Warning: Slash ahead. I also do not write linearly.
This is a flashback to Chris and Alex's life before she was captured by demons.
Chris smiled up at the stars, twinkling in the night. They were surprisingly visible, not just thru the illusion cliff but also this close to the city. Of course, since the Great War, there was very little of the city with electric power.
Street lights stood dark. Buildings stood empty and hollow. Occasionally, if one looked hard enough, the twinkling lights of candles could be seen in windows across the city.
As it was, for the intimate band of rebels and renegades, the moon and starlight was enough for them. Tonight, however, the flickering red glow of the firelight lit the inside of the illusion cliff.
This place was a sanctuary.
It looked like a rocky, natural cliff from the outside but was actually a tall and open cave. The natural magics were undetectable by Wyatt's forces. The magic was maintained by a magical creature, Daphne, a seilki. Many of the refugees stayed here sometimes, as a stop on the new underground rail road. Many people passed thru this place.
It was eerily silent, considering the number of people present. At least 30 people were currently living there. A handful of adults with many children, almost all orphans or abandoned. No, the only sound was the crackle of fire and the song of the waves.
Daphne was singing that song. She was a seilki who had taken off her skin and hidden it. She watched over this sanctuary, weaving her natural magic to keep her charges hidden. Right now she was standing waist deep in the waves, her clear voice echoing mournfully along the cliffs.
All could tell her heart ached for the sea.
She could get her skin and return to the waves at any time but she stayed, offering sanctuary for her land brethren.
Several women danced to this song, their bodies swaying in the fire light, like enchantresses weaving their web.
Chris's buddy, Walsh, whispered, "They're so beautiful."
Chris took the bottle of fairy wine from his friend, swallowing and muttering his agreement before handing him back the anonymous brown bottle. Where Walsh had gotten his hands on the wines was anybodies guess. Walsh had a knack for getting things.
The woman's barely clothed bodies' swayed snake like as they danced. Bianca's hair swinging with her movements while her dancing partner's, Alex, hair seemed to flutter with puffs of breezes.
He sat, voyeur like, as the two women twined and intertwined themselves sensuously.
Walsh reached out a hand and made a motion like he was stroking one of the woman's flesh.
"Better watch it. If Bianca catches you copping a feel, she's likely to rip out your arm," he said teasingly.
Walsh replied dreamily, "No, not Bianca. Alex. She's a goddess."
Chris frowned and scowled at the man. "Then she will rip your arm off and I'll hold you down."
Walsh started at his harsh tone. "Look, man, I wasn't going to… I know she's off limits and all but a man can appreciate."
"Just so long as the appreciation is from afar. No one touches my sister."
Walsh shot him a baleful glare but Chris was distracted by the pair of women. Bianca had Alex in her arms, kissing her deeply. Alex was reciprocating in kind. The two parted, Bianca tugging on Alex's arm. Chris could hear Alex say that she couldn't go, that they had gotten all tangled up in the firelight. Chris could almost see Bianca roll her eyes as she led Alex tipsily away from the fire.
The two women sat near Chris and Walsh, pulled up in blankets. They were old worn blankets, crusted with salt but still quite warm. Bianca sat against the cliffs with Alex curled up in her arms.
Chris leaned over to give his girlfriend a quick kiss. Alex smirked at him. "Don't I get a kiss too?" she asked. Chris gave her a quick peck as well but deepened it when he felt Walsh's jealous eyes on him.
There was a snort and Liz said, "Show off." It was obvious this third woman had listened to their previous conversation. Liz was a kind, gentle woman with motherly, dark eyes. She was nursing her third child Tracy. The tiny half-breed was wriggling mightily in her grasp.
Liz was alone on the beach, her other two children with their father in the city. Quinton was part witch, part ghost and had the unique ability to hide in shadows and spy. He could also create shadow portals which anybody could use. This made Quinton and his family very valuable, since he could easily search for survivors or refugees without alerting the wrong people.
The beach itself was filled with magical half breeds. A small boy was at the water's edge. He'd creep down to the edge and gaze at the water. When a wave hit, he'd back up quickly to avoid the salty touch. His name was Petra and he was a half tree nymph. No one was sure what the other half was and no one made mention of it.
And no one was going to tell the boy that.
Petra's mother had handed the baby over, the tiny being barely 6 months old, to one of the Knights of the Wandering Claddaug, sobbing her eyes out. The nymph loved her son but had told the Knight that she could not stand to see him and remember. She also wished for a better life for her boy. The Knight understood, smuggling the baby out of the city, away to people who could be trusted.
No one made question on how he had come here. It was a soiled secret all who knew kept. For, you see, Wyatt's knights (if one could call the bullies such) - his army kept to different rules. They felt that those who had power could take what they wanted. It was actually great sport to chase nymphs and capture them. Many nymphs had died from the abuse the uncaring army inflicted. Others, still, would kill themselves after having been forced to suffer the ruffians' "charms."
Petra was a stick figure of a boy, almost like thin tree limbs made flesh. He always had a greenish cast to his skin and would eat only vegetables and fruits. The boy could also eat dirt and the leaves off trees. This, of course, gave them no help with Alex who was convinced that normal humans could eat such stuff as well.
Beside Petra, a large boy skulked. Markus was a half ogre and half human. His mother had sought refuge for herself and her remaining children. The ogre had hidden them in his cave and the two had grown close. When Markus had turned of age, he'd left to fight as well. He was eager to join the rebels and the rebels had welcomed him with open arms. As far as they didn't want to involve teens and children, the world in which they were living in forced them to become involved.
Wyatt's troops were not against using children in their quest for power. The Knights of the Wandering Claddaug also used children and teens by teaching them how to fight- how to survive. Though the Knights were also able to place them in better positions then they otherwise could have been in. Markus was one of the guardians of this sanctuary. He was learning to fight and defend himself with the Knights who passed thru as teachers.
In fact, Nixa was showing some of the youngsters knife throwing a little ways away. The children were fascinated by the games Nixa came up with. Her Hunting partner, Bridget was off in the city. The Hunter was hot on the trail of a Luthos demon and hoped to kill it while the city was currently in turmoil.
Markus picked up little Petra and raised the sick boy up over his head. One could expect a boy to cry out when something like this happened but Petra didn't give a cry. Silence was law in the sanctuary and little Petra knew this well.
He only gasped and tried to wriggle out of Markus's grip. A couple of others turned to watch the two boys' antics. Markus's face was split by a huge smile as he stepped into the sea.
The adults by the fire watching were not worried. Markus would not let anything happen to his little friend. And being half- ogre, Markus was big and strong. Even just entering his teens, he was almost a mini-Schwarzenegger.
Markus went into the ocean until he was about chest deep then dropped Petra in. The little boy came up sputtering and Markus picked up once again out of the water, making sure he was ok. Once assured, he dunked him again and started to instruct little Petra on how to swim. The big boy kept a firm grip on Petra's belt, dangling him in the water while he learned how to move his limbs.
Chris felt a tap and looked over to see Liz. She pointed to his side and he turned to see Bianca and Alex. Bianca had a decidedly evil look in her eyes and her arms were hidden by the blanket pulled up to Alex's neck. The young blond woman had a look of bliss on her face as she gasped, arching. Her hands were clasped back around Bianca's head, grasping each other as well as tangling themselves in the long raven black hair.
Liz whispered, "I can watch the children," and smiled conspirously at the lovers.
Thou Chris didn't notice any of that. His eyes were locked with Bianca as she teased Alex. Alex thrashed her head, groaning and Chris leaned over to kiss her again, making sure she didn't scream out in her pleasure.
This far from the city, it was unlikely that any troops or probes could over hear but they never, ever took that chance.
Once Bianca pulled her hands out from under the blankets, pulling Chris up for her own kiss, the group got ready to move.
Walsh gave a disappointed glare and chugged back more of his fairy wine.
The trio traipsed off thru the illusion cliff, the night quickly turning from fire lit to moonlit once they were past the barrier. Looking back, they could only see a solid cliff with nothing by the fire visible. The children who were playing in the ocean looked like wild creatures, unsupervised.
The trio went far along the beach to a secluded section. A pair of lovers was already on the beach, basking in the afterglow and the night. They exchanged small nods of acknowledgement before Chris claimed his own bit of beach, laying out the blankets brought with them.
He was hit in the head by something cloth and looked over. His gals were stripping, tossing aside their clothes then grabbing hands to run into the water. Chris nearly took a header into the sand as he stripped off his own clothes and dashed after them.
They played in the water, touching wet flesh, grabbing kisses when they could. Eventually, Chris, frustrated, pulled them from the water, drawing them to the blankets to dry off and collapse in a pile of flesh. There was more touching and kissing as they made love to the sound of the waves in the moon light.
