"Kneel," Whumper sneered at Whumpee. They had draped themself across Whumpee's throne.
The two knights dragged Whumpee forward. Whumpee's arms were bound behind their back, tightly, shoulders pulled painfully tight. Whumpee held their head high as they were dragged forward. Their crown was still high atop their head. They were still ruler of these lands.
Whumper and their band of minions had struck the castle in the dead of knight, taking everyone by surprise. There hadn't been time to launch a counter attack. There had only been time to get out as much of their court as they could. Whumpee, of course, had chosen to remain behind to buy as much time for the escaping court as they could.
Still, there were those that remained with them. And those few had been forced to gather in the throne room and watch as Whumper humiliated Whumpee.
Whumpee would not give Whumper the satisfaction of begging. It didn't matter if begging would save them. Their siblings had gotten out. The dynasty's line would live even if they died. They would not bow before Whumper. They would not break. They would not give in to the invaders.
"Whumper said kneel," one of Whumper's knights said as they kicked the back of Whumpee's knees.
Whumpee did not cry out as their knees hit the hard marble, though pain sang up their joints. They would not cry out. They would not beg. They looked off, ignoring the knights and Whumper. They would not engage.
Whumper jumped up and stalked towards Whumpee. "I'm going to enjoy flaying you alive, Whumpee. I'm going to enjoy dragging you through the streets so your subjects can see how far you can fall. And I'm going to enjoy leaving your body on display and letting the carrion pick your bones clean."
Whumpee did not say anything. They did not look at Whumper. They would not look at Whumper. They would not give in.
Without warning, Whumper kicked Whumpee in the face. Hard. Whumpee felt their nose crack and bleed. They listed sideways, the only thing keeping them up was the death grip on their shoulders by the two knights. Whumper kicked them again, this time catching Whumpee's mouth. Whumpee sputtered around the blood filling their mouth.
"You are going to be the most fun I have had in a long time, Whumpee. I am going to enjoy breaking you body, mind, and soul. And then I will have your crown."
Starting off my attempt on @voltober this year with 1. Netted and 2. Sadistic Whumper. Makes sense to start with Circe and Balak.
I don't expect to write this much for all of them but it's nice to be off to a good start.
CW: slavery, minor whumpee, minor whumper, electrocution
“Run.”
The girl didn’t pause for a moment before sprinting away from the three Batarian youth, who crashed into each other, jostling for the metallic netting on the ground.
Master Ka’hairel and his friends had just graduated from their training program and the Master had presented Ka’hairel with his first submission net over a celebration dinner the previous evening.
Standing invisible on the wall, the girl had sunk back into the memories of Ka’hairel’s older brothers, chasing her, netting her, shocking her. The slightly raised skin around her neck twitched as she stood rock still.
Given their break from studies and new toy, it was no surprise when she trailed the trio onto a shuttle that touched down near their training center.
The girl slid into the brush, landing on the outside of her thigh. The center had a wide variety of biomes to choose from to better train their conquering elite. She knew the game already, starting in the desert got boring fast for them. As had keeping lower settings on the net.
Icarek explained that it was basic psychology; slaves were prone to laziness, so they needed incentive to not be lazy. The girl could have pointed out that running across sand dunes in bare feet could have been the reason for her slow pace but the thought didn’t occur to her to speak out.
Remaining muscle spasms buckled her knees as she crept through the bush, trying to keep low and still. A twitch tossed her to the right, waxy green leaves rustled as she fell into the dirt.
Birajuu. The girl shoved to her feet to try to run but the weighted net was already flying in her direction.
Her head thumped the ground with bruising force as her limbs got tangled in the tight wiring.
The air pushed out of her lungs and prevented her from preparing a breath.
Burning, piercing pain tore through her body and her mouth tore open in a desperate attempt to scream, to gasp for air. Across every limb, over her face.
Her muscles collapsed as the shock disappeared, face rolling into the dirt. Segar’s boots nudged her over, unhooking the net from underneath her.
“How many points for that?” He yelled back, scooping the net up off the ground. A boot tip shoved into her, motivating the girl to find her limbs and lever herself off the ground.
Light stabbed through her head as she trailed Segar back.
Ka’hairal didn’t spare her a glance, grabbing the net back from Segar before resetting it. The girl was grateful for the moment that they spent arguing the rules of their game, pulling more air into her lungs.
Hiding quietly wasn’t going to work again. Her brain was just coming back online before she caught Ka’hairal’s order.
“Run”
She aimed for the trees, waiting until she was out of sight before throwing herself up one. Callused feet helped her grip as she propelled upwards into the leaves. Carefully, the girl shifted higher in the branches, trying to rest her weight fully before transferring her step.
The forest was quiet but the girl stood tense, waiting for any noise. Hearing some shifting from her left, she tried to move to the right side of the tree. Wrong move. The branch crashed under her weight and she let out a shriek as her legs dropped from under her.
A bare second into dangling, the weight of the net crashed into her and sent her tumbling.
Air knocked from lungs. No breath to scream. Tears leaked from her eyes as the shock paralyzed her body and in turn the tears burned as the netting crossed over her face.
It was over. Icarek won that one, digging a knee into her back intentionally as he unrecalled the netting. It was surprising to see her scraped palms, considering she didn’t feel the sensation. One leg fell out from under her on the way back but she dragged it behind her.
Ka’hairal looked pissed. The girl understood. He hadn’t had a turn with his toy yet.
It was a small enough arena that they would find her eventually if they stayed in place. She resolved to run this time.
“Run.” Her master barked. She obeyed.
Her breath rasped in her chest and she threw herself through brush and trees, fully aware of the trail she left behind. Her leg buckled but she was prepared, slamming herself into a trunk to keep upright and using it to propel herself in a different direction.
Forest floor debris tore into her feet but she kept moving. Finding a wall in front of her, instinct took her left.
Five steps into the new route, the increasingly familiar weight of the net slammed into her,
No respite. Stabbing, stabbing pain pierced her core. Her eyes burned, her mouth was dry.
Had it stopped? She shivered before rolling over to see Ka’hairal closing in. He yanked back the net and the girl clamped her mouth shut from crying out as the metal whipped across her skin.
His face was still thunderous, though the glimmer at the back of his eye scared her even more. Terror gripped her stomach as tremblingly she pushed herself upwards. Unlike the others, he stood still, watching her with his upper eyebrows raised.
Bad sign.
Her master had the grace to wait until she had both of her feet under her.
“Run.”
The girl flung herself into the brush. Her vision was blurred but hands in front of her, she scrambled away. One shuttered breath. Another.
The net slammed her to the ground.
Her mind splintered. It was too much. It lasted forever and for a second.
A boot rammed into her side before she noticed the submission net was deactivated. She gulped for air, shaking on the ground. Ka’hairal stood above her and the boot caught her shoulder this time, rolling her onto her back.
The girl panted. Her limbs wouldn’t listen. She struggled to roll herself over onto her side, pressing shaking limbs into the ground.
“Run.”
The girl tried to turn to see Ka’hairal’s face, taking a moment to clock that he was in fact serious.
Kra’tash.
Like a varren, she dug her hands and feet into the dirt, hopelessly with no air to propel herself forward.
The weight crashed down. Agony. Something beyond pain. Her skin burned. Acrid.
There was a pause and she wheezed, twisting like a trapped animal. Her heart pounded in her ears and she feared it would burst.
“Run.”
No.
She was still in the net. She knew she had no change, but still she thrashed. It was clear what he wanted.
A game he would win.
Pain. Blinding pain. When it stopped, she could see his face as he bent down beside her.
His smile had returned.
Pain.
He kept asking her to run. Her limbs jerked uncontrollably.
“Run.”
The girl was sure she had drooled all over herself.
“Run.”
Her eyes rolled back into her head.
“Run.”
It was nice to hear him laugh. It was a harsh laugh. But it meant he wasn’t scowling.
Somewhere the girl registered being lifted off the ground, her bruised face thumping against his back. Her leg kicked out in a spasm and he threw her off onto the ground instead.
All pain was numb. She struggled for breath that wouldn’t come as she bumped along, dragged by her shirt’s collar. He laughed as her body caught on thorns, switching hands intentionally so she flopped through a mud puddle.
Laughing wasn’t safe. But it was safer than his anger.
