The Lost Outworlders

Settling

And we are back in Earthrealm with Ferra/Torr. Did you honestly believe I'd skip those two? As if!

I just want to quickly say thanks to everybody who consistently read and vote on this story. As I've probably stated before, it feels really great to know somebody appreciates my work. Thanks a lot

Now let's get on with the chapter.

"Ferra sweetie, come on out."

"Me no want to," the child grumbled.

"Come on," Jessie cooed, "I'm sure you look great. Cute as a button."

"Me no cute. Babies cute, and Ferra no baby," Ferra argued through the closed door that separated them.

"Oh, just come on out and let me see you," Jessie was practically begging, "Please?"

With shenanigans like these, Ferra was finding it difficult to warm up to the Earthrealm woman. However, Jessie was trying hard to make nice with Ferra so the little girl supposed she should do the same. The Kahn taught her that much courtesy.

"Fine," she begrudgingly called out. Ferra sucked up her pride and comfort and opened the door, revealing herself to Jessie. Said woman nearly squealed when she saw the little girl's attire.

Ferra was somehow coaxed into putting on Earthrealm clothing: light purple shorts with a white t-shirt. Her war makeup had been washed off and her buzzed head was without a headdress. She was even talked into wearing underwear, which baffled her; Why do people feel the need to wear two layers of clothing there? It made no sense.

"Ferra you look ador-" Jessie caught the little kutter's look just in time. "I mean, you look pretty tough in those clothes."

"Really?" Ferra's brow raised.

"Yeah," Jessie smiled, "They make you look strong."

Ferra had to admit, the sleeves did make her shoulders feel more broad, and her legs, while feeling more restricted, felt more powerful somehow. "Really?" she asked happily.

"You bet, sugar," Jessie replied victorious, "Now is little tough girl ready for breakfast?"

There she went treating Ferra like a kid again. Sure, she was young, but she wasn't a baby, and she despised baby talk. "Yeah," she replied unenthusiasticly and followed Jessie to the kitchen.

The previous day, Tim convinced Ferra into introducing herself to their kids, named Devon and Rachel. She agreed, but she only found out this morning that they were making her wear real clothes. Ferra had never worn actual clothes until she moved into the Kahn's palace. Before then she had just worn a burlap cover-up as well as Torr. The emperor made her wear her two-piece when she first went into his service, and she had grown quite attached to it. Now, she was wearing much more than usual, and despite Jessie's baby talk, it was uncomfortable.

But at this point, Ferra had forgotten the meaning of the word "comfort."

The small family's kitchen was just as sizeable. It held only a square table with a chair on each side. On two of the chairs sat a little boy and a teenaged girl, both eating from plates piled with the color green. Tim was nowhere to be seen.

"Ferra," Jessie announced, "Meet Devon and Rachel. Devon, Rachel. This is Ferra."

"Hi," the little boy named Devon waved at Ferra.

"Hey there," the girl, Rachel, smiled at her.

Kind as they were, the people still made her feel uncomfortable.

But she was getting used to that.

______________________________________

Torr was resting his back against a tree, snacking on his third fuzzy rodent. He had found his first one dead in a snare trap and decided to not let it go to waste. However, he thought the flavor so tasty, he chased down and caught two more. They'd be harder to catch if they didn't keep trying to climb up the trees.

He was still "lost" in the woods, but he was not worried. Somehow, he and Ferra always found a way back together. It was similar to a telepathic bond, except more intuitive than mystic. Either way, he was confident that he would find his way back. He had been walking all night, and now, he decided to take a break.

After last night, the dogs wouldn't dare attack him, so the walk was relatively calm. Torr even found himself enjoying the scenery and resolved to show Ferra it when he found her.

He was recalling the days before they went into the Kahn's service-- the days where it was just him and her-- when he heard a noise that caught his attention.

While he wasn't frightened by the low growl, he became wary at it; it was not the sound of one of those dogs. This sound obviously came from a greater beast, larger and stronger than any of those dogs. The growl was followed by loud sniffs and a few grunts.

The creature finally walked into Torr's sight, and he could at last see the source of the mysterious noise. The beast was large, brown, and covered in fur. It walked towards him on four legs but at spotting him, rose to its full height on two. Like this, the beast was taller than Torr by a whole head. Its size, coupled with its visible claws and black eyes, succeeded in unnerving the behemoth to the point of worry.

Torr, though not one to be intimidated, roared at the beast and banged his fists on the ground. The mass of brown fur responded with its own roar that rose much louder than his. Torr got an eyeful of its huge, white teeth.

The beast was the first to attack, swiping a clawed paw at Torr's face. He ducked under the blow and punched the creature's underbelly. It fell to its four legs briefly, bit rose almost immediately afterwards and swooped both paws onto Torr's shoulders. It was evidently planning on forcing Torr to the ground, but he remained upright, taking the weight of the beast with ease. The beast, however, sunk its teeth into his neck and twisted, trying to snap his neck.

Torr roared loudly and growled angrily as he grabbed the beast's jaws and tried to pry them off of him. That plan failing, he sucked up the pain and began punching the beast in the stomach. Heavy blow, after crushing blow, the creature held tight. At a higher punch to the ribs, however, its jaws loosened and it fell off of him, whining. Once free, Torr punched the creature in the muzzle, sending its face into the forest floor. The beast then quickly spun around and ran in the opposite direction, defeated.

Torr, victorious, wiped some of the blood off of his neck and roared loudly in triumph. This would be an interesting story to tell Ferra at least:

Torr, the behemoth of Outworld, vanquishing the behemoth of the woods.

Spoiler alert: the beast was a bear. But I'm sure most of you figured that out already. Clever little devils, you.

I've been waiting for an opportunity to pit Torr vs. Bear, and I finally got to! Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Next up will be Ermac and Misaki, so be ready

Until later, my gators