The Knights Pet

Chapter 32

The ramp of the Night Buzzard lowered, the movement causing the air to fill with the sound of its mechanical groan. Pet flinched at the noise. It usually didn't bother her much. It usually meant that they were home, or on a mission, or somewhere new and exciting, but now it meant they were going back.

Her arms were looped tightly around Trudgen's shoulders, her chin resting against his shoulder. He felt her every movement, the way she muscles pulled tight with every step he took in the direction of where she did not want to go. Finally his boots met the dirt. Pet hadn't noticed before, but the silence of the forest around them was terrifying. She hadn't had even a moment to think about it when she was running, when the suns still shown in the sky, but now they were gone, and so was her courage.

When she had realized they were really going back she had fought, not well, not much she could really do with the state she was in but she had fought non the less. She had shoved and twisted and screamed until her lungs burned. She told them she didn't care about Elock, that they already had her back and she just wanted go home, but Kylo's mind was made up, and he was the one man among them that was able to resist her, even if her crys had made him nearly give in.

Now she hung silently from her hulking knights back, defeated but thankful this time she wouldn't be alone. Trudgen's hands hooked beneath her thighs, holding her steady, his thumb rubbing small slow reassuring circles into her bruised skin. "I don't want to go back." She whispered to him as she stared over his shoulder at the forest, hoping the man she knew was so soft for her would stop this nonsense.  "I know." Trudgen shook his head as he spoke, like he didn't agree with Kylo's orders but knew better than to fight him on the topic.

He paused only for a moment, standing there with the girl on his back as the wind stirred the loose strands of her hair. He knew he couldn't stop for long. He adjusted his grip and took off after his brothers. "Hold tight, pretty girl. Don't let go." Pet let out a sound that almost broke his heart, pressing her face hard into his shoulder.  Pain shot through her every nerve from the pressure, but she didn't care, she simply used it to ground herself. 

"Hurry. We have to make to there before they've realize we're here." Pet couldn't help the vicious biting anger that bubbled up in her stomach at the sound of his orders. She hated him, for approximately three whole seconds, she really hated him. But the overwhelming fondness she held for all of the men quickly flooded back to her when trudgen's warm hands rubbed their way over her legs again, making sure she knew he was still there, still feeling the tension in her movements.

Pet tightened her grip. The overwhelming smell of wet earth took over her senses. The trees were a blur, she couldn't even remember what direction she had come from, but she knew they knew the way, she could smell it. The smoke. The base. Her stomach did a flip, threatening to empty its contents at the thought of stepping foot inside of that horrible place again. Trudgen's helmeted face turned in her direction. His hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer if that was even possible. "Calm yourself." His voice was calm, his tone reassuring. He could feel how anxious she was becoming the closer they got, and he hated it.

"You stay with me. The whole time. Understand?" Pet nodded, knowing that it wasn't a question, it was a command. She had no intention on letting go either way. Trudgen released her wrist and his hands found her thighs once again. Kylo moved steady at the front of the formation. The knights spread naturally around him without needing instruction. They didn't march in unison, they didn't need to. They moved like deadly creatures accustomed to hunting as a pack. Pet closed her eyes and listened to their foot steps. She could tell which foot steps belonged to each man without having to look.

Cardos weight made his the heaviest, Vicruls steps were quiet and calculated, Ushars steps came accompanied by faint mechanical sounds, Kuruk had the longest stride, Ap'lek walked the same way he did everything, with patience. The thought of her pack being with her helped the calm the heart shattering anxiety that was pulsing through her. She hated this feeling, she hadn't felt it in a long time, the knights had made it go away. But it was back now with vengeance to pay.