For half a year greyskin was a part of hunting parties. For half a year the den was filled with meat, metals, gold and treasures. Demons didn't really need much of the latter, as they were practically savaged so they didn't do trading. But shiny things were pretty.

During this time, a single demon who did blacksmithing and woodcutting trained greyskin and helped him make his weapons. He used the two claws and the bones of the beast that was slain before to make two blades. The flaws were big, little more than half a meter in length. The hilt made from the bone, reinforced with some metals scavenged from adventurers was a good addition, as the blade would no longer cut the greyskin.

Greyskin tried learning from the forge demon, the hum of the fire in the forge, the melting metals and cutting wood called out to him. The whole time he was in the workshop was calming and soothing to him, his blood calming under the fire from beyond the body.

Of course the forge was very primitive, but it was enough to learn basics of forging and carpentry. Greyskin could nice make some simple weapons and tools. He was an excellent student, still young, he absorbed knowledge quickly.

The boy grew up splendidly, becoming a handsome male, with very tones and well defined muscles. He was strong, fast and deadly. It made him an excellent hunter and made others recognize his efforts and his superiority. Few ever challenged him or tried messing with him. Red orc was one of the few who still did.

After all the time spent hunting, greyskin was recognized by the leaders and was made into the same rank as red-skinned orc, becoming master hunter. One particular raid was what lead to a promotion. A heavily reinforced caravan was traveling through the woods. Greyskin was with the group that laid an ambush and he was one of the first to charge in. He slashed and bashed, ripped shields apart and broke bones with his swings. His presence brought fear to the people who were killed.

The ambush was really a slaughter. Led by the greyskin, demons killed mercilessly, leaving no survivors other than few women. Those would be used for breeding and as an incentive for hunters, who may receive one as their property.

The carriages were broken down and their cargo taken away. It was a very successful operation. Not only there were about two dozens worth of bodies to eat later, there were seven new women, bunch of armory and weapons as well as booze and other things carried by the caravan. This was recognized as a success earned by greyskin, so he would be earning few extra trinkets and a woman as his own.

The following night a feast was held. So much meat and alcohol to spare, why would they hold back. The bonfire raged on, the demonkin screamed and feasted on their spoils, the alcohol pushing them to do dumb things. The celebration for the latest hunt went on until way past midnight.

At that point the leaders and hunters decided to have some fun. They had new blood which needed to be taught to love them and they had plenty of others who didn't get some loving in a while. Greyskin was also invited, as he was the new master hunter and he would be allowed to fuck slaved females and to even have one as his own.

When he was lead to the furthest part of the cave, he found a room filled many naked woman, all dirty and filthy, many thin and malnourished. They would try to get away from the demons, lots of them being covered in scars and bruises. They didn't receive kind treatment, mostly simply abused and raped. That was the way of the demons.

In there, greyskin felt a familiar presence. The fire that always raged inside him subsided slightly, wavering in the presence of light. He sought out that presence, hoping to find out who it was. He walked past all the women, all the demons into another cave to the side, covered with skins. It was the cave where women claimed by the leader were kept and cared for. These were cleaner and better fed than the ones outside, as the leader liked them nice and beautiful.

In there, a single female seemed to glow. From her, a cooling presence emanated, making the fire within greyskin grow smaller and cooling his inside. He felt at peace in her presence, wanting to embrace her and to take her with him. He chose the one female he wanted as his own.

The girl also saw the demon who looked at her, he was different from the usual one who came for her. And she recognized that demon, he had the same grey skin as the one she gave life to. She reached out for him, hoping to embrace the one closest to her. She would be reunited with him if she tried hard enough.

Greyskin was about to came for her, when he was stopped by the same red orc who often stood in his way. He grabbed the boys shoulder, hoping to get him out.

Even with the fire inside shrinking and subsiding, his power still remained the same. It was easy to break the bone of a mere orc. He just grabbed his arm and casually snapped it, breaking it between the wrist and the elbow. Red orc just fell on his knees, screaming in agony.

Reaching for the girl, he lifted her up in his arm. She was small, or at least smaller than a fully grown demon. While he was closing in on two meters, she was only slightly taller than a meter and a half. Picking her up was like picking up some feathers.

With her, greyskin walked out of the private chamber and went straight to his own cave. Nobody tried stopping him after the red orc. Even the leader, who was the owner of the girl, decided to let it pass. She was beautiful and one of his favorite, but he favored his life more. Besides, there were seven new pieces of meat to take as his.

The two reached the cave and greyskin softly put down the girl on some beast furs. She treated her carefully, hoping to not cause her harm. The exquisite beauty of the girl bewitched the demon, he longed for her touch and for her body, but first he had to tend to her. She was still somewhat dirty and had few cuts, so greyskin took out a cloth and some water he kept in his cave and washed the girls body, making sure to not leave anything dirty.

The girl didn't resist. She liked the touch of the gray hands. They were strong, stronger than any before, but they were slow and tender, making sure not to hurt her. She also longed for his touch, knowing him to be her own, hoping to be as one.

Neither of them knew of the taboo they were committing, only longing for Union of souls. For him, it brought peace and coolness, with blood no longer pushing him to kill or shed blood. For her, it was the feeling of security and closeness to somebody like her. They both shared time together, their bodies intertwined. Both of them felt ecstasy from the act for the first time. The girl wasn't abused or hurt, she felt a man trying to please her and make her feel wonderful. And for him, it was simply his first time with a woman.

The humans have a saying, “A man spends nine months in a womb trying to get out, only to spend the rest of your life trying to get back in.” This was true. Greyskin accomplished the human saying and for the whole months they were together.

For a whole month, the girl told him things. There was little she still remembered after all the time spent as a slave, but few things she could say. They practiced speaking, as the girl could communicate better than with simple disjointed words. The boy gladly took it all in, learning quickly.

One time, he learned his name. Sel'de-Lux. Sel of house Lux, descendant of the royal line of Bloodborn. Keeper of sacred divine light of their goddess. The blood of goddess Lux.

The girl talked about her past, however little she know of and about their future, which they would lead together. Perhaps it could happen, if there was no evil in the world. But as the story goes, you are never sure to not be betrayed.

For the whole time, greyskin... Sel continued to hunt. While there were some minor conflicts, nobody openly expressed any animosity towards him. He did his job well, brought in food and other spoils, perhaps captured a female or two. Leaders were happy and he was happy. But the red orc was not happy.

One time, a group of hunters was sent to explore and possibly bring back something from a region nearby. A forest, full of dangerous beasts, now had a cave full of spiders. Massive things, with their hairy, chitin legs and their soul-piercing eyes. Sel was sent with a group to capture one of them to see if they were edible.

When the approached the cave, they saw a lot of web. Webs all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Webbed creatures connected by a thread to the top, webbed skeletons on the floor. A true habitat of spiders.

When they made their way inside, the saw some small broodlings, little spiders the size of a hand. They posed no real danger so they were mostly ignored. Within the darkness they came further and further, until,it was too late. Sel didn't see anything, as spiders hid, waiting in ambush, not until the were far enough inside to make escaping hard. At that moment, many man-sized spiders jumped out and revealed themselves. The queen also came out, a four meter tall body, with long legs coming off of it. It was scary and monstrous.

Almost all demons ran immediately, scared off by the monsters. Only red orc and greyskin remained. Sel never ran, he would fight until he would win, defeat was not in his limited vocabulary. And red orc, well, he saw an opportunity. When a spider came close to probe the defense of the two, Sel was about to retaliate, raising his arm for a swing. At that moment, red orc swung with his axe, cleaving off the legs of the greyskin, just below the knees, making him fall down. He didn't expect such a dirty attack and was defenseless.

As Sel turned around, red orc swung once again, wanting to kill him, but Sel raising his hand to deflect the attack. He ended up with his arm severed below the elbow and on the floor bleeding. Red orc then turned away and ran, as the spiders came in to attack.

Sel couldn't struggle much, he quickly passed out from blood loss and the venom he was injected with. Even the fel energy was powerless at that moment, both healing his injuries and suppressing venom was hard. He needed time to recuperate. The spiders went to work, quickly cocooning the four parts, three severed limbs and a main body. Then, they pierced the web shell and injected digestion acids inside, hoping to soften the bodies within, so they could be sucked out with their monstrous mandibles. Sel was hung under the ceiling, so her would be turned into a nourishing slush to be eaten by the queen.

The red orc came back to the den with the surviving orcs. He talked about how greyskin died, fighting the queen and how the spiders were to dangerous. After that, the leaders talked together about the possible threat and about the loss of such an excellent warrior.

Nothing stopped the red orc from descending towards Sel's cave and taking anything he wanted. There were few things he wanted, but first and foremost he wanted the bitch that greyskin took. Her life was now in his mercy and red orc was not known for being merciful. Girl truly didn't have long to live.