wolf Tribe. Fire exploded on your back when countless fangs of the Ygrite pierced the skin of the young woman. Even with the warlord holding back, Annie felt the sharp fangs scratch across her shoulder blades. With a twist of her head, Ygrite sent Annie cartwheeling up into the air, splashing blood all around the shore and leaving a sizeable chunk of flesh and fur in the mouth of the warlord. Camelia moved to catch the falling Annie, but was stopped by the warlord's arm, causing Annie to fall to the ground. The scout landed on her head, feeling how her organs moved in the lungs, making it hard to breathe. Impact from the fall and shock from pain left the scout gasping for air, lying face down on the ground.
"How dare you!" Camelia once again found her way blocked. The sword saint looked at the warlord with barely held back rage and put one hand on the sword hilt, "I will not stand for it. Let me through, or I will move you, cousin."
"You talk too much." Ygrite spit out flesh from her mouth and walked to help Annie. The warlord reached for the backpack of the scout, taking off bandages. By the time lieutenant Angoro and his driver arrived at the shore, the warlord had finished bandaging the scout's back, allowing Annie, who was still trembling from pain, to stand.
"Care to explain what happened here?" The lieutenant asked, holding a sizable package underneath his arm.
"Just a misstep," Annie laughed, feeling rivets of blood running underneath her bandages. This will take at least two weeks to properly heal, "Accidently broke the law, that is all."
"Uh-huh." Angoro looked at the Camelia and Ygrite through narrowed eyes. He looked back at Annie and asked if she needed any painkillers, but the scout turned down his offer.
"This will not stand. I will not allow you to mutilate your own people," Camelia calmly said to Ygrite, "Lady Anne will leave with me to the proper hospital where her wounds will be treated and later her scars will be removed. Her time with the Wolf Tribe is over, I will personally oversee her transfer to a safer…"
"Not for you to decide." Ygrite scratched behind her ear, answering in a plain tone.
"Thank you for your worries," Annie bowed to the sword saint, nearly falling down from pain. Angoro gently helped Annie stand up. Heavily breathing from pain, Annie accepted the offer, allowing the agent to hold her upright. Despite all the pain, she felt relieved. Punishment for breaking the non-aggression law was purely a physical one. She paid for her crime and cleared all the shadows from Dragena’s name, "But I am fine where I am."
Camelia looked at Annie for a moment. Scout could practically feel the thoughts of the sword saint. The woman was thinking about stopping them by force and clearly wondered if she could get away with this.
"Camelia, you need to vent," Ygrite spread her arms wide, "Come, l can take it. Let us have a sparring match."
"You? But you are weake…" The sword saint stopped, pressing the finger of the paw covered by a black glove to her lips. She looked at the warlord with curiosity, "How about these rules. If I land a hit on you, lady Annie will have to go into a hospital of my choosing. Worry not, I will not try to "capture" her, just ensure that her wounds are properly treated. And if you fail to land even a single hit on me during our sparring match, you will tell me where Aranea Winterson really is."
"Aranea is dead." Ygrite replied to this offer by hunching her head down and lifting both paws in front of her face.
"Then you have nothing to be afraid of." Camelia put her right paw over the sword hilt once more, putting her right leg forward and using the fingers of her left paw to pull aside the belts around the sword scabbard. Ygrite nodded once, agreeing to the rules.