by Orr, Krystal
Both Talliea and Arizira opened their eyes and looked at each other. Though it seemed to each that days had passed, in reality only a few seconds had been shared between them. Both of their journeys met at their reunion, but before any tragedy.
"I understand," Talliea said in a breathy gasp. Her fingers pushed forward and curled inside of Arizira. She could feel the tight muscles around them practically vibrating with pleasure.
"You were so brave, failira, so loyal," Arizira replied before her eyes closed and she let herself focus on Talliea's fingers.
For several moments, they moved together. Arizira held Talliea's body against her small frame with delicate care. She pushed her hips up to meet every thrust Talliea made and soon the sounds of their bodies meeting in such a primal way was all that was heard.
The contrast of their skin was a beauty they could not appreciate. One viewing them would have had difficulty in separating who was who were it not for the difference of their coloring.
Talliea could not help the tears that came to her eyes. She was no longer alone. Her world was not as empty as she had believed it be when she had thought Arizira dead. Her purpose was renewed. Her life once again had meaning.
Arizira was alive. They were together, and what they were doing felt so beyond good.
Talliea moved down Arizira's body until her mouth came to a hard nipple. She took that nipple between her lips and began to suck the aroused flesh. More wondrous sounds left Arizira's throat.
It wasn't enough. Talliea needed more. She wanted more. She desired to experience Arizira in a more intimate way. Arizira's hips began to move faster. Talliea knew it was only a matter of minutes before their lovemaking reached a climax. She had more to share. Arizira still needed to know more, see more, experience more.
Talliea removed her fingers from inside her love's soft and hot body. A groan of protest met her ears.
"Wh...what are you--why?"
Leaning back, Talliea placed each of her hands on Arizira's upper thighs. She took a moment to stare down at the aroused woman beneath her. A flush covered Arizira's fair-skinned body. Normally light, pink nipples were a dusky rose and were tight from arousal.
Arizira's glowing eyes were heavily-lidded and the blue within them was a deep azure. Her breathing was quick and her lips were parted.
Talliea ran her palms and fingers over the smooth thighs in her grasp. Arizira refused to unlock her ankles and so the two of them watched the other and waited.
"Open your legs for me," Talliea said, holding Arizira's gaze. "I want to be closer to you."
Arizira looked confused for a short moment, but lowered her legs to the ground. Talliea smiled and leaned forward to kiss her lips. She did not linger long. Arizira felt the kiss move down her throat and across her crazed pulse.
She felt a hot, wet tongue twirl in the small hollow at her sternum. Kisses were left along her collarbone and chest, around her breasts and on her nipples. They graced the scar that no longer existed near her heart before moving down between her breasts.
Arizira inhaled sharply. She could feel her heart racing. Her throat was tight with anticipation and she could barely keep her eyes open to watch Talliea's movements. Lips kissed and nipped her ribs. She felt them brush across her stomach and there they remained for a moment.
Small and more delicate and gentle kisses peppered her lower tummy. Hands held her slight hips in place. She moved her hands to Talliea's hair and threaded her fingers into the black locks.
"I love you." The words were whispered across her abdomen. Arizira wondered to whom they were spoken. To her or to their daughter?
She supposed it did not matter. They were felt and that was enough.
Talliea moved still lower until her heated mouth came level to Arizira's wet sex. The scent of arousal was heavy and it caused both women to moan headily. Talliea wasted no other time. The sight and smell of Arizira's excitement urged her to continue, to be closer.
Without preamble, she lowered her head between Arizira's legs and placed the most intimate of kisses on the flesh before her. Arizira's reaction was effusive. The moan that left her mouth was free and heavy.
Talliea only allowed herself a brief moment to enjoy the sound of it before she placed her mouth over the source of Arizira's wetness. Then...
...she sucked. She licked. She titillated. Her lips were soft to Arizira. Her mouth was hot and wet.
Never in her life had Arizira felt like she currently was. Never before had another touched her in this way. It was...it was everything. She could not control her hips or the sounds she was making. Her body pushed and rolled itself closer and closer to Talliea's eager mouth.
She looked down the length of her body and was struck with the sight of dark hair between her legs. Talliea's head moved as her lips continued to revere her in such an intimate way.
She could not keep her eyes open long enough to continue watching her love love her.
Her strength and sense of self returned to her in one unfettered moment. The rest of Talliea's time away from her was shown to her in a matter of seconds. Everything that had happened in the clearing after she had been shot flashed before her eyes in an agglomeration of sensations.
Talliea's powers astounded her. Her control over so many different elements of nature impressed her. But, the grief she felt nearly consumed her.
Images without any complete form faded in and out of her thoughts until she saw Cynra. Cynra's words were sad, haunted. She witnessed conversations between the Dream Speaker and Talliea.
"I am sorry, child. This outcome...I tried to help you avoid it. Your news...the condition you found yourself in...I hoped to change things for the better. For both of you."
Arizira grew angry, or more accurately, Talliea had grown angry.
"You were aware this would happen? You knew she would die and you did nothing to change that? You knew she would be taken from me and you come here in your sorrow? Why? Why would you bring this pain upon me? Why would you wish this fate on anyone? You could have changed this! You could have avoided it! Instead, you allowed her to walk blindly towards her peril! Why would you wish this upon me? Upon us?"
Words replayed quickly, were exchanged; moved forward.
"I know it hurts. I am sorry. This future...oh, I should have done more. I miss her, too. She was...she was very important to me."
Again, anger flared inside of her. Anger and pain and sorrow and anguish.
"Do not tell me she was important to you. Were that true, I would not sit here in suffering now."
And then, a revelation, a truth revealed.
"She was my granddaughter, day walker. My child was her mother and both are now lost to me. You will never understand my reasons, nor will you forgive me, but please believe that her importance to me was great."
Arizira came back to her senses. Talliea was near to her, leaning over her body. Her dark eyes took in Arizira's reaction. "Now you know," she said. "Now you know everything."
Swallowing and nodding her head slowly, Arizira leaned forward and kissed Talliea. The taste of herself mingled with the taste of mint always present whenever she kissed Talliea. The sensation was new, thrilling. She moaned and licked at Talliea's bottom lip, enjoying the taste.
After a moment, Talliea pulled herself away and moved back down between her legs. She quickly resumed her earlier activities and soon the two of them were moaning and gasping and moving their bodies together.
Nails dug into flesh, scratches marking otherwise flawless skin. Sweat formed on brows and between breasts. Nipples were rolled, pinched, and palmed while kisses, caresses, and embraces were enjoyed.
The heat inside Li'nas Dei rose. It was not a natural heat, but one brought about by Talliea and what she was doing to, and for, Arizira. Both of their bodies grew warmer also. Arizira's wetness was beyond abundant. It covered Talliea's lips and chin and fell down her neck. She had never wanted to climax so badly in all her life.
Between regaining her strength
and sense of self, reliving Talliea's past two months, and learning about her relationship with Cynra, Arizira was exhausted in an entirely new way. Not to mention the demands on her body the physical side their coupling was producing.
Her muscles were tired and felt fevered. They ached, but pleasantly. Her throat was dry from breathing so forcefully, her head feeling crazed from trying to keep up.
She could feel her heart continuing to pound against her ribs. Her legs were sore from, first being wrapped around Talliea's back, and now being spread open so widely. She did not feel as if she could last any longer. The tense, but enjoyable, throbbing of her sex was screaming at her for a release. She was in a sensory overload as a new kind of exhaustion tried to overtake her.
Talliea, however, was relentless. Her hands and arms were wound around Arizira's thighs holding her in place as she lapped at every drop of moisture. The taste of Arizira, here, was so very different. She was muskier. Her taste exploded across Talliea's tongue, stung her senses, and rolled across her taste buds.
The smells, the tastes, the textures…
Talliea loved every moment of it. She could feel Arizira's pleasure and she used it to guide her actions. Feeling that Arizira was past being ready for release, Talliea pressed her hot tongue inside of her lover repeatedly. Strangled cries met her ears. The fingers in her hair tightened almost painfully. Arizira's hips bucked up without rhythm against her face and mouth.
Talliea hummed. Her happiness at being with her love again overwhelmed her. She let go of all of her negative emotions and used her abilities to ensure Arizira felt everything she felt for her.
Arizira gasped before moaning. Her body froze. New moisture left her as her orgasm finally granted her release. She felt suspended. Vaguely, she was aware of her hands contracting against Talliea's head. Vaguely, she could feel Talliea's gentle kisses and licks. Vaguely, she knew she was experiencing a first of some kind.
But, vague did not matter to her. It was too far away from the edges of her consciousness. All Arizira could focus on was what her body was going through. Every type of pleasant sensation under the stars assaulted and claimed her body. She felt numb, but sensitive; stimulated, but calm.
A new kind of peace washed over as her body convulsed and shook and vibrated and hummed.
Her eyes were so tightly shut that the deepest black she had ever known could not do her lack of sight justice. She felt as though her breath was caught inside her chest, stilled by the experience she found herself in.
Everything felt...slowed.
Normal time seemed to have stopped and with it, so too had her quick release. Instead, everything felt stretched. In that instant, Arizira knew that Talliea was slowing time much like she had in the clearing days before. She was allowing her to feel everything second by pleasurable second and the results were almost too much to bear.
She whispered Talliea's name, or she thought she did. Her body refused to listen to her commands, so lost in her orgasm she was.
Finally, after what felt like ages, Arizira took a shallow breath and opened her eyes slightly. Talliea was no longer between her legs. Instead, she had wrapped the two of them, haphazardly, under the cloak from earlier. Her lips were gently kissing every available inch of skin while her hands smoothed over Arizira's heated and tired body.
"Are you okay?" The question was whispered against Arizira's neck. Talliea was lying on her side, holding her close.
Arizira smiled and hummed, her eyes still refusing to open completely. Talliea was lying so close to her as to be an extension of herself. Her left leg was thrown over her middle with the cloak barely covering them.
A kiss met her collarbone. "It was not too much?" Another question.
Arizira hummed again. She could not recall ever feeling so satisfied, so at peace, or so sure of who she was. The future was still uncertain, but for now the past was known and could be laid to rest.
"I am more than okay," she slowly replied in slurred speech. Unknown to her, her words came out in Arniran.
"You feel whole now, love?" Talliea asked back in Arizira's first language.
"Yes," Arizira responded simply. A kiss was pressed against her temple, a hand landed across her chest.
"Good."
Silence. The rain outside continued to fall. Darkness crept inside the cave prematurely.
"You taste like mint," Talliea said, her smile evident in her tone. She spoke the words as a testament to the ones she had uttered when she and Arizira had finally kissed for the first time.
Arizira smiled and snuggled closer to Talliea. Her eyes drooped and then closed again. Thunder sounded from far off.
"Ari?"
"Hm?" Arizira managed, her responses coming slower as sleep tried to claim her.
Talliea trailed her fingers tenderly across Arizira's breasts. The touch was gentle and soothing. "Are you aware of where you shot Lao'dahn?"
Arizira moved her right hand up to take a hold of Talliea's left. Turning her head, she kissed her forehead softly. "I do not know what you are talking about, Tah-li," she replied, though the mischief in her tired voice led Talliea to believe otherwise.
The cave slowly began to cool, the rain grew heavier. Cloud cover outside allowed for darkness to settle inside the cave. Talliea and Arizira's breathing slowed and evened out. They moved closer together until Arizira turned on her side with Talliea behind her. Talliea wasted no time in moving in close and wrapping her arms around Arizira's middle securely.
Small kisses were placed on the back of Arizira's neck before Talliea rested her head against her back and finally welcomed the peace she had thought forever gone to her.
"I love you" was whispered one more time and then...
...all was quiet.
Chapter 16: Realities
"Where is she now?"
Talyn's voice was without inflection as she posed her question to Bela'luin. After the battle in the clearing, both Esu and Arnira had realized their predicament. Neither had known what to make of Talliea or the power she had unleashed. Whose side was she on? How had she done what she had done? What was her attachment to the fallen Arniran woman?
When movement and time had been restored, both sides had engaged in small skirmishes until the call to retreat had sounded from their leaders. Fighting had continued for a time, but eventually all those present had left, dispersed, and begun their marches back to their respective peoples.
The trek back to the Arnira village had taken nearly two days. Bela'luin had refused to leave behind any wounded and so the walk back had been slower than she'd liked. As for the few of her sisters that had died in the battle, it had been with a heavy heart that she had given the order to press forward without them.
The information she'd carried had to be delivered to Talyn and the others. The Esu were now aware of their presence. They could no longer hide among the shadows and hope for the day walkers to eventually leave.
As she had walked, Bela'luin's thoughts had lingered over Arizira's death. Her heart had ached and her stomach had clenched.
The arrow had not been meant for her! It had been meant for the dark skin, the one whom Arizira was enthralled with! It was the belief of Bela'luin that killing the Esu woman would break Arizira from whatever spell she had over her. Then Arizira would be free, realize her foolishness, and return to her people to aid them in the coming war.
But, alas! That had not happened. Arizira had sacrificed herself to save the heathen dark skin! Why? The control the Esu woman had over Arizira must have been strong! Bela'luin was still unsure of how Arizira had moved so fast. It should not have been possible, even for an Arnira.
How was she to explain to the Elders that she was the cause of death for one of their own? She could hardly deny it. Others had seen her fire the arrow. Hadn’t they? It had all happened to fast.
She had walked in silence. Time had passed quickly. When she and the others had arrived back to the tribe, a meeting had been quickly convened to learn of what had trans
pired. Bela'luin had hardly noticed the passage of hours and then days. Her mind had been too caught up on Arizira's loss.
The Elders and Talyn had asked numerous questions. She and each of the others with a high rank and standing had provided what details they could. No one had spoken of Arizira or the accident that had claimed her life. It was not until Talyn had asked if they had been victorious that matters had taken a different turn.
Why were they back so soon, the Nai'iris wanted to know.
Looks had been passed and shared and heads had hung. No had had known how to recount the events that had transpired which had led to their return. Bela'luin had finally, after hours of debriefing, told the Elders about Talliea and the powers she had wielded.
She'd told them about how time had stopped; how the arrow she had been attempting to fire had disintegrated into thin air; how Talliea had been surrounded by some type of glowing halo of crackling energy and how her eyes had been completely black.
She had done her best to describe the haunted look on the woman's face. How she had appeared calm and in control, but also more lost than any one person should ever feel.
Talyn had listened with a quiet resolve. The other Elders had scoffed, not believing Bela'luin's tall tale. Others had been called to ask their version of events and when their information had corroborated Bela's story, none had known how to respond.
The day had been called and everyone had left. While the tribe slept, the information Bela had provided seemed to weigh heavily on Talyn's already troubled mind. So it same to pass, the following night, she called Bela'luin to Rae’kir, alone.
That is where the two women found themselves. Bela'luin looked over at Talyn who was standing to her right.
"Where is who, Nai'iris?" she asked in a dead tone.
Talyn inhaled sharply as she regarded Bela'luin's state. Her normally bright and alert green eyes were dull and marked with some unknown pain. Her shoulders were hunched, causing her not to stand as tall as she normally did, and there was a frown marring her face that refused to give way.