“...And that’s how it happened, Lord Sadrahan.” Batagan finished off the story, “It was a long way getting back, course, but here we are!” He finished with a flourish and the war clubs made of cut branches were impulsively hefted by every rescued demon, some still stained red with the blood of those they’d struck down, and human faces went back down into the dirt again as if they feared another blow.

“Mostly.” Liln said and coughed into her hand, had she still had wings and were they out, Sadrahan couldn’t help but think they’d be twitching uncomfortably at the dramatic retelling the two engaged in. She didn’t quite meet his eyes when the story ended, but she added, “Now that we’re back, what do we do? And also… also…” She trailed off.

“Also?” Sadrahan asked, he felt the horde of eyes from the various rescued demons, from Batagan, and from Liln’s own locked on his with the same zealous focus he had when hunting deer, and his instincts all but slapped him in the face. ‘Whatever is on her mind, it’s important to them all… answer carefully, make them comfortable, I can’t have anyone fall apart before we’ve really gotten started!’ He struggled to keep his breathing under control and slow his racing heart, taking deep, long breaths, his chest rose and fell, his right hand came down with palm upturned and his claws open as if offering a gift in the empty space.

“Have we passed your test? Have we met your expectations for our loyalty, to accept so many different villages and villagers under you?” Liln asked, and let out an exhale as deep as the ocean when her eye caught his outstretched hand.

“Yes!” He answered in his confusion, jumping to the first positive word he could think of, his voice louder than he intended at the bizarre question hurled his way, cries of relief went up from front to back, and Liln put her hand in his own.

Without thinking about it, he helped her rise to her feet.

Liln’s heart skipped a beat when his fingers closed over her own, his fingers seemed, if anything, larger than she remembered, and their warmth that much closer, ‘It’s like I can feel his pulse through my skin…’ She thought and tried to bring her heart down from its attempts at leaping into her throat.

Sadrahan looked past Liln as she got to her feet, the intensity of her deep eyes made him want to shift as uncomfortably as he did when his wife suggested they would make a fine pair. He closed his heavy lids and focused on Sarthas, who was coming into view with his now very customary… and growing number of large red leaves shoved into his belt.

“Lord Sadrahan, forgive the delay but I was browsing through and counting the assets while Liln and… the new one, told their story, we have two villages worth of tools, enough for over one hundred pairs of hands, enough food, including the horses, to feed everyone for weeks even if we did no hunting or gathering at all.” Sarthas tapped his claw on the thick red leaf and added, “My one concern is how to ration it, I know you have some of those from your home here and-”

“Equally among every demon.” Sadrahan replied.

“Then do we starve the humans? They tried to work us to death, they gave us almost nothing… just watery stew, barely any meat, bones and other lumps of whatever they didn’t want for themselves…?” Batagan interjected and looked over at the quavering prostrate humans, their pinkish flesh shivered under the gazes of many demons.

“Please!” A single red haired human pled. “Please!” He cried out again, his wrists were bound tight enough that even from where Sadrahan stood he could see that the rope was biting into the human’s flesh. “We didn’t do anything! We just settled on empty land!”

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“Our land. That land was empty because your people killed ours and took it.” Sadrahan hissed. “You have the gall to ask that I feed you after what you did to us?!” He bellowed at the human, who had boldness enough to raise his head.

“That wasn’t us! I’m from the city! I just heard there was land available so I went where they told me! I never even heard of your people! I’ve never even seen a demon before! Please! I didn’t know what they did!” He shouted, his face flushed red and his hazel eyes wild with horror at the possibility of a slow demise.

“Did you think those homes just sprang up from the ground already burned!” Sadrahan strode over to the prostrate human, the ground squelched and sank under his every step. His sharp teeth bared and blood racing, he leaned toward the human, his legs stiff and still, his claws open and ready to slash the human across his face. A young woman, blonde haired and freckle-faced reached up and began crying and pulling at the human male, her muscles strained as she tried to pull him back from Sadrahan’s reach. The rope however, held firm, only stretching taut but allowing no retreat.

“Don’t hurt him! It’s the truth!” She wailed and clung to him. Her blonde hair danced as wild from her urgent head shaking as if it were blown by a high wind while she tried to put herself in the path of his raised claws. Sadrahan paused and let her go on, he didn’t lower his claws, but he listened while tears carried dirt away from her cheeks, “We didn’t know what happened or who lived there! We just heard there was empty land… we didn’t know anyone died there or anything! We had no way to know! Please! We’ll do anything! Anything! Just don’t starve us to death! We’ll work your land! We’ll farm for you! We’ll pay your taxes and give you tribute in any amount you say if you just don’t…”

She fell silent, her honey blonde hair tumbled down around her as she raised her face and tried to push the dark haired man’s head down again.

“You’re a Lord aren’t you?! You should know we can be useful!” She shouted as the male, Sadrahan presumed, her husband, kept trying to put himself in front of her and tried to keep the focus on himself.

‘Taxes? Tribute?’ The new terms caught his ear and it flicked about as if it heard the noise of prey.

“You are from the human city?” Sadrahan demanded, his clawed hand lowering, his urge to slay, dissipating in the face of opportunity.

“Yes!” The male exclaimed before his companion could speak up.

“Quarter rations for humans. More if they meet… quotas.” Sadrahan said, recalling something of what he learned from Ita Mal and the other rescuees. “That should keep you from starving at least, though you won’t like it. On one condition.” He leveled his hand down at the human pair.

“Lord?” The pair asked at once, their hands twisting in their bonds and fearful faces shaking, lips quavering, and sweat streaming down and carving new channels through the dirt covered skin.

“You two will be assigned to Liln and Sarthas. You will tell them everything there is to know about human cities. And if you hold anything back, and if any human tries to run… then quarter rations will sound like a feast. But as long as you do neither, you will live.”

Sarthas was back at his side before Sadrahan could even call for him, “Lord, should I get everybody acquainted with everything we’re doing, the sooner the tools are distributed, the better. We still need more shelters built before the worst weather comes, and… if I may?”

Sadrahan tilted his head upward slightly, and so prompted, Sarthas went on. “Your daughter is very… fussy without you around, could I recommend that you not go out on your own again? Even if the other villages don’t listen to the ones we sent out, we have enough labor here to do everything we need to, at least to prepare us for winter. Enjoy a little time with her, let us handle things for now.”

The tearful and fearful looks of humans became strange in Sadrahan’s eyes, the way they looked back and forth at one another, the way hands suddenly clasped to those nearest each other. It took several seconds before he understood, ‘Did they not think demons had children? Are they stupid? Or… maybe at least they were telling the truth about never having seen us before? What do they think we come from? Rocks?!’ However, rather than address their now obvious confusion, he chose to focus his attention on Sarthas.

“That is a fantastic idea!” Sadrahan exclaimed, his anger forgotten as he pictured the little smiling face and her little wiggling arms and legs as she tried to reach for him. “I leave the rest to you!” He said, snapped out his wings and with a swift beat, rose into the air above the chaos below and forgot everything except where he was going, and to whom.