"...Urgh..."
Siquioce's eyes cracked open, allowing him a small view of
the new environment he was in. Looking down, he saw that he was a few feet in
the air, suspended by some mechanism above a bed of frilly leaves.
"Agh...where am I? And why do I feel so..."
Siquioce let out a shocked gasp as he noticed what
predicament he was in; surrounding him were numerous thick branches that hung
down from a large tree, all constricting him like a serpent bent on ensnaring
its prey. He was trapped!
"Nngh...come on...let me out!"
Siquioce wiggled and squirmed, writhing like a worm in a
vain attempt to free himself from his prison. All the while, he cried out for
help, forfeiting any semblance of dignity as he let out loud wails of distress.
Halfway into his breakdown, Siquioce felt a sharp jab to his
rear end, one that snapped him back to reality. Making a short cry of pain, he
looked down at the ground to identify the source of the strike, where he found
a thin, young, cross-looking Urosite holding a long staff.
"Hé, idio," the lizard snarled,
"Cal, ou wrer taser."
"B-but, I--"
Before Siquioce could finish his
sentence, he was poked again by the stick, forcing him to shut up.
"Ow! Hey, what the--!"
From Siquioce's left, he heard
Yuchauzch's voice: "He's telling you to be quiet, you're ruining the flavor."
Siquioce gasped, turning his
head towards Yuchauzch's voice to see that he, too, was trapped in a cage of
branches and leaves. Not too far off from him was Kantuta, who was laying with
her eyes closed in her own jail.
"Yuchauzch! Kantuta! You're--!"
Siquioce was once again cut short by a swift staff strike to his rear end,
"Ack!"
Yuchauzch groaned, "I told you,
dude, you've gotta keep it down. Lower your voice."
Siquioce's head fin flattened as
he futilely tried to reach for his behind to soothe it. Seeing that there was
no use, he said in a quieter tone, "Right...everyone's here! But...where are
we? What happened to us?"
"Take a guess," Yuchauzch
answered, "We got captured. And by these scaly, bug-munchin' bozos, of all
people..."
Siquioce grumbled, clutching the
bars of his cage as he closed his eyes in defeat, "Oh Tomanil, what a..." his
eyes widened, "Wait, what was that about taste?!"
Yuchauzch gave Siquioce a look,
"You're a Samanian, right? Urosites eat fish like you."
Siquioce shook his cage around
frantically, trying his best to either slide out of his confines or pry them
open. As he struggled, he cried, "No, no, no, I can't be eaten, not now!
Someone, anyone, hel--!"
Once again, the Urosite silenced
Siquioce with a firm jab to the rear.
As Siquioce moaned in
discomfort, Kantuta slowly opened her eyes and looked around at her mates with
a surprised expression.
"Siquioce? Yuchauzch?" she
asked, "What happened? What's going on?"
Yuchauzch answered, "Read the
room, genius; we're trapped. And Siquioce won't stop whining about it.
Kantuta closed her eyes and
hummed to herself as she gathered her thoughts. After a bit of meditation, a
lightbulb went off in her head before she facepalmed in embarrassment.
"Oh, I remember now!" she said,
"Those Urosites incapacitated us! How foolish of us to lower our guards..." she
glared at Yuchauzch, "And even more foolish of you to provoke them! What
were you thinking?!"
Yuchauzch huffed, "Well,
excuuuuse me for trying to protect our friend. And who would've ever expected those
reptiles to be so strong, anyway?"
Kantuta narrowed her eyes, "If
you did your homework, you would know that Urosites are quite formidable. They
tend to be the apex predators in whatever region they inhabit, after all."
"Pssh, so what?" Yuchauzch
retorted, "Us orcs are one of the strongest out there! You tellin' me that I
couldn't handle one little lizard?"
Kantuta scoffed, "Well, considering
your stature, it is not surprising that this would be a possibility." she shook
her head, "But enough of that. How might we get out of this situation we're
in?"
Siquioce groaned, pressing his
face against the bars as he griped, "I have no idea..."
Yuchauzch added, "Yeah, me
neither. I already tried breaking myself free, but..." he made sounds of
exertion as gripped and pulled against the branches that were trapping him, "No
dice. They're too sturdy."
Kantuta rolled her eyes, "Oh,
you with your muscle-headed solutions...why don't we use our words?"
"Our words?" Yuchauzch
questioned, "You think we can reason with these savages?"
"Hmph, you're one to talk."
Kantuta replied, "And yes, it is worth a shot. Those other ones were at least somewhat
kind, were they not? I'm sure that I can work something out."
Yuchauzch rolled his eyes under his veil of hair,
"Alright, go crazy."
Nodding to herself, Kantuta
cleared her throat and looked down at the lizard below her, who was scratching
his staff with one of his claws in a bored manner. Prepping her mind for
negotiation, Kantuta went over her plan and spoke.
"Excuse me, Mr. Urosite?"
No response.
Kantuta frowned, moving her face
forward slightly as she raised her voice a bit.
"Hello? It's rude to ignore a
lady, you know."
After a bit of a delay, the
Urosite, still focusing on his staff, grunted, "What?"
Feeling a small sense of
victory, Kantuta put on a friendly smile and an innocent voice.
"Ah yes, good. Might I ask what
me and my friends are doing locked up in these branches?"
The Urosite grumbled, smacking
his stick against his open palm.
"Elf and orc interfere with
Urosite work. Samanian for food."
"Oh, is that the reason?" Kantuta inquired, "Is
that why we're imprisoned? But my friend, we did not mean to antagonize your
kind like that! We were simply passing by!"
The Urosite looked up slightly,
"Not what they say. Say you try fight us."
Kantuta gasped before laughing
nervously, saying, "Oh, that? No, no, that wasn't me, that was my associate! He
can be rather...impulsive, to put it lightly. But we have learned our lessons,
I assure you! So, if you could let us go..."
The lizard cut her off, stating,
"No. No free. Must stay here. No exceptions. Leader's orders."
Kantuta put on a sad face,
asking, "Really? But we mean no harm! Would you really turn down such a polite
and considerate lady such as myself?"
The young lizard bluntly
responded, "Politeness no matter in jungle. Weak must be punished."
Kantuta sighed, resting her back
against one of the walls of her cage as she slumped in defeat.
"Oh, what a pity. So, this is
how it ends..."
The Urosite stayed silent for a
minute before a small smirk formed on his face, "But Bo do have something in
mind..."
Kantuta's eyes brightened, and
she refocused her attention on the lizard, "Oh? What is it, Bo?"
Bo looked up slightly, still
wearing that mischievous grin, "Bo can free you...if do something for Bo
later."
Sensing something in Bo's tone,
Kantuta raised an eyebrow, pulling back slightly in apprehension.
"Er...what would this
'something' be?"
The lizard chuckled, "Lady
Urosites here too boring. But you...you have nice body. Bo want explore it."
A bright blush appeared on
Kantuta's face, and she covered her chest in shock.
"W-what?! You don't mean...I
can't do that!"
Raising his head at the
commotion, Yuchauzch let out a mocking laugh, asking, "What's wrong, elf? Not
feeling as promiscuous today?"
Kantuta shot Yuchauzch a look,
"That is an outdated stereotype! And even if I were a bit...frisky, this is
going too far!"
"You sure?" Bo asked, "If you no
accept, you will stay stuck forever. This your only chance..."
Kantuta groaned to herself,
drumming her fingers against the bars of her cage as she weighed her options.
After a bit of contemplation, she finally gave in, shaking her head in
reluctant acceptance.
"Fine. I shall...pleasure you.
But only if you promise to also free this Samanian friend of mine."
Bo laughed, "Okay, Bo agree. No
like fish, anyway." he started walking towards a rope next to the tree, "Oh,
this going be good..."