A good while back, I posted this on an obscure forum, which shall remain unnamed here. Shortly after that, the forum, and everything on it, was deleted. So, if, before the forum was deleted, someone copied it from there and published it elsewhere, I'll have a hard time proving my copyright.
I hate the thought of this story of mine having been lost though, so here it is, again publically available. Hopefully to a larger audience.
It takes place in Karlan Sunflower's universe.
Let me add, this is not sweet reluctance, this is deep dark non-con.
*
"Is there something wrong with your breasts?"
"I..." Suddenly feeling shy, she turned to swim sideways, hiding her face and front from Valin. "How much further to your favourite practice area?" she asked.
"Far," replied Valin and increased his speed, presenting Noma with a view to his tail. "Keep up or get lost," he yelled. "I don't spar with weaklings."
"Neither do I," Noma yelled back and matched his speed.
For nearly an hour they swam at high speed, before Valin finally slowed down and said, "We are almost there."
He dove into a dark cave, Noma followed. Deprived of light they used sonar.
"You didn't tell me you planned to practice in the dark," said Noma.
"You didn't ask."
"I haven't been trained in fighting without light."
Facing away from Noma, Valin grinned. If Noma had been trained in the finer arts of sonar, she would have been able to tell.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" he asked, prodding at her pride, baiting.
"Don't be ridiculous," replied Noma. Without further complaint, she stayed at his tail through a network of tunnels.
She didn't suspect foul play. Not until the two of them, thoroughly exhausted, reached Valin's destination --a fairly large cave.
"Valin, you deceitful toad, I'll mush you into crab fodder," she screamed, realising she had been tricked, and attacked Valin with her fighting staff.
Surprised Valin spun to defend himself. He had expected her to flee the moment she found herself outnumbered.
"Do you think you can take all of us, you stupid fish," he yelled, even as his co-conspirators spread out behind her.
No. Noma didn't think she could take all of them. Noma knew she couldn't. But, she also knew that she couldn't out-swim them. Not after Valin had tricked her into using most of her strength swimming to this trap.
"In the dark, you can't even handle one of us."
Noma bared her teeth, she recognised that voice. "Lopai!" she yelled and turned from Valin to charge the one who had to be the instigator of this entrapment.
Noma's lower back exploded with pain, Valin had stabbed the end of his staff right into the soft area between ribs and tail. She curled backwards, involuntarily baring her front to Lopai, who wasn't slow to take advantage.
Lopai's staff hit her abdomen just below the ribs. Valin targeted the soft area on her back again, this time on the other side of her spine. Another of Lopai's friends hit her side, another hit her neck, another hit...
"Idiots," snarled Lopai, pushing her friends back with her staff. "You hit too hard. She's unconscious."
"Maybe we should have planned this part a bit more thoroughly," said Valin, sliding away from the others, stretching leisurely.
"When she wakes up, the rest of you will stay back while I beat her up," ordered Lopai.
"She is exhausted, Lopai," commented Valin. "She isn't dead."
"Are you implying I won't be able to beat her?" Lopai pointed her staff at Valin in a threatening manner. "Noma hasn't trained in the dark, that's how come she's so good in the light."
"Enjoy your illusions, Lopai. Enjoy them while they last." said Valin, grinning widely. "Noma is awake."
Lopai turned in time to observe Noma hurling herself down toward her fighting staff, which rested at the bottom of the cave.
The cave was filled with an explosion of sound, as Lopai whistled, screamed and clicked to intensify her own sonar and obstruct her enemy's. Yet, Noma deflected her attacks.
Lopai's friends didn't interfere until Noma had disarmed Lopai and was systematically beating up the backside of her tail.
Valin merely observed. If Noma hadn't already been exhausted, and if it hadn't been dark, then Lopai and her three friends wouldn't have stood a chance. But, under these circumstances, which he had helped them create, Noma was the chance-less one.
After having been rescued by her friends, Lopai circled Noma, who was now being systematically beaten by those friends. They were being more careful now, keeping the pain intense yet sufficiently tolerable for their prey to stay conscious.
A while passed before Noma started begging for mercy. Not a long while though, Noma was young and not at all accustomed to such punishment.
"Stop beating her a while. I want to savour this moment," said Valin, shortly after Noma's pleas had begun.
"Please stop hurting me." It sounded so clear in the sudden silence as her attackers slid away from her.
"Reduced to a frightened little bundle of hurt," said Valin, sliding through the dark water, needing no more sound than his speech to guide him.
He grabbed hold of Noma's left headfin and yanked at it, pulling her head up and back. He made a single click, illuminating her face in explicit detail.
"Terror looks beautiful on you, Noma."
Lopai slid up behind Noma, grabbing hold of her right headfin. "If you beg real good, maybe we will let you have a longer break before we continue, little fishy," she whispered.
"Please, Lopai, let me go," said Noma, shivering at the threat. "If you let me go now I will never humiliate you in public again, I promise."
"You arrogant..."
Nobody could hear the end of Lopai's insult through Noma's screams. Lopai had resumed the beating, and so had her friends.
By the time the cave went quiet next, Noma shook uncontrollably.
"Beg," ordered Lopai.
"Please stop," whispered Noma. "Please."
"You gotta do better than that," screeched Lopai and threw her staff at Noma, like a spear.
Automatically, Noma deflected it, grabbed hold of it, and defiantly held it up to defend herself.
Lopai clicked furiously, illuminating the image of her rival holding her staff. "I will kill you for that, Noma," yelled Lopai and dove for Noma's staff, which again rested on the bottom of the cave.
"Don't be so hasty, Lopai," said Valin, leisurely drifting between Lopai and Noma. "You should give credit when credit is due."
Lopai clicked angrily, she wasn't in a mood for giving credit.
"Don't you realise," continued Valin, smiling while facing Lopai's wrath, "how difficult it is for a warrior to say 'please'?"
Lopai ceased her clicking and cocked her head, curious as to where Valin was headed with this.
Valin's laughter illuminated the cave for Lopai and her friends. Noma shook harder at the sound, which wasn't sufficient for her senses. She was blind yet didn't click; she was too afraid.
"For a simple gatherer 'please' is an ordinary word," continued Valin. "They will say it as easily as 'thank you' or 'good-bye'."
Noma felt his movements transferring through the water. It was like caresses on her skin. Why had Valin --a warrior in training, like herself-- teamed up with these untalented, undisciplined wannabes?
"Noma." Valin drew out her name, tasted it to the full. "Tell me, Noma, before today, when was the last time you said 'please'?"
"It was five years ago," whispered Noma, hating herself for replying when she should be fighting.
"I bet you remember what season and what time of day it was too." Valin's voice was smooth and confident. He laughed again. "Tell me to 'please' let you go."
Noma wanted to attack him, almost did too, but the memory of pain was too fresh -- still stronger than her anger.
"Please let me go," she whispered.
"That's Lopai's staff you are holding," said Valin. "Ask her to 'please' forgive you for touching her weapon."
Noma hesitated.
"Aha," said Valin. "You haven't had enough yet." He clicked and raised his staff, preparing to assault her. Lopai's friends copied his movement.
"Please forgive me, Lopai," screeched Noma, holding the offending staff tight. "Please forgive me for touching your weapon."
Valin lowered his staff and swam to Noma.
"Hand it over," he said, holding out a hand.
Noma again hesitated.
"Hand it over or face the consequences."
She handed him the staff, and he handed it on to Lopai.
"I knew she was a coward," said Lopai, circling Noma, holding her staff at the ready for further punishment. "Beg me not to hit you."
Noma begged.
"What's wrong with her breasts?" asked Valin.
"Her breasts?" asked Malong, one of Lopai's three friends. He grabbed one of Noma's headfins and pulled back, clicking to get a clear vision of her chest. "What do you mean?"
"She always keeps them covered," explained Valin. "Most maids take their breast-covering off when they are done sparring for the day, but I've yet to see Noma without hers."
"I never noticed," said Malong, but now he too realised that he had never seen Noma's breasts.
Lopai moved in and reached for the buckles keeping Noma's breast-cover in place.
"Please don't." Noma pushed Lopai's hands away and curled into a ball, hugging her own chest.
"What do you want from me?" wept Noma. "I never wronged any of you."
Lopai's eyes narrowed. Her perspective on Noma's wrong-doings was somewhat different.
"I want to see her breasts," said Malong. "I want to know why she hides them." He expected a disfigurement, a secret shame.
"Then hold her still," hissed Lopai.
Noma struggled bravely to keep her breasts hidden. Valin watched with an overbearing smile. He thought of how easily Noma could have been convinced to surrender, if only her assailants had bothered to pause and word a threat or two.
In the end, Malong held Noma's arms together behind her back. One of Lopai's other friends held Noma's tail tight, twisting the fins at the end to a degree that forced Noma to keep still.
"Don't," pleaded Noma as Lopai loosened the buckles of the breast-cover.
Noma closed her unseeing eyes at the feeling of water moving freely across her breasts. She grimaced with shame when Lopai clicked loudly.
Valin laughed.
Noma tugged her arms, but Malong held on tight.
