A young boy, no older than six, coward behind the far taller man in a black trench coat with green lines along one arm.

“My apologies about him. Charlie is a shy boy,” the man said as he grabbed the small red-headed boy by the scruff of his neck. He tracked the boy forward and placed him in front of the group of women.

“Don’t worry, we shall welcome him with open arms regardless outsider,” A woman in a thick native accent said. Her dark skin was smothered with white paint and red stripes. Her hair was decorated with large feathers and flowers.

Next to the woman sat a small child. Her deep brown eyes focused on the small boy that stood near the tall outsider. This girl was maybe 12 at the time but looking back Charlie didn't know. The man pushed the boy forward with one of his stern gloved covered hands. The boy bowed his head to the group of women.

“Charlie,” The boy said sheepishly, getting a few laughs from the women and their daughters. The man gave him a stern hit on the back.

“Sorry, Charlie Black Quills,” Charlie said, cursing at himself under his breath for allowing his nerves to get the better of him and make him forget to say his family name.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, red-haired outsider,” the woman in the headdress smiled as she placed a soft hand onto the boy’s head. Blushing, the boy looked down.

“Thank you, Mrs,” He muttered. The woman smiled at the blushing young boy.

“Come here,” the woman said, grabbing the boy by the scruff of his neck. He didn’t dare resist the woman as she picked him up. Placing him onto her lap, she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“You are so adorable up close. Tell me young one, how old are you?” the woman said as she allowed the other women around the low wooden table to lean across and look at the young man.

“Six this week Mrs,” he said as the woman carefully massaged his scalp. She watched with intrigue as his eyes relaxed at the feeling of her gentle fingers.

“Soooo cute,” the one woman said. Like the other women she had the same white-painted skin, the only difference was that her paint was a mix of the usual red stripes, but a few red-painted arrows were thrown in to show her job as a huntress. The medium-sized red feathers showed she was a huntress.

He must have been staring at her markings for a little too long as the woman whose lap, he sat on turned him to face her.

“You see the red markings of the wolf? The ones on my breasts, under the grass top. They show me as our tribe’s Chiefess, when my daughter is older, she shall have the same markings,” the woman said as she gestured to the slight makings of wolf paws around her breasts.

“Cool…” Charlie said as he admired the colourful patterns and markings.

“Would you like some markings like this?” the Chiefess said, her daughter moving a little closer to look at the interesting outsider boy.

“What if I could also tell you that I could also make you immortal,” the woman whispered into his ear as she noticed the intrigue in her daughter’s eyes. Charlie didn’t pay attention to her words as he stared at the daughter. With little regard for his personal space, the daughter sniffed at his arm. The Chiefess giggled.

“Don’t worry, that is just Etasose. She is harmless really,” Grinning, the Chiefess turned Charlie to face her daughter, “you like the idea of immortality, right? If so, how about marrying my daughter?”

“What?” Charlie muttered, not understanding the word immortality or why he would marry her daughter.

“When you are older, would you like to become the adorable little husband of my daughter here? Think about it, how nice would it be having a strong warrior cuddling you when you wake, and just before you go to sleep,” the Chiefess said.

“Stop being so pushy, he is just young. He doesn’t understand the sacrifice of becoming a husband of our tribe,” the huntress said as she ran her fingers through the hair of the boy.

“If it is alright your majesty, I would like to start our trade talks as soon as possible,” Charlie’s father said, bowing his head to the woman. Sighing, the Chiefess let him go.

“Fine, we’ll start negotiation,” the Chiefess took the confused Charlie off her lap and passed him to her daughter, “go and have fun with my daughter, then come back in the evening and I’ll get you some good food and drink,”

The Chiefess said something in her native tongue to her daughter. Grabbing the arm of Charlie, the daughter dragged Charlie out of the hut and into the village. The huntress followed close after the two, a warm smile on her face.

“So, your child looks like he will grow into a fine male,” the Chiefess said.

“Thank you very much. May I ask you about something,” the father said as he sat down at the wooden table.

“Go ahead outsider,” the Chiefess said, still watching as her daughter dragged the male off into a group of waiting for village girls.

“Would you like my son?” the father said.

“What? You realise I was joking right? I won't force your son to do anything he doesn’t wish to do,” the Chiefess said, watching as her daughter showed off the little red-haired outsider to the other village girls.

“But your daughter seems to like him? and isn’t it hard for your kind to give birth to males that you like?” the father said.

“Yes, my species do find it hard to give birth to worthy males, but I still won't force your son,” the Chiefess said.

“If I was to offer him to you, arrange him to marry your daughter in the future, then would you allow my organisation to start trading with you?” the father said. The Chiefess was quiet for a moment. Her daughter did seem to like him. Carefully the Chiefess rubbed the bridge of her nose. It wasn’t morally correct to force him to marry her daughter, but it would be good to have a potentially strong male in her family.

“He would make a good male,” the Chiefess pondered.

“All I have to do is sign this trade agreement?” the Chiefess said.

“Think of him as an investment. Once he is old enough, I shall send him to your tribe and have him marry your daughter,” the man said, a wild smile curling onto his wicked lips. Licking her lips, the Chiefess thought of how nice it would be having such an adorable boy as her son in law.

“I’ll see what Etasose thinks. If she wants to place her mark on him, I’ll sign the agreement. How about that?” The Chiefess said, looking to the farther.

“He’ll belong to you soon Mrs,” The farther said, no moral or mental argument crossing his mind as he offered his son as a sacrifice to these cannibalistic creatures. Grinning, the Chiefess licked her unnaturally sharp canines.

Sweat dripped down the cheek, Charlie. Leaning over, Etasose looked down at his sleeping face. She remembered the day they met. Such a feeling intrigued when she first saw him, and now she could feel that intrigue starting to fill her again. Gently she placed a hand onto his forehead. Hot, his head was incredibly hot. Mabey he was having a nightmare. Mabey the spell she used to revive some of his old memories made him panic.

God, did he remember the incident? She made sure that he would only remember the time they first met. She didn’t accidentally bring up the incident, she couldn’t have. Leaping back, Etasose watched as Charlie rolled onto his back. Closing her eyes, Etasose listened carefully as Charlie turned a few more times. Opening her eyes, she saw Charlie was now facing her. Still fast asleep, she hadn’t woken him with her spell.

Moving to his side, she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. Staring at his sleepy face, a warm smile spread across her lips as her body relaxed against his. The feeling of his body pressed against hers made Etasose’s stomach tingle. Such a weird feeling, but it felt so good.

“Mine,” She muttered. It was one of the few words she knew in the complicated outsider language. Gently she lifted his hand. The marking she had made on his hand all those years ago brought back many memories of her first days of love.

Staring down at his soft hair, she wrapped her arms around his head. Their children would look so beautiful. But it wasn’t time for him to impregnate her yet. There was much bonding to do with him. But then again there were people like Ourupadia who probably also had their sights set on him. Etasose’s grip tightened around Charlie. Yeah, she had talked to him. She must have been trying to seduce him. Only she was allowed to touch him.

Her grip tightened again. Yeah, she would fucking kill her if she touched him. She was going to buy him. Yeah, she would buy him and if she owned him, then no one else could get him. His father was willing to sell him, his fellow merchants would probably sell him as well. Burying her face into his hair, she sniffed in his scent. So, this was the smell of her future husband. Her species could smell the scents of the outsiders. Most were horrible, but this one… he smelt so sweet. A perfect mating partner for her.

Light entered her hut as the cloth curtain over the doorway opened. Her eyes glowed yellow as she sat up. Her eyes locked onto the figure in the doorway. Growling, she bared her teeth at the person in the entrance. The figure bowed its head, not wanting to offend her master.

“My Chiefess, it is morning,” the woman said in their native tongue from the doorway.

“And? Can’t you see I am cuddling my beloved!” The Chiefess snarled back, a large, wolf-like tail started to protrude from her coccyx as large wolf-like ears rose from her hair.

“My Chiefess, your spell is coming undone,” The woman murmured. Her eyes widened as she quickly calmed herself. Muttering a few words under her breath, she allowed herself to relax. The tail and ears disappeared.

“Thank you,” the Chiefess said as she made sure her yelling didn’t wake Charlie.

Charlie lay quietly. Not wanting to give away that he was awake. He couldn’t understand the words of the natives, but the animal-like growls and yells were enough to tell him that it was best to just stay quiet. Clenching his eyes closed, he could feel the warm breath of the Chiefess against his face. For a while, she stayed next to him. Despite not being able to see her, he could almost sense the warrior woman in front of him.

A few gentle words whispered by the woman filled his ears. Slowly he creaked his eyes open. Awkwardly he smiled at the Chiefess as she stared blankly at him. Moving closer to him, she placed a soft kiss onto his lips before giving a warm smile to him. Grabbing the back of his head, she forced Charlie’s head between her breasts. Looking to the woman in the doorway, the Chiefess sat up in bed.

“What is it you want?” Etasose barked in her native language to the woman.

“Well, you were late getting up this morning your majesty, so I thought something may be wrong,” the warrior said nervously. The Chiefess sighed.

“Sorry for yelling, would you mind getting some food for me and my male, then could you make sure we have some space at the river to bathe when we get up,” Etasose said politely as she held the struggling Charlie to her chest.

“Yes, my Chiefess,” the woman said, feeling a little bad for the tormented Charlie.