Rise (War Witch Book 1) (49 page)

Turning red, Ramora stared at the ground.

"You okay?" Leto asked, picking up on the shift in her mood.

Ramora made the sign for her Avatar, which had Leto looking at her more closely, the opposite of what she'd wanted. Damn Rabbit. It bounced around laughing at her, tweeting on about threesomes.

"It's funny how easy it is to forget that you’re a mage," the Blessed of Grannax said. "What kind of Avatar do you have, if I may ask?"

Ramora told him, still staring at the ground as she tried to find some way to get the spirit to stop singing about group sex.

Leto snapped his head up, staring ahead. "Oh. A Rabbit. I see. Is it connected with Altimar in any way?"

Nodding furiously, Ramora begged her Avatar to stop painting images in her mind of her companion, naked, under her, please!

"I think I understand," Leto said. "So, it's always, um, how do I say this?"

Horny
, Ramora signed.

"That's one way," he muttered.

Embarrassed beyond words at the turn their casual conversation had taken, Ramora wondered if he would be offended if she let go of his arm, not that she wanted to, he smelled really nice, and wow, he felt good against her, and Gods!

Her Rabbit snickered at her and showed mercy, falling silent.

"So, what do you want for dinner?" Leto asked, trying to change the topic as casually as possible.

Ramora signed pork before she thought about it.

The rest of the walk to the inn was rather awkward.

UPON THEIR RETURN
to the inn, the two met up with Chara and Esteban, both of them trying very hard to look casual to the couple. Thankfully, they seemed distracted, and didn't appear to notice the awkwardness between the two Blessed.

As they waited for dinner, Ramora realized Chara was wearing new clothes, and asked about them. Esteban told the tale of how she'd obtained them, much to the warrior’s dismay. Even worse was the color combination, and how they now looked as if they were dressing alike.

Leto made a comment about how they kind of seemed like sisters, got a strange look on his face, and didn't try to speak again for the rest of the evening. For that matter, neither did Esteban. Ramora and Chara were too busy arguing to notice, which both men were thankful for, having had the same thought.

Chara made a comment about not knowing Ramora was going for a brand, when Esteban took her by the hand and hurried her upstairs. Ramora stared, wondering what had gotten into the Werecat, but then realized she was alone with Leto, as her Rabbit started humming again. Excusing herself, she fled to her room.

The Blessed of Grannax sat for a while, wondering why he'd chosen that day to wear tight pants.

 Falling across her bed, Ramora buried her face in a pillow and silently screamed. She was acting stupid, she knew it, and despite that, was still doing it. Sulking a little, she comforted herself by admitting that the High World had made a lot more sense. Everything in the Middle World seemed to come with messy entanglements and attachments.

Sighing to herself, she admitted that wasn't really the case. She was just uncertain how to act. With the Ascended, it was simple. Mortal though she'd been, everyone had known Ramor was grooming her to join their ranks, and as such, the usual rules forbidding intimacy had been lifted. She'd grown use to the casual manner the demigods approached things like sex.

That was there, though, not here. In the Middle World, things were different. You didn't just casually have sex with whoever struck your fancy at the moment. Mortal emotions made things complicated, love tended to happen, and how the Ascended treated that was a vastly different thing than how mortals viewed it.

She remembered how easily she'd fallen in love the first time. Only sixteen, she'd been utterly taken with one of Ramor's Ascended, a man named Garro. Not realizing the depth of the young girl's affection, Garro had bedded her. It was only after, when she'd seen him casually flirting with another Ascended that he'd come to see how she felt, and stricken that he'd hurt her, had tried to explain the different way Ascended viewed things, making a complete mess of it.

Collette had found her crying in her room and comforted her, telling her that things like love were emotions that the demigods experienced at much higher levels. They could be in love with many different people at once, while the mortal heart could usually only handle one at a time. When pressed by her young charge, the Blessed had admitted that she'd been in love once, with another Blessed, but had lost him in a battle.

With a kind smile, the fierce warrior had told the heartbroken girl that the heart heals itself, slowly, over time. The Blessed had promised that when she was older, she would understand, asking only that she not hate Garro. He hadn't meant to hurt her, and did cherish her.

Later, she'd found the Ascended as he was being chastised by Ramor for doing something so foolish as forgetting his daughter was only human. Seeing the grief the demigod felt, she'd come to understand that the people she'd grown up around experienced everything more powerfully. Stilling her aching heart, she'd entered and given Garro a hug, letting him know it was okay. His anger stilled by this, Ramor had forgiven his son as well, and taken great pains after that to educate the girl on her people, having forgotten to do so before.

Even now, she found, she still had trouble with it. Part of her understood how the Ascended viewed things, and still longed for Chara's embrace, even knowing she couldn't have it, for it would hurt Esteban. For her, it was a simple matter of sharing, both of them loving her fully, but that was her upbringing, not the way things worked on the mortal world.

There was the other part of herself as well, that had grown too accustomed to casual encounters that wanted to go to Leto. He would likely not understand, though, and might be hurt by it when he learned that while she found him attractive, and cared for him, she wasn't in love with him, and probably never would be.

Frustrated by her dueling natures, Ramora buried her face in the pillow again. Why couldn't mortals just have fun and not worry about it all so much? Then she remembered she was a mortal, and how much Chara's rejection of her had hurt. That was probably why, when she thought of it.

Stupid humanity
, she pouted. At least Ogres had it right. Their natural tendency towards open relationships made everything so much less messy. She kind of wished she'd been born an Ogre. Or an Elf. They had fewer social restrictions on that sort of thing.

That just made her think of Izra again, and she felt herself flush with heat.

Stupid Rabbit.

It twittered about, sorry for getting her worked up. Cuddling it close to her heart, she smiled, telling it to never mind all that. She'd known she would encounter many difficulties readjusting to mortal life. This was just one of them.

As the night grew late, her Avatar sang to her, and more agitated than she knew what to do with, Ramora tended herself.

Across town, Izra sat on the edge of her bed, fingers twisting the sheets as she clutched at them, body straining as nimble blue fingers teased over her breasts. Tanna may be blind, but she certainly knew what to do with her tongue.

Gasping and moaning, the Deep Elf felt her entire body light up with pleasure as the Troll ran her hands back down Izra’s body, touch so feather light it was almost ghostly, making her skin goosebump. Grinning at the whimpers of delight her lover let slip, Tanna eased her closer to release, taking her time, knowing from their past encounters what the Elf desired.

With a sudden shudder, Izra clutched for the Troll, hanging on to her as her body pulsed, dragging cries from her throat as Tanna drew it out, bringing the Elf to the very verge of begging her to stop before she exploded. She never had, and resisted the urge now, letting the other woman drive her to the point the room swam and she wasn't sure which was up, even when she collapsed back on the bed, panting.

"Yeah," Izra gasped. "Okay. I'm done."

"Are you certain?" Tanna asked, smiling slightly as she rested her chin on the Elf's stomach, white-coated eyes seeing nothing, but her inner eye watching the woman's aura swirl with pink, purple, and fuchsia.

"I can't feel my toes," Izra whimpered.

Chuckling, Tanna stood, stretching her eight foot frame. She allowed the cool night breeze from the open window to kiss her body, before sitting on the bed, leaning back against the headboard. Across the foot, Izra smiled at the ceiling, though she couldn't see it very well, everything in a pleasant haze.

"You're still better than me," the Elf finally sighed.

Tanna grinned. "Only from your perspective, my sweet. I find your touch most enthralling."

Giggling, Izra flopped over on her side, and after a few tries, managed to crawl up the bed to collapse against the Troll. "Then why can you move afterward, but I can't?"

"My people are built to be sturdy," Tanna teased, kissing her on the head. "The children of Hepheron have great stamina, while the children of Isel, great dexterity."

"I was wondering what you were getting out of this," the dark-skinned Elf snickered. "You like my agility."

"Among other things," the Troll admitted, sliding down to gather her lover closer.

"Like?" Izra encouraged, enjoying hearing people compliment her.

Tanna ran a hand over her face. "This doesn't bother you."

The Elf snorted. "Why would it?"

"I wear the blindfold for a reason," she reminded.

"Yeah, cause humans are stupid," Izra told her, toying with a nipple so dark blue it was almost black.

Tanna smiled softly. "Not all. Our sister, Ramora, for example. I saw no pity for me in her aura, only faith in me as a Blessed."

"Plus, she's really hot," Izra snickered. "But, you already knew that."

"I did," the Troll admitted. "Her aura is clean, white and gold, brilliant to behold. I've never seen its like. I would enjoy watching it swirl with desire, passion, and release."

Leaning up to kiss her, Izra whispered, "That's why I love you so, bluebell. You have no concept of jealousy."

"Of course I do," Tanna said softly. "I see it all the time in others. I've just never felt it myself. A wasteful emotion. It does nothing but lure Corruption."

"I love the way you talk," Izra sighed.

"I love the way you moan," Tanna countered.

Nestling against her, the Elf grinned. "Pity Ramora is so hesitant, though. I almost expected her to invite me back to her room."

"A treat you would've deserved," Tanna intoned.

"What would you've done with yourself if I had, though?"

The Troll shrugged. "Lured Leto here, I would imagine."

"Oh, now," Izra laughed, pushing herself up. "You fancy the General, do you?"

"I suspect he could be a most fulfilling experience," the Troll answered, a sly smirk on her face. "At least, his aura suggested it strongly."

"I bet you would be right," the Elf nodded, grinning. "Though, he seems rather taken with Ramora, so probably not much chance of that happening, for either of us."

Tanna pulled her back, resting the white-haired woman’s head between her breasts. "You never know. Ramora was somewhat taken with you. I could see it clearly."

"Is that so?" Izra purred, listening to the steady rhythm of her lover’s heartbeat. "Might be we could have a little alone time with her, then."

"Saucy child," Tanna said, voice a husky growl. "You would undo the woman by placing her between us."

"Nonsense," Izra giggled. "Sharing is caring."

Tanna turned her face down to the Elf. "Did you just make that up?"

"Do you like it?"

"I do."

"Then I did."

"Wench," the Troll chuckled.

"Damn right," the Elf snorted. "Though, I have a confession to make."

"What's that?"

Sliding her body over the Troll's, Izra leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I'm not done after all."

"Most excellent," Tanna moaned as her lover teased her earlobe.

Chara fell across the bed, panting heavily. By her, Esteban rumbled out a purr as his body slowly unclenched. They lay there for some time, gathering themselves, the sweat drying on Chara's body as his whiskers slowed their twitching.