askbouddicathesavage

“It has its perks too.” The perpetual replied with a smile. “Namely the looks on people’s faces when they see me stand up after they thought they’d killed me or had been killed by something else. Though sometimes that gets accusations of heresy and witchcraft thrown at me.”

Ana inclined her head respectfully in turn. “A privilege madam. Can’t say I was expecting that but I’m not too surprised either. You gave off that vibe if you will.”

The psyker graciously accepted the fur and wrapped herself up in it, enjoying its warmth. She took a sip of the drink, it’s contents indeed burning as they went down but also sending a pleasant warming sensation through her that somewhat reminded her of alcohol. “What is this stuff?” Ana asked curiously.

“I bet,” Bouddica agreed as she gave the stew a stir. “I’ll admit the looks on people’s faces when you get back up is so rewarding. Benefit of being so stubborn.” 

“I’ll take your word for it.” The primarch chuckled. “Apparently me and my brothers have that feeling about us. Does make dealing with people a little easier sometimes.”

And sank to the cave’s stone floor in a heap. She was exhausted and her head pounded like a bad hangover. The psyker was quite surprised her nose and eyes weren’t bleeding as well but she certainly wasn’t complaining about that. It was nice to have a warm dry place to take pause and simply rest.

“Yeah, I suffer from a bad case of perpetuality, aka I couldn’t stay dead if someone dropped a virus bomb on me. I’m also a psyker as I’m sure you’ve probably figured out by now. When that daemon attacked I sensed you were close by so I figured you would help me….deal with the problem.” Ana sat up and placed her chin into her hands, looking into the dancing flames before her. “I generally spend my time traveling the galaxy partaking in trade, art, fortune-telling, occasional bounty hunting work and whatnot. Up until recently I was on a bit of a personal mission but that has been…resolved.” There was a tone there that indicated that whatever had been done to resolve the issue had been costly. “But it’s in the past now I suppose, as all things are eventually.” She quickly realized she was starting to sound morose.

“Oh where are my manners…” The perpetual straightened up. “My name is Anastasia Mr’ez, or Ana for short. Former Imperial Army if that gives you any indication of how old I am.”

“Sounds like an annoyance.” Bouddica replied with a chuckle as she set about skinning and gutting the tenigs she had brought back with them. The skins were put on racks to dry and the meat and guts were quickly stored away too, the bones added to an already large pile of them. “The past is to be learned from but that is all. It shouldn’t have such a big hold on everything. It’s a major problem for the Imperium as a whole.” 

She bowed as she turned back to Ana, “Bouddica the Savage. Primarch of the 11th Legion.” She cocked her head and gave Ana a long stare, “Imperial Army, now that is old. You must have seen a lot.” 

Ana stood still a moment, allowing herself to calm and let the remaining warp-energy dissipate before responding. “Fair. No offense but this place is as bad as Fenris.”

“Apologies for earlier madam. I’m usually fairly good about staying vigilant against things like that but that daemon snuck up on me in a bad moment. Besides, it’s had it out for me for a….very long time.” They started towards the cave.

“Oh this place is worse than Fenris.” Bouddica laughed, “The sun is dying, everything is covered in ice and the nature wants to eat you.” She slid behind the frozen waterfall and into her cave where she dumped the fresh animal carcasses to one side. 

A tenig lunged snarling towards Ana from the opposite side of where the original had come but it soon found itself frozen in mid-air, spine cracking as the powerful psyker broke its back practically in half. She tossed the paralyzed beast aside like a crumpled up paper only to have another one slam her into the snowy ground. It tried to clamp its jaws around her head only to suddenly realize it could no longer close them, an invisible force was holding them open. Ana took a long hunting knife from her belt that she’d somehow managed to keep the daemon from using earlier and slammed it into the roof of the creatures mouth, killing it in seconds. She stood up and charged back towards the injured tenig who by now was once more trying to attack, even if it had to drag its back legs. This left the animal at a disadvantage as Ana jammed the knife through its skull.

Bouddica used her knife to swiftly cut the head from the dead tenig still clinging to her arm. The jaws remained locked to her flesh but at least she wasn’t hauling the entire beast around now. The blade flashed out to jam into another leaping beasts eye and into its brain. Her spear pierced another’s skull and added the corpse to the growing pile staining the snow crimson. 

Between the two women, the tenigs were soon killed off and they were the only living things left standing. She turned to face the now non possessed Ana and looked her up and down, noting her dishevelled state.She picked up two of the tenig corpses and began to make her way back to the her cave. 

Ana swore and produced a powerful telekinetic blast that sent many of them tumbling back. “Piss off!” She yelled at the creatures. Her black hair stood on end as if charged with static and the air seemed heavy with with the fury of a tiny warp eddy as the psyker began to levitate slightly. “I’m not interested in adding dog food to my list of things I’ve almost become today!”

The tenigs of course weren’t exactly interested in such explanations. They were tough creatures it seemed and soon they were back on their feet and circling the enraged creature that now seemed to have a bit more fight in it than they originally thought. Regardless, one lunged towards her only to have a spear land in its back.

Bouddica leapt at the cloest tenig, her spear plunged into it’s back and her knife plunged into its skull. A simple spinal wound wouldn’t stop a tenig from trying to kill you. The Primarch vaulted the fallen creature, tearing her weapons free and plunging them into another creatures neck. 

The corpse was a bloody mess, hardly recognizable to anyone who would’ve known her before but the encounter had done its job, the daemon had been sent howling back to the miasmic Immaterium from which it had sprang. At least for now.

A soft halo of amber light began to form around her, stictching together her flesh and bones with a series of unnerving squelching and crunching sounds. The light returned to the psyker’s eyes and she stood up once more, no longer looking like mince meat. She sneezed sparks and shook her head. “Fuck daemons”, she grumbled as she glared down at the bloody and manger mess her clothes had been reduced to.

Suddenly she became aware of movement in the trees behind her. The hair stood up on the back of her neck as she realized she was being stalked and watched. “Oh come on.” She groaned. “Give me a fucking break!”

Her amber eyes became two burning orbs as she called on the Warp once more to fend off whatever creatures were coming to pay a visit. She wasn’t exactly in a generous mood, anything that came for her out of those trees was dying today.

The creatures that came from the forest were known locally as tenigs. They resembled wolves from ancient Terra but on a larger scale. They stood 6ft tall at the shoulder and were bunched with muscle and armed with razor sharp teeth and claws. Their white and cold blue fur made them blend in with the snow and ice, blurring their outlines. A dozen of them came slinking forward in silence, blue eyes fixed on Ana. Then as one they sprinted forward, jaws wide ready to rip into the unprotected flesh before them. 

Before the daemonhost could react further the Primarch had rammed her shoulder into her chest with a force that could be compared to a Taurox crashing through a crowd of soldiers. Bones broke and she flew several feet and hit the ground hard, not even having time to catch her breath before a huge knife slammed into her twisted heart. The daemon within screeched in pain and frustration, forcing its host to her hands and knees and attempting to form one hand into a tendril to stop the charging post-human but it was no use. Between Ana/The Other Soul fighting it’s influence and the Primarch’s much greater strength and reaction times the daemon knew it was outmatched. Still, being the stubborn creature it was, it snarled defiantly as its ill-planned attempt to bring mayhem and torment came to an abrupt and violent end at the end of a spear.

Bouddica kept attacking with her spear and knife, not relenting even when the daemonhost did manage to lash out at her and spill her blood. The Primarch heard a faint sound in the distance and knew the local wildlife had caught wind of the fight and were coming to investigate. She pushed herself harder, weaving a barrier of blades as she sliced into the host again and again until she managed to thrust her spear into the creature’s skull and down into her chest. 

The daemon controlling the psyker screeched and attempted to force its host to dodge the spear but Ana was fighting it too hard for there to be a clean getaway. The spear grazed the daemonhost’s face as she rolled aside, removing about a quarter of it and knocking some teeth loose.

The daemonhost stood and screamed as she fought her mental war, still disfiguring her mutating face further as the Primarch rapidly closed the distance with the knife.

Bouddica charged in and rammed her shoulder into the daemonhost’s chest as her knife flashed up, aiming for where the heart should be. She withdrew the blade and rolled clear, retrieving her spear from where it had embedded itself in the ground behind its target.