Having completed all that she could and training some more in her magic, Diana went to sleep beside Jonah. He was sound asleep well into the night, according to the clock in the room, so she expected him to be awake in the night. She had left a note for his food and to not wake her. She didn’t blame him for keeping odd hours and they would eventually correct it. Snuggling up against him, she was glad to have taken only a minor dose of herbal sleep aid. Hopefully he would be back to her fully in the morning, and not training endlessly to regain what strength the virus had taken.
Diana woke to a yelp. Sitting up, her body still hypersensitive to such sounds, she blinked away the sleep. There was the source, Jonah naked in the shower, meeting eyes with her. He trembled, covering himself up nervously. Swallowing a lump, his hand reached out for the curtain and then fell, unsure. The steam rose around him freely.
Heart descending down from the sudden panic, Diana breathed in relief.
“You’ve seen me naked,” Jonah said distantly. He staggered in place, legs nearly giving. The tiger was watching him, moving closer to the tub with a whisker twitching series of chuffs.
“I have,” Diana said, stretching out her limbs. According to the clock, it was morning, a bit early, but she was fine. The light outside was the same, the room still dim. She got up, glad the floors were enchanted so her feet were not chilled. “Are your legs hurting?”
Jonah grabbed the bars of the curtains. “They’re sore,” he said. He was tightening his stomach and adjusting his stance.
“You’ve been overhealed, but I could ease them today,” she said with a grin.
He nodded. “I know they haven't hurt that much, until now…” His gaze was far off. “So?” He met her eyes as she lingered outside the tub.
“What? Are you wondering what I think of your naked body?” she asked with a friendly smile. “Do you need my judgment as your girlfriend?”
He flushed. “‘Girlfriend?’” he repeated.
“Is there some other term you prefer?” she wondered.
He swallowed again, standing taller. “No, I like that,” he said.
“The water burned you?”
“Yeah, I didn’t test it,” he said. “Stupid knob is really high up and confusing. It has letters and my phone has a translator, but that didn’t help.”
“It does?” she asked, astonished.
He explained the new programs on his phone, something that had gone to the wayside during his recounting of the Machinist. She barely understood how it could do the basic functions. More on top of that?
“By the gods, your magic has vastly improved,” she declared.
“Yeah, I’m nowhere near as strong as you,” he said humbly.
“Physical power doesn’t matter when you are strong in other ways. I wouldn’t have known where to start repairing that elevator,” she said.
He gave a little nod and a shrug.
“Can you speak every language now? Gods, that would be something! Wizards and scholars spend decades learning languages. There are many Bards that would kill to know what you do, my sweet.”
He shook his head “No, no, it’s just a program and it’s in beta, um, not finished. I checked, a lot of them aren’t fully there, they're listed as 'in progress.' I don’t have your memory, I couldn’t remember it all. If it works like other programs, which it probably does, it can’t do the grammar and stuff.”
She pointed a finger at him. “Still, that is an amazing addition and that’s only one. And you have maps as well?”
There was a clear anxiety in his eyes. “Yeah, I haven't looked over all of them. I woke up and smelled myself,” he said, chest puffing. “I had to bathe, I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Don’t let me pressure you, pet.” Around the tub, she adjusted the shower temperature until it was comfortably warm.
Under the water, he sighed, wetting his hair thoroughly. As he tried to relax, his legs nearly gave out from under him. She held onto his arm as he gripped the pipe of the towering showerhead. Without further stalling, Diana removed her shirt and underwear, stepping into the shower with him.
The slack jawed stare at her pale form was flattering, and she kept watching his ogling through Aiko as she wet her hair. Sending the curtain around the tub, they were surrounded by a lovely flowing steam. Arms around his ribs, she smiled up, pressing herself into his chest.
There was nothing short of amazement in his emerald eyes. His deep pink lips were parted and his wide nostrils flared. The water had sent his loosely kinked hair down around his head. With a sweeping hand, she put his oily curls back, they had collected a fair amount of grime in the last few days. She punctuated this by planting a kiss on his mouth.
"You're such a handsome man," she said, scratching the back of his neck. “That’s my opinion as your girlfriend, don’t forget it.”
He nodded as if he hadn't heard. "Yeah," he mumbled. He grimaced. "I mean, thanks, shit." He made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat.
She laughed at his confused nature. "It seems some blood has left your brain," she said. Leaning back, she looked down. "Most of it, at least."
He wheezed out a laugh. A question was in his darting eyes, but he swallowed it down.
"Let's see if we can get the rest in there, you may lose the ability to speak, but it's worth it," she said with a sultry look. She took his hand, supporting him by the other holding her shoulder. "And here…" She placed his hand on her breast.
He gave her an experimental squeeze, than another. The metal of his hand caught the heat of the shower and was pleasantly warm. He watched his filled hand, squishing her in an almost rhythmic pattern.
"I haven't got as much as the Arch Priestess, but I think they're quite nice," she said, watching his repeated actions. "This isn't the first you've touched, right?"
"No, in a long time, yes," he said plainly. "I can't believe I'm here, like all the time. That a princess likes me and now I'm holding a princess's boob."
The look of silent disbelief she gave him made him try to withdraw. She kept him on, softening her expression with a chuckle. "I have the right to touch you, as you do me? Correct?" she asked.
"Yes, of course---uh," he said, flinching as she took up his offer.
"I'll excuse your silly phrasing, my sweet boy, as I took your higher brain functions," she said, her hand dancing along him. "I fill your hand, and you fill mine.” She smiled. “Well, fill and then some.”
He tried to hide the flash of smile, but she saw it clearly. What a horrible curse for a gender, to always worry about the dimensions of their given weapon. A widespread curse by the god of madness, it seemed.
"They’re, uh, very different parts," he said, body tensing in short breaths.
"Not really, I'm doing more than holding yours though," she countered, the water helping her with her application of friction.
Jonah took this as a challenge, running his thumb across her sensitive bit. He swelled with visible surprise and pride as a sound came out of her. She blushed, pouting her lips at him.
"I told you," she said with a snort.
He started to caress gently, a happy kneading.
"Why don't we take a seat on this nice elven bath mat?" she suggested.
She helped him down to the cushy blue mat, his back resting against the side of the tub. Water streamed over the both of them as she put one shoulder into his chest, her back up against one of his legs. Her legs didn't need to bend as much as his. His hand went over her without any prompting, finding her sex eagerly, which was unexpected, but welcome. His firm fingers, awkward in a position meant for him, were still adamant to please and they did. She breathed her thankful noises into his mouth as they kissed with twisting tongues.
For her it was resuming what had been so rudely interrupted many days before by the Witch. She could relax knowing that her tiger was laying against the door. The familiar approved of her delight and her actions. She was flowing hands and moving mouth. His metal fingers had an edge that swept along her, sending a thrilling tingle up her core.
To be compatible with him like this, was a dream. She had missed the wonder of a close lover. So spurned by the last one, she wasn't sure if she would ever find one again. She wasn’t thinking of anyone but him though now.
He came to a sudden end, eyes fluttering like mad. She moved with his back arching so close to him, watching the completion with pride.
As he regained his senses, he held her as she tried to rise. "You're not done, right?" he asked.
She looked at him curiously. "No, I'm not," she said, blinking. "Does it matter?"
"To me," he said.
She scanned about the ceramic and white curtained realm they inhabited, finding it suddenly surreal.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
“I haven't had a man worried about that before,” she admitted. “Not unless it was a lead into actual sex. I don’t know if I’m worried about it…”
"Really? That's awful," he said. “I want you to be happy too.”
“I’m plenty happy knowing that I brought you joy. I did, didn’t I?” she returned. She felt rather lost. In his face she only saw sincerity.
“Of course, I just wanted to help you too, make it mutual,” he replied. His hand was wrapped around her stomach, having detached in the apex of the act. She could tell he wanted to dip lower again. There was no discomfort in their position and she didn’t care about the water use, it was rapidly recycled within moments.
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Opening up for what she usually did in private, that was the concern. Her normal routine was maybe one go a week, more in a relationship if possible. It had been a full month and some days since she gave herself up to personal fulfillment. The exact date forever burned, the night of the murder. The instrument of her satisfaction had gone in the trash when she was packing her bags. How dare she feel so good before tragedy?
Before the moment on the ship, she hadn't felt so passionate in so long. Saving his life from that blasted fish. Before Jonah in general, she didn’t expect to feel that way again. That blasted Xander, no better than a beast himself. Then her sister’s death. The Diana that boarded that Pirate’s blasted, no, rotten ship never expected to care for anyone new again. Not until her goal was finished. She put on a royal and Heroic facade, spurred on by her family, teacher, and the people. That boy on the bed had saved her.
Now he held her close as she shrank into him.
“That look, where you get all lost in your thoughts,” he said, stroking her shoulder. “I guess that means no.”
“I’ve lost it for the moment, and it’s not your fault,” she said, voice wavering. “Let’s actually finish your shower, eh?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Okay.”
Mourning something that she didn’t expect to get at all, Diana returned to her casual wardrobe of a shirt and underwear. Jonah and her both smelled wonderful and they ordered a hot breakfast, which was brought to them much quicker by way of the elevator. The last few days, Jonah had been determined through every meal, wolfing it down in a rush. Now there was a smile on his face every time she looked at him. The event in the shower had been quieting to her, but it seemed to cleanse his soul. The cheerful energy he exuded made her loosen up, and that resting smile returned to her face in measures.
They sat on the couch together, and he looked so damn silly chewing at his egg sandwich and swinging his legs with music playing off him. It was some choir of people strumming on guitars with wonderful harmonies. A genre from another world that sounded like hymnals, but in many ways unique. Jonah merely called it, “Indie music.”
“Or maybe folk music,” he further explained, considering for a moment. “Yeah, that works for them.”
He had let her ease the soreness of his legs and according to him, he was nearly a hundred percent. The Arch Priestess was so pleased by his progress, and would be overjoyed when she visited around lunch. At the thought of the giant woman, Diana felt a twinge of jealousy, as she felt she was much closer to him physically than her. He didn’t need the Arch Priestess anymore.
“Oh yeah, I need to show you the internet,” Jonah said suddenly. “Where are those other headphones?”
Diana fetched them and his normal pair as the speakers sank back into him.
“Are you going to be busy today?” he asked.
She touched the twig of the Sentinel Pine, communing with it over the distance. “The tree has finished its third pinecone and we have three days until the Ash Makers meet. If they meet that is,” she said with a sigh. That thought had darkened her mind a few days ago, that maybe the meeting wasn’t consistent. It would take months for the Pine to grow large enough to fill even the major intersections of the massive city.
“Slow and steady,” Jonah said. “They don’t seem like a major threat or like they're gonna leave.”
“Yes, I know,” she said, nodding. “Come then, show me this internet.”
“All of it?” he said, laughing.
“You said it was quite large, so I doubt I can see it all,” she replied. She snuggled up against him on the couch, both of them crowded by cushions.
The new headphones, acquired from Kalyah’s sweetening of the incredibly sour hotel hosts, were not much different than the ones that Jonah had already. He regarded his own as high quality and precious, their wood paneling and lambskin trim a mark of this. These new ones, which he said were hers, were a sable wood on the outer cups. The liquorice crawler, the source of such wood, had a gummy texture until dried and was considered invasive in the elvish continent. Thus it was used in all kinds of creations. So while Jonah and Diana thought it had a good look, an elf would consider it cheap. The cushions were the skin of a pest to the elves as well. The bird-like rodent had a naturally silken hide, and while comfortable, was also a bright fuschia. The contrasting black and pink were a bit jarring, but Diana liked them as her own.
“They look really punk on you,” Jonah said approvingly.
“That’s good in your world? Not some term for a prostitute?” she asked with a chuckle.
“What the fuck?” he said, going to his screen. “That’s not what it means on Earth or in English, I swear it doesn’t.”
She smiled, patting his chest. “If you think it’s a good thing, then it is,” she said.
“It means something good, I swear,” he said. “With all that red hair, your big mane.” He ran his fingers through her curls, untamed lingering inside so much. “You’re wild, changing the world and stuff. Punk means going against the establishment and that’s you…” She could see his nerves settling back in.
“You’re punk along with me then,” she said, making sure to beam.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, smiling. “Oh God, where to start…” He looked at his phone, images scrolling past too quickly for her to take in any of them. “Um, why don’t I show you what the internet was most famous for…” He shook his head. “The more family friendly reason.” He held up his finger.
“What was it most famous for?” she wondered.
“Porn,” he said flatly.
“Pornography?”
“Yes,” he said. Sliding the screen arm in front of her, he said, “Here’s cats instead.”
Her headphones were attached to his arm, and they played a loud mewling as on screen was a fluffy kitten walking across a carpet. It was so lifelike and clear on such a tiny screen. It fit within her hands and it played better quality than a massive projector. Aiko the cat climbed on Jonah’s lap, curious at what its master saw. The Druid’s heart melted for the young kitten on screen, wobbling around on its short legs. Its eyes were gigantic and its youthful tabby fur so short, it couldn’t be much older than four or five weeks. Then the film stopped suddenly and it was surrounded by images of other cats.
“What happened to that kitten? Whose was it? Do they take proper care of it? Are there any more films of it?” she asked in panic, gripping his shirt.
“I don’t know, I can check the channel, I guess,” he said, flustered. “It was just a cute video someone took. It doesn’t really matter that you saw it, it was just something cute for a minute.” He frowned at the implication.
“Are those all more films about cats?” she asked.
“Yeah, there’s probably a billion cat videos,” he said with a nod.
“So this internet has communication, pornography, and cats?” she asked, eyes narrowed.
“I mean, basically. Also all of the world's information and a bunch of fake stuff too,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “That’s just the Earth internet, you guys are slowly getting one too.”
“How? We haven't got more than sound over distances,” she said, straining to consider a world full of people with Jonah’s powers. It hurt to think about. She desperately wanted to watch more kittens. She could sit and watch them all day. A film played and then ended, but all those pictures of other cats, it was too much. She had gone to the movies with her sister before, watched one, gone out, bought another ticket and saw more. They had filled up on sweet corn and candy, teeth hurting and stomachs full they left. This was right in front of her all the time, it was in front of Jonah. “How do you stop watching?” she asked, pointing to the cat pictures.
The frown had yet to fade. “You don’t sometimes,” he said. “I used to watch hours and hours of stupid videos. Days really. Not just cats, but anything to make me feel better. It didn’t work that well.”
She shuddered. “Show me something else, I don’t like the idea of cats making you or me sad,” she said, gesturing the pictures away.
Diana’s head was swimming with new terms and she had to write them all down with definitions. She wasn’t sure if they would ever be important for anyone but Jonah. If the world ever was given the internet, then maybe. The more rustic parts of her own Kingdom might have the hardest times with the technology. Places like Rowoak were slow to take mechanical ships or landline phones. How long would it take before they accepted satellite internet?
The “movie” Jonah showed her was a simple “romcom” from the “Nineties”, but it had her asking questions the whole time. Even getting to the film was a variety of questions. He had a “jailbroken” version of a “streaming site” on his phone. It was filled with millions of hours of “television shows” and movies. The thought of that and the lines of “thumbnails,” the pretty little pictures that played “trailers,” made Diana dizzy. She knew few races could read the whole content of libraries, but those didn’t fit in the palm of her hand.
A chill had swept over the city, straining the temperature regulation enchantments of their room. So Jonah held the confused and scribbling notes Diana close to him under a blanket. The movie was ninety minutes and it took them over two and a half hours to get to the credits. Not soon after, the Arch Priestess and her children came to visit him. Diana was curled up in the blanket with Aiko as he was checked over. She asked after Kalyah and the clergy said she wasn’t in her room.
Niae judged that Jonah was back to full strength. Before leaving, the High elf checked the rune carved into the door, running her hands over it, mumbling the words. “Are you two going to be safe?” she asked.
Jonah returned to Diana, adding a blanket to her. The window wall had frost over it, apparently the mists from two weeks before had made its way down to Alpha. There was no telling when it might lift. Diana would eventually breathe life back into the poplar outside and the heather. The Sentinel Pine would be fine, if anything, it would grow faster in the magical weather.
The Arch Priestess repeated her question as Jonah stammered.
“We can’t leave the room now, can we?” Diana replied.
“No, I suppose you cannot, or you should not,” the High elf said, blinking slowly, looking down at them from her staggering height. “I saw that Jonah and you enjoyed each other’s company. To worship is to keep safe and ease the mind.”
Jonah flushed.
“Yes, we had fun,” Diana replied.
Niae nodded. She brought out two medallions of rose quartz hanging off of a white cord. Across the discs were a great number of runes and writing lit with a faint glow. The radiating aura displayed the effort it took to construct them. “Here are your wards, able to fully protect you from an Ash Maker’s bodily attacks,” she said, as they clinked together. “I hope they never need activation. Please keep yourselves safe, there is nothing more tragic than a body lost. May the Goddess watch over you both.” She set them down on the bed with a sigh.
“Thank you, and I have been thanking the Goddess every night for your work,” Diana said, sincerely.
“She always listens. Are you aware of their application process?” Niae asked.
“Yes, I am,” Diana replied.
The High elf took a heavy breath into her ample chest and let it out through her nose. “Perhaps it will be another opportunity for you two to worship.”
Diana nodded, Jonah was confused, looking at the stones. She would tell him later, glad to finally have some explanation to give him after hours of his.
“Where is dear Kalyah, do you know?” Niae wondered. “Or will you not tell me? I have many children, miss, I know when something is being withheld from me.”
“I don’t know exactly, and I am, um, unsure what to tell you,” Diana said, feeling shame at the hurt expression of the elder woman.
“You mean peace, dears?” Niae asked, hand pressed to her chest in hope.
“We do, truly, Niae,” Diana replied, taking a deep breath as well, she turned to Jonah. “Should I?”
“Telling her is fine,” he reasoned. “She isn’t going to say anything.”
“I know how to hold confidence, dears,” Niae stated firmly.
“Very well,” Diana agreed. “There are Ash Makers spotted within the city--”
Niae broke in with a frightful gasp, hand on her holy symbol.
“I don’t think they mean any harm, they look hungry, scared, and we want to capture them. Maybe even reason with them. Not alone, but safely, with a force. We don’t know why they are here, besides supplies, but they have young souls with them, children. The Heroes… they admitted to bed thumping. To murder, I don’t want to tell them, I don’t want them to know anything about it.” She gestured to the rune.
The Arch Priestess glanced back at it. “They would spy on you from so far, wicked souled fiends,” she growled. “To, to, to hear that rumor confirmed as well.” The peaceful woman’s eyes lit up with fire. “I prayed that it was only a rumor. I served during the war, I mended those burned by the Order’s red light guns. Harm is never right, but I did all I could for any injured. I heard the rumor spoken by wounded Ash Makers. I wished to have their minds scanned by those of Psyin’s devoted, but the armies whisked them off before such rites could be performed. Oh dear princess and sweet boy, the war was senseless violence and hell. The only comparison I have is the Clawing Death plague. A virus cannot be reasoned with, but few set on violence can either.” She held her hands pressed to her bosom. “My temple will keep watch for any people wandering, our sanctums are protected, should you come across anyone in need. I will come to your aid. Anything more you need of me, I will gladly give.”
“Please, the so-called Heroes can’t find out,” Diana pleaded.
Nodding, Niae gestured to her children kneeling by the door. “Not a word, it will only bring tragedy, my loves,” she told them.
They humbly bowed their heads.
“Most of my temple are my children as well, all devoted as I,” she said to the couple. “Kalyah is working towards your goal?”
“Yes,” Jonah said firmly.
“I will not ask, too much interference will draw suspicion,” Niae said, clear determination in her face. The fury faded fast, but a maternal guard remained. “I will add the sweet Pixie’s success to my prayers.”
“So will I,” Diana stated.