Silent Protagonist

Silent Protagonist Part 1: Prisoner of Nelda.

Before you read here's a little advisory: This story will contain vore and strange concepts such a giantism that ignores and utterly makes fun of the Square Cube Law. So if either offends you...Well leave. ^^; Another interesting fact is it is part two of a side story that began in Clare's Quest "Bullyacation". So if you don't know what's going on...Well read it in the link bellow.

When we last left Silent Jake, the natural born mute adventurer from Thrill Seeker's adventure group, he had managed to convince Nelda the giant haughty Mist Elf to not eat him....

'Though for how long?'

Thought the blonde haired male adventurer. He pondered this as he was brought deeper into her cave. If a cave it could be called. The entrance from the outside was covered in a living curtain flowering vines covered in petals of decrative pinks, purples and light blues. Inside the cave it was less ordinary. The rock was a polished white cavern of marble-like stone. The passage way was lit with combination of Blaze Mold held under colored white-blue crystal lamps and faintly glowing crystals in the ceiling which bathed the place in a eerie glow. At least Jake thought it was eerie, ofcourse his a opinion could be a little biased what with being her prisoner and all. He also noted it wasn't a very large cave just big enough for Nelda, a small hand-made cot that was made from what looked like a few sails, some tents and half a dozen trader's flags and the wood they had been made of. Jake knew this cause he had hitched a ride with some in his early days beffore joining up with the Thrill Seekers and recognized some of the Personal Crests of the Trade Lords. He shuddered to think how many it had taken her to make that whole mattress. Nelda noticed his look of fear and smiled.  

"Yes. I do eat humans quite regularly, though I will confess for having a sweet tooth for the finer dishes. Such as Nekos, Inu's and Kitsune." She smiled widely and her stomach groaned. "Alas there aren't that many here, but my "supplier" will be sure and tell me from time to time when she's caught sight of a few." She smirked.    Jake wondered what she meant by "supplier". Did Giants have suppliers? If so how'd that relationship work? He'd not get to find out tonight he realized as Nelda was carrying him over to what looked like a animal cage on a cart with broken wheels probably some form of  earlier mentioned trader's wagon now re-purposed."Now do be a good man and save up all that energy for breakfast. After all..." She said flicking it open with the merest twitch of  her index finger then placing him inside before carefully shutting it again. "...You will be said meal sorry to say." Said the giant purple elf not sounding sorry at all. "After all I do find you amusing, but I need to eat a good breakfast every morning or I get oh so cranky." She said placing a large boulder, well to him at least, on top which didn't bend the bars. Obviously they were some sort of durable enchanted steel. "Goodnight, breakfast. We shall speak again, very briefly mind, in the morning." With that he watched as she walked over and lay down on her bed rolling over moaning with her content belly continuing to make work of his former traitorous C.O. Colonel Coggins. As soon as he heard her snore Jake tried to lift the rock...He strained and pushed but it would not move an inch! He began to panic and ran to the bars trying them to see if any were loose,but ofcourse they were solid and sure. He'd soon discover trying to pick the lock was worthless as the pressure from the boulder held the door still through it's sheer weight. He searched his "cell" for anything large enough to pry at it. In the adventure stories he used to read the hero would find a bone of a former occupent and use it to escape. Alas this was not a adventure story and he was not a hero. He was a soon to be forgoten tid bit of breakfast. He would have wailed and moaned, but couldn't due to being born without vocal cords. So he wept silently and curled up on the metal floor of the cage and waited for morning or hoped for some fluke where Felarya would cease to manifest a sun. It wasn't unheard of, but highly unlikely.

---

Morning was a lousy time to have to go walking through the damp mists, and tall impossing trees of the Chidokai Forest. Especially if you were a Merchant Gaurd in the Negav Trader's Alliance. Those few noble souls who risked life limb, and of course their precious cargo, in the attempt to keep Negav happy and rich. Some traveled on the backs of huge turtles called Nogdongs like the ones curently seen pulling a small heavily armored wagon along with a two lines of mercenary gaurds around it keeping said precious cargo safe.

Mercy Varick was small for a Negavian, about five foot two with,short cropped blue black hair that had the bangs dyed to a mustard yellow in the front. They were hanging just above her fiercely set black eyes, currently glaring straight ahead. She wore light body armor of black and with green stipes and a company emblem on the side of the shoulder bearing the Silver Libra of Lord Garth Zalan a nobleman who was well known for being eccentric, rich and a totall skirt chaser. Not that Mercy had too much interest in men, but she did have to admit if she had been smart and married some lesser noble like her brother had she'd likely be back behind the safe, thick predator proof walls of Negav instead out here with a light drizzle sprinkling her face and matting her hair.

She had joined because was low on funds and had these insatiable habits: eating drinking and ya know breathing. As such she was forced to take up a job and it was either this or be a waitress at the local pubb with her ass being sore enough from her early days of getting Psionically pinched over and over, or settle down and marry which wouldn't have allowed her those afermentioned insatable habbits as much as she'd have liked. She decided to try out being a gaurd. It wasn't too hard and the armor and weapons were provided free of charge...Mosty because they knew predators would likely strip you of them and somebody could easily come by later and recover it for the next poor sap. Well she intended not to become the next poor sap. In fact when she'd got her boots she remembered pouring a ton of saliva out them. The memory of it made her shudder mentally but her cool exterior couldn't afford to be broken so she decided to vent by acting gruff and tough."I'm getting off this Minacala damn world once and for all." She said aloud. To which her dark skinned and blad coleague, Tyrone Hammer, laughed.

"Not likely, Pips,  not likely at all." Said the huge ebony block of a man. Tyrone was a big guy, about seven foot seven with a muscular build that most body builder's would kill to possess. He wore a simular outfit to hers but the arm pads were missing replaced by large gauntlets and huge shoulder plates that still somehow managed to look small on him despite being just a little bigger than the average riot sheild.

Mercy smirked. Tyrone called her "Pips" because of her luck with dice. She had single handly won all of his Skevols just before leaving Negav and a necklace with a strange unpolished azure stone on it in her last game. She had always been good at Bones and Stones, a game that required one to throw both dice and carved rune stones with characters on them in order to try and hit a specefic number by making the 'pips' of the dice line up with the runes. She never lost a throw once in her life. Some said she had would be the incarnation of Minacala, goddess of luck in Felarya, if not for the fact she always ended up doing shitty jobs like this. She looked to Tyrone and grinned. At least there were bad gamblers like him to help finance her future long range travel plans. "You may think I'm crazy, but I've just about got enough saved up to buy a one way pass to the Dimensional Gate. Between the winnings I made off you and Gretchen." The later mentioned elf shook her fist in mock anger at at Mercy.

"And I shall vhin them bock from you tonight if were are not eaten, ja?" Said the tall blonde elf puting her hands on her hips. She had gorgeous blue-green eyes that were slightly curved, a lean but muscular figure and she wore a green robe that was cut off just above her calves. She was the company mage. Not a Battle Mage, like the kind the Isolon University produced, but more a "Bargain Mage" the kind who bought books with her own funds and used out of date spells and a little luck to win her fights. She was tough as a nails and twice as a determined to survive. The kind of person you wanted on your team. Plus her elvish magic was dedicated to defense and destruction spells istead of wussy healing spells or singing wood into stuff. Although her accent was strange and she never bothered to explain it. Mercy turned around and signed a insult in Nukian, the silent langauge of hand signs, at her. To which the elf responded by turning her nose up.

"I vould incernerate you, but I do need your vwhinnings to afford my own dream." She said smirking cockly. "Besides I can not vread Nukian." Said the elf. As she did she jumped forward crying out and glared back at her assualter. "Ven! Quit that!" She said to the only neko in the group. Ven Yadra of the Grey Paws Tribe. The wiry neko was was grey headed, but by no means old, he also had slit eyes that never seemed to open as if constantly poised in mischief. Which they were. He smiled a fangy smile.

"Nyah~ Sorry Gretchen!" He said totally insicerely in that slightly soft, effemnate voice of his. Everyone knew he liked pinching Gretchen's bum...as well as any girl who wasn't paying attention to the slinky neko. She glared at him and called a firebal to her hand and focused those blue orbs of hatred otherwise called eyes on him. "You are not, flithy neko! You are alvays trying to ninch my buttom! I should vfry you, ja??" She asked with menacing intent. To which he repiled by stepping closser to her. The only thing you could respect about Ven was he didn't fear death which was hard not to do Mercy always felt since this horrible world had a million and half ways of killing you...usually by digestion. She hated this jungle world and couldn't wait to trade it for a safe place somewhere in the universe where nobody had ever heard the word "giant" or "man eating" refered to the way women dominated their boyfreinds. She smiled at breifly flicking her vision around taking her suroundings. As she did so Ven continued to banter with Gretch which slightly distracted her but nothing meancing was close yet so she allowed them to continue.

The neko grinned widely and chuckled."Sorry, babe, just having a bit of fun. We could all be eaten at any minute ya know." He said snickering and flicking his tail. Tyrone walked up to both and pushed them away from one another. "That's enough of that! You're scaring the cilent!" He said gesturing to the small shaggy haired Negavian merchant. He was Raymond Buraz. Not a big guy, showing he wasn't that experianced or rich a merchant yet, since Mercy knew the richer and more profitable merchants tended to be large fat men or women, but he carried a a big sword at his side. He wore furs of Kensha beast made in the form of a tunic along with the usual rings and bracers that merchants tended to favor. His slightly weathered face, missing it's left eye and covered with a patch, smiled wearily at them.

"Oh I'm not scared..." The older man replied. "....at least not of you lot. I'm more worried about all these trees." Gretchen banished her fireball with wave of her soft hand. "You zhould be scared, sir, zhe trees they hide many dangers, ja." She said casting a warry glance around and Tyrone nodded.

"See? We don't need to fight one another...At least not till we get to the trading post, right Mr Buraz?" the warror asked the older merchant who nodded his eyes still on the tree line. "Aye...That's where we're bond. Hopefully we can unload some items there before pressing on to the real dangerous route through Ixtapal Marshes." He said shuddering. The life of a merchant was not an easy one. Everyone thought it was and on most world it may be but in Felarya merchants tended to be seen as plump and succulent. Twas one reason why Ray didn't load up like his fellow merchants, a sort way of spiting in a predator's eye. If she ate him he'd be less filling than a raisan. It also allowed him to out run his gaurds if need be.

After a moment's rest the group got back together and started moving out more quietly. As they did Ven made an ironic comment. "Yeah let's get going. The trees. zhey have ears, you know, ja!" He said mocking Gretchen's accent. The elf made a note to put a curse on the neko's tongue later...If they surivived. Saddly they all wouldn't for they were headed for their doom in the form of a pair of wood-colored eyes trained on them and lovely wide lipped smile. These eyes, and subscequent lips located beneath them neaty a cute up turned nose, belonged to a Dryad named Druidine (Drew-ah-dine).

Druidine was in most ways typical of her kind. She was 135 feet tall, quite large for a typical predator, though not a Dryad. There were far larger species out there, some reaching the 200 foot range and above. However it was not her height that made her unique among Dryads,nor was the fact her skin was covered in darker whorls like wood or even  the fact her large canopy of hair and leaves spread into a drooping willowly form. After all there were plenty of Dryads who's anccestery included Weeping Willows somewhere in their genetics as she had found out when she visited the Dryad Net the first time. No what made her so unique was the special relationship she shared with a gaint Mist Elf who lived in the area and her debt to said Elf. She watched the group comming towards her roots and dangling wispy hair. Grinning widely she knew she wouldn't get to eat all of these but she was content with what she knew she'd be assured of eating and grinned widely as she reached out with her mental link and reached for the one non Dryad mind she had, years ago, allowed into her own little private Drad Net server:the Mist Elf Nelda.
---

The purple skinned Elf was having a pleasent dream of living in a huge castle and having legions of human, nekos and elves to wait on her hand and foot when suddenly a whorl covered, brown skinned head with long green hair appeared before her in her dream. The apiration may have frightened lesser beings but she was a Elf and besides Nelda the reconized the figure. "Hello, Druidine, how pleasent to see you in my dreams again. Have you come to share my experiances? Or..." She put a finger to her lips and smiled around it naughtily. "Perhaps you have something for me?"

The dryad smiled widely and opened her large, fleshy lips to speak. Her voice was a like a song. "Ah my dear Nelda I do indeed have something for you! Something very tasty and helpless~ That is...Unless your not in the mood for Merchant Caravaan breakfast?" She asked the Elf. Who grinned widder.

"Ah my favorite breakfast! How prudent of you to remember our accord." She said geting up and crushing a few of her dream servents under foot where they had errected scafoldings to reach her toe nails and clip them. She payed them no mind. Not because it was a dream and they were not real, but because they were beneath her. No pun intended.

The Dryad's eyes shone with delight. "Ofcourse I remember! I would not be here if not for you generosity, milady.' She said curstying with an imaginary skirt and legs she knew wouldn't be there when she awoke. "I shall leave you now and capture them. Come by in...oh about thirty minutes." She said grinning. The elf laughed. "I shall perpare my guest room." She said laughing wickedly. The room in question being small, cramped and designed to put lesser creatures to the one use which they were designed: to sastify her hunger. This was the place of those beneath the elf. To serve or in this case be served as dinner. Smiling at her own sense of humor she used the spell of Quick Awakenings, got up and silently walked to the exit and left the cave without even saying goodbye to her prisoner. After all there was no need to wake him ....till lunch. She waved her hand parting the flower covered vines slightly and slipped out of her cave and into the grey mists of the Chidokai Forest heading west towards the spot Druidine prefered to take root. It was time for breakfast.

---

The Dryad disapeared from the dream world and woke to find the wagon and it's four guards wandering just in range because of the carefully placed rock in the middle of the only tamed part of the path. She smirked. If they thought they paying attention would make it easier to avoid her they were saddly mistaken. Druidine locked her eyes on taller elf with the angry look toher eyes. She licked her lips and prepared a spell of Mind Numb and lauched it at the Elf. The spell sailed through the air and smacked into the little creature with enough force to knock of her on her rear with a thud that reassured the dryad she'd not be lauching any fire balls anytime soon. Druidine wasted no time and dropped her Camouflage Spell and sending her hair reaching to ensnare the elf binding her the way a dridder might only instead of using silk she used the delicate looking leaves and vines to hold her. Soon the elf was just a little green hair decoration and just as she predicted the humans and their wagon backed off a safe distance and pointed their various weapons at her. She grinned widely and waved to them all looking totally unconcerned about the wide variety of exploding doom pointed at her.

"Hello, breakfast! How are you?" She asked causually enjoying the looks of a fear, suprise and anger on their faces. One of the humans, a yellow and blue haired one held a strange looking pointy object at her. A spear? She thought that's what they were called anyway. She payed it about as much mind as the large barreled weapon the neko was bringing to bear on her. "Metal Flingers" as she liked call them were not a match for her armor-like hard skin.

"Put down, Gretchen immdietly!" Said the little human with the pointy metal weapon. Her comrades followed suit, all but the dark skinned one who was watching the rear of the wagon. She winced mentaly at that and hopped Nelda would choose a less obvious path to retrive these morsels. She decided to rile them up a bit more.

"Getchen? Oh this tasty Elf I nabbed? You do know they taste wonderful, don't you?" She teased them. The human made no move to go forward, probably figuring she was well out of a range of Druidine's vines. 'Keep thinking that, little human.' thought the Dryad grinning inwardly. The neko however took a step forward. She leaned in a bit licking her lips. "Ah neko! My favorite snack." She said her eyes and lips shinning with delight. She really did like nekos. The cat boy didn't seem to worried though and in fact smiled a slow feral smile of insanity.

"Oi, Dryad? You got a name?" He asked in a calm tone. She smirked. Was he trying to be brave? Or was he just stupid? Well Nelda didn't really like nekos all that much, what with their fur tending to get stuck in her teeth many times in the past and forcing her ot have to ask Druidine to pick her canines of feline fiberous materials. She laughed inwardly at the memory of having to do so in the past. Likely let Druidine have this little fella. "My name is Druidine." She said suddenly gesturing. "and very soon yours will be nutrients!" She prepared to grab him and was surprised when he still didn't move even as the vines were striking forward! Ven flexed one be-furred hand casually as they neared him then with a single swipe of a hand and suddenly huge blades of fire appeared above his knuckles like flamming sabers! The vines were snipped with a swish of the agonizing fire claws. She retracted them back to herself holding them gingerly the ends still smoking from being cauterized. The huge plant woman frowned at him. "Now that was very rude!" She said to the neko who started to walk towards her his other hand taking on the qualities of his first.

"Ha ha ha." He laughed lightly, his eyes never changing shape staying in those perpectual slits as he grined widely. "Sorry about that but you did ask for it by taking away my favorite bottom to pinch!" He said raising his hands. "Now...Hand her over or you're fire wood~ Oh and if you don't mind? Please remove that big rock while your at it." He said assuming a fighting pose.

'Oooh! He really deserves what I'm going to do with him next!' she thought nastily then she smoothed out her anger carved features to calm, relaxed ones."I'm a dryad darling. We don't serve nekos...except maybe with a tall glass of water~" She said raising a hand and suddenly a huge bubble of water rose from near her base, where he now saw there were sunk in little pools of liquid! Ven glanced at the spell unworriedly. Water wasn't anything to a Fire Claws neko like him. He ran forward and flipped over the bubble hanging in mid air a moment as he struck a pose his fangs showing as he drew back his hands withj the claws above suddenly burning redder and emiting more crackles and pops.

"Ooh gonna put me out huh? Heh heh! In your dreams, Dryad! Fiery....Blitzkreig!" He said slicing with the claws sending the detached blades at her body. Druidine didn't seem to worried because she made another gesture and huge wall of water shot up from the pools near her base and blocked the blasts of fire creating huge whoshes of angry steam as they impacted with their opposite element. She then reached for him with her hair but to her surprise a blast of electricy hit it and allowed him to doge her lockes with ease as they spasmed from yet more magical abuse. Ven looked back and saw Mercy had fired a blast from her Storm Pike. He grinned. This stupid Drayd hadn't been counting on team work. She obviously rellied heavily on her water magic, a neat trick to be sure but not enough to stop a fully armed team of mercenries like them! He called the Flame Reaver back to his hands  as he landed on nearbybranch beffore he lept at the Dryad aimed at Gretchen's cacoon then drew back. "She'll have to let me pinch her now! He he he! Feir-" Suddenly a force gripped him! A magical force. He tried to move but coudln't. A parylasis spell? Who had fired it? His eyes swiveled around till he spotted the spell caster who held his body imobile. A tall, very well preportioned purple skined Mist Elf! "Ah...shit...." He said watching as she pointed at him with one long slender purple finger imperiously the ring of said finger was glowing with a blue aura like the kind he noticed haloed his body with it's spell.

"Seems you're having a bit of trouble, dear Druidine my servant. You're so...Incompetant. Allow your Lady to show you how it's done." She said turning and looking at where the remaining gaurd had taken aim trying to spilt their focus between the two. 'How imputent.' She thought making several sharp gestures causing the air to turn cold and form into a large swirling lance. She then looked at Druidine and sent a message through their personal link 'Aun Duex..." She said counting and watched the Dryad smile micheviously. She understood at least. The dryad used the water magic she had been gifted with and several missles of water to streak forward at the entrenched humans and as predicted half of them fired their weapons at the water, but two huge missles streamed around the shots and encircled the humans and struck them simuntaneously. Nelda glanced and saw that the the actuall merchant was missing as the impacts struck the cart and some of the soldiers leaving them cloaked in a coat of cold water. "Hmm how irrating. A plump little merchant was just what I desired. Ah well." She watched at they were soaked by her attack then said a single word in anceint elvish. "Verdali!" It ment simply 'ice' The moment after she did she smiled in satisfaction as the wind she had chilled struck them  clinging to bodies turning the cold water into thick ice causing some to gasp and cry out at the sudden artic blast and all to cease moving.

'Far too easy.' Said Nelda walking over and collecting them one by one and sticking them into a small silken pouch she'd had made for large catches like this. After she finished she counted her catch. Of the Five snacks she had gathered she held two. She frowned looked at Druidine with a imperious cold stare. "Is this all there is?" The Dryad flinched nodded.

"I only kept the elf for myself...Unless you don't want the spicy neko, milady?" She asked glancing down at the paraylized Ven hungrily." The imperious giant elf also glanced at him and the neko shuddered on the combined gaze of the huge women. It was quite intense and not in a good way. "Bah. Neko's fur fouls my stomach. Keep it and the elf as my gifts to you. Though do tell me if any more pass this way." She said turning her large round purple bum away and struting off. The neko veiwed this as the second worst torture: letting such a huge bum go unpinched. The more torturous one was the simple way he was left to levitate just out of reach of the dryad's lips as she curved them in a large smile while she puzzled how to devour him. He didn't have to wait long as she suddenly plucked him from the air and tossed him into her mouth. He tried to move but the spell held him in place! Damn cheaters.

The Dryad smilled and enjoyed the taste of the fiery neko as he slipped into her throat then sighed as she felt him settle into her belly. She knew he'd not begin to struggle for a long time but was happy with just having him there for now. She looked at the pod containing the elf who was just now starting to stir. Druidine was quite happy to have this highly benneficial arangement with Nelda.
---

Meanwhile in the slaver's cage Silent Jake was trying to avoid meeting a simular fate by practicing his lock picking skills. He always caried a number of knives on his person since knives were not only useful for combat but could be used for a variety of things besides. One of which? Lock picking. He had seen the trick done by a master locksmith in Negav once so how hard could it be? He asked himself mentally taking knife in hand and started to insert it. As he did suddenly the hole changed shape becoming smaller. Jake did a double take. It was a magical lock!! Agh! Jake wondered who thought this stuff up as he bitterly took another, smaller, thin bladed knife out and tried to ram it into the hole but again it shrunk making the knife just too big for hole causing the tip to bounce of the hard metal and make Jake wince hard enough to hurt his hand. He would have growled if he had vocal cords. Instead he tossed the larger knife at the stupid thing and sat down sighing and looking up at the errily serene cave roof which was decorated with glowining stalagtites and Torch Mold. He waited for the inevetible to come. Nelda would come struting back in with her catch in hand then eat him and probably some of them beffore retiring to sleep off her large meal...of which he'd be in. He wept silently alowing tears to flow freely down his cheeks. As he did this, as if on cue, the large naked elf came strolling back in with a huge block of ice in her hand. A block of ice that could talk Jake noticed.

"P-p-p-put us d-d-down you w-w-witch!!" Said a ebony skinned man trying desperately to squeeze the trigger of his weapon but his frozen hand wasn't obeying.The short blue and yellow haired man next to him tried to compliment Nelda's figure in an obvious attempt at flatery. Jake knew from experiance he wouldn't get far. The giant elf liked to be flattered, but she prefered a more civil tongue and would dress the man down in a moment he knew. As he watched Nelda set the ball down and broke off the large piece containing the ebony man. She smiled down at him hungrily and then casually knocked the boulder free from Jake's prison with one finger! Darn she was strong! She opened the cage and tossed the other guy at Jake to which he only had time to roll out of the way as the ic clad warrior skittered across the floor hitting the far end and yelling out in pain as the ice partially cracked. Before Jake could run at the door suddenly with a gesture the door glowed blue and slammed shut nearly catching him in the face. Nelda waved at hand at Jake and frowned. "Tut, tut. Can't be eating you yet, my polite little freind. You and the female will have to be lunch." She said turning and carrying Tyrone away yelling at her. "Mercy! Hang on! I'll be back don't you worry! Aaargh!"

With that she walked back towards the entrance which parted to reveal some grey sunlight then shut them back in the faint light of the cave in silence a moment before it was broken by the thunderous yell from the man whom the other had called a woman. "Get yer fat, purple ass back here!! Tyrone! Aggh! I still could have won some more Skevols off him, you bitch!" She said and looked up at Jake feircly. He watched her, yeah she was defiently a woman by the sound of her voice even if she had a man's hair cut and wore such ugly unflattering armor. She narrowed her eyes at him and he flinched then waved slowly and freindly-like to her to which she responded by yelling at him. "Who are you?? Look get me out of this damn thing before she comes back alright?!" Jake covered his ears and signed to her he would, but could she please talk at a lower volume...then seeing the blank look on her face signed it in Nukian she blinked. "You speak Nu- Ah hold on." She signed it to him and he signed back that he had learned Nukian when he had come to Felarya and that it wasn't too diferent from his native gestures. Mercy signed him back saying (That's okay but can you get me out of here first?) Jake signed back.

(D'oh! Completly slipped my mind let me just..) He trailed off looking around for something to chip at the ice with before he remembered his knife. He walked over and she looked vissably nervous as he inserted it into the crack and pried a large section of her chest. He continued this way for some few minutes working with full concenttration of getting her right arm free and was rewarded when the ice crunched and she broke her arm out. He signed his happiness. (Yes! Finally this suckers come in handy!) She nodded and used her arm to help him free the rest of her body feeling her thermal gel-packs warm her armor as he rubbed his hands together before both stood and assesed the other. She then signed: (Thanks for the help....ah...what's your designation?) Jake signed his name was too complicated to be signed in Nukian but his freinds called him "Silent Jake" or just Jake. She signed that Jake would do for now. (How's about we escape and see if we can't leg it the hell out of here?) Jake signed that would be alright with him but....(The door is magic.) He signed frowning. She pushed him to the side gently and pushed at it experimentally. To their shock it swung open without any protest. It was only now Jake noticed that the door hadn't been weighed down. Obviously Nelda had been distracted by hunger and a small catch and had hastily left without locking the door properly...or thought them too dim to figure out how to open it. He frowned. That did seem like her. Either way the two humans made their way to the edge of the make shift table and though of another possiblity as they stared down from the edge to the smooth floor bellow: they couldn't fly. Both looked at one another then Mercy sighed and pulled open at pouch on her belt taking out a coiled, compact rope! Surely it'd never reach the bottom thought Jake as she began to unspool it to twice it's normal length....then four times......then twevle times....he lost count around twenty or thirty! (What kind of rope is that?) He signed then had to sign again as she ignored him a moment while tying one end to the cage and tossing the other over the side of the cliff. "It's...Oh right sorry. Ah..." She signed: (It's an Scape's Rope. A magical artifact I picked up in a village named Ghersan on one of my ops. Come on let's blow this frozen fruit stand and get the hell out of here.) With that she started to descend the rope. Jake hesitated a moment then followed wondering if he should be thankful for the woman's ingenuity...or wary of how easily she wrote off her teamates? Either way he'd rather roll the die with her than take chances he could smooth talk Nelda again. He began to descend the strange magical rope heading for the ground and hopefully safety.

End?

- Silent Protagonist 2: Grave Diggin' Mecha Thrillin' -

Note: If you see a sentence using these symbols ' ( Words here for example ) ' this is indicating that Jake is speaking in Nukian the sign language of Felarya, you can learn more about that in the link bellow in the artist's comments. Also as always it's a Felarya story so that means there's some vore ahead likely.


Running with the wet vegetation slapping in his face, ow, and yes more running. Always more running. Not that he'd complain after all he'd just avoided being a giant Elf's dinner! Well he'd had some help in that regard. Who was he? He was a former member of the Thrill Seeker's Adventure Group who's name was quite complicated so they have given him she simple title of 'Silent Jake' or just Jake to his close friends.  He was a trim young fellow with tan skin, dark eyes and blonde hair who never said a word, not because he was weird or anything but because unlike most beings his people were born without vocal cords. Till he had come to Felarya he had assumed everyone spoke with their hands and had been shocked to learn most people speak by making noises with their mouths. When he was younger he had pondered how they were able to use an organ for eating to also talk. Seemed silly now. He was stirred from his revere by his new companion holding her hand up in a raised fist near her face level in a signal he recognized to mean “halt” in most languages.

“Hold up, Jakey….I see one of that big purple bitch's footprints.” Said his new companion: former Negavian Merchant Guard, Mercy Verick or to her friends 'Pips'. She was darker of hair than Jake, blue-black till you got to her two mustard yellow bangs. Unlike his flack jacket and cloth pantaloons she wore thicker multi-polymer armor similar to that of the Isolon Fist but lighter and slightly less durable….especially when it'd been frozen as it had recently! Ugh she felt a piece fall from her shoulder plate falling to the muddy ground bellow. She fixed the fallen piece with a glare before she returned her gaze to the huge trench-like foot print left by their former captor: Nelda the Arrogant and Haughty Purple Bitch. Well that probably wasn't the title she preffered but Mercy thought it suited her well. “Looks like she came this way not too long ago. Ugh damn! Her course takes her too close to where we're going. We'll have to try the long way around to get back to Negav.” She said to her silent companion who stood up and walked into her line of sight making gestures in Nukian, the universal sign language of Felarya.

(South or North? Either way it'll be take more time and in Felarya that can equate to victory or death in seconds.) He signed out using his hands rapidly and moving them with more graceful dexterity than the combat gestures would normally give. She figured that was probably due to him being born without vocal cords and his species totally communicating using their hands as naturally as the took for granted how such simple organs allowed her to make noises into recognizable words. She nodded grimly.

“Yeah I know. We also have a distinct disadvantage with us having no weapons now. Jake nodded. They'd both been stripped of most of their gear by Nelda after that water witch of a Dryad Druidine had teamed up with her to subdue her merchant convoy.  Strangely enough the merchant was the only one that seemed to have gotten away….Bastard. “Alright we have no choice. We'll have to try and go around to the Victory Gate. We'll have to avoid hugging the Motamo though and back track along the route leading to the Tomb of Unknown Adventurers and east side of Negav. Maybe we can get within range of a Battle Mage perimeter  patrol.” She said giving him a grin. “Then if that purple bitch follows us we'll at least be on even footing magically speaking this time.”

Jake looked less certain but nodded anyway and so the two survivors set out taking a northward route away from the foot prints and cave of Mist Elf taking a course towards the Grove of Carnivorous Plants but not actually going in it. While it would be safer for their smaller size than most areas it didn't mean it was hundred percent safe. Nowhere in Felarya ever was outside of Negav. Jake would have made idle conversation but Mercy insisted on taking point so he couldn't even flash a few silent signals to her and so most of the trip was made in silence as evening was steadily turning to dusk. Both humans were concerned about the prospect for surviving a night in Felarya which were said to be much more terrible. Mercy didn't know if it was true or not but there was no damn way she was going to find out the hard way either. Not if she could help it. She looked up and saw the sunlight was getting dimmer and dimmer as it sank towards the horizon.

“Damn. I hate to say it Jake but we're going to need to find some place to camp for the night. She said turning around so she could see what he was signing. She blinked and opened her mouth wide in shock. There was large bulbulous plant walking towards Jake like menacing onion with a mouth on top. A mouth which opened and several tendrils shot out “Jake look out!!” She said and watched as his Thrill Seeker's training was put to work as his body waited till the last second then bent smoothily to the side sharply as he skidded back then his head flew up in one smooth motion and made a loud 'ker-slish' sound as the knife he was suddenly holding cut through the tendrils with ease. Where the hell had that come from!? Oh wait she remembered him signing he always carried a few spare knives. “Hey toss me one, you hoarding jerk!” She said holding out her hand and watching as he drew one from his boot and tossed it to her waiting hand the blade was small compared to the huge plant but smooth bone handle felt good to have anyway. The plant, a Gravedigger if her training told her right, stepped back screeching but not totally retreating. It was obviously hungry and desperate to attack a group of two to begin with as the average Gravedigger usually could only hold one victim at a time but this one ….was double the size of the normal plant monster!

“Geeze! Of all the stupid things to encounter and as night's falling too.” Time was against them here. “Okay, Jake, here's the plan: you go left and cut off it's ...legs and I'll go right. Once it's immobilized?” She said taking an aggressive stance letting the blade's Eversharp Steel tip reflect the monster in it before finishing. “We feast on salad. Ready?” She asked and when he signed that he was he also took up an aggressive position. “Three ….two…..one! Now!!” She yelled and the two ran side by side at monstrous vegetable which gurlged and growled producing more tendrils to try and ensnare them with but this time it was Mercy who slashed at them as she backstepped allowing Jake to dig into a sliding slice at the creature's left most leg supports which crunched as they sliced and it let out an inhuman shriek. Mercy winced hopping to end this before some inquisitive predator came to investigate.

As the creature fell to it's side nearly crushing Jake she took her blade and struck forward in severe salsh at it's side “Time to prune your leaves, bitch!” She said rushing forward to strike assuming that surely even a Gravedigger this size wouldn't have more tendrils and was rewarded by hearing her blade dig into the flesh of the thrashing plant and felt a spray of something strike her armor which then began to sizzle and smoke?! “Ah fuck!” She cursed cutting the flimsy straps that held it in place and tossing it off but as she raised her hand to strike she felt pain grip her as her wrist was seized violently.

“Oh shit!” She said feeling herself jerked off her feet and towards the slavering maw feeling it close around her face suffocatingly. “Ah fuck! FUUUCK! JAKE HELP!!” She screeched trying to pull her knife hand back up but the inexorable tendril only dragging both her an dit deeper into the foul arcid smelling pit that was burning her eyes . She was rewarded by hearing a series of ka-chunk and slishing sounds of Jake using his knife to stab her vegetative captor but the side effect was hearing that ear splitting shriek point blank.

Jake meanwhile on the outside was giving it his all and trying to avoid the spray of acid that leaked from the plant as he stabbed and hacked at it but no matter how fast he was he could feel little droplets of the vile acid eating at his skin and winced as it burned deeply into his flesh. 'How could voreaphiles find this sexy?!' He thought as he went to pull another knife from his person intending to double the amount of violence he could unleash on the vicious Gravedigger. Then he gasped as he saw Mercy slip into the plants lips up to her waist. As he started forward and reversed his grip on both knives his superior hearing heard something distinctly odd. A whirr and click sound. He had only a moment to raise his eyebrow as suddenly a six foot long steel grey tip almost took out one of his eyes! Itt would have too if not for years of agility training in the Thrill Seekers Adventure Group he would have gotten a pirate make over but thankfully the blade had only cut his cheek a little leaving a thin bleeding line that stung like bitch thanks to the combination of micro-filliment tip and the mixture of plant gore/acid it was coated in.

He stared at the plant in fear wondering if it was some kind of mutant cyborg till he realized it was shuddering and the blade had come from inside of the plant! It then retracted as quickly as it had appeared and with a final violent shudder the monster fell forward with thunderous crash nearly crushing the dumb stuck Jake again. As the dust settled he went to Mercy's legs and didn't hesitate to pull her free of the sticky maw of the now dead or dying Gravedigger.

“Ugh! By Seneria's left tit that was disgusting!” She said getting up and slapping away some of the pre-digestive enzyme she was covered in as she stood. Both turned to the plant though as the metal spike shot through it's back several times before finally a purple gantlet exploded upward from the plant matter and the rest of the figure emerged. It at first appeared to be a….

“A mechazoid!” Said Mercy with surprise. Jake too blinked in surprise. He'd heard of mechas before, the Seekers had three after all but most of them had been in the twenty to fourty feet tall and on average were not all that tasty to Felarya's flora….as far as he knew. The the metalic figure stood up and made it's way free of what was left of the monstrous plant it's huge bulky legs stomping to the forest floor as it's body hummed and glowed in places. The boxy head with it's single red 'eye' swiveled to them and it stomped over with 'chunk! Whiiirrrow….chunk…' making the two wonder if accidentally rescuing this thing was really such a good idea. Then it spoke.

“Howdy there, fellow adventurerinos!” It said to everyone's shock. “My name is Rax Tshiida of the Vishmital Empire and man am I glad you pulled my Chozak out of the fire there!” Said the blocky machine happily in a perfectly human, if electronically enhanced, voice. Jake was dumbfounded by this. He'd never heard of mech that could talk before! He signed this to Mercy who nodded. “Yeha me either...” The mech's square head swiveling from one to the other.

“Mechazoid? Oh! The armor...Hold on. I'll be right out. Just need to figure out where the hatch is...aha!” said the voice and suddendly the chest of the mech split open and  the crotch plate vulgarly slid down ward to reveal a much smaller being inside! He was slender with long maroon hair and what appeared to be eyes that almost glowed purple. He was clad in black and purple body suit with some kind of serrated emblem over the right side of his chest. He got up shakily and began to speak again with the same voice they'd heard coming from the mechanoid amror.

“Ahem! As I said! Howdy there folks I'm- OW! Smeg! That really frackin' hurt!” He said as he bumped his head on the top part of the open chest plates stepping out and leaping a short ways down now not so intimidating doubly due to his height being about five feet  and  the bruise on his head reminding them he wasn't dangerous at all. “Sorry about that. I've been in that thing for hours! Ha ha ha! As I said my name is Raxorin Tshiida of the Vishmital Empire- Ohhhh wait we're not an Empire anymore really! I mean some of us think we should still call ourselves that, but there's two ain factions and a whole list of splinter to factions not to mention the mpre xenoistic of our bretheren who hailed from all over the empire before we blew it all to hell in some damnable,m paranoia fueled civil war!…..Oh sorry did I speak a bit too fast there?” He said putting his head behind his head and looking at Mercy and Jake awkwardly.  They both looked at each other then back to the small man. Meryc spoke first.

“You're a Vishie? One of those powerful techno-wizard people who built Maser Cannons and Missile Pods into Negav's walls?

Rax nodded. “A-yep. Well I'm not specifically! I mean I might have helped design the servos and CPUs but I couldn't say for s- Ahh I did it again! Sorry! Sorry!” He said putting his heads up. Jake face palmed. This was going to be a long day. As if on cue the sun finally faded and the sounds of the night life of Felarya begin to fill in the background. All three looked at one another and decided this conversation would have to wait till they were safely in shelter.

- -  - -

Some hours latter they'd found a suitable camp site under the roots of a tree. A popular choice for many ambush predators. but thankfully Rax and his mechanoid suit had built in thermal scanners and could confirm it was a vacant spot suitable for their brief stay.  The two mercs went in first then Tobin walked the armor, which he called Axanor, up to the entrance so that the back faced outward then swiveled the head around like owl harpy so it could watch the outside before clambering out of it and settling down with the others for the night. Their faces illuminated by a special glowing rod from Rax's survival kit.

(So you are Vishmital, the rivals to the Psi'ol Magiocrats?) Asked Jake using signs to which Rax replied with a nod then he continued. (Then why are you outside the city in this...armor mech thing?) Rax laughed a little then rattled away. “Well you see I'm a engineer working on a project for Chatili Io T'Shir.

“Chattili? That's...Colonel in Negavian ranks, right?” Asked Mercy using some of her studies as a student at the Academy before she decided Mercenary work was safer and cheaper. 'Oh what I'd give for a time portal to smack my younger self.' She thought dourly.

“Yes Chatili is basically the same thing as a Colonel. Our ranks and yours a fairly similar.” He looked at Jake. “Speaking of I see you have a uniform on with a patch I don't recognize. What's your rank, soldier?”

Jake paused a moment then signed it out (Private Jake Silence. Thought my name can't actually be said in your language it's the closest Nukian to Omagian phrase I can think of. You see Omagi-)

“Use hand signals instead of words! Yes I heard of that world once. Your people aren't born with vocal cords so you find interaction with most races who possess them a chore, am I right?” Said Rax winking at Jake who blinked in shock but nodded smiling wrly.

(Yep. But our hearing and other senses are nearly twice that of a normal human and thus allot of us come to Felarya to become mercenaries or adventurers.) He said pointing a thumb at himself. (I came here by accident though. My portal missed a junction and I ended up nearly getting mugged in Negav till Tam and some Thrill Seekers showed up. That's why I joined up with them.) He signed nodding a little and looking to the side nostalgically. He wondered breifly if Tam was alright with that seemingly friendly naga Clare.

“Wow. You both have more interesting backstories than me. I'm a little jelous.” She said chuckling. “But at least I'm locally raised!” She said with smirk. “Not that it does you guys allot of good with me being just a dumb merc who's training was about two hundred Skevols worth courses at the Adventurer's Guild's discount program.” She was startled when Jake suddenly started to flap his hands around and opened his mouth. She didn't recognize that gesture. “Huh? What are you doing…?” She asked but Rax cleared it up chuckling.

“He's laughing. Never studied actual Sign Language have you, Miss Varrick? Seems your friend has since Nukian is a Military gesture network. It's designed to quickly communicate signals for combat and survival situations but most other races with a counterpart have other less ...practical signs too. Like holding your hands up to laugh.” He said smiling in the weak light of the rod. Mercy frowned and wondered if this nerd had ever been laid in his life. He seemed to do nothing but build death machines that didn't really work and study. How could anybody live like that?

“Is there anything you don't know? Alright answer me this, egghead. If you're so smart and well to do why didn't your robot blast it's way out of that Gravedigger? Hmm?”

Rax blushed. “Ah well that was...p..pilot error. You see I was trying to make a new Exo-Skeleton to help bolster our armor division. See our current Mechs are powerful but far too large for mostly anything but Anti-Predator Combat. Which, while very cool looking, wastes allot of resources and won't help us in more practical man-to-man battles. So I designed Axanor there to be a one manned mech that isn't much larger than human. This allows it to maneuver quite well but his armor has to be a weaker composite than those titans we use to protect Negav. Hence why I was out here testing a acid neutralizing agent I coated the armor with.” He said putting hand behind his head and looking down. “Ah but I rushed Ax into production too soon! His combat weaponry couldn't be added this run and the codding engine I used to try and enhance his movements bugged out when I triggered a redundant function.” He said looking at Mercy and then sweat dropping as he saw her face screwed up with concentration.

“You….did something stupid and it's broken?” She asked not having much technical skills. Most Negavians didn't learn allot about technology unless they were part of the City Guard or Isolon Fist where tech and magic were put into common use everyday.  Rax frowned.

“technically I guess it's a fair assessment. Jake signed laughter again enjoying the banter after the last two days of nearly constant dread.  But he knew they couldn't let their guard down too much. He thought of the old Felarayan proverb 'It is when you feel safe that the hunter is watching'.

The rest of the night was passed in shifts. Each taking a turn to keep watch. Even Rax didn't trust his machine to wake them for the morning. They ate of his survival rations which ironically they couldn't spread out very far. The night seemed to pass quite quietly.

Then a thunderous roar split the night asunder and the sounds of screaming and rumbling thunder!

“Guardians save us! What the hell is that?!” Asked Mercy as the noise intensifies  It sounded like somebody was being killed. A huge somebody! Then another roar and a long quake before finally a peaceful silence engulfed the camp but no one was going back to sleep anytime soon and everyone took the last three hour shift before morning.


- - - -

Rax got into his robotic armor feeling tireder and more frightened than he had in his whole life. Why did he have to try and impress Chatili T'Shir by finishing this design before her birthday? Now she would miss the premiere of the prototype and likely he would be eaten by some giant Naga. Some much for a promotion and a cushy gig with his own robotics lab. Oh well. He had earned two new interesting companions on this venture at least, even if they were not part of  his people. Vishmitals could be very xenophobic in their choice of who to trust outside of their superiors and family but Rax had never been afraid of strangers. He liked meeting new people he just...never did it very often….for some reason he couldn't really figure out.

He returned his view back to the glowing screen in front of him showing Jake and Mercy walking while he clunked along behind them. They had all agreed the mech was noisy but could potentially prove useful in hand to hand fights or frightening off monsters they would encounter by chance on the path. It'd be horribly worthless in a fight with a predator though Rax knew. Esepcially without the shoulder mounted swiveling Gatling Cannon he had back in the lab. Stupid power sucking waste of space wasn't looking so bad now- Hm? Mercy and Jake had stopped dead in their tracks forcing him to do so too and swivel the top mounted photoreceptor at both equally.

“Guys? Uh why did we stop suddenly?” He asked watching as both pointed ahead and up. Craned the camera upwards and gasped. Towering above them was a twisted mess of a monster that was more mouths and tentacles than humanoid. A Walking Nightmare but what most disturbing? It was dead. Something had been big and tough enough to kill it. As the sunlight touched the body it slowly begain to turn to dust and vaporize, the black ashes drifting on the wind as they glowed with bright blue light  like embers from some unearthly funeral pyre.

After taking some time to confirm that it was most defiantly dead the group continued onwards leaving the nether beast to be erased from the surface of Felarya as if it had never been in the first place. They kept heading North towards the Grove intending to veer right towards Nekomura and the Victory Gate. Plans, plots and schemes though mater little to the Fates that inhabit Felarya and often they abhor those who dare to come to the jungle with anything less than humility in their hearts.

As Rax's mech clunked along in the jungle, which was slowly getting less muddy and more solid thankfully, he noticed something from the corner of his eye. “Eh?” He said without remembering the microphone was on. Jake and Mercy turned to him.

“What do you mean 'eh'?” Asked Mercy looking a little worried and annoyed. “We're almost to the turning point. You don't get to say 'eh what's all this then' and curse Minacala's blessed fortune on us like some offworlder punk.”

The mech's head swiveled to her. “Ah sorry! But it's just one of my instruments flickered. The HUD shouldn't break up like that unless….” He stopped as he realized it shouldn't have done that at all. He went through the list of things it could possibly. Dimensional storm? No. Wrong time of the year and they weren't near any dimensionally unstable pockets unless it was uncharted? Possible but not probable. Malfunctions? Likely but he was sure he'd fixed all the bugs with the HUD on the first week of testing. As he was wondering the numerous solutions he suddenly felt the mech move on it's own! Mercy had to dodge the huge metal arm coming her way. “Ah! Watch out!!” He said giving her enough time to leap backwards.

“The hell is wrong with you?! We're supposed to be on the same team!” She said and he saw Jake even looking nervous and distrustful.

“It's not my fault something is-Eh?” Rax blinked as the hud vanished in statis. “Oh damnit! I lost visuals now! Argh. Come on, Axanor! Stop miss behaving!” He said jamming the key pad several dozen times before feeling a jolt of static bite his fingers. “Ow! By the guardians what is wrong with you now you quirky machine?!” He asked the screen of static in frustration, and much to his surprise? It suddenly went black and floating blue-white letters appeared that made his eyes widden: It answered!

   
WHO IS AXANOR? THAT'S AN AWFUL NAME FOR A MECH! LOL! ;P My name is Byte!

He was at first confused and a little exited. Had the mech gained sentence?! What a remarkable discovery! “This will revolutionize the Vishimital Empire! AI technology has been lost since The Fall- …..Wait…..how can you have an AI if I never programmed in a commanding droid brain? All your command functionality for mobility and action comes from me!” He said staring at the screen dumb foundly. He watched as the screen began to start to type again.

Oh rly? X3

Suddenly without warning Rax watched as the visual monitor flared back to life showing him what was going on outside and the joysticks rotated by themselves and pointed both of the clawed hands to Mercy and Jake. Rax raised one eyebrow and wondered what the silly rogue AI could be up to when they began to glow with electricity and fired a blast at both so fast they barely had time to react as it seemed to disintegrate them!! “W-what the hell did you do,Axanor?!” He cried out in horror then watched as the screen screeched with static slowly building a charge illuminating his horrified and confused face then flaring unleashing blast of painful electricity that reduced him to nothing.

The Vishmital mecha Axanor remained motionless for only a few minutes afterward. The chest plate separating with a hiss and low whirr cha-thunking as the servos locked in place. Then he emerged. He appeared to be a small flickering blue-green light then in the blink of an eye suddenly turned into humanoid shape. A humanoid shape with large square wings patterned with odd pixel-like markings. He shook his spiky haired head around straightening out his antennae. Byte was a fairy who appeared to be masculine if a little on the short and nerdy side. His Blone hair had a natural greenish tint to it and his eyes were a shade too large compared to most male predators and his skin showed he didn't get into the sun much. There were colonies square spots on his skin in odd places like pixels blown up.

“Yeaaah! Who's the superior species now? I totally pawned your mecha, boys...oh and girl.” He said reaching down to pick up the shrunken Mercy and Jake who were still out from his combo one-two-punch of using Storm Magic and Shrinking spell in one go. A trick he had developed through allot of rigorous beta testing.

“Heh heh. Now I could just gobble you guys down right now but...My shrink spell is limited in scope and duration.” He said sweatdropping. He'd never quite mastered how to make the shrinking effect last beyond thirty eight minutes for some reason. Usually it was enough time for most predators but he had seen a good friend's life points whipped to nhil once when she took too long with her prey and had been gobbled down by a giantess. He shuddered with the memory putting his catch in special hip pouch attached to his shorts. “Besides I know somebody who would appreciate you even more than me.” He said blushing thinking about a girl he'd been stalking a little. She had seemed really nice and was so pretty but she barely got anything to eat because she hadn't grown much. Oh sure she had this friend named Selph would came by now and then but it had been a while since the last time and ….well maybe she would be so grateful to Byte for his gift she would let him do stuff ya know?

“L-like touch her perky titties.” He said blushing pervertly and taking his eyes off the Jungle bellow as he fantasized about how grateful the dryad would be to him ranging from a simple hug to something a more intimate imparting of her psyhic link! Ahh wouldn't that be neat? To literally share a meal with her even from great distances away or mind fu- His pointy ears picked up the 'whoop-whoop-whoop' sound quickly coming at him and he instinctively changed size watching a massive spinny thing shoot through the air where he was a moment ago.

“By Rinoa's wings! Was that a fudging chakram?!” He said looking down with his brows knitted searching for the bold assassin and being shocked to see it was a skinny neko0 girl with soft blonde hair. This scrap of neera muncher dared assault a fairy in midair?? ...He hated to admit it but part of him admired her courage. However this low level encounter just meant more loot for his dryad friend! Heck with two prey between them they could make proper lunch date of it!

“Ha ha ha! Sorry, toots but it's time to bring the thunder! Get wrecked!” He said suddenly diving down while still in his 'light' form. The neko to her credit didn't appear to be stupid and quickly rushed back under the tree line. Well that would prevent him from growing to full height and waste some of his time but it'd only be a few minutes. His captives wouldn't revert for another thirty minutes at least. If she played around too long he could always let her live with the bragging right of almost bringing down the great cyber hunter Byte.

“Trees will be of no aid to you, neko naive! Bonzaaaaaaaaaaai!” He said getting into the thrill of the hunt and chasing her through weaving branches and thorny bushes. He presued her for about five more minutes before he saw her turn down the wrong way facing a steep bluff from the wrong side. He smirked.

'Neko-nabbed!' He thought as he changed back to hus human sized mode and gestured to her. “You should have put some points into Cartography and less into your melons, Amazonian Neko!” She turned to him with a smirk that mad his antenna stand on end and not the good innuendo way.

“Ah flashing a menacing smile won't save you here, neko! Cause you're about to be the fourth course in a romantic dinner for two! Courtesy of the Mighty Byte the Cyber Fairy!” He said striking a cool pose. “Now ride the lighting!” He said making gesture that would release his signature 'Mini Bolt' which did fly from his hand but stopped short of hitting the neko and seemed to slowly be sucked downwards.

“Zork!” He cursed. “How'd you do that?!” He said a little afraid of her till he looked down and noticed he was treading on a huge bed of flowers. A bed of flowers that was sucking away his mana like it was candy! He was ready to bolt till he realized they may be draining away his normal magics but fairy magic wasn't a normal type of magic. He could size shift!

“Ohhh ha ha ha! You had me worried for a minute there, neko fairy hunter!” He said preparing to take a step back then feeling something poking him in the back. He turned around and gasped. Not even in his wildest imaginative fantasies would he have imagined such a scenario! He was surrounded by little nekoes! About twenty in total and they were all children or no wait they looked about three feet tall sure but they were all filled out and feminine, covered in barely anything other than tatoos or goofy war paint and carrying weapons of all sorts. Small axes, spears, bows and arrows and even one or two had short swords or knives.

"W-what the?! Pygmy Nekoes?!" He asked looking around trying to figure out what the heck was going on here. How had he come to be the prey of nekoes? He was a fairy! "I am the great Byte! I will not be pawned by a bunch of primitive, if cute, nekoes!" He said taking a fighting stance. He wasn't super muscular but he wasn't un-healthy or fat! He could fight his way out of- “BONK!”-he felt something hit him from behind causing his mind to go wonky. “Errrroooorrrr four oh for….oh for what art thou sweet magic?” He asked before flopping back blacking out. His vision was filled with a fading vision of the slender neko girl from earlier holding thick club and wearing a toothy cute grin.

“Not so big now are you!” She said sticking her tongue out at him before making a gesture to the others. “Strip em down! Take anything useful! Huh? What's that? You found tinies on him? Oh goodie! Put those with the rest of our catch! Tonight we feast, girls!” She said hooping and wooping while the entity that was Byte slowly sunk into the dreamscape cursing his setback. Now he'd never get to have lunch with the beautiful, lonely but lovely Dryad Hazel…