by Orr, Krystal
Another arrow flew past him and he felt the wind it carried as it landed in the trunk of a tree next to his head. His heart began to beat rapidly as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He knew the last shot had been a warning. "Talliea? This is your doing, you wretched woman, is it not?"
A third arrow suddenly flew straight toward him and, before he could even attempt to block it, landed in the center of his bo-staff. He faltered and the light from his hand diminished. Looking at the arrow sticking out of his weapon, he found himself at a loss. What skill was there to be such a marksman that did not come from tales of legend and valor? How had Talliea procured such a talent?
He looked around once more before turning quickly and scurrying through the forest back toward his people's camp. His search for Talliea could wait another day.
How dare that woman take a shot at him! Not just one shot but three! Her last arrow had landed in luck. That had to be the explanation. No archer was so skilled that they could land an arrow in a piece of wood as slim as his staff. His main priority was to inform Markahn of Talliea's attempt on his life. Perhaps that would show his friend that she was no good for him and then he could claim her for himself.
Yes, he thought as his feet kept him on his retreating path, Talliea has gone too far this time...
* * * * * *
Bela'luin smirked to herself as she watched the Esu man run away, before gathering her pack, quiver, and her bow. Pleased with herself, she silently dropped to the forest floor and disappeared into the night.
* * * * * *
"Tell me about your parents."
Arizira looked up from reinforcing Talliea's boots with sturdier pieces of leather, and caught her eyes across the fire burning between them. In the last week and a half, the two women had settled into a comfortable arrangement. Arizira had taught Talliea about various edible plants, berries, and nuts, as well as how to set a snare, how to string a bow, and how to properly sharpen a blade.
A few days after they'd settled inside their cave, Arizira had told Talliea of the type of leaves her people used for bedding. The two women had spent an entire day searching for an Ophe'las tree whose leaves were soft and weather resistant. Arizira had shown Talliea how to remove the leaves with care and later how to lay them together for a comfortable bed.
The leaves of the Ophe'las tree, when laid one upon the other, generated an enormous amount of heat. The days following had been spent continuing to gather food. Arizira had taken to hunting at night and allowing Talliea to search for nuts and berries and rabbits during the day. Meat that was not immediately eaten was cured and dried and wrapped in light pieces of cloth. Berries, nuts, and various tubers were also packed away with care and stored deep in the back of the cave.
During the day, Arizira instructed Talliea on the proper ways of tracking and reading the signs of the forest. The progress was slow going and Talliea, more than once, had become disheartened with her lack of ability. Always, Arizira was there to encourage her and get her to try again.
Like she'd promised, Arizira had made Talliea a pair of tough leather pants. Talliea, days later, was still trying to adjust to her new article of clothing. Conversations began to flow more easily between the two women and, often times, their nights were filled with laughter and joy and stories of each of their peoples' beliefs and myths. Their friendship and dependence on one another continued to grow, as did their respective attractions.
Since that first night when Talliea had asked Arizira to stay close to her and the two of them had fallen asleep together, every night after had followed in a similar manner. Each night saw Talliea's mind taken over with vivid images of Arizira. The dreams varied in intensity, but always Talliea would awake with a deeper desire.
She came to understand that she longed for Arizira.
After the first few nights, she realized that her longing was not just in a physical sense. She desired Arizira's company constantly. She felt compelled to share parts of herself she normally left hidden from the world and others. When Arizira smiled or laughed and Talliea was the cause of such happiness, she was content and her day made complete. All Talliea found herself wanting was just to touch her Arniran companion and connect with her in any way.
Conversely, though Arizira's attraction had also grown, the young huntress had, over the past week, become less tactile than was her nature. No longer was she seen openly expressing her fascination with Talliea through her touch. Though her fingers ached with a desire to graze across smooth tanned skin, Arizira had come to realize that she could not continue to touch someone who had so captured her heart and spirit. Each time she had touched Talliea, it had been harder for her to pull herself away. The desire to explore other parts of the Esu woman's body had become nearly unbearable and she'd realized she was running the risk of exposing her feelings.
So, four days after she and Talliea had set out on their own, Arizira had withdrawn into herself as much as she could. She still spoke with Talliea and answered her questions and taught her her skills. The two of them laughed often and spoke openly, but Arizira no longer danced with the feelings she had. At first they had been exciting, and flirting with Talliea another part of her personality, but those initial reactions had quickly faded the stronger her feelings had become.
Arizira had come to see that her feelings were not light. They were not fleeting. They were no longer exciting. She had, somehow, become a prisoner to them; a hisulir in her own body. Every day was a struggle for her because everyday she longed to connect with Talliea on a deeper level. Several times over the past week, Arizira had caught herself blatantly staring at the object of her fascination and affection. When the two of them fell asleep together at night, Arizira fought with her body's desire to roll into Talliea's touch.
Her lips tingled.
Her fingers ached.
Her heart raced.
Everyday. All day.
Whenever Talliea was near.
That was not to say that Arizira regretted her decision to accompany Talliea, nor did she detest or deplore her feelings. They were a struggle, a burden at times, but she was happy to bear them if it allowed her to share even a breath with the other woman. It was a sweet torture, if such a thing could actually exist.
Little did she know, but her companion carried a similar burden.
"Sorry?" she asked, having lost Talliea's question within her internal thoughts.
"I asked about your parents," Talliea said sharpening their cutting blade. Arizira, shadows dancing across her face from the fire, shrugged and worked the animal thread in her hand through her companion's boot. "I never knew them," she replied, keeping her eyes focused on her work. "My nurture mother--"
"Nurture mother?" Talliea questioned.
"The woman who shared her body and her life force with me. She was said to have passed to Aitla after my birth."
Talliea stopped her work and lowered her hands. Her eyes took on a heavy and sad cast and her heart seemed to beat slower. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Arizira raised an eyebrow in her direction and nodded her head in acknowledgement of the words. "You do not have to be. She hunts with Aitla now. Her spirit shines down when the Goddess claims the sky."
Talliea recalled Arizira telling her that the Arnira believed the stars in the night sky to be the spirits of their honored dead. When Aitla shone brightly and her face was alight in the sky, the spirits of those who were with her forever burned just as brightly as her companions in the great beyond.
"I am still sorry you never got to meet her, Ari."
"As am I."
Silence intruded upon them for a moment before, "What became of your other mother?" Arizira's fingers, which had been steadily tending to Talliea's boots, jerked and her movements faltered. "I...am not sure," she answered softly.
Talliea's brows lowered in confusion, but she remained quiet and gave Arizira a moment to continue. "I never knew her either. According to Cynra, she was overcome with grief for the loss of my nurture m
other and that despair drove her to return to her own tribe."
Talliea let out a breath and shook her head disbelievingly. "She left you?" Arizira stopped her work and sighed before bringing her eyes to Talliea's. "Her love for my nurture mother was said to have been quite strong. She chose her path. I harbor no ill feelings toward her."
Talliea let the comment lie for a time as she thought of Arizira's words. She could not imagine abandoning a life that she had created. The details were not known to her nor was Arnira custom on such matters. Still, she found it disheartening that a woman could leave her child. Another part of Arizira's statement struck her as odd. There was more than one tribe of Arnira in the northern forests? How many tribes were there?
Deciding that such questions about tribe numbers and locations was a conversation for another time, she instead asked, "Who cared for you, if both your mothers were not present?"
Setting Talliea's boots to the side, Arizira stretched out her stiff muscles and joints before answering. "The tribe, of course. Arniran children view the entire community as extended family. When one of us brings a child into the world, the rest take a part in that child's life and their upbringing. Our daughters are never alone, Tah-li."
Smiling, Talliea once again envied Arizira's culture. Such concepts were completely alien to her, yet surprisingly refreshing. She tried to imagine such a life as Arizira had obviously led and wondered who in her own clan would have cared for her had something happened to her parents. Thinking over her friend's words, a question came to her mind.
"Cynra? The Dream Speaker?" she asked, recalling that Arizira had mentioned her during one of their many late night conversations.
Standing and wrapping her cloak around her body, Arizira slowly walked over to sit next to Talliea. She warmed her hands by the fire and tried to calm her body's reaction to her friend's nearness. "Yes. She took me in and raised me as her own. I suppose, you could say she was my primary care-giver."
"Yet, you do not speak of her as a parent."
Arizira turned to look at Talliea. The fire was warm and helped to keep the bitter chill from the wind outside. "She is not such, Tah-li. My respect for her comes from who she is and what role she has performed in my life, but she is not one of my mothers."
Talliea slowly nodded her head and scooted closer to Arizira. The nights were getting colder and, despite their new bedding, the wind was still harsh and the air near freezing. The days were bearable -- the winter sun offering enough warmth to keep their blood circulating, but the nights were when she found herself seeking warmth from her companion the most.
If she noticed the sudden tense set of Arizira's body at her proximity, she made no show of the realization and instead scooted even closer. Pulling the wolf blanket around them both, Talliea grabbed Arizira's right hand with her left and looked into the fire. "You are so very different than I," she whispered, the fire sparkling in her eyes.
Arizira held her breath and attempted to silence the sound of her aching heart. Looking at her hand joined with Talliea's, she licked her lips and tried to calm herself. Such moments as this were when Arizira fought with herself the most. At times, she felt nearly certain that Talliea felt something for her but always, despite Cynra's words of encouragement and wisdom, she ignored such fanciful thoughts and instead focused on reality.
Cynra had told her that the heart always knew what it desired. She had said that it did not bother a person when lust and physical fulfillment were all the body craved. At first, Arizira had tried in vain to get her mind to believe that was all she wanted from Talliea. As time had continued, that attempt had proven more and more futile until she'd finally come to see that, yes, she was in love with Talliea.
No more could she deny the truth, or attempt to rationalize how such feelings could even exist so soon when she had only known the other woman a month's time. Everything about Talliea made her heart sing. Her smile. Her laughter. Her gentle spirit and her curiosity of the world. She adored the way Talliea's nose would scrunch up in confusion or the way her eyes would light up when she was excited over some matter.
When Talliea was asleep and her face and body were at peace, nothing else in the world possessed such an easy beauty to Arizira. Talliea's scent, when they were near, seemed to invade every part of her mind and body, and it took every ounce of willpower she held not to give in to losing herself in that intoxicating temptation.
But when Talliea touched her, Arizira's torture was at its height. Watching Talliea slowly stroke her fingers between her knuckles and over the back of her hand was as if a slow death brought about by delirium. Talliea held her hand in her left and moved the fingers of her right hand down to Arizira’s fingernails and back up to her wrist. Arizira wondered as to the nature of the touch, but the sudden dryness of her mouth prevented her from expressing herself.
Did Talliea know how she affected her? Was it so easy for the other woman to be around her while she herself suffered in silence?
"You have beautiful hands," Talliea whispered after a moment, her eyes following the movements of her fingers. Arizira said nothing, her heart nearly beating into her throat. Talliea turned Arizira's hand over and slowly trailed her fingers down her palm. She traced them back up until they came into contact with the pads of her fingers. "They are soft, not rough like Lao'dahn and Markahn, even though you handle weapons ."
The names were barely audible and upon hearing them, Arizira's curiosity heightened. Finding her voice, though it sounded rough, she asked, "Who are these people you speak of?" Talliea, still lost in her exploration and feeling quite at peace at the moment, answered without any reservation. "They are men in my clan."
Her fingers continued to graze over Arizira's fingers while her eyes lost their focus. "Markahn is the man who has claimed me. He is the one who granted my freedom so that I can be here with you."
Arizira sat motionless. She was unsure how to respond. A person laying claim to another was a concept unfamiliar to her. Talliea had spoken of the man before, in passing, but she could not recall her ever having mentioned his name. Strangely, Arizira found herself slightly envious of Markahn. If Talliea ever chose to return to her people, then he would have the honor of making her his mate. They would spend their lives together.
Shaking her head at such thoughts, Arizira reached over with her free hand and placed it atop Talliea's. The action stopped the Esu woman's movements and the two of them sat in a comfortable silence. "Who is the other man?" Arizira asked when it appeared that Talliea was content to remain as they were.
Talliea squeezed her hand before staring into the fire with more intensity. Slowly, and spoken in a broken whisper, she replied, "He is the man who put the marks upon my body."
Arizira lowered their hands to Talliea's lap and sighed sadly. Her eyes studied the side of her friend's face and noticed the darkened look in her eyes. "What happened?" she asked. Talliea looked up at the rock above her head and inhaled deeply. "He assaulted me, took advantage of me. I felt weak and powerless and he humiliated me."
Arizira swallowed the sour taste in her mouth that had formed from hearing Talliea's words. She tightened her hold on her hand and scooted closer. Talliea lowered her head and turned to look in her direction. "He forced himself on me," she finished sadly and in a thick voice.
Silvery-blue eyes, glowing with soft and unshed tears, looked back at Talliea. Arizira understood the gist of what was being spoken to her. She had assumed as much, but had difficulty fully understanding what Talliea had experienced. To force oneself upon another was, well, unheard of amongst her people. Arnira had no concept of rape. There was not even a word for such an act. Some Arnira were more open and forward with how they chose to display affection, but there was no rape or disrespect on such a level.
"D-did he experience your innocence?" Arizira asked, unsure how to phrase the question in her head. Talliea lowered her brows in confusion. "Are you asking if I am still a virgin?"
Tossing the word around her mind, Ari
zira tried to match it to a word she knew. Though Esulan was becoming easier for her to speak, she and Talliea still occasionally hit rocks in the road during their conversations. This was proving to be one such time. "You say he forced himself on you. Did he lay with you and experience you as your people do?"
Smiling at Arizira's wording and the way her dimples seemed to deepen in each cheek, Talliea reached forward with her free hand and played with a braid of silver-blonde hair. "No, he did not. To my people, especially the men, I am...a-a gem. A prize. I still maintain my...innocence. What he did was worse but I will not speak of it to you -- ever. It is enough that you know he hurt me."
No words were spoken for several long moments. Each woman processed what they had learned and what they had been told. Talliea, having told Arizira as much as she had, felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was not used to having someone to talk with so freely. Arizira never looked at her with judgment in her eyes. She never tried to shift blame on her and she was always understanding and sympathetic.
As for Arizira, she felt an unusual, and not entirely pleasant, sensation forming in the pit of her stomach. It was a searing pain that caused her heart to race but it had nothing to do with Talliea. The feeling was negative and centered around Lao'dahn. She felt an anger toward the man that she could not describe. Despite Talliea trying to convince her that she was working toward moving away from the man's horrid act, Arizira found herself wanting to seek some form of justice for her. She wanted Lao'dahn to pay for what he had done, both physically and emotionally, to her failira.
Shaking her head at such useless thoughts, Arizira took a deep breath and smiled at Talliea. "I am happy he did not experience your innocence. The act is an expression of all the beauty in the world, Tah-li. It is the body's way of speaking to our spirits. Your first time should be beautiful and shared with someone you love and who loves you."
Talliea felt her heart hammering in her eardrums. Her insides were aflutter with a pleasant anxiety while her entire body seemed to become awash with pure electrifying energy. She too greatly desired such an act to be shared with someone she loved. She wished to experience what Arizira had told her was so beautiful.