Of Walker

Laok looked up and to the west, his nose held high, sniffing the air. There was the faint hint of smoke on the breeze. A campfire. He squinted, looking off into the distance. Yes, there was the faint plume of smoke in the sky. He smiled, a subtle and malicious expression creeping across his face. Gripping the stone he climbed down carefully. It wouldn’t do to break a bone so soon after he had eluded captivity, oh my no. He wanted to stay mobile, silent, quiet, and deadly.

Finally he reached the bottom of the stone outcropping upon which he had been perched and took off at a ground-devouring lope. The trees flashed by in his peripheral vision, barely noted except as obstacles to be avoided. His powerful legs bunched and he hurtled a fallen log, landing with a cringe on the other side. He was week, terribly week, he had to remember this, proceed with caution, the days of swaggering about and taking what he wanted were over for now, but would come again, he knew, oh my yes they would come again. He’d find his sister; find where that filthy human prince had taken her. If he had hurt her, there would be hells to pay. He would make the man rue the day he was born, take him apart piece by precious piece and savor every last scream, every whisper of agony until he begged for mercy. He would visit upon him vengeance for ALL he and his sister had to go through. He would find Shoda, he HAD to, she needed him, he was sure.

The crack of a stick brought him up short. He stopped, listening, his long ears pricked for any sound. His forestry skills were unmatched, weren’t they? It wasn’t him that made that tiniest of telltale sounds, was it? No! There, another rustle in the underbrush. He sprinted towards it and suddenly, a hare broke cover and he hurled himself forward, snagging a leg with one hand. He didn’t even bother to twist the creature; instead he simply took it by the neck and pulled, killing the terrified beast instantly.

“Who’s there?” A voice called out from the gathering darkness.

Laok cursed himself silently for his eagerness, his carelessness. But then, an idea struck and he drew himself up carefully, keeping low. “Who asks? Be you friend or foe to Carolin?” He called softly, ready to bolt should the strange voice belong to a soldier. He was in no position to fight.

“Who would ask? Be you Human, Jothani, or other?”

Laok sighed, relaxing instantly. Only a Jothani, other, or human sympathizer would ask if he was other. Carolin faithful only cared if you were Human or other. Their racist hate blinded them to everything else. “Jothani! And a fugitive! Sanctuary, please!” He called, standing up, doing his best to look the poor wretch he was.

A form parted the bushes and immediately Laok’s deep-seated, primal anger was awoken again and he hurled himself at the hapless man. Virgil screamed and fell back beneath the larger Jothani’s assault, “No! Stop, you can’t stop I won’t hurt you!” He cried, terrified for his life.

Laok straightened up, a feral growl escaping his lips, his face a mask of fury, “What did you do to her!” He yelled, holding the man up by the neck, pressed up against a tree.

“I freed her! I was coming back for you, I swear!” His throat worked painfully under Laok’s tight grip as his hands scrabbled futilely for purchase on the Jothani’s arms.

“Then WHERE IS SHE!” Laok thundered, his lavender eyes blazing with unbridled fury.

“She- she left, she didn’t want me, she left, towards Asumptee…” Virgil gasped. His legs were working, scraping desperately against the bark of the tree.

For having been imprisoned as long as he was, starved, and beaten, Laok was still a force to be reckoned with. He growled again and began to glow. He pulled Virgil down from the tree and started dragging him by the collar. He dragged him back to where he knew the campsite was. With an unnecessary force, born of pure viciousness, Laok threw the hapless man down, cracking his skull on the edge of the fire pit. Virgil struggled for a moment to maintain consciousness then, lost the battle, and all went black.


When he woke up again it was proper night, but the ground in front of his face was illuminated by an angry red glow. Where was he? He could hear the sound of someone working nearby, a fire, and he could smell roasting meat. He rolled over with a groan, but Laok was on top of him in an instant. The giant Jothan straddled his hips, his dark green hands clutching vice like at the front of his tunic. His face was frighteningly impassive as he just sat there, staring for a moment, his face eerily illuminated by the dancing flames. He looked like a demon. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke, “Where’s my sister?”

Virgil tried to answer, but his throat was on fire. He coughed and spluttered and finally managed to croak, “I don’t know…”

That was the wrong answer. Laok’s impassive expression flashed to one of anger and he lifted Virgil’s chest up off the ground and slammed him back down again. He saw stars for a moment, “What did you do with her!”

“I- I freed her, but she didn’t want me-“

“Didn’t want you?” Laok’s tone was a dangerous whisper as understanding dawned on his face. He slammed the man on the ground again, “You perverted bastard! How DARE you force yourself on my sister!”

“I- it wasn’t like that! I didn’t force anything! She didn’t want me! She ran off, towards Asumptee, I… I never saw her again… I don’t know what happened to her.”

Laok’s lips thinned to an angry line in his face, “And you’re not going to.” He growled then punched Virgil in the jaw. It was like being hit with a sledgehammer. His head exploded in pain and tears sprang to his eyes. He was hauled roughly to his feet and dragged a short distance. Then, the ground beneath his feet disappeared. Laok was holding him out over a cliff. He couldn’t help it, he screamed, the long plummet to the bottom terrifying him.

Laok brought his face close to Virgil’s, stared into his eyes, and whispered, “I don’t EVER want to see you again.” And he tossed him off the cliff.

Virgil screamed again as the ground rushed up at him, faster than he would have thought. A ledge caught him, he rolled off, caught another, barely held. His hands were sweating, blood pouring from somewhere, pain everywhere. He slipped and dropped again, cracked the back of his head but held fast. Before he slipped into darkness again he stared upward and saw Laok, fury burning in his mockingly soft lavender eyes, the angry red glow of the volcano burning behind him.