As soon as Maxine woke up, she felt ravenously hungry and she didn't understand why. She had eaten at least thirty pounds of cooked meat yesterday and shouldn't need to eat for a couple days. But as soon as she remembered her fight yesterday, it made sense. Her body had used up all the nutrients and calories of her meal to restore her stamina and heal her wounds.
She glanced at her tail and felt bummed that her tail hadn't regrown much. It had only regrown an inch while she slept. At this rate, it will take me a month and a half to regrow my tail. I need to find a way to speed up this process. I guess I need to eat more. I hope it doesn't make me fat.
She finally noticed that she was still covered in gore. She felt her bile rising in the back of her throat at her own smell. Yeah, definitely time for a bath, a very long bath at that, and I don't care if I have to bathe in ice cold water. I need to get clean. With a thought, she disintegrated most of the gore off of her using a movement of her energies, but could still feel quite a bit of it clinging to her hair and skin.
She quickly replaced her hide tank top that was destroyed yesterday and she crawled out of her lair. The tunnel leading out of her lair was just big enough for her to squeeze through and the entrance was concealed by a several bushes. It was nearly an ideal lair. They only way it could have been better is if it was formed in a granite deposit behind a waterfall.
She noticed it was dark outside before she exited her lair and used her Shadow Wolves to check the area for any threats. They didn't detect anything immediately threatening, but they could hear a hum of some kind in the space above them.
Just to be extra cautious, she scanned the area above her lair. She didn't find anything at first, but after a few moments, she noticed a very sizeable distortion in the sky just above the tree tops. It was more than twice the size of a school bus and it was hovering over her cooking pit as if waiting for something. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion while trying to remember if the four-horned kanzils possessed cloaking technology, but her gnawing hunger was making it hard to think clearly.
To help banish this hunger, Maxine retrieved food from her dimensional ring and stuffed her face until her hunger abated. Now that she could think more clearly, she completely concealed her energies and bent light around her to become invisible.
She slowly crawled out of her den and looked skyward to see if she could actually see what it was. She didn't. So, she decided she wanted to get cleaned up before she dealt with whatever or whoever it was and stalked towards the nearest river.
When she got to the river, she stripped off her hide garments and walked into the ice-cold river before scrubbing her scale-covered skin thoroughly. The river flow around her quickly became dyed red from her efforts due to all the residual gore and became disgusted when she started cleaning her hair. Chunks of flesh kept appearing in her hair while she tried to brush it out with her fingers. Ugh, the drawbacks of not braiding my long hair before a battle. I didn't even detect this crap in it using my spiritual sense. I guess I will have to spend some extra time to make sure that I brush it all out. It took her nearly an hour to get clean enough for Maxine to be satisfied. Most of that was spent cleaning her hair.
She quickly dressed and headed back to her lair. The ship was still cloaked and hovering in the same spot as before, and as soon as she was standing beneith it, she released her cloaking techniques. It didn't react instantly like she had though, which left her confused. However after a few minutes, she felt something wash over her and a mere moment later, the ship decloaked as a hatch on the side of it opened up.
Decaan appeared from inside of the hatch and looked like he was prepping to drop down to her via some kind of rope mechanism. It was clear he was quite worried about her. She smiled at his caring nature and levitated up to float just outside of that hatch. She waited patiently for him to notice that she was hovering not ten feet from him. It didn't take long, but his reaction was comical as he literately jumped and stumbled backwards into the ship.
"Decaan," Maxine said and tilted her head to the side to express her curiosity at his presence. It took him a moment to collect his wits and she saw his gaze land on her tail. She saw anger and sadness in his gaze.
Before he could speak, Maxine sent a thread of her spiritual sense to his mind. "I need you to come with me and I know you understan a little bit of what I'm trying to say. The invaders are amassing a large force to both attack one of my people's cities, and your home is in their path to it," Decaan said urgently, but Maxine played dumb on purpose as he continued to beg her, "Please, just get inside and flee with me. If you stay here, you will die. Also if you come with me, you won't ever be hungry again. I can even get you more of those fruit bars that you like. All you need to do is just get inside." I need access to that fruit from that fruit bar he gave me earlier to make my breakthrough potion. Damn it, I wish I could talk to him more clearly. I don't have the necessary vocabulary just yet. Or maybe I do. I just really don't want to sound like a primitive, but it looks like I don't have much of a choice.
"Hungry," Maxine said just as she used her energies to make the sound of a growling stomach. Decaan coughed out a laugh and withdrew a fruit bar from his pocket.
"Is this what you want?" Decaan asked and Maxine nodded enthusiastically, "Well, come and get it." Maxine floated into his ship and took the fruit bar from him. While she tore off the wrapper, the hatch behind her closed, but she acted as if she hadn't noticed as she enjoyed the exquisite flavor of the fruit bar. To her surprise, the regeneration of her tail was speeding up as she ate this fruit bar. Just from eating this one fruit bar, her tail regrew half an inch and this regrowth didn't drain her energy reserves like she had expected. Yeah, this stuff is definitely stimulating the hydra portion of my bloodline.
Only when the ship began to move, did Maxine show any sign that she realized that the hatch had closed. She looked around with both caution and curiosity written on her face. Besides the hatch behind her, it appeared she was in some kind of small cargo bay.
"It's alright," Decaan said soothingly, "Nothing is going to happen to you. Just relax. You won't be in this enclosed space for long." Maxine looked straight at him and decided to play along by making a show of relaxing. True to his word, the ship only traveled for roughly five minutes before coming to a stop. The hatch opened moments later.
Outside of the hatch, Maxine saw soldiers and cultivators armed to the teeth in defensive positions. And that's when she saw someone that caught her attention. It was a red headed young woman with red scales. She was about the same size as Maxine and her cultivation was gold stage rank seven. She had the same kind of horns as the others. But what really drew her attention was the scars on her hands and face. Those scars were signs of a verteran warrior.
Regardless, Maxine had no trouble identifying which draconic bloodline the locals had now. It was a red fire drake. They were definitely a lesser form of wingless dragon. The thing that gave it away was that only the males had brown scales while the females all had vibrant red scales. Unfortunately they were also endowed with very short temper. She just hoped that trait didn't carry over to those that possessed this bloodline.
"It seems you were successful in bringing her back here, Decaan," the red head said as Maxine followed Decaan out of the ship, "Just remember, that thing is only here to suppliment our forces, so don't slack in training it. We need it's help as soon as possible." Training? I've probably got more combat experience and martial training than almost everyone here. Although the training she has in mind probably involves me attacking on command, or something of that nature.
A very fat man with a thick mustache and what seemed like a permnament scowl plastered on his face walked out from behind the assembled forces and said, "What I want to know is if it will follow orders?"
"Honestly, I don't know, general," Decaan answered, "I was only able to get her aboard my aircraft by bribing her with food. Rest assured, she does at least trust me to some extent." That's because you are so honest. The rest of these guys I'm not so sure about.
"No, I don't think so. She probably considers you her mate," the red head joked, "Are you two going to have some lizard babies?" The woman started laughing uproarously and everyone, except for Decaan and the fat general, followed suit. Oh, great. A bully.
"Stop joking around, Cassandra. If he's right and this 'Maxine' can understand you, your antics will likely loose us a valueable ally," the general scolded the red headed dragonkin.
"Yes, sir," Cassandra said as she stood at attention, "I still don't like the idea of working with this primitive. For fucks sake, she can't even speak properly."
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"I can speak perfectly fine, bitch," Maxine said angrily in english while folding her arms beneith her breasts. Damn it. It still feels awkward to curse even after all this time.
"Decaan, do you know what she just said?" Cassandra asked angrily, "I have a feeling she just insulted me."
"I have no idea, but I have to agree with you. Her tone and stance definitely indicated she cursed at you," Decaan agreed with an amused smile on his face.
"You're enjoying this, arn't you?" Cassandra asked angrily.
"Absolutely," Decaan said honestly and Maxine noticed the general was looking at her tail rather intently.
"It seems this Maxine's healing factor is much higher than our own," the general said and when everyone looked confused, he added, "Just look at her tail. Wasn't the end of it a gaping wound not half a day ago? If she couldn't heal quickly, there is no way the end of her tail wouldn't be a bloody mess." Decaan jerked his head to look at Maxine's tail for himself.
"You're right, sir. I can't believe I didn't notice it earlier and I don't think that's all," Decaan said excitedly as he pulled out a PDA and after a few key strokes, he looked even more excited, "I was right! Her tail has regrown three senctars. Which means, she can regenerate her tail. So that's why she used it to block that attack!"
"We need to study that abilty," the general said and motioned his hand as he continued, "Medic, get us a blood sample. Perhaps the secret to her regeneration is in her blood." However when this 'medic' approached her with a needle in hand, Maxine hissed warningly like a snake at him. I sure as hell do not want them to take a blood sample. I left enough of it on the battlefield. The medic stopped in place and looked fearfully at the general.
"Fine, coward. I will do it," Cassandra said as she snatched the needle and syringe from the medic while she walked towards Maxine. But Maxine wasn't going to have it and she blasted Cassandra with her killing intent. To her credit, Cassandra only hesitated for half a second before stopping in place. She was giving Maxine a very wary look. Well, that's new. My killing intent has always left people really nervous. I guess it's due to her being far more experienced than I gave her credit for.
"What's wrong, Cassandra?" the very fat general asked.
"She really doesn't like needles," Cassandra said without breaking eye contact with Maxine and turned around to slowly walk away, "And I don't recommend anyone besides lover boy to even make the attempt to take a blood sample from her. She might claw them to death."
Maxine finally retracted her killing intent and heard a thump just behind her. She turned her head to see what it was and saw Decaan trembling beside her on the ground. Did I do that? Shit, I must have unconsciously spread part of my killing intent to my immediate surroundings. She helped Decaan back to his feet and gazed at him with concern to show her remorse. It seemed to work as he calmed down rather quickly.
"I wonder," the fat general said mysteriously from behind Maxine, "Decaan, why don't you take her home with you? The more interactions she has, the faster she will learn our language. Which means we can have her aide us in battle sooner and Cassandra seems to be right to a degree. Maxine seems to be rather fond of you. Why else would she how such concern for you?" I don't like where this is going.
"Sir, I don't understand your intent, or rather, I dont want to," Decaan said firmly.
"I'm not saying you should persue her romantically, but if it happens, it happens. For all you know, the females of her species are the aggressive ones when choosing a mate," the fat general said with a wink, "But only if you believe it's possible. We need her powerful bloodline to protect our people, so I do encourage you to at least try. And before you complain or speak against it, you already have a head start since she seems to trust you quite a bit. Try to expand that trust to something more."
"I will not," Decaan said angrily.
"That wasn't a request," the fat general growled.
"You just as bad as four-arms. Four arms want mate with me by force, but I claw them to death. I trust Decaan, but I no want mate with him," Maxine said firmly. Well that's the best I can do with my limited vocabulary. The fat general looked surprised that she spoke so clearly.
"You can speak our language?" Decaan asked incredulously.
"I speak your language after I ... uhh," Maxine said uncertainly as she pointed to her ears and eyes.
"You learned our language just by listening and watching us?" Decaan asked in obvious disbelief and Maxine nodded her head to agree just before Decaan's eyes shined with wonder, "That's incredible!"
"Terrifying is the word I would use," the fat general commented and the other cultivators and soldiers present looked even more nervous as they nervously gripped their assorted weaponry.
"Why?" Decaan asked, "Her capacity to learn would be an asset."
"Possibly, but if she becomes too intelligent, she will be harder to control," the fat general said coldly while staring daggars at Maxine. I need to defuse this situation quickly. I need this fat asshole to think he has some means of controlling me. Oh, I know!
"But that's only a possibility," Decaan explained, "If we treat her good, it doesn't matter how smart she gets. She will see the benefit of aiding us against a common foe and if you had read my report, you would know how much she hates the four-armed invaders." The fat general looked like he was thinking about what Decaan said, and Maxine knew this was the moment for her to make a move.
"Decaan, can I have fruit?" Maxine asked innocently before the fat general could continue his arguements.
Decaan looked at Maxine in confusion before asking, "Do you mean a fruit bar?"
"No, I mean fruit," Maxine answered firmly.
"What is she on about now?" the fat general asked cautiously.
"Well, I think she wants the fruit that this is made out of," Decaan answered as he held up a fruit bar, "I used one of these fruit bars to bribe her into my ship."
"That's all it took?" the fat general asked while raising an eyebrow and a smile spreads across his lips, "Alright, escort her to the cafeteria. We should have some of that fruit there."
Decaan beckoned Maxine to follow him and the general walked beside him as a group of soldiers took up position around them. Maxine followed them out of the large hangar and down several halls. All the while, various workers were giving their procession a curious glance and many of them did a double take when they saw Maxine.
It wasn't long before Maxine caught the sweet scent of the fruit she was looking for. It caused a shiver to go up her spine. I hope that fruit isn't some kind of hydra narcotic. That would just be embaressing. As soon as they entered the cafeteria, she instantly saw the fruit in question. The fruit were purple and egg shaped.
It took Maxine a moment to realize that all the workers and guards in the cafeteria were staring right at her. It made her feel uncomfortable, but not intolerably so.
"Sit down at one of the tables, Maxine. I will go fetch you one of those fruits," Decaan said. Maxine saw an empty table and sat down at it. Unfortunately the soldiers decided to block everyone's sight of her.
Within moments, Decaan brought her one of the fruit. "I know it doesn't look apetizing, but it's very delicious," Decaan said apologetically, but Maxine ignored him as she snatch up the fruit before taking a bite out of it. The taste of it exploded on her tongue and she didn't have to act like she enjoyed it at all as she unconsciously moaned in appreciation. As she ate the fruit, she barely noticed that some of the soldiers were looking rather uncomfortable.
Just after swallowing the first bite down, she felt each of her cells rejoice and the fruit was almost instantly converted into energy that shot straight to her stump of a tail. She continued eating the fruit happily and within mere moments, she noticed that her tail began to regenerate at a visible speed. Holy shit! It's definitely more effective when it's fresh. I may grow back five inches of my tail just from eating this one fruit! It's too bad it's starting to slowing down alot, but as long as I eat another five to six of these fruit, my tail should fully regenerate by tomorrow. Unfortunately, everyone else saw her tail regrowing as well.
"Decaan, do you see what I'm seeing?" the fat general asked Decaan.
"Yes, I do," Decaan answered and added in an almost academic tone, "It's clearly an effect of her biology with the purple snake fruit. There is a similar regenerative effect when snakes eat it as well, so logically, her species must be related to snakes. But without checking her DNA, I have no way to be certain."
"That can wait until later," the fat general said and he leaned in closer to Decaan as he asked at a whisper, "Do you think we could control her using those fruit? I mean the way she was moaning while eating that fruit was almost sexual."
"Probably, but I don't approve of this method," Decaan said firmly, "I would prefer she help us willingly."
"We don't have time for that approach. Two of our fortress cities have already fallen to the invaders," the fat general said forcefully, "And as you said yourself, she hates these invaders and she stated herself that she wanted to 'claw the four arms to death' because one of them tried to rape her."
"I still don't like controlling her like that," Decaan said in resignation.
"It can't be helped. If this was a time of peace, I would let you take any approach you wanted to get her on our side, but we are in a war of survival," the fat general said sadly. Now, I can't be mad at him. He's just trying to help his people survive.
"Can I have more fruit?" Maxine asked innocently.
"Yeah, sure," Decaan said despondently as he stood up to fetch her another fruit.
Once Decaan was out of ear shot, the general started to talking to her threateningly, but she only caught bits and pieces of what he was saying without Decaan's mind to translate for her, "If you !@#$ my !@#, I will make sure your @$@# is a !@##%@ @#!#. Understand?" Oh, great. He is threatening me and I don't even know what about. Although it doesn't take much to figure out what he's saying if I really think about it, but he's acting like Decaan is his son. Well, I guess I can see that their related by the fact that their eyes are almost the exact same shade of green. Maxine acted nervous to make it appear that she got his message.
A few moments later, Decaan arrived with five more of the snake fruit and Maxine revealed a huge smile. She had calculated it would take at least that many to fully regenerate her tail. She stood up and kissed Decaan's cheek before digging into the snake fruit. She discreetly hid a few of the seeds for it into her dimensional ring. I just need to put up with this crap of being treated like an idiot for a little while longer. I just need to find the growing conditions for these plants and afterwards, I can go fight the four-horned kanzils on my own. From what I can tell, these fruit have a quick growth rate and/or are very common. Otherwise the locals wouldn't turn them into fruit bars or serve them in a cafeteria.