[Flashback] Thrill of the Hunt (Sorian)

[Mao]

Mao could have been rid of the Akalak so easily. He was blinded by his desire, and she could sense it. In his breath, his skin, the way he touched her almost lovingly. It was beginning to rub off on her, and her body began to relax over time, even in the face of the shower of kisses he bestowed upon her. Was this what it felt like to love? The burning, aching pressure in her heart that yearned for his very body and soul? She had been captivated the moment she realized they were alike in many ways than one and the dormant instinct of her inner Kelvic wanted only to serve this man, and him alone. She would please him, kill for him, anything he desired, it would be done.

"Go ahead and take what you want from me." She breathed, and soon a hiss forced itself from her throat at the sharp pain in her breast. His fingers were strong and rough against her skin, but she came to enjoy it, despite it all. When his lips found hers, she obliged to his requests but not before biting softly and playfully on his lower lip. "I've encountered many men on my travels," she began, curling her fingers in his hair once more. "They often unfortunately suffered a broken arm when they decided to lay a hand on me." She smiled, her innocent expression only a facade for a killer.

But how she relished the attention, and how enthusiastically she began to react to his touches almost to the point of forcing herself on him completely--urging, wanting. "Will you let me be yours to command? Will you ask of me the blood of the vile?" Her murmurs fell onto his skin as she trailed feathery kisses along his cheeks. This was the heat that consumed her, the moment when her soul felt complete if he so chose to become her other half. It was only a night and she had become intoxicated with his very being, and she still could not completely understand how it came about. Many days spent traveling the lands of Mizahar and only now did she seem to find her exact equal, in behavior and an unquenchable thirst for blood. Perhaps because she presumed this to be short lived she felt even more compelled to react, to take it all in before the reality of this night faded into a dream.

[Sorian]

There was a sweetness in her that haunted him, made him scream inwardly in both pleasure and terror. She had, in a mere few instants, become the wedge that bridged the canyon dividing him and Sorian. He had kept him at bay, forced him to lie dead and dormant when he ruthlessly burned the human bridge that he had so painstakingly built for them. Karnelia had been his other half's own bondmate, so to speak; perhaps that in itself presented a mortal danger for Mao. But he could probably do something about it; he could compel her to meet him only during the cover of night, where his influence and his scope was much, much stronger. Perhaps he can cow Sorian into submission, like he was so accustomed to doing. But now he had a genuine fear of losing to the one supposed to be weaker; the wall had been torn down by the Kelvic's bond, and he was at the mercy of his other half. However the night was theirs, and it shall not be drowned by his worries. Her next set of words pushed out his thoughts and cast them to the winds, marking them for careful consideration for another time. As he sleeps later on, there will be a lot of negotiating, threatening, possibly even begging. But there shall be no sleep for him tonight, not when there was a hundred years' worth of denied affection he could bring to bear. "You're mine, Mao. Make no mistake about it. You're mine, and only mine," he growled as she smothered him with her own kisses and bites. The hand he had on her chest grew more and more rapacious, exploring every bit of her it could touch while the other one supported her, cradled her to him. He has always been selfish, but it was a selfishness that focused only on himself. What he felt as she expressed her desire to be his to lavish with his whims was another kind; in the same way that she wanted to pleasure him and do for him whatever he wanted her to, he too wanted to be the only one to touch her so, to taste her skin, to satisfy her thirst for affection and for blood. Let no other man touch her, lest he meet the very bloodlust that compelled them to bond their souls together. He bolted her body further upwards so his lips could take her chest inside, nibbling and licking possessively, almost viciously on her mounds. Both hands glided down to take her by her thighs, and he could feel himself grinding his abdomen to feel her where she probably had never been felt before. "You're mine. I would rip the heart of the world out to slake your thirst for blood, and close the gap in your soul. What hurts you shall be my prey, and what pleasures you will be my quarry." Now the half of Sorian's soul had found another to complete it. How will his other half do now? They had both loathed each other, yet they were brothers in one body, no matter how long they denied it. Could he ever accept Mao with the way he wrenched Karnelia away from him? Or even if he could, could he ever bear to share Mao with him? In his heart of hearts, no matter what Sorian would say, this precious Kelvic is now his bondmate. His, and, for now, not theirs. His.

[Mao]

You're mine, Mao.

At those words, a great happiness washed through Mao's body and her very soul felt the sudden surge of completeness that she longed for since she was old enough to understand what a bond meant. This was, by far, the most excited and content the Kelvic had ever been, and urged by these sudden emotions welling up in her very being she responded to his actions with renewed vigor. She leaned into his touch not unlike an affectionate kitten and trailed her hand along his muscular chest, knowing that now this creature who she had feared not too long ago was hers, and hers alone.

When he touched her so vigorously a soft moan escaped her lips. His hands were like a wildfire scorching across her skin, yet comforting all the same. And while he hoisted her up even more to fondle with her breasts, she merely wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and allowed him to do so. Tilting her head back toward the sky she laughed; a crystal clear laugh that was carried away by the chilling wind. "You spoil me with your tongue, Navis." She cooed, trailing a sharp nail across his cheek. When she felt the friction underneath her she nearly cried out in surprise, for the Kelvic had never felt such a strange and pleasant sensation. Her breath came in short intakes, and she clung to the Akalak with her legs clenching tightly around him as if her life depended on it.

"Come then, let the beasts within come out to play. I yearn for this."

Then abruptly she released herself from his grasp and dropped to the ground, and with a sly smile, walked a few paces away and turned her back to him. Ever so slowly she eased her pants down until they pooled around her feet, with the crisp air scattering goosebumps across the surface of her skin. She looked over her shoulder at him, her flashing eyes like a beacon, beckoning him to her.

Mao would either learn what it is the women she witnesses feel when they are embraced with a lover, or be sadly denied, however with the way the Akalak treated her, perhaps she didn't have to hope.

[Sorian]

Navis chuckled as she continued to let him explore her, even finding it in himself to feel what she felt, and not simply what he felt. It was a bucket of cold water for someone as detached and savage as he. There was a time when he had cared only for his belly's hunger, his bloated, arrogant ego and his thirst for death and despoilment, but now it was completely different. Now he has Mao, and he found out to himself that he can be unnervingly caring towards another. He was almost angry when she jumped off of him, and he huffed and crackled his bones in disappointment. Eyes of lust and anticipation followed her every sway, her every move, hoping that nothing was a ruse designed to lure him into a sense of security that would allow her to run away. For a few eternal seconds the doubt lingered; he had never been trusted with anything, and he has trusted others even less. Monster that he is, he almost understood the common sentiment in a begrudging way. Now he has found someone to share his malevolent interests, his dubious desires, his animalistic needs. He would follow her wherever she would go if she fled from him. The doubts lasted very shortly, however, and as soon as she turned her back on him in sensual invitation, he regained the brash edge that she had curiosly learned to love. "Then allow me to spoil you with something else for a change, my precious kitten," he said coolly as he dropped his own trousers and approached her like a stalking tiger. His form was still fiery with the illuminated blood she had spilled flowing like a stream from his open shoulder. The pain had since faded, and all the strength in him made his hard features dance beneath him, raging, pumping blood in a flourishing pace into his veins. A hand grasped her by the waist, the long, sinewy fingers melding into her warm, perspiring skin like fire to ice. The other one took her hand and raised it above her head, and he started guiding her towards a better spot, eventually pinning their entwined limbs against the side of a large tree. His entire body leaned forward to press behind her back firmly, and once his mouth had finished swiveling after hers in another strained, passionate kiss, he pushed into her, thrusting his entire length into her tiny body. Finally he latched her tongue into his to muffle the customary cries of torn virginity. He was in far too much desire to mind anything else, to even bother to care about the unseen dangers that could be watching them there in the plains. They were both vulnerable in the middle of such an act, but even though he didn't say anything, he would have died to protect her against anything. It made him smirk and cuss to himself as he continued doing her; since when did he, being the monster, the tyrant that he is, become so soft and considerate? Pulling her head back by taking a fistful of her hair, he banished the thoughts away as his deep blue eyes stared into her glimmering green like a canopy over her, a watchful titan that loomed to shield her. He was simply caring for her, and silent words of affection simmering inside his hot mouth, letting his actions speak for him instead of bothering to talk. Perhaps that is what bonding felt like; not only did he feel one with Mao through the sex, but more than that, he felt that a part of him had been infused into her, and hers into his to intermingle with one another. Before they had completely worked, exerted, hissed and ground into one another for the sublime moment of release, he pulled out from her to make her face him, taking her by her legs and laying her back against the tree's bark. This time he took both of her hands and placed them around his solid neck, before relieving the aching member of its desire to re-enter her. Again her neck looked incredibly delicious as she endured his ministrations, and he spoke to her in gruff, playful tones. "This little 'chat' of ours has become ridiculously pleasant, and this certainly wouldn't be the last time we'll 'talk' like this," he mouthed to her triumphantly, almost bragging even to her about the way she had completely overcome his indifference with her love and bond. He was dead set on reminding her how fast they had fallen into one another's hold, and how he intended not to let anything change no matter what.

[Mao]

That was the night of pure ecstasy for the young Kelvic. When their bodies were entwined and their souls elevated to the point of merging as one. There were many things that Mao desperately wanted to say to the Akalak, but his actions prevented her from it as instinct reverted her to a beast that merely wanted more pleasure; to become more raptured and quenched of this maddening lust.
When the mating was said and done, it was only a matter of minutes before Mao found herself exhausted from the night's excursions. She had pulled Navis down beside her on the ground near the tree and without a word, kissed him lightly on the cheek, as if a child. Sleep would overtake her, but she found comfort being beside the titan that guarded her.

-----


It had been a week after the events described above. Mao had awoken to the relentless sun beating down on her and the sudden lack of a large, looming form next to her. The days were when the Kelvic met the docile Sorian, who, in the beginning completely shocked the raven haired woman to the point where she nearly tore out his throat in a raging fury, demanding what had been done to Navis. When the far more passive half of her bondmate attempted to explain his nature and the way things are for them both, it took all of Mao's strength to not maim him where he stood. She was far more infuriated with Navis for not having told her then she was with the strange Sorian, who was his polar opposite. Still the days were spent in hunts, when the young woman could give an excuse to be away from the Akalak and not have her wrath come down on him tenfold if he so decided to bother her in any way.

On the first night of their first day together, Mao had confronted Navis of the secret he had kept from her. Angered and confused she had struck him hard across the face and wished ill upon him, but the tantrum was short-lived, and Mao found herself unable to be mad at him for long. There were continued bouts of pleasure that mingled with the hunts that took place to quell their desire for blood. They stalked both the innocent and convicts alike, and rumors began to spread like wildfire of the beasts that roamed the Sea of Grass, killing in their wake and leaving only mangled corpses half eaten and rotting in the sun or frightened travelers who met the titan and his black shadow on the road, like apparitions come to take their souls. On one night, more unwitting travelers lured with the bounty on Navis' head traveled to their location, only to be chased back to their land of origins in defeat. At the time, Mao had laughed as they fled, and couldn't ever imagine Navis being overpowered by anything or anyone at any given time.

On the last night of the week, Mao had awoken from a long daytime nap, her arms reaching toward the sky in a catlike stretch as she yawned and turned on her side. Blinking furiously at the bright light emanating from the moon already gracing the sky, she rubbed her eyes to relieve herself of the annoyance. But the light was not what stopped the Kelvic dead in her position as she was getting up. The scent of humans lingered in the wind as it blew past her. Her knuckles clenched at the dirt in a rising fury and she looked about her for any signs of Navis. None as of yet. Still, she crept forward amongst the blades of grass to spy on the intruders that risked their lives in the territory of the rogue Akalak. There were many of them, far too many for the young woman to count. And they were also armed.

Mercenaries? There are so many... And for once, Mao felt a pang of fear strike her like a blow. There was no doubt in her mind, however, that she would shed blood for Navis. And if it meant her death then so be it.

She was far enough away from the large group where she could shed her clothes and hide her belongings without being detected, and at once she reverted to her bestial form; the slinking shadow trailing back amongst the cover of the swaying grass. She would wait and watch, and if so much as one of them strayed too far from the group, she would strike for the kill. One less would still help her bond mate exponentially.

[Sorian]

Poor Sorian, who was forced to watch and stand aside to tolerate Navis' lust-filled brain the entire night, was left to fend for himself against the savage rage of the black panther at the break of day. However he didn't seem to mind her all too much, nor did he act on the fears which Navis had conjured with paranoia. He simply went off his own way and returned to Sanctuary in lightning-fast sprints, desiring only to feel the warming presence of the Konti who had caressed him, and had cared for him. While he indeed contemplated on the idea of taking his revenge, he knew deep inside that he didn't have his other half's savage impulses; he could easily tear and maim Mao should he please, but he didn't have the heart to. Not even with Navis' decades-worth of mental torture, and his great, unpaid travesty against him. No, Kavala had thought better of him, and he couldn't violate the nature which fate had blessed - or cursed him with. When night came, Sorian - as Navis - returned to the spot where he had left Mao, an almost unsuppressed fear evident in his face. What if Mao had left him for good because he forgot -not neglected, no, he would never admit it, even though she would have felt it through their bond- to tell her about his other half. Upon finding her in her human form, every bit like the goddess he had ravished with affection the night before, he approached her with a confident smirk, as if telling himself that he never doubted the kelvic abandoning him. The scratch to his cheek came as a shock, although one he took willingly. "Sorry I forgot about the bimbo half, kitten," he apologized, one which was sincere despite the fact that it was dripping with his personal brand of arrogance. Much to his surprise, Mao met his almost apologetic gaze with one which set his blood on fire again; apparently she had accepted the apology by taking the slap without a whim. When his bondmate had completely calmed down, they both settled down and engaged each other in an embrace, eventually finding themselves vigorously making love again through the night. Throughout the week the two were immersed both in each other's company and each other's strange quirks; Mao found out to her surprise that Navis is actually tender despite his rough and tough exterior, and Navis discovered that Mao loved to cuddle up into a ball and was always in a good mood after a meal. Also he personally preferred her in human form, but her feline one was very warm too, in a furry way, and though he would consider it, he wasn't quite too tempted to 'experiment' with her cat form when it came to sex. He wasn't too sure if she would have liked it either. Lastly, of course, there were the hunts, and both predators tried their best to fulfill their bloody promises to each other. Both of them hunted with incredible savagery, turning all manner of prey into mauled and torn bodies. Navis was particularly ruthless in this regard; when he caught one human traveler on the second night, he proceeded to break all his limbs, bit at his throat, tore it out and then smashed him against the ground as a sort of ritual offering to Mao. Symbolically he let her know what would happen to any human who dared cross her path. Such was his devotion to her that he ignored the screams and cries and pleas of mercy from man, woman and child alike in his quest to sate her bloodlust and his. Not that he has had difficulty in the past anyway. The rumors that spread across the Sea of Grass about their existence and the actions that came with them proved to be both difficult and pleasurable for the pair. When five hunter-trappers came to catch them, Navis fought with brutal strength, sweeping armored men and horses aside with his giant arms and grabbed them with hands that could crush bones into pieces with the slightest application of force. All the while he had only Mao in his mind, and when he was grazed by a spear that opened a portion of his shoulder, it only took the frightened look on his bondmate's face for him to pull it out recklessly and then impale the warrior through the face with the very weapon he had hoped would put a stop to the double rampage. The sleek panther then ripped his body to shreds, taking the time to drink of his blood before going after the others, who soon fled broken of will and intrepidity. Navis raised the slain human and let out a roar that sent all nearby animals scampering away, the moon and the wind resonating with their victory. Against the blue light of Avalis' stare, the two dined together, gorging themselves full of their sweet quarry. All the while Navis stared at Mao, gnawing at the tender meat and trying to remove the scrappy armor the corpse had on, and smiled. It didn't occur to them at all that it would be the penultimate night that they will be with each other for a long time. On the last night of the week, Navis returned from Sanctuary with haste, wanting to sneak up on his bondmate as she slept, maybe wake her to his passionate ministrations. The thought creased the running Akalak with a wry grin; he had grown fond of their sexual escapades, and he was sure she had too. However it was not to be; his running skidded to a stop when his sensitive nose caught the scent of humans in the air. At first he licked his chops with glee; he was going to catch a good meal for Mao tonight. Yet his confidence was short-lived, and a tense chill ran up his spine when he realized that for the first time since they bonded together, Mao was in actual mortal, grave danger. The men smelled of sweat and sun, and the armor they had on was very thick and hard. They also had shields and nets and even a big cage which they made two horses drag forward. They were heading for their secret spot where they met during the night. He discerned that she would still be sleeping at the time, and if they caught her in such a fragile, vulnerable state it would be the death of her. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists together, the usually selfish, brash and supremely confident Akalak looked down at his feet for a moment to reflect on how much he had changed in a mere week. For an instant his eyes grew soft, almost Sorian-like, as he remembered all that Mao and he had shared in passion and in love, in trial and in bloodshed. He remembered every moment he touched her, how she licked his skin when he thrust forward through her, and how happy she looked when she saw him approaching from beyond the horizon. Those were the moments that he had lived for, and, judging by how determined his eyes flashed before he burst forward in attack, the moments he was ready to die for. "I am here, fools! Come and get me!" he roared as he thundered down the grassy trails and took down one of the twenty men that stood before him, pinning him down with a massive foot as his companions dared him to make a move, ready with swords, spears, nets and even a meteor hammer. As he defiantly faced them the man beneath him screamed for help, and managed to stab his leg with a hidden knife before Navis could react. Yelping in pain, the raging titan crushed his head underneath his feet, but his calculated risk to scare them off had gone very badly; he was bleeding profusely, as the knife had run through his thick thigh, spewing squirts of blood as he applied pressure to it. He looked around with desperate eyes trying to find a sign of Mao; none so far, though her scent was still in the air. He smirked to himself in pain; she was still around, and even though he bristled against his foes he sincerely wished she'd simply run away. Again he charged forward, lunging at two of the mercenaries, who promptly tried to slash at him. One he was able to evade, striking a powerful punch into his face as he rebounded from his attack. The other one hit its mark, making a long shallow cut through his shoulder to his arm. Navis responded in kind with another back blow that sent the man flying into the grass. "This one's pretty tough! His bounty is really worth the fight, though!" remarked one of the men as they began to surround him, seventeen well-armed men against a single wounded Akalak. Roving eyes of blue met scores of their pairs, and they all decided to attack at once, putting Navis in a very heavy predicament. The titan managed to grab two more men as they struck forward, crashing their skulls together as soon as he had caught them by the throat. One more took the opportunity to stab at him with a pitchfork, but succeeded only in grazing his abdomen. A solid kick floored him, and Navis then executed him by jumping on top of him, crushing the armor with his ribs. Turning around, however, his face made the acquaintance of the aforementioned meteor hammer, which knocked him down to one leg. The halberdiers charged forth, and within a split second their weapons were dripping with his blood, metal protrusions sticking out of Navis' defeated body, glinting in the moon for Mao to see. The rest of the men howled in their victory, laughing all the way despite having sustained heavy losses from the Akalak's attack. As they pulled their spears out and allowed the body to fall flat on his face, one of the men saw Mao behind their secret rock, her face sticking out like an alabaster pocket from the rest of the grey background. The leader of the men, who carried a great broadsword and shield, pointed her out to his men, and at once seven of the remaining fourteen ran after her, screaming wildly and wielding their weapons in advance. In the corner of his dimming eyes, Navis saw his beloved behind their shelter's rock, and before he passed out he whispered something inaudible to the others which their bond allowed the feline to catch. "Run, Mao. Leave me and run."

[Mao]

The waiting felt far worse to Mao than she'd ever felt in a while. She was watching the humans as closely as she could manage without being detected and yet it seemed like hours had gone by with just their idling and chatting. Then her heart skipped a beat as she sensed the familiar form of her bond mate approaching. She was sure that now they would be able to overpower them, and she crouched far lower to the ground and began her slow crawl towards them. But as abrupt as the human's sudden appearance was so too was Navis' when he shouted at them to gain their attention. She was alarmed, and was ready to barge in to help the titan when she realized that it was Navis; the Tormentor, a force to be reckoned with. This eased her mind considerably and she sat back near the protective rock shelter behind her to watch the show, grinning inwardly as her mate tore at and crushed several of the intruders. But as the fight progressed, it seemed as if divine retribution had been wrought upon them, and Navis was beginning to fall under the pressure of the advancing party. They had overwhelmed him in a split second, and Mao, having been ready to step in on any moment, was faced with despair.

No, Navis! Her screams were sure to meet his thoughts during his fall, and she was not about to let him get away with this without objection. You idiot! Get up! Fight them.

But to no avail. She watched, in horror and rising fury, as Navis was torn under the weight of spears, swords and weapons she had no name for. She had, in her worry and anger, stood high above the protective shelter, exposed to the intruders, growling and hissing at each and every one of them, and it did not take long until they noticed her presence. As seven of them began to pursue her, she roared in a fury so grand it could have put a lion to shame, and yet she did not stand her ground. She fled, allowing them to follow her one by one until they began to tire out. When only one was close enough to her for a strike, she turned and clamped on his leg, shaking him so viciously he fell to the floor with a torn bone forcing it's way through the skin of his foreleg. The cries did not stop Mao from tearing him to shreds in a matter of seconds, and watching with blood dripping from her mouth, her nose, her paws, as the others approached.

Let them come, she would shed blood tonight in repayment for this treachery. And it came to pass, but not without spears stabbing at her and the pain of open gashes weighing her down far more than usual, for the simple realization that her bond mate had been defeated and left her without motivation.

In the end, the Kelvic fled from the remaining four of the seven that pursued her, but not without making a roundabout and taking her belongings in her jaws for easier travel. It stabbed at her heart that when she had returned to the shelter they had made, Navis' body was gone, and no traces of the mercenaries were anywhere to be seen. She was on a verge of a breakdown when instinct forced her to turn and run. And run she did for days without rest, only stopping when her throat was sore with lack of water and her body refused to morph back to her human form because of her starvation. She hunted and continued on to the north only because instinct and survival drove her, not because she wished it.

Her mind had completely hidden itself behind a wall of denial and self-preservation. She rejected the memories and thoughts that she had ever met Navis and ever felt the passion they had shared and the bloodshed they wreaked upon travelers. It was her defense against the invasive and inevitable pain that would leave her in tears every night and would cripple her life far more than she would like. And yet that burning sensation in her chest and her mind was there, that he was still alive, but she refused to believe it. To distance herself from the pain of a broken heart and shattered dreams was more important than clinging to a hopeful thread and being disappointed in the end.

Months would pass and Mao often found herself amidst the very humans she would slaughter in the Sea of Grass, but her desire for bloodshed would not rise, and she would often pass by them without so much as a greeting. More than once there were men that had attempted to force themselves on her, and most of them were maimed for such stupidity. The months quickly added together and her traveling had brought her far into the western half of Mizahar, where a land beckoned to her with it's lush green jungles and a sense of true freedom.

[Sorian]

The seven pursuers fell one by one, struggling in their shoes to chase the black panther down, more to catch a bonus to their already subdued captive than to avenge their fallen comrades. Three of them fell to the feline's depredations, their screams becoming the music of the night for the survivors, who promptly threw the critically wounded Akalak into their flimsy cage and hauled him away with haste. The heart which the Akalak had recklessly endangered, the one which had been whisked away in essence by the fierce jungle cat that Navis had learned to love and cherish, continued to beat in normal tones despite the bloodied and battered body that housed it. The wounds, though deep and many, were not fatal; such was the bounty placed on his head, for the Akalaks demanded that he be returned alive than dead. It was his people's nature not to harm their brethren for as much as they could, and infinitely preferred them alive. Thus Navis slept through the better part of two days as the caravan traveled deep into the wildlands of Syliras; there he would command a better price than what the Akalaks would have given for him. On the second night, In his dreams, Navis didn't struggle with the wounds he had received, nor did he feel the pain of the scores of stabs and slices which his vanquishers had inflicted. No, but the pain was far greater than any physical injury he could have received that night, for it was the searing flame of his passion for Mao which was pulling farther and farther away, disappearing into the distant horizon towards the other direction. Sorian remained with him, almost as disgruntled and aggrieved as the darker half was. But neither of them talked to the other, neither of them offering any words of loathing or comfort to the other. They simply stared across to each other in the darkness, the image of Mao that had been embedded in their consciousness turning around to face them in tears before disintegrating into the blackness. Then his ears slowly began to pick up on the sound of clanking steel and the pressure which the craggy road applied around him. Everywhere there was blood smeared on the steel cage, which was covered by a canvass that kept perusing eyes away. His blue irises began to open slowly, letting the haze and cloudiness dissipate with his unconsciousness, and he sat up to inspect his wounds; they had healed somewhat, or at least, clotted shut because the mercenaries bandaged him up to keep him alive for the journey. Then he looked at his hands, hands that were caked in blood and gore, hands that strived to protect Mao. It was then that the thunder of his anger and the fear and pain of her disappearance re-emerged. Mao! Was she safe? Was she able to run away? Did they catch her? Or... Gods forbid, did they slay her? The anguish of not knowing what her fate had become bereaved him, and for the first time in his life, Navis the tormentor, the scourge of the sea of grass, was drawn to bitter tears. Silently he wept, though his strength returned slowly in the hopes that she was indeed alive. Staggering to his feet inside the 8 by 8 composite steel cage, Navis discreetly pulled aside the iron bars and exploded from the confines, stunning the mercenaries and making them beat their heads in frustration and rage. Navis looked behind him and briefly thundered to himself, debating whether he was going to kill them first or not. The distance that he had run even in his wounded state in so short a time convinced him that there was no time for him to do so; he had to find Mao, and fast. He ran for nights on end, with Sorian trudging along in a less enthusiastic pace in both pain and torment during the day. Navis simply picked-up the speed when his turn at the helm came, not even wasting a second to berate Sorian for being so slow. For hours on end he didn't stop, not even when his wounds had begun to burst open again somewhat, and despite the collective pain, raced back to their shelter in hopes of finding Mao there. Four days and four nights later, he collapsed in the clearing before their home, relieved and worried that he didn't make it in time. He searched frantically for her for days everywhere, trying to track down her scent in the grass, in the winds, and trying to beat his heart into submission into leading him towards her. There was none. She was gone, well on her way towards a jungle he didn't even know existed. In the havens of grass he found only the torn, rotting bodies of their victims, numbering nine in all, with the rest of the stragglers having fled as well. There were bits and pieces of armor that she had gnawed on and limbs that she had torn, but they carried none of her essence, with the decay having taken over whatever she may have left behind. Finally, on the tenth night of search, Navis floundered in sorrow and despair. The feelings lingered, but she was nowhere to be found. How he missed her touches, the warm smell of her skin, the fire in her kisses, and the feeling of joy when they ran together in defiance of destiny. Alas, they had been far too intrepid, and now it has worked against the two of them, manipulating fate to met out an incredible cost for their brief life of bloodletting. Falling to his knees, he let out a sad, hollow cry to the moon, and his tears bathed the rocks they had slept on in longing embrace. They were the only witnesses to their beautiful times together that remained to comfort him. It was going to take a long time, he knew it well. But he vowed by the bond that held him together during the ordeal that they would meet again, no matter in this in this life or the next. Thread end.

[Charon]

Thread Experience Awards Mao XP: +1 Hunting, +1 Wilderness Survival, +1 Stealth, +1 Acting, +1.5 Interrogation, +2 Running, +2 Rhetoric, +2 Seduction, +1 Tracking, +1 Unarmed Combat Lore: Cyphrus Georgrapy, Akalak Physique, Pleasures of the Male Body, The Dual Nature of the Akalak, The Anguish of Love, Lost Sorian XP: +1.5 Tracking, +3 Unarmed Combat, +1 Interrogation, +2 Running, +2 Rhetoric, +2 Seduction Lore: The Nature of a Kelvic, Pleasures of the Female Body, Kelvic Bonding, The Anguish of Love, Lost Mod Notes: The wounds and gashes will last for months on end, many scars never fading but rather standing testament to the love shared that will always linger. Mod Notes (2): Wonderful story and very well written. I really enjoyed every scene and how you each played upon the other’s strengths and weaknesses in character. PM me if you feel there’s something I’ve missed with the XP and Lore as I may have been too caught up in the story to catch everything!