Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
"More are joining," I say to Aidy.
She bites her lip. "What do we do?"
"Nothing. We let them join."
The new snow-people hoot wildly, only to stop once they join the others. We continue on for a time, when the hooting begins again. Aidy and I stop and she turns, making the "quiet" gesture. I pause, too, because they could be alerting us to danger.
One of the males—one of the bigger ones—has pounced on something. As I watch, he hauls it out of a snowy den and holds it up in the air. It is a smaller creature, much like the one I stole my khui from, and it kicks and squirms, desperately trying to break free. The snow-man races to my side, holding out the creature for me to take. Nearby, another digs at the base of a straggly looking bush and pulls it up, revealing a thick taproot.
And a new idea blossoms.
These snow-people are not a problem.
They are an army.
And as long as I feed them, they are at my command. No one will be able to defeat us if we are surrounded with a loyal army. It does not matter if they can fight. I can teach them how to fight. What matters are numbers and a defensible position.
I like this new idea, very much.
Then again, I like any idea that involves myself and Aidy winning this scenario. It is a much broader one than I had anticipated. In the memory banks I have, the games were always established with set boundaries. Supplies would be dropped, and new aspects of the game would be unveiled. The winner would get a female once the game was completed. Some of the rules are different now, but as the differences pile up, I start to wonder why this is so. Is there something else going on that we are unaware of? And if so, what?
Hopefully it is nothing an army cannot take care of.
I take the squirming animal from the snow-people, thank the creature for its sacrifice, and kill it swiftly. "This will be the start of tonight's stew."
Aidy's face is pale, but she nods. "It was nice of them to hunt that for us."
I cut the throat of the animal and sling the corpse to my pack so it can bleed out as we walk. As we do, I mull the idea of my personal army. They will be easy enough to arm with spears, and if that fails, they have claws. They can help with the hunting. The old and the children can hunt for roots or help melt water. The strongest can act as guards. I like this. I like this a lot.
I keep thinking of things to include in my army. Should I teach them maneuvers? Phalanx formations? The possibilities are endless.
I am not sure how Aidy will feel about this, however.
I glance over at my female. Her face is ruddy with cold, her long hair tangling about as the breeze lifts it. "How are your feet?"
She rubs the tip of her pink nose. "They're managing, but I wouldn't say no to a shorter hike today. Do you think we can find someplace safe now that it's getting rocky again?" She points at the distance, where the cliffs rise to even more jagged heights. "I feel like we're going back into the mountains instead of coming back out of them."
"Perhaps we are. I will look for a good shelter so you can rest your feet."
"Is it safe to separate?"
"It will be." I tip my chin at the snow-people trailing behind us. "We have acquired more of them. Did you notice that?"
"We have?" Her face falls. "I don't like that."
"As if we have a choice? Tell them to go away, then." I know she will do no such thing, and smile to take the bite from my words. "You know they will not listen."
"I haven't learned enough of their words yet." She tucks her hair behind her small, rounded ear, and my cock fills with blood. The humming in my chest grows louder, and for a moment, my knees weaken as her scent drifts close. I move closer to her, and when she gazes up at me in surprise, I pull her close and bury my face in her mane. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I keep my face buried in her hair. Her scent is intoxicating, her soft body against mine distracting…and not close enough. I want so much more than just walking at her side. I want to touch her all over, to hear her make the little gasps and sharp inhales the way she did when I touched her feet. The way she did when I touched her between her thighs. For a brief flash, I resent my budding army because they give us no time to be alone.