A Dissenter's Promise COTL x Reader)

Chapter 10

((A/N: unlike this book's name, I'm not gonna make any promise to update this book regularly. But i will still try to update as much as possible))

"Wait wait wait— how early did you wake up?" Levaire stared at you, eyebrows furrowing together as he stared at you with worry in his eye.

You ignore his stare as you bring down the hoe into the ground with a grunt, tilling the earth before moving on to plant a pumpkin seed. The seed nestled against the soft dirt before you covered it with your hands, patting the mound gently. Silently wishing the little seed a small good luck as it grew to bear fruit for the village. You give out a small sigh as you continue to work, picking up your tool before moving on once more.

"I don't know, we don't have clocks. It was still dark out when I woke up." Your (e/c) finally shifts over to Levaire who was dusting his hands off from the dirt that covered it as he finished planting whatever seed was in the bin that Lamb had put in there.

"And you didn't bother going back to sleep?" Levaire raised an eyebrow as he grabbed his own tool that laid next to him before walking up next to you. You visibly grimaced as you shook your head.

"No, I didn't really feel like going back to bed and I was growing antsy just laying there doing nothing." You shuffle in your spot, memories of that horrid dream still haunting your mind making you frown. Levaire reciprocated the same frown as he watched you stare at the spot where you had planted the seed, noting how uncomfortable your expression was. He lets out a small hum before placing a hand on your shoulder to snap you out of whatever trance you were.

"I get it. Never is fun when you can't really sit still." He looks over to the field, taking in the plots that were already tilled, planted and watered. Most of them were done from you considering you had woken up at a much earlier time than everyone else. "Well considering that we're done, let's find Xaru. He should be chopping down one of the last trees that are in the village site. That and I'm sure Lamby might have something for us to do."

"Wait... Lamby?" You look at the red panda in confusion, eyes staring at him as he looks back at you with his head tilting. "Who the hell is Lambert?"

"They didn't...? Ohhh I'm talking about our leader." Levaire chuckles as he goes to stab the blade of the shovel into the earth, using his foot to push it deeper into the dirt before digging up the hole for the next camellia seed that was waiting to be planted. "I'm surprised he hasn't told you, he seemed to have taken a liking to you after the whole..." Levaire shifted uncomfortably as he rolled his hand, trying to avoid just bluntly mentioning your renewal. It was something he didn't entirely agree with.

You sigh, a huff of air coming from your nose as you turn your body to look at Levaire with a small sympathetic smile. Giving him a small nod before standing up and brushing off the dirt that was on both your tunic and (f/c) fur. "Well, that's because I haven't asked. I assumed you guys just called him The Lamb or whatever" you move over to the seed bin, checking out the various types of seeds that were stored into the bin before your eyes land on your favorite Camellia seed. A small hum coming from your throat as you reach to grab it.

"Besides, it feels odd to even call him that. I still..." you hesitate to say what you want to say, afraid that you may be put in the pillory once again. The aching feeling in the back of your head eating at your brain to stay loyal to The Lamb whose name you found out was Lambert. You stare at the delicate seed in your hands before shaking your head "Nevermind, forget about it. Anyway, this should be the last of the seeds to plant."

Your (e/c) orbs looks out to the freshly planted field before dusting off both your hands and tunic, taking note that you soon will have to somehow wash or clean yourself. Usually licking yourself clean was something you would've done back somewhere more private, but considering you had just got done handling both dirt and fertilizer, you'd rather not take the risk of getting sick. Not that you minded. Let alone the smell of fertilizer, if anything you had come to feel comfortable around it, enjoying getting your hands dirty as it also showed that your hard work from the thriving crop had come to fruition. Your appreciation for the waste product due to being born and raised on a farm. Plus it was always funny to see Levaire look at you in disgust as you happily dig your hands in the fertilizer bin

Your head swivels over to Levaire who stabs the shovel back into the dirt. Leaving it standing as he goes to twist his back, earning a couple pops and snaps from his spine before exhaling. He goes to look at you with a smile before tilting his head over to the village plaza where the giant statue of The Lamb stood with their followers praying to it. You could feel a shiver crawl up your spine as you felt its eyes boring into you, no matter how much you tried to avoid its gaze. A constant reminder that you were part of a cult with a leader who had killed your entire family and friends. But no matter how much you wanted to hate them, whatever they did to you made it practically impossible for you to even dislike them at all. No matter how hard you tried or wanted to.

'It's that re-education process...' Your face sour, nose scrunching as your eyebrows furrowed together before sighing. Your tail swishes as you look around the village. Watching each and every follower attend to their task, whether it'd be farming, cleaning, chopping down trees, they did it all for the Lamb. And if they weren't doing that, they'd be praying at that statue. That damn statue that made it feel like it was staring deep into you as black ichor drips from its eyes. Those damn fucking eyes that made you feel like you were being watched. You always wondered how or what caused that to occur. Then again, it's best if you didn't know. It always felt like death was lurking around the corner with those eyes staring straight into your soul.

Death... the very thing that made your body freeze, your legs becoming like jelly as you struggle to move or scream out. To have your hands shake as the fear of death looming over you had you in its icy grip, constricting your heart like a serpent ready to devour its prey. Memories of your dream burned into your skull just like the images of your friends and family's innards spilled and torn apart. A memory forever seared into your mind, no matter how much you want to forget it. A memory that made you never forgive your leader, no matter how much they have treated you fairly. It was something that forever made you want to scream and cry whenever faced with death. Hell.. it was even worse when a previous Elder had finally fell dead. The sight of the corpse that had fallen due to old age making you freeze as your chest began to feel tight. Panic creeping up your entire body until you ended up having a nervous breakdown where Levaire had to take you somewhere else. A traumatic experience that forever will affect you your entire life.

But... you suppose it wasn't all too bad. Seeing how the cult itself was thriving. New followers being converted into the cult everyday. Some friendly, some snappy.... Some odd.... But nonetheless all still very welcome. The most entertaining ones were when The Lamb had converted one of the Prophets from the Cult of Leshy, Witness Agares. A purple worm that had witnessed the death of your ex-god, Leshy himself. Seeing him being converted and reintroduced to the other ex-prophets only for the four to end up butting heads. Trying to point fingers or say who had been the most favored from their ex-god before his death. Now trying to argue who would win the affections of The Lamb themselves. A sight that was always a treat to those around. Though there would be moments where their anger would be misdirected at the bystanders around them.

The last time that had happened the ex-prophet, Valefar, had made a remark about your failure to protect your family and friends. Let alone running away from your once home. A comment that stung only for you to snap back towards her. Making a remark at how pathetic she looks trying to kiss up towards The Lamb who obviously was uncomfortable with her attempts to have their favor on them. Always trying to find a reason to leave whatever attempt she was trying to make. Let alone her title and power being stripped after losing to The Lamb themselves. A comment making her growl at you as you walked away from her. Not wanting to waste energy on trivial matters as you wanted to occupy your mind with other means of work. That and The Lamb was currently out on another crusade doing only god knows what. Probably tearing through the next cult like they have done with Leshy's...

Either way, it made you feel relieved. Trying to avoid your cult leader becoming somewhat impossible as not only were they good friends with Levaire and Xaru, but they would come and seek you out. Trying to make conversation with you or make sure you were doing somewhat okay. You were their first dissenter after all. They were probably trying to keep tabs on you, trying to see any signs of you going against their cult or spreading lies. Or maybe... they had felt awful for what they had done to you as you saw the guilt in their eyes. Their softer tone and actions towards you as they tried to accommodate certain things to your comfort. Actions making you feel confused and slightly uncomfortable as you felt the eyes of your fellow cult members on the both of you. Looking at you two envy.

You look down at the growing Camellia flower bud, your (e/c) eyes staring at the vibrant red petals that were to bloom soon. Only to be harvested once ready. Your mind occupied with The Lamb as you gently brush a finger against the flower bud.

"...What a strange Leader they are..."