-Passion Has No Mercy-

[BookDragon]

Never before have the mountains shaken like that and never again would they. The clouds parted in anger as the seas crashed against every shore. The deep Bellwood the hellish beast ripped across the air with an authority dwarfed by no one. It was the Black Dragon.

A creature of legend long forgotten by those supposed to protect the land. A creature hidden in the deep valley, spellbound into hibernation for half a century after its defeat in the Great War of our ancestors. A brave warrior had stood over the beasts' unconscious body that day wielding an elvin sword, a gleam of humble glory in his eyes.

Today however, as the earth quaked in terror at its foolish forgetfulness, there was no one to vanquish the beast. The age of Life Magic has long since passed and the Elven king had lost sight of his duty to keep the dragon sleeping, it had become slowly immune to the magic and overcame it right under his nose. The only thing left to do is scour the burning land for a creature mighty enough to defend against the Black Dragon without fear...but who? ​

••••••••••••••​

Arexel: Queen of The Dark Magics

It has been 300 years since she had seen his face and it felt as though he had not really changed. His hair was wirey as it had once been but now it was streaked with gray. Age had begun to haunt the spaces under his eyes with wrinkles and a dark shadow in his eyes had been rooted. She twirled her tail around her bow nervously but kept her face a blank as she recalled their past....

Dark elves were not allowed to love, or even really care for anyone other than this to lust for knowledge and power, it was simply the way her culture worked. But the softness in his otherwise battle worn face had tricked her into falling for him somehow. They had been young and foolish, afraid of nothing and wiling to try anything once. They went on many wild quests and adventure for years and one night in the Forest of Lights, she let herself be one with him. Never before and never since had she done this...They were never supposed to be in love, and though she wouldn't have called it that, what they had been intwined in was forbidden either way.

Knowing she would be exiled from her culture, she abandoned him in the Forest of Lights all that time ago. She fled to the far northern plains and spent years training herself not to be only concerned with developing her skills in the dark Magics of the Yikshna Plains.

Many years passed and she became queen of the plains after vanquishing a mighty wielder, (a magic user), in battle. Now, news of the Black Deagon's awakening brought her mind to the mighty warrior she once knew and now she stood with him outside the rusty bar where they first met. No emotion rose from her chest except eagerness to get a move on to the East. It would be a long journey on foot and they had many things to discuss. @Misterchubbs

 

[BookDragon]

"Yes Ke', I do know how short they are..." she sighed deeply and tightened n the strap of her leather satchel across her chest. Arexel knew this journey would be long and difficult so she had packed a few of the most vital things in her pack (under a concealment enchantment of course). These things included: a spellbook, a few bags of powder for different elixirs she knew how to make, as well as a few bits of wrapped bread. It would not be long before the half dwarfs stomach would devour all of their food and require them to hunt, she knew this well. They left the bar together in silence and began into a forest of thick, ancient oak trees.

The quiver of arrows on her back were obsidian pointed, a special skill of carving had been required to create such a weapon and it had taken her years to master it. The arrows tapped quietly together as they began their decent into the densely carpeted forest valley of Grednolk, otherwise called by the locals *The Valley of The Thistles*.

After walking in silence for a few minutes she stopped and faced him again. They needed a plan and she wanted to set one out before they got too much further from civilization, in case he wanted to bail on her. It would not be a surprise to her if he did this, in a way it would be returning the favor...

"I figure the Black Dragon is on the Far East side of the mountains. We can get there on foot if we take this route in about 14 days or so. We will need to keep food and water on hand as often as we can." She reached her hand into her satchel and pulled out a folded parchment. She opened it up to a basic map that was missing many details. "I found this in a tavern a few years back and it shows where the dragon used to reside," her clawed finger graced over the page and she tapped it lightly on a sketch of a sleeping dragon on the far side of her page, "here."

 

[BookDragon]

She smirked and folded the map. "Alright. I get it, not everyone is accustomed to me. After all, I tend to be an acquired taste." She places the map into her satchel and spun on her heel away from him.

They walked through the ancient oaks for about three hours before the trees began to change. They grew shorter and wider, their trunks scarred with past battles and fires. This was the old resting place of the Battle of Wryn, goblins had overrun the elven town here and the massacre that had followed drains the trees here red. A deep sorrow rose into her body through her feet, as though her bare skin against the cool earth soaked in the agony her distant brothers in kind had left here when they were slaughtered.

They rounded a corner on the path and were greeted with an overgrown city center made of white stone and silver. Long ago this place has thrived with magic and wealth but now lay in ruins, stones piled everywhere from fallen buildings and the precious metals long ago stripped from their places. A single tear fell from her eye as she imagined the streets filled with elven children screaming for their slaughtered mothers who lay bleeding in the street.

The roots of the red trees had burrowed into the earth beneath the stones and lifted many of them from their places causing the path to be uneven. Her foot caught on on of these stones and she tripped down onto her hands and knees. The sun was already beginning to set and she knew they wouldn't have long before the remaining goblins in the area to awaken.

"We need to get to water. I think theee is a river nearby, a city would not have been built here without one..." she slowly pulled herself up from the Stoney path and wiped the small trickle of blood from her palm.

 

[BookDragon]

"Yes I know." Her voice was small for a moment and unsure. She really felt a sting I her palm and watched the blueish red blood seep from the cut, it was deeper than she thought it had been. Arexel looked around the city center and smelled the air, it was damp and growing cooler as the sun began to sink, no fresh breeze blew through the trees here meaning it was too thick for a river to run. Placing a small piece of leather over her wound and tightening it into a knot with her teeth her blue eyes met the half dwarfs gaze. For a moment she saw a glimmer of some emotion she could not place, but in an instant it was gone.

"The River is probably up to the east a little, I've rthat ridge there." She pointed to what looked to be an overgrown bazzar and to the small hill just beyond it that was littered with stones. "Let's head that way and see." Arexel twisted her tail around and grabbed ahold of her ruby dagger, twisting it carefully around as she stepped gingerly over the stones.

Her cheeks flushed slightly for a moment thinking she was this great warrior who would be defeated by a stone, the bought actually made her chuckle a little.

After a a few minutes they came to the top of the ridge and the river came into view, it was much further than expected and it would take at least another hour to transverse the thick foliage on the hillside to get down. She sighed, "Damn it all." And began the slow decent down, the sound of distant goblin screeches began to fill the echoing forest...

 

[BookDragon]

The trip was short and bumpy, most of the time she closed her eyes and simply let him guide her, her fingers wrapped loosely around the leather strap of his belt and one hand gently on his shoulder. It was strange for her to do this, normally she was the one in the front heading the charge, as Queen it was her duty. But here, in the loneliness of the wild it was only him, he was the only Desire she had. As they ran down the hill his scent brushed passed her and she breathed him in deeply. It was an earthy scent, like that of freshly dug soil, rich and deep with life. A scent that used to haunt her now brought her a strange comfort as the goblin screeching grew slightly louder in the distance. They got to the river bank and when he was busy huffing and puffing his way to the water, she shook her head silently.

Get ahold of yourself you fool! This is no time for girlish thoughts, the fate of your kingdom lies at stake!​

Agreeing mentally with herself she inhaled deeply and she pushed all feeling down into her core. Carefully she bent to the cold water and drank from a cupped hand. She washed her face and sat gently on the sand. With a single twist of her wrist she created a dark violet stream of energy from her fingers. It began to weave around itself in midair into a sort of netting. As the netting grew, she used her other hand to move it through the air and create a sort of large bubble around them, about 20 feet across and some of it in the river itself. Once the netting was where she felt comfortable she closed her eyes, whispered two words and relaxed her hands. The netting faded into nothing.

She figured he would be confused and simply said, "It is a protection enchantment, the creatures cannot see it but it cannot be broken." Arexel placed her two clawed index fingers together and blew gently upon them. A slow green flame followed her breath and created a small fire on the ground, despite its size it gave of quite a good light in the now growing darkness.

"The goblins will be too many soon to get anywhere more tonight. We should stay here." Her voice suggested that she had already made up her mind about this.

 

[BookDragon]

She waved her hand lazily in front of her nose and smiled to herself. He had such a playful nature you longed for but could never posses. Well, at least not nowadays. When they were young she had been much more careless, joked more, and was able t truly relax. She was now always on edge, ready for the next battle or next person to save.

As he turned from her she could see the exposed skin of his arm and noticed the heavy scarring there now. Images of blood soaked battle fields filled her head and she absentmindedly moved her body closer to his so they were only inches apart. Every cell in her body craved him and she could not deny the feeling no matter how hard she lied to herself.

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the growing pain in her heart. As strong as she was, this feeling was beginning to overtake her. As she drifted off to sleep, her tail subconsciously slipped under his calf and wrapped lightly around it.

The night droned on and the goblins neared their little camp in silence....

 

[BookDragon]

*******​

Morning sunlight washed warmly over Arexel's blueish gray skin and her red hair was a blazing ruby against it. A deep yawn parted her lips and the white fangs glinted against the light. After a brief stretch she realized the state of her tail and as her cheeks flushed a little red she quickly pulled it back from around Ke's leg. She stood and stretch again, pushing his back softly with her bare foot.

"Hey, we need to get moving soon." Her voice was soft, it surprised her a little so she cleared her throat and walked over to the still burning green flame in the center of the enchantment net. Breathing deeply she drew the flames up from the ground with her index finger and as the flames climbed her hand and forearm it did not burn her. It tingles across her skin and made its way almost seductively up to her nose where she took another deep breath and took the magic back within herself.

The river felt cool to the touch when a he bent down to rinse her face and after peeking over her shoulder, Ke' appeared still asleep. She looked over her arms and legs and decided a quick dip to clean her skin would be refreshing and in the morning sun she would warm quickly. After removing all but her undergarments she stepped into the river up to her knees and stopped. Smooth stones under her feet brought her peace and the air filled with the sounds of joyful birds. It was almost as if she were home again on the Plains, alone in the palace garden with her thoughts. A humm erupted from her chest, a tune she often found herself singing when she was at great peace.

A blue smoke began to rise from the tips of her claws and she began to sing: "Awaken the sorrows of your heart dear child, bring me your eyes so that I can save you. Never alone but always apart, I cannot depart from your starry gaze..." a song her father used to sing her as a child many hundreds of years ago. The water rose up around her waist and the blue smoke mixed with it creating pockets of air that danced around her and slid against her skin, cleaning her body without her ever having to move. "Your horizons are widening dear one, my love. Your broken wings be mended in my mind and you shall fly with me..." the last line was whispered and the water fell around her back into its place.

She opened her eyes and took one last deep breath before turning around. She met a gaze she wasn't prepared for, her garments practically transparent from the water, she froze.

 

[BookDragon]

The sudden closeness of his body made her heart jump into her throat, she had no words. His lips connected with hers and her world lit on fire with a passion she did not remember being capable of. It was a brief kiss but enough to make her dig her claws into his shoulder slightly. His sly joking made her smile and she watched his gaze shifting upon hers. Still, with no words, she leaned into another kiss, this time her body pushed against his, she needed this. Some deep carnal desire for him was drawing her in and she didn't want to stop it. For the first time in 300 years she allowed herself to desire him. She pulled her leg up against his hip and kissed him hard, her hands tracing his neck and shoulders mindlessly while her tail whipped back and forth. Their hips pressed against each other and she felt how much he needed her...

Her mind raced with memories of the night she had felt this before, the way the rain had mixed with their love and made everything sticky. She wanted to stick to him now, every part of her being.... she bit his bottom lip and pulled a little. She broke the kiss and whispered in his ear, "I don't know what this is but please don't sto-" she stopped, froze in place again but this time out of genuine fear. Behind them on the bank there were a dozen goblins with weapons drawn...

 

[BookDragon]

Without much thought, mostly just muscle memory reaction, she grabbed her bow and pulled back on the bowstring taut against her cheek. The arrow slid into its place and on the exhale she released the obsidian tipped arrow. It whistled for a split second before coming to a halt in the middle of a goblins forward sending black blood across the sandy bank. Another goblin screeched and came at her right, without peeling her eyes from the battle in front of her she whipped another arrow for the quiver, aimed and killed the beast. It's body limply falling to the earth. Arexel places a foot on its jaw and ripped the arrow from its lifeless flesh, shaking off excess blood before setting the thing into the bowstring once more and aiming again.

The goblins were dropping like flies at this point and the river ran black with their blood, a gruesome reminder of the task ahead...

 

[BookDragon]

Arexel slung the bow over her shoulder and it hung loosely against her chest, the quiver of arrows now empty. "Time for some hands on action.." she grunted and slid a black blade from a hidden sheath on her belt. The blade was small and lightweight making it lethal in the hands of someone as quick as she could be. She caught sight of a large goblin male, joules swinging wildly as it ran towards Ke' sending its foul saliva everywhere. It pushed aside two smaller goblins and drew its heavy club up behind its back, preparing for a swing.

Like lightening she leapt across the river and the blade was at Iran throat in seconds, she knew that this was the leader of the charge because of his size and the red-blood handprint across his chest. The stench of his skin made her sick and she felt herself gag when she suspended his head in a locked position. With one swift motion she dropped to one knee, the other pressed into its back for leverage, and slid the blade through his neck slicing its head clean off. The body fell limp to the ground before her and the other goblins began to squeal in confusion. Their leader gone, they would disperse. Black blood soaked the front of her body and her hands glistened with the dark liquid against the strengthening sunlight, it was a sight she had seen many times before and it brought her a hunger for power she hadn't felt in years.

All the pent up rage boiled up inside Arexel, too long had she waiting for Ke' ,too long had she swallowed her emotions and trained herself not to feel anything at all. Now, in the dying heat of the battle, it was like a dam ruptured and all of those years of repression came spilling out. She dropped the blade and a violet flame burned in the corners of her eyes. A dark blue light seemed to come from her very skin and with a sound like no other, she opened her mouth and a deep bellow crossed her lips. The sound was one of sorrow and loneliness and utter pain. A flash of brilliant white light, and the moment of magical release was over. Her power spent, the remaining goblins terrified by the light retreating into the woods, her body went limp and she fell face first into the water...out cold.

 

[BookDragon]

A stillness fell over Arexel's mind and she drifted from the world back into time. She opened her eyes and found herself wearing a white elven chainmail armor piece with gold inlays around the collar bones. This piece had long been discarded and she barely remembered owning until now, seeing it again tempted a smile at the corners of her mouth. She remembered the way it had fit her, quite snug and complimenting all of her features. She pushed herself up onto her hands and felt the velvety purple moss of the forest floor beneath her palms, she was back in the Forest of Lights. It was as though she had gone back in time to one of the days she had hidden with Ke' in the Forest and taken shelter under one of its magical trees. A alluring purple hue flowed around all of the tree tops and they themselves were brilliant white with dark indigo streaking deepset into their branches. Their leaves were broad and strong enough to hold up her weight if she wanted to walk on them, and sometimes she would climb to the top of the tree at sunset to watch the fairies awaken and collect stardust as the night began to fall.

She blinked a few times against the hazy purple light and from beyond the meadow in which she was seated came a young looking Ke' towards her. Through his body language he was clearly speaking to her in a slightly seductive way but she couldn't hear a thing. It sounded as though she were underwater and he was trying to speak through it. Arexel twitched her ears forward but couldn't even begin to make out what he was mouthing to her. In a split second his frame was upon hers, all of his weight on her hips and his lips were on hers, a warm feeling she remembered very well. His breath was heavy in her ears and his hands traced her body from claw tips to tail. Arexel rolled her eyes back into her head and let the feeling of him take over her, the feeling she longed for so deeply...

"Wake up!"

His voice rang loudly and suddenly in her ears and she snapped her eyes open. Everything was black and for a moment she panicked. A clawed hand threw off a heavy coat that had been placed over her face and torso and she found herself beneath some sort of tree root system illuminated by a small green flame. Her piercing eyes shot through the dark and found Ke'. He looked much older and more rugged than the man she had remembered in her dream, but the ecstasy that shot rhrough her frame upon meeting his gaze was the same. It had only been a dream or perhaps a snippet of a long suppressed memory.... right?

 

[BookDragon]

Greatfully she took the wineskin and with her eagerness to gulp it down she didn't notice it pouring out the side of her mouth a little and dripping down her chin. The wine spilled down onto her collar bones and when a cool breeze swept across them did she quickly notice and wipe it away. Sheepishly she handed the now half empty skin to him as he finished rustling with his pants.

"Yes I agree. I'm sorry we wasted the day because of me...it has just been so long Ke'..." she voice was trembling but she quickly hid it and cleared her throat before starting again. "Let's keep heading East, that's the way we will have to go anyways." She stood and used her tail and hands to wipe dirt off of the backs of her legs and back. With her bow once again sling over her chest she felt her stomach rumble slightly.

"Maybe we could get some food?" Just as she turned her head away from him a red glint on his wrist caught her eye. "What is that?! You're hurt aren't you!" This time when she spoke she had no notice of the girlish tone in her voice, only concern furrowed her normally seamless forehead. She bent to one knee and despite how she knew he would pull away from her she grabbed his wrist and pulled up his sleeve revealing the partially healed carnage beneath.

"You....this is.....Ke' what the hell is this?!" Confusion and anger began to bubble in her chest. Why had he hidden such a thing from her? They had been apart a long time, yes, and she knew he would have some new secrets but hiding the fact that he held the magiks of beyond the grave....she felt it deep in her chest. Before he could respond however she stood and flicked her ears back in annoyance, "No matter. We will keep moving through the night. I am not tired anymore."

Her face went to a blank slate and as she turned from him a single tear fell, there was no real reason to feel this way and she probably deserved it but some deep part of her felt betrayed. It was confusing to her since there was no real reason for her to feel anything, but she silently began walking into the forest as the sun painted the sky in its setting.

 

[BookDragon]

She was dreaming again, she had to be. A flash of green light behind her and the rugged shouting drew her attention backwards. She was about 100 yards in front of him and she watched the green flames engulf him before he walked out of them anew. He didn't look a day over the morning she had left him. His hair windswept and his much shorter beard was brilliantly colored, not a single grey dared show its face. Her breath caught in her lungs for a moment, she was seeing a ghost. A ghost of a person she never dreamed of seeing again.

"I don't understand..." she whispered to the wind. Her ears flattened to her skull and her tail whipped back and forth in anger. "DONT TAUNT ME, FOOL!" Her clawed fingers curled into fists and she snarled at him. Every cell in her body told her to strike him down in his arrogance, this was a direct hit to the long tended to wound that would never heal.

"You don't understand do you?! I loved you with EVERYTHING I had and I lost everything because of it. My father was coming to Kill you! I HAD to leave! To protect you you idiot!" Her words spilled from her lips like an unrelenting liquid flame. In her blind anger she reached for her weapon, tears streaming down her face. "Don't you get it? I needed you like the sun needs a sky to live upon but I could not have you. I would never be able to have you.... he would have hunted you and I till the ends of time before he let me love you!"

The words burned her throat and her tears stained her cheeks, stinging them. The lashing of her tail cut through the air and the now awakening fireflies fled hastily. In the now growing darkness her eyes began to glow and a blue smoke once again started to seep from her fingers. The way he had so easily shifted forms angered her. How dare he show the face she would have killed for again...and not expect her to devolve into partial madness.

 

[BookDragon]

The thud from his shoulder radiated through her as if she had been pierced by an arrow. She watched him in silence walk away and shimmy down into the rocks facing away from her. Arexel has no words. He was right, she had ruined everything as she always did, and now there was no one to blame for anything that was happening expect her.

Arexel walked about fifty paces away from where the streaming man was and found a small tree with a Y crook in its branches. She carefully climbed up and made herself comfortable between the two large trunks, her tail swinging loosely down towards the ground. She took a few deep breaths in and out, blinked a couple of times in the growing starlight...and began to sob. She had no truly cried like this in a long time but now in the loneliness of the woods she let it all out. She was anger at herself for what she had done, angry at the world for putting her in the position she was in.

No matter. None of this trivial love garbage mattered, there was a dragon on the loose and she needed to do something about it. Part of her felt it was somehow a redeeming task that would bring her back from the self hatred she held, but part of her doubted it would change anything at all.

After awhile of pondering the task ahead of her (at this point she didn't know if there was a "them" anymore because Ke' may not go with her to the East), she drifted into a light and very uneven sleep. It was full of nightmares of watching Ke' get tore to shred by the dragon while she did nothing nearby. It scared her that she could be so hurtful.

She awoke to the sound of birds singing loudly in the trees and the dawning sun just breaking over the horizon....it was time to really get moving.

 

[BookDragon]

A softness crosses Arexel's face for a moment, but then it was replaced with annoyance. The gesture was kind of him but I would not solve the deeper issues they had. Without waking him, (she figured she owed him at least that much), she slid passed him and down to the meadow. She bent her knees and fell softly to them, humming as she went. Carefully she undid her long red braid and felt the weight of her hair in the wind. It rugged lightly against her ears and she inhaled deeply at the crisp breeze.

Using her bare feet she cleared away the dead bits of grass and leaves from the meadow floor and once the earth was exposed she dug a small hole about three inches wide and four inches deep. The soil under her claws felt good, it was like she was reconnecting with the earth. Many mornings started this way and she had learned over time that the source of her magicks came from the earth and from channeling her emotions, not necessarily skill. Arexel closed her eyes and placed her hands over the hole and began to whisper: Grtias reddo quod deveined, ad magica et florebit quasi lilium..

From the earth beneath her fingers a white light began to glow and after a moment a small green plant sprouted frkmbetween her fingers. It began to grow long vines and the leaves broadened, within seconds the main trunk of the plant was above her head. She remained on her knees, tail neatly curled in concentration and her hands around the base of the plant. Arexel chanted again in the ancient language of the Plains and the plant stopped growing in height but instead a large yellow bud appeared near the top. In a few moments, it burst open into a large flower and it sent small sparks of blue light all around her. Arexel's eyes shot open blindly and a blue light illuminated her corneas like lanterns in the midnight sky.

A deep sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes once more. The yellow flower began to wilt and curl upon itself, retreating into the ground and growing darker and darker until it was black and only a few inches high. Arexel opened her eyes which had returned to their normal state, her strength renewed, she stood and looked down at the black flower.

"I have given what is owed....damn it all if I must give everything..." one swift movement of her tail and the plant lay dead, sliced in perfect two. This was a weekly ritual she was to perform in order to keep her magicks strong and healthy, one of the many things she had learned in The Plains. She wasn't powerless if she didn't do this, but she was much weaker.

Arexel stretched and yawned, Ke' was probably still sleeping and she would have to wake him....the thought clouded her mind for a moment before she shook it free and padded over to him. Gently she put a hand on his shoulder, she was much less angry now and didn't want to cause anymore pain between them. "Hey, the sun is up. We need to get moving." Without really thinking about it she leaned in and kissed his forehead. It felt right. She pulled away and was immediately angry with herself....why could she not control herself?! All those years of training for what?

 

[BookDragon]

Arexel felt the saddle beneath her hips and when the steed ran her hips followed the motion, rolling forward and then scooping backward. Her shoulders bobbed with the rhythm as well. It was not a new feeling for her to have her hips gyrating forward and backward, and both times she had experienced it involved Ke' in a position behind her....

She shook her head. Focus! They were galloping quickly through the many meadows and clearings of the oak forest and it slowly shifted into a vast expanse of Golden wheat fields surrounded by orchards. There was a large granite mountain that rose up from the west and in the distance of the Far East Arexel saw black clouds on the horizon, the Dragon was awaiting them.

After several hours of silent riding with Ke's hand tightly around her smoothly rolling hips, Arexel leaned backward ever so slightly so that there was no space between them anymore, her entire body now shifted in the same motion as his on the great steed and the smell of rotting flesh seemed to fade. She inhaled his sent deeply and closed her eyes, a clawed hand gripping his chainmail for balance. Absentmindedly she wrapped her tail around his waist and the tip of it slipped under his leather, caressing the small of his back as they rode. she wanted so badly to apologize for what she had said, for leaving, for everything but the words did not come to her in time. Just as she finally opened her mouth to speak, a little white brick cabin came into view on the edge of an orchard off to the left.

"I guess we are here..." she sighed. She unwrapped her tail and sat up straight, the steed slowed form a gallop to a trot and they turned down a dusty path that lead from the main road down to the brick cabin.

 

[BookDragon]

Arexel followed Ke' into the old barn and took note of its old ness. This must have been built many years ago and by hand, without any magick, because it was imperfect. There were small holes in the roofing tiles that allowed streams of sunlight to filter through and illuminate the hay littered floor below. She peered through the partially open barn door and her eyes landed on bare skin. His shoulder blades rolled smoothly beneath his skin as he bent over and brought water to his face, rubbed it a few times and then reached blindly for something to dry his beard with. Arexel giggled a little when he reached for a saddle polish rag and drew t to his face.

"WAIT!" She squealed through laughter and stopped him before he used the polished stained rag on his face. She instead removed a scarf tied around her waist and have itto him. It was made of elven silk, one of the last things from her passed life that she still carried with her. Once the scarf was removed it was revealed that her leather breast plate near the base had a tear in it.

"Oh damnit. This has protected me for ages! Stupid goblins!" In frustration she turned from him and began to struggle to untie the heavy lacing along her spine that held the leather plate in place.

 

[BookDragon]

Her ribs expanded every so slightly with the loosening of the leather plate. She followed it with her eyes and as it lay on the hay in a pile of straps it reminded her of how she wanted to feel: loose and free. His thumbs were heaven upon the many knots and stressful muscle cramps she had built up over time. Her tail wrapped around his waist and pulled him towards her, his hands migrated form her shoulders down to the front of her hips. She placed her hands on his and guided him in the way she wanted to feel his thumbs digging into her abdomen muscles.

Arexel pushed her body as close as it could get to his and felt his lips on her exposed neck. He was hungry for her and it was very noticeable by the way he ran his hands up and down her body, nibbling her neck and shoulders as he went. Her breathing quickened, this is what she had been desperate for and every fiber of her being begged for him...

She flipped herself around to face him, he pushed her body up against a support beam of solid wood and she looked him dead in the eyes.

"I have never stopped loving you..." she whispered and pulled him in for a kiss. This was one like no other, not even from when they were young. No, this kiss was pure passion and lustful desire. She lifted her leg up to his hip and felt his hand roughly grasp it to pull her closer. She smiled through the kiss and a faint pink Smokey air began to rise form her ears...

 

[BookDragon]

Morning sunlight washed over the barn and it warmed nicely. Arexel opened her eyes and a few sparrows flittered above them from rafter to rafter, ignoring their presence on the ground. The sunlight through a cracked roof tile landed squarely on her chest and for a moment she thought the warmth was from that, but when she moved a little she felt weight there. Ke' has fallen asleep with his head on her shoulder and his hand on her chest. She smiled, he looked so peaceful and young although he had not rejuvenated his flesh in awhile. He looked handsome in his advanced age, like a fine whiskey over time, he had gotten rough on the outside but he was still smooth inside.

Arexel careful slid from beneath his weight and stood to stretch, her bare nakedness something she was not ashamed of here. She paced over to the water trough and splashed some on her face and over a few other places that were sticky from the night before. Drying herself with a quick spell she began to pull on her clothes and noticed some purplish makings on her hips, hickies she supposed. She blushed, it was nice to have his mark again. A yawn overtook her and when she opened her eyes again Ke' was awake.