Friendship, Balance and Vicious Cycles[Kavala]

[Hatot]

Hatot lost all sense of time as he gazed into Kavala’s eyes. More and more he found himself gazing into the color of her Azure hues more than the rest of her as his arms gripped her tight, holding her close unless she chose otherwise. He hadn’t imagined the feelings the number of sensations that had flooded his entire being, the intensity of the feelings and the emotions that fueled them. Had this happened during sometime before he had met Kavala, and learned to grow as a result of her countless words of advice and guidance, Radris would have likely came out by now, making a situation that was like a beautiful dream, into a horrid nightmare. All sense of time had been lost as he held her in his arms, as chimes turned into bells and they exhausted each other in ways that both seemed intense and gentle at the same time. Hatot’s voice echoed out through her room, time and again calling out her name between long periods of long, deep kisses. The further they went, the further Hatot discovered that Kavala could endure so much. He found himself unsurprised at the thought that in a great many ways, she was stronger than him. All the things she had endured in her past, would have caused Hatot to break, and Radris to become the permanent soul, fully in control and lashing out at anything and everything. He admired her so much for that, and it made her even more alluring, even in that moment. By the time the sun’s light began dancing in hues of orange and red along the horizon, Hatot and Kavala fell to their sides, laying there with deep breaths as they exhausted themselves as much, if not more, than any sort of training Hatot could have put them through. His hands still linked together, wrapping around her frame, an almost subconscious thought of not wanting to let her go, fearing that the resulting council meeting held that distinct possibility. His brow rested gently along Kavala’s own as they just laid there idly, gazing into each other’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what the future would hold, but he was hoping that it would involve more moments with Kavala, and his mind began to race at plans for the council meeting, hoping to ensure the possibility. In the end, he felt a further longing for Kavala, something the extended beyond friendship, and Radris’ own rage fueled him just a little then. He would be damned if he let some impudent Akalak whelp, who garnered enjoyment from terrifying someone who was unable to defend themselves, from preventing that.

[Kavala]

Kavala dozed lightly, feeling safe sprawled across the Akalak. Something had happened here tonight, with her, because of him that would require additional thought. The Konti had always considered herself ruined for such things, and she'd been a little more angry about it than she'd cared to admit. Human men repulsed her. It was something she couldn't help. And while the thought of her status in Riverfall had caused her no end of worry, even though she'd said nothing about it, she knew now that it wasn't going to just be trading one series of depraved acts for another. How had Akela put it? Legalized consensual rape? Her mind whirled as her eyes remained closed and her breath fell evenly. There was not an ounce of tension left in her even though her long white hair was tangled and there were several bruises already darkening her skin. She felt deliciously satiated and grateful and more than a little in love with Hatot as she sprawled across him. Hatot had a beautiful soul, even though her relationship with Radris and his soul was dubious at best.

But there were things she couldn't afford to do right now. One was to admit to herself how much the Akalak meant to her. She knew without a doubt if he didn't survive his Rite that it would be a blow she wouldn't be able to recover from. As the thought came, an involuntary fist clenched around his shoulder as if holding onto him tightly. Some of them didn't survive. And it would have nothing to do with his skill as a wariror. Accidents happened. Sometimes the beasts were better than the men. Fear filled her for a moment, reinforcing the idea that she couldn't ... absolutely couldn't allow herself to acknowledge what she felt for him especially to him until after he survived.

Kavala drew a deep breath.

She knew too that if someone came to her door wanting to invoke their rights in regards to her Naviak status she had no grounds under the current law to refuse them, regardless of who she was in a relationship with. In fact, it was her duty to hold her body open for that unless Hatot wanted a son, and he'd already said he was too young. Kavala had no idea if he would feel possessive of her or if this was just the wine and the strangeness of the night speaking to both of them. Kavala knew how the Akalak felt about women in general, and though a few married, far more than that did not. Women were treated with the utmost respect, at all times, but they were there for a specific purpose - pleasure and breeding. That was how half the kelvics ended up in Riverfall and how most of them were used. She would like to think she knew Hatot better than that. They were friends, two souls that seemed to enjoy the company of each other, but she couldn't be sure. People were so hard to read. If he were kelvic...

No... he was who he was and all those things about him were what made her enjoy him so much. Being able to feel what he felt would just be somehow cheating. She would make it work the old fashioned way... continue being around him, keep taking his classes, and being his friend. If he wanted to stay the night once in a while or even all the time, that was fine with her. That in and of itself would give her time to figure out what she really wanted, even though that didn't matter. Kavala had learned, over the course of this last year... that fate brought what it brought regardless of what one needed.

So, she waited quietly enjoying her relaxed state for his eyes to drift closed and his breathing to even out before she slipped out of the bed. She tiptoed across the room and down the stairs to take a quick bath before getting her day started. There were patients to check in the kennels, one scheduled appointment in the morning, and all the numerous chores a facility like Sanctuary needed done. The horses were always fed or turned out as dawn broke, then their stalls were cleaned and her charges in the clinic checked and rechecked.

Kavala would return to him later in the morning, making sure he'd got enough sleep, and would wake him with a pleasant surprise and enough time afterwards to eat and see to a bath so they could walk to his class together refreshed. If no crisis developed in the afternoon that needed her attention, she'd go for a swim in the sea and then return to nap for an hour or two before evening chores started and then they faced the Council together.

If it went badly and she was imprisoned or worse - as Hatot had warned her - then she could at least say she had an amazing last day of freedom, one she'd cherish for a long time to come.

[Puck]

Thread Award Kavala - Skills Seduction: 5 Medicine: 1 Cooking:2 Interrogation: 2 Rhetoric: 1 Lore Lore of Hatot's Poor Alcohol Tolerance Lore of the Nature of Akalak Slavery Lore of Making Love Lore of a First Kiss Other -A promise from Hatot to help with the upcoming forge. Hatot - Skills Seduction: 4 Cooking: 1 Rhetoric: 2 Interrogation: 1 Lore Lore of the Kavala-Flick Dilemma Lore of Making Love Lore of Sanctuary Lore of a First Kiss Other -Hatot has received his cloak back, with improvements by Kavala Notes: Apologies for the extreme delay in awarding. Despite my failure to be timely, this thread really was excellent. Especially the scene where they made love, I will not lie that was possibly the best I have seen on the entire site. Kudos, and I can't wait to see how Hatot's Rite plays out. Kavala may end up needing a new set of black clothes.