Chapter 110: Chapter 99 – the Shells

Placing her captured pastries into a small wooden box, Ourupadia quickly then scurried the box into the fur of their Desert Claimer.  Glancing over her shoulder, she stared at Klipesia. Just on the other side of the gate, she stared up the road. Charlie wandered down slowly, a large box in his arms that almost was as tall as he was.

 

Tapping her shoulder, Ourupadia jumped as she realised Charlie had slipped from her grasp. Cursing to herself, she looked at the pastries. So delicious, yet so distracting….

 

“Ok, everyone ready?” Charlie said with a smile as he walked past Klipesia. She nodded and began to move toward her fellow huntresses.

 

“Yes, we will go just ahead of you while I assume you will ride with Ourupadia?” Klipesia said in a very gentle tone.

 

“Umm, yes?” Charlie said, her calmness for some reason being oddly menacing to him. With assistance from Ourupadia, Charlie got onto the back of the Desert Claimer. Once settled in, he began to gently settle the box onto his lap. Just as Ourupadia was getting onto the Desert Claimer, Charlie offered the box out to her.

 

Her ears pricked up as she accepted the box. Holding it under her arm as she got onto the Desert Claimer, she turned and stared at Charlie. Smiling, she then placed the box on her lap. Lifting the paper that covered the top of the box, she peered inside. Her eyes widened as she spanned to face Charlie. Looking back to stare into the box, she again turned to stare at him.

 

“You crazy!?” she said before turning and staring into the box again.

“You have helped me a lot, what can I say,” Charlie said with a small giggle as he saw the grin slowly taking over her face. Turning, she leapt onto him. Smothering him in kisses and cuddles, she began to nuzzle her face against his neck.

 

“Your amazing!” she yelled. From the back of a Desert Strider, Klipesia sat quietly. Her glare lingered on the two as she found her hand inching towards her short sword. Gripping her hand, another huntress calmed her and brought her back to her senses.

 

“Well tell the Chiefess, she will sort this,” the huntresses whispered to Klipesia, who in response gave a quick nod before whipping the reins of her horse and sending it forward into the Desert. The webbed feet of the Desert Strider quickly began to stride into the desert.

 

Seeing the group beginning to move, Charlie pushed Ourupadia off him as she still fought to smother him in affection. Seeing they were ready, the woman at the head of the Desert Claimer sent the beast forward. From the battlements of the town, Wrench stared on in silence.

 

“So, he is the one you chose as your student?” the of the people clad in the black cloaks which were adorned with red owls.

 

“Yeah, I think he has the guts to train under me. So, no killing him please,” Wrench said, getting laughs and chuckles from the hidden watchers around him. After almost forty or so minutes, the specs of the group disappeared over the horizon and into the Desert.

 

Bouncing along, his legs gently cradled in the fur of the Desert Claimer, Charlie felt the arms of a huntress again him. Just in front of him, Ourupadia kept glancing into the box, giving excited giggles as her tail frolicked from side to side. Smiling, he relaxed against the huntress.

 

“Thanks for this,” the soft voice of the huntress behind him whispered.

 

“For what?” Charlie said, glancing back to look at the human seatbelt.

 

“She is rarely this happy. It is good to see her like this, especially in such times. Many like Ourupadia, so when she is happy, there are a lot of Huntresses that are happy. And Vultures, warriors and even some Forgers at that,” the girl said with a giggle as she saw Ourupadia almost stuffing her head in the box.

 

She wouldn’t open it out of fear that sand kicked up by the Desert Claimer would ruin it. Yet she also couldn’t just leave it be as her excitement got the best of her. Some huntresses even had to give her little knocks on the side to remind her that she needed to keep her ears and tail hidden. These younger huntresses and a mix of Vultures giggled and playfully tugged on her side while muttering things in her ears.

 

Leaping she would blush and hit them away while giving a glance to Charlie. Some girls even playfully grabbed her hips and made swaying motions as they burst out in laughter. Even some almost fell from the Desert Claimer as their laughter overtook them before someone would save their cackling counterpart. An even wider smile came to Charlie.

 

Through everything he had seen, this was a welcomed change in tone. Rubbing her hands on the sides of her face, Ourupadia felt a warm sensation slowly overcoming her. What was wrong with her? She was never like this!

 

“My~ such a cheeky little human,” a Vulture said flirtatiously with a little bump into the side of another woman as she looked from the contents of the box and then to Charlie.

 

“Um, sorry?” Charlie muttered.

 

“Well, it is two months away from the mating season, and you are giving such gifts to a young woman? And you are already part of the Chiefess’s harem? Well, it seems you are also going into heat!” another Vulture added as she cuddled against the flush red Ourupadia.

 

“I…I don’t understand. The gift is a sign of thanks?” Charlie said, getting a few laughs from the women who understood English, then more laughs from the other women as his words were translated.

 

“Darling little thing, here giving something of such value is your way of saying you,” The woman was cut off by Ourupadia slapping her arm repeatedly, much to the laughs of the other women. Turning slowly to him, she smiled gently.

 

“Don’t worry. Get sleep, you must tire,” Ourupadia said before snatching the box from another girl and holding it against her chest.

 

Smiling, and a little confused, the sleepy boy leant back against the huntress behind him. It was odd to think a couple of months ago having to use a woman as a seat on the back of a beast the length of seven to eight wagons would have scared him, now it was just the norm. Nuzzling back, he looked up to the sky. It was slowly becoming night. He needed sleep, but he knew the Chiefess would want to spend time with him.

 

That and he needed to go to Nolkonoe and relay to her what Wrench had told her before he left. Her hand was coming along well, and her skin would be able to grow over it hopefully, the magic and machinery he had placed into the hand would help to grow some nerves back in her hand. It would be uncomfortable for a while, but in the end, it would help her channel magic as well as give her a new hand.

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Several Vultures leant closer to the huntress where Charlie sat in the arms. Shaking her shoulder, they began to mutter to her in stroppy tones. Snapping back, she only tightened her hold around him.

 

“Sister! Come on! You have had him for like an hour now!” One Huntress said in their native language while puffing out her cheeks and tugging on her arm. Shrugging her off, she sneered at her.

 

“Sister Ourupadia said that I can have him until we get back!” the woman argued as an annoyed Charlie began to squint as he tried to get to sleep, but their shouts did not allow him to rest.

 

“I am not going to do anything, I am just curious,”

 

“Get your male! Did we see like… three? Or something back there,”

 

“No, two of them wore those cloaks and I couldn’t see their faces. And the guy in the mask scares me,”

“I can’t see his eyes, so it makes it hard to tell where he is looking or what he is thinking,” a Vulture added in, getting in return some nods and mutters of agreement from the others.

 

Charlie paid little notice to them as he tried to focus on Ourupadia. Yet something felt wrong. A sweat above his brow and a tightness in his chest that wouldn’t go away. Klipesia had gone ahead with a small group of Huntresses, but why? What warranted them having to go so far ahead so quickly?

 

Frowning, he leaned back and stared at the sky. Within his world, he didn’t notice the women stop their bickering as he leaned his head against the breasts of the woman behind him.

“OHHHH!!! He likes you!” one Vulture squealed, this getting the attention of Ourupadia. Turning, Ourupadia glared at the Huntress. Loosening her grip on Charlie, she gave her a simple nod to say, “Ok yeah, I understand my boundaries,”

 

Patting her side, Ourupadia smiled at Charlie. Nodding, he gently moved from the arms of a deflated-looking Huntress as she reluctantly released him. Carefully gripping the fur of the Desert Claimer, he came over to her side. Sitting there, he gently placed a hand on her arm to keep himself from falling off the beast.

 

Knew she could not just allow her tail to come out in case they get seen by scouts and they report her. So, leaning back, she allowed the magic from her tail to slip. But instead, she made sure her tail was hidden within the fur of the beast. With her tail hidden, she allowed it to snake around his legs which were also covered by the white fur.

 

Gently resting his head against her, he smiled. A scraping sensation hit across his cheek. A shadow fell over him, blocking the light of the sun. Looking to the side, he saw sand rising into the air. Cracks and bangs filled his ears to the accompaniment of screams. From a small hill, not far away a poof of smoke was just beginning to fade before several more flashes came.

 

Tucking Charlie against her Chest Ourupadia let out a cry to the others as she tumbled off the side of the Desert Claimer. The woman driving the claimer began to drive the creature to force it to make a circle as flashes of fire slammed into the side of the beast. Shards of metal flung into the air before screaming down upon their position.

 

More women toppled off the side and down into the protective circle of the Desert Claimer. More shells rained upon them, but luckily the distance of the mercenaries stopped them from accurately being able to fire onto the roughly protected area. Raising her tail, she began to shield Charlie from the falling metal.

 

Sobbing filled Charlie’s ears. Turning, he saw the woman who had held him curled on the floor. Holding her chest, Charlie noticed lines of blood trickling over her hands. He saw shrapnel embedded into her, the bleeding of which was only just being slowed by the huntresses who placed their hands around the wound.

 

Several Vultures leapt up and were buried into the fur of the Desert Claimer. Yet there was little room to pull back their bow string without it getting tangled in the thick fur. What else didn’t help was the lack of being able to see the enemy except for small puffs of smoke. Scanning around, Charlie’s mind began to strain.

 

His eyes shot up to a large wooden box which sat on the back of the beast. Twenty, thirty Huntresses… twenty, maybe another thirty Vultures. Throwing his hands over his ears, Charlie buried his head down as another shell landed near them. Still holding Charlie against her, Ourupadia tried to organise and order around the disorganised and dying troops. Taking in a deep breath, he placed a hand onto the protective arm of Ourupadia.

 

“Move back, we need to act,” Charlie said, his voice a menacing calm. Ourupadia stared at Charlie with wide eyes and a sneer, looking at him as if he was crazy. Staring into the eyes of Ourupadia, he tightened his grip on her arm. Sneering again, she kept her arm around him as she nodded.

 

“Tell me where to move,” she said, and seeing he was not getting rid of her, Charlie nodded and pointed to the wooden box.

 

Holding him tightly against her chest, Ourupadia began to move forward. Getting to the side of the Desert Claimer, she began to climb. Slowly and carefully, she moved up, now and then ducking and shuddering as a bomb exploded against the thick armoured skin of the Desert Claimer. Pushing herself and Charlie against the fur, she moved even further up.

 

A rush of hot air flooded over her scalp as she ducked. Looking up to Ourupadia, he saw a warm trickle of blood coming down her cheek. They were sitting ducks. The attackers didn’t even need to hit them directly, they just needed to hit near them as the shrapnel would fly into the air, before falling onto them.

 

At this rate, they would be massacred.

 

“Sorry,” Charlie muttered as he placed his feet against the stomach of Ourupadia. With a burst of power, the power that Ourupadia had not expected, Charlie leapt forward. The force paused her back down, while it threw him the few feet needed to land onto the wooden box. Grabbing it by the hinges, he began to drag it back down into the protection of the Desert Claimer.

 

A ringing filled his ears. Blinking, he looked to see a shadow over him. In front of him, Ourupadia stood with her arms out to the sides. Panting heavily, she stared at him. A small smile came to her lips as she slumped onto Charlie. From behind her, the small specs of smoke began to rise from the ground. A freshly exploded shell.

 

“Thank you,” she muttered quietly into his ear, “The dress is beautiful,”

 

Her breath was warm as she sunk against him. Glancing down her back, he saw shrapnel riddled into her back, as warm-blooded trickled over and through his fingers. 

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