Morgan: Well, it looks like everything is coming together, doesn't it?
After this, the adventure starts to reveal itself--along with the highly
elusive plot. This should be the last "high-school drama" chapter, to quote
one of my reviewers--and the most serious. If you're still loyal, my tiny
group of readers, please forgive me, for I know not what I do.
Chuchiru: Does anyone die?
Morgan: (sighs) Plenty of people.
Chuchiru: Promise?
Morgan: Lots and lots of gory, torturous deaths, yes. I promise.
Chuchiru: Really?
Morgan: No. I might have just metaphorically done myself and my story in, though. I'll be glad to take you with us.
Chuchiru: Eh--that's okay, thanks.
* * *
Casanith woke groggily the next morning, fatigue still weighing down on his body. He started to turn his head on the pillow before he realized what the weighty feeling really was. He came all the way awake instantly.
His head was lying on Ash's shoulder, and the tiefling's own head was pillowed on Casan's crown, his nose digging into the soft chestnut strands. Bursts of cold hit the human boy rhythmically as the tiefling breathed. One of Casanith's hands was thrust under his friend's loose shirt, pulling the material upward to reveal where his elbow and arm lay across the hard white stomach muscles, and his hands were splayed over a tight chest muscle that was rising and falling in tandem with Ashnod's breathing, the flesh cool under his touch. The planetouched boy had a leg thrown across Casan's own, grinding into the leg he thus straddled with his groin, and his long tail was wrapped so tightly about Casanith's upper thigh on the same side that the circulation in the flesh was nearly nonexistent. One of Ash's arms was beneath Casan's skull, cushioning him, and the other was draped over him, the clawed white fingertips just barely thrust beneath the waistband of the shorter boy's denim breeches.
Casanith swallowed and breathed hard, his heart speeding up, as Ash shifted position slightly, bringing his own face parallel to his friend's even as Casan rolled his head to look. The result was the tiefling's lips on the side of the boy's face, after which Ashnod promptly began to lick his jawline with long strokes of his cold tongue, muttering to himself inaudibly in the midst of some dream. From their closeness in the region of his thigh, Casanith could easily tell what kind of dream it was. He flinched and jerked away as Ash continued to freeze the side of his face off with the paths of rime left by his feline tongue.
"Um, Ash," Casan whispered reluctantly. Although he was still having some problems coping with it, he had finally admitted to himself last night as he looked into Ash's eyes that he was really in love with the boy, and he hated to wake him and break their contact.
In response to his voice, Ash shoved his head closer and bit down on one of Casanith's ears, nibbling lightly on the soft flesh. Casanith lay paralyzed as Ash used the hand that was under his head to pull him nearer, wrapping the arm around him tightly, and thrusting his other hand further into the warm retreat of Casan's clothing.
At the shockingly cold touch, the young man began to ache, going rigid all over. He wanted to buck his hips up to meet that hand, but doing so would dislodge the tiefling rather suddenly, ending their intimacy, and he wasn't sure which he wanted more right now. He bit down on his lower lip, trying to steady his voice. "Ash. Ash, wake up."
The tiefling yawned and finally opened his eyes a little, but there was no awareness in them. He smiled happily and crushed his prisoner into his own body, preparing to return to sleep.
"Ash, you have to get up."
Ashnod blinked himself a little more into the world of the living, but his eyes still didn't register much alertness. "I thought you just said you wanted me to hold you, love."
Casanith's eyes grew to nearly the size of saucers, but after an instant, he realized that his friend was only in the grip of a dream; he didn't yet know that he was awake. "Ash, wake up. You're not dreaming. This is real."
"I know," he returned unexpectedly. "You're too beautiful to be a dream. If you're going to wake me up, though, why don't we just go ahead and--" The hand that was currently residing in Casanith's pants squeezed suggestively.
Casan yelped and flinched away, the flurry of movement pulling Ash the rest of the way to awareness. His red eyes widened, then softened, then filled with sudden remorse. A pale greenish blush mounted in the tiefling's cheeks, and he pulled himself away from Casan sharply, curling into a little ball and wrapping his tail around his legs. "Oh, Cas--I'm so sorry! I didn't mean--"
"Oh, don't say that!" Casanith blurted, his gaze fearful. "Don't say it was a mistake! I thought that maybe you thought it was somebody else and you were having a dream but after that kiss last night I know I'm in love with you and I want you to love me too and don't say you didn't mean it, pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!" The shorter boy rolled over quickly on the bed, bringing his hand up to cover eyes suddenly full of tears.
Ash lay there next to him in shock. "You--you said what?" He gulped air like a drowning man. "You're in--love? With--with me?"
Casanith didn't reply, his shoulders shaking with his silent sobs, but he drew his knees further in on himself and made his body into a ball like Ash. The tiefling stared at the back of his head for a long moment, opening his mouth to speak and then shutting it again with a clack of fangs. Hesitantly, he extended one white arm and touched Casanith lightly on the shoulder. The boy jerked under his touch wincing as though it pained him, and Ashnod pulled away quickly, afraid that he had hurt his friend. Then, he scooted himself across the black silken sheets toward the crying boy and pressed himself against his form, stroking the side of his face with one finger.
"It's okay," Ash said awkwardly, his tongue suddenly thick with emotion. He didn't know what he felt, but it was Casanith that mattered now. He could sort out his own confusion and feelings later. "It's all right."
Casan's sobs lessened. He squirmed around to face Ash, digging into the tiefling's embrace. "You mean it?" he sniffed in wonder.
"I think so," the other boy replied, off-balance completely from the event. It all fell into place instantly--the way Casanith's gaze melted when he looked at him, the way he followed him with his eyes, how he was always finding excuses to touch him, to be with him. He enfolded Casanith in a rough hug, pushing his face into the still-trembling youth's light brown hair, nuzzling at him, taking in his smell, his warmth.
"Oh, gods, Ash," Casan sobbed once more, this time with a different emotion. "Oh I love you so much! I want to be here with you forever like this!" He sat up, pulling the tiefling with him, and looked around the room. The others were absent, but from through the open door and down the hallway, the sounds of voices and machinode games could be heard. Relieved and apprehensive at the same time, Casanith embraced his new love fiercely, burying his face in the joint of Ash's collarbone and neck. "Please, just hold me--just for a little while."
"As long as you want," the planetouched boy whispered into his ear, returning the embrace. With a flick of his finger behind Casan's back, he closed and locked the bedroom door, and with a thought, activated the room's wards against entry and divination spells--which, he remembered, were Kendrick's specialty. He would put nothing past Sara, especially since he now saw how she had played him last night. The smug little wench had known the whole time!
With a sigh, he forgave her, seeking solace in the eyes of the human who clung to him and murmuring reassurances as best he could--for himself as well as his friend.
"Black Knight to D2," a choral voice declared to the deaf air. The words had a distinct note of self-satisfied triumph regarding a move well played.
* * *
Kendrick, his look still registering surprise, dutifully reported the last sketchy thoughts he had been able to glean from the boy's thoughts before the ward spells were turned on, cutting him away from access.
"Oh," said Brenna, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve, "isn't that just. beautiful?"
Kendrick put an arm around her shoulder awkwardly, patting her on the arm with his other hand. "Yes, I'm happy for them, too."
"You sure took a chance with them, Sara," J'soon accused the dark- haired girl in the chair next to him. "I mean, Casanith could've just freaked out, or Ash could've bitten him, or something worse."
"But it turned out all right, didn't it?" she replied defiantly. She gave a little half-smile, staring off into some other place. "I hope they really work out for each other--I mean, stay together and stuff. If Ash feels the same way about Casanith." Angry with herself as she was pleased, she dashed a speck of moisture from her eye.
J'soon pretended not to notice, but instead gave her a speculative look. "Would you like to--to play a game of Lockfasts and Liches¹ on the machinode with me? Just to take your mind off of any more matchmaking, of course."
Sara grinned wolfishly in reply. "Do I get to import my sixtieth- level enchantress?"
"Uh--" J'soon fumbled, "I think he's got one of the games from the second edition series installed. They don't let you go over level twenty."
"That's all right," Sara smiled. "I can start a new character."
¹I could have called it "Castles and Crabmen." Or "Towers and Takos." Or "Fortresses and Flying Brains." Or "Bastions and Banderlogs." Or, even worse."Alcazars and Amphisbaena." Say that three times fast.
Chuchiru: Does anyone die?
Morgan: (sighs) Plenty of people.
Chuchiru: Promise?
Morgan: Lots and lots of gory, torturous deaths, yes. I promise.
Chuchiru: Really?
Morgan: No. I might have just metaphorically done myself and my story in, though. I'll be glad to take you with us.
Chuchiru: Eh--that's okay, thanks.
* * *
Casanith woke groggily the next morning, fatigue still weighing down on his body. He started to turn his head on the pillow before he realized what the weighty feeling really was. He came all the way awake instantly.
His head was lying on Ash's shoulder, and the tiefling's own head was pillowed on Casan's crown, his nose digging into the soft chestnut strands. Bursts of cold hit the human boy rhythmically as the tiefling breathed. One of Casanith's hands was thrust under his friend's loose shirt, pulling the material upward to reveal where his elbow and arm lay across the hard white stomach muscles, and his hands were splayed over a tight chest muscle that was rising and falling in tandem with Ashnod's breathing, the flesh cool under his touch. The planetouched boy had a leg thrown across Casan's own, grinding into the leg he thus straddled with his groin, and his long tail was wrapped so tightly about Casanith's upper thigh on the same side that the circulation in the flesh was nearly nonexistent. One of Ash's arms was beneath Casan's skull, cushioning him, and the other was draped over him, the clawed white fingertips just barely thrust beneath the waistband of the shorter boy's denim breeches.
Casanith swallowed and breathed hard, his heart speeding up, as Ash shifted position slightly, bringing his own face parallel to his friend's even as Casan rolled his head to look. The result was the tiefling's lips on the side of the boy's face, after which Ashnod promptly began to lick his jawline with long strokes of his cold tongue, muttering to himself inaudibly in the midst of some dream. From their closeness in the region of his thigh, Casanith could easily tell what kind of dream it was. He flinched and jerked away as Ash continued to freeze the side of his face off with the paths of rime left by his feline tongue.
"Um, Ash," Casan whispered reluctantly. Although he was still having some problems coping with it, he had finally admitted to himself last night as he looked into Ash's eyes that he was really in love with the boy, and he hated to wake him and break their contact.
In response to his voice, Ash shoved his head closer and bit down on one of Casanith's ears, nibbling lightly on the soft flesh. Casanith lay paralyzed as Ash used the hand that was under his head to pull him nearer, wrapping the arm around him tightly, and thrusting his other hand further into the warm retreat of Casan's clothing.
At the shockingly cold touch, the young man began to ache, going rigid all over. He wanted to buck his hips up to meet that hand, but doing so would dislodge the tiefling rather suddenly, ending their intimacy, and he wasn't sure which he wanted more right now. He bit down on his lower lip, trying to steady his voice. "Ash. Ash, wake up."
The tiefling yawned and finally opened his eyes a little, but there was no awareness in them. He smiled happily and crushed his prisoner into his own body, preparing to return to sleep.
"Ash, you have to get up."
Ashnod blinked himself a little more into the world of the living, but his eyes still didn't register much alertness. "I thought you just said you wanted me to hold you, love."
Casanith's eyes grew to nearly the size of saucers, but after an instant, he realized that his friend was only in the grip of a dream; he didn't yet know that he was awake. "Ash, wake up. You're not dreaming. This is real."
"I know," he returned unexpectedly. "You're too beautiful to be a dream. If you're going to wake me up, though, why don't we just go ahead and--" The hand that was currently residing in Casanith's pants squeezed suggestively.
Casan yelped and flinched away, the flurry of movement pulling Ash the rest of the way to awareness. His red eyes widened, then softened, then filled with sudden remorse. A pale greenish blush mounted in the tiefling's cheeks, and he pulled himself away from Casan sharply, curling into a little ball and wrapping his tail around his legs. "Oh, Cas--I'm so sorry! I didn't mean--"
"Oh, don't say that!" Casanith blurted, his gaze fearful. "Don't say it was a mistake! I thought that maybe you thought it was somebody else and you were having a dream but after that kiss last night I know I'm in love with you and I want you to love me too and don't say you didn't mean it, pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!" The shorter boy rolled over quickly on the bed, bringing his hand up to cover eyes suddenly full of tears.
Ash lay there next to him in shock. "You--you said what?" He gulped air like a drowning man. "You're in--love? With--with me?"
Casanith didn't reply, his shoulders shaking with his silent sobs, but he drew his knees further in on himself and made his body into a ball like Ash. The tiefling stared at the back of his head for a long moment, opening his mouth to speak and then shutting it again with a clack of fangs. Hesitantly, he extended one white arm and touched Casanith lightly on the shoulder. The boy jerked under his touch wincing as though it pained him, and Ashnod pulled away quickly, afraid that he had hurt his friend. Then, he scooted himself across the black silken sheets toward the crying boy and pressed himself against his form, stroking the side of his face with one finger.
"It's okay," Ash said awkwardly, his tongue suddenly thick with emotion. He didn't know what he felt, but it was Casanith that mattered now. He could sort out his own confusion and feelings later. "It's all right."
Casan's sobs lessened. He squirmed around to face Ash, digging into the tiefling's embrace. "You mean it?" he sniffed in wonder.
"I think so," the other boy replied, off-balance completely from the event. It all fell into place instantly--the way Casanith's gaze melted when he looked at him, the way he followed him with his eyes, how he was always finding excuses to touch him, to be with him. He enfolded Casanith in a rough hug, pushing his face into the still-trembling youth's light brown hair, nuzzling at him, taking in his smell, his warmth.
"Oh, gods, Ash," Casan sobbed once more, this time with a different emotion. "Oh I love you so much! I want to be here with you forever like this!" He sat up, pulling the tiefling with him, and looked around the room. The others were absent, but from through the open door and down the hallway, the sounds of voices and machinode games could be heard. Relieved and apprehensive at the same time, Casanith embraced his new love fiercely, burying his face in the joint of Ash's collarbone and neck. "Please, just hold me--just for a little while."
"As long as you want," the planetouched boy whispered into his ear, returning the embrace. With a flick of his finger behind Casan's back, he closed and locked the bedroom door, and with a thought, activated the room's wards against entry and divination spells--which, he remembered, were Kendrick's specialty. He would put nothing past Sara, especially since he now saw how she had played him last night. The smug little wench had known the whole time!
With a sigh, he forgave her, seeking solace in the eyes of the human who clung to him and murmuring reassurances as best he could--for himself as well as his friend.
"Black Knight to D2," a choral voice declared to the deaf air. The words had a distinct note of self-satisfied triumph regarding a move well played.
* * *
Kendrick, his look still registering surprise, dutifully reported the last sketchy thoughts he had been able to glean from the boy's thoughts before the ward spells were turned on, cutting him away from access.
"Oh," said Brenna, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve, "isn't that just. beautiful?"
Kendrick put an arm around her shoulder awkwardly, patting her on the arm with his other hand. "Yes, I'm happy for them, too."
"You sure took a chance with them, Sara," J'soon accused the dark- haired girl in the chair next to him. "I mean, Casanith could've just freaked out, or Ash could've bitten him, or something worse."
"But it turned out all right, didn't it?" she replied defiantly. She gave a little half-smile, staring off into some other place. "I hope they really work out for each other--I mean, stay together and stuff. If Ash feels the same way about Casanith." Angry with herself as she was pleased, she dashed a speck of moisture from her eye.
J'soon pretended not to notice, but instead gave her a speculative look. "Would you like to--to play a game of Lockfasts and Liches¹ on the machinode with me? Just to take your mind off of any more matchmaking, of course."
Sara grinned wolfishly in reply. "Do I get to import my sixtieth- level enchantress?"
"Uh--" J'soon fumbled, "I think he's got one of the games from the second edition series installed. They don't let you go over level twenty."
"That's all right," Sara smiled. "I can start a new character."
¹I could have called it "Castles and Crabmen." Or "Towers and Takos." Or "Fortresses and Flying Brains." Or "Bastions and Banderlogs." Or, even worse."Alcazars and Amphisbaena." Say that three times fast.