Chapter 263: Chapter 260: Pack

Fighting the beastman sucked - a completely different fight from what I was used to. A tank like me had the job of tying the enemies to herself and soaking up the damage if necessary. There should not have been much need for me to care if the beasts of my level got close to me or even touched me.

Sure, when they did, it usually meant pain. But that was something I could handle.

Not in the case of this fucker. One touch from this beastman and the chances were that my beast(s) would devour me. The threat loomed over me with every attack, every pounce, every swing of his paws.

For this fight, or at least for this part of the battle, it would be safer if I switched roles with Stella. She could certainly tank some of his attacks. The problem, however, lay in her inability to taunt the fucker well enough to keep his attention on her and my inability to attack him. She was unable to hurt his beast pride as much as I could, while me attacking would just be asking to be overwhelmed by my own beast(s).

And so I deftly dodged the beastman's claws and fangs while mocking him harshly. There was no need for words - I wasn't even sure he could understand them - the meaning behind my growls and cackles sufficed.

Stella, meanwhile, excelled at her job.

And I meant it.

She might not have been able to deal the fucker a blow that would take him out on the spot, but every swipe of her sword left a cut on his body. It hadn't been long since he rushed us, and he already sported dozens of cuts, bleeding. Fast regeneration, to my relief, didn't seem to be the beastman's strong suit.

»Stop defying us!« Eleaden growled through the fucker, slamming into my mental defenses so hard that I almost failed to dodge in time. In fact, if Stella hadn't slashed at the beastman's paw, the fucker would have sunk his claws into my side. Instead of thanks - there was no need, she knew how much I appreciated it - I let out my defiance. »Fuck off!«

To be honest, I still had a little trouble figuring out who I was talking to. Was it Eleaden itself? The insanity of talking directly to the planet aside, that would suggest it was in direct control of the beastman. Or was it the beastman conveying Eleaden's will? If so, how could his touch have such an impact on me?

In the end, none of that mattered. One touch and I was fucked.

Or so I thought.

A tentacle of the dead octopus I misstepped on, lying on the ground like hundreds of others, one slip, one hesitation, and I had the fucker's claws in the thigh of my hind leg.

»Join us!« his delighted growl hit my defenses hard. But that was it. There was no overwhelming force behind it to crush my wits. Just the usual increase in pressure from the otherwise constant presence of Eleaden somewhere behind my mental defenses.

»I said fuck off!«

Stella moved quickly, driving the beastman away. "You okay?"

Her concern was justified.  Should I not be, she'd better bugger off. "I am."

"You sure?"

"I guess it wasn't enough." Not long enough contact for Eleaden to reach through the fucker to my beasts.

All she gave me back was a nod, an acknowledgment of the fact. Talking took too much of our focus. Something we desperately needed in a fight like this.

Dodge, evade, taunt.

»Don't fight back, join us!«

»Why don't you fucking die?!«

Seriously, the man was bleeding all over the place and still stood on his feet with the same mad determination in his eyes. Another snarl, another challenge. This time with a trace of my frustration. I couldn't help it. A mistake, though. 

Beastman's ears pricked up and his eyes flashed with smug satisfaction. Annoying. I had to beat myself up for giving him the pleasure.

"Korra!" Stella shouted a warning.

A little too late. I realized. I had let myself get taunted. My focus fell on the beastman and I forgot my surroundings. In that small moment of distraction, another beastman slammed into me, pinning me to the ground. Well, not a beastman, a beastwoman - judging by the four tits in my face. But that was all I saw of her before Eleaden struck my mind with full force and I lost track of the world around me.

No, I didn't lose it.

Not yet!

My mental defenses withstood the initial assault, barely. They held under the onslaught. The crushing pressure didn't ease, though. 

»Join us. Be one of us.« The mental whisper sounded so sweet to my ears. Literally, no kidding, I could have sworn I heard Eleaden.

»All pain and sorrow will go away.« True. That was how I remembered the embrace. I felt free of worry, safe and loved. And best of all, it would be so easy to have it again. All I had to do was give in, submit. My beast(s) longed for the prospect of belonging to such a powerful pack and urged me to do so.

I didn't, I resisted with all my will.

A warm embrace was not all I remembered.

In that hug also lay an ice-cold hatred of sentient beings that Eleaden shoved down my throat. The planet despised them, hated what they did, the way they were outside of its reach.

The feeling was sickening.

The knights I had fought side by side with, and regarded some as my mentors, I then saw as monsters, a blight on the surface of the planet that had to be eliminated at all costs. Stella may have been dead by then, but I felt certain that even she would become such an aberration in my Eleaden-embraced sense of reality.

I couldn't let that happen.

Being controlled and turning against those I fought alongside was one thing. A terrible one that shook me to my core and reminded me of things I would rather forget. Hard to cope with, but with the help of my friend, I managed. 

The truth was simple. Hurting Stella would devastate me.

And it wouldn't matter that she would be fine in the next cycle. I would never be able to erase the fact that I had turned against her from my memory. A terrible thought. One that made me feel a change in the temper of my beast(s). They didn't want to hurt one of their pack either.

I know, strange to think of MY instincts, something that was part of ME, as something alien that I had no control over. But the truth was, I didn't. Few did. Fear for one's life, fear of heights, fear of fire, these were all instincts wired into one that took great effort to overcome. Leaning on my inner beast(s) was like being in a constant state of peril - on the verge of giving in to panic and acting on my instincts, irrationally.

However, now, faced with the threat of Eleaden exploiting this impending disaster, I found common ground with my wild inner instincts. A pack was something sacred, something others should not seek to touch. And Stella was part of MY pack, no doubt about it.

If anything, Eleaden and his beasts made it clear what they thought of humans, including Stella. There was no place for her in their pack, except to be used as a broodmare to give birth to new beastmen.

Unacceptable!

In unusual accord with my instincts, I pushed back. And it proved to be much easier than I had expected. Logical. After all, I did not confront Eleaden directly, but through its beast - well, beastwoman.

There was only so much power it could channel through her, the greatest hurdle thus coming from within myself, from my thoughts, doubts, and fears.

»Why take the hard way? Join us.« Elaeden's whispers, its efforts to get behind my defenses, were relentless. Futile, though.

»Didn't you hear me? I said fuck off!« As a defiant roar ripped from my throat, my presence fell upon my surroundings.

The beastwoman froze on top of me, her piss wetting my belly. Disgusting and yet understandable. There was no time to worry about such trifles, though. After all, I lay in much worse. 

What mattered was that the pressure on my mind eased. The focus returned to my eyes and with it the sight of four tits in front of my face. Easy things to attack, not what would kill the bitch. I found the neck and bit down, ripping it out.

The beastwoman collapsed to the ground, choking on her own blood - no longer a threat. I was on my feet in a heartbeat, searching the battlefield for my packmate. As I feared, the human, Stella, was as frozen with fear as the beastman she faced.

No hesitation.

Ignoring the threat of Eleaden, I dashed after him before his madness could overcome the fear I had struck him with.

He didn't stand a chance. 

Aside from the baffling mystery of how he was still standing with so many cuts, the nearly bitten off head had done the trick. The human, a member of the pack, oozing with fear, seemed fine. Pride struck my heart.

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"K-Korra?" the human stammered as the effect of my presence wore off. A little disappointing. "It's you, Korra, right?"

"Yeah," I growled the obvious. Not everyone was bright. Still, she was part of the pack. Someone to protect.

"Shit, I thought . . ." Her eyes shot behind me, just as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. A threat. Turning, I ensured that I stood in front of the human. The female may have been fast on her feet and even faster with her blades, but she was not as sturdy as me. 

The beastwoman, choking, her four tits covered in blood, lunged at us. Ripping out her throat did not bring her down, not enough. I should have known better.

If it wasn't for the human behind me, I would have pounced back. Instead, I took a defensive stance. Even cornered prey could do harm; any cub knew that. And this one was driven by blind madness, feral. A bitter fate for any beast.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end again as she closed the gap to within a few strides of us. Ears pricked. A warning. Not a threat, though. A huge bull, a friend, a teacher, trampled the beastwoman to the ground. Brutal, savage, but effective.

"Always make sure they don't get up again!" The wisdom of experience I lacked. Appreciated.

"I will," I assured the strong one, expressing my respect and thanks.

A nod, a sign of approval. Good.

"I saw you in trouble," he said, quickly scanning the battlefield - so did I, ashamed. "I thought we were going to lose you to Eleaden. Glad I was wrong." The pride in his voice made my insides tingle. He would make a great male to mate with. Too bad, me too weak to impress him.

"You're doing great; keep it up, girls." Praise. 

Pride stirred my heart, my tail making my joy plain. Not for long. Caution was needed. Enemies to the pack were everywhere.

"I'm so glad you made it," the human, Stella, gushed, relieved. Honest, she cared.

"I did."

"You sure you're okay? You seem more . . . wild than usual." Caution. Understandable. Not so stupid after all. Pride.

"I am. More with my beasts."

"Oh . . . wait, will you be all right. I mean touched by another beastmen and all that?"

Shrug. "I will fight back." No one could turn me against my own pack. Unless . . . "Stronger ones, a threat." Too much Eleaden power in them. They could overwhelm my resolve.

"I will fry my brain - if I should be a threat."

The human female was taken aback. "You can do that? Sorry, stupid question. Of course you can."

Stupid question indeed. I spoke about it and my mane many times.

Shrug. "I try. Do my best not to be a threat to you."

The feeling on the back of my neck. Threat. Another beastman. The movement of my wings alerted the human, Stella. Good. This one was big.  A mystery how he slipped through other humans. Weak perhaps? A threat anyway. Me too weak. Little chance of mating.

"He doesn't seem that fast."

No, he wasn't. "Threat. Careful."

He was a man, a beastman. A cross between a human female and some kind of male bear. Around level 130. Not much stronger than me. But bigger. Much bigger. Lots of muscle and fat. Getting hit would hurt.

"Don't get hit," I growled at the human, the pack member, Stella.

She nodded back, her eyes on her prey. Good.

The options were limited. Poison too weak for such a big body. Claws too short - wounds too shallow. Annoyingly, the man's neck was so short that his chin touched his chest. Biting out the throat was still possible. Difficult though. My mane, possibility. Limited, must avoid fat areas.

A growl, a warning, a taunt before I pounced. The prey swung his paws at me, too slow. I ducked, dodged, jumped onto my prey's back. Skin too thick. My claws barely dug in. Hard to hold on. Had to be quick. I bit into his neck.

»Join our pack. A big pack, a strong pack.« Eleaden's lies assaulted my mind. It was not a pack. Feral beasts. Disgusting. Sad.

»Good males to mate with.« Eleaden was quick to take advantage of my urges and weaknesses. I resisted. Got my own pack. No males in it, though. Not here. Needed to get to the rest of my pack.

I shook off the hold and tried to break the beastman's neck. Too tough. Hurt my teeth. I held onto his back. Me there too distracting for him. Trying to get rid of me. Not paying attention to the human. She was fast, finding our prey's weaknesses, making him bleed.

The hairs on my neck prickled.

"Danger!" I barked at the human. The beastman roared, the air around him shuddered. Not his presence, an ability. It threw me off his back. Annoying. Harder to hunt.

Landing on my feet, I hurried back. Needed to keep his attention on me, away from the human - Stella. Taunt. Worked again. Stupid. Me too fast, him too clumsy.

"He's already regenerating!" the human pointed out to me. No need. I've noticed that myself. Nevertheless annoying. The cuts my packmate made have stopped bleeding. Deeper wounds necessary.

"I'll try freezing - the legs." 

The human nodded. She understood. Had to bear the brunt of the attack for a while. I was fast. Circling around the beastman. My mane fluttering behind me, ready to attack. The human screamed. Her war cry. An attempt at a taunt. Not bad. Mine better. It worked nonetheless. Male stupid, mind shadowed by ferality.

My mane moved. In one breath, it wrapped around the beastman's leg. Frost bit into his flesh. He roared. Pained. Good to hear. It worked. I kept my distance, away from his paws. Dangerous to get hit. Focused on my mane. Prey annoyed. Hurt in a way he couldn't ignore. Satisfaction.

The beastman was angry, kicking and pulling at the mane. To no avail. Thanks to mana, the hair was stronger than usual. He had to use his paws to get rid of the mane. Stupid. A chance.

The human sees it. Her blades are sharp, not dulled by a long fight, cutting deep into the flesh of her prey.

Ears perked up. Movement in the air. Something was flying towards us. No danger. With a thud and a splash, it landed between us and the beastman.  A human body, the upper part torn from the lower. A male, a knight, stronger than me. Not good.

Mistake to stop fighting. The beastman didn't care. He stepped on a dead man. Sickening, disrespectful, would pay.

The pack member, not strong enough, had to throw up. Understandable, pitiful. The urge to stroke her struck my heart. A weakness, a mistake. Too much distraction. The beastman's paw hit me in the side, sending me flying. The pain clouded my mind for a moment. The landing, though smooth, hurt like hell. I had to have broken a rib or two. Annoying. Even roaring my dare hurt.

I raced back to the beastman, the mana dulling the pain in my side, healing it. The human was in big trouble. On the defensive. Unhurt though. Good. No idea how to take him down quickly. Annoying.

My claws dug into his fat. Again and again. I dodged his massive paws.

He roared frustrated. 

»Don't resist. Join us, our pack!« The constant buzz of Eleaden, otherwise pressing on my mind, turned for a moment to a sweet whisper. Just lies, I reminded myself. The pack does not take your freedom. A pack does not make you feral.

»Never!« I growled back my defiance.

A quick movement behind the beastman and his head fell to the ground, cut off by the sword. His body followed, revealing a human in armor. Not my human, not a member of my pack. A friend of the pack, though.

He stole my prey. Annoying.

Glad at the same time. My pack survived.

For the time being. 

We had to fight. To get to the rest of the pack.

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