[Sanctuary] Heads Collide [Fun times with Sorian]

[Mao]

Timestamp: 17th of Summer 510AV



Odd.

The only thing she could think about as she felt the pleasant softness against her skin. The heat wrapped around her as if a sun was trapped in her chest, almost to keep her warm for many days to come. A sudden movement of an arm across her waist and her lids shot open in response. She jerked away from the large sleeping form of an Akalak next to her, hissing almost, until her vision steadied and the blurriness gradually dissolved to reveal the familiar face of Navis. His heavy breathing and his utter lack of movement after her little act made it quite obvious to the kelvic that her bond mate was still in slumber. Sighing, she looked about her, having only now taking the time to soak in just exactly where she was.

For someone who had lived amongst the flora and fauna of Mizahar, the room appeared welcoming, albeit not extraordinary. Hania's sister's home in Taloba seemed far more fitting for her, but she wasn't about to tell Navis about her escapades anytime soon. Instead, she stood, trailing a hand across various furnitures around the room just for the sake of absorbing their individual textures and inhaling the very distinct scent they carried. When she had made a roundabout of the room, her eyes finally fell upon a rather small mirror leaning against a corner of the room. There was a mental smirk as she thought of Navis primping himself for a night's work of slaughter, but her curiosity forced her to pick up the object and inspect herself closer.

Messy cascades of black locks fell across her shoulders, reaching just above her breasts which were exposed, as was the rest of her body, partly because she had no desire to ever casually wear anything when she was around the Akalak. The bruises from the night she had fought with Kavala were partially healed, but a new and improved collar had been placed around her neck, purely for therapeutic reasons than for anything else. And grudgingly, Mao understood. Touching the leather, however, induced troubling thoughts.

Her father's necklace. Had she brought it with her? There was only a faint memory in place of that night, and when she had assaulted the Konti she new she had left it in a secure area on the grassy bank near the beach. Was it still there?

Nearly dropping the mirror in rising anxiety, the kelvic quickly turned and approached the slumbering giant. Merciless were her hands as she shook, slapped and even had the audacity to attempt to push him off the bed.

"Wake up! My necklace, my father's necklace is gone! Navis, I swear if you don't wake up I will feed you to the very glassbeaks you hunt!"

[Sorian]

It was a quiet, peaceful night before, and the great blue titan was snoring and breathing like a bumbling clown, even smiling as he tossed and turned around. He was feeling such comfort with Mao right beside him to act as a soft, warm pillow when he needed one, since she had taken all the fluffy ones for herself. it wasn't something to be unexpected of one who didn't usually sleep in soft beds, voluntarily opting for hard and cold things instead.

Navis absolutely hated sleeping in the room Kavala had prepared for them, going so far as to sleep outright on the grass instead on some days, and simply plopping down on the poor bench by the veranda on others. He detested using it because it was tied to the fact that he was turning docile and soft like Sorian, though unwittingly, he has gradually become just that during the length of Mao's absence. While he remains far more violent and brash than the solitary and humble older half, he discovered--much to his strange pleasantry--that he possessed the ability to be sweet and caring, in his own gruff and unassuming way.

When she fainted from fatigue as she came back to him the other night, he brought her straight to Sorian's bed and laid to sleep on the floor to help her feel at ease. When she woke up late into the afternoon, she was all grumpy and curious at the same time, a thought which perverted his dormant mind for a moment before it too faded away. For two nights straight he had been using the simple room, but this time he was lying in it with her instead of cowering against the cold floor alone.

As he was in the middle of a good dream, he didn't stir at first when his bondmate got out of bed, although he groaned when the hot touch of her skin against him faded into the plush coverings she was lying on. Still he kept on drowning himself in his own pooling drool, mumbling incoherently as he alternated between muttering and growling at nothing in particular. The sun was already very high up, and he hissed when they peered through his eyes. But he was just terribly exhausted from yesterday's activities. In general, he just didn't seem to want to wake up anymore.

When he felt the slaps and shoves from Mao, he simply turned around and faced the other direction, lifting a warding hand to momentarily shoo the invader away. "Leave me be kitten, I wanna sleep..." He entreated her in a groggy voice, which quickly turned into a sudden plummeting howl that rocked the room when she kicked him to the floor.

"What in the blazes is going on?!" He thundered, shooting up instinctively to his feet, ready to fight off whoever was assaulting him while vulnerable in sleep. Both hands were lifted in grappling position, ready to pounce and rend whatever it was. That is, until, the vision of Mao's form cleared into his hazy sight. "Oh, morning kitten," he greeted her with a grin, unaware that she had woken him up and was panicking all over the face. He was just not aware enough then for her earlier demands to register properly in his brain. A touch of confusion washed over his features for a moment, rolling his eyes to think over something he noticed. "That's odd, its still daytime, supposed to be that idiot's turn right now. Seems like you're an effective ward to give me more time to be up and about!"

He approached Mao and tried to give the upset Kelvic a big hug and a huge, wet kiss, only to be met with something he didn't expect when he peered his face closer.

[Mao]

Pale green eyes rolled in aggravation at the Akalak's words. It was true that Mao had grown far more calmer in the two days she had spent amongst the various peoples of Riverfall and the utter lack of bloodshed she had wrought on unsuspecting victims, but she was still prone to her notorious bursts of anger. As was made apparent when she struck Navis forcefully across the cheek when he attempted to kiss her.

"This is not the time for pleasantries! My necklace, Navis, it's gone!"

Harsh words from a harsh mouth.

And yet, she was not acutely worried that she might have hurt her bond mates feelings, for she knew for a fact he enjoyed the scratches and bites she inflicted on him during their love sessions, and even if this sudden strike was simply because she was worried about her precious heirloom, it was not filled with hate, merely exasperation.

At once she pulled away from him, searching under the bed, the table, the lamp situated next to the bed in an effort to find her lost treasure. But to no avail. She cried out in frustration, nearly darting out of the room in panic until she realized she was not at all clothed. With a growl, she tugged on a light blue dress conveniently left for her on one of the large chairs and then turned to stare at Navis with a look that screamed bloody murder.

"Will you just stand there and gawk?" A pause as she shook her head and tapped her temple three times. "No no no. How should I put this. Please?"

Gag. Pleasantries were not lost to the vicious Mao, but they did not come without a price. Striding over to the Akalak, she touched his reddening cheek and pressed her whole body against him. A soft expression graced her as she spoke.

"Navis, my love. As your devoted bond mate, my instinct compels me to serve you in any way possible." She began, then with a dramatic pause, she moved behind him and used all of the strength she had in her small body to push him towards the door. "But this will not be done until you get your ass out the door and find my necklace."

[Sorian]

Navis' big, fleshy lips were almost ripped off his face when Mao struck him clean and flat on the cheek, his head jerking back to another direction. Perhaps because of exaggerated surprise or a real, all-out one, his facial features remained pasted for a good ten seconds before he slowly creaked his face to stare at what she is doing, which was obviously scampering around the room, pulling her hair and wracking her brains in frustration. It didn't hurt him, no--after everything that they had been through, what else could possibly hurt him?--it made him think, wake up and be more aware of what was happening.

"Your necklace?" He repeated, straightening his face as he watched her go up, down, round and about around him. It was the first time he noticed that it was gone too; it wasn't lost on him how pretty it looked around her neck, and even though he never did ask what it meant for her or why she kept it so close to her person (perhaps because it was always taken off when they made love) he knew it was very precious to her. It was almost the only civilized feature on her daily appearance, aside from her new blue dress that replaced the scraggly rags that she once wore.

He almost gagged too when Mao said something he had not heard from her before. Please. It was such a domesticated word for him, and it was definitely one that he didn't expect from his feral bondmate either; as he wasn't one to utter such courtesies to anyone, he never demanded it from her. But it made him feel high and mighty when she said it. His straightened face, which still resonated with a fully-awakened shock from the smack, deflated into a fond and snuggling one when Mao stopped her smattering and gave him a hug. He had barely felt her around him, and was just beginning to snicker to himself as he thought of how he was going to 'try to make her forget about her worries.' when she whirled around behind him and started pushing him out the door, butt naked as he is.

"Uhh, wait a moment, hold it just a second Mao!" He protested to her, his giant form not moving an inch despite her efforts. "I need to get my trousers on! Do you want every damn glassbeak and hunter in Cyphrus chasing after me naked to my ass, with only your necklace on?"

He turned around and looked at her with a rather exasperated look, as if he was saying, "I'm goin! I'm goin!" inside of him--something which she would have heard in her head through their bond--before he plopped back to sit on his bed, snagged his pants on the bedpost and got it on.

As he was fastening some string around his waist to prevent the pathetic piece of rag from falling off of him, he proudly declared with a grin,"All right! All set! Now, where do we look first love?"

[Mao]

The look on his face when she had uttered the word please made her lips twitch in fury. After all this time, she was attempting to become more and more like the kelvic she was supposed to be, to allow her human half to take control, to serve and to please as he wished. But apparently, it wasn't working. She was still demanding, bossy, rude and savage, just the way her bestial self would have it.

She rolled her eyes as he sat on the bed to dress himself, and was prompt to run out the door the minute he had stood to declare his readiness. Racing past the buildings, the fences, the animals in their pens, she ran down the hill toward the beach, where she had last remembered placing the necklace. The wind was comforting that day, gently brushing the dress around her legs and causing her hair to tickle her cheeks, but she was not there to enjoy the scenery. Her mind was dead set on finding what was lost, and her immediate massacre of the defenseless grass was testament to this.

Ten minutes had gone by and the result of her search was a rather devastated patch of land and a piles of torn soil and plants laying about. A cry tore through her lips in desperation, and she plopped down on the ground in overwhelming despair. Mao was on the verge of a breakdown, and it felt as if a waterfall was about to burst from her very eyes, yet she contained it. There would be self control. She would sit, catch the scent of anything that might be familiar on the wind and follow it. But as she attempted to do so, only the sounds and the smells of the crashing waves and the salt was present.

Had she truly lost the only piece of the past that she cherished with her whole being? The thought made her want to throw herself into the sea, but once again, the animal instinct kept her from it. Flee from death, run from it. Always. This was the only way she knew. No suicidal tendencies, no urges to go find danger in order to face her death. She just sat and stared off into the horizon. No words to be spoken. She even wondered if Navis was looking as well, which she was sure he was, but she was too heartbroken to look.

[Sorian]

He could not help but feel somewhat shut-down when Mao darted out of the room and rolled down the road with very little thought for him, and he pouted and grumbled for awhile in his room alone. He was very selfish in a way when it came to her; it was his nature to assume that he was always her first and foremost priority. While it is not far from the truth--indeed, she was the one who said he was the most important--he wasn't the only one, nor was he supposed to be the only one. Shrugging lightly, he threw his entire weight behind his sprint to catch up, thundering down the steep mountain path that led down to the beach far below the cliffs.

The last few steps he literally leaped into the sand and sparse grass by the sea, and much like his bondmate, he felt the wind against him luxuriously. It was high noon, and the sun's glare was remorseless. It would have been enough to render someone in another place with little motility, but it was a moot point when beside a calm and airy beach. Thus he searched for the lost trinket with a less frenetic pace himself, savoring the freshness of his own sweat as Mao scampered about in her own desperation-boosted energy.

His spirits dropped to the ground when his bondmate had finished destroying the already thin grass by the beach side, approaching her and looming behind her to spare her near-resignation the hot mockery of the sun.

"Mao, don't you worry. Sit here, relax and don't fret. I'll find that necklace of yours even if it meant staying here till night and tomorrow. Alright? Cheer up! You're quite scary when you're like this." He meant it almost jokingly, because she definitely wasn't scary when sad. No, she was pristine and beautiful in her dejection, but it was a sort of beauty he didn't like to see and feel. He preferred her happy.

He started hounding the last living patches of grass around them, trying to use his keen sense of smell to track it down like she did earlier, but to his consternation he found it nigh impossible; the smell of the salt in the air was too strong, and it cleansed all around it, even the smell of Mao's skin. A clicking noise escaped Navis' mouth as he dug around the shallow potholes around them, putting his entire hand inside one of them, trying to satisfy both Mao's desire to see him looking earnestly and his own curiosity as to what could be inside.

Turned out to be a bad idea.

"OUCH! ARGH! Stupid damn--! What the hell?!" He roared and growled and cussed in pain as his hand was stuck in the recessing depths, as if it was sucking him in for a moment. Upon pulling his hand out, the culprit was revealed. A hermit crab, around two inches long, clung to dear life upon his index finger with both claws. It was wearing a wentletrap shell as a shelter, which added to the pressure on the finger due to its compact weight.

Navis desperately shook his hand and jumped around like some tribal dancer, not daring to pull the thing off for fear of his entire finger coming off. "Damn it! Damn it!" He cursed under his breath, not really wanting to gain Mao's notice, having intended to leave her alone to her thoughts.

He looked almost warily at her, worriedly wondering how she'd react to his stupid show.

[Mao]

Navis' words were met with silence, but still, she met his gaze, and locked onto them, as if to let him know she appreciated his concern without having to say it out loud. She watched with a disheartened expression as he lumbered about, searching for her heirloom as if she would praise him for doing so. No, his ass had not found it, and there was no joyous cries and happy encouragements escaping her lips then. Her hand twitched on the ground, but her head jerked to lock onto his position when a sudden yelp reached her ears. In all his foolishness, he had managed to unleash the wrath of...

A hermit crab.

She rolled her eyes once more. No sudden rush to his aid, no words of concern. She just simply stood, dusted off her dress, and marched straight to him. A minute passed as she inspected the crustacean that clung to the Akalak's finger like it's life depended on it. "Really, Navis? The mighty Tormentor, bested by a crab? I could just feel your package shriveling up in shame." There was a devious smile dancing on her lips despite the knowledge that her necklace was still lost, for she could not help but love her bond mate even more for his silly endeavors. "It's not going to cut your finger off, just hold still." Slender fingers wrapped around the body of the crustacean, nails locked into particular crevices on the surface, and without a second thought, she had torn it apart. The weight of it might have pulled Navis' hand down with it's sudden destruction, but the remnants of the animal were littered on the ground, attracting a flock of sea birds.

And as she leaned forward to plant a kiss on her bond mate's lips, a particular bird caught her attention. With a start, she realized that in it's beak it carried the very item she had been tearing the land asunder for. "Navis... That bird has my necklace..." The words were barely audible, as she watched, eyes unblinking, as the creature in particular waddled about after the chunks of meat on the ground. If it was not for the fact that she was not able to shift, she would have leaped on the animal and mauled it. No, now she was stuck inching her way closer, grabbing a piece of crab meat in one hand and waving it in front of her to attract it's attention. Luckily, it was a rather retarded bird, and it responded to her by drawing closer, until it dropped the leather string in it's beak to snatch at the meat in her hand.

"Yes!" She cried, startling the creature into the air as she grabbed the heirloom and held it to her chest in content. "Nasty birds, touching this with your disgusting beaks." She hissed, chasing them off out of spite.

[Sorian]

All he could do was pout and crumple his mouth into a sissy smile when Mao proceeded to break the crustacean apart. "Oh, why didn't I think of that?" He quipped jokingly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. There was something ruthless and mechanical about the way she took it apart, but underneath all of it was the concern and the amusement which he wanted to see. It made him feel so special that he could incite the warmth of a ferocious cat like Mao; without precedent, she was his catalyst for his own changes.

Mao was smiling, although it was a mischievous scheming smile. Still it was more than enough for him to quit his pathetic display and man up by getting up his feet. "It appears that only my Chairman Mao can appease the Tormentor's torture. Alas, I'm growing soft. Must be getting old."

A laugh escaped his lips when he said the last piece, nervously clamping down his mouth. He didn't know if it was true anyway, but he was indeed very, very old by other races' standards. The splendor of maturity and prime was in his physique, and he feared none. Perhaps there was just something about being 'defeated' by a hermit crab that shook him, albeit playfully. What was important was that Mao found it relatively amusing and that it is imperative that he keep her happy while looking for the necklace.

He was about to receive the fruits of his fruitless search, when the lonesome bird also caught his attention as well, though he did not pluck his lips away until she had turned completely to face it. "Mao... Isn't that your necklace?" He said it in simultaneously with her own wondering. It was a big, fat gull with a mouth sieve that could simply swallow the thing without a thought if they did anything funny. A look of curiosity was evoked, then one of bottled-up anxiety. There was nothing that he can do but wait; Mao was the one more fit to handle the job with her natural skills for stalking and hunting.

The bird was stupid looking enough, and true to its looks, it was easily enticed by the crab meat plastered to Mao's hand. But Navis was not taking any chances, and he contributed greatly to the cause by staying as still as a post. Each breath coming out of his lungs became as controlled and hindered as if it had been stuffed with a bagpipe, and with anxiety he watched every movement of her feet and every wiggle of her hand. If it managed to fly away it would be over for them, Mao would throw a fit from now until heaven knows when, and, more importantly, she'd be depressed and sad for a long time.

Each pace she went on made his eyes squint, then contort, then at the last bit, widened with glee. Navis grinned proudly as he watched Mao triumphant, holding the necklace as if it was a lost piece of her soul that had been returned to her.

Indeed, it was.

"Hah! Take that you dumb bird! Fly away while you can!" He roared in jubilation at the squawking, terrified bird and laughing at the poor escape it was making for itself. It was definitely lucky that Mao wasn't in cat form, or it would have ended up being a quick meal in addition to being the loser of the day. Thankfully, also, it didn't end up being them.

He approached Mao slowly, dusting himself like she did herself before he encircled his arms around her, clasping her hands with both of his as he did. "Here, let me put it on you," he whispered to her, entwining his fingers into hers, slowly retracting his hand with the trinket it tow. Carefully the big Akalak pulled her hair back to ease the string around it into her head, all the way down to her neck.

"Its lovely, you've both always been lovely you know?" He grinned.

[Mao]

Yes, Mao was indeed extremely ecstatic at having acquired her heirloom without it coming to any serious harm, and it showed by the way she allowed Navis to take it from her and place it around her neck. Usually she would let no one, let alone a man handle her things, but her bond mate was different. They connected beyond the ways of words, on a spiritual level, and when she turned around to face him, she wrapped her arms around his firm neck and kissed him. A deep, meaningful kiss, with a few stolen nibbles with it. "Oh stop being so sappy." She said when she finally broke the kiss. "Telling me to tear and bite at your skin would cause a far better reaction from me, sir. Or..." She drifted away from him, once again with that devious grin on her lips. "You could always do it yourself."

She skipped along the sand now, watching as the wind kicked the particles into the air and sent it flying off into the distance. The day was becoming far more beautiful by the minute, but Mao was not one to relish in the fact that she had lived this long even with her reckless way of living. Instead she turned her attention the the waves that came crashing down on the shore, and without a second thought, pulled her dress over her head, tossed it to the ground and made her way towards the water. It was a comforting cold that touched her skin, and she waded her way along the waves that often gently pushed her back. It had been many weeks since she'd been in the ocean, preferring to bathe in the calm of a river or a pond rather than the saltiness of the sea.

"Come, Navis! Don't you want to enjoy the wonders of the sea?" There was a beguiling tone to her words, and she waved a hand to beckon him to her. But just a chime after she had called out to him, her head disappeared beneath the waves, and she swam her way along the sea bottom, kicking hard to propel her forward. When she had arrived at a large boulder rooted to the sea bottom and penetrating the water from above, she swam up for air. With labored breaths she looked about her, taking notice that she had swam quite a distance from the shore.

[Sorian]

She was a whole lot different now. It had only been two days since they were reunited and yet she was now all the more vibrant, and her actions more caring and passionate than lustful and wild, as they had been a year ago. It was as if Kavala had truly restored some part of her which he was unable to fill in his absence, or something which even his presence could not have healed. Then he felt something significant through their bond, the happiness that the little piece of her tragic history had given back to her. Whether it reminded her of painful or joyful memories--or a mixture of both--didn't seem to matter at the moment. There was a playfulness that he needed to address, a business that he needed to take care of. She had returned, that was all that mattered.

Every angry bit in her was gone for the moment, channeled into the torrid kisses her lips bestowed on him. He slipped his great arms around her waist and held her tiny body in place while they shared in the sweetness of the moment. "Teasing me like this, you've just reminded me of something that I had missed very much," he mouthed in between each flick of the tongue and every nibble on the lip.

He was almost reluctant to let her slip from his grasp, hissing in stalled pleasure as she skipped away, counting each step she took by gazing at her footprints. They were so small and delicate, her feet, and the gentle thought momentarily sated his starving eyes. But what followed stirred him into feelings and actions that had been buried and pacified within him in the eternity that she'd been gone.

"Oh man, it's so hot and dry..." His mouth watered and his body stiffened while he watched Mao take her clothes off cleanly and swiftly with a single stroke. It had been too long; his bitterness and rage had kept him from feeling the sensation, and the simply joy of reunion blew it completely out of his mind until then. Strangely enough for a male of his sexual appetite, it was the first time he had noticed how long it had been since the last time they had joined each other in physical intimacy and passion-play; the last two nights of their reunion had been quiet and full of tired sleep, particularly for Mao, who had taken her time regenerating herself. It all came crashing down on him like the waves that toyed back and forth with her; how he missed the bites and scratches that they lavished on each other, the succulent smell of her fresh skin, the pulsating wetness of her portals. It made his head spin, his mind blur; he wanted her, now more than ever.

Huffing his burning mind's state away for a moment, he proceeded to remove his own trousers, then ran to the water, dividing it with his speed and power. He ran towards her as she swam, then using his limbs he shot into the depths when the water started to go deeper. The water was cold, and it seeped him to the bone, but it didn't matter. His burning passion kept him warm all over.

Surprising Mao from beneath, he shot up right before her like a humanoid shark, then took her into his arms and began to plant kisses and bites all around her neck, making sure not to nibble on any of the string which held her necklace together. He didn't even need to wade his legs for him to float, the water was nice and salty enough to help him without additional movements, and he used this boon to dig her smoothness deeper into his rough hide.

"Mmm. I missed this, my kitten. So much that I didn't even notice if for so long. Did you miss it too?" He purred into her ears, all the while smothering and enfolding her with his entirety. The voice then turned rough and gruff, just as she liked it back then. "Tell me you did. I want to hear that you missed this."