Heirot

Tenara curled her arm around Havi's, hugging it to her. "It's okay. You're right. We should be more productive with our time..." She lifted her blue gaze to him, lowering her voice. "But... It was nice, being with you. I would like that again." She leaned into him, and now that the adrenaline of fearing for someone's life had lowered, she was more aware of her body—the tremble of her legs, the pleasant, memorable ache of where he'd been so deep inside. It felt strange to pivot so quickly to homework after something like that.

She glanced at Laurius and Artisuren to see if they felt as out of place as she did, but Laurius seemed focused and unphased by the idea of going straight to work and Artisuren... He seemed irritated.

Laurius waited until Artisuren was dressed before heading back towards camp.

Havi smiled at her soft weight against him and scooped her up, hoping she wouldn't mind. Afterglow was so treasured by his kind, and they'd been interrupted. It felt good to cradle her against his chest. "I would like it, too," he said, nuzzling his face into her hair. His fingers traced the slickness of her thighs, and it made him want to go for another round. The words he'd been tempted to say earlier came to mind again. He spoke before he could grow nervous at the gravity of what he wanted to ask of her. "Tenara... The next time I am aflame, would you Bond me?"

_________

Ren fell in behind Laurius, matching his pace as he headed toward camp. The rain was already passing, and sunlight began leaking down through the clouds, highlighting Laurius's rain-wet skin. He found himself trying to drown out his anxiety by admiring the curve of the man's back as he walked. The men of this world had a hard, sensual compactness to their body structure that differed from his race's long, lithe build. Laurius's muscles seemed more prominent, his movements more direct. He fought the temptation to visualize what that strong body must have looked like bracing him from behind, grinding into his back while his hands tore his composure to shreds.

He was so focused that he nearly walked straight into his master when they reached the tent.

Tenara leaned into the press of his face in her hair, and her breath held at the feel of his hand on her thigh, touching the part of himself still lingering on her skin. She swallowed, feeling a nervous flutter in her belly.

She thought of bond-broken Artisuren, and how damaged he seemed being cut off from his Yurivis. But she had abandoned him. Tenara would not abandon Havi. They were together, so why not be bound in other ways than just the sword?

She nodded against him. “Yes. I would like that.” A moment later she added, “Do you know when… you might be? Not to rush, it’s just… it would be nice to prepare a place. Someplace more private, and comfortable?” The last time they had been in her room for two days, almost constantly insnared with each other in one way or another.

——

When they reached their encampment, Merry and Tabetha were outside their shelters, feeding wood into the fire. If they had heard any sounds, they were good at keeping it to themselves. But, then again, Merry and Tabetha were used to his antics. He was pretty certain they made wagers on them. Laurius ducked into his shelter for the dagger, and rose. He realized then, that he didn't have anything to clean it with. He had no cloth but the trousers he wore and they weren't exactly clean.

He rose, searching for Tenara and Havitharon to ask what he should do to clean it properly. “I need to find a cloth. Then, you will feel better,” he assured Ren.

Havi held her close and let her words sink in. "I swear to serve you well," he said, showing her his rare smile. He tried to think back to their time at the palace. How long ago had it been? Four weeks? Five? He sat down with her across his lap at the brook's side and rinsed her legs gently with his hands using the fresh water. His fingers brushed higher, cleaning her tenderly. "I used the magician's curse to repress the flame for so long that I'm not sure what regularity to expect. But ruts are typically about ten weeks apart. I would give myself to you now if I could."

Artisuren looked curiously over his shoulder at the blade. Near-invisible flecks of rust tarnished it, mostly near the hilt. He touched his shoulders absently. Did different parts of his body correspond to different parts of the blade? He frowned at the decay. "There's no rush. It is not as though I'm in agony. Please don't allow what she said to trouble you."

Tenara’s hands knotted in the damp cotton slip gathered above her knees. She tried to keep her heart from racing away from her. His smile, his voice proclaiming he would give himself this instant if it were possible, coupled with the sensual way his hands worshipfully rinsed her skin… It all threatened to drive her to ruin.

“I would take you now, if I could,” she echoed, her voice carrying the sensual weight of longing. She tore her gaze from his face to his hand disappearing beneath the bunched cloth. She thought of Laurius and Artisuren in the water, the sound of pained rapture in the being’s voice, the look of want in Laurius’s eyes. If they lingered this way, they would end up the same as them. Her control left something to be desired.

“Should we catch up to them?” She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to use her magic or work. She wanted to spend her day in his arms.

—-

Laurius shook his head. “I take care of what is mine,” he said, echoing the phrase he’d whispered into the beings ear while his hand was around him beneath the water.

“Where are they? They were right behind us,” he said, frowning and brushing past Artisuren to go the way they’d come.

Havi was smiling again. "Yes, I am finished," he said, content with his care of her body. "Shall I carry you back?"

__________

Ren reached out as if to stop him, but didn't touch his master. What a confusing man. "Based on what they said, they may have cut off their time to roll in the embers when they came looking for us."

Tenara smiled. At least one of them could keep their head in straight. She nodded. “My legs still feel a little shaky,” she whispered sheepishly, thinking of them over his shoulders. And, unlike her mother who wasn’t fond of being off her feet, Tenara enjoyed the pampering care.

—-

“Roll in the embers??” Was that their equivalent of a roll in the hay or tussle in the sack? “We weren’t exactly finished either, so the feeling is mutual.”

Ren glanced aside, shamed. "No, we weren't. I am sorry," he said seriously. "But I wasn't referring to that. A pair rolls in the embers... afterward," he said. "In our culture, there is some ritual to it. I told you about the extended joining. Also cleaning, and aftercare if wounds are made. They may have stayed back for that."

He suddenly remembered the bite on his shoulder, and slapped a hand over it. Had that come out like a complaint? Why did he keep making things worse? "It does not apply to male-male pairings," he burst out. It wasn't technically a lie. There was no such thing as a male-male pairing.

______________

Havi kissed her head and scooped her up. The walk back to camp wasn't far, and the sun had begun to come out.

Laurius glanced to the near-vicious bite on Ren’s shoulder. He had gotten carried away, but it hadn’t broken the skin. He reached out, fingertips circling the wound. “It gets very dark at night. Perhaps we can revisit our time together in the dark of our shelter while they sleep?”

And then he spotted Havitharon emerging with Tenara in his arms. He watched her slip out of his grasp and duck into their tent. He gave Ren a brush along his arm and twisted to follow her. As she reemerged from their shelter, clutching Havitharon’s heavy sword to her breast, he asked, "What do you use to clean it?"

She glanced inside for a second. "I kept a piece of my dress... But, I don't have anymore."

Laurius frowned, turning his gaze on Merry and Tabetha, who were both down to pantaloons and blouses. He tapped his foot thoughtfully in the sand. They couldn't spare any more fabric loss... He heard a ripping sound, and when he turned his gaze back on the Princess, she had set the sword at her feet and begun to tear a strip of her slip from the bottom. She made an uneven new hem to her garment and passed the fabric into his hand.

Ren nodded earnestly at Laurius's proposal, and then the man was gone, fussing with the princess for a way to clean his blade. His master's invitation to continue later and his fixation on seeing to his care both embarrassed and pleased him. Was it okay to assume this meant he had great value to the man? He set his jaw, determined. He would make sure to serve him thoroughly later.

He noticed Thvoros watching him, and glared back.

“Polish. Keep it clean and dry as best you can,” Tenara instructed as they walked down the beach.

Laurius began to polish the blade as they walked, scrubbing at the steel.

“So what is the first objective with your testing?” she asked, not looking his way.

“Distance perhaps. Make them walk until they return to the blades, see if there is any deviation or if they have the same limits?”

“Then, we will have to make them whole again,” she said, looking pointedly at him. “Which means a rather deep cut on your part.”

“But not on yours? Aren’t you curious as to why?”

“Yes,” she said. “Does this experiment hope to lend us any clues on that?”

“The book would have helped more there,” he admitted. “But, maybe we can compare and contrast summonings…”

“It makes me ill,” she muttered. “Headaches. Nose bleeds. Dizziness.”

“So you don’t bleed for long, but you still are sacrificing something,” he said thoughtfully. “We’ll have to be mindful of these sort of experiments, so they don’t drain you—us—too much.”

When they were far enough away from the others, Laurius turned to Havitharon and Artisuren and told them what he thought the first experiment should be.

Havi and Ren sat a safe distance apart on the sand, watching their masters discuss their plans.

"What do you want out of these experiments?" Ren asked him while they waited.

He was surprised the other Ivis had initiated a conversation. "I want a way to overpower the sword's control on my will."

Ren scoffed. "Figures the first thing you want is a way to disobey orders."

Havi shook his head. "You can say it that way because you haven't been used against him, yet."

"That wouldn't work."

"Three words from Lee was enough to make you leave the lifeboat to go grocery shopping on a sinking ship. Do you really think he couldn't have made you slice Laurius's neck?"

The other man made an irritated sound, but looked paler than before. "I want to know how to keep my form stable without him injuring himself."

Havi watched Tenara and Laurius have what seemed like a serious discussion. "Yeah," he agreed.

"They're coming back."

Ren was right. Both Ivie rose as their masters returned from discussing their plans, waiting to hear their strategy.

Laurius absentmindedly polished the dagger while he explained their—well, his—plan. “We want to experiment with range. You’re both phages, but different weapons. Let’s see if you can go the same distances from the blades. Tenara and I will wait here while you go for a walk down the beach. We’ll see if there are any differences there. Then, we’ll work on summoning you back and the effects that go with that. Understand?”

Havi and Ren glanced at each other. "Okay," Havi told Laurius, and turned to stand with Ren. The two eyed each other, standing closer than they typically would, and began to walk side by side.

"Do you feel anything yet?" Havi asked when they were a good way down the beach.

"Yeah," Ren said a bit stiffly. He looked like he was concentrating.

Havi paused and looked at him, letting the man focus on the sensation. "How does it feel?"

Ren looked pale. "Like I'm being unmade."

The taller phage frowned. He forgot how much less experience the other male had with this lifestyle. Ren was new to his physical body on this plane. "You won't die. You'll be pulled back."

"Well, I can go further."

Havi shrugged and walked on, waiting while Ren struggled with each step. Four steps later, Artisuren's body disappeared. His astral form flickered into existence beside Laurius. He shivered and knelt down to avoid falling down. He was semi-transparent, but he was visible enough for both Tenara and Laurius to see.

Havi continued further down the shore, about 20 more paces, and then he, too, was pulled back. He appeared next to Tenara looking solid but depleted. He stayed on his feet, but he could feel himself beginning to slip between forms the way he did when his strength was depleted. "I wouldn't trust me to carry anything fragile, but I'm here," he said, bending to scoop up a handful of sand.

Tenara felt a flood of relief when Havi returned and he was still somewhat together. Laurius, on the other hand, seemed perplexed.

“Is it the number of soul stones?” he wondered aloud, admiring his blade and then Tenara’s. “Is it like a battery? The amount of power you put into it is far different than what I can do.”

“Artisuren came back first, so he can’t go as far from his blade as Havi can. Could that be the soul stones too?” Laurius ran a hand through his tangled, curly red hair and frowned. “I wish I had that book…”

“Well, we don’t. So, what are your conclusions?”

He frowned. “I suppose we are done for now. I would like them to be equal in physicality to perform other tasks, so let’s move on to summoning.”

“We don’t have very many rags for bandages…” Tenara warned, glancing warily at her slip. It was now up to her calf thanks to her donation to Laurius for the use of cleaning his sword.

“Well, I’ll try not to cut so deep. Maybe it’s about intention of sacrifice and not ounces of blood spilled,” he muttered and lifted the dagger to his palm.