Chapter 26 - EVO

Chapter 26 - EVO

***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***

***Magnus***

We somehow managed to pull up the broken pieces of the shelter's blockade stone and wedge them into the entrance. The sealing wasn't as reliable as before, but it would provide us with ample warning if something tried to get into the shelter.

Then Ivona finally told me her story.

Much like Astra, the two sisters had been taken to a research facility and experimented on. They never learned what exactly had been done to them, but it involved a lot of injections and blood samples, accompanied by excessive tests of their physical and mental abilities.

Once the scientists were done, my sisters were sent to Tirnanog.

But where Astra had been adopted by the Aerie, my sisters were taken in by the Thich.

Ivona and Evanne were transported to the Thichs fortress city far in the south-east. The way Ivona described it, it was a fabulous and relatively safe place to live in.

As long as you hadnt been conscripted to the Defence Forces, or DF, as the Thich called it. It was a paramilitary group that was in charge of the Thichs fighting and policing affairs. Their training camp provided basic education and income to any Thich who wasnt able to make a living.

This policy provided the clan with a guaranteed supply of recruits.

For the last seven years, Ivona and Evanne received what accounted for education in this organisation. They lived their lives while being prepared for their future roles as the wives of some higher up in the Thichs clan structure.

As the older sister, Ivona took care of Evanne. Though, just by listening to her stories, I could tell Evanne was just as headstrong as Ivona herself.

The Thich had intentionally renamed my sisters Ivonne and Eva, which I found to be especially malicious.

The new names weren't very imaginative, but I guessed it was an attempt to have the kids break with their old lives without being too obvious. In a way, it was meant for the recruits to be a rebirth as new members of the clan. Ivona told us they even had a grand ceremony for the occasion.

Sadly, it was apparent from the way Ivona told the story that she was still a child and hadn't realized the intention behind giving her a new name.

Brainwashing and tilting someone's loyalties was a process that took years and a thousand little steps. First the names, then education. Field exercises to gradually bloody the new recruits were next. A monster to begin with and if that went well, why not some evildoer next? A human who deserved it. And once that was done, they could gradually move up to more morally grey areas.

We also learned this ceremony would be the first time the children were fed the strange meat that would turn their skin violet. As Ivona described it, the occasion was performed in almost religious reverence.

Sadly, Ivona couldnt tell me a single thing about what was responsible for her evolution.

She and her sister had received this special kind of mystery meat from then on, delivered each day on a plate with other foods that the Thich found to be appropriate. Their only choice was to go with whatever evolutionary path the Thich had selected for them or to starve.

The evolutions which came with the mystery meat were extreme sturdiness and strength, accompanied by what Ivona could only describe as a special connection with her sister. At times, it was like she knew what Evanne was thinking.

It was good to know the basic attributes of this evolution, but it didnt warrant the Thichs behaviour in my mind. Strength and physical resistance could be achieved in a myriad of ways according to Astra. The mental connection that Ivona described sounded interesting, but she made it clear that the two sisters were never capable of truly utilizing the ability.

There was still a piece to the puzzle which we were missing.

I couldn't believe the Thich were performing these experiments without Earth's guidance. Unless the two groups acted independently?

The idea was ridiculous, so I chose to ignore it for now. It was much simpler to assume Earth had two-way communication with the Thich. They selected the candidates and sent them off to Tirnanog where the Thich took care of the second part of the experiment.

I assumed the experiments aimed to achieve something grander than just producing female partners for the Thich's leadership.

Abducting children would be too excessive and resource-intensive compared to taking any adult female exile and feeding her whatever mutations they were interested in. Handing the girls off to the leadership's supporters likely only happened after the mutation was deemed a failure.

Once I learned of the reasons for this arrangement between Earth and the Thich, I might be able to deduce more.

Thankfully, it seemed like Ivona hadnt been marred as much by her life with the Thich as I feared. The militaristic indoctrination was still there and I would have to work with her to make her see it. But the Thich also wanted to end up with a fiercely loyal individual that could function within their society. This limited what they could do to the children since they also needed to build trust.Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)

Ivona was a year older than Evanne and had been sent off on the traditional recruitment run a measure that was supposed to prove one's loyalty according to Ivona.

As I saw it, it turned the abducted into the abductor and forced them to identify with what the Thich had done to the children. Another step on a gradual path to corruption until Ivona would finally have had to accept that she was just as twisted as her captors.

Whoever organized the system behind this tradition had received basic training in mental manipulation. I hadn't paid a lot of attention to the organisation's courses when it came to captives, but I paid a lot of interest when it came to the manipulation of large groups.

One positive aspect was that if Ivona was right, then the Thich wouldnt touch Evanne for at least another year.

Whether they would still do another recruitment run after one of their teams had completely wiped was questionable. I hoped so because it would give me the perfect chance to retrieve Evanne.

We have to go through this again once we reach home, Astra concluded once we had listened for over two hours to Ivonas story. I bet there are a lot of things that Ivonne, I mean, Ivona knows, that could help us. Small details which she doesnt think of as important. It would help immensely to know the Thichs economic capabilities.

We still dont know what their strange experiment is about, I complained. Why do they need so many of the children? Why does Earths government go through extra trouble to prepare the kids before sending them here? I have so many more questions and no answers. Somehow I hoped Ivona knew more. Now I see there would be no point in telling the guinea pig why it is being experimented upon.

While I allowed the bathtub to fill, Astra settled down at the small desk next to the bed.

I have to write a few quick words and send my parents a warning of what's going on, she said.

What are you going to tell them? I asked, wondering what kind of reaction the Thich's attack on our travel group would cause. Was there someone important among our dead?

Astra shook her head. Yes and no. I think Michaela was the niece of the leaders of the fourth strata. I have no idea how they will react. I have to give my parents a quick rundown of what happened, who died, and that there are some further surprises.

Hm. I hummed. Should I read the letter for you?

Ah, that's not necessary. She waved a hand. But do make sure the bath is hot and steamy once I get there.

That wasn't something I had to be told twice!

Ten minutes later, I was showered and my body figuratively dissolving in the large bathtub.

Oh, civilisation, you have me back! I moaned and relaxed the tight reign I had over my filaments. At a metre in length now, they were starting to get useful for small tasks like grabbing stuff.

I made a little game out of consciously moving just a single one without pushing the water out of the tub.

Astra managed to gain my full attention when she entered the bathroom a few minutes later in her birthday suit.

She smiled wickedly at me and switched off the lights before she closed the door.

Then she moved sensuously over to me, dancing and twirling her body with each step. All I could see were the bioluminescent lines that covered her skin. It was probably more due to the lightly forced abstinence, but the sight alone had me ready in no time.

I reached for her thigh when she came close enough, but she dodged my hand.

Damn it! I cursed when she moved away before I could touch her. You can't do this to me! Not right now.

Astra laughed and kept showing off her figure while swinging those hips of hers.

I growled and got a hold of one of her filaments that had drifted too close. Then I used it to reel her in.

She finally relented and got into the bathtub on top of me. Then she moulded her body against mine while capturing my erection between her thighs.

We shared a long kiss before she pulled away. I want to try something.

What? I asked.

She came in close and whispered into my ear. Something I have seen the treemonae do when they mate.

Slowly, she moved her body against mine and drew her filaments in. Then we kissed and I felt her entangling her filaments with mine until I didn't know where mine began and hers ended.

We moaned into each other's mouths while she kept playing with my erection. All the while the filaments were sending tingles down my spine until I just couldn't stand the game anymore.

I forcefully parted her thighs and slipped in between her legs. Hugging her against me, I turned us around and searched her entrance until I found it. Then we lost ourselves while we moaned into each other's necks.

Having sex in a bathtub was awkward, but Astra still managed to wring me dry when she closed her legs around my hips and shuddered with her whole body.

We came to rest in a most awkward position with me on my knees and hugging her body against mine. She had her legs hooked into my thighs and our filaments were all over the place.

It was her to admit first that we had gotten ourselves into a small predicament. Magnus, I think we are slightly knotted.

Like dogs? I joked with my head resting against her chest. I was tempted to bite into one of those nipples, so I did.

What? No, ew! That's gross! Way to ruin the mood. Ow, stop it! She pulled on my earlobe and I let go with a pop.

Our filaments are knotted, she clarified. You have to loosen yours a little.

I sighed, not caring at the moment. I have a suggestion. You give me ten minutes so I can go again. And afterwards, we see what we can do.

Astra had little against a second round, but it only worsened the problem in the end.

Our little Tte--tte resulted in two hours of undoing our entanglement and a thoroughly spilled bathtub. Whoever would be cleaning up the bath wouldn't be happy tomorrow.

At least it turned out to be a good filament control exercise.

And Astra finally found out why mating treemonae took hours for the act. It wasn't because it felt that good... it simply took them that long to untangle themselves afterwards.