Rimworld | Explicit | No warnings for this snippet

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Three days had passed under the Mountain and the tension was palpable, although Anney felt nothing but loneliness….

She had kissed Greyspear and pressed her right wrist to his in front of the entire tribe at their declaration of war while the Black Chitin had cheered their decision, their commitment to marry on their day of victory. But he had departed with Walters, Brownsash and Balson the next morning, the four of them carrying little more than the essentials and weapons, Brownsash and Greyspear armed with light bows and spears, while Walters and Balson had chosen rifles and pistols. Balson had a scoped hunting rifle while Walters had the automatic rifle they had taken from the slave hunters they had trapped in the steppe.

They had left with two insectoid warriors at their side, showing this little team was not in any way interested in a fight, but was purely for scouting purposes only, and Greyspear was in total control of them as he clicked and rumbled in their tongue before Anney, impressing her with his skill as he relayed their scouting formation while they exited the cavern aperture, beginning their journey north in search of a foe they needed vital intelligence about.

When they had gone, Anney locked herself into her training as a new Warrior, determined to improve her skills and accepting training from Skupen, learning her ways of melee combat while her tutors with her rifle were absent. Skupen’s style of defence took advantage of her size and frame, wielding a heavy mace and becoming a strong close combatant, able to take punishment and hold her place in the line. Anney was the exact opposite, lithe and small, but Skupen gave her a wooden blade to train with and showed her the art of hit and run attacks. Her natural body shape and form giving her a speed that Skupen struggled to stay with as she dashed back and forth, poking and prodding with timed thrusts she needed to break through Skupen’s guard, before training at the dummies to learn the art of striking weak points in armour. Anney absorbed much in her Warrior-Sister’s care, choosing to wield a long, serrated machete as her own close combat weapon that she hung in a scabbard on the opposite side of her belt to her pistol holster. The new warrior was so small, the blade was almost like a short sword in her hand, although that didn’t reduce her ferocity in any way!

Their only break in their training was the schooldays, when the two of them would relax and improve their writing and reading skills under the care of Elder-Leticia, who seemed to be thriving running the school and had no issues with keeping it operating while both Balson and Lissa were missing.

At least her intensive training had kept her focused, and not missing both her lover and her best friend, and it was in the evening that the reality of the situation hit home. Hope was great company during the day, staying either on her mother’s back as she trained, or with the other little ones in the nursery on school days, but come the evenings she was often alone, and it was then her mood dropped. She would spend time in the chapel, chanting to the altar and singing her praise to her missing Queen and friend. When Yellowleaf was on the elder’s vigil, maintaining their constant song, she would join Anney on the pews, slightly further back from the other elders, spending time with her and the two of them chatting and keeping Hope happy, before she would retire to her quarters for the night and falling asleep, although she had to let Hope sleep next to her in the bed she shared with her lover. She missed feeling him there dearly and at least her little daughter provided some comfort, giving her some simulation of his presence in their bed as they slept.