23 comments/ 53533 views/ 122 favorites Deathstalker By: Perentie Extreme heat, vast stretches of sand, and sparse vegetation. This was the desert. Yet it was not the barren wasteland that it appeared at first glance. A good life could be had here, provided you were tough and adaptable enough. For yes, the desert could give life, but far more easily take it. And it was by taking lives that this desert dweller kept its own, for she was a predator. A predator of great patience, a predator that had waited in still silence for hours to get this chance. Eyes were not needed, vibration alone was enough to track the hare's position as it settled under the shade of a bush to shelter from the blazing afternoon sun. The huntress had chosen her location well, she was within striking range. The hare sensed the attack coming a moment too late as a muscular, segmented tail burst from the sand near it. The creature had only started its first bound to escape when the pointed tip of the huntress' stinger found its mark, jamming into the animal's body so hard it was thrown to the side several feet. The hare went instantly limp, its twitching nose, panicked eyes and rapid breaths the only signs it was still alive. A moment later the rest of the creature emerged from the sand with explosive speed, her blade ending the hare's life with a single slash to its neck. The feminine pink eyes of the hunter never flinched, such hunts were routine for her. But even as she began preparing the animal to be cooked, she sensed a new source of vibrations. She could tell it was very different from her prey animals, rather it could be a potential mate, traveling alone if she was reading the presence right. It could be a woman, in which case her hopes would be dashed, but all the same she could not afford to ignore this rare opportunity. She was so excited by the prospect, not that it showed on her stoic face, that she almost missed further vibrations that signaled a group of intruders, ones whose positions indicated they were pursuing her target. This she couldn't allow, especially if they were who she suspected they were. She had to hurry. Quickly burying the hare for later, she retrieved the cloak she had stashed among nearby rocks earlier and set off in rapid pursuit. ------ Kenneth Peregrine knew he was being followed. A bounty hunter tended to develop sixth senses about these sorts of things. All the same, simply knowing in this case was not too helpful. He was in the middle of nowhere in a part of the vast desert that covered so much of this portion of the continent. The dunes he was traversing offered little in the way of hiding places, but perhaps if he could reach the rocky crags that surrounded them he could find shelter. Provided he didn't end up in an ambush. After all, his pursuers likely knew this area better than he did. This wasn't how he wanted things to go. Normally it was he who stalked his targets, finding out everything he needed to know to take them down and then choosing the time and place to do so. The raven-haired man was in his mid twenties, in great physical shape, bearing a piercing gaze in his dark eyes and was fairly adept in several forms of martial arts, but even so he wasn't confident about his chances if he had to take on a number of well-armed desert bandits on their home turf. This wasn't at all like the jobs he had done in the past. Capturing escaped prisoners, gang leaders and other criminals inside cities gave him many resources he now lacked. He'd never worked in a desert region before, and despite thinking he had prepared himself he now realized you could only learn so much from books. He had come out here to scout for the bandit leader. He'd been commissioned to take him, dead or alive, by a wealthy client whose shipments had suffered a number of losses to this man in this general area. Kenneth had gone alone, reasoning it would be easier to sneak around the bandit's lair once he found it. This was a mistake as the sheer vastness of the desert meant it would be a miracle if he found the bandits before they found him, and being alone meant he was an easy target. He had had confidence at first when he located a lair a few days ago, but subsequent investigating showed it to have not been used in some time. It seemed the bandits were nomadic to some degree, likely moving from one lair to the next rather than holing up in any one place for too long. Now that he thought more about it, it made sense given they were wanted by the law and setting things up so that a group of men could survive in one place in the desert for a long time would inevitably draw attention to them. Now it seemed he would suffer for his poor judgment, as if being low on water hadn't been bad enough. Despite being low on rations his pack of supplies had never felt heavier on his back. "Should have never taken this job..." he sighed as he neared the veritable fortress of rocky land that seemed to emerge from the sea of sand. He pulled his cloak tighter as the wind billowed it, then removed the hood. It protected him from the still blazing early evening sun but he would need his vision unobscured for what was likely to come. He immediately realized there were many places here he could potentially hide including what looked to be large caverns, but hiding anywhere depended on getting out of sight of his pursuers first, and that seemed impossible as by now he was pretty sure there were a number of them and they had surrounded him. Spotting some shadowy figures atop a nearby ridge confirmed it. Kenneth gave a frustrated sigh. May as well get this over with, being unafraid in the face of death was something else bounty hunters tended to develop. He loosed the harness of the pack on his back and let it fall to the ground. He needed to be able to move as freely as possible. "All right, I know you're there so you may as well come out. That will make this simpler for all of us." The whistling sound of an arrow speeding through the air alerted him to an attack from the opposite side. As they had so many times in the past his reflexes saved him from a potentially fatal wound as he spun around and raised his right arm out from the confines of his cloak. A moment later a clang echoed through the area and the arrow bounced harmlessly off the plated armor of one of the silver-colored gauntlets he wore. Despite being fairly light, flexible, and breathable in the heat it offered exceptional protection and was worth the distance he had to travel and all the money he had to pay to have them and the similarly-designed chainmail armor under his shirt made. The work of a cyclops didn't come cheap after all, especially if she wasn't interested in using mating with you as collateral. "You see?" he stated in a mocking tone. "And this isn't the only trick I have, so unless you want to waste more arrows come out here and deal with me face to face." Sure enough after a few seconds he counted about ten men emerging from various cover in the surrounding area. They moved toward him with some confidence, knowing that even if he was a good fighter they still had the obvious advantage. The one in front however, had a look to him and a confidence in his gait that attracted more attention. His commanding presence meant he was obviously the boss here. Kenneth had a pretty good idea of who he was, namely the man he had come here to capture. The scar on his right cheek was a good identifier, albeit around here people with scars were pretty common. Still, may as well go with his gut. "Bandit leader Amad Namib I presume?" "That's right pretty boy," the rough-faced man replied in an arrogant tone, "and you must be a bounty hunter. Not many people but them come out to parts like this all alone." Kenneth noted none of the bandits in front of him carried a bow, which meant at least one sniper was still hidden out there. Smart of them, but bad for him. "Yup, that's me," he stated with false mirth, "Kenneth Peregrine, professional bounty hunter and part-time drifting wanderer. I don't suppose you would quietly just let me place you under arrest?" Amad's smirk grew into a chuckle, then an almost deranged laugh that his cohorts deemed necessary to imitate. "You're quite the comedian aren't you? I like that, I really do. It's such a nice change to meet somebody who can make a joke before they die. In fact, just because I'm in such a good mood now I think I won't have you killed." "Now you're joking," Kenneth stated flatly. Amad's most infamous quality was that he didn't let victims of his robberies live. Indeed his identity was only so well known due to caravans who had managed to fight off his assaults, and through word of mouth in the underworld. Amad sneered at him, "yup, but you haven't heard the funny part yet. See, instead of killing you I'll have you stripped of everything on you, including those fancy gauntlets, and set you loose to watch you wander the desert naked. Then we'll take some bets on whether or not you die of exposure before coming over and begging one of us to put you out of your misery." Kenneth had by now assessed his foes, each of them appeared to be in fairly good physical shape, and each carried a curved blade at their side. Some likely had daggers hidden under their clothes as well. Amad himself carried a much larger sword than his men, perhaps a symbol of his status, or maybe he was compensating for something... Kenneth smirked at the thought. "Still think this is funny?" Amad asked with a crooked grin, far too pleased with himself for Kenneth's liking. "No," he replied, "just trying to estimate how many of you I can kill before you take me down. By the way, it's about half of you, just a fair warning." And a bit of a bluff as well, most of Kenneth's weapons were better suited to taking people alive. 'Best start with the sleeping powder,' he decided, preparing to reach into the left pocket of his pants for the small bag of it he carried. "Or you can all just take a quick nap!" he shouted, in one swift movement throwing the contents of the pouch toward the closest bandits. He was surrounded so he couldn't hope to get them all but if he was lucky this would disable three or four of them enough to beat down a few others and make his escape while the bandits recovered from the surprise assault. It was not to be though as the wind suddenly picked up at a fierce pace. Within seconds the sleeping powder had been blown and scattered too much to affect anyone. Kenneth was left standing with a frozen expression of shock. "...You've never worked in the desert before have you?" Amad stated after several seconds of stunned silence. Kenneth smiled nervously, feeling rather embarrassed. "Is it that obvious?" The man laughed loudly once more. "You've been so entertaining that I'm tempted to really let you go, but I do have a reputation to maintain. No hard feelings right?" he asked mockingly as his men now rushed Kenneth together. "None at all," the bounty hunter replied seriously before surprising the bandits by running toward the two that were closest to him. He flung himself forward, hitting the two men in the neck with his fists and using his inertia to send them to the ground with him, flexing his wrists as he did so. A moment later came the sickening sound of metal piercing flesh and bone, as a hidden dagger inside each gauntlet sprang out from over his wrists, severing the airway and spinal cord of both unfortunate men. 'Can't afford to hesitate, or play nice,' Kenneth told himself. He did not enjoy killing but some situations called for it. And with the rest of the men still unsure what had just happened he needed to capitalize on the opportunity. If he could manage to kill Amad then his underlings were likely to flee. With another strong flex of his gauntlet-enclosed wrists the blades were triggered to retract back into the gauntlets. He hoped that would let him still have some element of surprise if he used them again, as what he had done was not immediately visible, given the speed he had moved and how the blades had been mostly hidden due to being buried in the necks of the two men he had just killed. Kenneth stood and spin kicked the nearest man in the face, sending him twirling to the ground. At the same time he reached into one of his pockets and opened another small bag of dust. Turning back around he faced two men with swords raised about to strike him, but pouring the contents of his pouch into his hand Kenneth threw the dust at the men with all his might. This time it didn't matter if the dust was dissipated by the wind, for this was pepper powder and would seriously impair someone if even a little got in their eyes or up their nostrils. The two bandits dropped their swords and stumbled back, clutching their faces and groaning in pain. In the next instant Kenneth dodged a slash directed at his back and kicked his attacker hard in the stomach. He rolled under another slash before kicking the man's legs out from under him. The path to Amad was now open to him and he pounced at the lead bandit, hoping for a surprise kill like he had done earlier. Amad proved ready though, and Kenneth was forced to stop short and leap backwards as the larger man unsheathed his sword and with an angry roar swung it at him in a wide arc, catching the front of Kenneth's shirt and slicing it open. Kenneth was unharmed, but now the metallic gleam of his chainmail vest was plainly visible. "Don't bother stabbing him, he's wearing some kind of armor!" Amad shouted, "just grab him!" Kenneth saw only one shot left at killing Amad before numbers overwhelmed him He rushed Amad again, the man's eyes widening as Kenneth raised his left arm, the gauntlet again protecting him as Amad swung his blade down with all his might. Kenneth took the force of the hit and then used his arm to push the sword aside and swung his right fist forward, aiming for Amad's neck. But it wasn't a square hit, Amad had twisted away, causing Kenneth's fist to slide across his cheek so that when the blade extended from the gauntlet it only sliced a bit of flesh off his nose. A moment later Kenneth was grabbed by two more of the bandits and had his arms forced behind his back, where they wrenched his gauntlets off in seconds. Amad had hastily torn a bit of his cloak off and was using it to stem the heavy flow of blood from his cut nose. His eyes seethed in fury and he practically growled. "I've changed my mind, put him on the ground so I can kill him!" Kenneth faced the recovering bandits with calm resolve at they advanced on him, the desire to give him a painful death clear in their eyes. So much for his tricks, he could probably escape the two men holding him but he'd be struck down by another before he could do anything else. He'd killed two of his ten foes, and the two he had used the pepper powder on were still disabled, frantically trying to cleanse their burning eyes with water from their supply pouches. But his efforts had not been enough to win or escape. If only he had been more prepared. He was forced to his knees, his head pressed roughly against the top of a flat rock. It was an execution pose, proven as Amad stepped up beside him and raised his huge sword, still pressing the cloth against his wound with his other hand. "I'll have your head on a pike, pretty boy, and don't think I'll kill you quick either. Beheading someone with a sword usually takes a few good whacks." 'So this is it,' Kenneth thought. It wasn't how he would have chosen to die. He'd prefer that if he had to die in a fight then he'd go down taking his opponent with him. Still, at least he had put up a good struggle considering how stacked the odds against him were. He tried to focus on that and waited for the killing strikes. But before the end could come, Kenneth saw out of the corner of his eye something being tossed casually off the top of a nearby rock formation to land in their midst with a thud. Turning to it he realized it was the sniper who had fired the arrow earlier, the quiver on his back still full. The man himself was facedown in the dirt and motionless. All eyes turned up to where he had been thrown from, where a figure wearing a large cloak stood in silence. Amad, keeping his eyes on the interloper, stepped over to his fallen minion and kicked him hard in the ribs, the man's resulting pained groan confirming he was alive. "Useless fool," he spat. "How could you let yourself be ambushed?! You knew she would be stalking us when we returned here!" 'She?' Kenneth wondered to himself from where he was still held firmly on his knees. The heavily cloaked figure leaped from the ridge and landed right in front of them with surprisingly little sound, and what was heard was strange to Kenneth's ears. It was not the sound of feet slamming into stone, more like the scraping of claws upon rocks. Kenneth noted how the nearest bandits all took a step or two back from her, except for Amad who merely glared. Apparently having landed in a crouch, she proceeded to stand up to her full height, a height that actually left her eye-to-eye with the towering Amad. From what could be seen of her slim upper body she in fact looked unnaturally tall. Kenneth found the cloaked figure was difficult to discern ay details from, even as he turned his head to see her more clearly. Her cloak was larger and baggier than normal, and trailed a good deal further behind her than expected. It seemed as though it was covering some large object she had attached herself to and in fact seemed to be standing on. The shroud served to cover and obscure every feature save for the piercing, pink eyes that stared from the darkness of her cloak's hood, and the glint of a small gem of similar color on her forehead. Kenneth wasn't sure what to make of her, but whether she was here to save him or not the distraction she provided could be his key to escaping. He waited for the two men holding his arms to let up on their grip for even a moment. Meanwhile Amad took a daring step toward the new arrival and pointed his sword at her. "Are you interfering with me again demon?!" She made no move, not a flinch in her gaze, and when her reply came it was in a calm, strong tone. "Amad... I believe I warned you and your men once before... that these are my hunting grounds, and that I will not tolerate your encroachments. Your bowman is still alive, consider that my final act of leniency. Provoke me again and you will regret it," her eyes narrowed and Amad flinched at the pulse of terror it drew from inside him. Yet he held his ground all the same. "The caravans know that you and your kin drive bandits from this area. How am I supposed to make a living when they all divert through here?" he questioned, sounding more exasperated now rather than enraged. The strange woman shut her eyes, her voice aloof. "It is not my concern if you find it difficult to live your petty life of raiding and looting. You bandits are not like the nomads who come for a time and leave the land as they found it, or like the caravans who merely pass through without stopping. You are even different from those who settle at an oasis and manage their resources properly. No, you want to hole up in the caverns storing and amassing your stolen treasures while you slaughter my prey and drain my springs. You fill the desert with fires and poisons and litter it with your garbage, I cannot ignore your excesses." Amad was already set with a comeback. "Only an ignorant savage like you could say that. You know nothing of what it is to desire wealth or power, compared to fulfilling those passions a few drained springs is nothing. All you have are your all-consuming lust for pleasure. I live for more!" "More?" she questioned idly. Amad seemed almost giddy at the chance to voice his aspirations. "One day I will be more than a bandit. I will rule this whole desert, and when that happens you will want to have earned my favor. In the meantime I cannot let myself be concerned with the demands of one mere mamono." Deathstalker 'Mamono' Kenneth repeated in his thoughts. It was as he had suspected, the woman was not human. "Then you will not heed my warning?" she said in an even, emotionless tone. Amad laughed loudly at the question. "It matters not, for you see I am wise to your idle threats demon. I am not the same as when you last took advantage of my naivety. You see I realized something. You may be called 'assassins of the desert' and 'deathstalker' but those are nothing but myths, part of a front, a bluff you keep to get your way. You are just like so many other mamono, you'll never kill a man, your instincts won't allow it. Now I wish to see that sculpted face of yours that has flooded my dreams of late prostate itself before me!" Kenneth could only watch in shock as Amad's attempt to tear her cloak off was stopped cold, the back of the woman's cloak billowing up as something large rose inside it, the tip striking out from the side of her neck. The movement had been so fast that Amad hadn't been able to draw his left hand back in time. It now bore a large cut, the cause of which could be seen still ready to strike from where it rested on the woman's shoulder. At first glance Kenneth had thought it was a snake of some kind but it was clearly not. There were no scales, instead the body seemed to be made up of thick, articulated segments which continued on into the darkness under her cloak. And its head was unlike any snake head he had seen. There were no eyes or mouth, instead it was a strange, rounded bulb that narrowed and curved into a wickedly pointed tip. This was what had cut Amad, his blood could still be seen on it. "Only men I choose may touch me," the monster woman stated coldly, the strange appendage she had struck Amad with slowly snaking back under her cloak while she brought up one dainty hand to smoothly loose the ties that bound her shroud about her body. "You really think you are worthy of me?" She opened the top of her cloak, the hood sliding off of her head to reveal a beautiful face decorated by a semi-transparent veil, and dark skin of a gorgeous chocolate brown. Locks of light green hair spilled over her shoulders as the cloak slid further off, soon revealing an eye-popping pair of breasts barely contained by straps of purple cloth. "You really think you can handle ME?!" The back of her cloak billowed up much more strongly this time as the whole shroud was thrown off her by the strange appendage from earlier, revealing her full form. "If so, then look upon me, you filthy excuses for men." And what a sight she was. She had not been standing on something, nor had she been dragging anything behind her. In actuality it was all the rest of her body. For below the sultry curves of her hips and upper thighs, clothed in the same tattered purple cloth as her breasts, stood the body of what appeared to be a human-sized scorpion. The strange appendage was her tail, the tip now raised high and at the ready. Her odd height could now be accounted for, as her six legs, each jointed into three segments and ending in a sharp point, were stretched high and erect, making her appearance all the more imposing. Lastly, from the underside of her tattered sarong, from each side of where a normal scorpion's head would have been, emerged a final pair of limbs, the equivalents of a scorpion's palps, the third segments modified into grasping pincers that were snapping together with menacing speed and force. "Look upon me, and know your place!" Kenneth knew in an instant what she was, for she could be nothing else. A girtablilu. These mamono were as infamous as they were enigmatic. Rare and reclusive, even other desert mamono rarely interacted with them, as they usually lived well away from settlements and towns in the desert. Their fierce reputation ensured that few attempted to seek them out. Much of what was said of them seemed as much myth as fact, but what was clear was that they shared the fierce personalities so common in the arachne family, and additionally they possessed the fastest-acting and most powerful paralyzing poison known among mamono. And, he had to admit, this one at least was drop-dead gorgeous. Amad's bravado wavered at the girtablilu's imposing display, but he soon continued in a boastful, confident tone. "Y-you dare insult us! Look at what you are! I know your kind!" He smirked, "You are a lustful whore at your core, and provided you behave yourself I and my men are willing to let you sate your desires in us," he added, a perverse gleam in his eye. "Why if it weren't for that hideous lower body of yours you could well be the fairest maiden in the desert. I'd imagine you can be quite the beast in bed..." "I hate arrogant men." "What?!" the bandit roared. "If I desired you I would have paralyzed you instead of only cutting you with my stinger," she said dismissively. "Your presumptions have blinded you Amad, as would be expected of a man as foolish as you." Amad wiped at the blood that had pooled from his nose, the cloth he had used soaked in it and now being squeezed in his bleeding hand. "You will regret those words! Take her men!" She shut her eyes, her voice still dismissive as the bandits surrounded her, their swords drawn. "Your imaginings are all you will ever have of me." "Hack her to pieces!" The six men attacked in a coordinated manner, two stepping back and pulling out throwing daggers which they launched to cover the other men as they charged together. It didn't matter though as the scorpion women proceeded to deflect the thrown daggers with ease, her tail intercepting both with lightning fast strikes. Some of the bandits struck at her jointed legs but found them to be just as well armored and indeed she was able to move them as if they were swords of her own. Her pincers further blocked attempts to strike at her humanoid portion, quick snaps of them snapping the metal blades off thanks to their incredible strength. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "My turn." Having rebuffed their attacks the girtablilu became a blur of movement. A sweep of her tail knocked three men to the ground before she leaped over the heads of the ones in front of her and proceeded to kick and jab at them with her sharp-edged legs, knocking away any swords raised in defense before clubbing and slicing at the men with her pincers. Stunned and bleeding, the six men were falling to the ground around her within seconds. Kenneth was so impressed with the display that he almost missed his captors having loosened their grips on him as they wavered over whether to help their comrades, hang onto their prisoner, or flee. Kenneth chose for them, slipping free before bashing their heads against each other. He then delivered a flurry of kicks and punches to one and then the other in quick succession as they stumbled back in a daze. Satisfied they were down for the moment, he turned back to the scorpion woman to find her taking a leap straight at Amad. The bandit leader aimed to impale her humanoid torso as he thrust his blade with all his might, only to have her pincers grab the sword and wrench it from his hands in mid-jump, the weapon being flung to the side to stab itself into a nearby skeletal tree. Landing in a crouch right in front of him, she gave Amad no time to react before tackling him to the ground, pinning his hands with her claws and pulling a dagger of her own from within her sarong. Her breasts jiggling slightly as she lowered her upper body over him, Amad might have been aroused by her were it not for the blade point she had pressing against the skin of his neck. "To be a ruler, you need to have a future. As for me, I have no mercy left for the likes of you save for the same swift death I grant my prey." With her dagger now raised high over his head Amad roared in futile fury, his final act of defiance silenced as she plunged the blade through his skull and deep into his brain. An eerie stillness descended on the area as the monster woman calmly wiped the blade of her weapon clean with a bit of Amad's cloak. She then turned to address the recovering bandits as they watched, frozen with fear. "You humans use terms like 'never' and 'always' far too often. Mamono don't kill the men we take as mates, but that doesn't mean we won't defend ourselves. Now your master is dead. Unless you desire to share his fate you will take your wounded and never return here." With a silence born of fear the men obeyed, rapidly gathering up the unconscious sniper and limping away with all the speed they could muster, leaving their slain leader and two dead companions to the desert scavengers. 'Guess I won't be collecting that bounty...' Kenneth mused solemnly, not willing to take money for a job that someone else had done for him. 'Not that I can complain. I thought I was finished until she showed up.' A part of him considered making a run for it before the girtablilu decided he was a bandit that didn't follow her order. But then again it was only fair to thank her. "Uh, hi there," he greeted with a hint of awkwardness, finding it hard not to be intimidated as her steely gaze acknowledged him. "T-That was pretty impressive how you handled yourself there. Thanks by the way for the help." "What makes you think I did it for you, human?" she asked coldly, now looking away dismissively. Kenneth tried to find his nerve again, he could face death without flinching but this exotic woman was something else. "Uh, I don't- I mean... it doesn't matter right? Whether you did it for me or not I'm glad you showed up." Now she glanced at him. "A reasonable answer. You handled yourself quite impressively as well, considering your obvious inexperience in this environment." "You were watching me fight?" Kenneth asked, incredulous as he put his gauntlets back on and went to retrieve his pack. "I do not enter any dangerous situation without observing it first," she stated simply, continuing to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "It is my way." "Yeah, I get it, that's pretty wise of you," Kenneth replied. "But you don't need to worry about me going after you. I may work as a mercenary, but I got nothing against mamono," he assured her. 'Especially one as hot as this...' he added in his thoughts. "I don't do any work I don't believe in, that's my way." "I suppose I should repay your gesture of trust with one of my own..." she stated in a stoic yet sincere manner. She proceeded to slowly remove the veil from her face, revealing kissably moist lips. Kenneth swallowed at the sight. "My name is Chanda," she stated. "Chanda..." he repeated, then diverted his gaze as he caught himself staring. He pretended to cough. "Ahem, that's a- that's a nice name. I'm Kenneth, Kenneth Peregrine." "Well then, shall I call you mercenary Peregrine?" she asked, cocking her head slightly, "Or perhaps bounty hunter Peregrine?" "Oh, you can just call me Ken or Kenneth if you like. No need for formalities among friends right?" he said with a smile. "Friends?" she repeated. "You are presuming again." "Sorry," Kenneth rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "but, I mean, I'd like us to be friends. Can't have too many, right?" Kenneth thought he saw her powerful gaze soften for a moment. "Many friends... are a luxury most of my kind cannot afford. We often do not get along well with other mamono, or even our own kind. I have lived alone all my adult life, and I will admit... it is... lonely at times." "Well I'll be going back home before too long but if you'd like me to keep you company for a bit before that I'd be happy to," Kenneth remarked in a pleased manner. For all their infamy the girtablilu weren't turning out to be so bad after all. "Is that so?" He didn't even have time to ponder the sudden predatory gleam in her eyes as her tail struck forward from over and behind her. The stinger jabbed into his chest with so much force it knocked him to the ground and held him there, stunned. As he tried to make sense of what just happened he could feel the stinger moving uncomfortably against his undershirt of chainmail, probing it as if curious, as her own face seemed to be. "As I expected, this is high quality armor. It is so flexible, yet my stinger can find no chinks large enough to penetrate. Course, I can always stab other places..." Now Kenneth's reflexes were on overdrive, and it was just enough for him to roll away in time to avoid another strike aimed at his left arm. The stinger struck the hard ground of the rocky land, cracking and piercing it, then tore free a second later, sending a cloud dust and debris flying. "Wha- why did you do that?!" Kenneth demanded, holding his gauntlet-clad hands up defensively. "I was quite curious to see how your armor would hold up." "Well now you know so why are you still- ah!" her tail struck at him again, his right arm narrowing evading the stinger's sharp tip, which he noticed was now leaking a purplish liquid. "I must admit," she stated in a tone so casual that it all but belied the hungry look she now wore, "I have... not been completely... honest... with you." In a panic at her sudden change in demeanor, and having never fought an opponent like this before, Kenneth stumbled and fell on his back. "What do you think you're trying t-!" he was cut off as he was forced to roll away from yes another agile stab from her tail. "Obvious, isn't it?" she asked, the look in her eyes seeming playful of all things rather than malicious. "I wish..." she slowly licked her lips and a heated look of lust accompanied her increasingly husky voice, "to pierce that handsome, virile body of yours and pump it full of my venom." "All right, I agree that is obvious," he replied warily. "So how about telling me why?" Her amused smile remained unchanged. "It will be more fun to have you realize that yourself." He held up his hands again, entreating that she pause her pursuit. "Wait... you said you weren't honest before. Does that mean, you did save me on purpose?" She cocked her head and put a hand to her cheek to support it, looking rather bored with his questions. "Yes, although I would have driven those bandits off regardless, you are the reason I hurried over. You see I've waited quite a while for suitable man to show up." She began to advance on him again. Kenneth meanwhile kept backing up. "Suitable? Then you- you came here to mate with me, to make me your husband?!" "Both, actually," she remarked without hesitation. Kenneth laughed a bit, the kind of laugh you give when you are really uncomfortable with something. "Look, if you wanted to fool around I'm all for it. I mean you are hot and I owe you for saving me, but can't we just leave the stinger and the lifelong commitment out of it?" "Silly boy..." The confidence in her tone rose as she backed him up against a vertical wall of rock and sandy earth. "You can't expect me to hold back to that degree. It would be torturous, like asking a man not to cum." Kenneth had to admit it was a strong point. "I can sympathize, but still..." She reached out and stroked his cheek affectionately with one finger. "Just trust me, you'll learn to love my sting. As for commitment, once you've been with me no human woman will ever satisfy you again. In fact, I doubt you'll have any interest in leaving once you experience what I have to offer. Are you not tempted?" she asked in a soft, sultry tone. "Tempted..." he repeated, sounding unsure. "Yeah, actually I am," he discretely dug his fingers into the crumbling rock behind him until he had a handful of grit, "but all the same I think I'll keep my freedom!" At that moment he made good use of his practice at throwing powdered weapons, this time hurling a handful of sand at the girtablilu's face. She hissed as she clutched her face in pain, and Kenneth took the opportunity to run, narrowly evading her tail as it struck where he had just been and then continued to lash out wildly. He headed into the maze of trails created by the rocky, eroding ground, turning at random until he was completely lost in the passages. Still, at least he had eluded the mamono. "Sorry Chanda," he sighed to himself. "It's not like I dislike the idea of being with you, but I can't just be nailed down in one place like that so easily. No mamono has been able to catch me yet and I don't see why that needs to change any time soon. Now, I just got to find my way out of here..." ------ Back at the ambush site Chanda had just finished cleansing her eyes with water from one of the containers the bandits had dropped while fleeing. But rather than anger her expression was one of heated excitement. Her tail was twitching with desire like never before. Her lips curled into a predatory grin. "I'd hoped you wouldn't be that easy to catch bounty boy... now I simply must have you. You're definitely the kind of man I've been waiting for." She suddenly moaned and swung her throbbing tail forward so that she could hold and caress it. "Mmm... I want to thrust it inside him so bad I can hardly stand it!" Forcefully calming herself she closed her eyes and concentrated, searching for the unique vibrations she had already learned to associate with Kenneth walking. Before long she had discerned his current direction and distance. She opened her eyes and smirked. Now the hunt could continue. ------ 'Damn it... how many bad ideas can I have in a week?' Kenneth wondered to himself. Escaping into the maze of eroded stone and cracked earth wasn't turning out as he had hoped. Forward progress was slow on the craggy ground, and he had no idea which way to go. Plus it was heading into late evening, he only had a couple hours of daylight left at best, and once night fell his chances of finding a way out would be even worse. He forced himself to not panic. After all he hadn't been wandering around for long yet. It just seemed like he wasn't getting anywhere. He considered retracing his steps, but if that girtablilu was still after him then he'd be likely to run right into her. Then again, there wasn't much room to maneuver where he was, a fairly narrow path with high rocky walls. If she caught up to him here then he'd be at a real disadvantage. The decision to go forward or back ended up not mattering, however, as his sixth sense suddenly flared up and he ducked just in time to avoid a strike from his venomous admirer's stinger. "You are good," she remarked, sounding impressed. Kenneth stared up at her in shock. How'd she manage to get so close without him seeing or hearing her? It would seem girtablilu were just as stealthy as rumored. Further, Chanda was not inconvenienced by the location. Currently she was above him clinging with ease to one vertical wall of the path with her four jointed legs. "You don't give up, do you?" he panted, stumbling back on the uneven ground. "Not when it comes to a prize like you, bounty boy," she stated with a lustful smirk. 'Great, she's already given me a pet name!' Kenneth turned back and ran as well as he could with the terrain as it was, only to feel himself thoroughly humbled as Chanda caught up to him in seconds. With grace and near-silence she leaped and scuttled from one rock wall to the next before leaping down in front of him in her characteristic crouch, ready to pounce. With a flick of his wrists Kenneth brought his gauntlet blades out and stood his ground. "I don't want to hurt you..." he stated, his normal confidence gone. This woman was clearly his superior in basically every way, be it stealth, speed, agility or strength. "Neither do I..." she breathed, giving him yet another beguiling look, leaning forward and swaying her upper body from one side to another, looking for a opening while being sultry as possible, "...much." Deathstalker As she sized up her opponent Chanda tried to stay focused on the task at hand but that was proving difficult and she couldn't keep a slight blush from appearing on her face. Her whole body was tingling with desire! Was this what it was like to fall in love? It had to be, which gave even more reason to not let this prize of a man escape her. Kenneth struggled not to be distracted by the hypnotically seductive look in her eyes, the sexiness of her face and the erotic way her barely restrained breasts swayed back and forth with her movements. He noted her legs were still tensed to leap at a moment's notice, while her tail twitched about excitedly. They remained staring at each other, unmoving, each silently gauging the other. Then, all at once, she leaped at him and he swung his bladed arms forward in a scissoring motion, hoping to start a grapple when she grabbed his arms to stop his blades. After watching her fight Amad he knew simply trying to cut her wouldn't work, hence a two-step attack seemed best. Besides, he didn't want to do her any lasting harm. As he had anticipated she did use her incredible reflexes to grasp his arms and push them out of her way to stop his weapons. He was still surprised by her strength though as she maintained her grip and continued to charge, slamming him into a rock wall and holding his arms spread wide against it, making his gauntlet blades useless to him now. Still, he had gotten the grapple he'd wanted. He was also thankful his chainmail chest armor eased the sensation of her ample bosom pressed against his, her womanly assets were incredibly distracting. Now though he could try to disable her by kneeing her in the groin, provided that part of her was where it was in a human. Even if she was stronger and faster than him he could still escape if he managed to strike such a vulnerable spot. He knew it was a myth that women did not have this vulnerability, if anything being struck there was more painful for a woman than a man, albeit he had no certainty this applied to mamono too. Still, it was his only remaining option for escaping. Before another moment could pass he tensed and moved to knee her with all his might. Only to find his legs were now locked in twin vices. Her pincers! She must have clasped them on his legs when she slammed him into the wall. Damn it, he could still at least head butt her!" But before he could attempt to do so, she surprised him yet again by slamming her lips into his in a sudden, passionate kiss. Her kiss was incredibly erotic in every way, the softness and force of it shaking his whole body to its core. He stiffened in shock at what she was doing and the arousal it brought, and the momentary pause was all she needed. For a moment later he felt a sharp needle in his neck followed by the swift injection of hot venom into his body. His cry of pain was muffled by her lips, and in less than a few seconds died in his throat as his body ceased to respond to his muscles. Save for his eyes and breathing, everything had been paralyzed. He could still feel everything like normal, but moving was no longer possible. His body sagged in her arms but she held him up and continued to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the lip lock. She also kept her her stinger pressing in even after she was done injecting the venom. She moaned a bit as her tail undulated, moving the stinger about slightly. It was not pleasant, but not torturous either. Then at last she drew both her tongue out of his mouth and her barb from his skin, licking her lips in a satisfied manner. "I'm glad you liked it," she stated with a sultry smile as she placed the veil from earlier back over her face. It had been a great kiss, Kenneth couldn't deny that, even with the pain of the sting considered. But now he also realized everything didn't feel normal. His heart rate was rising, and his whole body was heating up. Both effects fueled an incredible arousal that had his member rock hard in seconds. Chanda felt him up as if to confirm this and nodded to herself, apparently satisfied. Kenneth himself had felt an extreme rush of pleasure from the brief fondling touch, and would have cried out in ecstasy had he not been paralyzed. Albeit it seemed his vocal cords, tongue and mouth were not completely immobile, as a soft, groaning moan still issued from his lips. "Don't worry," she stated with a suggestive look, "I'll take care of that for you soon. You'll be able to cum as much as you want," she whispered in his ear, the silk of her veil caressing his skin as her lips moved against it, "you'll be able to cum again, and again, and again..." In his current state the relief of ejaculating sounded good, albeit the "again and again" part seemed a bit ominous. He couldn't voice that concern though, and she promptly threw him over her back like a sack of potatoes, holding his legs with one arm and letting his head rest on the back of her scorpion portion. His aroused mind wished he could see and feel her butt more, but not wanting to make his incredibly hard erection even worse he tried to concentrate on other things, like how quickly and easily she was traversing the rough terrain thanks to her six jointed legs. Before long she had made it back to the ambush site and proceeded to lay him down before gathering up her fallen cloak and putting it back on. She also grabbed a few supplies the bandits had left, then picked him back up, put him over her shoulder over the cloak and continued without a word. Unsure of how long the journey would be, Kenneth was glad that the sun was now low in the sky, his body was hot enough from Chanda's venom without having to worry about the sun blazing on his exposed faced. He was a bit confused some time later when she suddenly paused, until he noticed that she was picking up a partially skinned hare that she must have left there earlier. 'I guess that must be supper,' he reasoned. Now it should be noted Kenneth did not panic easily, nor did he give up easily. He was realistic and knew worrying too much right now would do him no good. The situation he was in after all was still far better than it had been with the bandits. Sure the idea of being stung again still didn't appeal to him, nor did being a captive, but for now he was willing to embrace it all as an exciting new experience. "Almost home," Chanda assured him a few minutes later. Having crossed a few dunes they were again in a rough and rocky area dotted with caves. Indeed the area seemed hollowed out with dozens of caverns in a maze-like array. Yet she made her way without hesitation to one opening in particular. The path inside was on a steep incline, but her claws gripped it with ease. The cavern itself opened up substantially once the path leveled out. They were now in a huge chamber, and while it was dark, enough light streamed in from cracks in the cave ceiling for Kenneth to see a number of nets, bells and snares scattered about in strategic spots, ready to be sprung. While Chanda paused to take off her cloak and hang it on a rock spike that jutted from the wall, Kenneth tried to form a mental map of the traps, he'd need to know their locations for when he made his escape after all. Sure he was in a tough spot but as said before he hadn't given up, and given he was pretty sure Chanda had no intention of eating or maiming him he would have time to figure out an escape plan. His thoughts were interrupted though as Chanda looked over her shoulder down at him. She seemed to note the way his eyes were scanning the cavern. "Don't worry about the traps," she stated nonchalantly. "They are there to alert me if bandits ever find this place while I sleep. They are easy enough to avoid in daylight, but I am awake then and can detect any presence by their vibrations." Vibrations... so that was how she had known where he was. It was certainly impressive. He also now realized that the desert air had turned quite cool and pleasant in the cave. He'd expected it to be more stagnant but perhaps the openings in the ceiling offered decent ventilation. Admittedly it was getting harder to think of anything aside of how hard he was and how much he wanted to cum. His balls also felt heavy and full as Chanda's venom forced his body's sperm production into overdrive to fuel the marathon of mating she desired. They headed even deeper in and began to go up an incline as they approached the other side of the chamber. He noted channels that appeared to have been carved in the floor, presumably to divert water from the rare heavy rains to unused areas of the cave. Now at the other end of the chamber they entered into another narrow tunnel, the entrance disguised by a drab cloth curtain, with dappled light streaming through the end of the path. The dappled effect came from a curtain of beads which blocked the way at the end of the tunnel, and upon pushing through it they entered what could only be described as a sort of Arabian princess-themed bedroom. Brightly colored cushions of various sizes lay everywhere, along with ornate rugs and other decorations. There were shelves set on the rock walls full of bottles of elixirs, potions and assorted medicines. Various holes carved in the walls seemed to serve as ventilation shafts connecting to other parts of the cave. In the middle was a circular bed with many pillows, the bed itself looking big enough to fit several people. While he looked around as best he could in his paralyzed state, Chanda removed his gauntlets and placed them on the floor near the door along with his shoes. This move made Kenneth realize again that while he couldn't move he could still feel things like normal, though most sensation seemed to end up being arousing now. Light it seemed was provided by various magical stones set in glass casings about the room. Kenneth knew of these stones as they were quite valuable and prized by those who could afford them. Called solar stones, they could be mined in certain places and after absorbing sunlight they could release the light over a substantial period of time, producing a better light source than what a lantern or torch provided. Amazingly the touch of a living body would alter the amount of light released, ranging from normal daylight to no light at all, all in seconds of putting a hand on one. Right now the lights were turned quite low, which combined with the scent of various exotic incenses wafting about gave the room an exotic, yet comfortable, and relaxing feel. The softness of the pillows added to the appeal as Chanda laid him out on the bed, propping him up against them. Kenneth was amazed, having never expected a girtablilu to live in such gaudy place. There were several other tunnels, also blocked by curtains of colorful beads, and he couldn't help but be curious about where they led. Perhaps to a kitchen or bathroom as the current room looked to be a combination of a bedroom and living room. Chanda's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Not quite the squalor you might expect is it?" she asked, looking rather proud of her home. "I've gathered a lot over the years. Some of this I've traded for in markets in mamono towns, albeit neither I nor they much liked me visiting. Other things like the solar stones I found in this cave, and some items I've appropriated from various bandits I've driven out." She demonstrated as much as she began to place on shelves a few vials and other small items she had scavenged from the ambush site earlier. Then she took the hare and left the room into another tunnel, presumably going to the kitchen as when she returned the hare was nowhere to be seen. She proceeded to remove her veil and place it on an ornate dresser before turning her attention to where he lay. "Now," she stated evenly, a lustful smile just barely showing on her lips while her eyes raged with intense desire, "let's get to know each other properly..." Chanda approached him slowly and crawled onto the bed before standing over him. She reached down and removed his shirt, manipulating his limbs as needed, then ran her hand along his chainmail underneath. She smirked at the sharp intake of breath he made when she snaked one hand under the chainmail to caress his stomach and chest, then slowly removed that covering as well. She then leaned down, sniffing, kissing and even lightly licking down his bare chest and stomach, apparently liking the traces of sweat acquired from his earlier exertions and currently heated body. Then she reached his pants, which she began to pull back on to get to his underwear, revealing further his now painfully hard erection. Breathing more heavily than before, she actually licked her lips as she tugged the last bit of clothing off, freeing his erection to stand unashamed before her. Then, with passion that seemed almost desperate she brought her mouth down and began to fellate him. Kenneth was already in such an aroused state that he came almost instantly and incredibly hard, Chanda moving her hands to hold the thrashing of his orgasming body down. At the same time she stabbed her tail forward and stung him in the chest. The venom sent a wild heat through him that joined the already present inferno and Kenneth's mind went blank under the assault of sensations, his mouth uttering unintelligible cries, the orgasm crashing even more strongly through his body. And as it had the first time, the stinger, despite its size, left only a tiny pinhole-sized wound from which only a drop of blood managed to escape. The difference in damage compared to when she had stabbed it into the earth showed she was able to make the stinger impact in different ways depending on how she used her muscles to strike with it. None of that, of course, occurred to him at the time. Before he could even start to soften the venom had him even harder than before, and before long he was cumming again, Chanda releasing his member halfway through and looking positively ecstatic at the way he gushed sperm over the cloth on her chest. She was panting hard, and the look in her eyes was even more heated now. "Good, very good... as energetic as I'd hoped ..." she breathed. As he tried to focus past the pleasured fog in his mind Kenneth realized that somehow he was still hard as ever, and his balls still felt full. But once his vision cleared all he could see were Chanda's breasts bouncing behind the cum-spattered cloth of her top. She stepped back off the bed, looking quite satisfied at the lust in his stare. Standing to her full height and turning away from him, she slowly, erotically, began to loosen her sarong, lowering it to reveal the finest rear end he'd ever seen. The light green markings painted on it accentuated the ripe plumpness and curves of her buttocks, and he was filled with the desire to feel the dark-skinned goddess before him. Kenneth noticed she seemed to be making sure she stayed in his view, the teasing glances she threw over her shoulder confirming it. His mind was spinning, full of desire and confusion. He knew sex with a mamono could be quite an intense experience, but this was still on a whole other level compared to anything he had done before and they had barely started. She turned back to face him as next to be removed was the cloth binding her magnificent breasts, which shook and jiggled entrancingly as she finished undressing. Her womanhood was easy to see, and he was surprised how this area of her lower body looked so human. Unlike most mamono who possessed nonhuman lower bodies, the girtablilu's scorpion portion did not start around the hips. Instead she was human right to the middle of her fine, smooth, dark-skinned thighs, albeit the thighs were fused in the middle, forming an extended trunk below her vagina. It was close to where the knees would be in a human that the scorpion portion began, her merged human legs seeming to grow out of the head end of the arachnid body. Despite looking rather awkward the powerful muscles and flexible joints she possessed there gave her great flexibility and strength at the point where the two body forms joined. Flexibility she was showing off to great effect as she contorted herself before him. "You like what you see, bounty boy?" she asked in a voice so sultry that he thought he might cum from it alone. He moaned and whimpered in desire and frustration. "P-p-please-" managed to get past his lips in a strained whisper, as he found his body so aroused that even with most of his voluntary muscles completely paralyzed he could manage to speak if he tried hard enough. "P-lease, please take, t-take me!" He needed this. He needed her. Pride be damned. She chuckled huskily and crawled back onto the bed. "Now you see how silly it was to be afraid of this?" "Y-y-es-!" "Still... I think I'll take my time, payback for that sand you threw in my eyes..." She began to dance her upper body directly over him. It was a beyond-sensual display as she kept her arms raised over her head, swaying and shaking to an unheard beat. She kept her eyes shut save for a few simmering looks at him, touch her primary guide. In time with the beat she lowered one arm and undid the cloth wrapping of her brassier, setting her breasts free to bounce and sway even more with her movements. He was so utterly entranced by them that it came as a surprise when she briefly slid the edge of her very moist pussy against the tip of his swollen cock. The stimulation nearly sent him over the edge and Chanda herself moaned loudly, squeezing her breasts and fingering her clit in turn before, lightning fast, stabbing her tail's end into his shoulder, seemingly on reflex. Kenneth's body contorted as if in a seizure, but her stinger remained firmly embedded, pumping shot after shot of venom into him while Chanda masturbated at a furious pace. Kenneth was pretty sure he blacked out for a moment from the overwhelming sensations the injection brought, only to awaken as the venom forced his body to devote itself to keeping his cock hard and ready to cum. Again she grinded her front against his member, letting the outer lips of her vagina slide up and down against his erection. She murmured pleasantly while he moaned in desperation, wanting, NEEDING to feel and thrust inside her and yet never wanting the teasing pleasure to end. The contortions of her swaying dance provided ever-more stimulation as she pressed her pussy against his erection, caressing it at different angles, its shape and their juices causing them to stick together some as they slid about. "How long will I tease you...?" she asked as if to herself. Then, in one go, Chanda suddenly impaled herself upon his entire length, her body seizing violently as his over-stimulated member released a massive orgasm almost as soon as it entered her. The powerful spray of his hot cum shooting through her inner walls produced her own orgasm before his could even die down, her tail thrashing about wildly before instinct had it stab the stinger into his side to keep him hard and ready. She threw herself down over him, panting hard and continuing to ride out their orgasm and the new seizing of his body under her stinger's attention. She embraced him tightly, actually laughing with pleasure while he continued to moan unintelligibly. "That... that was good... so I'll reward you with more pleasure. Show me what you want?" she asked, staring at his glazed expression before she smirked knowingly. "Yes, I can see it in your eyes... you want to touch me." She grabbed his wrists and pulled his trembling hands to her shapely breasts, closing her eyes and tilting her head back in satisfaction of the pleasurable torment she was bringing him. Kenneth reveled in the feel and strained his disobedient muscles with every bit of strength he had to get his fingers to move, resulting in them kneading her breasts in jerky, random motions, her pussy clenching his member wonderfully in turn. Deathstalker "Now satisfy me..." came her husky voice as she expertly gyrated herself over him, making her pussy muscles jerk his cock about and inciting him to become even more aroused. Kenneth's cock now returned her actions and thrashed mightily inside her, the jolts making his head spin, and it wouldn't stop, it just would not stop! Once more the dam of pleasure exploded, his mind struggling to comprehend what was happening. IM-IMPOSSIBLE?! How could he be cumming again?! Yet there he was, unloading yet more spouts of sperm, to Chanda's obvious enjoyment. Her jointed legs had clasped themselves around the lower ends of his legs, her tail swishing back and forth excitedly, the bed shaking from her exertions. "Mmm, yes... yesyesYES!" Hugging his head to her breasts she moaned, then cried out in greater ecstasy, continuing to stab her stinger into him in concert with her other wild thrusts. She had in fact run out of venom by now, and was simply reveling in the extra pleasure she felt from using her stinger. At this point so much venom was coursing through Kenneth that he could barely register Chanda's stings. All he felt was the raging, lustful heat and desire to express it. He couldn't have hoped to keep count of how many times he orgasmed under her before his body gave in and his consciousness faded into darkness, that stinger striking and thrusting to the very last moment. ------ So thirsty... So tired... Sore... so sore... Those were the only sensations, the only thoughts, that seemed able to cross his mind, until Kenneth's lips found the salvation of cool, fresh water crossing them. He swallowed quickly, his overeager action causing a fit of coughing, but once he had recovered from it he soon found more water pouring into his mouth. He also felt the warm relief of various lotions being rubbed into the skin of his sore body. His returning senses soon detected the heavenly scent of a stew nearby, and he struggled to open his eyes, rise up and locate it, groaning with the effort. However, his attempts to move were stopped as he was pushed back down, his blurry vision making out a beautiful face that shushed him. He wanted to eat so much, but he didn't have the strength to overpower her. Yet his worries were for nothing as he felt Chanda's hot lips on his own, the girtablilu deftly coaxing his mouth open before letting the stew she was holding in her mouth flow into his. Rabbit stew... he should have figured as much. Again Kenneth swallowed with eagerness, this time managing to avoid the coughing. Several more times the hot stew was fed to him, and with it and the healing oils and gels she was using on him he soon felt like himself again. Noting it was placed beside him he greedily downed the rest of his bowl of stew without getting up, then looked over to where Chanda had laid down on a nearby cushion. "I thought... I thought you were going to drain me dry..." She gave him a quizzical look. "Now why would I do that? I'm flattered you were that impressed with my endurance, but I did tire out eventually. Aside from that I only have so much venom and it takes a bit for my body to make more. I actually ran out midway through and just kept thrusting my stinger in. "Wh-why?" She smirked, "Because it feels good. You liked sticking your 'stinger' in me too, didn't you?" Chanda chuckled lightly at the uncomfortable expression he made in answer. "Anyway, now that you've rested a bit, how about a bath before we sleep? It's quite late at night already." "What about my body?" he asked slowly, noting how he now felt rather stiff and numb. She gave him a mildly sympathetic look. "You may not believe it but your body is in fine condition, considering that was the first time you experienced my venom. Even without my giving you that healing potion you would have been up and around by morning, and you'll recover more quickly once my poison is done altering your nerves." "Altering... my nerves?" he repeated wearily as she helped him stand up and allowed him to lean against her while they walked into a corridor leading to another room. It was only now his dulled senses realized they were both still naked. She gave him a seductive smile. "Yes, and eventually you'll find my sting and poison to bring you almost as much pleasure as the sex itself." Soon they entered a new room, lightly illuminated by what appeared to be glowing moss or fungi on the walls, and in the middle of this room lay a large clear pool of water, evidently part of a spring. Looking to the side he saw a few pots laying on the ground, presumably used to carry water to be boiled elsewhere to make sure it was safe to drink. The low glow of luminescent walls gave the room a cool beauty to it, one his captor reflected as he looked into her eyes, so much calmer now compared to the fire he had seen in them earlier. As she led Kenneth to sit next to the cool water, he looked down at his body and noted for the first time the many small red marks scattered over it from Chanda's stings. They were certainly minor, he could barely feel them and they looked like the sort of marks that would be healed and gone by morning. He watched silently as Chanda used her tail to pick up a towel from the stone shore, then soaked it in the pool before wringing it out over Kenneth's head. Gasping at the cool, cleansing feeling it gave flowing off his head, Kenneth sighed and let his weary body recline back against the girtablilu's chest. She gave him a fond smile before grabbing some soap sat on the floor and scrubbing off the sweat and dried cum from his chest, followed by the rest of his body. Kenneth felt so relaxed he almost fell asleep, only to feel Chanda finishing washing him and mechanically returning her favor by taking the now soapy towel and washing her. It simply seemed fair to. He ran it over the segmented plates of her scorpion body but focused much more on the humanoid portion, earning more than a few knowing looks and moans from her whenever he ended up kneading her tantalizing private areas. He was surprised at how tender this all felt, it was as if they were long-time lovers. "It's strange..." he muttered. "I really shouldn't be so calm and accepting of all this. It all seems so surreal..." "You're just still in a bit of shock from the frenzy of our mating," Chanda responded matter-of-factly, her eyes shut in contentment at being washed. "I'm sure you'll start worrying and thinking too much again before long. You humans have a knack for complicating things and ruining your own happiness in the process." Soon she got up and led him waist-deep into the water to finish rinsing off and to soak for a while. "You did well you know," she remarked, stroking him affectionately as he rested against her again, "it was very satisfying." "Oh, I bet you say that to all the guys you capture and ride relentlessly," he remarked, a bit of his energetic mirth coming back. "Is doing things like this really as normal and acceptable as it seems for your kind?" "It isn't as if we mamono have much choice," Chanda responded seriously. "The long courtships of humans are luxuries, especially in a desert. It's been over a decade since I became an adult and left my mother, and I've spent all that time here waiting for a suitable man to come along, so when he shows up of course I make sure he doesn't get away." "Yeah, try telling that to people like those of The Order, to them taking and raping men who strike your fancy is just proof that you're evil monsters, albeit they do add nonsense about you killing and eating the men afterward," he laughed a bit. Chanda frowned at this. "Groups like them are one reason we have to be so aggressive. It's not as if a mamono can just go into town and ask for somebody who is willing to love her, she'd be attacked." She sat him up and held him in the water face-to-face, staring into his eyes in a way that left him breathless. "So instead, we take by force men we judge to be a good match, and to keep them with us we show them our skills in making love and giving pleasure. Once that is done there is plenty of time for the courtship and bonding you humans crave." Kenneth frowned. "I still think it's not the ideal way to find a good partner, you leave a lot up to chance and can end up really hurting people. Humans care about more than just pleasure when it comes to love you know, having incredible sex be the foundation just isn't enough." "I'd say your ego is more of an obstacle than a lack of love or good foundations," Chanda said, sounding slightly irritated at his allegation. "Most mamono are very good at judging compatibility. If they weren't then a lot more men would eventually run away from them. They end up not leaving because they realize that the mamono's senses were right about them being a good match. There's a reason most of us don't take just any man who comes along. You humans just don't like giving up control." Kenneth closed his eyes in thought. "That much is true, that's for sure." Inwardly he pondered about what she had said concerning compatibility, could mamono really possess such a sense? "I agree it's not all ideal," Chanda conceded, "but neither is the world we live in. We do what we have to, to survive, reproduce and find love. Perhaps one day things will change..." He lay against her, both of them silent for a while, until Chanda's caresses began to take a more rough and erotic turn than the comforting manner of earlier. Kenneth's body shook in a pleasured spasm and he lost his footing, causing Chanda to hold him tighter. He moaned helplessly, his strength too drained to fight even without her venom immobilizing him. "Please... please, not again..." he pleaded, "...I can't take it..." "You dislike how aggressive I am? You were begging me to keep going not long ago." Chanda purred, pausing the nibbles and kisses she had been assaulting his earlobe with. "It's- not- that-" Kenneth strained. "It's just- I've cum so many times... I'm afraid I'm gonna break..." "Oh?" she asked coyly. Kenneth, realizing he was sounding quite unlike himself, tried to fake his usual confident grin. "It's not- not something I find easy admitting... I always thought I was in pretty good shape, but the things you do..." "Shh," she hushed him in his ear, her voice turning as reassuring as it was lustful. "You are in a most desirable shape, and with me as your partner you'll get stronger and stronger from our 'exercises.' For now though, I just want a quickie before we sleep. I won't ever let you break Kenneth, I'm going to make you realize just how precious you are to me... I'll prove it to every inch of you, again and again and again..." Her stinger stabbed into his shoulder, his heavy breaths turning to a loud gasp as venom surged through again. He closed his eyes and moaned. Perhaps his body was simply numb to pain by now, but it felt like the sting hurt less somehow... ------ Three months later... Kenneth panted, his mind racing along with his heart. He had to keep moving. He knew she could come at him at any time and from any direction. Living in such a tough environment, among other things, had made him stronger and faster than he'd ever been before, and he knew his foe's abilities much better now, yet all the same he knew she still had the advantage. He tore a rock from the crumbling wall beside him, causing a small avalanche as he dashed from there to where the rocks met the sand dunes. He needed to get to high ground where he could see her coming more easily. But even as he began to race across the sand and up the nearest dune a blurred shape caught up and tackled him from the side, sending them both rolling back down the dune. The girtablilu righted herself first, striking even as Kenneth regained his footing. Her stinger found its mark, except that instead of the yelp of pain one would expect there came a cry of ecstasy, Kenneth slumping onto the sandy ground, his body quivering and convulsing in a pleasurable seizure as the venom coursed through him. Unfortunately for Kenneth his convulsions caused him to roll to where he ended up planting his face in the sand, unable to control his body enough to move from the embarrassing position. Chanda stepped forward and eyed him with an amused smirk, enjoying the sight as she waited for the initial shock of pleasure from her venom to pass from his body. Once it had she removed her veil. "Quite clever, causing a rock slide in order to mask the vibrations from your movements..." she observed calmly. "It might have worked too, if you hadn't already been in my sights. Still impressive... you made it a mile out before I caught you. That's a new personal record." "Yay me." "Oh, don't be so grumpy," she cooed in his ear as she rolled him over and wiped the sand from his face, letting him spit out what had gotten in his mouth. "Your body is always pleased to get caught," she stroked his hardened member through his pants, "just look at how eager it is to reward me." "Do- you-" he panted, now with arousal instead of exertion, "really- enjoy- these- chases- that- much?" "Of course, nothing gets me in the mood more than a good hunt. Besides, it's useful training for us both." She ogled him up and down and licked her lips. "Now then, to the victor go the spoils, and I intend to indulge myself in them thoroughly..." she spoke with a sultry mirth as she began undressing him, only to suddenly pause, a distracted look in her eyes that Kenneth noticed immediately. "What is it?" He narrowed his eyes when she looked unwilling to tell him. "You sensed something didn't you? Bandits? You know what we have to do." Chanda only frowned, debating whether or not to attend to the intruders she had sensed encroaching on a nearby caravan route. It was times like this that she regretted making that deal, responsibilities that interfered with mating were not kindly taken by most mamono. Kenneth glared back with all the authority he could muster, he knew if he wavered at all then Chanda would take it as an excuse to continue where she had left off. To bolster his resolve he thought back to how their present job had come about. For it had taken a bit of time to work out (convincing Chanda that he would come back had been the hardest part, she had ended up opting to shadow him the whole way there and back), but Kenneth had arranged quite a good contract with the company of the client who had earlier hired him to take down Amad. Now, in exchange for a reasonable monthly payment, he and Chanda worked with one another to keep the company's caravan routes clear of bandits and other hazards, such as overzealous monster girls. Bandits were their main foes though, as Amad's death had caused a power vacuum in the criminal underworld that many now tried to fill. Chanda, who had formerly relied largely on trading items she stole from bandits, was pleased to have an income to expand her rather lavish tastes in decorations in their cavern home. It was a good deal for the trading company as well, as it meant they didn't need to hire as many security guards for the caravans. Getting willing and able people to live out in the desert for the sake of their profits wasn't something that had worked out for them before, so they were eager to agree when Kenneth not only volunteered for the job but added that he had a girtablilu as a partner who was willing to assist him. Having a desert mamono as infamous as her guarding the caravans gave their company much publicity as one of the most secure ways to transport goods through the desert. Criticisms from local factions of The Order on the partnership were an issue but a minor one as the company cared more about profits than The Order's desires, and The Order itself had relatively little influence in this arid, patchily inhabited region. As for Kenneth it was the sort of reliable, regular income that most bounty hunters could only dream of. He was happy certainly, albeit he did miss traveling and the wider variety of work and adventures he used to go on. Perhaps when the bandits were finally under control (he thought it likely that other mamono and human couples in the region would take their example and eventually start making similar deals with other trading companies until no route was unprotected), he could convince Chanda to go on a nice long vacation with him somewhere, see the world a bit before they raised a family. Regardless, he'd found settling down wasn't so bad, even if it had been pretty much forced on him Chanda proved to know what she was talking about. They really were compatible together. And then there was the sex, more wild and rough than ever but far more enjoyable now that his body was stronger and her venom had warped his nerves to where her stings were interpreted by his body as sources of intense, orgasmic pleasure. Which led back to their current situation. Chase and tracking exercises where one of them pursued the other always left Chanda quite hot and bothered, as did fighting with bandits or any other exciting activity for that matter. It was clear she would much rather screw him here on the sand dune until the sun started burning them than go out and protect a caravan. But Kenneth couldn't allow it, they had reputations to maintain. Not that he wasn't tempted to... At last the staring contest ended with the girtablilu reluctantly conceding. Chanda sighed, putting her veil back on and getting the vial of antidote to her venom from the satchel Kenneth carried. "Fine, but once we're done I'm giving you an extra long workout... in bed," she added with a seductive gleam in her eye. Kenneth swallowed the liquid antidote, developed by the two of them for situations just like this, and gave her his typical cocky grin as she helped him up, his body rapidly regaining full mobility. "It's a promise. Now let's teach those bastard cutthroats to respect the name Deathstalker." Her predatory smirk returned, her claws snapping open and closed with excitement. "Yes. Let's." ------ The End Author's note: Real scorpions are very sensitive to vibrations, and so I Chanda a supernaturally sensitive vibration sensing ability.