Warp Token Update

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***

“Flee-run!” one of the clanrats shrieked. Seeing their abomination fall had put the fear into the rodents, the Skaven retreating back to their sinking ship, most leaping off the railing without a look back. Those that stayed met a swift end to cutlass and cannon, Roderick watching as the last few pockets of rats were mopped up.

There was a blur of dark fur, and Roderick couldn’t react in time before a soft shape collided into his front, Skyseeker wrapping her arms around his chest. He raised his arms in surprise as she nuzzled him, murmuring something inaudible into his chestplate.

“What was that?” he asked, his ears still ringing.

“You saved me,” she said, using a paw to lift away her goggles, her red eyes sparkling as she peered up at him. “Took time, but you saved me!”

“I had help,” he replied, gesturing to the sailors. They watched the rat snuggle with strange looks on their faces, but Roderick couldn’t care what they thought of him right now, his relief palpable as he closed his arms around Skyseeker’s smaller frame, hugging her back.

“Yes-Yes, thank you too, sailor-mans,” she said, leaning away from his chest, but still keeping her paws locked behind his back.

The ship was in a state. Dozens of dead rats lay about the deck, and many sailors lay around them, the wood pockmarked with scorch marks and holes, the forecastle providing a ruined backdrop. The men didn’t waste any time, dispersing to help the wounded and to throw the Skaven overboard.

“Are you two well?” Wilfred asked, approaching from further up the deck, his staff clicking against the woodwork. “Miss Seeker, I hope my spell did not frighten you too much.”

She pulled away from Roderick, moving over to give the wizard a playful punch on the leg. “Never scared! Was fun having rock arms, should cast spell again.”

“Perhaps if another ogre comes climbing up the hull, I shall.”

“Don’t even joke about that, man-wizard.”

“Speaking of which,” Roderick interjected. “did you see that thing’s arm? The one made of metal?”

“The augment?” Wilfred asked. “Yes, quite the pervesion of flesh and metal. That crystal on the end seems very interesting…”

The wizard made his way over to the felled rat ogre, leaning down to fiddle with the drill it had for a left arm, the old man as intrigued as ever. He figured out that the crystal was held in place by a mechanism, and after unwinding it, the crystal popped free, landing between his feet with a thud.

“This must be warpstone,” Roderick muttered, hunkering down beside Wilfred. “Skyseeker mentioned them once or twice, but I’m not quite sure what it exactly is.”

“It’s Chaos manifest, magic in its purest form. Do not touch it, Roderick,” he chided, slapping his outstretched hand with his staff. “to simply feel its warmth is a risk to us both. These crystals are toxic, and extremely volatile, even in a refined state like this one is. We would do well to toss this thing overboard using a crane.”

A distinct giggling sound turned the two men’s attention upward, Roderick looking to see Skyseeker was shoving a piece of warpstone down her throat. She was up on the ogre’s back, already working on pulling out the other crystals lodged into the monster’s shoulders.

She noticed she had an audience, turning to give them a questioning look. Her cheeks were bulged, like a squirrel storing away acorns in its mouth, the rat woman spitting flecks of green dust as she talked with her mouth full.

“Man-things,” she said, pointing down at the warpstone. “You eating that or not?”

-xXx-

“Dozens dead, and just as many wounded,” Von Kessel muttered. “were that we had a fleet of our own to escort us, our casualties would have been far lesser in scope.”

They were gathered in the wolfship’s infirmary, a constricting little room located just beneath the forecastle, the wall lined with makeshift cots in which bandaged sailors lay. Medics going about their duties tending to the injured, though they seemed woefully understaffed.

“Many more would have perished if not for the good General’s actions,” Wilfred replied. “or his companion’s, either.”

“Yes, I heard some of the men’s reports,” the captain mused, turning to Roderick. “It seems you’re as decisive on water as you are on the land, Erdmann, my men and I thank you. Same goes to you, Skaven. Distracting that ogre bought us valuable time to deal with it.”

“Huh? Wassit you say, Kessel-man?” Skyseeker mumbled, giggling as she bit off a giant piece of warpstone like she was taking a bite from an apple. Her many pockets were overflowing with shards of the green crystal, and she hadn’t stopped snacking on them since the end of the fight.

Roderick gave her a pointed shove with his arm. “He’s thanking you, lass,” he whispered.

“Oh! You are welcome!” she chimed, offering the captain a boisterous wave. “Will all these sailor-man’s be okay? That one missing arm.”

“My first aid officers are highly trained,” Von Kessel answered. “However, if you could lend us some of your magics, Master Wizard…

“But of course,” Wilfred replied, beginning to walk between the rows of beds, Von Kessel directing him towards the more critically injured, leaving Roderick and Skyseeker alone.

“Shall we go back to the cabin?” he asked her. “”Don’t know about you, but I could do with some rest.”

“Yes-Yes, need nap time myself.”

With that, they made their way to the exit, walking out onto the deck after moving through a few small rooms. Some time had passed since their brawl with the clanship, and the deck was cleared of the dead, sailors washing away the blood and grime with mops. In the background was the banging noise of hammers, Roderick glancing up to see more men up on the masts repairing the damage and replacing the tattered sails, the ship already starting to return to its former condition. These men must be used to field repairs if they could work so quickly.

“Question,” Skyseeker muttered between mouthfuls of warpstone. The green crystal was like a drug to the Skaven, she just couldn’t stop stuffing her face with it.

“Go on.”

“Rick-rod said you had something for me-me. Before clanship interruption.”

That’s right, the poem, he’d completely forgotten about it. He fished through his belt, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt the slip of parchment brush his finger.

“Come over here,” he urged, leading her towards the bulwark, away from any prying eyes or ears. The sea was empty, the wolfship having sailed far away from the pirate and Skaven fleets battling it out on the horizons, and with any luck, the pristine view should help set the mood.

“This is for you,” he began, Skyseeker watching curiously as he produced the folded parchment. She took it from him, her paw brushing his fingers, the Skaven turning it over like she was examining a strange treasure. She’d even pocketed the piece of warpstone she’d been snacking on, suggesting she was most intrigued.

“Open it,” he said when she didn’t seem to understand what to do. The parchment crinkled as she did as commanded, staring at the script written upon it, her eyes tracking the words. He felt nervous about her reaction, or rather, the lack of one, Skyseeker tilting her head up at him in confusion.

“I can’t read,” she informed him after a few moments.

“Y-You can’t…? Oh.”

“What’s it say?” she asked, passing the poem back to him. “Must be important message. Contract, perhaps?”

“You want me to read it for you?” he asked, shifting on the spot. He’d written the poem down so he wouldn’t have to say those things out loud, but it seemed she was illiterate to Reikspiel, and why should that surprise him?

“Rick-rod can read, can’t you? Come on, now! Time’s a wasting.”

“As you wish,” he muttered, clearing his throat as he smoothed out the parchment. “Uh… Fur as dark as opal, eyes the shade of ruby. To all others, you’re as vile as nurgle, but you’re just… gems, to me.”

Skyseeker chewed on one of her claws, humming to himself as she gestured for him to continue.

“If you were to be my one, my heart would explode, like a… powder gun.”

Roderick scrunched up the poem. That was terrible! What had he been thinking, writing such drivel? He glanced down at the rat woman, his face blushing as he gauged her reaction. Perhaps leaping off the boat would be a better alternative to hearing what she had to say…

“Hmmm….” she said, scratching her scalp with a finger. She didn’t look pleased, nor embarrassed, her expression oddly thoughtful as she let the silence linger. “Shadow!”

“W-What?”

“Is riddle, yes-yes?” she asked, tapping her hands together. “Shadow’s are dark. Not have ruby eyes, confused by that bit. Can be vile, depends on person. ‘My one’ means my shadow… so must be shadow! Do I win treat?”

Roderick looked at her as though she’d just told him the ocean was made of cheese, sputtering as he tried to formulate a reply.

“Th-That’s… That wasn’t a riddle!” he sighed, pinching his nose. “It’s a poem, Skyseeker. About you!”

“Me?” she echoed, staring up at him with a blank expression. “I don’t get it.”

“Look, you’re as dark as opal. Understand?” he asked, glancing down at the parchment. “And you’re eyes, they’re red, and rubies are red too. In human culture, those jewels are considered to be beautiful.”

“So… man-thing thinks I am… pretty?” she asked, wringing her hands together.

“In layman’s terms,” he confirmed. “And ‘the one’ means something special as well. Some humans like to think there’s someone out there who’s perfect in every way, like a soulmate. I didn’t much believe in phrase myself… until I met you, lass.”

He couldn’t’ believe he had to literally spell out his confessions to her, but at least he was being as direct as possible, there would be no misunderstandings now. He braced himself for her response, his heart beating like a drum.

“S-Soulmate?” she asked. Her lower jaw quivered, Skyseeker peeling off her goggles to let them hang around her neck. She opened her mouth to say something, but her words came out in a choking sound, and then she burst into tears.

“Sk-Skyseeker?” Roderick asked, kneeling down to her eye level. “What’s the matter? Did I upset you?”

“No-No,” she mumbled, jamming her palms into her eyes. “Not sad, S-Skaven is s-so happy right now-now.”

His heart melted, Roderick wrapping his arms around her, Skyseeker sniffing as she leaned against his chest, her smaller frame trembling against him. “N-Nobody has ever said such nice riddle to Skaven before…”

“It’s not a…” He stopped himself, electing to just go with it rather than try and correct her.

When she got herself under control, she pulled back a little, Roderick drawn to the way her red eyes sparkled in the moonlight, her dark irises filling his vision.

“Rick-rod always making me feel happy,” she continued, her whiskers brushing his face. “So kind and considerate and…uh, kind. First thought you just trying to learn secrets, tried to keep you out, but you found way inside all the same-same. Never let someone come so… close before, but I’m glad my first friend is… uh, the first.”

The way she stammered her words was endearing, Roderick grinning as he dared to plant a hand on her shoulder.

“I wish to be more than just friends, Skyseeker,” he started. “If I’m overstepping, or you’re not comfortable with that, then say so now so I can put my thoughts to rest.”

“M-More than friends?” she stammered. “What you mean?”

Taking that as a sign she wasn’t denying him, he reached out, cupping the back of her furry head in his hand, and leaning closer. He didn’t think Skaven kissed each other, but he saw no other way of expressing his desire than guiding her muzzle closer. She didn’t pull away, Sksyeeker’s eyes going wider than ever as he pressed his lips to hers, his heart skipping a beat as they touched. Her muzzle was nothing like a human face, yet her touch was warm and soft as silk, her whiskers ticking his cheeks, her pink nose cool and yielding.

He flashed back to his earlier pensiveness, when he’d first entertained the thought of liking her during their night at the inn. He had tried to deny his feelings back then, claiming that cavorting with this Skaven, this spawn of Chaos, was a dangerous threshold to cross. Wilfred too had expressed his warnings, saying that to harbour feelings for the Empire’s enemies was a choice that which there was no going back.

But he could no longer supress his feelings. She’d almost been felled by that ogre, and every passing day became more fraught with danger than the last. The time they had together was finite, he had to take the opportunity now or regret it forever.

So he poured all the affection he could muster into the kiss, his pace hungry and aggressive, her tongue rising up to meet his own as he pushed passed her buck teeth. Her organ was slippery with her saliva, gliding along his tongue without friction as he explored her palate. She tasted of dried meat, and something else as well, a strange minty flavour catching him off guard. It must be the aftertaste of warpstone on her tongue, a touch of worry creeping up on him as he remembered Wilfred describing the crystal as toxic. Surely a little exposure wouldn’t hurt…

Skyseeker was unusually passive during the kiss, her demeanour akin to a frightened deer ss she stood rooted to the spot, her tongue touching his with a few tentative flicks. He pulled back, wiping a spot of dribble from his lips with his hand, chuckling when he saw her expression, a mix of confusion and excitement plastered over her muzzle.

“That’s, what I mean,” he said.

“W-What was that?” Skyseeker asked, giggling as she touched her mouth. “Felt very weird.”

“A kiss,” he answered. “It’s something humans do to express affection. Did you like it?”