Flashback Then A Rest Of Course...

[Kavala]

The Konti displayed her keen intellect in her gaze because her eyes were always alive in the way a thinkers eyes could be. Engaged and thoughtful, her blue orbs were constantly flickering from one object to another as they gathered information her hands could not even though they tried. For Kavala, being with Matthew in a lot of ways was like being born anew in the world.. There were no rules save the ones they made themselves. There were no timelines, no frowning parents, and there certainly weren’t any people anywhere. It was as if they were the only two individuals in the world and that made things interesting. Kavala was not inhibited. She was not reserved. There was a sense of discovery about her that kept rising up.

He could tell she liked his body because she enjoyed it in every sense of the word. She touched, she looked, and most importantly if those two things were not enough, she tasted and sensed and smelled. The Konti was a tactile person, adding what she discovered to the overall pool of what she knew. And she learned Matthew’s body carefully, running her hands across it, exploring its curves and valleys. There was no place she left untouched for her own curiosity and because she sought reactions from him. But he remained distant and while she mulled it over in the back of her mind, she didn’t understand it. She couldn’t. And truthfully it was a bit disturbing.

Kavala slowly came to feel like he withheld parts of himself and it came across almost as a superiority attitude rather than anything else. It was like he wanted reactions from her, but didn’t want to feel – other than involuntarily and distantly – anything she wanted to give. There was something lacking in their play and Kavala felt it acutely. She could get him to react, but it always seemed as such a surprise to him and something almost unwelcome at that. When he did slide into pleasure, he seemed to forcefully rein it in quickly and that baffled Kavala.

She liked seeing his hips arch and his skin ripple with reactions. She liked seeing him tremble, but it never reached his eyes. Oh, his face twisted in pleasure a time or two, but his eyes were so cold, so distant, and almost as if the form he wore was detached from any soul that might reside within and left him floating like a voyeur trapped in his own body and unable to connect on so many levels.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Kavala had witnessed plenty of love in her life. She’d also witnessed plenty of pleasure. There was feeling good and then there was each person totally engaged in the other, lost in the touch and taste and sound and sensation of a partner. Silently she mourned because something within her told her that with this man she could have true fun, but never true connection.

And something in her craved that connection badly.

It was almost a relief when he started to speak. But the words he said chilled her. She would have lost her body and mind to him if she lost herself to her own pleasure, if she could not handle what he wanted to do? The Konti met his gaze and her fierce personality rose up in her eyes. He’d note the pride and strength in her eyes and the way she glanced to where her things were in a pile. Weapons? She wore none now… not naked sprawled across this man. Or was she looking for something else. Kavala was so very little Konti and so very much Drykas. And his words struck at her pride. The Drykas belonged to know one but the Gods and the Grasses and their horses. It did not matter what a man’s touch could do to someone. It did not matter what a man said.

It wasn’t that he was being dominant. She didn’t see it that way. It was that he was dictating her reactions and existence to her, which surpassed any and all arrogance she’d ever encountered. Strength and confidence was one thing, but Kavala was not from a land where one person owned another lightly or where people gave away pieces of themselves with any lack of cause.

He touched her scales, but her mind was not on his hands. He dug his fingers into the curve of her rear but there was already a fire in her heart that he’d set to blazing. Kavavla focused on it, feeling the subtle shift within her, and clarity exploding within her. She tried not to label his thoughts, his feelings if he had any, or assume what he must think of her to It was, in the end, not her place. She instead focused on her own, disregarding for a moment his touch and meeting his gaze at the nod.

Kavala was a child and wanted to play childish games. Matthew was game for them. But a quiet part of her mind asked what she was doing? They were not doing the things a child did. And as she lay against him she knew with sudden clarity she had to pick. They could have their fun, but in the end this time with this stranger meant she had to cross a threshold. Was she still willing to cling to youth or was she ready to move on? The human was willing. He was appealing, beautiful even, and didn’t want commitments. She could have him for a time… as long as their pathways crossed it seemed… and in doing so she could cross over into territory she longed to explore. But that path meant she’d have to give up something as well. It meant saying goodbye to the child. It meant leaving games behind. She’d left the protection of her clan, her family, her brothers. Could she also leave the protection of her youth? Kavala wanted too. She longed for more. She wanted to make her own decisions, and since coming here she had. This was another such decision, but it was one she was comfortable with. It just saddened her to realize the threshold came sooner than she realized and that she hesitated, even now, when she should have been galloping forward. Why did she hesitate?

The Konti almost laughed at herself. She knew why, in that moment of clarity, and shook her head at the silliness. There were no true life tales like one heard around the campfire or read in books. No Syliran Knight would ride up to her rescue on a white warhorse falling instantly in love after slaying half a world of yukman. People didn’t fall in love at first sight. Men didn’t move mountains for the women they loved. This was it. They would touch and explore and learn together, and eventually he would press himself into her body and the whole world would consider her a woman then and no longer a girl. He would kiss her, but it would not be backed with some explosion of emotion the tall tales told about.

Even her best friend Tamar – her oldest brother’s wife – had cried like a baby the first night she was in their Pavilion as Vanator’s bride. Vanator had done what he wanted too with her because they were newly married and it was his job to get heirs on her, but she’d still heard Tamar’s crying. Eventually they fell in love and Tamar swore to Kavala that there was no better place on the Grass to live than with the Sapphires in the Denusk Pavilion. But still, Kavala had known how it was at first.

Her turn would come when she returned, educated and wise in the ways of herbs. Her father would start looking, finding someone who would trade horses unnumbered and favors and perhaps hunting cats, livestock and the works because his daughter was a Konti healer… a perfect second wife or third if one had a fertile lusty first wife. She would be the young woman waiting for whatever fate her father had cast her into. And who knew who the man would be that would buy her? Konti were exotic to most humans, considered sometimes sacred, and if they came skilled and beautiful, they were doubly so. But to the Drykas, they meant little. Skilled, they became assets, but just so. She would never be allowed to have children. She wouldn't be welcome to first wife anywhere. Kavala felt, deep in her heart, that she was a leader not a follower. And she knew the position would chaff at her.

Matthew was a far better choice. Sure, he would never care. But he would never hurt her and he’d already shown her that he could make things lovely for her. In that way he cared, a little, though Kavala was not sure if it was because he was prideful or if he was simply mindful of how bodies worked. In a way, he was the valuable one. If people knew what he could do, his abilities could be bought and paid for, without any fear he would want to stay through the night and make the morning awkward. Too many thoughts filled her head. She paused, head slanting to one side, as her eyes focused inward – not seeing him, not hearing him, as she mulled something in her mind.

And in that moment, she understood the issue finally. It meant something to her; this growing up, this transition. But she understood inherently it meant nothing to him but research. Could she live with that? Kavala gazed at Matthew and suddenly and wholeheartedly pitied him. Big decisions in life should hold weight and meaning. They should be vivid and exciting and the kind of thing that sticks with a person forever. Would he feel anything but a release… would he understand the lines crossed that could never be recrossed? And if she chose not to care and proceeded anyhow… would that make her some kind of selfish monster? Kavala sat a long time against Matthew, simply thinking, evaluating the little she knew. She would give the rest of her life to a pavilion. She’d give her body to a future husband that would only see it as pleasure and perhaps even ask her to prevent pregnancy because she had no value as a mother and more konti would tax their resources. Instead her skills would be utilized as a healer, needed desperately, and pleasure for the sake of pleasure would not come into the equation unless the blurred image of her future husband found her desirable and her body having the ability to quench his lusty thirst.

In that moment, she decided she’d ask Matthew if he found her beautiful. She thought he might tell her the truth and she thought too that if the answer was negative that in her current mindset and attitude she could handle the truth.

But first, he needed fed. Like a baby bird stretching his beak to the sky and demanding food, he demanded she teach him. He touched her then, again, like a promise of more to come and of a reward of sorts. He even touched himself and she found that strangely beautiful because he could do so confidently. Kavala nodded, but first she’d have her reward. Sliding down his body, she took her time. Instead of taking him in her mouth again quickly, she fed his thirst for information with knowledge and buried her face in his soft fleshy stones. She nuzzled them, keeping her eyes locked on his, as she tilted her face first one way then the other letting her lightly scaled cheeks rub against the soft slightly draped flesh there. He smelled musky and pleasant, like a clean man should, as she reached out to wrap her tongue around his length and then ran it down to the base and over his soft maleness. She sucked one up into her mouth, gently pulled a few slow moments, then released it only to pay attention to the other one. His scent covered her face and she willingly rubbed it in as she made love to his utter maleness, paying tribute to it in the way only a woman intent on her partner’s pleasure could.

Moments after she started, the Konti began to speak. She did not take her pulls yet, wanting the words to fill his mind with knowledge before she stole him mindless afterwards.

Kavavla was a Denusk. They did nothing halfway. “The answer is a precipitate. When you combine two substances together, usually liquids, and alter their state like by adding heat, then often there is a philtering reaction. When this reaction happens in liquids, the solid that falls out of the liquid is called the precipitate.” Her voice was pitched with confidence. She knew the answer to this.

She paused then and leaned forward, licking his belly. Her moist tongue left three cylinder shapes on his hard flat stomach. She reached down and sprinkled sand across his stomach which stuck to the moisture. Three perfectly sketched vials were depicted.

Kavala attacked the middle one with her tongue, leaving dots throughout it. She then licked at the bottom of the third ‘vial’ and then reapplied sand.

The first vial looked like it was clear. “Pretend this is your normal liquid solution.” She said, then gestured at the second one with her chin. Her hands encircled his shaft as she talked, gripping and starting to rub it. “The second one with all the polka dots is the liquid with a suspension. You can think of this whole process as dirt in water… you have a first vial of clear water, you added dirt and swirled and the water becomes muddied… that’s a suspension. Then the third vial… which looks like it has settling at the bottom, is when you let the water sit long enough with the dirt in it and the dirt settles to the bottom. That’s precipitate. You can swing this third vial around you in a circle… perhaps suspended on a string of some sort, and the precipitate will fall right out too… its faster than just letting it settle. Water and dirt needs no heat to break down, and it might be slightly a poor example, but there are other better examples.” Kavala said, gripping him firmly and then sliding back down to give his body more attention.

She lifted the mass of his sex with her chin and began licking at the delicate flesh where his body erupted in his sex. That fragile line of demarcation was thoroughly scrubbed with her tongue, gently and teasingly even as she occasionally sucked one or another of his stones into her mouth and pulled like she was suckling.

Her hands joined in the fun, keeping his length swollen and occupied, even as she lifted her head to lick at his tip and taste the fluid there curiously. Kavala was not in a hurry and knew to not be in one. They had all day and only hunger of the physical kind would drive them to break off the game and cook.

She made sure he could see her sampling his taste and she watched for his reaction as she refused to draw him in but instead only lapped at his flesh. For a moment her body heated at the thought he might tangle his fingers in her hair and force her to take him into her. She liked his moments of aggression. And she enjoyed his displays of dominance. But she wanted things underlying that took.

“I want to watch you release here in front of me, out in the open. I want to see what will happen to your body when it is deep in mine or another’s feeling pleasure.” She found herself saying, shocking herself for a moment as her cheeks turned pink and she continued with the other lesson, almost as if she hadn’t voiced her desire.

Kavala ducked her head and nipped at his belly, covering his lower half with her body for a moment as she regained her composure and let the bright pink tinge fade. Then she bean to speak again as she slid to the side, suddenly captured his dominant hand, and wrapped it around his own length.

It was more of the lesson. “There is a term. It is called solubility. It’s the ability of a liquid to take on a certain amount of another substance before precipitation occurs. So you can attempt to concentrate a philtered compound… a compound being a mixture of substances… past the point of its solubility, and suddenly you will get precipitate also.” She added, watching his hand and how it touched his own body, learning from it, hoping he wouldn’t just grip himself but would move and give himself pleasure as well.

“These types of philters are used for medications, making pigments, even identifying impurities in water. You can, for example, take salt water from the sea and make fresh water from it. You can evaporate water out of salt until all that is left is salt crystals. You’ve seen them a million times. Usually tpeople let the sun do it, with its heat and energy, but you can force it too.” Kavala said, leaning over occasionally to lick his hip and nuzzle his sex once more as she watched him touch himself.

“You can take a large shallow bowl of any type of material and fill it with salt water. Without a bowl, you can dig a shallow depression in the sand and line it with leaves or clay that will hold water. Use anything that will keep water from leaking out. Even things like animal stomach lining are good. Then place another small container in the middle of the larger bowl of salt water, this one being empty. Make sure the line or lip of the small container doesn’t’ go beneath the water line in the bowl. Then cover the whole thing with something that will stretch and not let too much air out. Again, this is a good place for another stomach lining. Put some sort of weight in the center of the cover, like a stone, to make that point over the inner container the lowest point of the stretched skin… then put the whole thing out in the sun. The heat will cause the water to evaporate, collect on the stomach, run down and drip into the center container as fresh water. Meanwhile the water in the bowl or depression will slowly super concentrate and precipitate out salt eventually if left out long enough.” Kavala said.

“You can just also leave out long shallow trays and let the water evaporate into the air and not collect it if you just want the salt. But if you ever need to survive, that’s a quick way to get fresh water by the sea.” Kavala said thoughtfully and grazed his hip with her teeth, leaning on her side beside him.

Then she partially sat up, propping her head in her hand, watching him touch himself. Her arm crossed his hip, as if she hugged him to her own naked length, with her nails gently running up and down his far hip, stroking the skin there. She met his eyes again, drawing her gaze away from his length and what he might be doing there, in order to ask him the question she was wanting to know.

"Matthew, tell me something truthfully. Away from this island where everyone is so alike... and among humans especially males... would I be considered easy on the eyes?" She wanted to flat out ask him if she was beautiful or ugly or somewhere in the middle. But she didn't want to sound vain, for she wasn't wholly. Every woman wanted to be beautiful regardless of their appearance. But Kavala wasn't asking if she was beautiful... not really. She just wanted to know if she was unique enough, comely enough, appealing enough not to be plain. Her mind was on her return to The Drykas and what she could bring to her family. "I want to know if I am something other, something more, than just plain." She said simply, not sure if he would understand what she was asking. She didn't want to be lost among the other Drykas. She didn't want to just be a face in the crowd and a healer of some worth. She wanted to know if she had enough good luck with her bloodlines to stand out and be desirable. Kavala figured Matthew, with his cold cold eyes, would be the one to tell her truthfully. The Konti would believe him. She was certain, because he had no reason to lie to her and nothing to gain from doing so.

[Matthew]

Her eyes were one of the ways that they were similar, in a sense. She absorbed information with her eyes it seemed, much like he did. So many people simply made eye contact and left it at that. Matthew had always found it interesting that maintaining eye contact was something considered polite while taking the time to study the rest of a person was considered rude. How could an expression of interest be considered rude? There were leering gazes of course, but those were easy to tell apart from a stare that was merely studious. Matthew thought they were, at least.

What was she studying, he wondered? Something in the back of his mind clicked, realizing that this was an odd time to be analyzing him. He was doing the same to her, but he had a very specific reason. He handled all of this lust in a very different way then she did, or so he thought. Had he been wrong? Was she approaching this in the same way that he did, or was there something else? Blue eyes peered into hers, trying hard to understand. It was difficult. Matthew was not a creature of empathy and he knew it was a weakness. There were some things he could read in a stare but there were many more that he could not. To everyone else, eyes were so very expressive. He had heard them called the windows to the soul. To him, they were abstract paintings that he could only hope to sometimes understand. Interestingly enough, the thing that Kavala was looking for and the thing that she was badly craving was something that he could not hope to realize, not at this point in his life. A connection was something that he could give her the definition of. But truly knowing what it meant and what it was? Such a thing was disturbingly distant.

He sometimes realized how very different he was. It usually did not bother him. For a moment in the here and now, it briefly did. There was a brief buzzing as well, a humming sound behind his eyes. It was soon gone though, brushed away as easily as the disturbance of his own differences was.

Kavala's eyes transformed into a wider variety of beautiful paintings and Matthew refocused on trying to truly understand. He could easily brush them off and come to peace with the idea that he could not understand, that he would never understand. Something inside of him warned against that though. Something inside of him warned that he ever stopped trying to understand then he would be crossing into a place that he could not return from. He had no desire to test the truthfulness of that instinct. Anyways, Kavala was putting a piece of herself into this, so it would be rude of him not to do the same. He put effort into it, put effort into understanding her. Her eyes were... hot. There was fire. There was fire that lunged out at him. Had he sparked defiance? Had he sparked anger? Had he sparked a dominant lust? His blue stare grew in intensity, his mind desperately working to simply understand. Finally though, finally a painting surfaced that he knew of. Her eyes were no longer looking at him, she was instead thinking. He did not invade in on this moment, did not take it as an insult. Instead, Matthew let her have her moment. His body and his hands continued to work, but they slowed so they would not distract her. He let her peacefully have her thoughts, just as she had peacefully let him have his own so many times before. The painting left and was soon replaced by Pity, something else that did not mean anything to him, but he still waited. She would let him know when her thoughts had reached the point that they needed to reach.

When she dipped down to pleasure him once more, if there was any doubt on her previous assessment than her suspicions could now be confirmed. It was as she said it was. The pleasure shuddered through him, causing his hips to arch up in want, causing the muscles in his stomach to ripple in support of the motion. His head fell back and his lips parted in a soft purring growl of a moan, the fires of lust briefly touching his eyes before they suddenly vanished, as if a boot had stamped into the spark before it could truly catch a hold. His stare then found hers, and then he listened.

Precipitate. He absorbed and he learned, filling the books in his mind with more of the knowledge that she gave him. He scribed it down deep within his inner library and he shelved it away, deeply grateful that she would add such detail to his collection of knowledge. A tilt of his head was given as she used her tongue and the sand to form three vials, an eyebrow briefly arching. That was an impressive trick. He would have to remember it. His lack of imagination would have readily prevented him from ever thinking of that. His thoughts were soon stolen from him as she decided to both teach and apply pleasure, causing his hips to find a slow and steady beat that rolled his shaft encouragingly into her hand. The fire reached further in his eyes this time, the young student finding it hard to focus on self control while eagerly absorbing the knowledge she would give. Liquid, suspension, precipitate. Her example was an excellent one for a beginner like him. Every bit of her words were mentally noted, even the example. It would be good to reference in the future.

His thoughts were broken and a shuddering noise freed itself from his full lips, her calculated attack on the underside of his shaft bringing forth a somewhat unexpected jolt of pleasure. He noted that down as well, preparing himself for the day that he might be put in her position.

Still, his hand very briefly clenched into the sand, his eyes very briefly evolved into something different. For the slightest of seconds there was the roar of some sort of primal beast in his stare, something locked away very deeply. He was still a man and not completely devoid of emotion. It was easier for him to handle than most, but it was certainly still there, some more than others. Still, if she was curious where the aggression came from... there was something there. There was a dominant King buried far beneath the surface. At her request, he gave a slow nod, understanding and perfectly alright with giving her what she requested. He did not notice the blush, Kavala doing a stellar job of hiding it before he took note.

His hand was elegant as it danced across his shaft, light and teasing with touch, but slowly growing more firm and more fluid. The strokes were quick at first, but soon encompassed the very tip of his shaft to the very base with extremely slow movements of his hand. Every now and then she would notice that it became dry, which Matthew would solve in one of two ways. If her lips were closer, he would silently offer her his fingers to dampen. If her heated core was closer, he would briefly slip the two fingers against the wetness of her slit before returning to his pleasure. He showed himself off to her, continuing to keep his eyes all over her figure, making sure she was completely aware that she was still the source of his arousal. He continued to focus on her words though, still soaking in every piece of wisdom that she could bless him with. He had no doubt that the minute he had the time and materials, he would eagerly test the experiment she had described with the shallow bowl of salt water.

Easy on the eyes? The saying was briefly lost on him before she spoke again, further describing what it was she wanted. His eyes briefly narrowed as the answer immediately came, but he hesitated to allow himself time to fully think it through. He returned his stare to her body and face, taking quite a bit of time to slowly study her. He studied every last little detail, from the smallest of features to the most obvious. There were a few ticks of silence as he did this, but his soft voice would eventually give a firm answer. "Truthfully, even when it comes to Konti, you do set yourself apart. You are a Konti when it comes to the basics, with the general beauty and the color of your hair. In appearance, you might think that you look the same. Really though, this isn't true, not if someone actually takes the time to look. There is quite a bit to find when it comes to the details of beauty. You have the developed figure of a woman who has worked hard and naturally developed her corded muscle. Your eyes express themselves in a vast variety of everchanging ways, things I cannot hope to understand but can still appreciate the beauty of. Your body is young and supple, another thing that attributes to outward beauty. You are set apart by your flame, though. You are set apart by the feeling that accompanies you when you walk, by the straightforward heat that wafts from your skin. You are you and you display this merely by being alive. You express that you are Kavala with a silent confidence. Yes, you are beautiful, but it is deeper than something pleasing on the surface. People will be attracted to your unashamed flame. There is no lie in your fire."

Even if it was clear that he was not the sort to understand such things, his description was oddly... artistic. He had understood that a simple explaination of logic was not the thing that she required, though. So he had merely offered what he could feel, even if he did not really know what it was. He trusted her to know it instead, or to one day come to know it. She had chosen correctly when choosing him as the one to ask such a question. His words had not been said to impress or to flatter, nor had they been said in an effort to romance her. They had been given simply because she had asked what he thought, so he had truthfully offered what he thought... and some of what his shackled soul could feel.

She had not asked another philtering question, but he did not pursue the matter. The conversation had shifted and now Kavala was hungry for answers of her own. He could feel the swelling of his arousal reaching a point where it would soon release, if he allowed it to do so. Glancing to her, his stomach muscles visibly tightened as he controlled himself, lifting a hand from his shaft to offer it to her. "Would you like to feel it during the release? There is much to see, but there is also much to feel. Or, would you like to be shown how to pleasure yourself, if you do not already know? You have given me knowledge and I would insist that I be able to do the same for you." Perhaps she would have that disturbed feeling again, just for another moment. Most would speak those words suggestively, flirtatiously. He was genuinely bartering intimate knowledge about himself for knowledge about philtering, as if it was a perfectly even trade.

[Kavala]

She watched him with the wide-eyed curiosity of youth. There was no stigma to what she was doing, nor in fact to what he was doing. Kavala had asked a simple question or perhaps more voiced a simple desire and Matthew had complied. He was giving in that way, holding nothing back and finding no embarrassment or shame in the wonderings of a young woman’s mind. Blue eyes traced his hands, how he held himself, judging the grip and angle and the fluidity of his motion. She learned, drawing in the information, noting how his breathing changed and the intensity of his grip on himself. She wondered if he pictured pleasant things in his mind or if the vision of her simply watching him was enough to keep him on task. And though one would think the request she’d made of him brokered no involvement on her part, he still managed to keep her engaged.

She jerked slightly as if startled, when he touched her lips either above or below, until she understood what he was doing and why. It was so strange, that they talked of classes and philtering and yet did such intimate stuff. It was crazy and the sheer fact that it was crazy made Kavala smile. But in the end, he listened to her lesson, watched, and as a reward gave her one of his own.

The Konti would never doubt what it was to pleasure a man with her hands after watching Matthew. Even his words fueled her excitement as he gave consideration to her query and then answered the way he did. Honestly, she’d thought all the Konti looked the same. Back home, she was unique, but here she’d lost that uniqueness and found that her eye was untrained to telling one from the other beyond looking at the scales and pale skin. Matthew said in fact that it wasn’t true. She wasn’t like everyone else. Her body was harder, her eyes more expressive, and then there was her flame. A flame? Kavala blinked at that, not quite following the young scholar as he tried to explain it. She was heat and fire without lies? The Konti smiled at this, but the astute observer would see the hesitation of uncertainty in the smile and it would be easy to guess that she didn’t understand what he’d told her, not at all. His words were beautiful, flattering even, but she wasn’t certain if it was what she really wanted to hear. She’d wanted the truth, and that’s what she’d get with Matthew. But was his truth the rest of the world’s truth? Would Eachaan’s beautiful flame daughter fetch her pavilion a good price? But again, walking around in one’s skin made it hard to observe oneself from the outside. It was quite possible that his words were something she could not physically or emotionally understand… not until she had far more time observing people.

Then again, her entire pavilion, her entire clan as well, were filled with passionate vibrant people. And maybe in Mura she was unique in that way, but among the Drykas she was no different than her kin.

In the end, she simply quietly thanked him for his candor.

His next words broke her out of her thoughts and she met his curious gaze once more. Kavala was not one to sit on the sidelines so with his permission she reached forward and beneath where he fisted himself, she wrapped one long fingered hand around the base of his body, and the other drew together his stones and held the weight of them in her hands. She leaned forward, eyes wide, studying his motions and his body’s reaction to those motions. Pale strands of hair slipped from behind her shoulders and cascaded across his stomach as she leaned over him.

She got close… bowing over him to where she could hear the slide of his skin on his skin. Kavala could drink in his scent and how it changed as his arousal grew closer to completion. She made a soft noise in her throat because his actions were strangely beautiful to her, revealing in so many ways. His openness with her made her see him as vulnerable in his desire to know, to learn, and to gain what he sought. Her hands gripped him, helping, as she softly began to urge him forward. If they were eventually going to join bodies, she wanted to know what would happen, and what his body was going to do within hers. Kavala had seen couplings many many times. But this was new territory. She’d never seen this. And it brought about a crazy heat in her body that she could not explain.

“Yes.” She said suddenly to him. Her eyes tore off his shaft to meet his own chilly gaze a moment. “Yes to all of it.” She said firmly, knowing she’d let him touch her however he wanted too whenever he wanted too. Her hips shifted, moved, almost as an involuntary reaction to what she was witnessing. There was a core deep heat and wetness that surprised her coming from her own body. Kavala found herself breathing heavily, matching his breath exactly. She held him in her hands, felt him still working his length, and knew this moment in her life would be one she’d never forget. If he wanted to show her how to do this to herself, she’d let him… absolutely. Yes. Just yes. But first there was this, and it was all about him.

In that moment, he’d feel the true power a man could have over a woman just by being who he was and oozing the masculinity that a man could. Her fingers would stray where they tried to gather his body, and splay out so that at least one digit slipped down the natural depression to gently stroke the slight gathering of skin around his rear. She was fearless, and absolutely without boundaries in her willingness to observe and learn. And instead of shifting so she was sitting up halfway, she moved, rolling to her knees so she was kneeling beside him where the view was the best.

Kavala was absolutely captivated. Her sole focus was on him and him alone. His breathing was noted. His expression was watched. Even his tensing and relaxing of his body wasn’t missed. All of it was noted and delighted in. And whereas his observations were analytical, hers were more pleasure driven. She felt him FEELING what he was feeling. And though his mental reactions seemed very well guarded or missing, he could not suppress his physical reactions. His release would be of that nature… a loss of control. And she hungered for them… any little reaction, any sign he was human.

When he did finally cross that threshold, Kavala was there, fully with him watching every bit of it she could. What she couldn’t watch, she felt, and what she couldn’t feel she listened too. A more experienced Konti would have leaned forward to taste or touch or offer him her mouth. But Kavala wasn’t really aiming to please him. Instead, she wanted to know him, understand his body’s reaction, and what to expect when it was time for more.

And when he was done she’d explore the remains, running her finger through his seed, sniffing, tasting, exploring. Then she’d offer him a big smile in thanks. “You didn’t have to do that. But I’m so happy you did. I’ve been curious forever. It’s really beautiful to watch someone find their pleasure. And in doing so, I know how to help you do so as well. It’s beautiful. I can’t describe how or why, but so much of it is. Yes… I’d love for you to show me. But first… can I make you a meal? Are you getting remotely hungry?” She asked, knowing much time had passed, whether he realized it or not.

"I would like to make you a meal. It would bring me great pleasure to do so... and let you relax. Then maybe after food we can begin again?" She said, knowing she was thirsty now and starting to feel hunger pains herself.

[Matthew]

Matthew was extremely appreciative of unfiltered curiosity. Open and straightforward questions were much easier on his somewhat handicapped mind. They did not require the gears in his brain to grind at a pace that eventually led to a dull throbbing headache. In return for what he considered a generousity, her open and shameless questions, he gave her the similar curtesy of open and shameless answers.

He did have material that he used in his mind. He was unable to maintain an arousal without some sort of stimulation, and the easiest stimulation was the sort that his body naturally responded to. Seemingly unknown to Kavala, she was his stimulation in this scenario. She was a woman and he was a man. His feelings were hindered but they were there, so the young student readily put them to use. He showed her what she wanted to know, displaying a variety of self-pleasuring techniques that he had made sure to study. He hadn't been able to observe that much but had experimented on himself. In the end, pleasuring an arousal could be broken down to a simple science. It was a part of the body that worked according to certain rules after all. It had nerve endings, it had reasons and logic to everything it did and every sensation it felt. Whenever he used a technique that was a bit hard to just see, he would explain what he was doing in a breathless sort of voice. He would explain the variances in pressure, the need for lubrication, the different sensations that different areas of the shaft and head could send through a man. For a moment she would be in a classroom, though a wildly different classroom than any she had likely experienced before.

Interestingly enough, he could see the moment of uncertainty in her stare. He addressed it, his words perhaps strikingly opposite of what one would think that he would advise. "You are thinking too much about it. Do not worry. It is impossible to view an image of yourself until you have seen it reflected in the stares of quite a few people. We are defined by the people around us, even something as physical as beauty."

Then they returned to their lesson, Matthew knowing that too much exploration of the topic could dismantle the lesson at hand. As she got close he tried to spread his legs, arch his back, expose more of himself so that she could more easily touch and see. If the lesson was to be an effective one, he would need to give her as much knowledge to absorb that he possibly could. He was not quite the most flexible person in the world, but this certainly gave him a chance to work on it. The young student arched in ways that made something inside of him stretch, Matthew making sure not to stretch it to a point that would cause something to snap or strain. Her hand joined his and he let her feel and experience, but slowly slowly started to shift his own touch so that it increasingly changed to more of hers than more of his own. First he would let her feel, then he would guide, then he would see if her hand instinctively perfomed the strokes that it had been shown. He nodded and let out a shuddering sigh of pleasure at the exploration of her finger, also one who was completely and totally open when it came to exploration of his body. The fact that she was brave enough to explore made him feel that she was indeed learning and had become at least a little confident in that newfound knowledge. Soon his strokes would turn to hers and though his hand remained, he now let her be the one to pleasure him completely.

Matthew arched and writhed there, completely on show, simply giving her a taste of what it was like for a woman to pleasure a man. A regression to a very simple and basic instinct in all of them. Soon he would release, the shaft throbbing in a very significant sort of way, multiple deep throbs that increased in frequency until the head swelled and then climaxed in time with a particularly loud shout from Matthew.

He sat there for a moment, resting his shivering body and watching as Kavala explored what seemed to be a foreign substance to her. His eyes flickered at her words, once again reflecting that lack of fundamental understanding in something that should be so natural. He didn't hesitate to thank her though, his words once again soft and almost polite. "It was my pleasure. I am happy to teach. It is nice to find someone who is open to it."

Upon the suggestion to cook, he blinked and took a moment to mentally check himself. He absentmindedly tried to stretch again, remembering where he had briefly been reminded of his lack of flexibility. He leaned forward, stretching to touch one toe with both hands and then the other, feeling the definite sensation of that odd stretching within himself. Upon mental review, yes. He was hungry. He nodded at her, blue eyes locked upon her own. "I am hungry, yes. Though I would much rather prefer to help you gather whatever is needed and perhaps help you cook it, or merely watch. Learning is relaxing to me. Sitting still is stressful, in a sense." There it was, that glimmer of endless thirst of any sort. From herbs to sex to cooking without even a second thought. If she gave him tasks, Matthew would readily do them. If he didn't know how, he would politely ask and then readily do them.

"Are you flexible, Kavala? I find myself struggling to stretch in certain ways. I'm under the understanding that this is natural for men. I am not sure about women, though." The question was certainly out of left field, but would be posed like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

[Kavala]

Kavala counted herself lucky. Among her people, most women learned tiny portions of what Matthew was teaching her on the night of their marriage. And it wasn’t a question and answer session full of experimental play and gentle talk. That was usually an exercise in prowess that had better result in a child being born nine months later. Women didn’t have a choice. So she knew that falling into this situation had been something of a blessing, though she could not have assigned a God or Goddess to it to thank. Was there one assigned to lust? To sexuality?

Kavala’s fingers could still feel the friction of her motions on Matthew’s length. The skin of her palm was slightly warm and coated with moisture that she’d used for lubrication. She liked the feel of him in her hand and hadn’t minded when he’d slowly let her take the lead and had finally released himself to her care after she’d picked up what he was doing. It caught her breath when he shouted and his whole body swirled in energy that he pushed up his hips and released through his orgasm. Her eyes blinked into her secondary magical gaze and she could feel the swirl of power in him and his djed rearranging itself even as he released. It was beautiful. It was powerful. And she loved how his whole body was behind the action.

A selfish part of her longed to feel him do that within her now that she’d seen him do so with only a touch. To have his whole focus on the center of a woman’s body and have such a reaction. She could see with her concentrated aurstiic gaze that it was a gift he was giving, useless and spilled into thin air at the moment, but not so much so if done how the Gods had designed it to be. She knew the moment he stopped thinking, following his own advice. She could see his power swirling within him, the djed that was so prolific in him flared and rearranged, pouring forth energy to concentrate on his heated release. It was almost blinding to her and she turned her eyes away closing her lids a moment, knowing she was witnessing something sacred.

She caught his silvery fluid in her hands, bringing them up to provide a place for him to spill his seed. The Konti kept the liquid and the unseen power in her hands, not knowing how long he would expel and how much there would be. In the end, it seemed so little, though in truth there was more than she had imagined. It was hard for her to understand how just the little sticky bands of silver fluid coating her hands and stretching in thick strings between her fingers could bring life to a female’s womb. She leaned closer, not dismissing her aurstic gaze until she’d gotten a good look at it. Then she sniffed at it, tasted it, and ran her hands through it.

“It’s salty, almost like blood, but not as metallic.” She observed, still looking at it, still wondering. The Konti didn’t know how long she’d sat there on her knees , hands outstretched, observing the semen in her hands before she rose and smiled at Matthew. He was relaxed but demanding to help with dinner. She could have laughed, but he wouldn’t likely understand why she did. The Konti left him for a moment and jogged down to the water’s edge to wash the fluid off her hands and the smell of sex off her body. She had done everything in name but the deed. And truthfully, she thought she knew more about it now than most of her unmarried clanmates did at her age.

She came back to him in time for him to be going through his stretching and coming out of his post release euphoria. The Konti could have laughed at his displeasure. His mind was off on another tangent. He wasn’t flexible enough now? Well, that could change.

“When you grow up on the back of a horse, you learn to stretch. You have to stretch to get on, get off, to hold on, and to bend over and pick things up off the ground at a gallop. I suspect this might be one of the things I have you beat at, Matthew. You have been raised in a city and that’s soft living. Traveling constantly will make you more flexible. So too will stretching and bending. I suspect there are other things that will make you more flexible too. Fighting for one… sparring, wrestling, running. You should learn to run. It’s very good for you. And I imagine even sex will give you a good workout and limber your body up.” She said, busy fetching him a bucket and then offering him a hand up. She had another bucket for herself. Hers contained a small rake.

“The sun is getting lower. Crabs will be out and we can rake up clams to steam.” She said, gesturing for him to lead the way as they started down the coastline. She was on a mission to forage for their dinner, certain Muras bountiful coast would provide.

“I have more questions.” She said, not too shy now, not after everything they’d been through. Kavala foraged as she walked, picking up green things, plants growing on rocks, and even jogging briefly up to the edge of the sand to harvest some plant or another to add to her bucket. She always showed him what she got and told him its name. “Lemongrass. Wild onion. Rubber Rabbit Brush.” Of course, any crab they came across they could catch, she’d add to the bucket. Crabs weren’t the most even tempered of creatures, Matthew would soon learn.

“You just released hard… how often can you do that? I mean, can you release and then do it again in a few moments or does it take time? I was watching your djed with my other gaze and I could see it rearranging itself. It looked like it cost you a lot of energy, even in just the short turn. Among the livestock, even bulls and stallions can’t service more than one female without breaks in between.” Kavala asked, then suddenly stopped and darted off. She laughed, leaving Matthew behind a moment as she pursued a sideways scurrying crustation that had been lurking beneath surf tossed flotsam. She snatched the prize, yelped as it got one of her fingers, and dropped it. It took her two more times to get the beast into her bucket before she rejoined him flush from the chase and her steps light with her laughter.

She hadn’t a stitch of clothing on… neither of them did… and she didn’t seem to mind it at all. And while she wasn’t breathing heavy when she returned, her hair was tangled about her head and shoulders and she had to take a moment and set her bucket down to catch it up and try to tame it so she could see.

When she got close enough, she showed him her prize. It was a singularly unappealing looking crab with huge claws that snapped menacingly at Matthew as he took time to peer in at her capture.

They also picked up edible limpets, snails, and a whole host of things that were easily forgotten due to their obscure names or tiny sizes. And finally, the cove came out on a slightly more rocky stretch. It was there Kavala pulled her hand rake out, knelt in the rough sand and gravel, and began to rake at it. There, just above the water line, she began to uncover clams that had gleaming white shells. She picked them up by the handful and began to fill her bucket. When she grew tired, she handed the rake off to Matthew so he could try as well.

It was a relaxed trip, one that gave them time to recover and work on more of what could come. “You know if you took some riding lessons from me, I bet you could stretch your muscles more and limber up. Even learning to tumble or mount from the ground in one motion would help. I bet we could run through the woods with good footwear on and physically train to leap over things and dive under things… and that would get your conditioning up. I know it wouldn’t hurt me any to do some of that.” She added, looking thoughtful.

By then they’d turned back. Kavala knelt, got the fire going, and began to empty the buckets, to sort the loot. She sent Matthew to get fresh water in both empty buckets, and when he returned, she set his to boiling and hers to just a bit of water in the bottom to steam. All the clams and snails went into her bucket along with the grasses and herbs. His bucket filled with boiling water got the crabs.

“When they are done cooking, I’ll show you how to clean a fresh boiled crab.” She said, having herself been taught only a short season ago by another Konti. “Then once we get them cleaned, we’ll add the meat to the steam water that’s savory by now, and eat the clams when they are steamed open and fishing off the crab meat when its had time to absorb the spices at the bottom of the clams.” She added, glad she’d thought of this type of dinner. She was Konti and they loved eating seafood. Kavala hoped Matthew wasn’t opposed to it himself.

[Matthew]

He watched her examine his seed and slowly nodded his head at her assessment of it. "The taste can change depending on what is eaten. I believe a lot of it consists of sugars of some sort. I've found that if I eat a lot of fruit, the substance eventually will take on a very sweet taste. I've wondered if an unhealthy diet would contribute to a foul-tasting sample." He stared at it a few moments longer, his eyes showing that his thoughts were starting to fly again. "I've also found that it thickens quite a bit after a few chimes. I wonder if it does that to help keep it within the female body, since that is usually the purpose of the substance." His voice grew distant for a moment, his thoughts returning to the medical paper that he was researching. Kavala had mentioned certain ideas earlier and now they came back to him. He could definitely need to study the seed of the Akalak, if the project was ever something that materialized by happenstance. There could be a vital clue hidden inside of it. Perhaps philtering and auristics could help him with that. He'd have to make a phsyical note about it later.

Matthew continued to stretch as she went to rinse off, finding that it actually helped the post-orgasm weariness. The stretching sensation had become oddly relaxing, somehow working out the minor aches that were associated with the peak of pleasure his body had reached. He stretched one arm behind his head and then the other, then went back to reaching for his toes. Certain stretches were easier, certain ones were quite a bit difficult. He would have to make a physical note of that as well when he sat down and decided what parts of the body he needed to work on. About all of them could probably use work at the moment.

His eyes returned to Kavala as she came up to him, signaling the end of his lesson. He slowly rose, brushing sand off of his completely bare body, sweat shimmering appealingly on his light copper skin. He caught her hand and used it to assist his rise, nodding at her wise words. Sex was quite the workout, so much so that he had started consider finding a workout routine that actually built up his stamina and strength instead of merely making him a phsyically appealing specimen to look at. Dedication to the areas of skill would likely bless him with an even more phsyically appealing body, or at least he thought that was the case. He didn't want bulk, but more definition and more effective muscles would go a long way. Sparring, wrestling, running, all of them good ideas that he had never really tried before. He would have to change that very soon. Note after mental note was made as Kavala presented him with a parade of ideas, each of them valued and tucked away for further exploration. She was very right when she said she had him beat at certain things. If they were to have a horseback riding contest, he had no doubt that she would very easily come away from it with the victory. He took the bucket, blue eyes examining it and the rake that Kavala held before he took the lead.

The words that she gave him were quietly absorbed and softly whispered to further cement them in his mind. He took a moment to give himself a quick rinse, washing sweat and smells from his flesh, coming back to her soon after. He cast a glance at her as she stated that she still had curiosities to be sated, nodding at her to let her know that he was focused. Watching his djed with her other gaze? Auristics? "It does take time. The erection will usually start to soften immediately after the orgasm. It can be brought back up though, with time. It usually does not take very much time at all, though that time can increase with age. It also should be noted that most men seem to immediately grow tired after their initial orgasm. Women do not seem to share this trait. I am not exactly sure why." He had noticed her catching crabs here and there and started to scan the sand for them himself, planning on trying his best to contribute to their bounty. "So, yes, a break is required after the orgasm. However, if a man trains himself, he can prolong the orgasm. It is difficult, but I feel it is a worthy skill to learn. If you were also wondering how many times a day, the male body can only hold so much of the substance. It eventually will empty itself out until given time to replentish. However, this does not necessarily mean that the man can no long reach orgasm. An orgasm can still be reached, there will just be none of the substance to go along with it." He recited facts and results from research, obviously a bit well-studied on the concept.

He paused as she went running off after a crab, actually distracted by one that he had spotted as well. His approach was casual and the crab easily skuttled away, Matthew showing his lack of skill in hunting by the confused look on his face as he watched the crab leave. He soon found another and quickly showed he had learned from his mistake, pouncing upon it and snatching it up quite quickly. It reacted instinctively, pinching at Matthew, who didn't let out a single noise but still dropped the crab. He blinked at it rapidly this time, obviously even more confused. While certainly skilled at some things, he was almost pathetically less than skilled at many others. He did at one point find a small white snail with a rather shiny blue shell and in a perhaps surprisingly display of something resembling personality, perched it upon his shoulder as they continued on.

The student watched as she uncovered the clams and raked away, something he was a bit familiar with from his tme back in Zeltiva. He was happy to take the rake from her when it was offered, falling to his knees and methodically working away at the clams. Soon the bucket was filled, Matthew offering a hand to carry it if she so wished. Matthew would actually prove to be almost physically weaker than the Konti, even with all his definition on display. He wouldn't complain though, would merely lug the bucket along if it was given to him. "I would enjoy both of those. We can do either or both, whichever you like. I am always ready to try something new." He paused on the way to camp, stopping by the stream, kneeling and putting both buckets by his side. In a sudden display of speed, the young man would quickly and quietly rinse all of the clams and place them in his own bucket. This had been a chore of his for as long as he could remember.

They soon made it back to their makeshift camp and he got to work, fetching fresh water as requested. He watched intensely as she separate their bounty and boiled some, then set some up to steam. Yet another thing was added to his mental library, the student definitely interested in learning how to cook. There were more subtle little nuances that Kavala would notice, such as Matthew mumbling the amount of herbs she used to himself, or the way that he held a hand over the steaming and the boiling water to physically feel the temperature himself. Remembering something similar that his father had made and still wanting to contribute as much as possible to the adventure, he glanced at Kavala and added a quiet suggestion. "Depending on the type of wine you brought back with you, a splash of it might go well with the broth you are making."

[Kavala]

Kavala smiled in pleasure as he seemed to not mind taking some riding lessons nor running through the woods like feral animals. The latter suggestion sounded so insane, but the Konti knew it would train their bodies fast and familiarize them with unfamiliar terrain. Kavala knew how to run through tall grass safely, but the woods were a whole different ballgame and one she wanted to make sure she could handle. The training would do her good and her help her with her fitness since she was a bit short winded on foot. If one grew flabby on the Sea of Grass one might as well be dead. Mura was a whole different story. And while the Konti lived a life of leisure and were beautiful, some of the women had extra curves that Kavala didn’t much care for because she knew it made them slow and vulnerable.

Kavala thought about what Matthew said about the male staff, the penis, and marveled at its functionality. It was one of those things she was infinitely curious about. And it delighted her that he was so open talking about it. He didn’t seem to mind her watching him, any of her questions, and when he explained, he truly sounded like a teacher. But there was something about that which tinged her consciousness. It was as if as much as she enjoyed his demeanor, instinctually she knew it was wrong. Her mind whirled as he spoke and she shook her head. “It’s hard to imagine the gods designed men so functional. I mean you void your liquid waste from the same shaft you use to inject semen. I would be curious to know if the conduits… the tubes are like vessels that carry blood and if they are one in the same with different injection points further into your base for one or the other… one to connect to the bladder and one to connect to your stones. Or do they use the same channel and somehow the urine does not harm the seed? My people collect urine. I know that sounds disgusting, but if you keep big stomach vessels full of it – say from a large bear or other big animal from the grass – you can cure leather in it and it bleaches it as pale as snow. A few hours and it takes it down a few shades but a day or two and it turns it white and then you can redye it anything you want.” Kavala said, reaching out as Matthew drew close to peer in her buckets, and touching his member. She looked curious, thoughtful, and then laughed almost as if at herself.

“A musing for another day, I suppose… I’m hungry.” She said, then nodded to his suggestion about the wine. She added the white vintage she’d brought into the bottom of the steaming bucket and then smiled in pleasure at how the seafood aroma from that bucket changed. She gave it a quick stir, added some sprigs of herbs she’d gathered, and then poked at the crabs.

“Cleaning crabs is not hard. I need to go find a big flat rock and drag it up here so we have a sort of table.” She said, rising abruptly and jogging lightly down to the shore, scanning around. It took her a few minutes, but with no indication she wanted or needed help, the Konti came back dragging a large flat stone she’d found higher upon the waterline near where it had flaked off the rocky outcroppings flanking the cove.

With a couple of sticks used like an extension of her fingers, she started pulling the already boiled crab out of the pot and lined them up along the stone. There was more than enough for them to eat and probably feed a few more folks, but Kavala was used to cooking for a lot of people, not just two.

She then experimentally touched one, nodded, and then flipped it on its back. “Okay… so you start out with them upside down. You can store these uncleaned if you want, but its best to clean them right after you cook them.” She added, the grabbed what looked like a small tail and wiggled it. “Grab the apron… this is kinda a tail, twist it off and discard it.” She said, tossing the little crab tail into the start of what she’d consider the garbage pile later.

“Then pick up the whole crab, holding it with one hand on the top shell and the bottom shell with another… right where the apron was removed… pull the top shell away from the body of the crab and discard. You can do it with a yank and it works best.” She added, tossing the shell off to the side where the apron sat. She then touched soft internal organs and said…

“Get rid of these guts. Just scrape them out with your thumb and then pull the mouth and all the little appendages off the front.” She then grabbed her waterskin and gave the now gutted crab a bit of a rinse. “Then take your dagger… you can use your eating one as long as you keep it sharp… and remove the spongy gills from each side of the top of the crab.” Kavala said, demonstrating neatly. Then she used her bare hands, setting her knife aside, to twist off all the legs. “Legs come off next.. And then the best way to eat it is to use your knife again, cut the crab body in four quarters, and pull out all the meat to eat with your eating dagger.” She said, quartering the thing she had left and digging into its remaining bottom shell part with her knife and pulling out a spear of meat. She slipped it into her mouth, sighed, and ate happily.

“The legs are buggers. But if you have a flat stone or a crab meat cracker you can open them. I just use the flat of my knife and a stone.” She said, talking through the mouthful of meat. She laid out a leg, tipped it so its joint was up, and then laid the flat of her blade on it and smacked it with her hand’s heel. It cracked under the pressure and she was able to tear out the meat and then suck out the juices. The claws were a bit tougher but it fun digging for the little rewards of sweet meat.

She let Matthew try his hand at opening the legs, and digging out the meat in half the body before they both got together and cleaned a second and third crab at the same time with Kavala repeating the instructions again as Matthew worked on his own. It wasn’t as easy as she made it look, but he had stronger hands and was able to get into the claws faster than she did.

Long before they had all the crab eaten, Kavala took the steam pot off the heat and set it aside. She started tossing extra crab meat into the pot with the clams and muscles and before long she had a whole collection in the bottom of the pot, filling it nearly a quarter of the way.

When they had satiated their initial hunger with the crabs and had all of them cleaned and the extra meat put into the pot, Kavala moved the pot to the stone and pointed at it. “We need to dig all the shells out now. You can eat what is in them and try it all but some needs to go back into the pot. I have powdered milk in my yvas bag. All Drykas carry it. We’ll turn this into a thick bisque soup that we can eat on throughout the night and next day using it.” The Konti said, smiling. She began the task of fishing out snails, limpet shells, and a whole host of other things that were in the pot. By the time they were done they had a gorgeous array of pearly shells and plain little clams that looked like they had been bleached by their nice boil in the water. Then Kavala indeed grabbed her powdered milk, added a healthy quantity to the pot, and watched the water and wine at the bottom of it grow opaque and then take on the most delicious smell. She signed in pleasure, and kept stirring the pot where she hung it off to the side of the fire where it would get gently warmed gradually and not scorched.

The soup took no time at all to finish and Kavala wished she’d brought things to make bread over the fire. The Konti could cook, but her selection was limited. One thing she could do was bread in the embers of a fire which would have went perfect with the soup. So they’d had to make do eating the soup from the pot directly with a pair of spoons taken from their gear. Bowls would be nice, but it wasn’t something Kavala had thought to bring. Drykas traveled light, but island living was making her soft.

“You know, I prefer this beach to my quarters any day. I mean… as long as the weather is holding, its almost better than that tiny dark dim student quarters I have. I think we need to bring some supplies out here and let them be cached for things like bread, maybe more pots and pans and plates… things we don’t want to drag back and forth. I bet if we looked hard enough there’d be a cave or something we could stash our gear in. No one would need to know we are out here practicing our studies and our.. aletrid." She said softly, chuckling.

She tilted her head and dropped her face at her words, hiding the slight flush from him, putting her face in the shadows. “What you said earlier about men exhausting themselves and women not feeling the same fatigue is true. Just watching you sit there I want more. “ She admitted softly, reaching up to brush her hair out of her eyes, realizing most of it had come loose from where she’d lightly tied it in a knot at the base of her head to keep it out of her cooking. Kavala released the mess of white locks and finger combed it as she looked at Matthew. She leaned back, willing to talk and let her food digest, but fully understanding he was willing to talk about anything openly, even this.

“It’s like it wasn’t enough. I keep thinking what you would feel like within. My mind circles around to it and has all the way through dinner. And I wonder… you were stiff a great deal before your seed erupted. Can a man not mate with a woman and just not leave his seed within her? You know when you are close. Can you not withdraw and just shed your fluid outside her body?” Kavala asked, reclining back on her elbows and keeping eye contact with Matthew. It wasn’t conscious, but everything about her pose was subtly inviting. She was inviting him to look, to think about it, and to maybe even touch.

Count: 1871 words

[Matthew]

Matthew paused for a moment as he seriously considered her thoughts, searching his mental library for what knowledge he had on the subject so that he could supply her with an educated opinion to her ideas. "I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to find out. Well, that is false. It would probably take someone quite skilled with both a knife and medicine to dissect a recently deceased body and precisely trace the tubes that would be used for such a function. It is interesting how complex and beyond us the design of our own bodies are. I am sure that we will learn more and more though, as time goes on. Knowledge and the ways of attaining knowledge are seemingly ever evolving." There were certain logical assumption they could make, though. There was a specific sort of ache and throb within his bulge whenever it was aroused, near the base and within the testicles. It wasn't that presumptuous to assume that the precise location was where the semen was generated. It was much like the ache that a bladder could take on when it became too full. He bobbed his head back and forth, lingering on the subject a bit longer before moving on to everything else Kavala had presented him with. "It doesn't sound disguisting at all. Urine is collected for medical reasons as well. You can tell a lot from urine. The color of it and the smell of it is often a very clear indicator of the general health of a body." Using it to bleach though, that was a completely new idea that Matthew eagerly stored away. He would certainly be trying it in the near future, provided he could find a gratuitous source of spare urine.

He watched as she added the wine to the stockpot, taking note of the sudden and complex change in smell. A thought occurred to him out of the blue and he reached for it, latching onto it and putting it promptly to use. He swirled djed from his stomach and dispersed it up through his veins, leading it to a specific area behind his eyes where he would then burn it. He let the sizzle of the djed buzz through his eyes, the world around him becoming a bit more alive in a different sort of way. His eyes focused upon the aura of what was combined in the pot, slowly burning off a bit more djed to meld with the aura. He didn't want to fully attempt to sync with it, not trusting his basic auristic skills. He just wanted to become a part of it, in a sense. It was interesting to see how the aura evolved as herbs were added. In a sense, couldn't someone cook using auras as their guide? He wondered if complimenting ingredients would have complimenting auras, and if clashing tastes and smells would have opposing auras. He sniffed again, glancing at her as she ran off and then refocusing on the pot.

Matthew focused a bit more, closing his eyes, attempting to experience the aura with senses other than sight. He opened his mouth, letting his tongue lash his lips, focusing on the taste of the aura as some of the smoke wafted towards him. Was it his imagination, or could he almost faintly taste the soup through the aura?

Opening his eyes and disconnecting from the aura (though still continuing to make sure it was visible to him), Matthew returned his focus to his companion as she once again approached. Each of the little techniques that she used to prepare them a place to work and fetch the steaming crabs was noted and stored away, the student being the sort of person who almost always started his learning process by using an eye to detail.

First there was the touch, then the flip. He nodded at her words and watched as she took a hold on the apron, twisting and disposing of it. Next was removing the top shell, a process that was surprisingly easy. It was interesting how the crabs seemed to have been designed in such a way that there was a precise and methodical of preparing them for human consumption. It was a logical and step-by-step sequence, one that he put a certain amount of focus into memorizing as it was demonstrated neatly for him. He took one of the legs and the section of the body that she offered, taking his time to make sure he neatly scooped out the meat and effectively shattered the legs so that additional meat could be harvested. He took a small taste as well, his face not changing, though the creamy and unique sort of fishiness was noted for practical use later. It was perhaps another odd quirk in how he didn't seem to find the simple pleasure of a good bite to eat. The claws were a bit more of a struggle, but some additional force allowed him to break his way in.

When it was time to process a crab of his own, one of his strengths would come into play. Something that had clearly defined instructions, something that was a methodical process with predictable variations that could be handled in a logical way... he thrived on those sort of tasks. He was slow and methodical but quite precise with his fingers, soon showing that he only needed it shown and explained once before he could effectively clean a crab with his own strength. There was a moment of hesitation when he took ahold of the knife, the object merely a foreign thing to him, but everything else finished without a hitch. He turned to her, recalling a question that had crossed his mind. "You touched the crab before flipping it on its back. I assume it wasn't to check the temperature, since it was steaming. Was it possible it was still alive? Or does it need to reach a certain level of doneness that you can tell by touch alone?"

He got to work as instructed, keeping an eye on the evolving aura of the bisque (a new term that sounded rather nice coming off the lips) as he plucked shells from the pot. A small little snail still somehow existed on his broad shoulder from where he had perched it earlier, the uniquely colored creature apparently content to stay put. A few shells that interested him for varying reasons were set aside, his eyes returning to the aura of the soup again and again. If he closed his eyes, he was almost sure he could taste the aura of the soup, something that had involved throughout the process. The aura itself had evolved in complexity and color, pleasing to all of his senses. There was almost a soft sort of melody echoing in the back of the aura, though it was something that silenced if he focused his ears on it. Were the positive sensations a sign that the soup was going to be a culinary success?

Distracted by her words and suggestions, he nodded. "That is a good idea. We will look for one, then. I can help purchase any supplies that you think will need to go out here. It would be a completely new learning experience fo rme, something I readily welcome." Her flush went un-noticed, Matthew painfully clueless to the subtle hints and clues her body gave him. When it came to sex, he had studied them, that is how he knew. When it came to social interaction, he found himself oblivious. "Usually men can push through, if they put their minds to it. There are many other ways to please a partner while waiting for one's self to become ready again. Fingers, tongue, between the legs of a woman and between the cheeks of her rear... various places on her body, not just sexual locations. I've often wondered why more men with Konti lovers don't try to explore the reachable skin under their scales. One can only imagine how sensitive it is." His eyes wandered to her own patterned flesh, the blue of his gaze darkening for a moment, a heat suddenly burning at the edges of his aura as a new way to experiment with her body presented itself to him. It was quite accurate to say that Matthew had a lust for knowledge.

He processed her next words, auristic senses noticing that the aura of the soup seemed to be almost complete. It was more a sensation and an instinct, but Matthew naturally went with it as he listened to Kavala. Acting on random impulse, his hands hunted down two large top shells that they had harvested from the crab, using fistfuls of sand to clean and polish out the insides into makeshift shallow bowls that they could use if needed. "A man can, yes. If a man has utter control, it is safe to do so. Often a man thinks he has more control than he actually does though, for sometimes seed can escape without an orgasm and the male will never know. There are safety measures that can be put in place to make sure that a woman does not get pregnant, though."

Matthew leaned forward, indulging in his curiosity. He moved smoothly and without hesitation, once again showing a dominant side in a subtle and alluring fashion. There was a message he tried to send with his movements and aura, a message he felt the Konti female would appreciate. He moved with such boldness because he liked what he saw and he was confident in his ability to take it. He experimented on her body, hands reaching out to touch at her ankles, fingertips finding the section of skin where her flesh met with her patterned scales. He traced the swirls up the inside of her legs, targeting that specific strip of skin with clinical precision, that eye to detail handy in more ways than one. This time he examined her aura, watching for subtle changes in it as his soft strokes changed to a rough drag of the nail and then back again. He was almost massaging her legs now, though with a definite sensual twist to it.

"What is our shopping list when it comes to making a camp out here?" His blue eyes intensely watched her, once again beginning to toy with her body, demanding that her train of thought process something else while he worked on making her body fight her mind.

[Kavala]

Kavala nodded, looking thoughtful at Matthew’s words about things being hard to find out. “We’d just need a corpse to autopsy. I think we might have one in advanced anatomy, but I’m not certain. Would anyone care if we split a penis to find out? There might even be diagrams somewhere perhaps where another anatomist has already done the work and found out.” Kavala was sensible like that, rather than lazy. She knew her idea were not wholly unique, not like Matthews, and anything she could probably think up was something others already had.

“A butcher where they slaughtered animals might help too. I imagine a cow phallus would be not unlike humans. Horses mate and urinate through the same organ as well. So I imagine the designs translate across species.’ She added, tapping her chin with a finger and then rubbing the bottom of her lips. Her face had a slightly distracted look. Matthew wouldn’t be unfamiliar with it.

She nodded when he acknowledged taking no offense at urine having other uses. In fact, he looked curious in her opinion and that made her chuckle a bit. His thoughts about urine indicating health or disease was something that had her nodding. Kavala hadn’t given it any thought before but it made sense. She filed the knowledge away for another diagnosis technique for the future.

They worked through processing the food, boiling the crabs, and the instruction of cleaning them before Matthew’s next question came. “I was moving it out of the froth a bit to see the color. They change color slightly when steamed. They loose the richness of their life and look a little dull. I’ve been told its very easy to overcook them, so I always just watch for the very subtle color change and take them off then… not waiting. You can eat them undercooked or raw just fine, but their meat gets sweeter if its cooked. And some crabs have parasites… like fish do… worms, flukes, that sort of thing, so the steam and boil just kills them neatly. I don’t want worms.” Kavala admitted with a laugh.

They watched the food cook with a very enjoyable smell and when Kavala noticed how big their shell pile was getting, she decided to make some jewelry with it rather than let the beautiful pearly and patterned swirls go to waste. She gathered the ones she liked and set them aside, placing the others in what she’d decided was their trash pile that would get buried deep in the sand each night before they slept or departed for the city.

”Thanks. I have limited funds, but I know how to make coin stretch or do a lot of bartering. I think I can give riding lessons to half the island for training or supplies so long as the people I’m trading think they are getting the better deal.” Kavala said, knowing she’d taught a lot of kids to ride and knew a lot about riding herself. Later, they’d make a list of supplies they’d need and divide up the costs and figure out who was responsible for getting what.

Kavala told Matthew that, and nodded when he moved on… talking once more about sex. The Konti didn’t mind it. But when he mentioned the sensitivity of her skin beneath the trailing edges of her scale patterns, her entire body immediately heated. Matthew would see the flare in her aura and know it for arousal when he saw it. To Kavala it was unexpected. He liked doing that… She wouldn’t call it teasing, but he was very good at putting her in a heightened stat of awareness and keeping her there until he was ready to advance. It was what he was doing now, even if he didn’t realize it. She stayed that way, the thought at the back of her mind while Matthew made their soup bowls from crab shells and they began to enjoy their meal.

It didn’t help that he agreed with her on shedding seed outside of ones body though he added warnings with it that she fully could see the validity of. “What measures? Wouldn’t it change based on species and situation… who’s doing the insemination or attempting to prevent it. ” She asked, curious and wanting to know more.

When Matthew moved, Kavala hadn’t expected it. He toyed with her emotions, not her true mental feelings, but with her bodies reactionary emotions. Heat blazed up her leg instantly and she shivered as he reached forward and traced her scale edges. It set her on fire immediately and caused her lips to part. Breath deepened, muscles didn’t tense but instead relaxed. She liked his dominance. She liked it when he touched without asking. They had an agreement and Kavala wasn’t the type to impose new rules on an already existing treaty. But what she didn’t realize is that her stance changed. Her body lengthened, her legs opened to him, and her free hand that wasn’t supporting her body by leaning back ran its way across her stomach and petted herself there along her abdominal muscles. She watched him watching her and wanted to lie back, arch her back, and invite him to come closer, to feel his weight on her.

Her eyes locked on where his hands traced her body and it was hard to think. Even though it was just her ankle and a bit of her calf, it was still incredibly erotic. Her eyes remain locked on his hands and for a moment she wasn’t sure what he’d asked. Then the words came into focus and she processed them with the part of her mind that was still functioning. She sat up straighter suddenly, pulled her eyes away from his touch, and nodded.

“We can make a list. I will give you the list as I think it should read…. but I want your hands on my back as I do so.” She didn’t demand. For some reason it didn’t feel right and he wasn’t the sort that would give in anyhow. Instead her voice was a soft plea, one that gave him all the power but clearly told him what she was fantasizing about. It was easier to speak of than she thought. “I want to move towards you, Matthew, and sit facing you in your lap. I want to wrap my legs around you and have your legs around me. I want to feel your hardness between me and your hands on my back. I want to touch your back in return and kiss your neck and lick you there where you taste so delicious. I want our chests touching hard, rubbing, and accessible. I want our heat touching, thrusting, knowing you could be deep within moments if you just moved the right way..” She said softly, her words almost a plea.

Kavala’s eyes were soft, honest, and utterly aroused. With just his touch on her ankle he’d fired her up and made her want him closer, so close in fact there was no air, no boundaries, just the two of them entwined. Her honesty could be mistaken for nothing else but her own internal truth.

Count: 1,201

[Matthew]

"If the corpse is available for student study and we have our reason pre-approved, I do not see why it would be a problem. Such corpses hold all sorts of useful secrets I imagine, so it really would depend on if they have dead to spare for their students." His eyes grew distant as he pondered the excellent idea, already planning on finding out what channels he would have to go through in order to see if such a thing was possible. A cow or a bull though... that was an even better idea. The concept was almost exactly the same and they were used for pretty much the same purpose on both human and animal. No doubt there was little variation between the two of them. He mumbled a few dates to himself, quietly voicing some of the plans that Kavala had helped start to spin in his mind. He wished he hadn't left his papers and writing utensils back at the library.

His eyes returned to the crabs and he quickly made a mental assessment of his djed. Just seeing the auras wasn't near as taxing as actually trying to fully sync with them and experience them on a deeper level. As long as he continued to merely view them and take only fleeting tastes of their details then he should be fine.

They changed color. That was a handy trick to know for the future. He recalled that they had also changed color slowly but surely in his auristic sight as well. Watch for the subtle color change and then take them off of or out of whatever form of heat it was that was cooking them. He nodded distantly at the mention of worms, having covered a few of those sorts of details back in his medical classes at Zeltiva University. It brought up another question as he studied the shimmering pink gelatinous aura of the cooked crabs. If one of the pieces of seafood did have an infestation of worms, wouldn't he be able to see the auras of the invaders within the aura of the crab itself? Perhaps auristics was a handy way for telling at a glance if crab at a seafood market was a prime choice or not. She started sorting some of the shells and such, Matthew dipping their bowls into the prepared soup and blowing on it a bit before taking a few delicate and careful sips. It was quite good. His face didn't change but he sampled the soup at a quick and steady pace, noticing out of the corner of his eye that her aura had shifted. It was arousal, one thing he was actually immediately familiar with. It sparked and jumped in her vast away of colors, immediately evident to him even with only a little focus spent.

She had asked him a question about measures, but she would see that his eyes were going to that place again. They had sharpened and become intense in their stare, seeing beyond her body and to all the other little things that came along with teasing, lust and arousal.

For he could see her. He could see the ripple of color in her aura as he traced her flesh, he could hear the faint song of arousal. It reminded him of a cello, soft and enticing to the ear. Her posture combined with her aura to express herself to him quite loudly, even if she didn't say a word. Her legs opened and her body arched, her fingers moved without her command. Perhaps it was the magic or perhaps it was the situation, but the young human student finally managed to put a word to the taste that sometimes lingered on his tongue. He neither liked nor disliked the taste, but he did revel in the fact that he could now easily define it. It was called power. A power that could make her very essence sing.

Now he had focus, and now his motions reflected that. He rose to his knees above her, edges of his kneecaps pushing each of her thighs to the side, spreading her even more and putting him a position where she was open and he reigned over her. His fingertips danced along her flesh and traced the lines of scale and skin, watching closely as her aura fluxed and sang out in a slowly quickening melody. He looked beyond her mere flesh and slowly started to use his fingers to do more, to demand more, to take her desires beyond her mere flesh and instead make her feel them on a different level. He heard what she want at the same time her aura asked him for it, sending questions in the form of sweet wet tastes upon the tip of his tongue. He opened all of his senses to her aura, allowing it to speak in whatever way it wanted. He gave it some of what it wanted, but not all. The color of desire would have to permeate deeper. She was still Kavala, something that was defined by both the inside layers and outside layers of her aura. He wanted to go further, to find the Kavala that was basic and instinctual, that was underneath everything that her upbringing and her world up until now had formed atop of her. She was still whole, that that simply would not do.

Matthew leaned down, Kavala's willingness to be his subject of study allowing him to evolve on the spot. The firmness of his chest touched to and then pressed against the softness of her breasts, flattening them against his solid muscle. His forehead brushed hers as he leaned down, forcing her to go back on her palms or risk falling onto her back and breaking the touch. His core flexed and strained as he lifted a hand and dragged fingertips down the arch of her back, drawing them down the flesh until his hand eventually cupped the small dip found in the lower half of her back. Her aura cried out with the sound of a flute, adding it to the strings of the cello, hopefully a sign of her arousal evolving on the spot. He was now aroused and the tip of that hardened arousal was so achingly close to her core, his incredibly precise motions allowing him to keep it hovered a hairs width away.

"Want?" His voice had changed, from that of an intelligent young boy to a somehow powerful man, husky and throaty as it phrased each and every word quite carefully. "Want isn't enough. More. There is a heat inside of you. Let it bloom, let it consume, indulge. Want is not enough." He growled, playing her senses, aura and body like an instrument, planning on commanding her essence to a perfect climax of wants, needs, colors, lights, sounds and tastes. He was perhaps carried away in his moment of evolution, reaching into somewhat dangerous territory. He was not the type of person that could truly love or be loved, but he had the confidence and the drive to take her to a place of pleasure and satisfaction that was so incredibly deep within her primal and instinctual being that no man or woman would ever be able to reach it again. He alone would have imprinted himself upon this part of her, and he alone would live forever inside of her no matter who came after. After all, isn't that the sort of lasting impression that a man of his eventual profession should aspire to have?