For all the vitriol she had just shown, some part of her seemed to waver as he spoke. She had expected anger at her words, or perhaps contempt. Part of her psyche had even braced for a fight should the orcs take offense. But if anything, he almost seemed...well, reflective. He spoke of how he had thought much the same of humans, considering them liars, backstabbers. Her first urge was to dispute this claim, but then again, how wrong was he really? There were untrustworthy humans. There were bad people out there, she had known as much even before she had joined the Corps. But there were thousands more who were good, or at the very least just trying to get through their lives without hurting anyone else. You couldn’t just generalize like that--<br/><br/>She blinked, then cringed slightly, the irony hitting her like a boot to the head.<br/><br/>...So these orcs hadn’t killed her right off the bat. That was fortunate for her, certainly, but one show of mercy didn’t negate the raids that had brought the Corps’ attention here in the first place.Yes, the mountain passes had been quiet for some time, but who was to say that didn’t mean they were merely biding their time and growing their strength for another, larger assault? That was what Ignatius had been sent to investigate, after all, and the fact that he had never returned had only served to heighten her suspicions when she followed after.<br/><br/>There had been another thing he mentioned that had caught her attention, however--a “new” chieftan. She had been trained to be perceptive, to analyze every scrap of information presented to her and determine if it was meaningful or not. In the field, it could sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Privately, Liirah wondered if this change in leadership was linked to the recent dearth of raids, and if so, what it could mean.<br/><br/>She had heard the gentle sounds of water as his bulk slid through the pool, but enveloped in her own thoughts and worries, it had been paid little mind. She was aware of him drawing closer out of the corner of her eye, but she had believed him merely to be heading back towards shore. It was only when he suddenly moved to come up behind her that alarms went off in her mind, but by then it was too late. She let out a startled yelp as his broad hands suddenly gripped her hips, pulling her backwards into the deeper water before she could pull away. For a moment, she well and truly panicked, her training overriding all conscious thought as she reached for a knife that wasn’t there. She gripped his wrists instead, her hands barely covering the span of flesh, looking back over her shoulder at him with an expression equal parts startled anger and fear. “Wh-what are you doing?!” He chided her brusquely, but infinitely more worrying than his hard tone was her sudden proximity to his oversized manhood. It had already seemed large when he was standing on the shore. Up close, the sight made her blood run cold, while at the same time stirring up an entirely different sensation in her core that she rapidly pushed away with a stirring of shock. She clung to those embers of indignancy with the desperation of a drowning swimmer, still attempting to break his grip but unable to shake off the powerful hands clamped to her hips. “I don’t fear the likes of y--” Her retort was terminated by a sudden breathy gasp as she felt one hand slide between her legs, pressing the soft, sensitive skin of her inner thighs before sliding up to cup her womanhood. She had gone tense as a bowstring as the unexpected touch, which then made its languid way downwards. Another hissing intake of breath was drawn out involuntarily as his fingers, rough but gentle, brushed over her clit and began to rub at her inner folds. He shifted himself to stand beside her rather than hold her from behind, and as their eyes met she was suddenly aware just how much larger he was than her, the way heat rolled off his muscled form, along with a now-faint but still slightly-discernable scent of sweat and musk. A weak growl of “How dare you…” was the only response she could muster at his jibe as he held her close, fingers pressing against her core, occasionally dipping themselves in deeper. The orc on the shore was disregarded for the moment, not that she was focused enough to translate what he had just said--if she had, she likely would have been all the more alarmed. As it was, though her mind was on the verge of panic, her body was responding in an entirely different, more primitive way to the sensual handling. Her breath was beginning to quicken, coming in fast, shallow intakes as her heart rate began to speed up, though it was the wetness slowly growing more noticeable on his fingers as they explored her that was the most damning evidence.<br/><br/>Feebly, she tried to push herself away from him, unsure whether she should feel more enraged at him for attempting such a thing or more ashamed at herself for letting herself be fondled in such a way. “I-I shouldn’t...” Judging by her tone just then, shame had won out over anger.