** I've gotten a lot of requests to continue with this one, so here's a little more. O_o
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He felt unbelievable acceleration and for just a split-second, the kobold had time to feel worry and trepidation before the impact with the cavern wall. That happened with a bone-crushing thump, though he felt nothing of it at that instant. The nerves associated with his back, neck, and shoulders were just beginning to send their messages of pain when he landed on his face on the sand and rocks of the floor thirty-eight feet below.
"Again!" the demonlord bellowed.
He lay there just trying to breathe, and wishing to die, but he knew he'd never get that lucky.
The sand of the floor began to move again, forming the rough equivalents to huge fingers and hands which would do their master's bidding and bring him back. He groaned as he was transported and dropped in front of the huge sand demon.
If only he'd been able to keep his mouth shut.
He'd heard his lord cursing and wondering aloud at the drop in his new hell's revenue. All that came in was the normal payment for his usual allotment of souls that would come anyway. He'd heard that this one hell made huge profits on its earned bounties, but he wasn't seeing much of that at all. Now and then a hunter would return in some shock to find that the hell had a new ruler. They'd offer up the soul they'd been sent to retrieve and then stand there as they were screamed at to find some higher value soul to bring back and quickly. That left the hunter to learn about souls that were wanted and then find them.
The previous owner had demons in place to do the research so that the hunters only had to bring them back.
But what this ruler lacked in brains, he more than made up for with his vicious cruelty. He reached down to pick the poor kobold up by the tail.
The little kobold had heard the lord fume and had tried to be a little useful, never thinking that once he'd planted an idea in the thick and slow-moving brain of his master that he'd have to do the rest as well.
"Tell me again," the giant made of shifting sand seethed, "tell me of this hunter."
The kobold swallowed hard and gasped. He knew that his reward would be another rapid trip to impact against some hard object just as soon as the dullard processed the information that he was about to be told. Then he'd get angry all over again and, ...
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The woodstove crackled and popped every now and then. Other than that, the only sound was the wind outside in the darkness. Zele turned her head toward the large pot of pasta and sniffed once. Toby felt Maezou's gentle nudge.
"I will go upstairs and watch a little," she said very quietly, "I can hide myself from most eyes. Spend a little time with Zele. If you want to love with her, Toby, then think of it as loving for her heart. All that she has ever known is fast and forceful, and likely only the selfish kind of rutting that males give. She likes that, but I think that she would see it as a gift from you if you start with my sister gently. I'm sure that she's never had it like that, and I'm just as sure that it's what she would like more than anything from you the first time with her."
She stood up and walked past Zele. "I'm going upstairs, sister. Eat what is left if you wish."
Zele looked up from the pot and nodded.
Toby watched as Zele thought about using her finger. He could tell right away that she didn't know if he'd mind, so he nudged her.
"Sit here, Zele," he smiled. Zele moved closer to him and her wet-looking black eyes blinked at him questioningly.
"Let me do something for you," he said, "I didn't understand what it was all about earlier, but you stood guard then, and I'm learning about your hunger," Toby stood up and brought the pot and what was left of the bread to her. He sat down next to her and asked her to move closer to him. When she did, he placed the pot in front of them. "I thought I'd just like to talk to you a little."
"First," he said softly, "I want to tell you that I see how you are trying to speak like Maezou when you're like this. I understand it and that's fine, but I also want you to know that while you're getting used to speaking that way, I won't mind if you slip now and then as you get used to it. I like your voice, any way that you speak, and I don't want you to feel badly about anything.
The other thing is about how you eat. I don't know how yet, but it may happen that we eat together near people sometime. If that even happens, then you just watch how it's done, or ask your sister or me, and we'll explain. I know that you haven't been around people as much as Maezou has, and I saw how you struggled with your fork. It's just something that you'll learn, and it's not a big deal anyway. But if it's just us, Zele, then I want you to know that you can eat any way that you like," he smiled, "as long as you don't make a mess, or at least more of a mess than I make."
He watched her take what he'd said in, and when she looked at him, he smiled, "Right here, nothing matters but that we're all comfortable." He broke a piece of bread off and used it to scoop some sauce and a little pasta onto it. "Here," he said, "please eat."