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The Seventh Realm: Volume V

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode 59: I Know You

Watching the sun creeping over the horizon, Manny sits by the river with Sidana at his side. Cooking a stew of the air-dried meat and mixing it with their supply of fruit, Darius and Koleta taste the concoction. Holding Manny’s arm, Sidana carefully wraps his wounds, cuts made from her claws as she held onto him as he dragged her from the river. She bandages him with supplies taken from his hiker’s medical kit. Grunting in mild pain as she applies pressure, she turns her golden eyes toward him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s alright. I’d have felt worse if you didn’t make it.” Manny replies, glancing over to her.

Looking back at him, Sidana smiles. She leans closer, nuzzling his cheek with her snout. Finishing the binding, Sidana releases his arm.

“All better.” She says.

“Thanks.”

“I was happy to do it.” She replies.

“I bet. Usually, they’re on my back.” He winks.

“Is that so?” A flushing Sidana remarks.

The fire crackles a short distance away. Though tired, they decided not to make camp during the day, but to instead stop only for an extended rest and to eat together. Leaning back and resting on her elbows, Koleta looks up at the red colored sky. Her tail shifts and she lay flat on her back, stretching out and watching the clouds rolling overhead. Darius scoots closer as the stew continues to cook; the dried meat isn’t quite soft enough for their liking. With his tail swishing gracefully behind him, he turns his blue eyes toward Koleta, who’s lying a few feet to his right. Turning her head to him, their eyes lock and he scoots even closer.

“I’m sorry.” He says softly.

“For what?” She rolls onto her side, lifting herself up and resting on a forearm. “Are you alright?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong?” She asks with great concern.

“I should never have put you in this situation.” He begins.

“Darius...”

“Manny’s right. I had no business endangering you like this. I just didn’t realize how hard it is to survive out here. It’s so dangerous...”

“Hey.” She sits upright, sliding an arm around his waist. “It’s alright. We’ll make it home and we can live out safe, boring lives.” She teases him.

“I hope so.”

“I know so.” She assures him.

“I just don’t want to put you at risk.” He turns to her. “I care about you so much, Koleta... I love you.”

Her heart skips a beat; she’s waited to hear those words for some time now. Staring into his eyes with her fuchsia orbs, she is temporarily paralyzed, at a complete loss for words.

“I love you too.” She chokes out. “I’ve loved you for a while now.”

“Me too.” He says, his lips curling into a little smile.

Leaning forward, he kisses her lips, then the side of her snout. Lying back, she pulls him down with her. Partially over her body, her breasts press against his chest. She nuzzles his face as he kisses her and caresses her smooth hide, his hands running along her shapely figure. After sharing those few kisses, they stretch out and hold each other, lying in the purple grass and cuddling.

“Darius?”

“Yeah?”

“You haven’t mated with another girl since you were sixteen cycles; it’s been at least six seasons... Was that because of me?” She asks.

“Yeah.” He nods. “When I started to really feel this way for you I just... I couldn’t see myself with other females.”

“Aww.” Her arms squeeze him tighter.

Sidana and Manny emerge from behind a tree, which partially obscured their view as they sat some distance away by the river’s edge. Looking down at the snuggling juveniles, Sidana clears her throat.

“Oh, hi!” Koleta chirps.

“Are we interrupting anything?” Sidana asks.

“If we are, we could go back and continue to have our own moment.” Manny quips.

Sidana looks to him and smiles. Sitting up, Darius waves them over. Seated across from the juveniles, they eat their stew and rest for a moment, allowing the fire to die down on its own. Refreshed from their meal and with a full day ahead of them, they strike their little camp and begin to walk once again.

“You know what I hate about adventuring?” Darius says.

“What’s that?” Koleta turns to him.

“The travel. My feet are going to be made of leather by the time we get home.” Darius explains.

“You get used to it.” Manny replies.

“That’s hard to imagine.” Darius remarks.

“Well, it’s true. You’d be surprised what you can adapt to.” Manny insists.

“And you would know?” Sidana chuckles

“You talk like I never went on adventures before I got here. Remember, I had about ten cycles of getting into trouble before I left Earth, starting at the ripe old age of fourteen.” Manny retorts.

“When I first saw you and for those two weeks of close-combat training, you didn’t look like you were fit enough for that.”

“Gee, thanks.” Manny murmurs.

“You’re certainly very fit now though!” Sidana quickly adds.

“Has someone been looking?” Koleta teases her.

“Perhaps.” She replies, gazing at Manny.

Darius’ and Koleta’s ears twitch. Stopping the group, they draw their weapons. Looking up into the trees, several humans aim bows and arrows at them, their strings taut and ready to fire.

“What are they?” A huntress asks.

“One is human. The other looks Ketlan, but his feet are wrong. I have never seen Zelkona with hair or ears.” A male hunter replies.

“They’re py’sel.” Manny replies.

“Py’sel?!” The huntress slides down from a tree as her comrades guard her. “Only one tribe would have so many py’sel.”

“Perhaps you should come with us...” Another male hunter suggests.

Turning to Sidana, she looks into the trees to see that they are thoroughly surrounded. No less than eight humans point readied bows and arrows at them. Even with Manny’s exceptional shooting skills, and her own abilities, they can’t be certain all four will survive this skirmish. Turning to Manny, she nods her head.

“Alright.” She begins. “We’ll go with you. You’ve left us little choice.”

“Follow me.” The huntress says, eyeballing Sidana and Koleta suspiciously.

“Where are we going?” Koleta asks.

“To our camp. Our leader knows of your tribe, the Sa’kesh.” The huntress replies.

“Will she know a way back to the cities?” Darius asks.

“I’m certain of it. We travel these lands extensively.” She answers.

“If you know of the Sa’kesh, why don’t you join them instead of living out in the wilderness?” Darius continues.

“Some of us like our lives the way they are.” The huntress sighs. “Any more inane questions?”

“Nope. Fresh out.” He quips.

“Good...”

Walking through the jungle, they follow the huntress closely. Emerge from the tree-line, they enter a clearing and are surprised to see a moderately large village, built out of wood and fairly tidy looking. At a glance, there appears to be roughly one hundred citizens roaming about, and possibly more in their homes, of which there are several dozen constructed. A larger house, built like a manor, looms over the others. As they enter the village, Sidana, Darius and Koleta quickly become unnerved by the total lack of other races; only humans appear to live here.

Manny, who has spent enough time around all of the races, can see the subtle changes in Sidana’s face, as well as the others. Focusing on her, however, he reaches out, taking her hand. His touch eases her nerves, but she cannot help feeling both different and unwelcome as the citizens stare at everyone but Manny. Perhaps this is what he felt for so long? Yet another hurdle in his attempt to adapt to his new life. As a human, Manny is certainly a minority in the Sa’kesh, but at least every race is represented. Walking through the tramped grass paths of the village, the huntress leads them into the manor, which is easily one hundred and fifty meters wide, and has three floors built into it.

Lit with ensconced candles that aid the daylight trickling in through the windows, the home is exceptional. Taken through a main hall and toward the rear of the house, they enter what looks like a ballroom. At one end sits a row of chairs, with one exceptionally nice hooded chair carved from a single chunk of wood. Sitting in the hooded chair is a robed female, a human who appears to be in her mid-thirties. With long, wavy brown hair, lightly tanned skin and green eyes, she has the facial appearance of a Brazilian swimsuit model. Rising from the chair, her robe flutters; her figure matches her face and is picturesque.

Beside her chair and to her right sits a boy with similar features, but mixed with something else. His eyes look thinner, as if he were of Asian descent. The boy looks roughly around his early or mid-teens, about the same age as Darius’ youngest sibling, Vanolza. Raising her hand, she waves the huntress over. She immediately bows on one knee.

“And who do we have here? A human and three creatures!” She remarks rather excitedly.

“We found them walking east along the river today. They stumbled upon our ambush for the Zajak.” The huntress reports.

“Don’t they only come out at night?” Darius thinks aloud.

“Yes, but if you must know, we were testing out tree-stands.” The huntress explains.

Looking them over, the robed woman narrows her eyes. She approaches the group, passing her huntress who remains kneeling on the floor, awaiting her permission to rise. The woman taps her on the shoulder and the huntress stands at attention.

“Why do you two look so familiar to me...” The woman thinks aloud, her gaze shifting back and forth between Darius and Manny. “Wait... I know you! You’re Darius! Cyrus’ son! And you! You’re Manitou. Daddy once had you kill a man for me!”

They both blink, their eyes bulging as they’re surprised by her knowledge.

“And who might you be, miss?” Manny asks politely.

“You don’t remember me? I’m Izzy! Isabella Thames!” She exclaims, arms outstretched.

Manny had wondered what happened to her. He had met Johnny a few times in passing, and knew that Gabriella was dead from speaking to several one-day war veterans, but had no idea she had survived. Likewise, Darius stares in awe. He knows the details all too well, having been told the story about her father’s escape at her hands by his father and mother several times.

“It’s nice to see you again, but I thought you were on Earth.” Isabella says.

“Well, I found this great place up the river there and the rent was just too good to pass up.” Manny quips.

“I always liked you.” Isabella giggles. “You were my favorite of daddy’s assassins. Cute too.”

“No accounting for taste.” Darius murmurs.

“Well, you were always a spirited girl. You were the most like J.T. out of all of his kids.” Manny says.

“Yeah. Don’t remind me. It’s because of those stupid assholes that I’m even stuck here. It hasn’t been a total loss though. I have my own crew and my son, Damian.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you right away.”

“I know. I’m a lot older now.” She sighs.

“I was going to say attractive and legal, but whatever.”

“Oh, you.” Isabella laughs. “So, who are your friends? Aside from Darius. I know him.”

“This is Sidana, my captain and uh... Very special friend.” He grins as he looks at her.

“An eye for exotic women, I see. Unsurprising, if you’re as eccentric as I remember.” Isabella remarks.

“And tequila sunrise back there is Koleta. She’s Darius’ girlfriend, I think.”

“I see. And you’re trying to do... What? Scout for Cyrus?” She asks.

“Hell no. Darius ran off to ‘find adventure’, his girlfriend went with him, and Sidana and I were told to drag him home. We were caught in that storm and that fast-moving river has us cut off.” Manny explains.

“Of course.” Isabella chuckles. “I should’ve expected as much from one of Cyrus’ kids. Well, I have some good news and bad news.”

“What’s the bad news?” Koleta asks.

“Actually, it’s two bad things. For one, there are no bridges across; that river has flowed this season of ever year for the past five years. We tried to build two bridges before, but the floods destroyed them, so we stopped trying. There is a way across, but it’s through a cave system that may or may not have Zajak hiding in it. And two... You’re stuck here, at least for today. We’re scouting an area around that cave and I can’t let you near it.” She explains.

“Is there good news?” Sidana asks.

“Of course! If there wasn’t, I wouldn’t have said it. You can get back to your big city and that lovely castle of yours once you cross the river; it’ll only take you a few days. I can have a map copied for you.” Isabella replies.

“Well that is good news.” Sidana sighs with relief.

“In the meantime, you can spend the night here and leave in the morning. I have a large guest room with two beds you can use. You pick the arrangement. There won’t be any guards.” Isabella continues.

“Thank you for helping us.” Darius says with a grateful nod.

“Oh, don’t thank me. Make no mistake, I really don’t like your father or your mother. I don’t like my brother Johnny either, for that matter. Manny always made me laugh and he did a good deed for me. Back in Detroit he killed a guy who made fun of my dress when I snuck into a club with a fake ID, and to a woman like me, that’s a big fucking deal. If he wasn’t with you, I’d have probably killed you.” Isabella retorts with a pleasant grin.

They stare with wide eyes, surprised by both her calm callousness and her revelation of Manny’s past misdeeds. Visibly embarrassed, Manny looks to the floor. Motioning for them to follow, she takes the group out of her throne room and into a hall. Walking back toward the front door, she turns to a staircase and climbs. They hear only the sounds of their footsteps. Finally overcome with curiosity, Darius can’t help but speak.

“Pardon me, Isabella...”

“Yes?”

“What ever happened to J.T. and that other guy? Yulan something?” He asks.

“Oh, well, about a week after Yulan helped me escape I decided to fuck him. If you never heard that word before, then you might also call it ‘vigorous mating’. He was actually very good at it!” Isabella chirps.

“Oh...”

“So, we wandered until we found a tribe of humans heading for the Sa’kesh. Using a weapon that only stuns people, Yulan scared them all into following him instead and we led them south and away from every other tribe. About a year after we escaped, my dad and Yulan got into a fight about who knows what, so Yulan killed him. I was pretty upset, but I needed him still, so once I became pregnant and survived giving birth to Damian, I killed Yulan. I shot him in the head with my last bullet while he slept beside some poor girl he dragged off. I wasn’t too fond of his wandering eye anyway, but thankfully he only did that once, that I know of. I led the tribe around from place to place until we found a good spot, and then we built our town here.” She continues.

“And you’ve been in charge ever since?” Koleta asks in surprise.

“Oh yeah! Well, here’s your room.” Isabella says as she opens a door. “I can send food up, if you’d like.”

“That’d be very nice. Thank you.” Manny replies.

They set down their bags and take off their gear belts, looking at two actual beds, each about queen sized and one on either end of the room. Darius and Manny both sit on one bed, while Sidana and Koleta sit on the other. Trapped in an eerie silence, it’s as if neither knows what to do in an actual bedroom anymore.

“So, you used to kill people, like my dad and Yasmin did?” Darius abruptly asks.

“Yeah...” Manny sighs.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Darius presses.

“No.”

After another awkward pause, Koleta finally scoots back and stretches out. Manny soon does the same and they relax on the bed for a moment. Before anyone can become too comfortable, someone knocks on the door. Answering the door, the huntress presents a wooden tray containing cooked meat and pre-cut fruit, along with a large clay pitcher of water. Taking the time to eat first, they soon lie back in their beds again. Staring at the ceiling, Manny and Darius both glance towards each other, both visibly uncomfortable with their arrangement. Across from them, Sidana and Koleta do the very same thing.

“Well... Isn’t this nice? ... Lying in a bed?” Manny sighs.

Sitting upright, Sidana looks to Darius, giving him a strange glare. Beyond her lay Koleta, watching him with a warm smile. Sidana stands to her feet. Manny glances over as she motions with a clawed finger for Darius to trade places with her. As soon as he eagerly rolls off of the bed and away from Manny, she waves him toward Koleta; the two promptly switch. Lying beside Manny, Sidana grins, scooting her body closer to him. Turning onto his side, he takes her into his arms, gently tugging at her. He gives her a gentle kiss and nuzzles her broad, raptor-like snout, brushing her platinum blonde hair away from her vibrant, golden eyes.

“Mmm, this is nice.” Sidana coos.

Across from them, Darius lies beside Koleta, his arms also wrapped around her body and holding her tightly. She rolls over, placing her back against she chest and draping her tail over his waist, the length running along his back. Both juveniles are amazed at how comfortable they become. This, combined with their exhaustion from nearly twenty-four hours of non-stop hiking, causes them to fall asleep rather quickly. Kissing Sidana’s lips and snout, she grips Manny tightly, her clawed hands holding his upper arms. Suddenly, he clutches her broad hips and rolls her.

Already becoming aroused, his assertiveness only makes her yearn for privacy. Taking a hand, he lifts her tail and drapes it over his waist as he pulls her back and against him. With her back against his chest and her plump buttocks against his groin, she trembles. She glances back, looking over her shoulder and gazing lustfully at him.

“Are you trying to mate with me?” She asks in a whisper, her breath audibly shivering.

“If that’s what I wanted, you couldn’t stop me.” He whispers back, into her ear.

“If that’s what you wanted... I wouldn’t stop you.” Sidana coos.

With a hand resting over her chest, he gives her ample bust a soft squeeze. Sidana responds by pushing her buttocks even harder against his groin, grinding against him. She flushes as she feels his firm endowment in his pants. Manny looks over her shoulder at the juveniles who appear to be asleep in the bed across the room. Turning her head to Darius and Koleta, she then glances back at Manny.

“Do you think you can be quiet?” He asks.

Looking back at the juveniles, Sidana thinks for a moment. Feeling his hands upon her breasts, though she is still fully clothed, she considers the ramifications. Looking back at him, she answers him by resting a hand over his groin, gripping him through his pants. As he kisses her cheek and neck, she undoes his pants with one hand while his hand slips down and into her shorts. His fingers tease her moist flesh, causing her to tremor. She takes her hand away from him and hooks her thumbs behind the waistband of her vishkachay fabric shorts, which are similar in design to Koleta’s.

“Are you sure? Once I start...” He warns.

Sidana looks back at him, pausing for a moment.

“And if they wake up?” She asks.

Manny nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders. Sidana answers him by pushing her shorts down, allowing Manny access to her loins.