All three of us crash down on the shore, exhausted.
“Any ideas how we're supposed to deal with our little lost lamb?” Crile asks the golden question.
“We need to guide it back to the open waters... Which won’t be easy...” If I could fly then maybe I could...
“Either way, one is clear to me.” Star says sitting up first. “We are not enough.”
“True. We need help.” Crile agrees.
“Tho, I doubt the locals will help us.” Star beats me to it.
“We'll just need to call in for back up.” Crile sits up next.
“I doubt the Army will hasten to do anything. Especially since we aren’t even supposed to be here.”
“Well...” Crile looks down at me. Yeah yeah. I know. They don’t have the right to refuse, but nobody wants to be responsible for a reckless heir getting hurt either...
“We need Beasts.” Star says. “Getting anyone else involved would mean using boats again, that would just put the people in danger again. Water Druids or...”
“Or Winged Ones would work.” Crile finishes. I sit up. “Know anyone with the resources to spare?”
I sigh. “Blain.”
“Bingo!”
“I just don’t have a way to get in touch with him. We never traded Lector stones...”
“I can reach for Ira.” Crile answers. “He can ask for you.”
“Then I want to talk to him.” I reach out my hand. Crile takes off his bracer and points to a black square, barely visible between the same color leather. How Ira like. I take the bracer and walk away.
“Ira? It's Zarri. Is this a bad time for you?”
“Gorgeous. What a lovely surprise. I'm all yours. What can I do for you? Don’t tell me the idiot son of mine did something to you?”
I smile. “No. We're fine. We just need assistance. Beast kind.”
“I'm listening.” I savor Ira's reassuring voice a second longer and explain the situation...
Zarri walks away from us to talk to Ira. I can see why she'd be reluctant to ask for help. She wants to do things by herself and not rely on the Palace, yet she finds herself to do just that on her very first mission... I sigh... Too loudly apparently because Crile immediately gets in face.
“You ok?”
“Fine.”
“You don't look it, though.”
“I said I'm fine!” I throw him a glare.
“Alright.” He backs off and stands up, offering me a hand too. I stand up without it. “You should go change, Star. I'll start the fire.”
“You need to change clothes too.”
“I will.” He smiles at me. How... I walk away irritated. Just how can he!!! I... I get lost between the bags, but somehow manage to locate a change of clothes. I hide behind the tree, that our Celodians are tied to and take the drenched rags off me. She called for him... I've never seen Zarri make such a face before... Would she have cried like that for me as well? I hang the wet robes on the tree branch. Zarri hasn’t returned yet. I wave to her with a pair of pants. She holds her hand up to me and waves back. I leave her change of clothes hanging off the saddle and go warm up next to the fire. Zarri slowly returns for a change of clothes as well, but not yet to us... I sit down and hug myself. Crile doesn’t say anything to me. He just watches Zarri silently. Waiting...
“Well, my turn.” He stops picking at the flames and leaves me. I listen to the crackling fire...
“Oh? She still at it?” Crile appears from my shadow.
“Lazy much?”
He chuckles. “A little.”
I clench my hands and grit my teeth. Why does it bother me so much?
“She cried for you...” I mumble.
“Huh? Say something there?”
“She called for you.” I look at Crile. “She told the water to give you back. She... She cried for you.”
Crile stares at me... A moment... Another... “Hooooo. She cried for me, huh? Well. I wonder how much she'd cry if I did die?” He grins like an idiot. That grin stirs me. My knuckles connect with Crile's cheek the next heartbeat. Neither one of us saw that coming. He tumbles on his side and I jump over to him, grabbing him by the collar.
“Idiot. You... You didn’t even see the pain you put in her eyes!!!” I glare up at him. “Or the heartache in her voice!!!” I see the confusion and the shock mixed up on his face. “Do what you will, but if you die, I'll kill you myself!!” I growl the words out, throw him down to the ground and go for a walk... Damned fool...
I return to the other two to find only one Crile sitting by the fire, rubbing his face.
“Where's Star?”
He points to the distance. I follow his finger to a single figure kicking sand.
“What did you do?”
“Pissed her off. What else.” I wait for more context. “She punched me.” Huh? I look to Crile. He sits there, smiling.
“She? You? For real?” He nods.
I sigh. “Apologize to her as soon as she gets back. I don’t know what happened and I don’t want to. Just behave.”
“Sure.” Crile answers feeding the fire wood. “So? What's the game plan?”
“We'll go over it once the others get here. I don’t wanna have to go through it all twice. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ira and Blain would get them here by tomorrow morning. Oh and I'm keeping this till we get this done.” I show him the bracer on my wrist.
“Not even mad.” He says.
“Hey.” I lay down on the ground. “What happened out there? I got carried away by the waves before I could even do anything...”
“Oh. Well. It tried to eat me. I struggled to fight back, got a few slashes in, but it kept dragging me deeper, so that made everything worse... I think I almost passed out, when...”
“When what?”
Crile doesn’t answer.
“When what?” I sit back up.
“I'm not sure... There was something else... It... It saved me?”
“It?”
“Something tackled the whale. That was when it spit me out. It had a struggle with that other something and swam away. I ran out of breath and tried to climb back up to the surface. That was when that something grabbed me by the leg and...dragged me?” Crile shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know what to tell you. It's all hazy...”
“What was the other creature like?”
“I don’t know... I didn't get a good look?” He looks at me again. “You sure you didn’t connect?”
“Yeah. I didn’t feel anything...”
Crile sighs. Hard. “Damn...”
“Yeah... Star? You ok?” I stand up to greet her.
She mumbles something to herself. Crile jumps up next and kneels, bowing by her feet.
“A THOUSAND PARDONS MILADY!!! PLEASE FORGIVE THIS MAJOR IDIOT IF YOU CAN!!! IF NOT then I shall follow you on my knees till the end of time and then some till you do forgive me.”
I take a step back. Star looks at me for help. I shrug my shoulders and gesture to the groveling man.
“Are you mocking me?” Star asks. I look away, trying to contain my laughter.
Crile vigorously shakes his head. “I’m seriously sorry, Star. I didn’t know how to respond and tried to joke about something serious, which ended up infuriating you enough to punch me. I failed to realize how important it was for you and for that the punch was well deserved. But I don’t like to fight with you, so I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to make it up to you.” He raises his head. Just what the hell happened here?
Star kneels in front of Crile and whispers something into his ear. Crile's face loses all of its color.
“I'm off to bed.” Star tells me as she walks by. “Night.” She crawls into the tent.
“What was that all about?”
“A friendly scuffle between precious friends?” Crile dust his pants off.
“Uh-huh. Well? Who's taking the first shift?” I hold my fist out.
Crile smiles and we throw a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. I win 2 out 3.
“Wake me up half way.”
“I'll think about it.” Crile grins at me. “Rest well.”
“Night.”
Our help arrives on the evening of the next day. We used that time to make some preparations. Five Beasts. Three Birds and two Waters.
“Mistress!” They bow to me.
“No need for ceremony. I appreciate you gathering for me on such short notice.” I bow to them for a quick second. I see the collective confusion on their faces. We help them to set up camp first of all. We should manage for time and end this today, if we work fast.
“Have you been informed of the situation?” Crile takes over.
“A stray whale?”
“That we need to guide back into the open waters.”
“Correct.” I nod. “Here's how we'll do it: I'll need the Waters to rope the creature into these reins-ish;” I show the ropes we fashioned together; “I'll be riding the whale, guiding it. I'll also need the Waters to guide the creature underwater from both sides, to ensure it does not stray.” I see the looks they exchange quickly.
“Mistress, if we may...”
“Don’t bother. I already told her it was stupid and reckless.” Star speaks up now too. They smile among themselves.
“What about us then?” The Birds raise a hand each.
“You are safety trigger number three. Star and I will be riding in that;” he points to the boat; “feeding it this.” He shows the bloody bag.
“We'll need one of you to pull us along, while the other two will keep an eye on everything from above. In the event anything goes wrong we rely on you to pull us out.” Crile explains. Hence why three Birds.
“Any questions?”
“No, sir.”
“Good. All of us will get out in a single boat, except for the Birds. Did you bring the Stones?” I ask next.
“Yes!” One of them hands me a tiny pouch.
“Thank you.” I turn to my friends. “These are borrowed only, so don’t lose them, please.” I give them a Stone each.
“Gotchya.” Crile and Ammi secure the Stones in their bracers. I take mine too and take a single Stone next. I turn to the Beasts.
“I'm Zarri.” I extend the Stone.
One of them catches on first. “Hyros, Mistress.” I land the Stone in his palm.
“What did I just say, Hyros?”
“That you are...are Zarri... But!”
“None of that. We're comrades today.” I take another Stone.
The next one steps up. “Brech is the name.” I nod.
“I'm Cales, Zarri.” The girl smiles, blushing shyly. I nod again.
“Pryden. At your service.” The fourth bows quickly. I smile giving him his Stone too.
“Wuna.” The second girl nods quickly.
“Pleased to meet ya'll! We're Star and Crile!” Our dimwit says. Star stomps on his foot.
“Amana.” She nods. The five Beasts barely manage to contain their laughter.
“Alright then.” Crile shakes off his footsie-ouchie real quick. “Waters with us! He waves on.” Pryden and Wuna join us at the boat and the rest take flight. We set out with Pryden, Crile and me paddling. Hopefully this works...
“Can everyone hear me?” I reach out.
“Yes!” A single answer from five voices. I glare at the two of them who didn’t bother answering.
“Yes, we hear you.” Crile answers and Star just nods.
“How do we know the creature will appear?”
“It will.” Crile says. “The shadow of the boat will attract it. And so will this.” He tosses a piece of meat into the water.
“How do you know it will eat it?”
“I have the marks to prove it. Wanna see it?” Crile quickly turns around, lifting his shirt up a little.
“Quit horsing around before you flip us over!” Star smacks him on the back of the head.
“There wouldn't have been any casualties if it was a friendly whale.” Crile continues as if nothing happened, speaking out loud through the Stone. “My theory is - it would try to "communicate" with the boat first, but then people would get scared and drive it away. But because it's young, the babe would try again. Eventually it learned that the "shadows" are "bad" and would attack them before they could hurt it. It probably didn’t even understand that it can eat people till it tried. Probably by accident too. That's why the boats were getting attacked only at first. People kept coming out because nobody got hurt and they stopped right after the first and the last deaths. Yes, I did my homework. I went around asking the locals.” He adds before anyone gets a chance to question him and tosses in another piece of bait.
“That's enough paddling.” I say and we stop. “You two can go in. You'll need to antagonize it only enough for it to rear it's head above water. I'll do the rest.” I tell them. The two Waters hesitate, but nod and carefully slip into the water. Wuna is an otter and Pryden is a sea-lion. Works fine.
“Cute…” Star slips up. We smile and she blushes.
I look above. An eagle, a stork and a pelican? I smile. Ira and Blain really thought it out. The pelican, aka Hyros, swoops down and takes the rope attached to the boat. He lands on the surface and rests a little on the waves. We got lucky, the weather's decent...
“Here it comes!” Wuna announces.
“Get ready!”
Hyros flies off instantly. I grab the reins and ready myself too. The whale takes the bait and dives under again. It goes for Pryden. Wuna circles it from the other side. The two of them ram the whale from below, throwing its head above water just close enough for me to make the jump. I stab the thing with my blade. It screams out.
“Sorry, hun, I'll fix you later.” I toss the reins into it's mouth. Damn it! Its skin is like ice! I struggle to stay on top. Wuna jumps out of the water and onto the whales nose. She fixes up the ropes and jumps back down. That gives me enough time to settle in. Wuna and Pryden work underwater to secure the ropes more. Crile tosses in a few pieces of bait more too. The whale takes them and calms down a bit.
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“It's working! Move it!” I yell and grab hold of the knife and pull it out. I take out a potion and splash it on the wound too. There, like nothing ever happened. Star and Crile keep feeding it. Brech and Cales circle above us with Hyros pulling the boat. Rather fast, I have to say, considering the weight. Wuna and Pryden make sure to keep the babe in check too. So far so good. The babe tries to go under a few times, but I don’t let it. Just a bit longer, hun.
“How’s the passage looking?” I call out. The eagle, aka Cales, speeds off.
“All clear!” She answers. Least there isn’t anything or anyone there...
“Right! Just when we'll be close enough, pull the boat out of the way! I'll need you guys to take over the reins and pull the babe through. We don’t know how big the canal is, but if it's momma or anything else could have fit through it, it would have done so by now!” I explain. “We need to assume that only the babe can fit through it!”
“And if it doesn’t!” Someone asks.
“Then we're screwed!” That's Crile. “We'll worry about it then!”
“Roger that!”
“We're insight!”
“See ya!” Star and Crile wave to me as Hyros pulls them to the side. He lets go of the rope and flies back to me. So do Brech and Cales. I toss the rest of the "reins" into the air. Each one of them catches an end. Pryden and Wuna pull back and I jump off the little guy too. Something soft and wet catches me and lands into the water with me. Wuna.
“Thank you.” I smile to her under water. Pryden approaches us too and lifts me up. I hang on to him and watch.
“No good!”
“The paths blocked!”
“He'll crash right into it!”
“Damn it!”
“Now what!”
“Lift it over!” Crile. “Pull it up as much as you can to help it jump over!”
“That's insane!”
“It'll work as long as the little one jumps too! All you need to do is give it a hand! Or a wing!”
“CRILE!!” Star.
I smile. “Try it! We don’t have much to lose!”
“Here goes nothing!” The three Birds manage to lift up the whale just enough to toss it over something as it makes the jump. A screech and water tower reaches us. Hyros and Brech return to us with the cut off ropes.
“Guess it found it's momma.” Cales says, picking me out of the waves.
“That's great!” Star. I can almost hear the tears of joy and relief. Cales sets me down into the boat.
“Will you guys be able to make the trip back?” Crile asks. “We can take turns taking you in?”
“This much is nothing.” One of the guys answers.
“Speak for yourself!” Wuna climbs into the boat. Hyros joins her. The Stork and the Eagle take the rope attached to the boat and pull us along.
“Well this makes things faster.” Crile smiles.
“Hey! Wait for me!” The Sea-lion rushes after us.
“Let us know when you want a break!” I call out too. Nobody answers me. About two thirds of the way back the Birds finally give up. Wuna and Pryden take over to pull the boat instead and Hyros takes off to make space for Brech and Cales. We manage to come back just a few hours after dusk. The three of us change out of the wet, though now dry, clothes just to be safe and all of us gather round the fire for a late dinner. Not much chatter is exchanged...
“Say...” Star begins carefully. “How do you suppose it got over to this side if it took all three of you to help it cross back over?”
“It could be that the babe got here on a high tide. Once the water level went down it couldn’t make it back across.” Hyros explains.
“I should hope so.” I let it slip.
“Why? Are you of a different opinion, Mistr.. I mean, Zarri?” Brech asks.
“I'd rather not think that the whale was put here deliberately.” I admit. That blockade bothers me...
“But who would... Oh...”
“Earth Shams?”
“It would have been an easy task...”
“But why?” Star asks again.
“To stir up trouble, why else?” I answer. “We didn’t really ask when this began. I'd like to stay an investigate a bit more. I want to know if there was anything unusual right before the whale appeared. Which brings me to the other issue.” I look the five Beasts over.
“We're listening.”
“Would it be too much trouble to ask you guys to investigate from the other side? I need to know if the passage got blocked by Nature itself or was it man-made.”
“How will you tell the difference?” Star asks.
“Man-made spells are smooth and flawless. Nature's work is more rough looking. You can tell.” Cales answers.
“For the sake of the argument. Let’s say it were Balli Shams. I honestly doubt they would take the time and effort to fake a Natural disaster.” Hyros shares a good point.
“They take too much pride in their work.” Pryden adds.
“It doesn’t have to be Balli.” I say.
“Who else?”
“Rebellion.” Crile jumps in. I nod.
“Those guys are a mess!”
“They couldn’t possibly come up with framing the Balli.”
“They gain nothing out of this!”
“And yet we have no way of knowing.” I cut them off. “Assume nothing. Trust nobody.” I tell them. The faces gathered change expressions. Yeah. They know what it means.
“At any rate. I'd like to extend your assistance a bit further, if that is alright. I'll check with Ira and Blain in the morning too, of course, but for now - it can’t hurt to look into this, since we're all already here anyways.”
“Sure, Mistress.” Brech answers. I give him a look. He smiles me off.
“Might I suggest we turn it in then?” Wuna speaks.
“Seems like jobs not over yet.” Hyros agrees.
“Good night.” Pryden bows, and the rest follow his lead.
“Rest well.” I answer. The five of them leave the three of us.
“How convinced are you that this is foul-play?” Crile asks.
“50-50... Maybe 60-40...” I admit. “For the record - I sooo wanna be wrong.”
“Let’s hope so.” Star says. "Come on, let’s get to bed."
“Together?” Crile does not pass up an opportunity to tease her.
“Ha. Ha.”
“Damn it!” A voice reaches us. Brech leaves one of the tents scowling, with the girls wishing him a good night, as they slip into the second tent.
“Guess I'm off the hook tonight!” Crile stretches out.
“I'll stay a bit longer. Doesn’t seem fair...”
“Guess again.” Crile points behind me. Pryden joins Brech for guard duty. Very well. I clock out too.
The next day we split up into two teams. The Beast-Five take the left side of the lake, toward the passage and the three of us take the right side. We should meet up by the mountains again in a few days. There are two reasons for this. One is to spread the good news that the disturbance is gone and ask around for any other information, regarding the beginning of it all. As well as three - keep an eye on things just to make sure the little one stays away. Neither Ira, nor Blain had any objections... Surprise, surprise... Unfortunately for us, we don’t seem to be getting anything useful. I do hope it's a good sign. On the night of day three, Star and I decide to bathe, in what seems to be an old river bend, that has turned into a miniature lake of it's own. A hot spring would have been nice, but oh well...
A few days into our trip towards the mountains we set up camp by an old river bend. Zarri and I take the first turn to bathe, leaving Crile behind. I get in the water first.
“Oh, Zarri! It's soo warm!”
“Good to hear! I'm tired of damp rags...” She says from behind the tree. She comes over with a small container in hand and fills it up with water. She then takes it back with her behind the tree.
“What are you doing back there?” I call out.
“Shaving.” Oh...
“You haven’t snuck out lately... Not since before the Arena...”
“Star. Just because I’m not sleeping with anyone, doesn’t mean like growing out this fur. Like it or not, this ain’t some fairytale! People aren’t made all smooth and perfect!”
“Sorry!” I call out all embarrassed. I don’t really bother with it... Maybe I should?
“It's fine. It's just something that bothers me personally and I take notice of it. I’m just glad I have time before those days kick in again! Hope we can finish this before then!”
Oh damn! I get counting. “Mine should be here soon!”
“Make sure to tell me if you feel bad.” Zarri shows herself wrapped up in a towel. She takes the towel off and steps in.
“This feels niiiiiiice...” She melts away. I quickly begin scrubbing my hair and take a deep dive. She's soo.… I can’t... I emerge again.
“All done?” Zarri asks.
“Almost.” I scrub myself some more.
“Spill it.”
“Huh?”
“You look like you wanna ask me something. Ask.” Zarri glares at me. Got caught...
“You stopped talking about your...dates... I was wondering was it because you didn’t want to share it with me or...”
Zarri sighs. “Starlight. If there was anything to share - I would. I stopped talking and going because I need a break.”
“A break?” I stop washing myself. Zarri shampoos her hair now.
“Every single one of them says the same thing. First they like me then they hate me. It all starts and ends the same way. I’m tired of that bull...”
“What specifically? If you don’t mind...” I feel my eyes dart around...
She takes her time washing herself and answering me. Rather avoiding to... I wait. Zarri rinses out her hair and sighs.
“I have a problem holding back. I love the feeling of it so much I lose control and end up hurting my partners.” She doesn’t look at me. “If I focus on not losing control, I end up stiffening up and then I can’t enjoy myself.” She keeps staring into the water.
“The first few times I was learning. Everything was new and unexplored so I was careful. But now... I’m tired of being miserable.. I want to break free, cut lose and just not worry about holding back. But apparently that's too much to ask.” Zarri has such a sad expression on her... “Maybe I should look for someone suicidal or something...” She says giggling clumsily.
“So what? Will you stop seeing guys then?” Please say Yes!
“No. I'll keep looking.” DAMN IT! “Just not right now…”
“You could use the men from the Palace. I’m sure they…” I bite my tongue. Zarri’s glare alone is hurting me plenty… That was stupid of me to suggest it in the first place…
“Is...is that why you hastened this? To get a chance to explore?” I try extra carefully again.
“Somewhat.” Zarri admits.
“I see...” I think it over... “Mind if I borrow your...” I point to the box.
“Have at it.” Zarri waves off. I take the shaving kit and hide behind a tree.
Star makes a few trips from the tree and back to the water.
‘Thanks.” She set the box back down.
“Don’t mention it.”
“Are you staying?”
“Just a bit longer.” I close my eyes.
“I'll go on ahead first then.”
“'kay.” I wave to her and soak in the quiet. Some sort of rustling noises reach me.
“Forget something?”
“Maybe.” A deeper voice answers.
I open one eye and watch Crile strip.
“The hell you think you're doing?”
“Washing up. What else.” He gets in the water. “DAMN IT'S FREEZING!! Looking at you I figured it was warm enough still!!” He keeps going deeper. “Brrrr.” He hugs himself.
I close my eyes again. “I've been here too long, I don't feel the cold anymore.”
“Shall I warm you up then?” A whisper. I snap my eyes open again. Crile's right next to me. Grinning like a fool too.
“You're suicidal, you know that?” I move a little to the side.
“Isn't that your type?”
“Huh?”
“You said it yourself, did you not?” He looks at me all serious.
“You eavesdropped on us?”
“Yes. I was standing watch.” Of all the excuses!
“It has nothing to do with you.” I move, but Crile's hand stops me.
“And if I want to have something to do with it?”
“Like what?”
“Think hard. It'll come to you.” He grins at me and lets go of my wrist.
“You wanna do it? With me?” I stare at him.
“Why's that so shocking to you?” His brows furrow. Is he insulted?
My shoulders shrug for me.
“Well? It's a simple yes or no, Breeze.”
“Here? Now?” I stare at him dumbfounded.
“Problem?”
“I..no. Not really.”
“So?” He keeps his eyes on me.
“Quit the jokes. It's not funny.” I turn away again and get stopped again.
“Crrrriiillle!” A growl slips out of me.
“I’m serious. What do you have to lose? Or am I not good enough?” He lets me go again. That’s not...
“Wait.” It clicks to me. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that we almost died a few days ago?”
“And if it does? Does that change something for you?” I... Not really... I guess...
“Did you do it with Amana too then?” I mock him.
“Ha!” Crile laughs. “I wish. No. Amana and I have...something else going on... I haven’t suggested that to her... Yet. However. If she would express the interest in doing it with me then I'd consider it.” So then why now?? I hesitate... I hate it how he's able to talk about this with a straight and a serious face... What I hate even more is my curiosity...
“Fine. Say we do it. What then?”
“We do it again? Hopefully.” Crile grins at me again. I give him a look.
“What if you don’t like it? What then?”
“In case we don’t like then it's simple. We don’t do it ever again and go back to how we've always were. No harm done.” He holds his hands up in defense.
“That simple for you, huh?”
“Yes. Actually it is. So I'll ask again. What do you have to lose?”
“I don’t wanna hurt you...” It slips out and I hug myself... “I don’t want to be the one… Every guy I’ve ever been with...” Crile reaches for me with his fingertips.
“Try me. You know I don’t break easily.” He smiles softly at me again and steps back. I turn away from him. Or do I?
“Remember one thing.” Crile opens his eyes to me. “You wanted this. Don’t blame me for what happens next.” I straddle him.
“Go wild.” He whispers with his widest grin yet and something snaps inside of me. I grab Crile's face with both of my claws and lock lips with him. I gorge down on his tongue and mouth. My hands slip down his neck and shoulders, grasping at the muscles, tearing the skin. I press myself against his whole body, moving back and forth. Teasing. Clawing. Pulling on it. Tearing it off even... I feel his flesh cut deeper under my touch. I’m loosing control... I sink my nails into his shaft and tease the tip of it with my lips. I press down on the tip again and let my fingers stroke it and them. The tips of my claws brush against the skin. I have no clue if I broke it yet or not... Crile's hand teases me in return too. His fingers go in and out and then some... He presses harder. Each touch breaks my focus... That taste... Blood. I pull back. I bit him. With my fangs!! I didn’t even feel it... Crile licks his lower lip, just where the blood drips and smiles.
“Come 'er.” He pounces me and kisses me again. Rough. Hard. Huh? What is this? His whole body presses against mine. So hot. So rough... Crile goes down my neck, biting and tasting me. His mouth covers my breast whole. The tongue... I can’t... I tear into Crile harder. Each lick sends shivers across my body, tightening my claws into him. More. I want more. I go up in the water and guide him inside. Crile stands up straight, and grabs me by the ass. I lock my legs on his hips. Such power... Each thrust goes in harder than the last... I feel like I could break any moment. OH! Something presses there... Again... His hand has moved between us and... OOOOHH!!! There it is again!! This is new. This feeling... It's electrifying... I should know… Crile pulls out and walks up a few steps. He sets me down on the higher shore, right where my gear is, and spreads me wide.
“What are you...” I sit up just in time to see Crile dive in with his mouth. A growl!! I growled!! For the first time!!! The hot and wet tongue is stirring the inside... I gasp faster with each move Crile makes. My claws dig deeper into the ground. My legs cross on Crile's neck. Sooo hoot.. I can't... I'm burning... A cold wetness. Crile has his fingers in next. He stirs me a little and gives it a taste.
“Well?” I try to sound cool and indifferent... His grin… It's... Wild? Crile sticks himself back inside and leans over me. What's with those eyes? He slips his hand under my neck and locks lips with me again. Pounding me. Fast. I can’t breath and he knows it. He kisses me harder each time I want to moan louder. Is he teasing me? No. Ravaging. Crile breaks away for air and continues tasting me. My lower lip. My jaw. My neck. My shoulder. He bites and nibbles, and kisses everywhere and anything that is within his reach, without stopping either... He pins my wrists down and hovers over me. Such lust... Such hunger... Such a beast!! Now I get it... This is it... This is what it is like to be devoured... Aahh damn... I want more...
“Crrriiilllllleee....” I moan out his name with a growl. In an instant he lets my wrists go and I wrap all of me around him. So does he.
“Brrrreeeeeeezzzzzeee....” That growl... I can't... I’m losing my mind... No! Wait!
“Pull...” I break up. Crile adjust himself, embracing me more, supporting my neck and ass.
“Don’t worry. Pulling daggers out of their sheets is my specialty, remember?” He whispers the words with a few final pounds and I scream out... Roaring through the quiet night's air, I begin to pant...
“That was...” I keep clawing at Crile.
“Not over yet.” Say wha? Crile picks me back up onto him and returns us to the water. He sets me down and turns me around, lifting one leg to the side and going back inside.
“My turn.” He whispers and thrusts again. I claw backwards at his back, trying my best to hold on to my sanity...
“Here.” Crile sticks his whole arm in front of me and I bite down on it. I sink my teeth in and give myself to Crile. The water splashes around us, picking up his rhythm with its waves. Crile pulls out again. This time I reach down and stroke it mad, sinking my claws into it. Crile's fingers find their way back to my center too and press down on it in hard and rough circles. I bite harder. I keep losing my grip on his shaft. His teasing is driving me nuts!!! I grab hold of him tighter and finish him off.
“Brrrrrreeeezzeeee...” That growl of his sends me over the edge too and a muffled roar escapes me. I tense up. Crile quickly throws his other arm around my torso. Short, gentle, kisses brush along my shoulder and neck, climbing up to my lips. He's not touching anything else... Just stands there... Holding me... Kissing me softly... I... I think I’ve just found what I've longed for all this time... But... Crile... Serious?? Can I?... Can we? A shiver.
“Get out while your body is warm enough still. I'll be right behind you.”
“Let me treat you…” I lift his arm above the water. “Those marks are deep...”
“Leave it.”
“But...” He shuts me up with another kiss.
“Leave. It.” Crile pushes me gently towards the shore. I nod and get out without saying anything more. I pat myself down with the towel and dress lightly. I gather up the rest of my things and turn to Crile.
“I'll be a minute longer. Go on.” He strokes himself under the water with that self-satisfied grin of his. Was I not enough? Or can he go longer? My mind is a mess... I can’t believe that just happened... With Crile of all men!!! Do I tell Star about it?? Will he tell her about it?? I’m so scared... Why? Why something I've been craving for had to be so close to me all along? I come back to our tent and go full shift. I cuddle up with Star's back. I'm afraid I'll jump him again if I stay human... My insides are still throbbing...
We finish up the useless mission without any more progress. The other Druids meet with us again by the mountain passage. To Zarri's peace of mind she was wrong - the passage blockade was an accident after all. Apparently there was a huge storm on a high tide. The little one probably got tossed over first and then a rock slide happened, cutting it off its mother. The poor babe. After that we went out on a few other errands. Basically, we became the Clean-ups, on top of being the “Noxian Trio,” as Zarri so cleverly named us for no reason. We took on jobs that nobody else wanted all around Astri. After the little trip we just had, we decided to stay close to home. For now. The one good thing about it - our rank went up instantly. That gave us more responsibilities around the Army Grounds too, which led to me assisting the Infirmary more too. To all of our surprise. But even then I’m more of an errand girl. I stopped trying to figure out whether it was because of our stupid job requests or because I am me…. Meanwhile, Zarri took the Armory and Crile the Cells. That was my happy day when he found out that most of the work there is simply cleaning out the cells, his disappointed face was priceless! Crile originally figured the job to be more exciting, yet he got stuck on mop duty again! Serves him right.