Orders and Change

Cleared his throat as he stood at the door to Nix's workshop. He'd wanted to give Nix and Sheeva a few days to catch up, but things were progressing quickly. Not only had they gotten word of other villages being overrun by hordes of Dark Beasts, but also confirmation that there were only two villages that managed to defend themselves properly with theirs being one of them.

The scouts managed to start guiding the refugees back, the count being well into the three hundreds. There was much to go over that they'd barely covered in the meeting they'd just ended mere moments ago. No one could come to a decisive decision, even Drevid himself couldn't think of a clear way to smooth everything over.

Whereas Drevid was the Chief of the village, that was only in name. He could help in simple decisions and sway opinions, but only to a point. He had no real experience in leading, nor did he want the position in the first place. He was only voted to be the Chief because of his background as a Noble's son, which was quickly ended due to a territory war some years ago. If it weren't for Jennifer, he would not have lasted as long as he did.

Drevid could only sigh softly once again, suddenly feeling like he was pushing all responsibilities on Nix, who'd only just arrived to their world. Jennifer felt her husband's frustrations and gently placed her hand on his shoulder while giving him a warm smile. The gesture soothed the man as he gave her a small smile. Taking a deep breath, he drew his courage and knocked on the door.

After a few moments, the heavy door opened just enough for Drevid to peer into the darkness. Spotting a pair of white ears, he looked down to see Sheeva peeking through the crack at him. "Oh, hello there Sheeva. Is Nix available?"

"Um..." She muttered before looking back inside. "Is it important? Mother is currently planning for the refugees." Sheeva whispered as she gestured for Drevid to bend down.

The Vyrin raised his dark brow as he squatted down to meet the Fox-Kin's eyes. "Mother? Oh, I see you're family now." The man's face warmed to a smile as he gave a relieved sigh. The cub blushed a little and gave a sheepish smile with a quick nod. The gesture made Drevid chuckle silently before speaking. "We are here about that and something else. Can we come in?"

Sheeva looked back into the room before holding her finger to her lips. As the door opened slowly, Drevid stood and turned to the group behind him. Next to him was Jennifer, with Vern, Ju'Shal, Serena, Da'Lik and a Ghoul named Veronica. This Ghoul was their villages primary medical mage. Considering her importance, Drevid found it appropriate to show her Nix's lab as well seeing as she would have to get familiar with it.

"Inside you'll see something more amazing than the equipment we have. Be sure to watch yourself. Nix can be very...forward, so please excuse her manners." Drevid spoke to the three newcomers before slowly walking inside.

A few candles lit the room, though their light was nearly engulfed by the blue screens that Nix sat at. Sheeva wandered over to Nix and stood next to her, listening in on the various conversations that were coming from the desk. The room had been rearranged as well. Where there were only two tables, now stood four. Two of them were working on some suits of armor where some orange sparks flew as the arms of the tables worked on them, while the other two tables simply held some strange visors, weapons, and various other trinkets. The air held a soft tune of violins and a rather bass sounding Lute, with a man singing something about The Curse of the Fold. The group gently walked over the clear landing of the room, finding it easy to stand next to eachother with the tables being pushed up against the walls.

"Unit one, continue north until you reach the clearing to set camp. Units two and five, you'll be taking a longer hike, but you should be safer in the denser parts of the forest." Nix spoke as she looked over the screens and typed some information on the long, glass tablet she'd newly built into the desk.

"Understood." Three voices spoke before Nix turned to another screen and tapped on the tablet again.

"Units three and four, you'll be stationed there until we can get medical personnel to you. Hold shifts with those that are able to fight and keep a close eye on your sensors. It will take a few days before medical personnel are able to get you. Just follow the procedures the system tells you and those people should last."

"Yes Nix."

"Nix, we've got a small number of Dark Beasts a distance away." Vela's voice was heard from the desk, making Nix turn to another screen and type some stuff on the tablet.

"Hold your positions and focus on defense. Those that need target practice should be the ones to focus fire first."

"Yes Nix."

After receiving her answer, Nix leaned back on the chair and rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. It was only then that Sheeva took a step forward and tugged the sleeve of Nix's small shirt.

Nix's face then warmed up as she turned to the Fox-Kin, her hand coming down to rub her cheek. "I'm sorry dear, lessons are gonna have to wait a bit. Just keep an eye on the monitors and let me know if something is wrong."

"Um, the Chief is here to see you Mommy, and he's brought guests." Sheeva smiled softly before gesturing to the group behind Nix.

Turning her head to see them, Nix gave a soft smile before dropping her hands to grab the strange wheels on the sides of her chair. As she moved her hands opposite ways, the chair turned slowly for Nix to turn around and face them. "Ah, welcome Drevid. Sorry, I'd stand to greet you, but the system had advised that I use the wheelchair until my body's recovered."

The group had already been in awe of the equipment, but seeing such a sophisticated wheelchair seemed to bring much more attention than Nix had thought. Drevid then cleared his throat before speaking. "That's alright, how long until you're back on your feet?"

"About a month, but I can use my suit if there's an emergency. I see we have some new faces, are these people from the first batch of refugees?" Nix asked as she eyed the others, glaring a little to see them better in the blue and orange lights.

To the three, it felt like the woman was sizing them up. This feeling was frightening, considering both the tales they'd heard and the scene Serena and Da'Lik had seen about Nix. Even in the wheelchair, the woman held an aura of militarism only found in generals, causing a cold sweat to drip down the back of their necks.

"Yes, they are important figures. Starting from your right, we have the Ghoul Veronica. She was the head of their villages medical hall and is a well versed healing mage. Next to her you have the Beast-Kin Da'Lik, who was the head of their security. And lastly, you have Serena, who is their villages Chief." Drevid gestured to the three, who silently bowed their heads instinctively at the woman.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hero of this village." Serena spoke up in her hushed voice, barely able to stop herself from stuttering. She felt as if Nix's red eyes were piercing her very soul like the Dark Beasts she'd fought in the past.

"Save the pleasantries. Drevid, how's preparation coming along?" Nix said coldly before turning back to Drevid. Folding her arms over her chest, she leaned back against the chair and raised her brow. "The refugees have plenty of supplies, but they have wounded as well. We will need to expand the village at this rate."

"Ah yes, we have just ended our meeting and have people making tents while others set them up. We should be able to get half of it done by the time the first group get here." Drevid spoke immediately, swallowing a little at Nix's aura. Compared to before, the woman before him felt like a born leader as she took control. The way she'd handled the forces sent out to investigate, the clear understanding of the situation, it all reminded that she had indeed come from another world.

"We will have to work much faster. Ju'Shal, how many Dark Beasts can your people hunt and skin before the others arrive?"

The Wolf-Kin jumped a bit as she was spoken to, swallowing a little as she stood straight and held her arms behind her back. She was reminded of the Chief of her old Tribe and how militaristic the man was. "We can gather a sizable amount with the new equipment. Skinning and tanning will take some time, but everything should be done by the time the last groups return."

"Mmm, Sheeva. Once these armor sets are done, start preparations for a new type of table. We will have to waste a few of the pelts, but it should speed up the process of tanning the hides." Nix spoke a bit softer as she gently placed a head on Sheeva's head.

The cub nodded with a soft blush as she reached to the desk and grabbed her tablet. "Yes Mother, we should be able to start it tonight if there aren't any problems."

Nix then looked back up to peer at Jennifer and Vern with a soft sigh. "I understand we don't have much, but we need to round up some people to assist Vela and Garen. They need to move fast, as their group of refugees have the most wounded. If we wanna save them, we need them to arrive within a few days."

Jennifer and Vern turned to eachother before giving a nod. "Understood, how many should we send?" Jennifer replied as she peered at the screens behind Nix.

"Vern can take three, Jennifer you'll take four. Vern, take someone who can carry a lot while keeping pace with the group. Two will act as guards while the other will carry the syringes, you will be heading to Garen's group. Jennifer, you'll need two to carry syringes and have two guards to meet up with Vela's group. Once you two arrive at the groups, you'll have to administer the syringes on those your system are worst off first. Don't worry about those who are missing limbs, just get them here safe and sound."

"Understood." The two spoke at once. The three newcomers couldn't comprehend the situation. How quickly this woman not only read the situation, but also gave orders that seemed much better than they could ever give. Whereas it would take days for then to properly come to a decision after much thought, Nix had brought to a close within moments. They were not only awestruck of the woman, but also understood deeply now why this village relied on Nix so much.

After a few moments, Nix raised her brow and eyed everyone. "Um, is there anything else?" She was used to those who were given orders to move immediately after they were given. Seeing the group simply standing around made her a little irritated, but she quickly swallowed it down as she quietly reminded herself that she was in a new world.

Drevid then sighed softly as he looked down to the floor. It took a few seconds for him to collect himself before looking back up at Nix in determination. "Nix, the council has come to a decision. I would like you to hear us out."

On hearing this, Nix looked down to Sheeva with a quizzical look. Sheeva could only look back up and shrug as she shook her head, not understanding either. "And this decision being?" Nix asked as she looked back up at Drevid with the same expression.

"We wish for you to be our new leader." Drevid said immediately, feeling as if a weight had finally been lifted as the anxiety melted away. He didn't know why, but just telling Nix this had worried him to his core suddenly.

This time, it was Nix who froze up as she felt anxiety form in the back of her mind. It was one thing to help the village as she'd done, but to lead them? That was something she never even tried to think of.

"Wait a second, lead the village? Drevid, are you drunk?" She asked sarcastically as she composed herself a bit.

"I promise you that I am very much sober." Drevid reassured her as he held his hand up.

"Then how can you all be thinking straight. I've only been here, what, a few months at most right? What sense does it make for me to suddenly take the reins of this village?" Nix argued as she raised her voice out of anger. This caused Sheeva's ears to fall as she took a small step back. On seeing this in the corner of her eye, Nix immediately calmed herself and leaned back in her chair to rest her hand on Sheeva's back. "I'm sorry dear, but Drevid, I need a proper explanation."

Before Drevid could make his point, Serena quickly raised her hand and spoke in his stead. "If I may miss."

Nix's eyes turned cold as she turned to the Ghoul, bringing a heavy pressure on the woman and making her swallow hard. "Speak." Her voice felt like ice, making the Ghouls blood suddenly run cold.

"Um, yes. F-from what I've heard and seen. You've not o-only given more to this village than thought possible. But have already made decisions that make the most sense compared to anyone here could make. Even we, who are new here, could see you are the proper leader here." Though Serena stuttered at the start, her voice began to get much clearer as her need to speak up rose at the end. Though she felt this woman could kill her at any moment, she felt the need to help the Vyrin get his point across.

Serena's words made Nix contemplate on the scenario. It was true that she had decades of experience in leading, but to her, these orders were flimsy given the available resources. If her old Generals had heard of these plans, there would've been an uproar of complaints at how reckless she was being. Though, given how these people were, as well as their technology, she supposed it did seem very advanced to them.

Finally giving a sigh, she looked back at Drevid with a bit of concern. "And the rest of the villagers agree with this?"

Drevid could feel the room begin to warm up again as Nix calmed down, allowing him to shake his head and speak. "Not yet, but I'm sure by days end, everyone will agree the choice is the most beneficial to us all."

At these words, Nix could only sigh once more before giving a nod. "If that is what you all wish, I'll take command and try and help us to prosper. First, everyone is to follow the orders I've given and get the refugees here. We can discuss this further once everything is settled." She finished as she grabbed the wheels of her chair and turned back around to watch the screens.

With this, the group silently left the hunched figure at her desk while Sheeva looked over her with concern. Only after Drevid closed the door behind them did the group finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"God's, I thought she was going to kill me." Serena said as she held her hand over her racing heart. Though it was under the slim armor that had been made for her, she could still feel how hard her heart beat.

"Is she always like this?" Da'Lik asked as he looked at Drevid. The Panther-Kin had never felt such pressure that made his legs so weak before.

"This is a first for us as well. We've never seen her so serious before." Jennifer spoke up for Drevid as she wrapped her arm around the Vyrin's shoulders. She brought his head into her chest so the man could recover a little easier.

"Hopefully this won't be a thing now. If so, we might have to hold our breaths forever around her." Vern spoke up as he leaned against one of the wooden pillars. Seeing Ju'Shal standing by the door with a lost expression on her face, he raised his brow and called to her. "Oi, Hunter. You doing alright?"

It took a moment for the Wolf-Kin to finally blink back to reality as she shook her head quickly. "Wha? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine." The Wolf-Kins heart raced quickly as she took a few steps forward. Missing the first step of the stairs, she tipped over with the same blank face she'd been wearing. If not for Vern reacting so quickly, she would've fallen face first into the dirt below.

"Oi, careful there. I know it was a lot, but what's with you spacing out like that?" Vern asked as he shook her a bit with a deep concern on his face.

"Sorry sorry, it's just...wow." Ju'Shal sighed as she found her feet and sat down with Vern guiding her. Her tail was waving quickly behind her as she looked up to the sky. "Just, wow."

Vern was a bit shocked at Ju'Shal's slowly innocent expression, causing his head to knock back a little. He'd worked with Ju'Shal for years now. This was the first time he'd seen this Beast-Kin with such a faraway look.

As Drevid cleared his throat, everyone's neck snapped to look at him. "Alright everyone, let's just follow Nix's orders. Like she said, we can worry about everything else once we've settled everything her way."

As Drevid brought some sense back to everyone, they gave a quick nod before collecting themselves and running off in various directions and leaving Drevid with the three newcomers.

"Um, Drevid. What are we to do?" Veronica was the first one to speak after the others disappeared, making the other two turn to him with a nod.

"For now, help where you can until Nix calls for us. If we sit idly while the others work..." The Vyrin trailed off as he began to suddenly think of what repercussions could come.

The others immediately nodded before rushing off to either follow some of the others, or in their own direction. Drevid could only watch them disappear before rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Things are going to be very busy now." He muttered with an exasperated chuckle before wandering off to see where he was needed.