Reji gave a soft snort. "Have to start from his creation, then. He was a selfish little snob even when we were both fresh-made." The fox rocked back, again scratching behind one ear. This mud was itchy. She was sour about that, but safety first, as they say. Then she settled in, watching Zyros, ready to tell the tale.
"So, things around here seem... a little different than they used to be. Used to be, you didn't set a foot wrong if you wanted to stay alive. And it wasn't just the Masters, it was the Overseers, it was the servants, everybody. We were like... an army, you know? Everyone obeys, everyone in their place. Now everything seems... I don't know, abandoned," and here, the fox-beast looked around. "There was some of us--there were a lot of us--who didn't like how things were. And all the time there were a few who gathered up, and disappeared. Hid. Fought back. Whatever. And sometimes then they really disappeared, you know?" She eyed Zyros closely, her gaze meaningful. "Maybe the Overseers would find them. Maybe they starved 'cause they couldn't snatch enough food. It was dangerous, to be a rebel."
"My brother-..." Reji's gaze grew distant, as though she were staring back through the ages. "He was arrogant. He always said our best bet for survival was just to do whatever they said. To serve, and be slaves. Better a living slave than a dead rebel, he said. And all of us--our group--we listened to him. But things got worse, and worse--and then N'chard came."
A faint smile twisted the corners of Reji's lips upward. "He was..." she sighed, softly. "He was an... idealist. He said everything could be better. He said if we had courage, and determination, we could win in the end. That we had to stand up for what we believed in. And he started to convince us. He was so... so brave. That fire, that hope, that belief, it burned in his eyes. And he cared for all of us. He was worried about us, all the time. He and I, we were-... close." Reji's gaze came back to the here-and-now, her wistful smile changing into a sharp look. "Very close. And everyone listened to him. He became our leader--leader of our little... group; and others started to listen to him over Rezik. But there were always those who argued, and nothing was ever certain. So-... One day Rezik and N'chard left, together, to talk things over."
"My brother came back alone. We never found out what happened to N'chard. Aside from his story--that an Overseer had overheard them talking, and killed N'chard for a traitor. He said it was proof that to survive, we'd have to obey. And with N'chard gone, that... bastard... everyone fell back in line. They were subdued. N'chard wasn't there anymore to give them hope, to give them strength, and they listened to Rezik. And one by one, we kept getting killed. Picked off. That was our reward for loyalty," she spat. "Being culled."
Reji curled her thick tail around her haunches, and stared at Zyros. Time and hatred had lent an icy edge to her, like sharp and frozen flint, and she continued. "So I left. I couldn't stay with him gone, anyway. Not anymore. And I found another Master to follow. And we fought back. But that," she added, in a low, distant growl, "is a story for another day. For now, we hide here. And Rezik, the bastard traitor--I don't know where he is. But he's alive, and he's dangerous. Watch yourself, kid," she advised. "And don't tell anyone you know we're here. Or that you even saw us. Yeah?" This one was, she knew, one of the Children of Rot. They were--for now--allies, and in time they ought, Reji thought, to be assimilated into the Hive. But for now they'd be useful as they were, and she wasn't about to kill this one for knowing. No; let the Children know of Rezik. Let the word of him spread.
Let someone, she thought, grimly hopeful, kill him.
@Zyros