by Calista Skye
I stop and gently let her down.
Her face is red from hanging down my back. “Thank you. Dragon is highly in sky.”
“Very high up?” I suggest, scanning what little of the darkening sky I can see from here..
“Hm?”
“I think you mean to say, ‘the dragon is very high up in the air’.”
“Ah. Yes. The dragon is highly high up in the air.”
“‘Very high up’,” I say as clearly as I can.
“The dragon is very high up in the air,” she repeats. “Very. Hmph. Is hard speak like warrior man.”
“You’re doing very well,” I assure her. “Come.” I take her hand. I have some idea where we might go, but it’s a long way, and we won’t get there before it gets dark.
The roar from the rapids grows weaker behind us, and I’m able to relax a little bit. I’ve only seen the dragon attack once, and it happened in open country, not in the woods. I can’t imagine it’s stupid enough to dive blindly through the canopy of treetops like the irox will.
We go on for a while, slower and more quietly.
“Car’rakz,” Tamara says, sending a ray of light into my mind. She spoke my name!
“Yes?”
“Water?”
I stop and give her the water pouch.
She drinks greedily and wipes her mouth. “You see dragon before?”
“It lives near my village,” I repeat. “It has killed two of my tribesmen.”
“It has been long?”
I have to think. It does feel as if the dragon has been here a long time, but it really hasn’t. “A cycle of Yrf at the most. Thirty days.”
Tamara nods. “Not long. How it kill tribesmen?”
“We noticed it in the sky.” I speak quietly, which is always wise in the jungle. “It looked a little like an irox, but it was clearly something else. We saw it every day and then went to investigate. It was two tribesmen and I. We noticed it came from the same direction most of the time, so we walked in that direction for many days. Every day we saw the dragon. Each day a little closer to the ground. It was unspeakably beautiful. And yet it filled us more and more with dread, although all it did was fly.”
I notice I’m grasping the hilt of my sword very hard as I remember the event just fifteen days ago. “We came to a rocky area with many caves. We knew it, but now it seemed forbidding in a way it never had. We could feel the dragon was close, although we couldn’t see it. It was very strange. We most of all wanted to run home, but we stayed and hid. We waited all night until the morning. The dragon came out of the largest cave. It was much bigger than an irox. It shimmered in many colors. It was clearly a Big, but also clearly different from the other Bigs. They are more… mindless.”
Tamara reaches out and grabs my hand. “I know. Feel like man, almost.”
“It seems like a human more than an animal,” I agree. “But more menacing. More cunning. Alien. Well, it came out and soared off with such… majesty. We couldn’t take our eyes off it. Then we wanted to explore its cave. We left the hiding place and walked to the cave opening. Then I spotted the dragon in the sky and called to the two others to run. But they had seen something inside the cave and wanted to investigate. They said that they trusted their swords if it came to that, and they told me to go. And I did. They were much older than me.”
I’m not sure how much of this Tamara understands. But I feel that she should be told this, even if she may not grasp all of it.
“And then?” she asks, squeezing my hand.
“I ran back to the edge of the jungle. The dragon was still high above. I yelled to the others to come out. They did, swords drawn. It seemed like they would have time to run across the rocky field and in among the trees. Then suddenly the dragon dove straight down, falling faster than a rock, beating it wings. It was upon them and grabbed them in its claws, then squeezed them both to a pulp.”
The recent memory makes me squeeze Tamara’s hand too hard. She whimpers in pain, and I loosen my grip and raise her hand to my mouth, giving it a small kiss. “Apologies. The memory… that dragon is evil.”
“I highly understand,” Tamara says. “I mean very. I very understand. Yes. Evil.”
“It laughed,” I state, looking up. “It laughed in joy and menace.”
“Dragons laugh,” Tamara says and shudders. “I heard. Very evil dragon. There is one just?”
“There is just one,” I correct her. “Yes. Only the one.”
“We can look at dragon,” she says, thinking. “Look from far away. See how lives. Find where is weak. Tell tribesmen.”
I feel cold at the idea of having Tamara spying on this thing. Or even being on the same planet. But her plan is not much different from my own original plan. I came to her tribe to seek information about the recent events, and also to see if they knew about killing dragons. Apparently, they have slayed some small and young ones, but this one is neither of those things. They had nothing of interest to tell me. So I planned to spy on the dragon myself and then figure out a way to rid us of it.
And when Tamara said she wanted to go back to her tribe, that reinforced my plan. I would kill the dragon and so keep her safe. That is still an option.
“We’ll see,” I state. I have to think about this before I can promise anything.
There’ve been no more signs of the dragon. Not even a shadow. And darkness falls fast.
I look Tamara up and down. My mind is still processing the unbelievable thing that happened. Her body accepted me the way she herself seems to accept me, with all my imperfections.
Of course, no man ever expects to Mate with a woman. The shaman’s teachings are accepted and makes us young boys very excited at the thought that any of us might be the man who discovers The Woman, but as we grow up we realize it will never happen. We will never Mate, and none of us will meet The Woman.
Except I have Mated now. With a woman more wondrous than I ever expected the mythical Woman to be.
I clear my throat. “The beast has gone, I think.”
11
- Tamara -
“Looks like it.” I stare up into the darkness. There could be fifty dragons up there, and we wouldn’t be able to see them.
But the shattering panic I felt the moment I laid eyes on the thing up in the sky is weakening fast. Troga had this way of making you scared even if you couldn’t see her. You could feel her if she was close, even if you couldn’t see or hear her. The dragon we saw might be far away.
Or maybe it’s him. Maybe Car’rakz chases my fears away. He towers over me and projects safety.
I never thought I’d feel really safe ever again since I came to Xren. The low-level and sometimes crushingly high-level fear I always felt on this planet is somehow gone right now. Even with the dragon probably still close. I never had any idea how addictive it could be to not feel some degree of fear every waking hour. When Car’rakz is with me, my fears return to normal and only show up when there’s an actual reason for it.
He did tie me up. But then he released me. Can I really blame a freaking caveman for being a little possessive about the first woman he ever met?
“I cannot let that get close my tribe,” I say. “There are baby. Many. And mothers. I not know my tribesmen ready to face highly big dragon. Still building tribe of dragon hunters. Not tribe. Other word. Many men fight together?”
He looks down at me with eyes that are even more luminously yellow in the darkness. “An army. Yes, I also want the dragon gone. Possibly an army is not the best way.”
I scratch my chin. “It highly best attack dragon in dragon cave, not in tribe village. Not wait until attack us. We attack dragon very sooner. Dragon not know we coming.”
“I can’t attack it with my sword and expect success,” Car’rakz points out. “It could easily kill us both.”
“Sword not best,” I agree. “Other way better. We look at dragon from highly far. Very far. Look how lives and flies and many things. Then think of plan to kill. Using tribe. Mine and ma
ybe also yours?”
He looks away. “We’ve been standing still for too long. Never a good idea to stand still in the jungle when it‘s this dense. Gives predators time to assemble packs.”
We keep walking for another half hour before we reach a clearing. I’m surprised it never really gets all that dark in the jungle. It’s nighttime now, and there’s no moon in the sky. But, the various plants and trees somehow give off enough light to see by.
Car’rakz immediately goes to work and chops down saplings to build a hut, while I gather heaps of straw for the roof. I’ve helped build huts in the village, and the small hut Car’rakz built for me earlier was much the same design.
Still, it takes us about an hour before we have a primitive dwelling that might even keep the rain out. Car’rakz makes a fire, and we sit there munching on meat and pemmican while the jungle hums with life around us. That puts me at ease, somehow — if the dragon was close, every creature would be hiding and shutting up.
“So sorry about your tribesmen,” I say. “Crushed by dragon claws. Highly terrible.”
“They were too slow,” Car’rakz says darkly. “Too sure of their skills with the sword. As if the sword could save them. As it was, they missed with their strokes and were crushed by the claws.”
“They maybe think like my tribe, dragon is like irox,” I suggest.
“Maybe,” he sighs. “And I suppose they are alike in some ways.”
The fire is crackling, and a mild breeze ruffles my hair. For a moment, I get that feeling of standing beside myself. Here I am, on a strange planet light years from Earth, among dinosaurs and dragons. Sitting right beside an alien caveman who gave me a good fucking just a few hours ago. And I thought going to Canada to watch beavers for a winter would be an adventure.
“We watch dragon,” I repeat, mostly to stiffen my resolve. “Like um… beavers.”
He throws a bone into the jungle. “Beefr?”
“Beaver. Alien word. Is animal. Small. Highly flat rear … thing.” I wave my hand behind me in a way that I hope illustrates it well.
“Tail.”
“Yes. Very flat tail. And teeth, very large.” I show him with my fingers. “They chop down tree. With teeth! Is highly good animal.”
“Is your planet very different from Xren?”
“Oh, very. No Bigs on Earth. Only Smalls and humans. Men and women. Highly many! Many places not jungle. Huge lakes. Long rivers. Also wide. Places with sand only. Yes. Very different from Xren.”
He frowns. “The women. Are they all like you?”
I shrug. “Some older, some young. I young, but not very young. Also some tall, many not. All different.”
“A planet full of women,” he marvels. “It seems like a dream.”
“Is nice planet,” I say modestly. “No dragons.”
“Only Smalls with wide tails and long teeth. Yes, that must be nice.”
“Also have flying Smalls. Smaller than irox. Not dangerous very. So. Watch dragon like beaver. Find where is not strong.”
He nods in his thoughtful caveman way.
So, I’ve never had a guy take me this seriously. Car’rakz seems to consider everything I say without dismissing any of it, even when it maybe doesn’t make all that much sense. It makes me feel important and even competent.
On an impulse, I reach out and place my hand on his burned cheek again. “How get this?”
He keeps his head still, but I can feel it takes him some effort to not turn away. “Just a burn. From the old days.”
“It hurt?”
He thinks about it. “Not right away.”
“Not right away, but later hurt highly very?”
He nods. “Highly very. Many warriors have injuries. Some of them are much worse than this. And some die. It’s a dangerous jungle. Did many women die when you first came here?”
I know that the guys in my tribe tell the other men who come there about us girls. But the full story is far too long, so they abbreviate it. “Yes. Many taken by irox the first day. I taken too, but not died. Put in terrible place, guarded by dragon Troga.” I shudder at the mere thought of that evil creature.
“But you escaped?”
“I and other girls, as many as this.” I hold up ten fingers, then one.
“Eleven.”
“I and eleven others kept captive by Troga, rescued of Caroline and Xark’on.”
So, we’re talking about me again. He really doesn’t like to talk about himself.
I yawn. It’s been a long day.
- - -
I wake up as Car’rakz gently lifts me and carries me inside the hut, laying me down on soft leaves and grass. “Sorry, fall asleep,” I mumble.
“You did. We all need sleep.”
“Dragon is gone?”
“It’s gone.”
I curl up on my side. “Car’rakz also sleep.”
“That was the plan.” The huge caveman lies down behind me, clumsily spooning me until I pull his arm around me and thrust my ass into his crotch. Immediately, his cock stiffens, and I feel heat shooting to my own crotch. The mental image of his manhood with all its weird and wonderful features sweeps away the sleepiness and replaces it with arousal.
My pussy is still sore from the first time, but now it twitches and clenches around nothing, wishing for something. I wonder if we might have created a monster.
I use one hand to pull my dress up in the back, baring my butt for the caveman behind me. His hard, warm rod is between my cheeks, and I adjust my sideways position, arching my back a little so he really can’t misunderstand the intent.
My breath goes quick and shallow, just waiting for him to get the message.
To my delight, he cups one breast from behind, over the course skin of my dress, and I give an encouraging little moan.
It was supposed to be just once. The thought flashes through my brain, but it has no chance against the groundswell of horniness that shoots through me and makes me jerk with my whole body when I feel Car’rakz adjust his cock so it lines up with my entrance. I quickly check with one finger. Yeah. That should be more than wet enough.
I moan again, this time with more need, and push my hips further back, wanting his rod on my pussy. “Yeah,” I encourage in English, hoping my lust is conveyed right.
Car’rakz slides the dress off my shoulder and cups one breast in his callused hand. The contrast between my smooth, sensitive skin right there and his coarse warrior palm makes me feel both protected and exposed in the most exciting mix.
Then I buck when the head of his exotic cock strokes the length of my slit, helped by the copious amounts of juice I must be leaking. My need is undeniable.
“Fuck me,” I whimper.
As if he understands my alien words perfectly, he pushes a little into me, just past the opening where it gets a little narrower.
“Slowly, please,” I moan, half worried he’ll plunge into me too hard. At the same time, I worry he’ll withdraw if I speak too much, and that would be a lot worse.
He gives my breast one final squeeze, then moves his hand to my bare hip and pulls it back just an inch, making me impale myself on his cock. It’s a dominant move that sets off sparks in my brain and pussy.
He slowly pushes into my newly opened sex, making me feel every part of his cock as it both demands entry and soothes my slick tunnel. Again, it’s forced to widen for the alien invader, creating a slight burning sensation in my already sore pussy.
He pauses as he bottoms out in me, letting my center get used to the incredible, impossible sensation of being physically joined to a caveman alien. The pain subsides fast and adds to the heat that’s building up in my whole pelvis.
Then he pulls out again, slowly and deliberately, and now he’s the one who’s moaning, a deep bassy sound of intense pleasure that makes my chest tremble and my heart swell.
Then my eyes fly open as the alien bumps and ridges on his cock caress my inner walls and leave heat in their wake, delight and a strong antici
pation for the next stroke.
For a moment, I worry he’ll pull all the way out, but then he reverses direction and pushes into me in one long stroke.
“Oooohh yeaahhhh…” Now that I know what to expect, I can let myself just go with the flow. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s got this. Dammit, why did I deny myself sex for so long? But I know that no Earth man could ever deliver this level of fucking.
Yeah, he’s fucking me now, a little faster so I lose track of strokes in and out. With my one free hand, I reach behind me and find his muscular, bare hip, trying to grab it so I can push him harder into me.
He gets it and increases the speed even more, setting up a constant and delirious heat in my whole center as he makes my cunt his own.
I realize I’m deep into the climax already, an orgasm harder and more consuming than any I’ve had before. I can hear myself keening as the waves of bliss roll through me and the caveman keeps fucking me and making me ever more his with each hard stroke into my sex.
He adds his deep voice to mine, and then he bucks, too, as his cock swells even larger inside me and sprays me down with his hot juice.
He slows down, but doesn’t stop, as if he can read my mind and knows exactly what I need and want at that moment.
Finally, he pushes all the way into me and stays there while I ride out the last throes of my bliss, feeling my pussy clench hard and lovingly around his thick manhood. Wanting it in there forever.
“You are… remarkable,” Car’rakz wheezes into my ear.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” I state in my own language. I can’t concentrate on grammar right now.
The aftershocks peter out, and I find myself immersed in a soft, wooly feeling of contentedness. Right now, alien planet or not, I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
I let myself relax completely, feeling Car’rakz’s slow breathing in my hair and his strong heartbeats resonating in my whole body like a bell being struck.
“Don’t ever leave me,” I say, half asleep.
“I wanted to steal your tribe’s Lifegivers,” he says very softly.