Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga) (18 page)

     "You feel good, Tah-li," Arizira whispered against her lips. Her fingers left the inside of her blouse and moved back up to splay across the front of her throat. The touch was so very different from the way Lao'dahn had touched her. When his hand had been at her throat, he had crushed the air from her lungs and left a bruise on her skin. Arizira's touch, though full of passion, was not applied in anger or frustration. Talliea felt her hips moving of their own accord and every time they came into contact with the body above her own, a pleasurable electricity shot through her abdomen and between her thighs. She wrapped her hands around Arizira's shoulders and nudged her nose with her own.

     "Touch me," she begged. Arizira's tongue left her mouth again and, as before, lightly traced over her top lip. Before Talliea could complain about the limited contact, lips were softly and fleetingly caressing her own in a shy and hesitant kiss. She moaned at the embrace and opened her mouth. Unlike kissing Markahn, Talliea's kiss with Arizira was not awkward. Each moved their mouth in rhythm with the other. When Arizira pulled away, Talliea opened her eyes and looked up with heavy lids. Her lips tingled and her breathing was interrupted by the pounding of her heart.

     The kiss had not been long enough for her and she greatly wished to feel Arizira's tongue in her mouth. She watched Arizira move her hand from her neck and slowly trail it down over her chest and through the valley of her breasts. For a reason not known to her, her body became tight with some unknown anticipation and she felt her legs spread apart without her consent. She was breathing so heavily and so raggedly she could barely stay awake. Her eyes were lidded and everything that made her who she was felt alive and on edge.

     The sensations were intense.

     She moved her right hand from Arizira's shoulder and tangled it in her silky smooth hair. Arizira leaned closer to her again and kissed her. Unlike their previous kiss, it was not chaste or short. The two of them allowed their lips to meet over and over again, and when Talliea felt Arizira's warm and wet tongue gently enter her mouth, she tightened her hold on the hair in her hand and moaned loudly. Her own tongue glided across the velvety softness and sucked at it. The sensation was magical to Talliea. She had never experienced anything like it. "I want you, too," she whispered when the two of them parted.

     Arizira looked at her. Her eyes were glowing in the darkness around them, but Talliea could make out the blue beneath. It was not the light hue she was accustomed to. Instead, it was dark and almost a violet in color. Without saying another word, Arizira kissed her chin and braced herself on her left arm, which was resting slightly above Talliea's head. Talliea looked down the length of her body when she felt Arizira's hand begin to move again. Fingers easily undid the remaining buttons of her shirt before lowering to the waistband of her skirt. They smoothed over her stomach and dipped into her navel before going farther down. A slight panic overcame her as she remembered the last time someone had touched her in a similar way, but it was quickly overcome with lust when she glanced back up into Arizira's eyes.

     The other woman's fingers slowly untied the strings at her waist and, before she could question what happened next, slipped inside her skirt. They moved lower and the throbbing between her legs was nearly unbearable. She could feel the wetness from before collecting on her thighs and she felt as if she was about to come undone. Arizira's fingers moved still lower and hovered just above the source of her pleasurable throbbing.

     "Ari..." she moaned before waking up suddenly and blinking into the darkness around her.

     Sitting up, Talliea licked her dry lips and struggled to get her breathing under control. She ran a hand through her hair and looked around at her surroundings. She was alone. Arizira was nowhere to be seen and the night still hung heavily to the sky above. The moon was high and its light shone directly outside her temporary shelter. Talliea blinked in an attempt to clear the vivid images of her dream from her mind. Things had felt so real. Her body was still humming and throbbing and vibrating, and the wetness from her dream, she discovered, was actually present in her wakeful state.

     She squeezed her thighs together and tried to quell the persistent pulsating she felt between them. Her entire body could still feel Arizira's touch and her lips ached to taste the other woman's again. Throwing her blanket away from her, Talliea became aware of how warm she was. The longer she was awake, the more her reality came back to her.

     She had
not
kissed Arizira, nor had the woman in question ever touched her like Talliea had experienced in her dream. Her mind had conjured the visions while she slept and, somehow, her body had reacted as if it had been real. Struggling to understand what the dream meant, she crawled away from her bedding and to the mouth of the rock formation.

     Deep night was all about her. The area that the moon's light covered was bright and eerily beautiful. The plants around her and the rocks above seemed to reflect that light and cast the surrounding forest in an ethereal glow. Talliea crawled out of the overhang and let the cool night time air connect with her overheated body. Sitting against the rocks just outside the thermal spring, she wrapped her arms about herself and looked around.

     What had awakened her, she wondered? No sounds came to her ears and nothing of interest made themselves noticeable to her eyes. She could not understand why she had suddenly awoke. The hush around her was nearly deafening but, also, was a welcome difference to what she was accustomed. Movement abruptly caught her attention to the east and she whipped her head around to the right.

     Squinting against the darkness, Talliea tried to make out what had caught her attention. A slight break in the clouds covering the moon awarded her a fresh stream of light and the object of her curiosity came into view. Far to the east, sitting upon a slightly raised hill, was a large white wolf. Two intense blue eyes stared back at her and took in her activities. The wolf did not move or show any indication that it planned to attack her. Talliea held her breath as she watched the wolf watch her. She was afraid to make any sudden movements and so remained completely still and as she was. The wolf looked up at the moon and then back down at her. Standing up, it tossed its head back and seemed to shake off its own curiosity of her. Talliea watched it turn around and head in a direction that led it away from her camp.

     She stayed in her position a moment longer and tried to convince herself that any and all chance of danger had passed. When she was satisfied that the wolf was not going to reappear, she crawled back into the shallow dip in the rock and settled atop her blanket. Her mind was immediately overcome with images of Arizira and what she had experienced with her in her dream. Smiling, she let the images overcome her before falling back into a deep sleep.

             
                                                        *  *  *  *  *  *

     The following morning, Talliea enjoyed a walk through the forest. She picked berries that looked similar to some Arizira left and searched for edible nuts and plants. The morning was cool, but not unenjoyable. The blanket Arizira made for her was wrapped over her shoulders and offered her extra warmth. She was not sure if the plants and berries she was picking were harmful or helpful, but she had wanted to do something other than sit alone.

   Her dream from the night before had given her mind much to think on. Never before had another invaded her thoughts as Arizira had. The images from her dream, and the vivid way her body had flared to life, seemed to hang upon every thought Talliea had. Despite herself, she could not seem to shake them.

  In her heart, she knew she did not wish to do so. Thinking of Arizira, dreaming of her, somehow made her feel secure and safe. She could not put a name to her feelings, nor a reason for her dream, but she knew Arizira made her feel good. For now, that was enough.

   The sun was beginning to warm the world the longer Talliea walked. She made certain she only traveled to places that had visible landmarks she knew. The glade. The hot spring. Her current dwelling. It was nice to be the master of her own time, to be free to walk and wander and think and explore. There were no menial chores to complete, no disapproving looks or overeager hands that wished to touch her body.

  Later after her walk, Talliea ate a bit of the rabbit meat Arizira had dried along with a few berries she had picked and deemed edible. It was not the most satisfying meal she'd ever partaken of, but it was some bit of nourishment. Despite her lack of more filling food, Talliea was happy for the first time in as long as she could remember. This was what freedom felt like.

                                                                      * * * * * *

     After eating, Talliea bathed in the hot spring and returned to her camp before nightfall. She missed Arizira and often found her thoughts wondering about her companion. Had she made it to her tribe or was she still traveling? How soon would she return? Was she thinking of Talliea as Talliea was thinking of her?

Sleep came not long after the moon took the sky. Wrapped up in her blanket, Talliea watched the dying flames of her fire where it sat just outside the overhang of rock she was under. Her first day on her own had come and gone just as her second was now soon to become a memory. A wolf howled somewhere nearby, but Talliea did not feel fear. As with the white wolf she'd seen the night before, the knowledge of such a creature close by brought about a sense of security, as though the great animal were in some way her protector.

The flames of the fire began to diminish, their dancing orange hues becoming smoldering  dark embers. Talliea's eyes began to droop. The wolf howled again, this time sounding closer, and then sleep overcame the Esu woman.

Thoughts and visions of Arizira followed.

             
                                                        *  *  *  *  *  *

     "You wish to embark upon the Spirit Quest at this time?"

     Arizira silently nodded to herself and looked back up at Talyn. The other Arniran was sitting before her in a chair which had been carved from the tree it was a part of. Its high back and deep seat gave Talyn the appearance she desired: that of a leader. Leaves and vines grew around the base of the chair while ivy and various flowers crawled across the back.

     Arizira, kneeling before her
Nai'iris
, shook her head with more determination and replied, "Yes,
Nai'iris
. My thoughts have been very chaotic and at times have seemed to be against my own will. I desire to learn more of myself and calm the upset that my spirit has recently come upon."

     Talyn looked down at her with an arched brow. Feathers were woven into her silver hair and her inquisitive eyes were large and held much wisdom and age. A headband of a deep green shade covered her forehead and a single opalescent gem sat in the center. "You feel that now is such a time for this quest? With the approaching winter and the threat of the Esu, I am reluctant to have any of our sisters out in the forest without the strength of the tribe behind her."

     Arizira bowed her head in acceptance of the wisdom spoken. Talyn's words were not without her own consideration. She knew the threat and the danger that would be present in requesting such a personal endeavor. Winters in the north were harsh, but Arizira had lived through her share and she was not without her own skill in the Wilds of her country. Embarking on a Spirit Quest would allow her the time she needed to be with Talliea. She would be able to be alone and on her own for several weeks without the tribe worrying about her or her whereabouts. All of her fellow sisters understood the necessity of such a quest and none would question her desire to commence any such venture.

     She would be able to teach Talliea what the other woman wished to learn. Time would not weigh on either of their minds. They would both be free. Their respective peoples would have no reason to search for either of them, though she knew said search would be for very different reasons for each party. Though her mind begged her to remain cautious and to think things through, her heart compelled her to remain close to Talliea. It desired the Esu woman even knowing pain and heartache could await it. Something about Talliea had captured her from the very first minute she had spied her in the Esu camp. That nagging feeling had led Arizira to learn the Esulan words, befriend a woman who belonged to her people's fabled enemy, risk herself and the integrity of her calling, and agree to teach Talliea her skills for protection.

     Despite everything her sense of duty begged her to consider, her heart would hear none of it and pleaded for her attention. Feelings she should not have for Talliea weighed heavily on her. She could not understand how she could feel so strongly so soon. She honestly barely knew Talliea. Somehow, even holding that information, Arizira felt that she
did
know the other woman. She felt it and believed it deep inside of herself.

     The feelings she kept for Talliea grew with each passing day. They had continued to grow since the two women first met. Arizira had never felt something so strong and all consuming. It devoured her from the inside out but, instead of feeling less, she felt more. She felt greater than she was, stronger. She would not dare to admit it to herself, not yet, but Arizira felt that she was slowly beginning to fall in love with Talliea. The thought unnerved her. She could not fathom how she could possibly love someone she had known for so short a time. The idea was nonsense. Love was an emotion that had to be nurtured. It had to grow and thrive. It could not just exist without any foundation.