Anthrofiction Stories Web Site

Chapter 4: The Battle Part 1

It was morning. The sun filtered through the thick foliage of the trees, a stray beam of light shining on a group of armed Nigrum Mortifer warriors. Drek, the leader of the large group, stood in front of them. Drek was, by Nigrum Mortifer standards, very handsome. He was known to be the most attractive male in the tribe. Also known for his boldness in battle, he was flocked by the young females of the tribe whenever he wasn’t busy. He had his choice of all the fems that adored him, but recently he had eyes for only one. She had been one of the fems that didn’t pay much attention to him. Unfortunately for him, when he proposed to be her mate, she rejected. Even though he wouldn’t show it, he was still hurting from Zassira’s rejection.

“Okay everyone, you know what Chief Koren wants us to do,” Drek said to the warriors. “Now I know that many of you aren’t very fond of furs, but you have to remember that the Aspis are the threat today. If they attack the Makos caravan, go in there and kill every armed Aspis that you see and take no prisoners. Also, if you see any furs that have fallen or are wounded, I want you to bring them back to this clearing so that the stretcher-bearers can take them back to the village.” Drek paused and one of the warriors took the opportunity to speak. “Drek, is it true that if we end up getting involved there is a chance that there’ll be another war?” Drek nodded. “Yes, but if it does come down to a full-scale war, I’m sure we’ll come out on top. We were able to come out the victors in the last war our tribe had with the Aspis. Most of you weren’t even born then, and then some of you, like me, were too young to remember what happened. So if there is another war, we have the potential to beat them again.” Drek paused again, giving everybody a chance to speak. “All right,” he said when nobody else spoke up, “we’ve wasted enough time here. Get to your positions and be ready to go in at the first sign of trouble.” The warriors nodded and spread out into the bushes surrounding the Aspis tribe’s village.

********

Meanwhile, back at the Nigrum Mortifer tribe’s village, Koren, Zassira, and Zila sat inside Koren’s hut. Zassira and Koren had just finished telling Zila about the situation. “So what do we do with the ones who get injured during battle?” Zila asked. “Well we discussed that issue with our healers,” Zassira began. “There are a lot of furs in the caravan and the healers’ huts may not be able to hold all the injured ones.” “What will we do then?” “I’ve been going around the village and talking with everybody that has knowledge in healing,” Koren said. “If there are too many furs for the healers to handle, we will start housing them in the other huts so they can receive medical attention from the ones who have agreed to help.” Zila grinned. “I bet it wasn’t easy to get a lot of them to volunteer.” Koren sighed and shook his head. “It wasn’t. I had to use a bit of persuasion to convince them to help if they were needed. Zassira took the most convincing out of all of them.” Zassira looked apologetically at Koren. “I’m sorry Koren, I didn’t mean to be so stubborn. It’s just that I’ve never touched someone with fur before and you know how I feel about them.” “There’s no need to apologize Zass. Most of us, including me, are not used to having to take care of furs.” Zila leaned back, supporting herself with her arms. She sighed. “Well, regardless of how we feel about them, we’re going to be playing host to them soon. We’ll just have to get over our feelings towards them so that we can have a peaceful trade.” She paused to think for a moment. “I just hope we won’t have to bury any of their dead once they reach our village.”

*******

“Imrra, I do not believe this is a good idea.” “You worry too much brother. As long as the furs behave, there will be no trouble.” “There will be if you are up to what I think you are.” Imrra turned from the hut’s doorway to face his little brother. He stared at him, a stern and determined look on his face. After a few moments had passed, Imrra spoke. “Look Selka, The majority of the tribe and I are tired of having to allow foreigners pass through our land so that they can sell supplies to that damned Nigrum Mortifer tribe. I would not be surprised if they are planning to attack us once they are properly equipped.” Imrra turned back around to look out at the Aspis warriors lined up by the path that ran through the village. “That will not happen though. We will make it known that unless they are selling supplies to us, we will not allow a single merchant to travel through our land from this day forward. These furs’ deaths will help us do that.” Selka bristled slightly at that. “Brother, you cannot do that,” he said, keeping his tone neutral. “It is not right for you to cause any unnecessary death. We just as easily tell them that we will not allow them to pass through.” Imrra spun around to face Selka again, a frown forming on his snout. “It seems that you have forgotten your place brother. You may be my flesh and blood, but you have no business telling me what I can and cannot do. I am the chief of this tribe, not you!” “Still Imrra!” Selka said, his voice rising slightly in volume. “Those furs do not deserve death!” “Why do you care if they die?! With the exception of one, how can you care about a caravan full of furs that you do not even know?!” Selka did not answer.

Imrra thought for a few seconds before speaking again. “If I were to guess,” he said, his voice kept low. “Based on how you are acting right now I would say that you have fallen for that bulldog fem.” Selka looked away, unable to meet his brother’s penetrating gaze. Again, Imrra frowned. “You have,” he said quietly. “Or have you not brother?” Selka did not respond and remained silent, his head bowed. “Answer me Selka!” Imrra commanded loudly. Selka slowly looked up into his big brother’s eyes. “I have,” he said simply. “I thought so,” Imrra said. “It took a little bit of thinking, but it became clear to me once I found out that you had spent the night with that her.” Imrra sneered. “Father would be disgusted with you if he were still alive to see what you have become. I cannot even begin to imagine what you see in that fur, especially since she has more muscles than several male furs that I have seen in the past.” “To me it does not matter whether she has fur or scales. Beneath those muscles she is a kind and gentle woman. I know that I cannot expect you to understand Imrra. Yes, I have fallen for her, but for who she is, not what she is.” “And that is why you do not want me to attack the caravan?” Selka nodded. “Hmph.” Imrra once again turned back around to look out of the hut’s doorway. “In any case, the attack will take place. If your bulldog dies with the others, then so be it.” “Imrra!” Selka yelled. Imrra looked over his shoulder at Selka. “You can withdraw the order if you want to,” he said calmly. Now Selka was confused by what his brother just said. “What are you talking about?” “Well, if you can defeat me in one-on-one combat you can take the title of chief and cancel my command. That is if you can beat me… little brother.” Selka bowed his head. He knew that he was physically no match for Imrra. If he challenged him for the leadership of the tribe he would not last very long. “So are you going to make a challenge or not Selka?” Selka glowered at him. Imrra grinned. “That is what I thought. You at least know you cannot beat me. You were always the smart one. I will see you later little brother. Tonight we will have a feast to celebrate our victory over the furs. The corpses of their dead will serve as good fuel for our fires.” Imrra laughed and walked out of the doorway.

Once he had left Selka dropped down onto the dirt floor and hung his head in despair. He had to do something, but what could he do? He was at a complete loss. All he could do was hope for some kind of miracle to happen today.

To Be Continued…