Chapter Forty One
Jea pulled out an extra sleeping pallet and gave it to Aruka. "Here you go, lad. These are yours."
Less timid-though still filthy-the furry teenager smiled his thanks as he spread his blankets out-right next to Phalyssa. Jea raised one eyebrow, but said nothing as the young man hugged her daughter. "'Night." he whispered.
Jea rolled over and curled up in Laguna's arms, worming deep into his embrace. "G'night, Laguna. Love you."
* * * * * *
Jea was up and cooking when Aruka rose early the next morning. He padded softly over to the woman and tapped her nervously on the shoulder.
The half elf turned. "Yes? What can I help you with, Aruka?"
For a moment, Aruka was struck by the resemblance between Jea and Phalyssa. Both had the same elven face, with matching sets of dichromatic eyes. Their builds were even similar-except for the fact that Phalyssa was two inches taller than her mother.
Of course there were differences. Hair color was one, bust size another (a sort of running joke between Jea and her daughter. Phalyssa ended up with a D-cup, but no one else in Jea's family has a bust that big. Not that Aruka knows this.) One difference did leap out. When Jea spoke, a person could hear a very faint, suppressed accent-and when the woman was emotional, upset, or angry, the accent got VERY obvious. (Think of Jea's accent as a cross between Southern hick-I can say that, cause ½ my family is from Dixie!!-and an old style Celtic peasant.)
Aruka recovered from his silence. "Is there a place I can bathe nearby? I have this desire to rid my flesh of all this." He gestured to the dirt caked on him.
Jea laughed and replied, "Sure is, boyo!" Reaching into her Bag, she handed him some large, fluffy towels and a bar of soap. "Small stream that way, bout five minutes out. Go ahead, and take your time. We won't leave without ya."
Aruka thanked her and dashed off to find the stream.
* * * * * *
Phalyssa was gleefully recounting the tale of her and Ambermist in the dungeon to her mother. She paid careful attention to detail, describing everything to the utmost (including feeding the werewolf his own weiner..) Jea was laughing in amusement, and she clapped her daughter on the back. "Good fer you, lass! I'm proud of ya!"
The silver haired girl was about to respond when Aruka returned. "Hi! I'm back! Hey, Phalyssa, do you have a comb I can borrow?"
They turned to him, and everyone in camp was very surprised. He had cleaned up, and stood there with damp hair. His skin was covered in a downy fur, golden on his back and limbs, white on his stomach, like a lion's coat. His ears twitched independently, and his tail, with its red furred tip, swung lazily to and fro. His face, covered in the same fur as his body, was puffed out slightly, and catlike, right down to the whiskers and pink nose. Little fangs peeked out of the corners of his mouth when he smiled.
"Wow," Phalyssa breathed softly. Then she jerked herself up. "Oh, yeah.Um.Here!" She reached into her pack and tossed him her comb. "Catch!"
The felinoid caught the comb and began to work the tangles out of his fluffy mane. When that was finished, he carefully put the back of his hair in a low ponytail, wrapped with a strip of linen. He handed Phalyssa back her comb. "Okies! I's ready to go!!"
* * * * * *
The group set out in earnest for Barak's village an hour or so later. They walked along a forest trail in small clusters of twos and threes. Aruka had pretty much attached himself to Phalyssa's shadow, and was skipping along beside her like a two year old. It was almost comical.
For the first time in a long time, Aruka felt safe. He trusted Phalyssa wholeheartedly-after all, she rescued him. That had to count for something, right?
Just then, the teen spotted a beautiful flower, ice colored, (so white its blue, ya know?) and perfect. Pausing, he picked it with extreme care.
Phalyssa noticed his pause. "Aruka? What's wrong?"
Everyone else stopped and turned. The young man held the flower out to Phalyssa proudly. "This is for youuu!!!"
Ambermist sniggered, and Jea hid a smile behind her hand. Phalyssa gave them a dirty look before beaming at Aruka. "Thank you," she said, turning slightly pink as she tucked the flower in her hair behind one slightly pointed ear; brushing her hair away from the ear slightly to hold the flower in place.
Aruka felt a warmth spread through him at her smile. Twice as happy as before, he followed her down the trail.
His eyes caught another flower, bright purple. Picking it, he tucked it into his own mane as Phalyssa had done.
They had gone a little ways before Aruka spotted yet a third flower, this one a deep sapphire. He plucked it carefully and pranced ahead to Jea, presenting it to her in much th same manner as he had to Phalyssa. The half elven woman smiled pleasantly and placed the flower in her own hair.
Over the course of the morning, Aruka went systematically down the party. He gave Ambermist a blossom the color of midnight, and for Laguna he wove a wreath of small white flowers. To Dumbugg he presented a vine of small green buds-which the half orc promptly ate.
As it was getting close to noon, Aruka sniffed the air. "I smell water."
Everyone looked at him. Jea tilted her head as if listening. "It's a lake. It has fish, and a nice sandy beach. I think it's a good place to stop for lunch. Anyone second the motion?"
The chorus of votes was unanimous, and the ranger led them expertly through the woods to a large lake, complete with a waterfall. "I'll go ahead and fix some lunch, okay?" Jea remarked, pulling open her Bag of Holding.
Aruka ducked into the trees briefly. Phalyssa didn't notice-she was too busy shucking her outer clothing and heading for the lake to swim. (She's wearing the medieval version of a bathing suit! Hentais!!) She dove of the upraised bank into the deep water.
While she swam lazily in broad circles, Aruka watched from the trees. Carefully shucking his pants and hanging them on a tree, he changed in to his lion form. Unbeknownst to him, his feline form was that of a cave lion, the horse sized version of today's lion that lived during the Ice Age. His half grown mane was thick and soft, and his body fur was tri- layered, containing: a soft, downy undercoat, an insulating layer, and water shedding guard hairs.
Tail twitching, he slunk to the water's edge. Slipping in with barely a ripple, he swam under the water to Phalyssa. Kicking his paws against the bottom, he sped to and broke the surface. Grinning he wrapped his front paws around the girl.
With a small shriek, she was pressed tight against his underside. Her legs kept kicking in an instinctive water-treading movement. "Lemme go."
In response, he playfully licked her face. She started pushing against him with her feet. In solution, he wrapped his back paws around her legs. This motion caused both to sink.
As they sank slowly, Phalyssa was acutely aware of Aruka's body against hers-especially that which she'd noticed the night before. She could feel it pressing against her lower abdomen, and it was already warm and somewhat stiff. Her beating heart sped up, and she stopped struggling.
Aruka noticed her too. Her slender, lithe form was warm and inviting, even when he was in animal form. As the teenaged lion shifter felt himself begin to respond to the conditions, he remembered his promise to Laguna.
Panicked, he let go of her, and kicked his way to the surface. As the two teens broke above the water, Dumbugg was coming into the water with a makeshift harpoon.
Aruka swam hurriedly past him to the shore and heaved himself up on the bank, dripping. Phalyssa came out of the water behind him, and took a running leap to land on his back.
He OOOFED as her light weight landed on him. Turning his head he growled querulously.
"Now you're it!" The silver haired girl threw her arms around his shaggy neck and hugged him tight. Then she jumped off and backed away, hands on her hips. "C'mon!"
Rising, he proceeded to shake his thick fur dry, showering Phalyssa. She gave him a dirty look and began squeezing her hair out.
Aruka's gold-green eyes glittered with mischief, He charged a Phalyssa, screeching to a halt inches from her nose. With his rough pink tongue he licked his nose before dropping to a crouch and indicating his back.
"You want me to climb on?" Phalyssa asked. He nodded. "Okay!" The teen scrambled onto his back and gripped his body with her knees and hands.
Once she was settled, Aruka stood and moved at a brisk trot into the woods. Once they were beyond the tree line, the giant feline took off at a full out run. Phalyssa was laughing and hanging low on his neck.
After a while, he slowed to a halt, probably 50 yards from the lake. Phalyssa collapsed to the ground, windblown and breathless. "That was great!"
* * * * * *
Dumbugg dove down with his crude weapon, searching. He soon found what he was looking for. With a silent cry, he thrust the hooked spear with all his might. Blood filled the water around the half orc, and Dumbugg used his free hand to grasp the fish's fin while his legs kicked towards the surface.
Jea watched in amusement as the half orc carried the 60 pound fish to her. "We eat?" he inquired.
Nodded, Jea knelt to prepare the fish for cooking in her magic "crockpot." As she did, she looked around for her daughter.
Jea pulled out an extra sleeping pallet and gave it to Aruka. "Here you go, lad. These are yours."
Less timid-though still filthy-the furry teenager smiled his thanks as he spread his blankets out-right next to Phalyssa. Jea raised one eyebrow, but said nothing as the young man hugged her daughter. "'Night." he whispered.
Jea rolled over and curled up in Laguna's arms, worming deep into his embrace. "G'night, Laguna. Love you."
* * * * * *
Jea was up and cooking when Aruka rose early the next morning. He padded softly over to the woman and tapped her nervously on the shoulder.
The half elf turned. "Yes? What can I help you with, Aruka?"
For a moment, Aruka was struck by the resemblance between Jea and Phalyssa. Both had the same elven face, with matching sets of dichromatic eyes. Their builds were even similar-except for the fact that Phalyssa was two inches taller than her mother.
Of course there were differences. Hair color was one, bust size another (a sort of running joke between Jea and her daughter. Phalyssa ended up with a D-cup, but no one else in Jea's family has a bust that big. Not that Aruka knows this.) One difference did leap out. When Jea spoke, a person could hear a very faint, suppressed accent-and when the woman was emotional, upset, or angry, the accent got VERY obvious. (Think of Jea's accent as a cross between Southern hick-I can say that, cause ½ my family is from Dixie!!-and an old style Celtic peasant.)
Aruka recovered from his silence. "Is there a place I can bathe nearby? I have this desire to rid my flesh of all this." He gestured to the dirt caked on him.
Jea laughed and replied, "Sure is, boyo!" Reaching into her Bag, she handed him some large, fluffy towels and a bar of soap. "Small stream that way, bout five minutes out. Go ahead, and take your time. We won't leave without ya."
Aruka thanked her and dashed off to find the stream.
* * * * * *
Phalyssa was gleefully recounting the tale of her and Ambermist in the dungeon to her mother. She paid careful attention to detail, describing everything to the utmost (including feeding the werewolf his own weiner..) Jea was laughing in amusement, and she clapped her daughter on the back. "Good fer you, lass! I'm proud of ya!"
The silver haired girl was about to respond when Aruka returned. "Hi! I'm back! Hey, Phalyssa, do you have a comb I can borrow?"
They turned to him, and everyone in camp was very surprised. He had cleaned up, and stood there with damp hair. His skin was covered in a downy fur, golden on his back and limbs, white on his stomach, like a lion's coat. His ears twitched independently, and his tail, with its red furred tip, swung lazily to and fro. His face, covered in the same fur as his body, was puffed out slightly, and catlike, right down to the whiskers and pink nose. Little fangs peeked out of the corners of his mouth when he smiled.
"Wow," Phalyssa breathed softly. Then she jerked herself up. "Oh, yeah.Um.Here!" She reached into her pack and tossed him her comb. "Catch!"
The felinoid caught the comb and began to work the tangles out of his fluffy mane. When that was finished, he carefully put the back of his hair in a low ponytail, wrapped with a strip of linen. He handed Phalyssa back her comb. "Okies! I's ready to go!!"
* * * * * *
The group set out in earnest for Barak's village an hour or so later. They walked along a forest trail in small clusters of twos and threes. Aruka had pretty much attached himself to Phalyssa's shadow, and was skipping along beside her like a two year old. It was almost comical.
For the first time in a long time, Aruka felt safe. He trusted Phalyssa wholeheartedly-after all, she rescued him. That had to count for something, right?
Just then, the teen spotted a beautiful flower, ice colored, (so white its blue, ya know?) and perfect. Pausing, he picked it with extreme care.
Phalyssa noticed his pause. "Aruka? What's wrong?"
Everyone else stopped and turned. The young man held the flower out to Phalyssa proudly. "This is for youuu!!!"
Ambermist sniggered, and Jea hid a smile behind her hand. Phalyssa gave them a dirty look before beaming at Aruka. "Thank you," she said, turning slightly pink as she tucked the flower in her hair behind one slightly pointed ear; brushing her hair away from the ear slightly to hold the flower in place.
Aruka felt a warmth spread through him at her smile. Twice as happy as before, he followed her down the trail.
His eyes caught another flower, bright purple. Picking it, he tucked it into his own mane as Phalyssa had done.
They had gone a little ways before Aruka spotted yet a third flower, this one a deep sapphire. He plucked it carefully and pranced ahead to Jea, presenting it to her in much th same manner as he had to Phalyssa. The half elven woman smiled pleasantly and placed the flower in her own hair.
Over the course of the morning, Aruka went systematically down the party. He gave Ambermist a blossom the color of midnight, and for Laguna he wove a wreath of small white flowers. To Dumbugg he presented a vine of small green buds-which the half orc promptly ate.
As it was getting close to noon, Aruka sniffed the air. "I smell water."
Everyone looked at him. Jea tilted her head as if listening. "It's a lake. It has fish, and a nice sandy beach. I think it's a good place to stop for lunch. Anyone second the motion?"
The chorus of votes was unanimous, and the ranger led them expertly through the woods to a large lake, complete with a waterfall. "I'll go ahead and fix some lunch, okay?" Jea remarked, pulling open her Bag of Holding.
Aruka ducked into the trees briefly. Phalyssa didn't notice-she was too busy shucking her outer clothing and heading for the lake to swim. (She's wearing the medieval version of a bathing suit! Hentais!!) She dove of the upraised bank into the deep water.
While she swam lazily in broad circles, Aruka watched from the trees. Carefully shucking his pants and hanging them on a tree, he changed in to his lion form. Unbeknownst to him, his feline form was that of a cave lion, the horse sized version of today's lion that lived during the Ice Age. His half grown mane was thick and soft, and his body fur was tri- layered, containing: a soft, downy undercoat, an insulating layer, and water shedding guard hairs.
Tail twitching, he slunk to the water's edge. Slipping in with barely a ripple, he swam under the water to Phalyssa. Kicking his paws against the bottom, he sped to and broke the surface. Grinning he wrapped his front paws around the girl.
With a small shriek, she was pressed tight against his underside. Her legs kept kicking in an instinctive water-treading movement. "Lemme go."
In response, he playfully licked her face. She started pushing against him with her feet. In solution, he wrapped his back paws around her legs. This motion caused both to sink.
As they sank slowly, Phalyssa was acutely aware of Aruka's body against hers-especially that which she'd noticed the night before. She could feel it pressing against her lower abdomen, and it was already warm and somewhat stiff. Her beating heart sped up, and she stopped struggling.
Aruka noticed her too. Her slender, lithe form was warm and inviting, even when he was in animal form. As the teenaged lion shifter felt himself begin to respond to the conditions, he remembered his promise to Laguna.
Panicked, he let go of her, and kicked his way to the surface. As the two teens broke above the water, Dumbugg was coming into the water with a makeshift harpoon.
Aruka swam hurriedly past him to the shore and heaved himself up on the bank, dripping. Phalyssa came out of the water behind him, and took a running leap to land on his back.
He OOOFED as her light weight landed on him. Turning his head he growled querulously.
"Now you're it!" The silver haired girl threw her arms around his shaggy neck and hugged him tight. Then she jumped off and backed away, hands on her hips. "C'mon!"
Rising, he proceeded to shake his thick fur dry, showering Phalyssa. She gave him a dirty look and began squeezing her hair out.
Aruka's gold-green eyes glittered with mischief, He charged a Phalyssa, screeching to a halt inches from her nose. With his rough pink tongue he licked his nose before dropping to a crouch and indicating his back.
"You want me to climb on?" Phalyssa asked. He nodded. "Okay!" The teen scrambled onto his back and gripped his body with her knees and hands.
Once she was settled, Aruka stood and moved at a brisk trot into the woods. Once they were beyond the tree line, the giant feline took off at a full out run. Phalyssa was laughing and hanging low on his neck.
After a while, he slowed to a halt, probably 50 yards from the lake. Phalyssa collapsed to the ground, windblown and breathless. "That was great!"
* * * * * *
Dumbugg dove down with his crude weapon, searching. He soon found what he was looking for. With a silent cry, he thrust the hooked spear with all his might. Blood filled the water around the half orc, and Dumbugg used his free hand to grasp the fish's fin while his legs kicked towards the surface.
Jea watched in amusement as the half orc carried the 60 pound fish to her. "We eat?" he inquired.
Nodded, Jea knelt to prepare the fish for cooking in her magic "crockpot." As she did, she looked around for her daughter.