Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga) (45 page)

     "Yes,
failira
?"

     "I think I have fallen in love with you."

     Arizira smiled and lifted her head to look into Talliea's eyes. Her own were radiating a deep luminous glow. She bent her head down to place a delicate kiss on Talliea's full lips. "I think I have fallen in love with you, too, Tah-li."

     Smiles spread across both their faces. The admissions, the confessions, having finally met the sound of life, blossomed between them. "Are you okay?" Arizira asked as she peered into Talliea's face and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.

     "I am perfect," Talliea replied, her voice stronger. "It was perfect."

     Arizira smiled again as the sound of the storm outside quickly came to her ears. There was so much she still wished to say to Talliea, so much she desired to speak of, but her body was tired and she desired to rest.

     "I love you, Ari-sera," Talliea said feeling the need to speak the words again. Arizira studied her face for a time, her eyes tracing over exotic features. "And I love you," she said. "I believe I have found my
Doira'Liim
."

     Talliea did not question Arizira's statement. Though the
Doira'Liim
was a belief not of her people, she somehow believed Arizira spoke truly. What they had just shared could not be replicated. It was meant only for them and them alone.

     Arizira was the other half to herself just as she was the other half of Arizira. Together, they were one. They were greater than who they had each been alone. Their connection was unique and one of a kind. As long as she was with Arizira, Talliea knew she could overcome anything. She felt a strength inside of herself that she could not explain.

     Arizira wrapped the wolf hide blanket around their tired and sweaty bodies. She pressed herself against Talliea's side and laid her head on her shoulder. Talliea sighed contentedly and took Arizira into her arms. She held her small and slight frame with appreciative and devout care.

     Their hearts continued to beat as one as they each drifted off to sleep. They were together. Nothing else mattered.

                                                        Chapter 30: The First Volley

     Talliea stretched in her sleep and rolled over onto her side. She was vaguely aware of a soreness deep inside her muscles, but it seemed almost welcome after her earlier activities. Her hand reached out, needing to feel the heat of Arizira's body, but landed on the top of her wolf hide blanket.

     She opened her eyes, her deep sleep causing the images she saw to be blurred, and immediately found who she was looking for. Arizira was sitting across from her, next to the fire, and her attention was being held by the world outside their cave as she stared intently at the night sky. Her small, lithe, and beautiful body was covered only by her cloak and her hair, normally braided or otherwise adorned, was falling down her back in a messy heap.

     Talliea lay silently for a time. Her eyes studied every movement Arizira's body made. She smiled to herself when she remembered that slender body moving on top of her own just a few hours earlier. Arizira's flesh had been soft and warm and her muscles had strained as she expressed her emotions with her body.

     It had been beautiful. Already Talliea desired to experience everything a second time. She could not imagine never getting to see Arizira that way again. The thought that they could one day not express themselves so was lost to her. She knew they were connected now, far more so than they ever had been. They had bonded. Emotionally. Spiritually. Physically.

     Talliea smiled again. She had always known the world had more to offer. As a child the belief that all there was only duty, obedience, and strict order had saddened her and brought a sense of heaviness to her spirit. She had wanted to see the world. She had wanted to experience the things spoken of in songs. If such things did not exist, why were they forever immortalized in such a profound way?

     When her people had come to the Northlands and she had seen towering trees and monolithic rock structures, she had known that there was beauty to be found. That belief had only been verified again when Arizira had revealed herself in the glade near her people's camp. Though at the time the two of them could not communicate, Talliea had felt that Arizira heard her as well as saw her. Everything that had happened afterward had been a wild rush of events, both good and bad, that had led her to where she currently was.

     Feeling loved and adored and cherished and physically satisfied. She could think of nothing else that would ever make her feel so complete. A child possibly would give her an even greater appreciation of life...

     She stopped suddenly as another thought entered her mind. A child? Could
they
have conceived a life? The actual how of Arnira mating and birth were still not certain for Talliea. Arizira spoke of Arniran conception as if it were like any other. She had told Talliea that Aitla blessed them with child. Did that blessing also extend to a love between a day walker and a child of night? Was such a thing possible? Talliea did not feel pregnant but then again, she had no other experience to compare such a thing. Was it possible Arizira was with child?

     They had been connected physically. Arizira had been inside her. They had shared something powerful and strong and beautiful. Was it so far out of the realm of possibilities that their wondrous and beautiful moment together could bring about a life?

     Talliea inhaled and attempted to slow the pace of her crazed thoughts. She was getting ahead of herself. If one of them was with child, then they would both decide on their course of action. They would do what was best. A child, a whole new life with Arizira, was not something Talliea was opposed to. Her eyes focused once again upon Arizira's silhouette. She could tell that her love was lost to her own thoughts. Her glowing eyes were wide with some unknown concept and Talliea felt a sense of happiness by just watching her.

     It had felt good to finally confess her love. Having felt such an overwhelming desire to say the three simple words for so long had left Talliea feeling spent when she'd finally felt comfortable enough to utter them. Hearing Arizira's verbal admission had only made their entire moment together all the more special. Talliea sat up and wrapped her blanket around her nude body. Walking over to Arizira, she settled in behind her and covered both of their forms with the soft wolf hide.

     Her legs spread out on either side of Arizira's hips and her arms wound their way around a slim waist. Arizira sighed happily and pressed her back against Talliea's front. "Hi," Talliea whispered, kissing Arizira's ear.

     "
Failira
," Arizira responded.  The small word made Talliea's heart happy. She placed several small, light kisses along Arizira's shoulder before turning her head and resting her chin next to her neck. "Why are you awake?" she asked softly.

     Arizira, eyes having closed at the sensations Talliea's lips evoked, inhaled deeply before responding. "My sight misses the moon," she said. Talliea pulled back slightly and stared at her love. It had never occurred to her that Arizira missed something as simple as the moon. Understanding the Arniran woman as she did now, she was appalled that such a thought had been so lost to her.

     Of course Arizira missed the moon. The moon was her people's physical embodiment of their goddess. The Arnira were nocturnal and enjoyed the night and the stars and all that was celestial. When Arizira had started sleeping during the night so that they could travel during the day, Talliea had never thought overlong on the matter. She had been too upset over where her life was leading her and on Lao'dahn's abuse.

     Now, however, she understood the sacrifice Arizira had made to be able to walk with her as she did. The night was sacred to the Arnira, just as the moon was the light of Aitla upon the world. Feeling guilty, Talliea replied in a small voice. "I am sorry." Arizira turned in her arms so that she could see her face better. Bright and shimmering eyes stared into her own. "Please do not be. I would gladly sacrifice the sight of the Mother Moon if it meant I could look upon your face every minute of my life."

     Unsure how to respond, Talliea leaned her forehead against Arizira's and let a silence fall around them. She could feel the heat from their fire warming her tired and achy body, as well as hear the frequent howls of the winter wind. Outside, a steady snow fell and quietly cushioned the forest floor. With the moon being so high in the sky, Talliea was able to see much of the trees and surrounding fauna so near to the cave.

     "We can spend our time in the shadow of night. We have not the need to travel as once we did,” she whispered.

     Arizira took in the words but remained silent. As much as she had enjoyed getting to know Talliea and show her the many marvels of the forest, she had not known how much being away from the moon and stars would affect her. Her people held elaborate ceremonies many nights of any given month, and being away from such hallowed rituals had left her feeling slightly unbalanced. Traveling during the day, with the sun constantly in her eyes, had proven to be draining.

     Her forest did not look the same with the light of the sun as it did with the rays of the moon. The only thing that had made the whole adjustment easier to bear was Talliea. With her, Arizira had not noticed the desires of her own heart as much. Tonight, however, as she had lain in her lover's arms, she had been keenly aware of the moon beaming down outside. Like a call, it had pulled her from her sleep and asked her to venerate it. So, she had.

     "Your eyes do not allow you to walk with certain steps during the moon's reign, Tah-li."

     "You could be my guide. On nights such as this, when the moon is high and full, you could show me more of the forest as you see it," Talliea pushed. Sighing, a small smile touching her lips, Arizira placed her hands on top of the ones around her middle and nodded. "If that is your wish."

     "It is."

     Silence settled around them once more. Insects chirped a melody that seemed to set the tempo for which the rest of the forest sang. Owls hooted far away in the distance while the sound of foxes scurrying into underbrush caught Arizira's keen attention.

     Talliea sat with Arizira, her chest pressed so closely to the smaller woman's back that she could feel the beat of her heart, and sighed. She was so at peace. Words could never appropriately express the sense of contentment she felt. Being able to kiss and touch Arizira was now her greatest pleasure. It was as if the Arniran woman's body had become an extension of her own. She was now able to run her hands and fingers over Arizira's skin however she liked as often as she liked. Her actions were not met with any sort of resistance. Her caresses were welcome.

     Sitting with Arizira in such a peaceful way, Talliea could think of nothing else her heart desired. She moved her left hand from Arizira's tight stomach and placed it upon her upper thigh. With her cheek resting against a fair shoulder, she traced senseless patterns across Arizira's leg. Several more minutes passed as each woman enjoyed the night and the company of one another.

     "Ari-sera?" A pause. "Hmm?"

     "When we were joined physically, your life was as if a story behind my eyes. I saw you as a child, as a young woman. Your experiences were my experiences."

     Arizira nodded, her fingers linking with Talliea's hand on her thigh. "I know of what you speak," she said softly. "The experience was new for me, too."

     Talliea squeezed Arizira's fingers and kissed her shoulder again. She knew there was nothing much either one of them could say to explain how such a phenomenon had occurred. It was something special that they had shared, something that did not require an explanation or a name at present.

     Still, there was something Talliea had witnessed, something that had not been made clear to her. "I witnessed your first kiss," she said. Her voice was all but steady except for the small quiver toward the end that hinted at a baseless jealousy.

     Arizira nodded but did not comment any farther. She knew Talliea had more to say. "She was pretty, Ari." Again, Arizira only nodded and snuggled closer to her love. After a moment, the nature of their current conversation became evident. "Who was she? The woman with eyes the color of summer grass?"

     Bringing Talliea's hand to her lips, Arizira placed a tender and reverent kiss amongst her knuckles. She thought back to the time in question and a melancholy smile graced her mouth. She remembered times when she had been young and had believed the yearnings of her body dictated the love in her heart. How wrong she had been.

     Her youthful exuberance had brought pain to another. Pain she had not intended, yet had brought into being nonetheless. After a quiet moment of thought, she responded to Talliea's question. "Her name is Bela'luin. She was marked as older than I by a few winters. I thought she was graceful and elegant. We studied our skills and our lore together and I grew fond of her as she did of me."

     "What happened, love?" Talliea asked softly. Another pause, a breath of silent contemplation.

     "Her heart asked more of me than I was able to offer. Youth often disguises physical lust for emotional love. I saw this. She did not. We separated our paths and maintained our respect. She dedicated herself to Aitla and to the protection of the tribe and I..." Her words trailed off. A smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth.