Kylia forlornly watched as Tavorn ate with some of her fellow Coeurlclaws. The pangs from her empty stomach were the only distraction she had from the slowly growing pain in her lower back. She squirmed with her legs every few seconds, just trying to find some way to relieve the pressure, but it was useless. The ropes Tavorn had bound her with were stretched tight and there was nothing she could do.
Tavorn joked with some of her fair-weather friends in the camp, trying to disguise how hollow her laughs were. She determinedly avoided looking at her pet, all trussed up in the harness at the edge of the fires. Tavorn could not indulge any of the feelings simmering inside her right now. Not among the cutthroats of the Coeurlclaws, for whom emotional outbursts were seen as weakness. As they should be.
Tavorn knew she could let down her emotional guard with exactly two Miqo'tes: Kylia and Mirra. Her pet had no choice but to accept Tavorn as she was, and after many humiliating episodes in the past, she had nothing left to hide from Mirra. But none of these vultures surrounding her could know that her obvious jealousy when it came to Kylia was anything more than the greed they all possessed to one degree or another.
Kylia squirmed hopelessly in the harness as she saw more Miqo'tes arrive. Mirra had sat down right next to Tavorn and engaged her in conversation. She was too far from the cookfires to make out any individual word, but Tavorn's glum expression made it clear that her mistress didn't like what she was hearing.
Some Miqo'tes who had finished eating had gotten up and were walking towards Kylia. Maybe it was because they felt more confident that Tavorn would not leap up and attack them with Mirra there.
A magenta-haired Miqo'te with many rings in her ears was the first to reach her. The Miqo'te held the sides of Kylia's face with both hands and raised her upwards so that Kylia was looking up at her. The tightness of her bonds meant that Kylia's whole body shifted, and she winced in pain at the additional strain on her back.
"She's got a pretty face. Nice eyes. Let's see your smile, sweetling." The magenta-haired Miqo'te said, looking at Kylia with distinct interest.
Kylia gave an shaky smile, hoping that the Miqo'te would be satisfied. She got her wish a moment later as the Miqo'te let her face go. Kylia sighed in relief as settled back into her original position. It was still painful, but not as bad as before. Kylia only got a second to appreciate it before a Miqo'te behind her started to fondle her ass.
"Every time I hear Tavorn paddling her, I wish I had a little plaything of my own. Maybe after tonight, I will." The unknown Miqo'te behind her said, chuckling.
"Don't count on it, Yewa. I think the only archer worse than you here was the Prey." The magenta-haired Miqo'te said, now pinching Kylia's nipples.
"We can't all spend our days testing out new bows, Sabine. Some of us have to fish for the gang. Spread your legs, now." Yewa said, directing the last part to Kylia and punctuating the order with a harsh slap to Kylia's inner thighs.
Kylia blushed as she did as she was told. Though she couldn't see Yewa behind her, Kylia knew Yewa was getting a clear look at her pussy. Sabine didn't seem to like Kylia's attention not being on her, however, because the magenta-haired Miqo'te started to pull up on the bells attached to her nipples.
Kylia's eyes teared up as her body was pulled upward again, this time by her nipples. She whined loudly at the pain she felt, both from her nipples and her lower back, but this only seemed to please Sabine. The magenta-haired Miqo'te bent down and whispered into her ear.
"Soon, sweetling." Sabine said, a wicked glint in her eye.
Tavorn was barely keeping herself from drawing her dagger, even with Mirra right next to her. Tavorn silently vowed, over and over again, that later on, Sabine would pay for what she was doing to her pet. But that silent mantra wasn't enough to satisfy her anger. Perhaps Mirra sensed this, because the Miqo'te leader stood up abruptly.
"The competition is about to begin. Grab your bows and arrange the targets." Mirra called out in a tone quieter than the general chatter around her and yet it managed to cut through it all.
Tavorn stood up immediately afterward. Sabine had let her pet go after the announcement, but not before blowing a kiss to Kylia. Tavorn added that to the quickly growing list of outrages that would be avenged, sooner or later.
Yewa too would pay, though not as dearly. The black haired Miqo'te was an excellent fisher, but was one of the worst archers in the camp and was not a threat. Yewa's slight transgression of touching her pet's ass would be corrected, but Tavorn understood. Kylia's bubble butt was very tempting.
Kylia gasped with relief as Sabine let her go. The pain in her nipples faded, and the pain emanating from her lower back returned to the dull ache she had accepted as tolerable in comparison. Sabine blew her a kiss before turning away, presumably to get her bow.
She had only just met Sabine, but Kylia fervently wished that Tavorn would beat her. The pain her mistress regularly caused her had a different feel than the casual cruelty that Sabine displayed, and Kylia had no wish to ever be alone with the magenta-haired Miqo'te.
Miqo'tes walked past her, carrying some of the straw targets the recruits used during archery practice. They placed them somewhere behind her, and it seemed like Kylia wouldn't get to actually see the competition herself, which was a little disappointing. But all that mattered to her was that her mistress won.
Tavorn waited while the targets were set up. Her first impulse was to go over to her pet, but she clamped down on it. There were far too many Miqo'te around for Tavorn to risk it. Best that they assume the Prey was nothing more than a valuable prize Tavorn wanted to keep for herself.
Obsessively checking her bow was a good way for her to calm and down and let go of her anger. Tavorn needed to be as calm as possible when it was her turn to shoot. The fact that Mirra had given her time to settle herself by making her one of the last to shoot would help. But Tavorn knew she couldn't relax until she and her pet were sleeping together in their shared bedroll.
