Chapter One

An Unsettling Vision

"Xena, is anything wrong? You've been unusually quiet ever since we woke up."

Gabrielle was lying in Xena's arms -- her head supported by the crook of Xena's left arm. The middle finger of Xena's right hand was making circles around each of Gabrielle's naked breasts in turn. She would spiral up to her nipple, watching it as it hardened. Then she would move to the other breast, repeating the same spiral. Occasionally, she would tweak a nipple with her finger and thumb.

"No, just thinking about the dream I had last night," she replied absently, with a small tweak.

"A nightmare?"

"No, not a nightmare. A vision, from Yakut."

"Yakut? I haven't heard that name in what, twenty years? Longer?"

"It was before Ares put us in the ice cave, so twenty five years plus. The last time we heard from her was when you gave Eve your Rite of Caste and she was initiated into Yakut's tribe."

"That's right, I remember! There had been a battle against nomads and Yakut and Amarice were killed."

"Until the vision, I had almost forgotten about them," Xena said, then leaned down to gently suck on one nipple, then bite it gently. Gabrielle was finding it hard to concentrate. Xena's teasing was making her close her legs and squirm slightly.

"So, what about Yakut?" Gabrielle was determined to find out about the dream.

"She was warning me about some kind danger."

"Exactly WHAT kind of danger?" Momentarily, Xena's teasing was forgotten.

"She was kind of vague, but she kept insisting both of us were in grave danger from an evil and mystical apparition or force -- something."

"Well, if it's evil and mystical then I can only think of one person vile enough, and magical enough to worry about - Alti."

Xena nodded in agreement.

"But she's dead."

"Her body is dead, but not her evil spirit. Evil like that never truly dies," Xena said as she covered Gabrielle's left breast with her hand and began to massage it, her palm pressing down on Gabrielle's very erect nipple.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling.

"She said there is a powerful shaman named Morgar we need to find. She said he isn't powerful enough to protect us, but with her help he will have enough magic to bring a protector to us."

"She didn't happen to mention where we can find this Morgar, did she?"

"If we go back to the steppes where the tribe was camped we will find him." Xena moved to the right breast and continued her massaging.

"But after so long, they might have died off, or left their hunting lands."

"Yakut assured me we that if we followed the same trail as before, we will find them."

"Is he one of the Amazons -- a man?" Gabrielle asked incredulously. Again, she temporarily stopped thinking about her rising sexual passion.

"No, I don't think so. I got the impression they tolerate his nearness because he IS very powerful. But whether it's because they fear him or because he helps them, I don't know. I guess we'll find out."

"So we're definitely going, then?"

"I think we should. If it was just me, maybe I wouldn't. But I can't take the chance something might happen to you."

"Xena -- never mind."

"What?"

Gabrielle shook her head with an affectionate smile. "Will you ever stop worrying about me?"

Xena gently caressed Gabrielle's cheek. "As long as there's breath in my body, never." She then leaned down and kissed Gabrielle's waiting mouth, and began sucking on her tongue.

"So I guess we should see about supplies for the journey, huh?" Gabrielle breathed out as best she could.

"I guess we should. Since we're low on dinars, I think I need do some hunting before we get to the next village. There's always a market for freshly killed deer." Xena began nibbling on Gabrielle's ear lobe.

"And I can set snares, and catch fish. As I recall, there's a river about a day's ride from here." Gabrielle was only vaguely aware of what she said.

"Sounds like a pretty good plan. We'll split up for a few days. I'll get a deer or two and you can trap rabbits, or whatever, and catch as many fish as you can." Xena began to suck on that one spot on Gabrielle's neck that was particularly sensitive.

"Should I smoke them?" Gabrielle whimpered.

"Might as well." Xena went back to Gabrielle's mouth after leaving a red oval on her neck. And as she explored the insides of Gabrielle's mouth with her tongue, her hand moved down Gabrielle's belly to her wet and waiting vagina.

"You know what's going to happen if you keep doing that," Gabrielle said panting. Xena just smiled wickedly, and continued what she was doing. It didn't take much longer for Gabrielle to come to an orgasm, arching her back and straining.

After she her breathing and heartbeat were back to normal, Gabrielle said with a stern voice, "Next time, it's YOUR turn to lay back and let ME do you!"

"If I remember," Xena replied slyly.

Later that day, they separated -- Xena going after deer, and Gabrielle going to the river to set traps, and to catch and smoke the fish she caught.