Unfortunately, Jason had run out of leads.
'For the remaining two, I'll need to think of something.'
Gossip could only take him so far.
In the end, Jason settled on the closest female member of the Tribe, one he thought that, at first, it was best to avoid.
He stared silently for a bit.
"Cat's got your tongue?" Vel muttered with a twitching eyebrow. "I hoped she would take more than that."
"You were betting on her killing me to escape?"
The black-haired Ogre simply shrugged.
"What are you doing here anyway?" She scratched her head. "Here to rub it in my face?"
Jason raised an eyebrow.
It almost seemed like Vel was planning on respecting the wager's terms, but that couldn't be true, since the counter was still at four out of six.
Trying to gain the previous Chief's approval was a dangerous gamble, and the fact that the only alternative proposed by the System was killing her made it painfully obvious.
"I heard that things are going badly with the Orcs." Jason said, trying to start up a conversation about a different subject.
"Haven't they always?" Vel sighed. "Well, they're your problem now." She added while massaging her left shoulder. "That's a weight off my back."
Jason quickly understood that the reason why Vel wasn't amongst the female Ogres accepting him as Chief was that she was convinced he would, sooner or later, give the reins to someone else.
Being the Chief meant more than simply being celebrated and obeyed; it meant being relied on. Relied on blindly most of the time.
The Ogres might not like how Vel is ruling the Tribe, but they, at least, feel somewhat safe under her, safer than they would be without her.
"So what's the deal between the Orcs and us?"
Vel turned around him with a slight frown.
"Trying to get ready for the job?" She asked back. 'Is he actually serious about being Chief?'
The female Ogre had expected him to simply take the title, but leave everything else that mattered at the females' discretion.
"Sure," Jason shrugged and took a seat on a rock about ten steps away from her. "I've been away for a while, so…"
"Hm." She scratched her head. "You really hit your head, didn't you?"
"Yeah," He shrugged. "You could say that."
Vel stared with an annoyed expression for a bit before looking away, facial expression worsening.
"The guys don't know about the cat, but she's the whole reason we're here. Now that you've seen her, it's only a matter of time before they know as well."
"They shouldn't know about Camelia?"
Vel's annoyance only grew. She thought they would fight for their lives. Instead, they got friendly and even exchanged names.
They had exchanged much more than that, but Vel didn't know… For now.
"You know how you males are," Vel said while waving a hand dismissively. "You see a prisoner in ropes or behind bars, and you instantly want to help and save her. Had I let her outside, sooner or later, one of them would have freed her and run away with her."
"You think?"
"I've seen how males act around prisoners. For some reason, they become really kind and compassionate."
"Hm… I guess I see your point."
"You do?" Vel's annoyed expression fell on him.
"Yeah." He shrugged. "Anyway, where did she come from?"
Vel scratched her cheek and looked up, thinking for a moment.
She had no reason not to tell him now.
"The Cat was a prisoner of the Orcs. The others and I were tasked with intercepting the cargo."
Jason stared for a moment. There was more to Vel than it appeared initially.
The way she talked was different. Her whole vibe had changed.
'Some people really change massively in private compared to when in public.'
The fact that Camelia had told him about the fact that Vel didn't partake in the taking of the males only proved it further, since, in front of the other Ogres, she had talked about leaving him weak and depleted.
In the end, his touch had been enough to make her surrender in front of everyone.
"That's when you convinced everyone to leave," Jason muttered.
"The girls thought my plan made sense. Take the powerful male Beastkin and run away to create our own Tribe, our own village." Vel talked while resting her head against her fist, looking a couple of steps to Jason's right. "The guys followed soon enough, some because of their attachments to the girls, others because they simply wanted to leave. Male Ogres are treated rather badly in our original Tribe, and many disliked the female they had been given to." She momentarily turned her gaze towards him. "Ring a bell?"
"Yes." Jason answered while holding his chin. "So the Orcs want revenge now? They want Camelia back?"
The answer left Jason momentarily stumped.
"No."
"Hm…?"
It turned out that Vel's plan had been very well constructed and calculated.