Over the next few days, Orlen and Kitsu fell into a routine. At dawn, as the rays of the sun peaked over the horizon, the two would wake up. While Kitsu made breakfast, Orlen would meditate and practice using the Force, slowly building his Force reserves back up.
He was making steady progress, but Orlen found it was too slow for his liking and that he was weaker in the Force now compared to when he was a youngling. A treasonous voice in the back of his head whispered that there was a faster way. A way where he embraced his long-repressed anger and hate, and through those emotions, he could get the power he wanted.
Orlen immediately quashed that thought. Thinking that way had led to the downfall of many Jedi far greater than him.
History was filled with tales of many Jedi who in their arrogance, thought they could harness the power of the Dark side of the Force to fight for noble and just causes, only to cause more destruction and death than the enemies they sought to defeat.
After meditation, they ate and resumed their journey toward Grand Noah. Orlen couldn't understand how Kitsu knew the way without landmarks, but her confidence was unshakable. He decided to trust her instincts.
The small logging trail they followed widened, like a stream swelling into a river until it became something that almost resembled a road. As they pressed on, the dense forest gradually began to thin, giving way to stretches of grassland.
Once they were done walking for the day, they would set up camp and have dinner. Kitsu and Orlen had used the leather from the animal he hunted several days ago and some wood to make a rudimentary bag to hold their food.
Kitsu always insisted on cooking the food, saying that she did not want any more mystery meals.
Once they finished eating, Orlen would train his lightsaber skills, mostly sticking to the holocaster lessons on Forms III, IV, and V. He chose to ignore Form II entirely as he was hopeless when using Makashi and was a danger to himself.
Kitsu eagerly joined in the lessons to varying amounts of success. Orlen started off by teaching her a bit in Form 1 to give her a solid foundation, but it quickly became evident to him that Kitsu was a natural at Form IV much like himself.
Perhaps it was due to the natural dexterity both he and Kitsu possessed. When asked, Kitsu confirmed that this was a trait in all kitsunes.
After that, the two would chat for a bit until night fell and then retire for the evening, ready to begin the cycle anew.
Orlen opened his eyes as he finished his meditation for the morning and looked up toward the ground. His arm was straining from holding his weight while his other hand was outstretched towards the small pile of rocks he had stacked with the Force. Carefully he reached out with the Force and gently lowered the rocks back to the ground.
As Orlen prepared to flip back onto his feet, a flash of silver caught his eye. Glancing over, he spotted Kitsu attempting to mimic his one-armed handstand. Her tails swayed wildly as she struggled to keep her balance. "Kitsu, what are you doing?" He called with a playful grin.
As expected, the moment she looked over, she lost her balance entirely, tipping over and landing in a heap on the ground.
Orlen flipped upright as Kitsu got back to her feet with an embarrassed look on her face. "How do you and Minamo-sensei make it look so easy?" She muttered to herself.
While dusting herself off, Kitsu looked over at the pile of rocks Orlen was practicing with. "Um, Orlen… would you perhaps… be willing to teach me how to use the Force? I want to have cool powers that I can show off to Kamuro and the others."
He knew Kitsu would ask this, she had been watching him use the Force with increasing interest over the past few days, and when she thought he wasn't looking, she would reach out her hand and try to levitate things. He even once spotted her trying to do a Force push.
"I'm surprised it took you this long to ask, to be honest," Orlen said as he sat down crossed his legs, and motioned for Kitsu to sit down in front of him. "Now, I don't want to get your hopes up. But it's not very likely that you are Force-sensitive. While every living creature has a connection to the Force, it's extremely rare for anyone to have the aptitude to use it with any sort of effectiveness."
Kitsu sat down on her knees and faced him. Her hopeful expression had dropped somewhat upon hearing the harsh reality. Orlen held out his hands to the girl, it wouldn't hurt to check to see how force-sensitive she was. "Give me your hands, I'll check for you."
At the mention of handholding, Kitsu immediately blushed. "Wa-wa-wait. Ha-hand holding? That's too lewd! I'm not ready for this!"
Orlen was not expecting that reaction from the girl. She constantly made lewd remarks to him, but handholding was too much? "What's wrong? It's just handholding for krike's sake. Don't overthink it."
The girl looked at her hands and hesitated. Her face was blood red now and she was nervously shaking. Finally, Kitsu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked away as she put her hands in Orlen's.
Orlen ignored Kitsu's strange behavior and focused on his task. He had only seen this done a few times, so he made sure to take his time trying to sense for any midi-chlorian activity in the girl.
Meanwhile, Kitsu was doing her best to control the emotions swirling inside her, despite all her fantasies, this was too much, too lewd, she wasn't ready for this. This was something shameless succubi or degenerate tanukis would do.
After a few minutes, Orlen gently released her hands. "Sorry to say Kitsu, but you are about as Force-sensitive as that mushroom over there."
Kitsu yanked her hands back as soon as Orlen let go of them and jumped to her feet. "I-I-I, I'll put the fire out. Gotta go, bye"
Orlen watched in amusement as the kitsune quickly put the fire out, grabbed her equipment, and started running further down the road. With a sigh, Orlen stood up and moved to follow her.
In an underground lab, hidden deep among the roots of the World Tree, a fallen angel scrutinized the wreckage of the spacecraft. The lab was a marvel of technology, far beyond anything else on the planet. Pristine white metal walls contrasted with dark-tiled floors, and a myriad of machines blinked and hummed while their buttons glowed in a spectrum of colors.
Promestein continued to examine her newest toy with a feeling of glee and excitement she had not felt for centuries. She scraped off some residue from a scorch mark on what she assumed was one of two propulsion units on the exoatmospheric vehicle then placed it in one of her devices for analysis.
It had been less than a day since a group of angels delivered the small craft to the Drain Lab with orders from Ilias to study it and to report everything she discovered about it. In that short time, she had already translated the language used, deduced that the ship was not from their universe, and that whatever civilization had created it was at a technological level she had never dreamed was possible.
During her time trapped in that cave, Promestein had focused her studies on discovering the secrets of the universe and the fundamental laws that govern it. She had never considered research in space travel and the potential for discoveries on other planets.
She was able to reason out that the device in the back of the ship was used to achieve faster-than-light travel. Promestein smiled at the ingenuity device's creator. Using an alternate dimension to bypass the limitations of the speed of light was something she had never thought of, and she felt a sense of giddiness that someone had invented something before her.
Were these the sort of achievements mortals are capable of when they were not shackled by a close-minded goddess?
Her thoughts were interrupted when the analysis device let out a soft ping, informing her that it had finished. Promestein examined the results and as she had already deduced, the scorch mark was caused by some form of plasma-based weaponry.
Taking a step back from the wreckage, Promestein took a moment to survey the entire ship. To most people, it would appear unsalvageable, a twisted heap of unrepairable parts.
However, Promestein was not most people. She could fix this.
She took another look into the cockpit and groaned in annoyance at the missing components. The operator of this vehicle had survived and taken what she deduced, was the navigation computer with them.
Promestein drooled slightly at the thought of having a map of another galaxy. She needed to find the operator of this craft.
Her eyes were drawn to the side of the cockpit and looked at the exposed wiring. Taking out a swab, she carefully collected the minute amount of dried blood and burned skin on the wires.
With her sample in hand, she brought it over to her DNA processor and inserted the sample. The data display came to life as it spat out genetic information on the subject.
"Male, Twenty-four years old. Species—thirty percent human, seventy percent kitsune…" She paused, staring at the readout. This individual had undergone gene therapy before birth, altering his DNA in ways Promestein had never seen.
Baring a few exceptions, the child of a monster shared the same DNA as her mother's race and in the rare case they were male or human, they would be a pure human with maybe a percent or two of monster DNA. This subject had the DNA of his two parents seamlessly blended together.
Promestein was not ashamed to admit that whoever had conducted the gene therapy had done so at a level far beyond her capabilities.
The analysis revealed further oddities—unknown microorganisms in his blood, markers from medical procedures, and vaccinations of an alien nature. As the machine generated a probable image of the subject, Promestein grabbed her communicator.
"Assassinroid, report to my lab. I have a mission for you."
While Promestein waited for the chimera to arrive, she turned to the display she had plugged into the main computer of the ship. The missing navigation computer was only one of several on this ship. The database currently powered on was some form of catalog of other spacecraft.
Going through the files revealed an image of an intact version of the craft she was studying revealing its classification as an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor. Further investigation of the database revealed a large variety of ships ranging from small one-person craft to a jaw-dropping 1.6-kilometer-long battleship.
It would seem that this new universe is not exactly a peaceful one, Promestein thought to herself as she examined the data on the armaments these ships could call upon.
"You have summoned me Promestein?" Came a voice behind her.
She turned to see Assassinroid waiting for orders. "Yes, I have a mission for you." Promestein gestured to the display representing the male Kitsune. "Find this person and bring him and any technology he has back here. He is likely in the borderlands between Noah and Natalia."
Promestein grabbed a small handheld device and uploaded the genetic data to it before tossing it to the chimera. "Use this DNA tracker to find your target, it has a range of a few kilometers." She coldly ordered the chimera.
As Assassinroid left, Promestein turned back to the ship, eager to resume her study. Hours passed in a blur as she delved deeper into the ship's database, uncovering more secrets.
Reluctantly she tore herself away from the wreckage, her mind buzzing with possibilities. But she had other responsibilities that unfortunately took priority.
Completing the white-rabbit drug, finalizing the artificial spirits, calibrating the four sealing towers, ensuring Alice's seal was ready, and overseeing the mass production of chimeras for the invasion. All these things had to be finished and there was not much time left.
Still, the thought lingered. If her plan with Black Alice failed, this ship—and the advanced universe it came from—could be her escape. She would have to find a way to pierce the barrier between universes, but she was confident she could do it.
A place with no Ilias, no angels to hinder her.
It was a tempting thought.
Orlen and Kitsu continued their journey to Grand Noah. The forest thinned out as they transitioned from woodlands to verdant grasslands. In the distance, various small farmsteads and villages dotted the landscape.
"…Then I followed that inquisitor person until he eventually tracked you down just before you started fighting those villagers." Kitsu finished, having told Orlen the story of how she ended up finding him several nights ago.
Orlen frowned at hearing how reckless Kitsu was. "So, you just ran off in the middle of the night without telling anyone? That's pretty irresponsible."
"I left a note…" Kitsu said as she defended her actions. A moment later her eyes widened in horror as she recalled the events of that night and realized that she had completely forgotten to leave a note. "Oh no, Minamo-sensei is going to kill me!"
Kitsu grabbed her head as she began to panic. "Orlen! New plan, we are running off into the woods to live as hermits. Maybe after a few hundred years and we have more tails, we can go to Yamatai."
Orlen smiled in amusement at the Kitsune's antics. "I think you might need to find a ship and just leave this planet. I know a few hidden spots where no one would be able to find you."
"You're not going to lecture me at all?" Kitsu hesitantly asked. She had braced herself for another lecture and was surprised by Orlen humoring her ship comment made no sense though, unless… No that would be too outrageous and ridiculous and sounds like one of those novels Tamamo likes reading.
Orlen watched Kitsu's face scrunch up in confusion at his comment. It looked like she was getting close to figuring out where he came from. He should probably tell her soon. "I thought about it but decided against it, you did help me out in that fight after all. Besides I would be a hypocrite if I lectured you about reckless actions. I've done much crazier things when I was younger."
"Like what?" Kitsu asked. Orlen did not talk much about his past, so this was a good opportunity to learn more about him.
Recalling the events that took place after he claimed his kyber crystal brought a nostalgic smile to Orlen's face. "Well, me and a few other younglings were on a trip, and our caretaker was kidnapped by pirates."
"One thing led to another, and we ended up joining a traveling circus to infiltrate the pirate base, rescue our friend, fought a bunch of pirates. Then we teamed up with the pirates to escape from an angry four-armed cyborg and his robot army."
He decided to leave out the fact that it was mostly Ahsoka who fought off General Grievous and that he was little more than a deadweight in that fight.
Kitsu gave him a flat, disbelieving look. "You're going to need to explain that in a lot more detail."
Orlen chucked, knowing that his description left a lot to be desired. "I guess I can do that. So, we were doing a rite of passage called 'The Gatheri-"
A cry for help further up the road interrupted Orlen's explanation. Deciding to abandon the conversation, Orlen ran to see what the commotion was about.
"Orlen wait!" Kitsu yelled from behind as she chased after him.
As he crested the hill, Orlen was greeted with the sight of what looked like a horse-drawn wagon stuck in a ditch. The driver had dismounted and was using a pitchfork to desperately fend off two women.
The first attacker had short pink hair with two horns emerging from either side of her head and was wearing what could only be described as a slave girl's metal bikini. Despite the size, her pink bikini struggled to contain her breasts and was bound to break free at any moment. She carried a massive broadsword in one hand and a large tower shield in the other. One bash of her shield was all she needed to knock aside her soon-to-be victim's weapon.
The other assailant had black hair that reached down to her lower back with similar horns on her head. She wore dark blue pants and had a fur vest that failed to cover her sizable breasts. In her hand was a crossbow that she idly held, content with letting her partner handle the fight.
"Minotaurs," Kitsu told Orlen, having caught up to him. "They'll rape him, probably take whatever is in that wagon and then be on their way. It's best if we keep our heads down and get moving, no need to get involved." Orlen remained still while Kitsu began to leave, intending to go around the commotion.
'Keep your head down' was something Orlen had heard too many times in his life. Whether it was directed at him to avoid unwanted attention or to others as a way of tolerating life under the imperial boot.
"Orlen! Come on, we shouldn't get involved. Monsters don't interfere with each other, especially when it comes to food." Kitsu had a serious tone to her voice that was out of place from her.
Orlen might detest the word hero, but he was never one to stand by when someone else was in danger. With a determined stride, he started walking down the hill towards the wagon. At this point, the man had been knocked onto his back and the two minotaurs were advancing on him with lustful intent.
"Dammit Orlen." He heard Kitsu complain behind him as she scrambled after him.
"That's enough you two," Orlen yelled towards the two minotaurs, causing them to stop and look towards him.
As he drew his sword, his other hand reached down and grabbed the grip of his blaster. After a short mental debate, he released the grip and left the blaster holstered, deciding to save the handful of remaining shots for when he really needed them.
The pink-haired minotaur waved at him and Kitsu. "Ah, hello foxes. Don't worry, big sis will make sure to leave enough for you two."
"Carol check your eyes, one of those kitsunes is male." The other Minotaur told her companion.
Carol looked at Orlen and smiled. "Oh, foxy boy, were you jealous of that other man? Don't worry, big sis can take care of you as well."
Orlen sighed in annoyance. There goes his dramatic entry.
Gathering Force energy in his legs, Orlen leaped over the two minotaurs and landed between them and the human. "Get up and go, I'll buy you enough time to flee."
The man, stunned by his change of fortune, scrambled to his feet. "Oh, thank you, hero. Praise Ilias!"
"You can praise her later, get going," Orlen ordered, shifting into the opening stance of Soresu.
Carol pouted as she hefted her massive sword. "How rude, that man was our lunch." With a grin, she swung her sword down toward Orlen. "But I am okay with a bit of exercise before a meal."
Orlen sidestepped the heavy blade and countered, but his strike met Carol's shield with a resounding clang.
As they traded blows, the second minotaur began to circle Orlen and readied her crossbow. Taking care not to aim anywhere vital on Orlen, she squeezed the trigger. The bolt let out a whistle as it rocketed through the air toward Orlen.
As Orlen redirected another one of Carol's attacks, he felt the Force warning him. Without looking, he let the Force guide his hand to where it needed to be to block the oncoming bolt, which harmlessly bounced off his blade with a loud ping.
Both minotaurs froze, in awe of the feet of martial skill. From behind Orlen heard shouting. "That was incredible, hero!"
Orlen sidestepped around the minotaur archer and glared at the human. "Why are you still here!" He shouted.
"My cart, its wheel is stuck in the ditch." The man replied nervously from atop the wagon.
Orlen let out an audible groan. With his free hand, he reached out with the Force and began to lift the wagon free of the ditch.
"Don't forget about me, foxy boy," Carol sang out as she dropped her sword and began running at him with the intent of grabbing him.
Turning his head towards her, Orlen dropped his sword, held out his other hand, and willed the Force to freeze both minotaurs in place.
Orlen grunted with effort as he simultaneously lifted the cart and held the minotaurs back. While the two women struggled against their invisible shackles, Orlen glanced back at the wagon and strained as he tried to lift it. His muscles burned as if he was physically lifting it.
Master Yoda always made lifting heavy objects with the Force look so easy, to the point that he would tease and mock Jedi unable to match his feats. Orlen knew that if the old Jedi was here right now, the small alien would smack him with his cane and tell him "Size matters not."
While Orlen was struggling against the minotaurs, Kitsu was having her own internal struggle. As much as she wanted to help Orlen, she also recalled Tamamo telling her not to interfere with friendly monsters when it came to men and that it was up to strong monsters like Granberia to enforce the Monster Lord's decree.
The dichotomy between the two options left Kitsu indecisive on what to do. She remained standing at the edge of the fight warring with herself.
With a final grunt of effort, Orlen lifted the wagon enough to clear the ditch and placed it gently on the road. "Goooo!" Orlen screamed.
The horse attached to the wagon did not wait for its master's command as it was already in a panic from being lifted into the air and galloped down the road dragging the wagon and its owner away from the battle.
He let out a sigh of relief, having dealt with that distraction he could now focus on the battle. He only had to delay the two long enough for the man to flee a good distance and then he could leave.
As he turned back to his opponents, he suddenly felt something soft press against his face while two arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a tight bear hug.
"Aw, looks like you got a bit too distracted. Don't worry, big sis is here to pamper you." Carol said as she hugged him tight against her breasts.
As Orlen opened his mouth to protest, his mouth was suddenly filled with a sweet creamy liquid. Realizing what was happening he desperately squirmed and struggled to escape. While this was happening another part of his mind pointed out that it tasted far better than blue milk.
"There you go, drink up. Let big sister take care of you." Carol hummed.
His struggles weakened as he felt himself becoming aroused and a growing voice in the back of his mind was telling him to give in. The voice whispered that he would be safe in her care.
"There we go, nice and helpless now," Carol said.
Helpless. There were many times in his life that Orlen was helpless, and he hated that feeling. That deep-seated resentment rose within him, fueling a surge of energy.
Channeling that hate, he placed his hands against Carol's belly and ordered the Force to push her away from him.
Carol cried out as she was blasted backward, skidding across the ground before collapsing, unconscious, thirty feet away. The shockwave of energy was powerful enough that the ground in front of Orlen was torn up, causing dirt and dust to fall around them
Returning his attention to the minotaur, he could see a large bruise forming on her belly while a thin trickle of blood began to leak from her nose and the corner of her mouth.
For a moment, Orlen thought he had killed the woman—until the minotaur gasped, groaned in pain, and clutched her stomach, curling into a fetal position.
Orlen stared at his hands, as he realized what he'd done. Did he just use the Dark Side of the Force? It had just happened. It was a one-time accident, he told himself. It wouldn't happen again.
"Get off me!" A voice shouted nearby, jolting him from his thoughts.
He looked over to see the second minotaur, locked in a struggle with Kitsu. Her crossbow lay abandoned on the ground—Kitsu must have tackled her before she could fire.
Picking up his sword and running over to the two, Orlen shouted at them. "That's enough, go tend to your friend." He told the minotaur who glared at him defiantly.
"Just you wait, once the queen comes back, she will punish you." The minotaur said.
"Queen?" Orlen asked.
It would probably be for the best if he and Kitsu got going. He was tired and did not want to find out how strong this queen was.
That is when the ground shook.
Freezing, Orlen cautiously drew his blaster with his left hand and turned his head to see the largest woman he had ever seen making her way toward them.
"By the Force!" He muttered wide-eyed and in complete shock.
The woman had the same horns as the other two minotaurs with dark skin and long blond hair. This must be the queen that the other minotaur was referring to.
"That, that's the Cow Demon Queen… What's she doing here!" Kitsu shouted in panic and awe.
The ground shook as the woman took another step. "Kriffing hell! She's taller than four rancors stacked on top of each other!" She could probably push over an AT-AT walker if she wanted to.
His sword would be as useful as a toothpick and his blaster would be useless against someone this large.
"I'm not saying we should run but running sounds like a really good idea right now," Orlen said as he holstered his weapons. Deciding that there was no shame in fleeing, he quickly turned and ran towards an awestruck Kitsu and grabbed her.
Ignoring the girls protests, he flung her over his shoulder, gathered Force energy in his legs, and sprinted down the road away from the titanic woman.
Baron Grimsby grunted in annoyance as the priest carefully removed the stitches from his now ruined right eye socket. He had to admit, despite the kitsune's lack of tails, he was a formidable swordsman.
Godfrey, his guard captain crossed his arms in frustration. "That damn fox will pay for what he did to you. Say the word and we can put together another hunting party and chase him down."
The man was one of the first to be struck by the strange magic the kitsune used in the first half of the battle and was taking his incapacitation poorly.
"Forget it, Godfrey. This is my fault for getting greedy. Honestly, let's just appreciate that none of us were killed by him and move on."
Considering the melee that occurred, it was a miracle that besides the loss of his eye, the only injuries sustained by his group were a few cuts, broken bones, and wounded pride.
"Tell that to Will's wife." Godfrey countered.
And then there was Will. The following morning, they found their missing companion's corpse. The body was covered in burns and from the looks of things, the man had stuck his head on a rock after being flung through the air.
It didn't take Frederic long to figure out that the man in black was responsible for Will's death. He had witnessed part of the fight, if one could call it that, between the kitsune and the stranger and was informed by others about the lightning magic he used later.
Whoever that man was, despite his claims to the villagers, Frederic could say with certainty that he was not a hero of Ilias. He could tell with a glance that the stranger was the type of man who revels in causing pain and suffering to others.
"It's best if we move on and put this chapter behind us. Besides, that kitsune is long gone by now." Frederic told the guard with a firm tone.
The priest was silent as he finished sanitizing the mostly healed wound. "And you priest, do you have anything to add to what Godfrey said?"
The priest paused for a moment, before continuing his treatment. "No baron, I would say you did your due diligence, and I pray that our goddess agrees."
As the priest finished his work, Frederic stood up and looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Good, I would hate to have to deal with a visit from an inquisitor."
He reached down, grabbed one of the eye patches on the stand before him, placed it over his missing eye, and chuckled. "Besides, it could be worse. At least now I know what I'd look like if I ever became a pirate."
Having mostly recovered, Frederic felt he needed to do something to take his mind off the last few days. Perhaps a hunt, a regular hunt with no monsters or strange magic involved. It would also be a good way for him to get used to adapting to the lack of depth perception.
"Godfrey, find the game master. I think going for a stag hunt will be a good way to get our minds off these last few days." Godfrey nodded and departed the room, leaving Frederic alone.
"Okay, I think we lost her," Orlen said, catching his breath as he glanced over his shoulder. The titanic woman was nowhere in sight.
"I could have told you that a while ago." Kitsu huffed, clearly annoyed. "Can you let me down now?"
"Oh, um, Sorry." Orlen quickly set Kitsu back on her feet, realizing that he still had Kitsu slung over his shoulder.
Once down, Kitsu crossed her arms and turned away, keeping a few steps ahead of him as they resumed their walk. He could sense that the kitsune was upset and annoyed with him.
The silence suited him as it also gave Orlen a chance to mentally berate himself. Using volatile emotions like hate or anger to harness the Force was an easy way to gain strength but it came with consequences that too many Jedi had discovered far too late.
After hours of silence, Orlen began to make out a large walled city in the distance. On the road ahead, he saw trade caravans and wagons flowing to and from the city, their owners eager to sell their goods in the bustling city.
Kitsu chose at that moment to break her silence. "Why did you act like that?"
"Like what?" Orlen asked, still not sure what he had done to annoy her.
"Like a hero, charging in and fighting off monsters. Now they are probably going to go hungry and need to find someone else to feed off of." Kitsu's voice was tinged with frustration.
Orlen frowned, a growing understanding of monster-human dynamics settling in. If even Kitsu was casual about the subject of rape, then that spoke volumes about the rest of monster-kind and what sort of culture monsters were raised in.
Them not seeing it as any kind of taboo and more of a way to get food would evolve into a culture where consent is a foreign word and rape was normalized. Not to mention the fact that semen was apparently a good food source. "What was I supposed to do, let them rape him and take his livelihood?"
"Yes!" Kitsu exclaimed. "He'd probably beg them for more by the time they were done."
Closing his eyes for a moment, Orlen let out a sigh as he chose his next words. "I can't do that Kitsu. I did what any reasonable person where I'm from should do. I've seen too many people have their lives or livelihoods ripped away from them by people they had no hope of resisting."
"Fine, just try not to make a habit of it." Kitsu relented. "Or you might geteatenby a super-strong monster,"
As they continued to walk towards the gates on Grand Noah, Orlen looked back at his tail. "Should we try to disguise ourselves at all? If I'm as rare as everyone has been saying I am, it might cause a ruckus."
Kitsu's eyes brightened. "That reminds me, I actually already thought about that." She rummaged through her bag, pulling out a snug wool hat with a short brim.
"I grabbed this when you were fighting those minotaurs, just throw this over your head. There we go, and tahdah! Your kitsune ears are hidden." Kitsu put her hands on her hips and had a smug smile on her face, their previous conversation already forgotten.
"Now we just gotta shove your tail in your pants and shirt and you will look like just a regular human. Now, make sure to praise your sempai."
Orlen had to admit, it was smart of Kitsu to grab that hat. He had already thought of hiding his tail the same way, having done it a few times in the past, and while it was uncomfortable, it would do in a pinch until he could find himself a cloak or outer robe.
"This padawan is in awe of your wisdom master," Orlen replied as he shoved his tail into his pants and up his shirt.
"What about you?" Orlen asked after he finished stuffing his tail in place. It made him look a bit bulky around the middle, but the disguise would work for now.
"You don't have to worry, Grand Noah is fine with regular monsters. Now let's go, I want to get some tofu." Kitsu cheerfully said as she sped up her pace before realizing a major obstacle to her plan. "I… I don't suppose you have any gold coins on you?"
"Nope, and I doubt they will take Imperial credits. Don't worry, I'll think of something." Orlen reassured Kitsu as they walked through the gates into Grand Noah.
Side Story:
"Just you wait, once the queen comes back, she will punish you." The minotaur said.
"Queen?" Orlen asked.
It would probably be for the best if he and Kitsu got going. He was tired and did not want to find out how strong this queen was.
That is when the ground shook.
Freezing, Orlen cautiously drew his blaster with his left hand and turned his head to see the largest woman he had ever seen making her way toward them.
"By the Force!" He muttered wide-eyed and in complete shock.
The woman had the same horns as the other two minotaurs with dark skin and long blond hair. This must be the queen that the other minotaur was referring to.
"That, that's the Cow Demon Queen… What's she doing here!" Kitsu shouted in panic and awe.
The ground shook as the woman took another step. "Kriffing hell! She's taller than four rancors stacked on top of each other!" She could probably push over an AT-AT walker if she wanted to.
His sword would be as useful as a toothpick and his blaster would be useless against someone this large.
On second thought, if he hit the right place with his blaster, he would have a chance.
Orlen closed his eyes as he raised his blaster toward the Cow Demon Queen. He would have one chance at this.
Using the Force to steady his aim, he opened his eyes and slowly squeezed the trigger.
The crimson bolt of plasma shot forth as it closed the distance between the two. His aim was true as the blaster bolt stuck the titanic woman's eye.
"Agh, my eye. It burns!" The massive minotaur yelled as she stumbled around while covering her scorched eye with her hand.
Orlen let out a silent cheer at his success until he realized his plan had only one step and he had no idea what to do next. While he was distracted, the Cow demon Queen stumbled forward, and her right foot got caught on a fallen log causing her to fall forward towards Orlen.
"Oh, sithspit." Orlen muttered in the second he had to contemplate his fate before his body got crushed under the massive breasts of the falling woman.
Orlen felt agony for a moment as his bones were ground to dust as he was squashed like a bug by the weight of the Cow Demon Queen then the pain faded.
Opening his eyes, he found himself floating in mid-air and surrounded by clouds once more. The winged woman he recalled seeing last time was floating before him again.
"How big is too big when it comes to breasts?" The woman philosophically asked. "Apparently, the answer is when they are so large they crush you beneath them like an insect."
She sighed and looked at Orlen in annoyance. "For some reason, I must do these evaluations for you as well. At least yours aren't from getting raped by every monster they encounter, unlike a certain seraph's son. I hope Lucifina also gets to watch what a disappointment her son is."
The woman shook her head before continuing. "I'm getting off-topic. This is not a fight you can win. You have to run like a spineless coward and hope you can outrun her. I suggest throwing your companion at her as a distraction. Now go and break the world record for long-distance running."