Dark Goddess Laine

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

For the next hour, I will be accepting questions about my muse. 

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

This is a continuation from here http://darkgoddesslaine.tumblr.com/post/144146504052/from-the-heavens-to-the-mud-cont and as a sorta starting point, this will probably be NSFW. So everything is going to be under a read more. ))

“My people call them Elem-Stones, however their official designation is E-365 or Element 365.” Rasmot held up the gems embedded into his gauntlets as they glimmered and gleamed a constant vibrant rainbow. “These crystals are naturally occurring taps into what we call the “Verikorous” or grand stream of energy. As such they are able to create the 8 elemental energies of the universe.” He snapped his fingers, a small flame lighting on the tip of his index finger as he held it aloft. “For instance, Fire.” Rasmot shook away the flame and with just a casual wave of his hand a small gust of wind wrapped around them only to blow away. “Or even air. Those are just minor imprinted spells i can think of mentally. But it depends on the affinity of the user.”

After a moment he shrugged. “However we also use it for more practical purposes, Electricity for homes, power for Starships, or even to cause the universal barriers to ripple just enough to “dive” directly into Hyperspace.” He looked at her for a long moment before putting on an apologetic smile. “Lots of Sciencey stuff in short.” Rasmot gestured to the shuttle. “But these, are how i was able to pull that back from wherever dark void you were sending it before it was too late. That requires more concentrated spell work and physical strain of course.”

The goddess listened to him dully, trying to take interest, but having not a single clue about what he was referring to.  Her gaze shifted over to the shuttle as he motioned to it and slowly her eyes wandering to the setting sun.  Watching an orange haze crawl its way over the horizon; bathing everything in a warm golden glow.

“…”  She held up a finger to him, directing him to stop for a moment before speaking. “It’s going to be dark soon, and you’ll find no shelter from this world in that shuttle of yours. You had best come with me.”  She was blunt, direct and to the point - like he wanted.

Her feet carried her in the opposite direction, looking back once to make sure he was following. “Your -”

“What was it called,” she muttered to herself briefly.

“ - Ship, will be fine however, no need to make a fuss about it. Hurry along.”  The raven could feel her energy exhausting quicker than usual.  Perhaps the power she had lent to him had begun to take a toll on her. Once she reached the comforts of her own walls she’d be able to relax - but not out here.

The black bird could feel the sun’s gaze on her back, it had quickly caught up to her and would soon leave her behind. The idea of a hot bath couldn’t be fonder of an idea at the moment, just something to relax her nerves and settle her in for the night.

Rasmot nodded and started to follow her after he picked up the backpack full of his previous gear. He wasn’t sure if he actually needed it, but he wanted to have it on hand. As he adjusted the bag on his back he took a more discerning look at this “goddess” while following her. While part of him couldn’t help but appreciate the woman there was something about her now that seemed different from his first meeting her. It clicked after several moments, she must be extremely drained from the process he put her through … even though that was only 25% of the energy he needed. Enough to spark the crystals to start to charge on their own.

Maybe there was more to this that he wasn’t aware. Her powers could have their own sickness tied into it. Almost like the Verikorous Madness from the old days, where the energy would slowly eat away at the brain of those that wielded it. Or, like the guardians, the title of Goddess was only just that. A title. And instead of having limitless energy she had only so much per every day. A perceivable frown crossed his lips and he stepped off. One push from his feet was all he needed to bound over her and land in a crouch in front of the goddess. He was extremely thankful this planet had lower gravity than he was used to. Moving into a kneel he looked over one shoulder at her.

“…”

She let out a heavy sigh, in any other circumstance she could gotten back in a heartbeat. But as it was, she didn’t have the energy to object.

“…Over this hill you should be able to see its walls.” The goddess pointed forward as the sun bleached the trees in twilight. “Head that way.”

“Hold on tight.” He called back towards he before focusing in front of him. “Let’s fly.”

He pushed down hard on his left leg and vaulted them upwards. The angle was higher than expected but he was able to control the descent as he fell towards the trees. With his right foot he shoved hard against a branch in a much steeper angle as he kept Laine on his back. He kicked off of one branch after another and when he cleared the forest he angled the descent so that they would touch down feet first against the hill. A smirk tugged at his lips as he was suddenly reminded of an old Earth story involving a character named “John Carter”. As soon as they landed on the hill he looked over the scenery at the walls of where she wanted to go.

Instead of asking any further questions he reeled them back while taking a deep breath. As soon as he was a the foot of the hill, he gripped onto her legs firmly and charged towards the peak of the hill. Hitting the very top he crouched down and pushed with all of his might. They both rocketed upwards, clearing the land below as they soared towards the walls. Rasmot grit his teeth as he angled the approach to clear the walls while trying to not come in too hard. He succeeded at the first task. The second was much harder to achieve as he came in extremely hard and smacked into the ground on his feet.

She stood there a moment, silently trying to get her baring back and took in a deep breath before responding.

“… I didn’t ask you to do that.” She turned and made her way towards a set of oversized oak wood doors that had the cuts and burns of age and damage. “…Thank you.”

She pushed open the doors with both hands; it was obsurd how these doors resisted when she wasn’t in her best form and quietly stepped into the cold stone room. Instantly the room illuminated from candles that lines every corner of the room with a purple glow. To some they would consider this place to be primative, but to her it was just theatrical.

Slowly walking through the doorway with a slight limp he glanced around. It was a rather large place, larger than any one person had a right to owning. He was about to say something when her comment brought a small scowl to his face. Rasmot glanced around with his glowing eyes before looking at her. It would probably be a correct assumption to think they were alone in this place and that she had no one else. Which actually presented a thought and a retort to his mind.

“…Yes, we are alone in this place.”  Her lips tightened together before advancing the thought further, “…This place once used to belong to the Demon King.  He was - “ She stopped for a moment and regrouped her thoughts. “He owned this place. He was… A God among Gods, and -”  Once more she paused before forcing herself to speak, “He no longer resides here.”

The goddess slowly raised her head; a painful smile etched on her face.  “But that was so long ago, I had nearly forgotten.” She lied.

She’d never admit it, but she was a sucker for such mannerisms. Often times she was assured in the fact that her behaviour would either get a man to lay in bed with her for just a trussle and leave or that she would send the man packing and out the door without another word.

“I-I,”  She was flabbergasted by his gesture.

Her composure returned to her after a brief moment.  She looked him up and down for a moment. Something wasn’t right.  Maybe where he was from they didn’t exhibit or know about such sexual advances? Maybe he didn’t even know what it was? Was he naive?

Her face turned grave, eyes narrowed down on him.  She couldn’t believe it.  There couldn’t possibly be someone this naive, could there?

She had to test the waters once more. 

The raven leaned herself into him and draped her arm over his shoulder and curled it around the nape of his neck. “I’d be willing to retire anywhere.  The bed, the kitchen table, the floor, the bath. Anywhere sounds fun to me.”

Rather than say a word he gently placed his index finger under her chin and supported it with his middle finger. A smirk had actually played along his lips as he kissed the cheek of the so called “Goddess” with warmth. The flush and fluster of before clued him into what she always desired, while her actions and methods told him what she only got. No wonder she seemed to have a superiority complex most of the time. Most of the men that came her way probably only thought with their hormones in the way.

His lips moved up to kiss at the tip of her ear before he spoke deeply against it. “Now now, not so fast. Good things come to those who wait after all, aye? Now … a bath does sound like a welcome and pleasant thing at this moment. So perhaps we should start there … maybe ease away towards a comfortable bed.” A grin crossed his lips. “However, if you simply can’t contain yourself … well a little fun in the bath never hurt anyone. Aye?”

Just what was going on? The mouse who at first seemed so delusional about her advances had somehow quickly grown a spine?  This was not good at all, she couldn’t possibly let him get the upper hand on her.  She refused to derailed like this.

“A-and what would a mouse like you know about that?!”  She stammered.

The truth was she couldn’t figure out any way to combat him.  It had been so long since someone was humane, for a lack of better words, with her.  Her game had been entirely thrown off, she was so set in the strategy of her ways that her chessboard had been flipped on her.

“Y-you don’t honestly think you can compete with the likes of me, do you?”  She wasn’t even sure what she was saying now.  How could she have been thrown off so easily? It was as if she took one wrong step and came tumbling down the stairs.

“Y-you.” She pressed her lips together, “You might think you’re clever with this little act, but if it came down to it, I’m sure you’d go scampering with your tail between your legs.”

His expression changed into a warm smile. “Met a rather wild woman whom i grew to love and adore who wasn’t of my own race but was just the right thing for someone like me. Oh the things we’ve done and tried~” He shook his head. “Fast forward 2,500 years and i’ve had sex with let’s see … well the same woman only turned into an Android. Long story.” Rasmot paused. “Androids are … mechanical versions of what you would probably call Golems but they look like you or me.” Continuing he was on his fourth finger now. “Had sex with a Nirani … a sort of cat person. That was a rather wild night. Of course continued sex with said android. A few humans here and there, a different cat person but not the same race, some smaller almost gnomish races …” Rasmot grunted and shook his head. “You probably get the picture.”

Her brow furrowed momentarily till a smirk crept up on her face, “Well, look at you~ You must think you’ve got it all figured out and have seen it all.”

The black bird’s hands slowly made contact with his shoulders and proceeded to wind their way into his hair.  She tilted her head and smiled, “But you haven’t felt the touch of a goddess~”

Fuck It

Rasmot smirked and gently pulled her hands away before going back to her ear. “Here’s what i’m going to do … Goddess, i am going to shift into what is comfortable for me. Now what i will need afterwards … is something to eat.” He let out a throaty rumble that sounded like stone grinding on stone. “And i mean actual food. After that, we shall see where the night leads.” Rasmot gave her a very soft kiss on the lips before pulling away.

Rasmot stepped away from the Goddess and put aside the leather jacket and the backpack, stretching slightly. He was thankful the Nano-drones were actually working because this was painful enough WITH their help. Rasmot closed his eyes while kneeling down and a rumbling dragon like growl exited from his throat. Punching one hand into the stone floor he let the changes commence as the first portion began. On his back as he leaned over, two bumps or ridges were pushing their way up under the shirt. It almost seemed like a part of his skin was just raising up. There was a loud bone like snap followed by a series of bone cracks and pops as the tips of two wings not only burst out of his back but cut through the shirt.

Both wings continued to rip out from his back and shirt, extending far back before dropping forwards. Verdant scales glistened in the light as some gel seemed to adhere to the wings. Rasmot growled louder as the tail came next, ripping through the back of his pants and coiling around his legs. Every portion created a sickly popping when they came to be. Rasmot undid his boots quickly and put them aside as his toe nails became claws along with his finger nails. The already sharp canines extended into small sharp fangs, the tips of said fangs poking out from his lips. And lastly came the horns. They broke through at the middle of the skull and arced to the back of his head in a curve. They were bone white and looked extremely hard. With a deep reverberating growl he slowly stood back up and looked at Laine. The gel like substance had quickly and instantly turned to almost water around any portion that was newly formed. Like sweat in a way.

“…” The raven could only stand there for a moment and watch as his tail seemed to sway back and forth.  Her thoughts went blank for a moment, she couldn’t possibly fathom what such a thing would be like.  But she was curious, curious to know.

“…Y-yes. Food.”  She struggled to get back to her senses and stumbled her way into the kitchen where pantries lined the back walls and flowers hung from the windows to dry. She had a certain fondness for flowers, something to bring light to a dark place.

Her hands blindly hovered over on of the shelves and pulled forth a flank of deer’s meat and a few golden apples.  She wasn’t sure what he’d want, so she she them both on the table and scavenged for more. 

“Whatever you typically like. Just because i look like a Drega-Nato does not mean i have to eat like one. Fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, meats. I can tolerate just about anything.” He brushed and “polished” one claw on the shirt he wore before poking the Deer flank. “As so long as it is cooked … and preferably dead.” A shudder passed over his form. “I am not a savage or barbarian.” Giving it another poke and peeling off a portion from the flank he nibbled at it before nodding. “Now this seems familiar~ not exactly cooked like we do from my home … but it’s very very similar.”

She darted from the shadows, one side of the room to the other and gathered a few carrots and leeks and set them down on the table as well. With another phase she seated herself at the table, grabbing an apple for herself and silently eating it as she watched him.

In truth, she wasn’t sure what to make of this now. This was something new to her, but she wouldn’t back down, she had too much pride to simply be scared off by a few talons and snarls.

“…”

Another silent bite she took, she had entirely forgotten how depleted she was of her own energy till just now.  

“…I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had a half-dragon as a guest.” 

Another bite.

A large smile crossed his face as he pulled out a dark bottle and held it to the light with a nod. Good old glorious Mead. He found a couple of glasses and poured her some of the golden Honey Wine before pouring himself a glass and finally sitting. He thought for a moment as he sniffed and nodded at the mead.

“I was not always of two forms … Originally this is just what i used to be.” He gestured over himself. “However … because of my own nature and a altercation well what you witnessed earlier is a part of my “curse” in a sense.” He smirked a little. “However in my younger days … well i did go through a number of clothing, but not of my own desires.” Rasmot smiled softly. “However i don’t have that problem with my normal attire, my normal clothes actually have places to tolerate this form.” He shrugged a little. “Got a little tired of the tailoring bill to be honest.”

She carefully picked the glass up and inconspicuously took a sip. It was sweet. What a relief. She took another sip before setting it down and cutting the portion of venison in front of her.

“… I suppose it’s difficult dealing with such changes.” She spoke before placing a cut of meat in her mouth and silently chewing.

When was the last time someone had actually been in this kitchen with her?

Her attention slowly wandered to the window. It was dark out already, as dark as dark could be.

Had it really been that long…?

Rasmot glanced out the window, his own eyes at least slightly capable of seeing into the darkness beyond. He frowned a little and looked back towards her. The Mead at least seemed to be helping but she still seemed out of her element. Perhaps this was even the first time she even had polite company in this very kitchen. He tapped at his own venison with his fork and then looked back towards her. Now was as good a time as any.

“Not in the slightest.” She muttered as she set the now empty glass down and propped her chin in her hand and closed her eyes.

“It’s difficult to describe… somewhat bittersweet, really.” She began, the low humming of the wind navigating through the trees.

“I prefer not to get into detail, but I was once human myself. I chose to become this. But when I was a human, I was apart of the Demon Hunters of my homeland.”

She slowly looked down at her glass and ran her finger over the lip of it causing a vibrating tone. “They tend to hunt in the dead of night… such cowards.”

Her gears were in full motion trying to figure out this creature. He seemed more complicated than most men - and not just because he was half dragon. But as clever as she was, she couldn’t put a pin on just what it was about him.

“…You’re not making any sense. At first you seemed so ready to cut my head off, yet now you seem entirely open to any advances?”

“…You think that’s hard? Trying being the only God that wasn’t born a God.” She scowled into her drink, “It’s a nightmare when they come knocking…”

She poured the content of the drink into her mouth and let out a content gasp as she offered the glass for another round.

“Besides, I offered my assistance and that still stands. What I will want for payment is still completely on the table.” She smirked slightly, “My advances are just for fun.” The goddess winked before taking back her glass once more, filled to the brim and drank once more.

Her gaze fell to the floor, winding around the grout of the stone that covered the dusty floors.  Why was he being so considerate like this? She wasn’t sure what was the proper way to respond when someone would display pleasantries like this.

“What you wish to discuss is entirely your business. I have no reason to pry.”  She was too blunt again, afraid of being so open to such daunting things as personal as their lives. 

She closed her eyes for a moment, for some strange reason she could feel her chest beating. Was she feeling this uncomfortable from being intimate and personable in a way she was not accustomed to? 

“…You’re my guest, you may proceed however you’d like.” The words seem to slip out of her mouth.  She felt guilty trying to force her way on him now, after the amount of consideration and respect he had offered to her. To something now would just make her feel like a monster.

“U-uh…! It’s located off the side of the house, i-in the courtyard.” She babbled once more.

He arrived at the Courtyard with her in his arms and was for once in slight awe. There were very few times he had seen something like this, let alone one meant for private use. In fact the only time he saw one for private use was from the images of Sangrek ruins, of small lakes built into houses for the Sangrek to let their bodies moisturize and relax in the heat of their planets. Yet this one was dedicated to hot water only, not calm cool water. Rasmot found a place to set Laine down before glancing around. He found some towels off to one side and a place to place his backpack.

Without even letting him finish his question, the goddess had already disreguarded her garb and stacked it on a rock beside her. She turned back around, placing her hands on her hips and laughed.

“For someone who likes to go on and on about their partners, you do pick the strangest things to be modest about.”

The black bird made her way over to and overhanging water spout and turned it on, almost as if it was daily routine and paid her companion no mind in the process. She let the water run over her, cleaning off the imperfections of the day and gathered her azure locks to one of her shoulders and ran her fingers through it before stepping back out and presenting him with it.

“It’s customary to clean yourself off before entering a sulfur bath such as this.”

She hummed a quiet little tune to herself as she stepped over the cold stone and sank herself into the mineral water with a sigh. It had been a long day.

The raven looked up at the open ceiling and watched as the clouds rolled by the silver lining of the moon and let out another sigh.

With a shake of his head, Rasmot turned to his backpack and started pulling off his clothes one piece at a time. He heard her turn on the water spout and tell him it was customary to clean himself off with it. Nodding he continued to undress. What came first were his gauntlets, pulling them free from his hands and arms and placing them with the rest of his original gear. After that were the clothes he had appropriated. First came the shirt as he tugged it off and revealed a literal battle field across his chest. Numerous scars and old wounds were placed upon his torso. From cutting or stab marks to bullet wounds or marks from more exotic tools.

(going to put the rest under a read more since this’ll probably get NSFW)

She felt it would be appropriate to seat herself next to him and wadded her way over. “I told you already, what you wish to share is your business.”

The raven sat back against the wall of the spring and stole a glance at him as a droplet of water rolled off the curl of his bangs. She said nothing as she focused her attention on the water and cupped her hands around the reflection of the moon, over and over, waiting to hear what he might say.

“You’ve not been barbaric … just particularly haughty and slightly crass. But i don’t blame you for that.” He looked down to her for a moment. “You have a long and personal story of your own. And whether you wish to share it or not is of your own wishes and time.”

Rasmot closed his eyes and let himself relax before continuing. “A long time ago … i was just a boy, it really started when my village, the village of my people was attacked. On my world, there are five races … the Makori … people like yourself who are human, the Elvaran which are a tall slender people with longer and tipped ears well versed in the old ways and magic, the Drogun who are shorter than the rest but are stout and great explorers, the Gorokan who are a brutish green skin people with their own sub cultures that live in the desert sands … they’re closer to barbaric than you are. And lastly there is my people, the Kekero. What many would probably call “Demi-Human”.” Rasmot sighed. “That history lesson aside, my people were attacked by Makori slavers, who wanted nothing more than to enslave younger people of my tribe, and kill anyone else.”

He looked up to the moon, staring at it with his glowing eyes. “I of course told you that i managed to escape my slavery … i had become a young man by that time and i eventually met companions who i would grow to call my closest friends. And eventually started on a quest on my world, called Dracicanna.” Rasmot lowered his head down. “We learned of a certain group in the Makori called the Iron Fists … trying to claim rule over all of the kingdoms on our planet. We went out to stop them, forming our own combined army with some help. Eventually though … we figured out the Iron Fists were just puppets to a greater evil.”

“The demonic Zhulkhan … lead by Shakrah and the fallen Guardian … Yuka.” Rasmot scowled. “It was a long battle … a battle fought against abominations of flesh, necromantic creations, and machinations beyond our wildest imaginings. But we succeeded.” He shook his head and sighed. “As a reward for our deeds, myself and my closest companions were taken to the planet of Drakha, where the guardians … gods in a way, resided and watched over our world. We were to become like them, guardians of Dracicanna.” Closing his eyes, Rasmot frowned. “Half way through the process i found out how little they “guarded” our world. About how laid back they were … how they could have prevented the Zhulkhan invasion all together. I called them out on it and challenged them to battle.” He opened his eyes and sighed. “We all lost of course. My friends sided with me against the guardians and as punishment we were stripped of any godly power we were given … aside from long life, and put into a stasis prison, left to orbit our planet until we were “needed” for their plans.”

“…This may come off as harsh, but it has to be said”  She paused, making sure her words were correct before speaking. “If the Gods of your world are anything like us, then, well - I believe they agree that the fate of “humanity” is in their own hands.”  She turned away slightly, listening to the sound of the water trickling off the edge of the rock wall that lined the pool.

“As power as people believe Gods to be, there are some things we simply aren’t meant to meddle with, the fate of others being the grandest of them. A life or two - certainly doesn’t fray the strands of fate, but too many can snap the chord.”

She unlaced her fingers and proceeded to run her fingers through her hair over and over as if to calm her nerves. “I might not be a very good God, but we have our own set of orders and rules and things we have to oversee, which tends to leave humanity on a lesser tier.”

The black bird took another breath, “I’m not trying to belittle your struggles, certainly the life you lead isn’t one without strife, but…”  

She fell silent for a moment.

“We could sit here and argue for days about the semantics and politics and even pseudo policies of what is right or wrong.” Rasmot closed his eyes. “Right now, i could give less of a shit about all of that. I’ve tried to block that entire mess from my mind. And being put into a dreamless sleep for 2500 years … among other things has left bitter resentment in my mouth.” Opening his eyes he frowned. “So i do apologize if i seem to be harsh when it comes to the “gods” of my world … but i have had to deal with them, and from what i can see … no god is as perfect as they can lead themselves on to be. There are cracks, there are flaws, and like everything in the universe they have strengths and weaknesses.”

All of her courage gathered to look up from the tides of the wadding water and to look at him. It was still strange to be face to face in such a way with a half-dragon of all things.

Her hand carefully touched the side of his face and pushed back a piece of hair which was matted to the side of his face from the water and attempted to grin.

Before he could even fall towards her and possibly smack into her body he quickly smacked his hands into the wall behind her. “Mmmnnnnggh …” Rasmot straightened out after a moment and exhaled. “Sorry … probably one of the first times i’ve done that … and taking anything away takes a bit of energy and concentration.”

“I-I’m sorry…! Does that hurt too much? I shouldn’t have -”

She stopped herself short, realizing her apologies wouldn’t help and carefully sat him down on the edge of the pool, using her hands to hold him in place by the shoulders.

“…Are you alright? Do you want to get out? Do you want to get some rest? I’ve been presumptuous…”

Her head lowered. No matter which way you looked at it, she was a terrible god, she was a terrible host, she was a terrible woman.

The raven carefully leaning in, placing one of her hands on his leg for support and drew her face close to his once more, so close that first their noses touched and then their lips. But it didn’t stop the pounding in her chest, on the contrary it made her want to feel her heart beat faster.

She took her time to slowly smooth her lips over the curves of his lips and to draw in his own breath. The feeling of their lips touching was as soft as bed made of flowers and made the air on the back of her neck stand.

The black bird pulled back slightly for a moment, lips barely grazing over one another as she slipped in a small breath and rejoined their lips together once more.

How long had it been since she last had this feeling? How bittersweet it was to experience it once more.

“…It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?” She frowned slightly, watching the way the light of the moon reflected on the water and got caught in his hair and on his wings.

Her hand subconsciously reached up once more and carefully trailed her fingertips gingerly along the side of his neck before gliding over the line of his collar bone.

Something about the light of the moon this night had her transfixed, bathing everything in a silver glow. She couldn’t help but wander her hands across him.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore … because you’ve stopped the pain.” He whispered deeply against her ear. “The warmth of your touch, the longing of your embrace … the true side of you that yearns to love. It makes me feel at peace.” Rasmot smiled and turned to look into her eyes. “How far you wish to go, now lies with you … how far do you wish to take this … and how much do you yearn for this embrace?”

She could feel her legs nearly taking on a liquid for from the trembling of them, it was enough to make the water that nestled around her hips ripple.

With a moment of hesitation the raven carefully sat herself in his lap, one leg on either side of him and gently tangled her fingers up in the nap of hair at his neck before pressing her lips closer to his. The feeling of their hearts, several of them, she now noticed, beat rapidly as pulled herself closer to him.

The only sound she could hear was the trees above them, blowing against the night breeze, the sound of water every once in a while shifting around them and the small gaps of air being drawn between their lip lock.

The world felt at peace for the first time in a long time till the goddess reluctantly pulled away for what she hoped was only a brief moment.

“I-it’s not just… my choice…” she took a deep breath, attempting to recollect herself, “Y-you also have a choice with how far… you want to go.”

“I told you before, I’m good with anywhere~” Her voice was like a lullaby, carefully playing in his ears.

“However,” she sung, carefully grabbing a hold of him and pulling him down into what anyone would assume was the water, only to fall through and softly land on the comfort of a large oversized, pillow laden bed set in the middle of the back wall of a room.

“Honestly … I sometimes get rather fond of walls. It’s a unique sensation to hold someone in your arms … and have a passionate mess of a time.” He smirked and leaned in further to her. “However … when it’s a really intimate connection, i do prefer a bedroom.”

She could feel the warmth of his touch spreading through her body, like a hot drink on a cold winter's night and it was the most delightful sensation. The raven slowly tugged her hands that were locked with his closer to her as she felt her back sink into the cushioning of the bed beneath them.

There it was again, her heart pounding in her chest as she could feel his body over hers. The warmth from the kiss had quickly grown into a crackling forest fire as she pressed her lips tighter to his, carefully feeling out his lips once in awhile with the tip of her tongue.

“My people call them Elem-Stones, however their official designation is E-365 or Element 365.” Rasmot held up the gems embedded into his gauntlets as they glimmered and gleamed a constant vibrant rainbow. “These crystals are naturally occurring taps into what we call the “Verikorous” or grand stream of energy. As such they are able to create the 8 elemental energies of the universe.” He snapped his fingers, a small flame lighting on the tip of his index finger as he held it aloft. “For instance, Fire.” Rasmot shook away the flame and with just a casual wave of his hand a small gust of wind wrapped around them only to blow away. “Or even air. Those are just minor imprinted spells i can think of mentally. But it depends on the affinity of the user.”

After a moment he shrugged. “However we also use it for more practical purposes, Electricity for homes, power for Starships, or even to cause the universal barriers to ripple just enough to “dive” directly into Hyperspace.” He looked at her for a long moment before putting on an apologetic smile. “Lots of Sciencey stuff in short.” Rasmot gestured to the shuttle. “But these, are how i was able to pull that back from wherever dark void you were sending it before it was too late. That requires more concentrated spell work and physical strain of course.”

The goddess listened to him dully, trying to take interest, but having not a single clue about what he was referring to.  Her gaze shifted over to the shuttle as he motioned to it and slowly her eyes wandering to the setting sun.  Watching an orange haze crawl its way over the horizon; bathing everything in a warm golden glow.

“…”  She held up a finger to him, directing him to stop for a moment before speaking. “It’s going to be dark soon, and you’ll find no shelter from this world in that shuttle of yours. You had best come with me.”  She was blunt, direct and to the point - like he wanted.

Her feet carried her in the opposite direction, looking back once to make sure he was following. “Your -”

“What was it called,” she muttered to herself briefly.

“ - Ship, will be fine however, no need to make a fuss about it. Hurry along.”  The raven could feel her energy exhausting quicker than usual.  Perhaps the power she had lent to him had begun to take a toll on her. Once she reached the comforts of her own walls she’d be able to relax - but not out here.

The black bird could feel the sun’s gaze on her back, it had quickly caught up to her and would soon leave her behind. The idea of a hot bath couldn’t be fonder of an idea at the moment, just something to relax her nerves and settle her in for the night.

Rasmot nodded and started to follow her after he picked up the backpack full of his previous gear. He wasn’t sure if he actually needed it, but he wanted to have it on hand. As he adjusted the bag on his back he took a more discerning look at this “goddess” while following her. While part of him couldn’t help but appreciate the woman there was something about her now that seemed different from his first meeting her. It clicked after several moments, she must be extremely drained from the process he put her through … even though that was only 25% of the energy he needed. Enough to spark the crystals to start to charge on their own.

Maybe there was more to this that he wasn’t aware. Her powers could have their own sickness tied into it. Almost like the Verikorous Madness from the old days, where the energy would slowly eat away at the brain of those that wielded it. Or, like the guardians, the title of Goddess was only just that. A title. And instead of having limitless energy she had only so much per every day. A perceivable frown crossed his lips and he stepped off. One push from his feet was all he needed to bound over her and land in a crouch in front of the goddess. He was extremely thankful this planet had lower gravity than he was used to. Moving into a kneel he looked over one shoulder at her.

“…”

She let out a heavy sigh, in any other circumstance she could gotten back in a heartbeat. But as it was, she didn’t have the energy to object.

“…Over this hill you should be able to see its walls.” The goddess pointed forward as the sun bleached the trees in twilight. “Head that way.”

“Hold on tight.” He called back towards he before focusing in front of him. “Let’s fly.”

He pushed down hard on his left leg and vaulted them upwards. The angle was higher than expected but he was able to control the descent as he fell towards the trees. With his right foot he shoved hard against a branch in a much steeper angle as he kept Laine on his back. He kicked off of one branch after another and when he cleared the forest he angled the descent so that they would touch down feet first against the hill. A smirk tugged at his lips as he was suddenly reminded of an old Earth story involving a character named “John Carter”. As soon as they landed on the hill he looked over the scenery at the walls of where she wanted to go.

Instead of asking any further questions he reeled them back while taking a deep breath. As soon as he was a the foot of the hill, he gripped onto her legs firmly and charged towards the peak of the hill. Hitting the very top he crouched down and pushed with all of his might. They both rocketed upwards, clearing the land below as they soared towards the walls. Rasmot grit his teeth as he angled the approach to clear the walls while trying to not come in too hard. He succeeded at the first task. The second was much harder to achieve as he came in extremely hard and smacked into the ground on his feet.

She stood there a moment, silently trying to get her baring back and took in a deep breath before responding.

“… I didn’t ask you to do that.” She turned and made her way towards a set of oversized oak wood doors that had the cuts and burns of age and damage. “…Thank you.”

She pushed open the doors with both hands; it was obsurd how these doors resisted when she wasn’t in her best form and quietly stepped into the cold stone room. Instantly the room illuminated from candles that lines every corner of the room with a purple glow. To some they would consider this place to be primative, but to her it was just theatrical.

Slowly walking through the doorway with a slight limp he glanced around. It was a rather large place, larger than any one person had a right to owning. He was about to say something when her comment brought a small scowl to his face. Rasmot glanced around with his glowing eyes before looking at her. It would probably be a correct assumption to think they were alone in this place and that she had no one else. Which actually presented a thought and a retort to his mind.

“…Yes, we are alone in this place.”  Her lips tightened together before advancing the thought further, “…This place once used to belong to the Demon King.  He was - “ She stopped for a moment and regrouped her thoughts. “He owned this place. He was… A God among Gods, and -”  Once more she paused before forcing herself to speak, “He no longer resides here.”

The goddess slowly raised her head; a painful smile etched on her face.  “But that was so long ago, I had nearly forgotten.” She lied.

She’d never admit it, but she was a sucker for such mannerisms. Often times she was assured in the fact that her behaviour would either get a man to lay in bed with her for just a trussle and leave or that she would send the man packing and out the door without another word.

“I-I,”  She was flabbergasted by his gesture.

Her composure returned to her after a brief moment.  She looked him up and down for a moment. Something wasn’t right.  Maybe where he was from they didn’t exhibit or know about such sexual advances? Maybe he didn’t even know what it was? Was he naive?

Her face turned grave, eyes narrowed down on him.  She couldn’t believe it.  There couldn’t possibly be someone this naive, could there?

She had to test the waters once more. 

The raven leaned herself into him and draped her arm over his shoulder and curled it around the nape of his neck. “I’d be willing to retire anywhere.  The bed, the kitchen table, the floor, the bath. Anywhere sounds fun to me.”

Rather than say a word he gently placed his index finger under her chin and supported it with his middle finger. A smirk had actually played along his lips as he kissed the cheek of the so called “Goddess” with warmth. The flush and fluster of before clued him into what she always desired, while her actions and methods told him what she only got. No wonder she seemed to have a superiority complex most of the time. Most of the men that came her way probably only thought with their hormones in the way.

His lips moved up to kiss at the tip of her ear before he spoke deeply against it. “Now now, not so fast. Good things come to those who wait after all, aye? Now … a bath does sound like a welcome and pleasant thing at this moment. So perhaps we should start there … maybe ease away towards a comfortable bed.” A grin crossed his lips. “However, if you simply can’t contain yourself … well a little fun in the bath never hurt anyone. Aye?”

Just what was going on? The mouse who at first seemed so delusional about her advances had somehow quickly grown a spine?  This was not good at all, she couldn’t possibly let him get the upper hand on her.  She refused to derailed like this.

“A-and what would a mouse like you know about that?!”  She stammered.

The truth was she couldn’t figure out any way to combat him.  It had been so long since someone was humane, for a lack of better words, with her.  Her game had been entirely thrown off, she was so set in the strategy of her ways that her chessboard had been flipped on her.

“Y-you don’t honestly think you can compete with the likes of me, do you?”  She wasn’t even sure what she was saying now.  How could she have been thrown off so easily? It was as if she took one wrong step and came tumbling down the stairs.

“Y-you.” She pressed her lips together, “You might think you’re clever with this little act, but if it came down to it, I’m sure you’d go scampering with your tail between your legs.”

His expression changed into a warm smile. “Met a rather wild woman whom i grew to love and adore who wasn’t of my own race but was just the right thing for someone like me. Oh the things we’ve done and tried~” He shook his head. “Fast forward 2,500 years and i’ve had sex with let’s see … well the same woman only turned into an Android. Long story.” Rasmot paused. “Androids are … mechanical versions of what you would probably call Golems but they look like you or me.” Continuing he was on his fourth finger now. “Had sex with a Nirani … a sort of cat person. That was a rather wild night. Of course continued sex with said android. A few humans here and there, a different cat person but not the same race, some smaller almost gnomish races …” Rasmot grunted and shook his head. “You probably get the picture.”

Her brow furrowed momentarily till a smirk crept up on her face, “Well, look at you~ You must think you’ve got it all figured out and have seen it all.”

The black bird’s hands slowly made contact with his shoulders and proceeded to wind their way into his hair.  She tilted her head and smiled, “But you haven’t felt the touch of a goddess~”

Fuck It

Rasmot smirked and gently pulled her hands away before going back to her ear. “Here’s what i’m going to do … Goddess, i am going to shift into what is comfortable for me. Now what i will need afterwards … is something to eat.” He let out a throaty rumble that sounded like stone grinding on stone. “And i mean actual food. After that, we shall see where the night leads.” Rasmot gave her a very soft kiss on the lips before pulling away.

Rasmot stepped away from the Goddess and put aside the leather jacket and the backpack, stretching slightly. He was thankful the Nano-drones were actually working because this was painful enough WITH their help. Rasmot closed his eyes while kneeling down and a rumbling dragon like growl exited from his throat. Punching one hand into the stone floor he let the changes commence as the first portion began. On his back as he leaned over, two bumps or ridges were pushing their way up under the shirt. It almost seemed like a part of his skin was just raising up. There was a loud bone like snap followed by a series of bone cracks and pops as the tips of two wings not only burst out of his back but cut through the shirt.

Both wings continued to rip out from his back and shirt, extending far back before dropping forwards. Verdant scales glistened in the light as some gel seemed to adhere to the wings. Rasmot growled louder as the tail came next, ripping through the back of his pants and coiling around his legs. Every portion created a sickly popping when they came to be. Rasmot undid his boots quickly and put them aside as his toe nails became claws along with his finger nails. The already sharp canines extended into small sharp fangs, the tips of said fangs poking out from his lips. And lastly came the horns. They broke through at the middle of the skull and arced to the back of his head in a curve. They were bone white and looked extremely hard. With a deep reverberating growl he slowly stood back up and looked at Laine. The gel like substance had quickly and instantly turned to almost water around any portion that was newly formed. Like sweat in a way.

“…” The raven could only stand there for a moment and watch as his tail seemed to sway back and forth.  Her thoughts went blank for a moment, she couldn’t possibly fathom what such a thing would be like.  But she was curious, curious to know.

“…Y-yes. Food.”  She struggled to get back to her senses and stumbled her way into the kitchen where pantries lined the back walls and flowers hung from the windows to dry. She had a certain fondness for flowers, something to bring light to a dark place.

Her hands blindly hovered over on of the shelves and pulled forth a flank of deer’s meat and a few golden apples.  She wasn’t sure what he’d want, so she she them both on the table and scavenged for more. 

“Whatever you typically like. Just because i look like a Drega-Nato does not mean i have to eat like one. Fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, meats. I can tolerate just about anything.” He brushed and “polished” one claw on the shirt he wore before poking the Deer flank. “As so long as it is cooked … and preferably dead.” A shudder passed over his form. “I am not a savage or barbarian.” Giving it another poke and peeling off a portion from the flank he nibbled at it before nodding. “Now this seems familiar~ not exactly cooked like we do from my home … but it’s very very similar.”

She darted from the shadows, one side of the room to the other and gathered a few carrots and leeks and set them down on the table as well. With another phase she seated herself at the table, grabbing an apple for herself and silently eating it as she watched him.

In truth, she wasn’t sure what to make of this now. This was something new to her, but she wouldn’t back down, she had too much pride to simply be scared off by a few talons and snarls.

“…”

Another silent bite she took, she had entirely forgotten how depleted she was of her own energy till just now.  

“…I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had a half-dragon as a guest.” 

Another bite.

A large smile crossed his face as he pulled out a dark bottle and held it to the light with a nod. Good old glorious Mead. He found a couple of glasses and poured her some of the golden Honey Wine before pouring himself a glass and finally sitting. He thought for a moment as he sniffed and nodded at the mead.

“I was not always of two forms … Originally this is just what i used to be.” He gestured over himself. “However … because of my own nature and a altercation well what you witnessed earlier is a part of my “curse” in a sense.” He smirked a little. “However in my younger days … well i did go through a number of clothing, but not of my own desires.” Rasmot smiled softly. “However i don’t have that problem with my normal attire, my normal clothes actually have places to tolerate this form.” He shrugged a little. “Got a little tired of the tailoring bill to be honest.”

She carefully picked the glass up and inconspicuously took a sip. It was sweet. What a relief. She took another sip before setting it down and cutting the portion of venison in front of her.

“… I suppose it’s difficult dealing with such changes.” She spoke before placing a cut of meat in her mouth and silently chewing.

When was the last time someone had actually been in this kitchen with her?

Her attention slowly wandered to the window. It was dark out already, as dark as dark could be.

Had it really been that long…?

Rasmot glanced out the window, his own eyes at least slightly capable of seeing into the darkness beyond. He frowned a little and looked back towards her. The Mead at least seemed to be helping but she still seemed out of her element. Perhaps this was even the first time she even had polite company in this very kitchen. He tapped at his own venison with his fork and then looked back towards her. Now was as good a time as any.

“Not in the slightest.” She muttered as she set the now empty glass down and propped her chin in her hand and closed her eyes.

“It’s difficult to describe… somewhat bittersweet, really.” She began, the low humming of the wind navigating through the trees.

“I prefer not to get into detail, but I was once human myself. I chose to become this. But when I was a human, I was apart of the Demon Hunters of my homeland.”

She slowly looked down at her glass and ran her finger over the lip of it causing a vibrating tone. “They tend to hunt in the dead of night… such cowards.”

Her gears were in full motion trying to figure out this creature. He seemed more complicated than most men - and not just because he was half dragon. But as clever as she was, she couldn’t put a pin on just what it was about him.

“…You’re not making any sense. At first you seemed so ready to cut my head off, yet now you seem entirely open to any advances?”

“…You think that’s hard? Trying being the only God that wasn’t born a God.” She scowled into her drink, “It’s a nightmare when they come knocking…”

She poured the content of the drink into her mouth and let out a content gasp as she offered the glass for another round.

“Besides, I offered my assistance and that still stands. What I will want for payment is still completely on the table.” She smirked slightly, “My advances are just for fun.” The goddess winked before taking back her glass once more, filled to the brim and drank once more.

Her gaze fell to the floor, winding around the grout of the stone that covered the dusty floors.  Why was he being so considerate like this? She wasn’t sure what was the proper way to respond when someone would display pleasantries like this.

“What you wish to discuss is entirely your business. I have no reason to pry.”  She was too blunt again, afraid of being so open to such daunting things as personal as their lives. 

She closed her eyes for a moment, for some strange reason she could feel her chest beating. Was she feeling this uncomfortable from being intimate and personable in a way she was not accustomed to? 

“…You’re my guest, you may proceed however you’d like.” The words seem to slip out of her mouth.  She felt guilty trying to force her way on him now, after the amount of consideration and respect he had offered to her. To something now would just make her feel like a monster.

“U-uh…! It’s located off the side of the house, i-in the courtyard.” She babbled once more.

He arrived at the Courtyard with her in his arms and was for once in slight awe. There were very few times he had seen something like this, let alone one meant for private use. In fact the only time he saw one for private use was from the images of Sangrek ruins, of small lakes built into houses for the Sangrek to let their bodies moisturize and relax in the heat of their planets. Yet this one was dedicated to hot water only, not calm cool water. Rasmot found a place to set Laine down before glancing around. He found some towels off to one side and a place to place his backpack.

Without even letting him finish his question, the goddess had already disreguarded her garb and stacked it on a rock beside her. She turned back around, placing her hands on her hips and laughed.

“For someone who likes to go on and on about their partners, you do pick the strangest things to be modest about.”

The black bird made her way over to and overhanging water spout and turned it on, almost as if it was daily routine and paid her companion no mind in the process. She let the water run over her, cleaning off the imperfections of the day and gathered her azure locks to one of her shoulders and ran her fingers through it before stepping back out and presenting him with it.

“It’s customary to clean yourself off before entering a sulfur bath such as this.”

She hummed a quiet little tune to herself as she stepped over the cold stone and sank herself into the mineral water with a sigh. It had been a long day.

The raven looked up at the open ceiling and watched as the clouds rolled by the silver lining of the moon and let out another sigh.

With a shake of his head, Rasmot turned to his backpack and started pulling off his clothes one piece at a time. He heard her turn on the water spout and tell him it was customary to clean himself off with it. Nodding he continued to undress. What came first were his gauntlets, pulling them free from his hands and arms and placing them with the rest of his original gear. After that were the clothes he had appropriated. First came the shirt as he tugged it off and revealed a literal battle field across his chest. Numerous scars and old wounds were placed upon his torso. From cutting or stab marks to bullet wounds or marks from more exotic tools.

(going to put the rest under a read more since this’ll probably get NSFW)

She felt it would be appropriate to seat herself next to him and wadded her way over. “I told you already, what you wish to share is your business.”

The raven sat back against the wall of the spring and stole a glance at him as a droplet of water rolled off the curl of his bangs. She said nothing as she focused her attention on the water and cupped her hands around the reflection of the moon, over and over, waiting to hear what he might say.

“You’ve not been barbaric … just particularly haughty and slightly crass. But i don’t blame you for that.” He looked down to her for a moment. “You have a long and personal story of your own. And whether you wish to share it or not is of your own wishes and time.”

Rasmot closed his eyes and let himself relax before continuing. “A long time ago … i was just a boy, it really started when my village, the village of my people was attacked. On my world, there are five races … the Makori … people like yourself who are human, the Elvaran which are a tall slender people with longer and tipped ears well versed in the old ways and magic, the Drogun who are shorter than the rest but are stout and great explorers, the Gorokan who are a brutish green skin people with their own sub cultures that live in the desert sands … they’re closer to barbaric than you are. And lastly there is my people, the Kekero. What many would probably call “Demi-Human”.” Rasmot sighed. “That history lesson aside, my people were attacked by Makori slavers, who wanted nothing more than to enslave younger people of my tribe, and kill anyone else.”

He looked up to the moon, staring at it with his glowing eyes. “I of course told you that i managed to escape my slavery … i had become a young man by that time and i eventually met companions who i would grow to call my closest friends. And eventually started on a quest on my world, called Dracicanna.” Rasmot lowered his head down. “We learned of a certain group in the Makori called the Iron Fists … trying to claim rule over all of the kingdoms on our planet. We went out to stop them, forming our own combined army with some help. Eventually though … we figured out the Iron Fists were just puppets to a greater evil.”

“The demonic Zhulkhan … lead by Shakrah and the fallen Guardian … Yuka.” Rasmot scowled. “It was a long battle … a battle fought against abominations of flesh, necromantic creations, and machinations beyond our wildest imaginings. But we succeeded.” He shook his head and sighed. “As a reward for our deeds, myself and my closest companions were taken to the planet of Drakha, where the guardians … gods in a way, resided and watched over our world. We were to become like them, guardians of Dracicanna.” Closing his eyes, Rasmot frowned. “Half way through the process i found out how little they “guarded” our world. About how laid back they were … how they could have prevented the Zhulkhan invasion all together. I called them out on it and challenged them to battle.” He opened his eyes and sighed. “We all lost of course. My friends sided with me against the guardians and as punishment we were stripped of any godly power we were given … aside from long life, and put into a stasis prison, left to orbit our planet until we were “needed” for their plans.”

“…This may come off as harsh, but it has to be said”  She paused, making sure her words were correct before speaking. “If the Gods of your world are anything like us, then, well - I believe they agree that the fate of “humanity” is in their own hands.”  She turned away slightly, listening to the sound of the water trickling off the edge of the rock wall that lined the pool.

“As power as people believe Gods to be, there are some things we simply aren’t meant to meddle with, the fate of others being the grandest of them. A life or two - certainly doesn’t fray the strands of fate, but too many can snap the chord.”

She unlaced her fingers and proceeded to run her fingers through her hair over and over as if to calm her nerves. “I might not be a very good God, but we have our own set of orders and rules and things we have to oversee, which tends to leave humanity on a lesser tier.”

The black bird took another breath, “I’m not trying to belittle your struggles, certainly the life you lead isn’t one without strife, but…”  

She fell silent for a moment.

“We could sit here and argue for days about the semantics and politics and even pseudo policies of what is right or wrong.” Rasmot closed his eyes. “Right now, i could give less of a shit about all of that. I’ve tried to block that entire mess from my mind. And being put into a dreamless sleep for 2500 years … among other things has left bitter resentment in my mouth.” Opening his eyes he frowned. “So i do apologize if i seem to be harsh when it comes to the “gods” of my world … but i have had to deal with them, and from what i can see … no god is as perfect as they can lead themselves on to be. There are cracks, there are flaws, and like everything in the universe they have strengths and weaknesses.”

All of her courage gathered to look up from the tides of the wadding water and to look at him. It was still strange to be face to face in such a way with a half-dragon of all things.

Her hand carefully touched the side of his face and pushed back a piece of hair which was matted to the side of his face from the water and attempted to grin.

Before he could even fall towards her and possibly smack into her body he quickly smacked his hands into the wall behind her. “Mmmnnnnggh …” Rasmot straightened out after a moment and exhaled. “Sorry … probably one of the first times i’ve done that … and taking anything away takes a bit of energy and concentration.”

“I-I’m sorry…! Does that hurt too much? I shouldn’t have -”

She stopped herself short, realizing her apologies wouldn’t help and carefully sat him down on the edge of the pool, using her hands to hold him in place by the shoulders.

“…Are you alright? Do you want to get out? Do you want to get some rest? I’ve been presumptuous…”

Her head lowered. No matter which way you looked at it, she was a terrible god, she was a terrible host, she was a terrible woman.

The raven carefully leaning in, placing one of her hands on his leg for support and drew her face close to his once more, so close that first their noses touched and then their lips. But it didn’t stop the pounding in her chest, on the contrary it made her want to feel her heart beat faster.

She took her time to slowly smooth her lips over the curves of his lips and to draw in his own breath. The feeling of their lips touching was as soft as bed made of flowers and made the air on the back of her neck stand.

The black bird pulled back slightly for a moment, lips barely grazing over one another as she slipped in a small breath and rejoined their lips together once more.

How long had it been since she last had this feeling? How bittersweet it was to experience it once more.

“…It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?” She frowned slightly, watching the way the light of the moon reflected on the water and got caught in his hair and on his wings.

Her hand subconsciously reached up once more and carefully trailed her fingertips gingerly along the side of his neck before gliding over the line of his collar bone.

Something about the light of the moon this night had her transfixed, bathing everything in a silver glow. She couldn’t help but wander her hands across him.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore … because you’ve stopped the pain.” He whispered deeply against her ear. “The warmth of your touch, the longing of your embrace … the true side of you that yearns to love. It makes me feel at peace.” Rasmot smiled and turned to look into her eyes. “How far you wish to go, now lies with you … how far do you wish to take this … and how much do you yearn for this embrace?”

She could feel her legs nearly taking on a liquid for from the trembling of them, it was enough to make the water that nestled around her hips ripple.

With a moment of hesitation the raven carefully sat herself in his lap, one leg on either side of him and gently tangled her fingers up in the nap of hair at his neck before pressing her lips closer to his. The feeling of their hearts, several of them, she now noticed, beat rapidly as pulled herself closer to him.

The only sound she could hear was the trees above them, blowing against the night breeze, the sound of water every once in a while shifting around them and the small gaps of air being drawn between their lip lock.

The world felt at peace for the first time in a long time till the goddess reluctantly pulled away for what she hoped was only a brief moment.

“I-it’s not just… my choice…” she took a deep breath, attempting to recollect herself, “Y-you also have a choice with how far… you want to go.”

"I told you before, I'm good with anywhere~" Her voice was like a lullaby, carefully playing in his ears.

"However," she sung, carefully grabbing a hold of him and pulling him down into what anyone would assume was the water, only to fall through and softly land on the comfort of a large oversized, pillow laden bed set in the middle of the back wall of a room.

“My people call them Elem-Stones, however their official designation is E-365 or Element 365.” Rasmot held up the gems embedded into his gauntlets as they glimmered and gleamed a constant vibrant rainbow. “These crystals are naturally occurring taps into what we call the “Verikorous” or grand stream of energy. As such they are able to create the 8 elemental energies of the universe.” He snapped his fingers, a small flame lighting on the tip of his index finger as he held it aloft. “For instance, Fire.” Rasmot shook away the flame and with just a casual wave of his hand a small gust of wind wrapped around them only to blow away. “Or even air. Those are just minor imprinted spells i can think of mentally. But it depends on the affinity of the user.”

After a moment he shrugged. “However we also use it for more practical purposes, Electricity for homes, power for Starships, or even to cause the universal barriers to ripple just enough to “dive” directly into Hyperspace.” He looked at her for a long moment before putting on an apologetic smile. “Lots of Sciencey stuff in short.” Rasmot gestured to the shuttle. “But these, are how i was able to pull that back from wherever dark void you were sending it before it was too late. That requires more concentrated spell work and physical strain of course.”

The goddess listened to him dully, trying to take interest, but having not a single clue about what he was referring to.  Her gaze shifted over to the shuttle as he motioned to it and slowly her eyes wandering to the setting sun.  Watching an orange haze crawl its way over the horizon; bathing everything in a warm golden glow.

“…”  She held up a finger to him, directing him to stop for a moment before speaking. “It’s going to be dark soon, and you’ll find no shelter from this world in that shuttle of yours. You had best come with me.”  She was blunt, direct and to the point - like he wanted.

Her feet carried her in the opposite direction, looking back once to make sure he was following. “Your -”

“What was it called,” she muttered to herself briefly.

“ - Ship, will be fine however, no need to make a fuss about it. Hurry along.”  The raven could feel her energy exhausting quicker than usual.  Perhaps the power she had lent to him had begun to take a toll on her. Once she reached the comforts of her own walls she’d be able to relax - but not out here.

The black bird could feel the sun’s gaze on her back, it had quickly caught up to her and would soon leave her behind. The idea of a hot bath couldn’t be fonder of an idea at the moment, just something to relax her nerves and settle her in for the night.

Rasmot nodded and started to follow her after he picked up the backpack full of his previous gear. He wasn’t sure if he actually needed it, but he wanted to have it on hand. As he adjusted the bag on his back he took a more discerning look at this “goddess” while following her. While part of him couldn’t help but appreciate the woman there was something about her now that seemed different from his first meeting her. It clicked after several moments, she must be extremely drained from the process he put her through … even though that was only 25% of the energy he needed. Enough to spark the crystals to start to charge on their own.

Maybe there was more to this that he wasn’t aware. Her powers could have their own sickness tied into it. Almost like the Verikorous Madness from the old days, where the energy would slowly eat away at the brain of those that wielded it. Or, like the guardians, the title of Goddess was only just that. A title. And instead of having limitless energy she had only so much per every day. A perceivable frown crossed his lips and he stepped off. One push from his feet was all he needed to bound over her and land in a crouch in front of the goddess. He was extremely thankful this planet had lower gravity than he was used to. Moving into a kneel he looked over one shoulder at her.

“…”

She let out a heavy sigh, in any other circumstance she could gotten back in a heartbeat. But as it was, she didn’t have the energy to object.

“…Over this hill you should be able to see its walls.” The goddess pointed forward as the sun bleached the trees in twilight. “Head that way.”

“Hold on tight.” He called back towards he before focusing in front of him. “Let’s fly.”

He pushed down hard on his left leg and vaulted them upwards. The angle was higher than expected but he was able to control the descent as he fell towards the trees. With his right foot he shoved hard against a branch in a much steeper angle as he kept Laine on his back. He kicked off of one branch after another and when he cleared the forest he angled the descent so that they would touch down feet first against the hill. A smirk tugged at his lips as he was suddenly reminded of an old Earth story involving a character named “John Carter”. As soon as they landed on the hill he looked over the scenery at the walls of where she wanted to go.

Instead of asking any further questions he reeled them back while taking a deep breath. As soon as he was a the foot of the hill, he gripped onto her legs firmly and charged towards the peak of the hill. Hitting the very top he crouched down and pushed with all of his might. They both rocketed upwards, clearing the land below as they soared towards the walls. Rasmot grit his teeth as he angled the approach to clear the walls while trying to not come in too hard. He succeeded at the first task. The second was much harder to achieve as he came in extremely hard and smacked into the ground on his feet.

She stood there a moment, silently trying to get her baring back and took in a deep breath before responding.

“… I didn’t ask you to do that.” She turned and made her way towards a set of oversized oak wood doors that had the cuts and burns of age and damage. “…Thank you.”

She pushed open the doors with both hands; it was obsurd how these doors resisted when she wasn’t in her best form and quietly stepped into the cold stone room. Instantly the room illuminated from candles that lines every corner of the room with a purple glow. To some they would consider this place to be primative, but to her it was just theatrical.

Slowly walking through the doorway with a slight limp he glanced around. It was a rather large place, larger than any one person had a right to owning. He was about to say something when her comment brought a small scowl to his face. Rasmot glanced around with his glowing eyes before looking at her. It would probably be a correct assumption to think they were alone in this place and that she had no one else. Which actually presented a thought and a retort to his mind.

“…Yes, we are alone in this place.”  Her lips tightened together before advancing the thought further, “…This place once used to belong to the Demon King.  He was - “ She stopped for a moment and regrouped her thoughts. “He owned this place. He was… A God among Gods, and -”  Once more she paused before forcing herself to speak, “He no longer resides here.”

The goddess slowly raised her head; a painful smile etched on her face.  “But that was so long ago, I had nearly forgotten.” She lied.

She’d never admit it, but she was a sucker for such mannerisms. Often times she was assured in the fact that her behaviour would either get a man to lay in bed with her for just a trussle and leave or that she would send the man packing and out the door without another word.

“I-I,”  She was flabbergasted by his gesture.

Her composure returned to her after a brief moment.  She looked him up and down for a moment. Something wasn’t right.  Maybe where he was from they didn’t exhibit or know about such sexual advances? Maybe he didn’t even know what it was? Was he naive?

Her face turned grave, eyes narrowed down on him.  She couldn’t believe it.  There couldn’t possibly be someone this naive, could there?

She had to test the waters once more. 

The raven leaned herself into him and draped her arm over his shoulder and curled it around the nape of his neck. “I’d be willing to retire anywhere.  The bed, the kitchen table, the floor, the bath. Anywhere sounds fun to me.”

Rather than say a word he gently placed his index finger under her chin and supported it with his middle finger. A smirk had actually played along his lips as he kissed the cheek of the so called “Goddess” with warmth. The flush and fluster of before clued him into what she always desired, while her actions and methods told him what she only got. No wonder she seemed to have a superiority complex most of the time. Most of the men that came her way probably only thought with their hormones in the way.

His lips moved up to kiss at the tip of her ear before he spoke deeply against it. “Now now, not so fast. Good things come to those who wait after all, aye? Now … a bath does sound like a welcome and pleasant thing at this moment. So perhaps we should start there … maybe ease away towards a comfortable bed.” A grin crossed his lips. “However, if you simply can’t contain yourself … well a little fun in the bath never hurt anyone. Aye?”

Just what was going on? The mouse who at first seemed so delusional about her advances had somehow quickly grown a spine?  This was not good at all, she couldn’t possibly let him get the upper hand on her.  She refused to derailed like this.

“A-and what would a mouse like you know about that?!”  She stammered.

The truth was she couldn’t figure out any way to combat him.  It had been so long since someone was humane, for a lack of better words, with her.  Her game had been entirely thrown off, she was so set in the strategy of her ways that her chessboard had been flipped on her.

“Y-you don’t honestly think you can compete with the likes of me, do you?”  She wasn’t even sure what she was saying now.  How could she have been thrown off so easily? It was as if she took one wrong step and came tumbling down the stairs.

“Y-you.” She pressed her lips together, “You might think you’re clever with this little act, but if it came down to it, I’m sure you’d go scampering with your tail between your legs.”

His expression changed into a warm smile. “Met a rather wild woman whom i grew to love and adore who wasn’t of my own race but was just the right thing for someone like me. Oh the things we’ve done and tried~” He shook his head. “Fast forward 2,500 years and i’ve had sex with let’s see … well the same woman only turned into an Android. Long story.” Rasmot paused. “Androids are … mechanical versions of what you would probably call Golems but they look like you or me.” Continuing he was on his fourth finger now. “Had sex with a Nirani … a sort of cat person. That was a rather wild night. Of course continued sex with said android. A few humans here and there, a different cat person but not the same race, some smaller almost gnomish races …” Rasmot grunted and shook his head. “You probably get the picture.”

Her brow furrowed momentarily till a smirk crept up on her face, “Well, look at you~ You must think you’ve got it all figured out and have seen it all.”

The black bird’s hands slowly made contact with his shoulders and proceeded to wind their way into his hair.  She tilted her head and smiled, “But you haven’t felt the touch of a goddess~”

Fuck It

Rasmot smirked and gently pulled her hands away before going back to her ear. “Here’s what i’m going to do … Goddess, i am going to shift into what is comfortable for me. Now what i will need afterwards … is something to eat.” He let out a throaty rumble that sounded like stone grinding on stone. “And i mean actual food. After that, we shall see where the night leads.” Rasmot gave her a very soft kiss on the lips before pulling away.

Rasmot stepped away from the Goddess and put aside the leather jacket and the backpack, stretching slightly. He was thankful the Nano-drones were actually working because this was painful enough WITH their help. Rasmot closed his eyes while kneeling down and a rumbling dragon like growl exited from his throat. Punching one hand into the stone floor he let the changes commence as the first portion began. On his back as he leaned over, two bumps or ridges were pushing their way up under the shirt. It almost seemed like a part of his skin was just raising up. There was a loud bone like snap followed by a series of bone cracks and pops as the tips of two wings not only burst out of his back but cut through the shirt.

Both wings continued to rip out from his back and shirt, extending far back before dropping forwards. Verdant scales glistened in the light as some gel seemed to adhere to the wings. Rasmot growled louder as the tail came next, ripping through the back of his pants and coiling around his legs. Every portion created a sickly popping when they came to be. Rasmot undid his boots quickly and put them aside as his toe nails became claws along with his finger nails. The already sharp canines extended into small sharp fangs, the tips of said fangs poking out from his lips. And lastly came the horns. They broke through at the middle of the skull and arced to the back of his head in a curve. They were bone white and looked extremely hard. With a deep reverberating growl he slowly stood back up and looked at Laine. The gel like substance had quickly and instantly turned to almost water around any portion that was newly formed. Like sweat in a way.

“…” The raven could only stand there for a moment and watch as his tail seemed to sway back and forth.  Her thoughts went blank for a moment, she couldn’t possibly fathom what such a thing would be like.  But she was curious, curious to know.

“…Y-yes. Food.”  She struggled to get back to her senses and stumbled her way into the kitchen where pantries lined the back walls and flowers hung from the windows to dry. She had a certain fondness for flowers, something to bring light to a dark place.

Her hands blindly hovered over on of the shelves and pulled forth a flank of deer’s meat and a few golden apples.  She wasn’t sure what he’d want, so she she them both on the table and scavenged for more. 

“Whatever you typically like. Just because i look like a Drega-Nato does not mean i have to eat like one. Fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, meats. I can tolerate just about anything.” He brushed and “polished” one claw on the shirt he wore before poking the Deer flank. “As so long as it is cooked … and preferably dead.” A shudder passed over his form. “I am not a savage or barbarian.” Giving it another poke and peeling off a portion from the flank he nibbled at it before nodding. “Now this seems familiar~ not exactly cooked like we do from my home … but it’s very very similar.”

She darted from the shadows, one side of the room to the other and gathered a few carrots and leeks and set them down on the table as well. With another phase she seated herself at the table, grabbing an apple for herself and silently eating it as she watched him.

In truth, she wasn’t sure what to make of this now. This was something new to her, but she wouldn’t back down, she had too much pride to simply be scared off by a few talons and snarls.

“…”

Another silent bite she took, she had entirely forgotten how depleted she was of her own energy till just now.  

“…I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had a half-dragon as a guest.” 

Another bite.

A large smile crossed his face as he pulled out a dark bottle and held it to the light with a nod. Good old glorious Mead. He found a couple of glasses and poured her some of the golden Honey Wine before pouring himself a glass and finally sitting. He thought for a moment as he sniffed and nodded at the mead.

“I was not always of two forms … Originally this is just what i used to be.” He gestured over himself. “However … because of my own nature and a altercation well what you witnessed earlier is a part of my “curse” in a sense.” He smirked a little. “However in my younger days … well i did go through a number of clothing, but not of my own desires.” Rasmot smiled softly. “However i don’t have that problem with my normal attire, my normal clothes actually have places to tolerate this form.” He shrugged a little. “Got a little tired of the tailoring bill to be honest.”

She carefully picked the glass up and inconspicuously took a sip. It was sweet. What a relief. She took another sip before setting it down and cutting the portion of venison in front of her.

“… I suppose it’s difficult dealing with such changes.” She spoke before placing a cut of meat in her mouth and silently chewing.

When was the last time someone had actually been in this kitchen with her?

Her attention slowly wandered to the window. It was dark out already, as dark as dark could be.

Had it really been that long…?

Rasmot glanced out the window, his own eyes at least slightly capable of seeing into the darkness beyond. He frowned a little and looked back towards her. The Mead at least seemed to be helping but she still seemed out of her element. Perhaps this was even the first time she even had polite company in this very kitchen. He tapped at his own venison with his fork and then looked back towards her. Now was as good a time as any.

“Not in the slightest.” She muttered as she set the now empty glass down and propped her chin in her hand and closed her eyes.

“It’s difficult to describe… somewhat bittersweet, really.” She began, the low humming of the wind navigating through the trees.

“I prefer not to get into detail, but I was once human myself. I chose to become this. But when I was a human, I was apart of the Demon Hunters of my homeland.”

She slowly looked down at her glass and ran her finger over the lip of it causing a vibrating tone. “They tend to hunt in the dead of night… such cowards.”

Her gears were in full motion trying to figure out this creature. He seemed more complicated than most men - and not just because he was half dragon. But as clever as she was, she couldn’t put a pin on just what it was about him.

“…You’re not making any sense. At first you seemed so ready to cut my head off, yet now you seem entirely open to any advances?”

“…You think that’s hard? Trying being the only God that wasn’t born a God.” She scowled into her drink, “It’s a nightmare when they come knocking…”

She poured the content of the drink into her mouth and let out a content gasp as she offered the glass for another round.

“Besides, I offered my assistance and that still stands. What I will want for payment is still completely on the table.” She smirked slightly, “My advances are just for fun.” The goddess winked before taking back her glass once more, filled to the brim and drank once more.

Her gaze fell to the floor, winding around the grout of the stone that covered the dusty floors.  Why was he being so considerate like this? She wasn’t sure what was the proper way to respond when someone would display pleasantries like this.

“What you wish to discuss is entirely your business. I have no reason to pry.”  She was too blunt again, afraid of being so open to such daunting things as personal as their lives. 

She closed her eyes for a moment, for some strange reason she could feel her chest beating. Was she feeling this uncomfortable from being intimate and personable in a way she was not accustomed to? 

“…You’re my guest, you may proceed however you’d like.” The words seem to slip out of her mouth.  She felt guilty trying to force her way on him now, after the amount of consideration and respect he had offered to her. To something now would just make her feel like a monster.

“U-uh…! It’s located off the side of the house, i-in the courtyard.” She babbled once more.

He arrived at the Courtyard with her in his arms and was for once in slight awe. There were very few times he had seen something like this, let alone one meant for private use. In fact the only time he saw one for private use was from the images of Sangrek ruins, of small lakes built into houses for the Sangrek to let their bodies moisturize and relax in the heat of their planets. Yet this one was dedicated to hot water only, not calm cool water. Rasmot found a place to set Laine down before glancing around. He found some towels off to one side and a place to place his backpack.

Without even letting him finish his question, the goddess had already disreguarded her garb and stacked it on a rock beside her. She turned back around, placing her hands on her hips and laughed.

“For someone who likes to go on and on about their partners, you do pick the strangest things to be modest about.”

The black bird made her way over to and overhanging water spout and turned it on, almost as if it was daily routine and paid her companion no mind in the process. She let the water run over her, cleaning off the imperfections of the day and gathered her azure locks to one of her shoulders and ran her fingers through it before stepping back out and presenting him with it.

“It’s customary to clean yourself off before entering a sulfur bath such as this.”

She hummed a quiet little tune to herself as she stepped over the cold stone and sank herself into the mineral water with a sigh. It had been a long day.

The raven looked up at the open ceiling and watched as the clouds rolled by the silver lining of the moon and let out another sigh.

With a shake of his head, Rasmot turned to his backpack and started pulling off his clothes one piece at a time. He heard her turn on the water spout and tell him it was customary to clean himself off with it. Nodding he continued to undress. What came first were his gauntlets, pulling them free from his hands and arms and placing them with the rest of his original gear. After that were the clothes he had appropriated. First came the shirt as he tugged it off and revealed a literal battle field across his chest. Numerous scars and old wounds were placed upon his torso. From cutting or stab marks to bullet wounds or marks from more exotic tools.

(going to put the rest under a read more since this’ll probably get NSFW)

She felt it would be appropriate to seat herself next to him and wadded her way over. “I told you already, what you wish to share is your business.”

The raven sat back against the wall of the spring and stole a glance at him as a droplet of water rolled off the curl of his bangs. She said nothing as she focused her attention on the water and cupped her hands around the reflection of the moon, over and over, waiting to hear what he might say.

“You’ve not been barbaric … just particularly haughty and slightly crass. But i don’t blame you for that.” He looked down to her for a moment. “You have a long and personal story of your own. And whether you wish to share it or not is of your own wishes and time.”

Rasmot closed his eyes and let himself relax before continuing. “A long time ago … i was just a boy, it really started when my village, the village of my people was attacked. On my world, there are five races … the Makori … people like yourself who are human, the Elvaran which are a tall slender people with longer and tipped ears well versed in the old ways and magic, the Drogun who are shorter than the rest but are stout and great explorers, the Gorokan who are a brutish green skin people with their own sub cultures that live in the desert sands … they’re closer to barbaric than you are. And lastly there is my people, the Kekero. What many would probably call “Demi-Human”.” Rasmot sighed. “That history lesson aside, my people were attacked by Makori slavers, who wanted nothing more than to enslave younger people of my tribe, and kill anyone else.”

He looked up to the moon, staring at it with his glowing eyes. “I of course told you that i managed to escape my slavery … i had become a young man by that time and i eventually met companions who i would grow to call my closest friends. And eventually started on a quest on my world, called Dracicanna.” Rasmot lowered his head down. “We learned of a certain group in the Makori called the Iron Fists … trying to claim rule over all of the kingdoms on our planet. We went out to stop them, forming our own combined army with some help. Eventually though … we figured out the Iron Fists were just puppets to a greater evil.”

“The demonic Zhulkhan … lead by Shakrah and the fallen Guardian … Yuka.” Rasmot scowled. “It was a long battle … a battle fought against abominations of flesh, necromantic creations, and machinations beyond our wildest imaginings. But we succeeded.” He shook his head and sighed. “As a reward for our deeds, myself and my closest companions were taken to the planet of Drakha, where the guardians … gods in a way, resided and watched over our world. We were to become like them, guardians of Dracicanna.” Closing his eyes, Rasmot frowned. “Half way through the process i found out how little they “guarded” our world. About how laid back they were … how they could have prevented the Zhulkhan invasion all together. I called them out on it and challenged them to battle.” He opened his eyes and sighed. “We all lost of course. My friends sided with me against the guardians and as punishment we were stripped of any godly power we were given … aside from long life, and put into a stasis prison, left to orbit our planet until we were “needed” for their plans.”

“…This may come off as harsh, but it has to be said”  She paused, making sure her words were correct before speaking. “If the Gods of your world are anything like us, then, well - I believe they agree that the fate of “humanity” is in their own hands.”  She turned away slightly, listening to the sound of the water trickling off the edge of the rock wall that lined the pool.

“As power as people believe Gods to be, there are some things we simply aren’t meant to meddle with, the fate of others being the grandest of them. A life or two - certainly doesn’t fray the strands of fate, but too many can snap the chord.”

She unlaced her fingers and proceeded to run her fingers through her hair over and over as if to calm her nerves. “I might not be a very good God, but we have our own set of orders and rules and things we have to oversee, which tends to leave humanity on a lesser tier.”

The black bird took another breath, “I’m not trying to belittle your struggles, certainly the life you lead isn’t one without strife, but…”  

She fell silent for a moment.

“We could sit here and argue for days about the semantics and politics and even pseudo policies of what is right or wrong.” Rasmot closed his eyes. “Right now, i could give less of a shit about all of that. I’ve tried to block that entire mess from my mind. And being put into a dreamless sleep for 2500 years … among other things has left bitter resentment in my mouth.” Opening his eyes he frowned. “So i do apologize if i seem to be harsh when it comes to the “gods” of my world … but i have had to deal with them, and from what i can see … no god is as perfect as they can lead themselves on to be. There are cracks, there are flaws, and like everything in the universe they have strengths and weaknesses.”

All of her courage gathered to look up from the tides of the wadding water and to look at him. It was still strange to be face to face in such a way with a half-dragon of all things.

Her hand carefully touched the side of his face and pushed back a piece of hair which was matted to the side of his face from the water and attempted to grin.

Before he could even fall towards her and possibly smack into her body he quickly smacked his hands into the wall behind her. “Mmmnnnnggh …” Rasmot straightened out after a moment and exhaled. “Sorry … probably one of the first times i’ve done that … and taking anything away takes a bit of energy and concentration.”

“I-I’m sorry…! Does that hurt too much? I shouldn’t have -”

She stopped herself short, realizing her apologies wouldn’t help and carefully sat him down on the edge of the pool, using her hands to hold him in place by the shoulders.

“…Are you alright? Do you want to get out? Do you want to get some rest? I’ve been presumptuous…”

Her head lowered. No matter which way you looked at it, she was a terrible god, she was a terrible host, she was a terrible woman.

The raven carefully leaning in, placing one of her hands on his leg for support and drew her face close to his once more, so close that first their noses touched and then their lips. But it didn’t stop the pounding in her chest, on the contrary it made her want to feel her heart beat faster.

She took her time to slowly smooth her lips over the curves of his lips and to draw in his own breath. The feeling of their lips touching was as soft as bed made of flowers and made the air on the back of her neck stand.

The black bird pulled back slightly for a moment, lips barely grazing over one another as she slipped in a small breath and rejoined their lips together once more.

How long had it been since she last had this feeling? How bittersweet it was to experience it once more.

“…It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?” She frowned slightly, watching the way the light of the moon reflected on the water and got caught in his hair and on his wings.

Her hand subconsciously reached up once more and carefully trailed her fingertips gingerly along the side of his neck before gliding over the line of his collar bone.

Something about the light of the moon this night had her transfixed, bathing everything in a silver glow. She couldn’t help but wander her hands across him.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore … because you’ve stopped the pain.” He whispered deeply against her ear. “The warmth of your touch, the longing of your embrace … the true side of you that yearns to love. It makes me feel at peace.” Rasmot smiled and turned to look into her eyes. “How far you wish to go, now lies with you … how far do you wish to take this … and how much do you yearn for this embrace?”

She could feel her legs nearly taking on a liquid for from the trembling of them, it was enough to make the water that nestled around her hips ripple.

With a moment of hesitation the raven carefully sat herself in his lap, one leg on either side of him and gently tangled her fingers up in the nap of hair at his neck before pressing her lips closer to his. The feeling of their hearts, several of them, she now noticed, beat rapidly as pulled herself closer to him.

The only sound she could hear was the trees above them, blowing against the night breeze, the sound of water every once in a while shifting around them and the small gaps of air being drawn between their lip lock.

The world felt at peace for the first time in a long time till the goddess reluctantly pulled away for what she hoped was only a brief moment.

"I-it's not just... my choice..." she took a deep breath, attempting to recollect herself, "Y-you also have a choice with how far... you want to go."