In the moment that your gaze flitted from him to the chocolate and back, he seemed to know what you were thinking better than you did, a smile crossing his lips as he gave you a brief nod, flipping out the cylinder on his revolver to ensure that it was loaded as he did so. A quick check was all it took for him to ensure he was prepared for this, to ensure that he was ready for the potential that he would be attacked while bringing the bursar back. "Well then, I expect you to be rested and recovered by the time I get back," he started, glancing back at Joy as he did so. "I hope she snaps out of that state, too, as we're going to need her to watch our backs while we're in the town."
You nodded, meekly reaching into the box, picking a bar of chocolate out, before offering it to him. You had been so dead set on keeping it all to yourself, yet you couldn't help but think that you should do this, that as your leader, that as the one you depended on, he at least deserved this much for you denying him cake while on the train. He merely smiled, shaking his head as he holstered his revolver, yet you couldn't take no for an answer, your eyes imploring him to take it from you, to accept this rare act of charity from you.
"If you insist, I suppose I must," he responded, taking the bar from you as he did so, smiling for a brief moment as he leaned over, kissing your forehead. "Thank you, but I still expect you to behave while I am gone," he added, before starting off back down the dirt path that lead down into the gorge, leaving you stood there with your fingers pressed to your forehead.
Why did he have to do that?
Why did he have to leave you feeling that the affection behind it was pure and innocent, that it was no more than a gesture of friendship. Why did he have to pick exactly what it took to make you feel all the more submissive in his presence. You slumped down atop the rock that he had been sat on, shifting slightly to get comfortable as you felt the fleeting warmth it bore, as you looked down at the box near your feet.
Maybe...
Maybe you should spare a few bars of chocolate from that box, give him further reason to be proud of you. It was almost as if you were addicted to the sensation of joy that it brought you when he approved of your actions, when he showed you that he was pleased with what you had done. You wanted to please him, you wanted that joy that came with his approval, you wanted him to justify your very existance to you by acknowledging you in such a manner. You needed him to acknowledge you, you needed him to prove to you that your very existance was justified.
A quick head count told you that if you were to give each of those people a bar of chocolate each, that you would only have a couple left over, that you would deny yourself the chance to eat it over the course of the next few days. You'd be denying yourself something that would keep you happy, just because you were going to do something for him, just because you were going to waive your own selfish desires for his sake. You hoped he appreciated the magnitude of this sacrifice, that he appreciated what you had done, because if he didn't you would shout and scream until you were blue in the face.
"You, yes you, in the maid outfit," you started, as you addressed the group, while the maid nearest you swallowed nervously, her expression fearful as she did her best to avoid eye contact with you. "See this?" you asked as you held a stack of chocolate bars out towards her. "I want you to take this and give everybody here one bar each. After what happened with the train this will provide at least a little comfort," you stated, watching as the woman meekly nodded, edging towards you, reaching for the chocolate. She was doing her best to avoid getting any closer to you than she had to, though that suited you fine, as she was human, as you could smell the concoctions she had doused herself with in the pursuit of beauty.
You much preferred the other scents you could pick up from her, the blood, the fear. Things that made you almost start to salivate as you wondered if she would taste as sweet as the chocolate had, if her final moments as she bled to death would-
You shook your head as you took a deep breath, you felt like you were losing your mind, becoming submissive in Eurochkoles presence and predatory without him to keep you in check. Timid and obedient when he ordered you about yet vicious and brutal when nobody was around to stop you. Maybe you just needed a little rest, a little time for your body and mind to settle down after the changes that had taken place. Maybe you just needed time to find your balance once more, time to find yourself so you could shake the increasingly frequent thoughts of bloodshed you were having.
You were not certain when you had nodded off, or even how long you had been asleep, though you found yourself stirring into hazy moments of semi-consiousness as you were awakened by Eurochkoles. Again, you stirred as you briefly awoke to find yourself sat atop his shoulders, as he strode across the fields and hills towards the fallen town. Once more you awoke as he reached the outskirts of the town, as he hissed as he slipped you from atop his shoulders, shaking you as he did his best to rouse you. "Come on sleeping beauty, we're at the town and we're going to need everyone alert."
"We-" you paused as you sat upright, your shoulder bumping his chest, causing him to recoil as he clutched his ribs. "Sorry!" you whimpered, afraid that he would lash out at you for that, one hand moving to your mouth as you breathed almost started hyperventilating. What was with you today, why were you having such major mood swings?
"I'm going to get Joy to decouple all but one of the carriages while I get the boiler going," he started, showing no anger towards that accidental bump of his ribs as he unstrapped his gun belt, passing it over to you as he did so. "I've never actually done this before, but it seems fairly simple a concept-" he paused, breathing deeply as he did so.
"What's wrong?" you asked, reaching out timidly as you took the belt from him, strapping it about your waist. "Do you need me to get the train going for you?"
"Get the civilians into the first carriage, I'll get the boiler going, then all we need to do is hold off anything that comes to investigate," he responded. glancing about nervously as he did so. "I'm not liking the vibe i'm getting here, so once you get the civilians inside, get atop the carriage and keep an eye out for trouble until we're able to get going."
You nodded, while he raised a finger to his lips, gesturing for the entire group to be silent as he started to lead the way along the outskirts of the town. Every time you reached a gap that left a clear line of sight into town he sat there peering around the corner, silently sending small groups across one after the other, sending Joy ahead to watch the front while you helped him at the rear. While you reached the station without incident you could feel yourself growing apprehensive, feeling that something was going to go wrong.
Joy was fast about uncoupling the carriages from the back of the train, leaving one carriage, a coal bunker and the front part of the train itself all that was connected. The civilians were less eager than you had hoped to follow your lead as you herded them into the carriage that remained, though they were easier with the idea when they learned you'd not be in it with them. Once you were atop the carriage everything fell silent, no more than the worried murmers of the civilians inside the carriage beneath you and the sound of Eurochkoles stoking the fire reaching your ears.
Silence.
Silence, in a town overrun by the corrupted, the corrupted that you had trapped in a building and torched earlier. The remaining ones would no doubt be infuritated, so why were they not attacking, why were they not coming for you now that you had finally headed towards the train like they had guessed you would earlier?
You hopped from the roof of the carriage, landing on the edge of the coal bunker's walls, your wings spreading as they assisted you in balancing, as you walked along it to the end, glancing down at Eurochkoles as you did so from your vantage point. "I don't know this," you stated, huffing as you glanced out towards the town. "Surely if enough of them remained, they would attack us now?" you added, tilting your head as you did so, as you glanced over at the fire that he was stoking. "How long will it take us to be able to get going?"
"I'm estimating five to ten minutes to build up steam, then we'll be on our way, we just need to sit tight and hope they'll not come for us before then."
"Can I sit up here with you once we're going?"
He laughed as he paused for a moment, as he leaned against the shovel as he braced it against the floor beneath his feet. "Once we're safe, you're free to sit anywhere you so desire."
You smiled as you turned about, walking carefully back up to the carriage, hopping back onto the roof of it again as you folded your wings once more. As the minutes ticked by, you found yourself growing apprehensive again, as you found yourself glancing about as your paranoia grew, watching out for any sign of movement.
Second after second.
Minute after minute.
You were almost disappointed when the train started to lurch forward, when the entire wait went without incident, your attention just about to turn away from the town when you caught sight of movement from the corner of your eye. Your head turned as you pulled the revolver you had been entrusted with from its holster. A familiar form was running towards you, a two headed thing thats two voices wailed in an oddly harmonious manner as it waved its arms to get your attention.
"Don't shoot!" The higher pitched voice came.
"Take us with you!" the lower pitched one rumbled.
"They'll kill us if you leave us behind!" the higher pitched one almost sobbed.
You were torn, did you shoot now, did you let it get close and shoot to ensure a kill, or did you handle it in another manner?((
wasn't the main point of the mission to acquire chocolate? why are we eating it?
You were after fudge, not chocolate.))
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Topic: They told me I could be anything... (Read 78929 times)