Another? (Cass)

by **Darian** on June 9th, 2011, 5:29 am

He couldn't help but smile as he saw Cass enter the pond with him and her respectfully averted his eyes till she had immersed herself within the pool, till he decided to look back at her. Knowing that they both where similarly outfitted in the water served to calm him somewhat, and put more at ease he let the enjoyable water wash over him, he scrubbed his other arm gently with his good hand until the blood sticking to hit resigned to no longer attach itself to his hair, but he kept a measured pace about it. Once he was satisfied that the grime on his left arm was clear enough he focused his attention on Cass again. She was wading not that far from him in the water, and he could feel slight vibrations within him, though he knew not how to analyze what they meant. He urgently felt the need to swim closer to her, but he ignored it for now, rather wanting to enjoy his space in the water more for a few more moments before investigating his feeling further.

" Yes, I agree they did a number on the both of us. At least we were lucky enough to keep our necks thanks to you " he said with a smile, and he swam over closer to her, while trying to think of a good way to show his thanks. They where swimming barely inches away from each other now, and as he treaded water facing her he found her rather quite alluring which only served to bolster his urges and he quickly shook away the unusual urges and thoughts instead focusing solely on her face but he couldn't help but to think of her everyone and a while. “I’m sure we will both enjoy a warm bed before the day is over completely, under the cover of night where travel will be a bit easier for you “he added with a smile. It would be good to be within the city and they wouldn't much have to worry about wolves like they did out here.

Slowly he drifted towards her, so close that his knee brushed against her skin, where he didn't know, and his lack of knowledge made him blush. He looked down briefly but gradually his eyes met hers again. " I'd like to thank you again for saving me with the wolves and from bleeding " he said, as he rose up his left arm as much as he could before letting it drift back down under the water and swimming ever so closer to her. He gave her a compassionate smile, and no longer able to resist he leaned forward and gave her a light kiss before swimming backwards a few inches suddenly scared of what he had done. What prompted you to do that you ignorant fool he cursed himself in his mind. It was bad enough having feelings for her kept secret but now you have exposed yourself he continued, and the line of thoughts made him blush lightly, and he looked to her briefly hoping she didn't take offense.

by **Cass** on June 9th, 2011, 6:03 am

Cass waded quietly in the water, taking a few moments to focus on cleaning the dirt and whatever else she found off of her body. She was slightly surprised by the amount of dirt around her claws. Cass made a mental note to clean her body more often. She couldn't let something like that slip her mind often. Looking back up she spotted Darian busy washing his own body. For a moment Cass felt calm with those silly emotions from before fading away. See? Nothing to worry about. All she had to do was focus on the task at hand and she'd be fine.

A small blush crept across her cheeks. "Like I said before, you helped me as much as I helped you in that fight." He was closer now. Cass swam back an inch, not sure what else to do. Should she turn away and swim away? No. No, she should stay right here. What could possibly happen? "It'll be very enjoyable. Plus we'll be able to move better in the night." He swam a bit closer. Cass stayed where she was but grew tense. What was his plan? Why was he doing this? "You don't have to thank me. We're allies. Allies don't-"

His lips pressed against her for the shortest of moments. But such a moment had felt like an eternity for Cass. Feeling his lips against her own she was able to taste his breath and lips. Before she had any time to react Darian was already swimming backwards a few inches. Cass's hand quickly rose up to touch her lips before turning slightly away from Darian. What had just happened? A man kissing another woman. That...that kind of thing only happened during...

Dropping her hand from her lips she looked back over at Darian. "I-I'm not a good mating partner. Sorry." Her voice cracked at the very last moment, causing Cass to quickly swim back over to the shore. She couldn't help but feel foolish the entire way back to the pond's shore. For a fleeting moment she had felt...but no. Such feelings were absurd even if they felt good.

by **Darian** on June 9th, 2011, 9:37 pm

The silence that stretched before her words felt like forever to Darian, and when she finally spoke her words sounded unusual to him. He supposed it was the way she was used to things meaning, and he almost spoke up, but then he realized even he didn't know what the kiss meant. What did it bode? Did she like it? Did he like it for that matter all these thoughts rushed through his head moments after her words, but her fleeing back to the shore, perhaps even upset, jarred him from his contemplations and he swam after her. His strong muscles carried him easily through the water but was a bit slowed down by his hurt arm so he was glad when it brought him near the shore at almost the same time as her, and he quickly stood up not worrying about being exposed out in the ankle deep water so focused was he on settling what he caused with his surprising kiss. Reaching out he would grab her shoulder, assuming she elude his grasp or shrug off his hand, he would gently turn her around towards him.

" No, I am sorry the fault is mine, I shouldn't have forced you into a kiss you didn't want, my instincts kind of took over " he said, but he didn't actually think the cause was his instincts. The likely culprit was a organ he rarely if ever thought about, his heart, but he shook away such delusions. His heart hammered in his chest as he saw her, and he couldn't believe that he already wanted to kiss her again, after how well the first one went over, but he managed to stifle down the emotion choked impulse in favor of keeping his ally. The water on his body chilled his skin as a stiff breeze rolled over him, and he dipped his head low, not sure of what to do. On one hand he wanted to ask her what her words meant, and to just hold her, and on the other hand within the more pragmatic side of himself wanted to make sure everything between them was fine, and no rift was caused in their original plans.

One thing at a time he decided looking at her, and his voice slightly shaky, spoke up. " What did you mean back their when you said you wouldn't make a good mate, you seem good to me " he said, and he found the words coming out of his mouth sounding rather awkward in his ears. He simply ignored it all the more, and kept his eyes on hers. He would wait till she had said her piece before inquiring any more.

by **Cass** on June 9th, 2011, 10:13 pm

It felt like it had taken forever to reach the pond's shore but eventually she did. Trying hard to shake off all the strange new warm feelings, she stepped out of the pond and onto the soft grass. She could hear Darian swimming in the pond behind her. She didn't what to say to him. Heck, she didn't even know what to say about the kiss. Maybe...maybe her imaginary friend had been right. She shouldn't have gone to see who was stalking the wilderness yesterday. All it had gotten her was a whole new batch of problems.

She felt Darian's hand fall upon her shoulder. A small gasp escaped her, not prepared for his touch to come so soon. Keeping her wings tucked around her naked body Cass slowly turned to face him. He stood ankle deep in water with absolutely nothing covering up his...well...manhood. Cass focused solely on Darian's face. There was no need to look any lower. Besides, why would she? She was a big girl. She could keep her eyes from wandering. She listened to Darian's apology. Her mouth opened, her mind trying to form some kind of explanation, but nothing came. Looking away Cass closed her eyes. What had she done? Things had been great before but now...it was all confusing again.

Her eyes opened when she heard Darian's question. Memories of trying to find a suitable mate back in the tunnels came floating back to her. "I...I tried to mate once before. But for some reason it didn't work." She found herself looking at Darian again. "The males would fight for me but nothing ever came of it. Eventually the others gave up and so did I. It was painfully clear that I was not meant to mate. I'm supposed to be alone...forever."

by **Darian** on June 9th, 2011, 10:47 pm

He stared at her listening quietly to her words her eyes capturing his, and he wondered what that must have been like for her to go through. Darian remembered going through his share of relationship problems, but his was a bit more violent than that, but perhaps he didn't know, after all he didn't know how male zith competed. His arm ached from the little movement he strained it with, but the pain scarcely reached his conscious, a much sharper pain taking residence. Memories of death, and blood, a feeling that he couldn't wash off his skin, dark growling things ripping at his flesh and gnawing on his bones, his nightmares and reality of his past blending into one sole memory that tormented him. His jaw tensed as he fought the urge to let loose a primal scream, and he blinked several times, trying to wash away those dark memories with the image of the woman before him. Darian's arms and feet felt rigged so much so that he felt if he wanted to reach out or run away he couldn't even manage it.

Her face was all that he could see anymore not even noticing how she held her wings to cover her, and his ran his tongue over his lips that suddenly felt oh so very dry. He tried to think of a response to what she had said but none immediately came to his mind. There was just no easy reply to that without him feeling even more vulnerable than he did now. His breathing was even heavier now, and he could practically hear his heart pound in his chest. What should I say? What should I do? his mind seemed to shout as he watched her, and finally he opened his mouth to speak up.

" Being alone drives the sane mad, and the mad, madder " he said softly, sort of uselessly in his eyes. " I have similar inner demons, but even I keep company more often than not " he admitted somewhat reluctant to tell her that. He was not one to seem like he needed to talk to people. " You aren’t destined to be with no one, it just simply didn't work out before " he added his voice caring an edge of experience in it and a slight grimace came to his face in memory. " Here, let us start over " he said extending his hand. If she accepted it he would pull her close and kiss her again, and satisfied that he had expressed himself as much as he was willing he would simply continue to look at her.

by **Cass** on June 9th, 2011, 11:15 pm

The pain in his eyes returned. Cass could see just a glimmer of it. While she wondered what dark secrets Darian was hiding it also eased her worries a little bit. She wasn't the only one suffering and it was good to know that she at least had someone who could understand. A yearning to ask about his own pain crawled up her throat but she quickly shoved it back down. No, not now. Maybe not ever. She knew the horrible feeling of being exposed. Darian was her ally. She wouldn't expose him like that.

The silence lengthened and Cass began to wonder if what she had said was too much. Did she say the wrong thing? Now that he knew of the mating failures was he disgusted with her? Dozens of questions filled her head with very few answers to save her. But the questions all came to a grinding halt when Darian finally spoke up. She silently disagreed with not be destined to be alone. All her life she had been alone. What chance did she have now of changing that? Her darker thoughts dropped away once she saw his hand. Start over? Throw everything else out and start completely over?

"Well, I guess it can't hurt to try," Cass replied, reaching out to take his offered hand. She felt his fingers curl around her hand before gently pulling her close. Another tiny gasp flew from Cass's mouth before she felt Darian's lips captured hers once more. The second kiss was longer, at least to Cass it felt much longer than the first. She could feel her wings press and rub against his naked body, only causing the warm strange feelings to bubble down low. When their lips finally parted Cass took a moment just to breathe and stare at Darian. This kissing and naked bodies...it was all a very different mating game. Was this how humans mated? No fights? No blood? Just straight love?

Her eyes dropped down to her bandaged arm. Shoving her other questions aside she gently ran his fingers over his injured arm. "If we want to reach Sunberth tonight we should keep going with our plans. Our wounds might get worse if we prolong our adventure."

by **Darian** on June 10th, 2011, 2:46 am

His lips pressed against hers, feeling soft against hers, and he wrapped his good arm around her, placing his hand on the small of her back. The kiss seemed to last years to him, and the feel of her wings against his body felt strange and good at the same time and he caressed her back briefly before parting his lips from hers, and finding her eyes to be staring into his. He kept his left arm cradled next to his chest, more to keep him from reaching out with it, than the possibility of her hurting it, and he kept his face inches from hers. The silence this time seemed calmer, and he felt like he could wait an eternity for her to speak, just to live in the moment. Taking a deep breath his chest rose and fell, relaxing his tense muscles while he watched her thoughtfully, and his whole body felt warm inside, spots of even warmer areas appearing wherever his skin touched hers.

His eyes glanced down as her fingers traced over his arm, and a faint smile found its way to his lips. Her question rang clearly and his smile turned into a grin, before he looked back up into her eyes and nodded. " Yes, the sooner we are out of the wilderness, the safer we will be " he agreed, and he rubbed her back for a few moments before disengaging his arm from her and walking over to his pile of cloths, his feet splashing out of the water. He was mostly dry now since he had been out of the water for a while now, and didn't worry too much about getting his cloths wet.

He quickly managed to put on his cloths, sliding them on silently and keeping his mind on their plans of safety and getting rest soon. After he was dressed he turned towards her and began to walk over to her. " Rest sound good right about now, and it'll give you some relief from the sun " he said his tone light, and he would offer to help her back to the camp. If she would accept his invitation he would do as he had done before wrapping his arm around her waist, and give her some support so it wouldn't put pressure on her hurt ankle.

Soon they were in the camp and the fire was already beginning to die, and he helped her into the tent. Helping her gently down the ground, he sat beside her. " When do you think it would be best to rise? " he asked to determine how much actual rest he would need. If she didn't move away from him he would put his arm around her waist while he leaned his back against the side of the tent.

by **Cass** on June 10th, 2011, 3:28 am

The feeling of his hand caressing her back was definitely a brand new touch for Cass. But she enjoyed it. It was new and comforting to say the least. She watched as a grin spread across Darian's face. She was glad he agreed with her. As much as Cass enjoyed the peaceful isolation within the wilderness she also knew that they would both need to see some kind of healer or obtain some kind of medicine for their wounds. Her ankle was slowly getting worse and she could only assume the same for Darian.

After his strong arms untangled themselves from her body Cass watched as he headed over to where his clothes and armor lay. Glancing down at her coat and Darian's dagger she slowly took a few steps forward and scooped both objects up. Kneeling down next to the pond she quickly began washing the blood from her coat. Within minutes the coat was free of blood but a bit damp. Oh well. It could dry as they slept. Picking up the dagger she carefully dipped it into the water until the caked blood was washed froom the blade. With everything done Cass grabbed her own clothes and carefully pulled them on. Folding her wings against her back she scooped up her coat and dagger and turned around to see Darian approaching.

Allowing him to help her back to camp Cass felt a bit more relaxed than before. Her previous nerves warning her about the dangers of a human were calm, wrapped up in new warmer feelings. "Rest will be good. I know you humans enjoy the daylight hours but, personally, they're rather annoying." She was glad when they reached their small camp. With Darian's help they both returned to the tent. It felt good to sit down. The pain from the pressure on her ankle faded a little bit, leaving only small thuds of pain. When Darian sat down she didn't move and watched as his arm curled around behind her to hug her waist.

"Late evening," Cass answered, gently laying her head on his shoulder, sleep quickly approaching. "That way the sun will have just set and we can move under the early night." Her eyelids began to grow heavy and droop every now and then. As much as she wanted to stay awake for Darian it was hard to function in the daylight and her body craved sleep.

by **Darian** on June 10th, 2011, 4:01 am

" Late evening it will be then " he said softly and he smiled resting the side of his head against her. They would be in Sunberth within the day, and then they would be safe, or at least safer. With that pleasant though he eased down with her in his arms until they were laying down, and he turned slightly on his side towards her, moving his arm up her back till it was behind her head so she could be as comfortable as possible, and he wrapped his left arm around her waist, holding her gently. Comfortable enough to sleep now, his eyes gradually drifted closed and he rested easily there, on the border between sleep and non-sleep as he felt Cass's steady breathing beside him and he rubbed her side as a way to calm the stirrings in his mind till he felt his eyes becoming heavy, and before he knew it was well into a deep sleep.

His eyes flickered open again, and he saw that it was a bit darker outside just from the dim lighting from within the tent. The dreams he had where rather pleasant and he smiled with the memory of them. It wasn't often that he had good dreams so he knew when to enjoy them. Memories from only hours ago filtered back to his mind and for a brief moment he could remember the feel of Cass's lips against his causing a warm feeling inside of him, and he looked to see where Cass might be. If she was still laying beside him he would wrap his arms tighter around her waist, and nuzzled his face into either her neck or her hair depending on what direction she was facing. If she wasn't beside him, he would get up and look around for her, after briefly taking a stretch to get his blood flowing and prepare his muscles.

by **Cass** on June 10th, 2011, 4:40 am

Darian's quiet agreement was the last thing Cass heard before sleep finally snatched her away. When Darian laid her down her body unconsciously curled up a bit against him, a feeling of warmth and security easing her tired body. Dreams eventually came, dreams filled with memories of the tunnels during the mating season. All the memories felt cold and dark as usual, but this time there was an odd warmth to her dreams. This time her dreams consisted of somebody simply holding her close while all the other fights continued. It was weird but in a good way. There was nobody there to judge or mock her. Her brothers were gone so the guilt of shame was lifted. It was just her and whoever it was who wanted to be with her, even if she was unlike all the others.

Her sweet dreams played on and on until she felt something gently brushing against her neck. Eyes slowly opening Cass found herself laying on the ground within her tent with Darian beside her, holding her close. In fact it was his face that was nuzzled against her neck. A whole new instinct took over as Cass lifted her head up to expose more of her neck to Darian. Closing her eyes she let her clawed fingers slowly trace random patterns on the chest of his black armor. Different thoughts Cass never even thought she would have floated in and out of her head. She felt warm and happy. The first in a long, long time.

Opening her eyes Cass was met with the sight of her imaginary friend glaring at her in the darkest corner of the tent. Cass's fingers froze to a halt as she stared at her "friend". She had thought her imaginary friend had vanished for good eariler, be apparantly she was wrong.

"Oh sure, now you wanna be a Zith," her friend began bitterly. "But only when it comes to love. Right? Is that it? Can't be a true Zith but you'll be one in the sack. And with a human no less. You disgust me. At least make him your love slave now. Make some smart choice!"

A tiny growl rumbled in the back of her throat but Cass quickly silenced it in fear of frightening Darian. Looking over towards the front of the tent Cass noticed that it was much darker out then it was before. Good. Ignoring her nasty "friend" Cass looked back at Darian. "Darian? Are you awake? We, um, we should get moving."