Tabitha glanced to her with a low growl as the snake girl looked to her with a strained smile, seeming to be struggling with frowning and smiling at the same time while giggling with a gleam in her eye.
“You know what I’m talking about, right? Of course you do, everyone knows what it’s like… having that… sexy human right in your clutches… it’s just so nrrghmmm!” Her tail coiled up below her while she held her hands to her face, rubbing her cheeks and smothering her smile with eyes twitching a few times. “I couldn’t help it… I just kept killing every human I found. They bled all over my scales… so much. It was so hot! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Tabitha didn’t show concern or alarm from seeing the snake girl laughing manically with wide eyes and a deranged smile on her face, nor flinched in the slightest as the twisted monster rolled around on her back gasping for air and grunted loudly. She didn’t show any reaction because after the first six hours of seeing the girl behaving this way it had started to lose its shock appeal.
“You are one messed up naga,” Tabitha muttered, not being heard by the snake monster as she kept laughing to herself.
“So now I’m finally coming out here to buy my own human, one who I can rape before I gut him like a fishy!” the naga laughed before gasping for air and spinning around, her tail coiling up around her before she faced Tabitha with a wide smile on her face. “I’ve been saving up; I’m finally ready to buy my own man. It’s going to be so perfect. We’re going to make sweet love to each other, then I’ll crush his bones with my body, then I’ll stab him in the face! Again and again and again and again! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Lovely,” Tabitha flatly replied before looking over her shoulder towards the driver. “Why the hell did you give her a ride anyway?”
Seated at the front of the ride was a very tall and skinny old looking woman, clad in only a dark red robe and cowl while her pale skin was stretched over her long bones. Her curled green hair was poking out from the top of the hood while her pointed chin extended out in front in front of her face which was hidden under the cowl. One hand was holding the reins to her horse while the other was drumming its fingers on her chest, her long unkempt nails being yellow with black edges that matched her toenails which were seen with her bare feet.
“What was I supposed to do?” the woman asked in a raspy voice. “She just appeared back there saying she needed a ride. Telling her no was only met with her giving me her life story and laughing about how she’s killed every man she’s tried to copulate with.”
“So you just let her stay back here?”
“Listen, little kitty, I don’t have the strength in my old age to rape a man like I used to back in the day, much less throw a spry naga with obvious dementia out of my carriage. She hasn’t turned her blade towards me yet, so I can’t really complain about the awkward company she’s forced upon me.”
“But she’s crazy,” Tabitha said looking to the naga who was watching her with a twisted smile while giggling and her left eye blinking a few times.
“Be that as it may, nothing I can do about her,” the woman laughed with a shrug. “But it’s fortunate you wanted a ride as well. Should she turn violent I can try and escape while she sinks her blade into you.”
Tabitha sighed with annoyance as she saw the naga staring deeply at her while her tail slowly unraveled around her body.
“I like your fur,” the naga said with a strained smile at the end, forcing the words out before she grabbed her hair and giggled more. “It’s so pretty.”
“So you’ve said, many times now,” Tabitha dryly replied.
“Can I skin you alive? Pretty please? I want to wear you.”
“No, you cannot, as I’ve told you many times now.”
“Okay. I’ll ask again later in case you change your mind.”
“I know you will,” Tabitha flatly said before looking up at the sky again. After a minute the naga leaned over and smiled down at her, her long hair dropping down around Tabitha’s head as the neko quietly hissed at the girl.
“Are you going to Helchberg too?” the naga asked while grabbing her own face and giggling.
“Could you kindly leave me alone?” Tabitha sternly said. “You’re getting on my last nerves.”
“Are you getting a man in Helchberg too? That’s why I’m going. I’m going to buy one there with my life’s savings.”
“Get out of my face!” Tabitha yelled, with the naga promptly darting back over to the other side of the wagon and curling her tail around her, the long limb wrapping around her body up to her chin where she peeked out over it at the neko with nervous eyes from behind her long hair.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered while shaking. “I’m just excited. I’m going to get pregnant tonight and also butcher another human. It’s going to be a magical evening.”
“Well good for you. Just leave me alone, alright?”
“See?” the naga eagerly asked as she held out her hand between the coils of her tail, with Tabitha seeing her holding three gold coins in her palm. “I saved up and up. I have three gold coins, that’s three times the amount I had when I started out. I’m going to spend it all on a healthy man. He’s going to be mine to rape and slash open his chest cavity afterwards. It’s going to be- nrrghmmm so much fun.”
“That’s all you have?” Tabitha questioned as she pointed to the gold coins. The naga glanced to them then to the neko while nodding a few times as she kept herself hidden in her tail and hair.
“Yes, that’s my life’s savings.”
“Three gold coins?” Tabitha plainly asked. “You do realize that human males start as low as about three hundred gold coins, right?”
“Three… hundred?” the naga squeaked while clutching the coins close to her.
“Yes, three hundred. More than that even if you want a really virile one.”
“So… I don’t have enough?” the naga asked with watery eyes.
“No, you don’t have enough,” Tabitha answered shaking her head. “Not even close.”
The naga whined while hiding her face in her tail, her body slowly spinning around as she turned about on the blanket. She then suddenly screamed and lunged over atop Tabitha, the neko staring with wide eyes as the snake girl held her down by the throat and cried in sorrow while grabbing her dagger and gearing back with it.
“No! I worked so hard to get those coins!” the naga wailed before striking her blade into the sack right next to Tabitha’s head. “I wanted to get pregnant today! Waaaaaaaah!”
“Wait, stop!” Tabitha cried out as the naga repeatedly struck her dagger hard into the sack next to the neko’s head, her other hand holding the stunned mercenary down by her throat with a firm grip.
“I’m so sad I could just stab someone! I want a man to have sex with me, I want his seed, I want his guts strewn all over the ground, I just want what every girl in Eden wants! Is that too much to ask?” She then looked down to Tabitha with a quivering mouth and wide eyes, slowly pulling her dagger out of the sack and holding it next to Tabitha’s breast. “Can I have your fur now? I need something to blow my nose with and wipe away my tears of agony.”
“Please don’t, I’m still using it,” Tabitha nervously said with a weak smile.
“Please? I’ll be your best friend.”
“No, that’s quite alright. I’d much rather keep my fur. But if you want to be friends still then that’s alright with me. Just put your dagger away, okay?”
The naga whimpered with watery eyes while holding her blade close to Tabitha’s bosom, the neko glancing to her swords next to her then to the crazed monster who was sniveling with a heartbroken expression.
“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, dearie,” the old woman in front mentioned while keeping her sights before her. “Could you please not cut up my personal belongings back there? I’d much appreciate that.”
“Alright,” the naga whined before holstering her blade in her belt. She then dropped down next to Tabitha, holding her tightly with her arms
while her tail wrapped around the neko. “Oh, what am I going to do? I don’t have enough money to buy a man. This whole day is ruined!”
“Then why don’t you go back home?” Tabitha grunted as she tried to free herself, being unable to budge as the naga’s hold on her was as strong as iron.
“I can’t go back without getting pregnant, all my friends will laugh at me!”
“Wait, you have friends?”
“What am I going to do?” the naga sobbed while looking at Tabitha with desperation. “How can I ever afford a man when they’re so expensive? How will I ever get a darling little baby girl of my own? I can’t teach her to stab people if she never gets born.”
“For starters you can let me go,” Tabitha strained out as the naga’s tail around her body constricted tightly. “Seriously, you’re crushing me.”
“Oh, okay then,” the naga softly replied before letting go of the neko. Tabitha gasped for air as the snake’s tail unraveled around her and pulled away.
“What is wrong with you?” Tabitha yelled out at the girl.
“I’m so lonely,” the naga whimpered while her tail curled up around her body again. Tabitha watched her with a dull glare as the girl hid herself in the coils of her slender body, her head being concealed by her long hair with her eyes peeking out at the neko above the tip of her tail through her bangs.
“Well maybe if you didn’t murder everyone you meet you wouldn’t be alone!” Tabitha snapped at her.
“Stab… stab… stab…” the naga grunted with a strained voice while shaking slightly. “I want a man to love me- nrrghmmm love me… make love to me… knock me up… stab.”
“I’d normally kill someone for what you did to me earlier but you’re too crazy to be worth the effort,” Tabitha muttered before crossing her arms and looking away with a scoff.
The wagon continued along the trail with the steady clopping of the horse’s feet and creaking of the wheels all that was being heard as the monsters fell silent. After a while the naga slowly poked her head up while keeping her eyes on Tabitha.
“Did you mean what you said?” she timidly asked.
“Yes, you’re out of your mind,” Tabitha flatly replied.
“About being my friend?” Tabitha glanced over to see the naga watching her with worried eyes. “Please? I could use a friend right now.”
“Leave me alone.”
“PLEASE!” the naga screamed as she lunged over and tackled Tabitha. She again started whacking her dagger into the blanket and sack next to the neko’s head while crying on her shoulder. “Please be my friend! I want a friend! I don’t want to be alone right now!”
“Okay! Okay, I’ll be your friend! Just stop!” Tabitha cried out as she was held down by the emotional monster.
“Really?” the naga whimpered while looking to her with watery eyes. She gave one more hard whack with her dagger into the sack then leaned close to Tabitha’s face. “You mean it? You’ll be my friend?”
“Yes, I mean it. Just… stop doing what you’re doing,” Tabitha insisted through a forced smile.
The naga trembled with an eager murmur before a smile crept across her face. She giggled with a strained gasp then yanked her dagger back and pet Tabitha’s head with her other hand.
“Thank you- HAHAHA! Thank you, friend. Hee hee! I like you.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Tabitha said while leaning as far back from the deranged monster as she could. “So could you get off me now?”
“What’s your name? I forgot if I asked already, I’m so sorry,” the naga giggled while slowly laying back down beside Tabitha, her pink eyes focused intently on the neko while she gently caressed her dagger in hand.
“It’s Tabitha,” the neko muttered while lying back and covering her eyes when her arm.
“Tabitha, I like that name,” the naga kindly said while her long tail gently swayed about. “My name is Scay. So nice to meet you.”
“We met hours ago, and the pleasure wasn’t then nor is it now mine.”
“Hee hee, you’re funny,” Scay purred with a strained smile as she clutched her dagger close to her. “Say, can I skin you alive now? I really want to wear my best friend’s fur, I want to- nrrghmmm have you snuggling me all over. Friend.”
“No, you cannot,” Tabitha flatly replied. Scay curled up in her tail again with a stern murmur, her eyes still locked onto the neko while she giggled quietly to herself.
“Say, dearie?” the woman asked turning her head back towards Tabitha. “Are my belongings alright in that sack behind your head? I have my favorite blanket and pillow in there.”
Tabitha leaned up and untied the rope holding the sack closed, opening it and peeking inside before shaking her head.
“I don’t think so,” she replied as she saw tattered blankets and feathers inside the bag. The fine silk covers and embroidered pillows obviously did not survive the naga’s relentless slashing.
The woman sighed and turned her head over to Scay who was watching her with a worried smile.
“If you have any money to pay for those I would much appreciate it,” she asked expectedly.
Scay mumbled with a frown then slowly held out her hand with her three gold coins. The woman snatched the coins and put them in her robe before turning her sights back forward, not seeing the naga whimpering with tears forming in her eyes again.
“My life’s savings…” Scay quietly bemoaned.
Tabitha dropped back against the torn brown bag and looked up at the sky with a dull expression on her face, a slow disgruntled sigh escaping her lips as she felt the wagon rocking slightly on the road.
“Maybe that will teach you not to go crazy with your-” she started before Scay tackled her down while crying out of sorrow. Again she started hacking the dagger into the sack and blanket beside Tabitha, constantly slashing with her blade while holding onto the neko and crying into her chest.
“My life’s savings, all gone! I’m so sad right now, I don’t know what to do! Now I’ll never get enough to buy a man! I just want to stab someone until I’m happy again!”
“Don’t stab me, I’m your friend, remember?” Tabitha cried out as the naga coiled around her body and tightened again. Scay continued to cry and repeatedly stab the torn bag and blanket with her dagger while crying into Tabitha’s chest.
“Why is life so mean to me? I just want to have a baby and stab someone!” Scay wailed with eyes shut tight and tears dropping onto the neko’s fur.
“Watch it with that thing! Hey!” Tabitha yelled out before struggling to inhale as the naga’s body tightened around her. “Scay, I can’t breathe again! Stop!”
The old woman continued driving her carriage through The Outerlands, an amused grin coming across her face as she heard the two girls in back crying and screaming together the whole way.
*****
As the sun was beginning to descend in the horizon Tabitha hopped out of the now stationary wagon. She stretched out her arms then refastened her belt with her two swords behind her as she looked around at the village of Helchberg that she and the two other travelers had finally arrived at. The cobblestone roads were covered with leaves and dirt, the houses and shops barely kept in good condition as they appeared hastily patched up with oddly placed boards and sticky mud, the foul smell of liquor and tainted meat caused the neko to twitch her nose in disgust, and the sight of six bloodied corpses lying on the ground right before them at the village entrance only elected a scoff out of the girl rather than concern.
“Okay, really now,” she complained while eyeing the bodies with annoyance. “I know this place has a reputation for being a dump, but just leaving dead bodies in the streets is a bit much. The locals here can’t be that uncivilized.”
“What happened here?” Scay asked before she dropped down onto the ground next to Tabitha with a thump. She then rose up and looked around at the bodies with a curious eye while wiggling the end of her tail in the air behind her.
“They look to have been put
down recently,” the old woman on the wagon said without a care. “I’d imagine they’ll be disposed of, eventually.”
“Whatever, not my town,” Tabitha said before glancing back to the woman with a raised eyebrow. “Is this really as far as you’re going? You can’t take me any further?”
“Sorry, just came out this way to sell some of my wheat and barley. The locals here buy enough for their distillery to make it worth the trip. I’m heading back after I’m done.”
“I guess I can’t complain about getting this far,” Tabitha reluctantly reasoned before making her way into the village. As she did she glanced down and carefully sidestepped around the bodies that were lying on the blood-soaked road. Three of the corpses were goblins, the red skinned monsters having been smashed into the ground with great force as their crumbled bodies were indented into the road with blood soaking the stones. Their own weapons of dull knives and a small rusty short sword which were lying near them apparently did nothing to help save their lives.
“Goblins, they always pick a fight they can’t win.”
Another body resembled a woman covered in dark blue and gray fur, her ears being enlarged and leathery while her eyes which were open still were dark yellow. The sharpened claws and toenails it had apparently did not help it survive its last encounter there in the village as it had claw marks struck all over its body and neck, and its tail which was long and hairless had several rips and lacerations on it as well. Around its waist was a belt that had a couple pouches hooked to it, one of which was spilled open on the ground with its black dust mixing into the pool of blood near the corpse.
“Gremlins, wasn’t aware those sneaky bitches were in these parts again.”
Chronicles of Eden - Act VI Page 19
