Hello, and thanks for reading my fic! It's a long little thing that I'm in the finishing stages of polishing, so expect the last few chapters soon.
In the later chapters, there are youtube music links that I've added for a bit of sustenance, but I've opted to remove them here, given this site's copy and paste restriction. If you wish, you can find this story on Archive of our Own with the same name where you can copy the links directly, or you can just search the title of the song on youtube, which I will provide. Enjoy!
The marble floor was cold and unforgiving as the bruised woman crashed upon it, the bitter taste of copper filling her mouth as shaking hands clutched her stricken jaw. A pair of tear-filled eyes just barely made out the portly form of the beorc whom dealt the blow.
''You worthless sub-human!'' said the man with savage eyes. ''I told your filthy hide that I wanted this house clean by half a day's mark, no more!'' a statement further emphasized by a foot to her chest.
''You sleep in the horse's pen tonight, wrench. No supper. But before that, I clearly need to teach you a lesson in servitude.'' She then felt the man roughly grip her collar and begin to drag her beaten body across the floor.
''No! Please no, not again!''
''NO!''
Vika awoke in a fierce sweat, her eyes wide and her breathing rampant. She searched her surroundings in a panic, only to find herself in a tranquil meadow with the moon high in the sky, far, far away from that accursed place.
Bitter tears returned to her eyes as she felt her body crumple under the moonlight.
''Damn it!'' the raven laguz muttered. ''I let it get to me again...''
Vika leaned back into the wooden embrace of the tree she was sheltered under and gazed at the fragmented sky, partially blocked by branches of swaying leaves.
It had been six years ago. Six, long years ever since she escaped from slavery and the torment of her masters. She should have been done with the pain, forgotten the wounds, both physical and mental, that festered in her every day she had to spend in that hellhole, every night she cowered in fear alone on a uncaring stone ground. But every once in a while, she would awake with the memories of abuse and humiliation fresh in her mind and tears streaming down her face.
But damn if her feelings and past mattered. She was now fighting in some idiotic human war, bleeding for a country who not only condoned the slavery of her people, but hunted them like cattle.
Her eyes began to darken as anger and doubt clouded her mind.
''What the hell is the boss and Muarim thinking? What am I thinking?! I shouldn't have to grovel to those bastards again!''
Vika felt her blood boil and her wings flare. She lunched towards the air.
''Damn it Ashera! What kind of shitty world did you put me in?!'' the raven vented at the sky. ''I've suffered for years to those dogs, bent to their every selfish desire, bit my tongue at every strike, and now you expect me to lick their boots again?! Damn it all, take me away goddess!'' she desperately bellowed, fists balled and eyes fierce. ''Take me to a world where I can forget these tears and live free!''
Yet if Ashera was indeed listening to her plea, she expressed nothing. The stars still twinkled silently and the fireflies continued their dance across the night sky. Her body slowly began to relax in defeat.
''Hmph. Something on your mind bird?'' a deep, gnarling voice echoed.
Vika worries quickly buried themselves once again, replaced with the possibility of an enemy attack, as she whirled around in a panic, her body already beginning to compress into the form of a crow.
''Peace friend. I mean no ill intent.'' the voice growled. As she faced her guest, Vika's beady eyes soon found their way to the source of the voice; a pure-white wolf, her coat shining radiantly in the glow of the moon as alabaster fur gently swayed in the wind.
However, as soon as the wolf appeared, it began to disappear, the new laguz gradually assuming a more humanoid form.
Sharp claws began to form slender fingers and the beautiful white coat was quickly replaced with a wild shade of brown, which reminded her of the endless sands of the Grann Desert. As the transformation came to an end, Vika was greeted with the sight of a beautiful woman, her purple hair pleasantly nostalgic of the white wolf's coat and long, exotic flaps of fabric concealing her left eye.
Nailah. That was the name of the wolf queen she had heard whispers about around camp. She was supposed to be a ruler of an unknown kingdom, hailing from a land far across The Desert of Death. If she was the same wolf she had seen glimpses of swiftly ripping and tearing apart humans at Shifu Swamp, then Vika couldn't let her guard down for a second.
A silky voice laughed as Nailah saw Vika tense. ''Was I not clear before? We are allies. Besides, no Begnion soldier could look half this good.'' the wolf queen finished with a grin.
Vika almost looked around for a third party. The wolf who was just moments in front of her had such a rough, menacing voice that commanded fear and power, whereas the person currently before her, spoke with a melody which flowed like the desert breeze and invigorated like a heron's galdr.
''I-I...you-!...'' Vika stuttered, momentarily dazed by the beauty. ''H-How much did you hear?''
Nalilah slyly hummed at the panicked display. ''Enough to know that humans are at the bottom of your Irakih Day gift list.''
''Err, excuse me?'' the raven questioned, unfamiliar with Hatarian customs.
''Ah, never mind that.'' the queen finished off with an embarrassed wave. ''Anyway, you look like a bird with two stones aimed at it. You need a laguz-to-laguz pep talk?'' the queen offered, an inviting smile illuminated by the moonlight.
Vika began to sink back into the tree, quickly turning her back to the wolf queen's invitation. If word got around that she harboured less than ideal impressions of humans, the soldiers would likely be all too happy to hurl a couple stones her way. Or worse, she might find some shady drugs floating around in her soup, courtesy of a certain balding mad-man.
''It's none of your concern. My baggage belongs hidden in the back of my mind, not on the tongue of petty gossipers. You should see your way out of it.'' the raven retorted, words bitter on her tongue.
Wait.
''Y-Your M-Majesty.'' Vika hot-facedly added as she remembered just who she was talking too.
Silence soon filled the meadow. The soft rustling of leaves and sounds of the cool summer breeze began to fill the air left in wake of Vika hostile statement. Her feathers quickly began to rustle in realization as the impact of her words began to sink in.
'W-What the hell was I thinking?! Did I really just blow off the Wolf Queen of Hatari?! That same queen that tore through those soldiers like tissue paper? That can turn your body to stone at a glance? Goddess Vika, you screwed up!'
As Vika was preoccupied with thinking of escape plans, she failed to hear the soft crunching of grass, crisp sounds of a certain woman walking directly towards her. Nailah suddenly plopped down on the ground right next to Vika, with a long sigh and all the grace of a wyvern.
''WAHH!'' Vika shrieked. ''Sorry! I'm so, so sorry your highness! Please don't kill m-''
''Did you know that Hatari had its share of slavery problems too?'' the wolf queen plainly interrupted, her one good eye fixated on the moon.
''W-Wha-''
The Hatarian didn't let Vika get a word in and slipped into a comfortable position. ''While it may seem strange to you, it was actually laguz who were the slave masters in this fiasco. It was in one of the more lawless districts, a province in the outer reaches of my kingdom. While my rule was still law there, many thought that their relative isolation from the capital and my army was enough for them to establish their own policies outside my sight.'' A dark look passed her good eye and Vika could swear she saw the fabric covering the wolf queen's evil eye become rigid in fear.
''Nothing can escape my eyes.'' the queen declared with a dead certainty. ''As soon as my subjects brought the issue to my attention, I set out for the capital of the province where the landlord resided to get some answers. The man was wolf laguz like me and Volug, only much more repulsive and unsightly. I always knew those rumours I heard of him were true. Give him an inch, and the bastard would take a mile, or province as I found out.'' she said with a sneer.
''After some...negotiating with the lord's very defensive guards, I soon found my way to the lord's basement. There, in that filthy prison, I saw a sight I never thought would have ever existed in my kingdom. Dozens of slaves, both laguz and beorc, all hoarded away like cattle and crammed into a tiny room, by the landlord in anticipation of my arrival no doubt. Their clothes were in tatters, their figures suggested that they had barely gotten any food, and their eyes...'' the queen seemed visible shaken as Vika listened in morbid curiosity.
''Their eyes reflected nothing. No joy, no pain, no hope. Just dead, lifeless orbs derived of a soul to express.'' Vika saw the queen's eye soften. ''This one little beorc girl stood out the most to me. She was wearing little more than a pillow case for clothing and had brutal scars more fitting for a battle-hardened war veteran than a ten year old girl. She just stared at me with those haunting eyes, not knowing if I was friend or foe. What she must have gone through I cannot even begin to imagine.''
Vika's own eyes twisted in confusion as she fidgeted in the meadow air. Why was she telling her this? Was she trying to tell her that her problems were dime a dozen? Or was she trying to make her feel bad to get her back for the earlier little spat. The story had Vika intrigued enough to hold her tongue.
''I don't need to tell you that justice was swift. Everyone involved in maintaining the slave ring was jailed, exiled, or worse. The province was put under jurisdiction of one of my more trusted advisors and all the slaves were freed and sent back to their families. In the midst of the reform, I found out that the little girl I saw that day had no family to return to, nobody to help her recover from her ordeal. So, instead of throwing her in some second-rate orphanage, I decided to take her back to the capital with me. Heh.'' Nalilah began to smile nostalgically. ''Once she had a good bath and got some nicer clothes, she was quite the cutie! Tiny, delicate hands and scruffy black hair, a lot like yours actually bird!'' the wolf laughed as she absent-mindedly played with a lock of Vika's hair, inciting a fierce blush from the raven.
''She was mistrusting of me at first, obviously. In fact, for the first few weeks, she barely interacted with anyone at all. Hell, even Volug's puppy-dog routine couldn't get a rise out of her. Then, one day I caught her watching some of my paladins performing training exercises. It was the first time she showed an interest in anything within the imperial castle and I could see a small fire trying to melt the clouded exterior of her haunted eyes. She was looking at their mounts with a longing, as if pretending she was in the saddle herself. So, I went up to her, assumed my wolf form and motioned her to get on. She was apprehensive at first, but you can only resist the beautiful queen of Hatari for so long, and she eventually plopped herself on my back.''
A full grin formed on Nailah's face. ''Ha. Barely gave her enough time to grab on before I leapt off, bolting around soldiers and jumping over fences.''
''You danced around armed soldiers with a child on your back?'' Vika blanched.
''You make it sound dangerous.'' Nailah mused. ''Oh, she was terrified at first, but she quickly calmed down and began to handle me like she saw the paladins handle their mounts.''
Nailah's eye softened. ''When I looked up at her from my back, I saw something that made every hardship in getting her to the capital worth it. She was laughing, laughing like she didn't have a care in the world. And her eyes... they danced with joy, happiness, hope, everything I wanted to see reflected the day I first saw her in that basement. It was a great feeling.'' a proud smile graced the queen's face.
''So that was the day the Hatari Royal Paladins, the Imperial Ox Laguz Platoon, and the 11th Desert Mage Squadron watched a little girl ride their beloved and powerful queen around like a saddle-less horse.'' Nailah finished with a hearty laugh.
Vika could help but to chuckle at this mental image. ''After that, she really began to open up. She told me her name, Tania, the only gift her parents left her before abandoning her at the orphanage. I listened to the struggles she faced as a slave and helped her deal with them. We played with each other, learned to laugh together, and I watched her grow up to be a fine young woman. Before I left on my journey, Tania was a recruit in the army, training to become part of the Hatari Royal Paladins. Heh, she came a long way from the basement in that goddess-forsaken hell-hole.'' Nailah began to relax into the tree, a content smile on her face. She then suddenly bolted up and quickly faced Vika.
''Sorry! I went on bit of a tangent there didn't I, bird?'' she said with a wide smile. ''Point is, if you don't come to peace with your troubled past, than you'll be stuck in that basement all your life.'' Nailah took Vika's silky hands into her own and gave her a look that rivalled the goddess in radiance, purple hair flowing against the wind.
''Let me help you friend. Let me put your mind and past at rest. Let me make you smile so bright, such that sun itself would envy you.''
''I-I...'' the raven stammered breathlessly as her face begin to heat once again. The Hatarian's eye shone lustrously as the stars above, filling Vika with a sensation she had never felt before. She gulped.
Vika had never told a soul what happened behind those closed doors. Muarim and Tormod knew that she had been a slave before joining them, but they never got Vika to spill the details, those horrible, painful details of her hardships during those years. Yet, as Vika listened to the wolf queen's story, she heard the sincerity behind the queen's words, understood just how much the proud wolf wanted to see her subjects and comrades happy. Vika felt as though she could trust her with anything, felt as though she, like that little human, could too be saved by this desert beauty.
And so, Vika told Nailah everything. She told her how hunters had taken her from her pedlar parents at an early age. She told her what is was like to be thrown into a brutal life of servitude. She recounted each scar her master had given her and every mundane reason behind them. She told her how it felt to cry yourself to sleep on a cold, filthy floor with an empty stomach. Through each painful memory, Nailah quietly listened, simply looking on with an attentive face, her hand never moving from the spot on Vika's shoulder.
''And...and that's it. That's what it was like to live a slave. What I thought would be my life until the day the goddess took me.''
Vika fidgeted on the rustling grass and breathed in the cool night air. She thought that she would feel shameful and depressed after reliving those memories again. Yet, she strangely felt alive and refreshed, like the burden had been erased from her conscious. Nailah, who had been silently observing for the last little while, swung onto her feet and, with one hand, scooped Vika up with her, much to the raven bewilderment. A brilliant smile adorned the wolf queen's face.
''And yet, you created a new life to live. You beat your demons and became a source of hope for laguz tortured by slavers, beorc oppressed by the corrupt. What happened in the past made you stronger, so don't let those memories weight you down. Instead, let them serve as testament to the trials you overcame and something to motive you to never let that happen to anyone else again. You are a great person, raven. Don't think that this world can beat you.''
A small shudder escaped Vika as Nailah finished her speech. Vika felt warm. Warm, so breath-takingly warm that she thought the sun itself had been moved inside of her chest. The queen was right. She couldn't give a damn about the past right now, not when there were laguz out there which didn't enjoy the freedom she had now. She had beaten her torturers, and now she had to show to the laguz in suffering, the Begnion occupation force, to all of Tellius, that the wind in-between her feathers, the gold inside her purse, and the sunlight upon her skin was hers and hers alone, and that no laguz can be contained forever.
Vika felt so content, so fulfilled, so happy. She had a purpose now. A purpose she was proud to fight for. She couldn't believe how much the queen's words had meant to her, how invigorating those words felt. She glanced up at the Hatarian, who had been patiently observing her face for the past minute.
Vika did the only sensibly thing in this situation and ran straight into the wolf queen's arms, much to Nailah's surprise and amusement. She soon felt said arms welcome her into that embrace.
''Vika.'' the raven said.
''What was that?''
''My name is Vika. And thank you your majest- no, thank you Nailah. Just thank you so much.'' she happily whispered, breathing in the sweet smell of the wolf queen's luscious curls.
Serenity graced the Hatarian's face.
''Mmhmm. Your very welcome...Vika.'' Nailah soothed as she stroked the raven's hair.
They stood together in their embrace in the meadow for a blissful moment, with the evening wind in their hair and the fireflies celebrating the spectacle through dance. Vika felt like she could stay in the desert beauty's arms forever.
However, Vika's wishes would once again be unanswered by the goddess, as she suddenly felt Nailah break the embrace and press her face dangerously close to Vika's own, her one eye staring at her with an odd intensity.
''U-Umm... Is something wrong your majesty?'' she nervously said as she felt even Nailah's evil eye silently judge her from behind its satin curtains.
The wolf queen continued to solemnly examine her face for what felt like an eternity before suddenly adopting a quirky smile.
''Nope, not good enough.'' Nailah said, a comically unimpressed expression adorning her features.
''W-What do you mean?''
The wolf queen smirked and slowly began to trace the edges of Vika's mouth.
''Your smile. It's not big enough.'' she said innocently.
Vika quickly went into mild hysterics as she felt the Hatarian's rough, calloused fingertips glide over her lips.
''W-W-Wait! Wha-W-Wha are you-''
''OH! I know!'' Nailah loudly interrupted.
A blinding light lit up the peaceful meadow, accompanied by a majestical howl. When Vika could see again, she saw that Nailah had shifted into her wolf from and was motioning towards her furry back.
''Get on.'' the Hatarian deadpanned.
Vika did a double-take.
''W-What?! Y-You can't honestly expect me to ride you like that girl did!'' The prospect that someone would find her riding around on the back of the sovereign from the first outside country Tellius has had contact with since the Great Flood, made her wings flare out in embarrassment.
''I-I mean, I'm a grown woman! I couldn't possibly enjoy such a thing!''
''...''
''P-P-Plus I'm much larger than a ten year old girl! I-I couldn't possibly fit on your back without our limbs getting t-tangled together!''
''...''
''T-Think of y-your position queen Nailah!'' her voice beginning to hitch. ''What would your vassals say if they saw-''
''...''
''...i-if they saw-''
''...''
''...Fine.''
''HAHA!'' the wolf howled in triumph. ''I always get my way, bird!'' Vika could swear she saw the jagged bear-trap that the wolf called a mouth, form into a cocky smile.
''Y-Yeah yeah, lets just get this over with before anyone sees us.'' the raven mumbled, a bright blush adorning her face.
Vika very slowly, and very awkwardly, mounted the white wolf. She felt like a horse trying to mount a wyvern. The raven's arms hung loosely from both sides of Nailah, her long legs uncomfortably circled the wolf's left hind leg, and her black wings swayed slanted in the air.
''Umm, just where am I supposed to grab on, your majes-''
Vika's last syllable was forever lost to the wind as Nailah suddenly rushed across the field at breakneck speeds, the soft song of crickets quickly overshadowed by a raven's horrified screams.
Just as with Hatarian child before her, Nailah spared no time for safety measures, leading Vika to initially flail her arms around in a wild panic before tightly hugging the wolf's torso for dear life.
Oblivious to the raven's cries and pleas, the wolf queen proceeded to savagely dance about the meadow, jumping off stones and speeding through creeks with the excitement and vigour of a child on their birthday.
'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. Goddess, why have you forsaken me?' Vika internally cried, her eyes shut tight and body locked in a death grip around her captor.
She felt the once soft evening breeze, blow past her with an icy intensity. Creek water splashed onto her skin, eliciting goosebumps. Tears started to fall from her eyes as her eyelids begged for relief. The desert queen had morphed the once peaceful valley into a raven torture device and Vika wanted off. She could hear Nailah's excited pants, occasionally rising to a howl when they jumped about. Of course she was enjoying her suffering. This was probably how all Hatari royals got their sick kicks.
Vika abruptly felt the wolf buckle as Nailah's breathing became more ragged. As she agonizingly forced an eye open, she saw that Nailah was now racing up a grassy incline, an incline, which she remembered from her view on top of the tree, that ended in a very steep drop, a drop they were now mere meters away from reaching. Ice began to fill her veins.
''N-Nailah!'' the raven squawked, eyes pleading for mercy. ''P-Please, you're gonna kill us!''
The wolf queen simply flashed her a cocky grin and continued to pick up speed.
Vika said her prayers to the goddess. She apologized to the boss and Muarim, who in the morning would find her mangled body at the bottom of this cliff. She apologized to Micaiah, who would arrive in the desert with no one to greet her. She apologized to Volug, who would have the shame of returning to Hatari to tell his country that their beloved queen had died, not in fierce combat, but frolicking off a cliff.
And as Vika sent her last prayer, she saw the ground disappear from beneath their feet as the wolf overcame the last meter. Wait, no, there was the ground. It was just at the bottom of a massive cliff face, separated by a drop a castle wall in length, a drop that would take no prisoners. A whimper escaped her mouth as she made one last act of defiance.
''NAILAAAAAAAH!'' the raven shrieked as they fell, wind whipping past fur and feathers.
Much sooner and much less painful than she expected, however, Vika felt them come to a sudden stop, the light smell of wood invading her senses. As she grudgingly forced her eyes opens, she found that they were no longer a couple leagues above the air, nor a splat on the ground, but picturesquely perched in the branches of a willow tree. In the time that it took for Vika to figure out that Nailah had managed to jump her way onto a tree instead committing murder-suicide, the wolf in question had already began to continue her run, jumping from branch to branch, tree to tree, all the while laughing hysterically in her grisly voice. Vika's fear quickly dissipated into murderous fury.
''Y-You! You almost got me killed! Damn it your majesty, if the fall didn't do me in, a heart attack would have been just as likely!'' the raven fumed, her eyes threatening to burn a hole through the Hatarian's head.
''Haha, ha, ha hahaha! You-you, 'P-P-Please, we're-we're gonna die!' Haha- 'NA-NAILAAHAHAHA!'' The strain of running and her manic guffawing had taken a grave toll on the queen's speech. ''Ha-Ha, a-a-and your face! Haha, oh Naga that look wasn't the one I was going for but I'll take it!''
A shameful blush rose to Vika's cheeks, complementing her seething features. Suddenly, Vika didn't care that this was the wolf queen of Hatari. She didn't care that she could tear Vika to bits if she wanted to. All the raven cared about right now was restoring her mangled pride that had taken the fall in Vika's place and getting pure, sweet revenge.
Just as Nailah was about to jump to another tree, Vika shifted her hips and pushed their bodies skywards as her wings let out an powerful, adrenaline-fuelled flap, causing the two to be propelled into the open air. Vika continued to flap her wings, steadily flying into the moonlight. As Vika carried the wolf through the valley sky, the raven took great satisfaction in hearing Nailah's mocking laughter morph into horrified whimpering.
''H-H-H-Hey! W-What are y-you doing bird?! T-Take us back to the ground r-right now!'' Vika could feel the wolf queen's pride pour out of her body as the terrified wolf peered down into the meadow far, far below.
''Oh yeah, not risking our lives would be a pretty solid plan. Maybe you should have done it earlier.'' Vika cheerfully mocked, a wide smirk on her face. '' 'Sides, the view up here is pretty nice don'tcha think? We can see the camp from up here!''
''I-I-I'm w-warning you bird! I-I-I-I'll k-kill you d-damn it!'' Any intimidation Nailah's threats once had, was quickly shot down by her skittish voice.
''Hoho, is the big, bad, wolf queen afraid of heights? Too bad, cause that scare you gave me made my arms pretty sweaty. I wouldn't be surprised if you were to just slip riiiiiiiiiight through my arms.'' Vika further teased the wolf by purposely loosening her grip on Nailah, causing the wolf to fling into hysterics.
''Nooooooo! D-Don't drop me Vika! Please! AHHHHHH!''
The wolf suddenly started to shine bright white as Nailah, in a panic, began to change back into her humanoid state. The light momentarily blinded Vika, causing her to loosen her grip even more. That provoked a frenzied response from Nailah, the queen madly flailing her limbs about, her hands clutching onto anything they could find. One of these things happened to be Vika's wings, disrupting the raven's flying and causing the two to plummet into the meadow below.
Vika, who had just taken a swing to the head from a raging laguz royal, was falling casually through the moonlit sky, her head in a daze from the hit. It took a considerable amount of time to realize that somebody was clinging onto her body for dear life, faintly, or what Vika thought was faintly, pleading to the raven. She then became aware of Nailah locked in a bear hug around Vika's stomach, her eyes wet with what appeared to be tears.
''VIKAAAAAAA! FLY DAMN IT! I'M SORRRRRRRRY!''
Vika blinked. If they weren't falling to their deaths, Vika would have been smitten by the sight, the proud, savage, Mistress of the Evil Eye mewing into her arms, snot dribbling out her nose. Oh, right. They were falling to their deaths.
Vika tightened her hands around the sobbing woman and desperately flapped her wings in order to gain back balance. The speed at which they were falling was, however, too fast and Vika could only steer the direction which they fell. Out of the corner of her eye, Vika spotted a large pond and decided that hitting the water would be preferable to the hard ground. With one last flap of her wings, Vika dived straight towards to water, momentarily finding her and Nailah encased in cold, dark, liquid.
The water was frigid and uninviting. Vika tried to swim, but her limbs were too drained from her earlier antics, thus merely let the water drag her down into the darkness. But, before the lake could claim her, she felt a hand grab her by her shirt and begin pulling her body to towards the surface. As she hit the welcoming surface of dry land and took a rich breath of air, Vika felt another wet form collapse on top of her, the two laguz panting wildly. As she lay gasping for air, the memories of what just transpired hit her in full force, and the raven's body became rigid in fear, as the savage laguz royal she was taunting just moments earlier, lay panting on top of her.
As if on cue, the laguz in question slowly and ominously looked up at the raven, her eye silent and unreadable. The soft sounds of crickets once again filled the meadow as Nailah stared Vika down, the raven silently restating her prayers.
''Heh.''
Vika blinked. 'Did... did she just laugh?' She was hearing things. The fall probably messed up her ears. But the smirk on the wolf queen's face did not lie. In fact, it began to grow in size.
''Heheh...Ha...Hahahahaha!''
Vika stared in disbelief. 'She's... not gonna kill me?' Vika should have just slinked away, but she started to find the laughter infectious as the corners of her mouth began to reach skywards.
''N-Nailah? W-What's so...what's... ha...Haheeheehee!''
And so, despite the life-threatening fiasco and attempted murder between them earlier, the two female laguz laughed their hearts out, wet and cold under the pale moonlight with limbs entwined together.
As their laughter slowly died down to quiet giggling, the two settled side-by-side on the soft meadow grass and comfortably stared up at Ashera's serene night sky. Still enthralled in the bliss of the moment, Vika just barely noticed the wolf queen's thumb lovingly caress her cheekbones.
''Your majesty?'' she softly breathed, her skin silently delighting in the texture of the Hatarian's digit.
''That, that was the look I was going for bird.'' Nailah soothed, her proud smile once again gracing her face. ''Happiness suits you well, Vika.''
The raven simply smiled and moved into Nailah's touch with a content smile. All her troubles seemed half a continent away in the desert beauty's arms. She could hear the wolf queen's soft heartbeat against her own chest, smell the sweet, musky scent of the Hatarian's hair, feel the water trickle and drip down their skin as the meadow grass scrapped against silky goosebumps. If only she could stay in the queen's embrace for an eternity, feel nothing but Nailah's soft, wet, alluring skin against her own until Tellius itself drowned...
The raven shot upright in an instant, the intimacy of both the embrace and her thoughts, too much to handle. A scarlet blush, poorly hidden from the wolf queen's eyes, surfaced as Vika turned her back to Nailah.
''I-It's about time we headed back to camp, y-your majesty.'' she jumbled, wings twitching nervously. ''We're marching tomorrow and w-we need to clean ourselves.'' Vika noted that they were covered in willow leaves and creek water.
Nailah, disappointed with the sudden lack of contact, began to whine, dissatisfied.
''Ehhhhhhh? But the night's still young bird! Besides, us wolf laguz can lick ourselves clean faster than a senator at a heron auction.'' the queen argued, a childish pout on her face.
Vika scoffed at the tasteless joke.
''Well, us raven laguz don't have the luxury of walking baths, so I'm turning in.''
Yet, before she could take a step, Vika stiffened as she suddenly felt the Hatarian's hands take a soft hold on her shoulders, sensually massaging down the length of her arms. A low voice began to breath, hot in the raven's ear.
''Mmmmmm, but I don't mind lending you my tongue one bit, Vika.'' the beauty seductively moaned.
A shrill squawk tore out of Vika throat, her face as hot as a red dragon's breath. Before she could turn around and stammer like an idiot, a bright light lit up her backside, and a white wolf blazed past her legs, that cocky laughter Vika had been hearing too much of lately, resonating through the air.
''Hahaha, I think I like that look the most, bird!'' the wolf happily howled, her tail taunting at Vika.
The raven simply stood fixed in place, her mouth flapping open and shut. Eventually, a forced smile came to her face, doing little to relieve the heat. ''Y-Y-You... Next time I really am gonna drop you, mutt!''
A second flash of light lit up the valley as Vika took the form of a lithe crow and began to chase after her tormentor. The rest of the Liberation Army would soon awaken to the animal-like laughter of a wolf and raven as the two chased each other back to base camp, the moon and fireflies radiantly lighting up their path.