Knight in Shining Armor (Andre)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

If Tock had known the man felt anything in his heart, she might have laughed. She might have told him to petch off. She certainly wouldn't have offered him any sympathy. At least, not in that moment. She kept going with inexpert moves, her experience in such matters sharply limited. She just did what felt best for herself, neither knowing nor caring if the man below her was enjoying it. Her moans filled the night, spreading through the forested mountainside. She was fierce, possessive, and relentless as she took what she needed from him, fists gripping in his hair to hold him down. Her lips never came near his again, after the first kiss that had started it. Kisses were intimate. Personal. And that wasn't what this was about. She continued through one climax and into another, shifting position as needed to keep her own pleasure at its peak, leaning back and bracing her hands against the ground behind her. She had no idea how much time passed while she took him for all he was worth, but eventually, perhaps hours later, she could take no more. She rolled off of him and onto the ground, laying her arm over her eyes as she gasped for breath. She didn't stop to think about the potential consequences this night would bring, either biologically or emotionally. She was just glad that her mind was filled with a buzz of pleasure that she had so desperately needed...

[Andresciel]

He could still feel the tilting of the world as he watched her moving without experience. But then, who was he to judge. A Virgin Knight. His comrades would have laughed. But still, he was aroused even now, and rolled over to press between her thighs. He would return her use of him, by using her. He slid back inside her, pulling her against him even as he pressed his lips to her own. He didn't care if she slapped him, but this connection felt marvelous. Still, as he moved against her, feeling his own climax starting to roar to life. He couldn't stop it, but he would last as long as he could.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock moved her arm off her face when she felt the man climb atop her, not having thought about the fact that he would want more, nor caring. Let him have what he wanted. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore... When he tried to kiss her, though, that was too much. She grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back, treating him to a hard slap. "Jus' petch me," she growled, grunting with the feeling of him thrusting inside of her once more. She laid back, resting her head against the ground, and closed her eyes. She kept her hands on his shoulders, holding him up, letting him take her for what he wanted. She was too exhausted from her own earlier efforts to do anything to help the matter, anyway. Though as she laid there, letting herself be used, somewhere deep down was a voice crying out in the slightest bit of guilt and regret. She ignored it, and shoved it away, not caring to listen to it right now. For the longest time, she'd resisted letting something like this happen. She'd fought in Sunberth to hold onto her virtue against men that tried to steal it from her. She'd resisted urges with other men, like Marcus, because she had thought to save herself for something more meaningful. Something special. Instead, she experienced a night of raw desire, dirty and without emotion. Which wasn't to say it wasn't good... the physical sensations had been beyond amazing. But emotionally, through the empty void that currently filled her heart, all she could think with a certain amount of disappointment was, So 'is's what it's like...

[Andresciel]

Almost at once as he looked into her eyes, he stopped, his climax claiming him. But he jerked it out just before it hit him. With a sigh, he sat up, before pulling her up. "One shouldn't force themself to give, if they do not wish it." He stated, a kind voice as he moved to grab his canteen. He offered it to her first, Always putting the woman first, as he knelt down to examine Handy, "Nice work. I bet he's helpful." He smiles, running his fingers over the little creation in pure admiration. "Stylish." He muttered, looking it over. "Can you show me what your baby does?" He stepped back, looking for his discarded pants. He drew them slowly up one leg, and then the other, watching her all the while. "And perhaps while you do so, I can figure out what we can eat?"

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock brushed away his offer of help, not feeling very capable of standing just then anyway. She took the canteen and drank from it, then tossed it aside and sought out her pants. The darkness was already returning to her eyes, and the stranger's behavior wasn't helping any. She didn't want him to act nice. She wanted him to leave. She pulled her pants back on, and moved to lean her back against a tree, pulling her knees up against her chest. She leaned her forehead against the heel of her palm, taking slow breaths. It hadn't been what she had expected. But no matter. "Baby, come," she said, and Handy immediately scurried over. He crawled into her lap, using his wooden fingers to climb up, and she gently reached down to pet him. She was actually somewhat ashamed that she had just done what she did in front of him. Her child shouldn't have seen that... But it was too late to take it back now. She could only hope Handy wasn't traumatized by what he'd just seen his Mommy do. The man's offer of food was the last thing on her mind. After she rested enough that she could manage to move again, Tock pushed to her feet, Handy strapping his leather tail around her wrist and hanging from it as a third hand. She slowly adjusted her clothes, not looking in the man's direction, feeling shameful and sticky, and wanting to be gone from here. It didn't occur to her that it was too late at night to travel safely. After what she'd been through the last few days, she just wanted to go home. In a cold voice she asked the stranger, "Ya know which way fer the city?"

[Andresciel]

He was about to answer, when he heard it, the rustle of grass, the growl. He turned to see the last mountain lion, the one that had fled leap as Tock's back. "Look out." He snapped as he forced his res outwards and upwards, calling upon Wind Reimancy. He felt the winds connect to the underside of the mountain lion, sending it further up over Tock, and onto him, unfortunately. He wasn't wearing his armor, and that was one of the worst mistakes, as the lion's claws bit into his chest, the jaws snapping at his face. He shoved his left arm up into the lion's jaws, feeling them wrap around his flesh. Blood poured from between the beasts teeth, as Andre stifled a cry, feeling his arm fracture under the powerful force of the jaw.

There to his right, his dagger lay just outside his bag. He stretched his right hand for it, managing only to get two fingers around it. He drug it closer, gripping it with his right hand in a reverse grip. His right hand snapped upwards, with all the force he had learned to use, slamming the knife into the beasts side, just below its heart. He felt the beast shudder, before toppling to one side. With careful slowness, he pried open the beasts jaws and moved, not towards his pack and the bandages, but towards Tock. "Did it get you at all?" He asked, the concern in his voice apparent, as was the pain.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

For just the briefest moment, Tock was tempted to leave the man to his fate. There was a twinge of shame in her gut, one that she knew would only grow. For now, she was still too lost in a daze, one she had barely pulled herself out of long enough to take the carnal pleasures she had aggressively claimed. But later, when her head cleared, and she had time for regret, she feared she'd regret this. Regret giving her virtue to a man she didn't know at all, and doing it for all the wrong reasons. She could let him die, and almost turned and left when the big cat pounced atop him. But instead, after the briefest hesitation, she pulled her dagger out and rushed forward. As Andre was thrusting his own blade into the cat's chest, she stabbed hers into its spine, hacking repeatedly until she was sure the creature was good and dead. Then the fool man had to go and act all noble. He was actually worried about HER when HE was the one who was bleeding to death! On some level it touched her heart, and she felt a strange flutter. But she grit her teeth, angry with herself for letting herself feel such a thing, and really angry with him for acting such a fool. She advanced on him, shouting, "Whatcha bloody gotta go an' do a damn fool thing like 'at fer!?" She straddled him again, though not at all remotely sexually this time. Her face was red with anger as she tore off his shirt, bundling the cloth into makeshift bandages and pressing them against the deepest wounds. "Bloody 'as ta go actin' like some dang fool 'ero!? Ya bloody tryin' ta git killed!?" She spared a moment to smack him hard upside the head, then planted Handy on the bandage and said, "'Old 'at down..." While the wooden hand held the bandage in place, staring at Andre with his little glass eyes, Tock tried to figure out how to save the damn fool's life. She didn't know much at all about medical stuff, though she had helped in the infirmary once or twice, and splinted a couple of broken bones in her day. The bone in his arm was jutting through the skin. Tock sighed and grabbed a stick off the ground. "'Is's gunna 'urt," she declared without the least trace of sympathy, "but 'at's yer own damn fault..." She shoved the stick between his teeth, so he could bite down on it when the real pain came. Then, quite inexpertly and not at all gently, she gave the bone a sharp twist to set it back the way it belonged.

[Andresciel]

He looked at her as she shouted at him, a smile on his lips. "Can't let a beautiful woman get hurt. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." He looks at her, tilting his head as he lays on the ground still, his body aching. The wounds on his chest were pressed with his own tunic, the bleeding being held by the thick material. His arm was the worse pain, as he looked down at Handy. "Thanks bud." He reached over with his uninjured hand, patting Handy's hand. He then turns back to Tock, "I wasn't going to allow it to harm you Tock. That may have meant nothing to you. But it did to me." The Knight groaned as she touched his arm, his body seeming to shudder. Pain ripped through him, but he continued to fight it down, trying to hold himself together. He could only chuckle at her touch of concern up until she snapped the bone back into place. "Damn." He snarled aroudn the stick in his mouth, as his blue eyes went glassy for a moment. Still, he fought to keep himself awake, mumbling, "Can't watch someone so beautiful be hurt...I'll live." He muttered, his right hand coming up to touch her face gently before falling back to the side. "Now. Does this fool get a kiss to make him an actual hero?" He asked, a smile on his face. Even through the immense pain, Andre was trying to make her feel better. He was battling the pain, praying to Yahal, to Zulrav, to all the gods for relief.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

She stared at him in shock, pausing in her treatment of his wounds. He had called her beautiful, when she was unbathed, and covered in filth, muck, and blood (some of it his, some of it the lion's, and some of it belonging to the innocent family she had murdered). He was actually smiling at her, despite the pain. Tock knew exactly how much a broken arm hurt, and she couldn't ever have smiled through it. Yet not only was he smiling, but the poor, delirious fool was flirting with her while she performed first aid on him. She wore an uncertain frown as she continued her work, feeling another flutter in her chest when she saw the way he treated Handy. Most people were afraid of her babies. But he was treating Handy exactly like a person. He even gently patted him and thanked him. She bit her lip, ignoring the strange feeling that brought to her chest. She sighed and shook her head at his continued ramblings. In a much softer voice than before, she said, "Stop talkin', ya bloody fool. Yer in shock..." He had to be, from the pain and blood loss. But she couldn't deny his request, and so she leaned down to place a soft, warm, tender kiss on his fool lips, the touch lingering longer than she intended it to. Then she stood up, and searched for a couple of straight, sturdy sticks. Once she had them, she knelt by his side, and started fashioning a splint to hold his arm in place.

[Andresciel]

He smiles at her words, before shaking his head. He began to quietly recite his oath, before looking at Tock. "Not in shock. Pain maybe. But that doesn't change the fact that I'd like to stay with you." The pain was opening his mouth, making him talk more as he felt her kneel beside him, his eyes on the splint. He reached across and took her hand, stopping her work as he brought it to the lips she had just kissed, "Tock...You are beautiful. Smart. And if I say so, a great mother." He glances at Handy with a smile "With some great babies. Almost reminds me of Velenor if I do say so myself." He chuckled as he released her hand, "I'm not going to bleed out, do you think you could loosen up a bit buddy, your making it hard to breath." He sighed beneath the touch of Handy, waiting to feel his breath flow easier again. Still, his dark eyes watched Tock, "I bet you just think I'm a fool too caught up in the Knights to know beauty."

The Mage Knight sighed as he watched her. She moved with a kind of percision, almost like a geared machine. He couldn't help but be smitten with her, as she was in her own way, weasling her way in his heart. "Now beautiful. Do you plan to leave me alone tonight, or will you at least give me your company on the way to Zeltiva, to speak about the returning of a few conscripted recruits. Unofficially of course." The Knight winked up at her, pain evident in the lines on his face.