Loose Ends
By Trynia Merin
Disclaimer: Excalibur and its characters are property of XMEN. This is a work of fiction, and is not meant for profit or to demean the characters. The events here take place after my first story Dreams Nailed. Please R and R.
***
Chapter 8
"Why do you waste your affection on a man who no longer loves you," Khaos asked Cerise.
"Let us not speak here," Cerise said, as Khaos helped her to her feet.
"Do I have your leave to accompany you to your private quarters, so that I may speak with you further of these matters, milady?" Khaos asked.
"Agreed," she said, and turned to D'marran. "You are in command this watch. As soon as we are in proximity to the enemy's base, inform me on my private channel."
"What about Excalibur?"
"They have earned their rest," Cerise said to D'marran. "Keep me informed of any activities. And if we should be detected, do not hesitate to rise the alarm..."
"Aye, Commander," saluted D'marran. "May your rest period be tranquil."
"Come this way, Lord Khaos," Cerise said, taking his hand in her space gloved one, and bidding her to follow him. Khaos followed her, down the long winding corridor to her chambers, where Cerise swept her hand over the door and it dissipated to show her private command suite. She stepped in, and invited him into the small antechamber. With but a press of a button the seams of her armor opened and she stepped out, shifting the armor into its cabinet where it would be repaired and cleaned. Khaos touched his talisman, and his own space armor dissipated, leaving him clothed in h is customary costume. A light mist showered them before they stepped into the body of the chamber, where a low table and a tridimensional entertainment center curved near another alcove.
"Relax yourself and remove your armaments, you will not need them here, Khaos," Cerise said. He unbelted his twin blades, laying them to one side as he sat on the sofa Cerise indicated.
"You have a fine ship, and the command of many warriors, Cerise," he said, the need for formality leaving him.
"Do you wish to partake of refreshments? The synthesizers..."
"I know milady," Khaos nodded, knowing she would speak when she wished. Free of her space armor, the tight fitting bodysuit he was familiar with now sheathed her muscular form, the nape of her neck visible as she took the white plume in her hand and slowly walked over to the fresher alcove. She took but a second to step inside and a light bathed her scalp, simply reattaching the plume to its roots. When she stepped out, the long white plume was again restored to its previous position.
"Forgive the delay. What is it you wish to ingest?"
"Your choice. If there are wines among the Shi'ar, I think this would be a good occasion for one," he said. "I doubt your machines can duplicate a glass of meraiinian mead well."
"Shaskofrugrnon 45300," she said to the machine, as her fingers played over the controls. Two glasses of a strange blue substance in tall swirled drinking containers were produced, and she picked each one up, one in either hand.
Khaos sat down on the curving sweep of the settee b y the low table, and glanced at the rear view of the Commander as her back was turned. The restored plume spilled down over her back, partly obscuring her shapely flanks. Strange how an alien warrior could stir the blood far more then the elfin women of his realm. It was not her mere physical beauty that now aroused him, but the true package comprised of the many bits of who she was. She strode back to him on shapely long legs, her muscular bound form far more solid then the graceful sylph forms of the women of his own race. There were the other races as well that inhabited his world and city of Ameroth, but he had never chosen a mate. Yes there were the women who satisfied his needs as those of his companions, but they always remained behind when the warriors were on their quest. Those females who were warriors often accompanied the parties, but few ever dallied in relationships with their questmates. It wasn't done. Except when one was lifemated and pairbonded. Only when one had shared fight and blood could one truly know when one's lifemate had appeared. He took the drinking vessel she offered, and smiled politely as she sat beside him, and looked at him in strange confusion as he clinked his glass to hers and insisted on a proclamation.
"To your health," he said. "And your fine ship."
"Your customs are much like those of Earth," she said to him as he sipped the ethanol intoxicant, specially formulated to give the hazing effect yet not linger in the system for hours like the ethanol 'drinks' of Earthers.
"Now that the pleasantries have been made, I ask you again, why do you waste your affection on a man, and I speak of Kurt Wagner, who loves you not. Not in the way you profess?" Khaos asked her, his moonstone eyes fixing into hers. "I think your challenge of his mate was warranted, but don't you think your challenge without informing her was underhanded?"
"It was not," Cerise protested, her face flushing in anger. "I simply wished to introduce her into the ways of offensive combat. It was she who insisted on escalating. According to Grand Jhar training, if a warrior is not performing to capacity, it is incumbent upon the commander to test the limits of that warrior to draw out their natural defensive instincts. The fact that Amanda Sefton finally defended herself in the fashion you saw showed she was capable of far more then she professed. She simply required the correct motivation..."
"Cerise, she isn't one of your soldiers, a warrior under your command such as D'marran and Shakarr," Khaos shook his head. "If you are to be a leader, you must realize the universe doesn't work like the Shi'ar imperium..."
"I realize she is a native of Earth, but she is in the team Excalibur, and Kurt enforces discipline. I simply assumed one of his warriors would know the codes of combat, and use their talents and skills as a warrior of his caliber should."
"Amanda is far more then a fighter. She is a sorceress. And not all trained in magic use powers that are for combat. She is primarily a healer, trained in the arts by her mother and family. Did it not occur to you that fighting isn't in her blood as it is in yours? Not ALL of us are born to be warriors."
"But I did not think," Cerise lowered her head. "And now Kurt is upset with me."
"He is, because you attacked his woman, his mate. You made a serious mistake, Cerise," Khaos chastised her. "You've been apart from him for a long time. He's moved on. You should do the same."
"He came after me when I stood trial for a crime... and said he would defend me with his life. He was terrified when he saw me shed blood, but still accepted me. And now that her Majestrix has given me the leave to command this mission, I thought it would be the time to profess my desire to take him as consort. Isn't it customary for Earthers to take mates for life? If they profess their love?"
"Are you expecting Kurt to push Amanda away, because you've come back?" Khaos asked.
"He professed his love," she said. "Normally those of the Grand Jhar don't form emotional bonds in the service of the Empress. We satisfy our instinctual needs when wanting to reproduce, or when our missions are complete and we can qualify for consorts."
"Are you in the service of the Empress for a crime?" he asked.
"Indeed, I must serve my life sentence at her side..." she said.
"Then your mission is for the rest of your life, in her service," said Khaos. "Is it not."
"Yes," Cerise nodded.
"And you desire Kurt as your consort?" asked Khaos, sipping his beverage and peering into her eyes deeply.
"Is it wrong? How can he forget the love we shared? I won't throw away the one I have formed emotional bonds with. Did his love mean nothing?"
"Perhaps, but from what you say, this realm is vast, and the space between Earth and Shi'ar needs great powers to cross. Kurt Wagner's duty is here, and yours is in the service of your Empress. You can't expect him to drop it all and come with you to the Imperium, can you? He didn't think he would see you again, if what you say about serving Lilandra your emperess is true? So he tried to move on."
"No... b t he loves me," she said. "He has to..."
"He still cares for you, but he loves another, Cerise," said Khaos. "You must forget this foolishness and remember your duty to your Empress comes first. You and I both cannot escape our duties. And neither can Kurt."
"Can you honestly say that you have never found love, and had it consume you?" she asked.
"There are other customs. You said that being a warrior means you couldn't form emotional bonds till your mission is complete. And you must have stirrings of the blood you can't deny. The urge to mate and make love is strong. Can't you find another to slake your appetites while you find another to love?"
"Indeed, but I desire Kurt," she said.
"You can't have him. He isn't yours anymore," Khaos said. "And you woman are a fool to throw away everything for a feeling he doesn't' return. You have a command, and warriors who look to your for guidance. And your duty is to them, and to save Brian and Meggan. You can't throw THAT away, and attacking Amanda won't win Nightcrawler. For what you did, he's furious, and you've compromised his trust," Khaos said harshly. "A commander should know better Cerise."
"How can you judge me?" she snapped.
"I can because I care for you, Cerise," he said simply. "And it is folly to see you waste your affections on Kurt. When you have others you can win, or who would desire your love."
"Others being?" she said angrily.
"Others being those before you. Those of us who have felt the spark. I cannot return to my world, and my first duty is to do just that. Yours is to serve your Majestrix. But the time between that day I return and the now is perhaps long, and that time can be filled with many memories. It is the NOW, not the past you must focus on, Cerise," Khaos said, taking her hand in his, and kissing the back.
"Do you mean... you specifically?" Cerise asked, her gaze turning to his. "But..."
"I mean me, milady. I can't return now. It was foolish of me not to stay with you and ask for the help of Excalibur. Now that fate has brought us again together, I profess my affection for you, which has grown, and I will not be denied by your foolishness," he said, his lips traveling up to the bare flesh on her arm, above her gauntlet.
"But you said... yourself that you must return to your world," she gasped as Khaos' warm lips glided up her flesh to her neck, and softly kissed it. At the same time his arm had slipped around her hips and pulled it close to his. She moaned, tossing her head back as all control deserted her, and the hunger for affection won over her trepidation.
"Not now, sometime then," he whispered, silver eyes gleaming like moonlight. Taking her face in his hands he cupped it, and peered deep into her eyes, her body freezing as their eyes met, and she felt his hot breath in her face.
"I..." she stammered, at a loss for words. A tear formed in her eyes, and she felt her hands sliding up and down his armored arms. Taking his face she seized it and pressed her lips to his. Khaos' arms wrapped her body close and crushed it to his, hands plunging into her feathery locks. Lips moved and his hot breath merged as she gave him a deep lip massage that matched the hunger in her empty heart.
"The time for you and me is now," he said, as they parted from their deep kiss, arms entwined around one another, their armored bodies crushed together, his arms thin but strong like iron. Her fingers tangled in his silvery hair, and she panted deeply, unable to stop her body from screaming in hunger.
"Your duty..."
"duty is duty, and perhaps I will stand before your Empress and plead that your service be known when this mission is done," Khaos said. "And if your Imperium's powers over space and time be great enough to open the way to my world, perhaps she would welcome intercourse between my world and hers. And demand that one in her service represent her. One such as you perhaps?"
"You must be careful not to promise what you can't deliver," she panted, tears forming in her eyes.
"I vow I will try. I will need your strong skills by my side. As I take the throne of Ameroth, and unite my peoples. The choice is yours to contemplate. But before this can be a reality, you and I must know each other better. WE have been apart for far too long, Cerise, woman of light," he purred deep in his throat, a silvery aura encompassing his body as his technomagical power washed over her senses. Her crimson light responded in its own, forming a shell that bound them together.
"what are you..."
"You showed me the custom of lip massage. I show you now the custom of combining our energies. The energies of my technomagical are around you. Can you match them with your power?"
"We have a similar ritual on Shaskofrugnon, my home world," she said. "We all generate malleable light fields that conform to our will. I am genestock of Sabruki, Zarstok and Kuli ka, all wielders of the power from the Source..."
"That is a mighty heritage to uphold," he laughed in amusement. His golden power washed over her as he stood, and pulled her to stand before him. "Give me your energy. Match mine..."
Instead of being able to generate solid light, she felt the caress of his energies seeping under and through her armor to caress her skin with precision only met by those of the legendary Sabruki. Cerise closed her eyes and opened them, sending her red powers to sweep over his body and the chinks of his armor. Slowly the energies of IBIC dissipated her concentration, and her armor slowly dissolved. His did as well, revealing his jerkin and doublet clad body beneath. His hands moved over her, removing the armored gloves and tugging at the breastplate of her armor which fell away.
"Is there more then this?" she asked. "Isn't your society one that engages in physical interaction."
"Woman, you have much to learn," he said. "You take it at face value this is the custom..."
She realized he had been playing with her. His ebony hands moved over silky white skin, his lips tracing silver fire as they found her neck and moved lower to her waist. She gasped, tangling fingers in the white river of his hair as he progressed up then down. Indeed she had passed the first test of power, for her energies matched those of IBIC, and she was indeed judged a worthy match for his energies. They would indeed be compatible for the next step ahead. New to the feel of his hands on her body she surrendered, as she seized his face, planting another firm lip massage with all the finesse and skill Nightcrawler had taught her. She nibbled on the tips of his pointed ears, and he moaned in turn, his slender body hard with muscles much like that of Kurt's body.
"Do you want me, woman?" he asked her softly, his fingers exploring hot sensitive flesh, his eyes making love to her muscular form now.
"I desire... I hunger... for physical..." she gasped in short spurts, his fingers sending soothing fire in their touch as he put the power of IBIC behind them.
"My hunger matches yours. We can be one, like you were with Kurt," he whispered seductively as he molded his hard body to hers. Cerise panted, then crushed his body to hers, kissing him hard and deep as she lifted him off his feet and bore him towards the bed module. She closed her eyes, trying to remember what she and Kurt had done the few times before.
"I ask again, do you want me, woman?" he asked, arching up over her. "Yes or no? I can give you great pleasure... make you forget him..."
"I want... you... Khaos," she stammered. Not since her contact with the Source could she feel such a rush of blinding fire and ice simultaneously.
She was magnificent, strong and brave as he battled to bring her as much happiness as he could muster. Her soft feathers moved through his fingers, her liquid brown eyes fixed into his moonstone ones, with nothing but his admiration and something else she dared call love there present.
When they were finished with their love, he lay there upon her strong body, kissing her and worshipping her magnificence. He whispered into her ear, "You are truly worthy of me, and worthy to be with a man who loves you, and no other..."
"My lady Lilandra will never release me," she sobbed softly. "I am a killer. Kurt did not understand when I shed blood, and he rejected me... and I only can live to serve the empire..."
"Hush, I too have taken life," Khaos whispered, embracing her in his dark skinned arms and kissing her between her breasts. "And can you not see we should share what we can now?"
"Brian and Meggan..."
"Will be avenged. They were your friends and your teammates. We will find them..." he promised.
"Kurt perhaps hates me... he said he loved me... and now... you say the same. How can I trust..."
"I am here, and he is not. Shh, don't utter his name,' Khaos said with a slow smile. As dark as the stars his skin was close to hers, as white as the Milky Way. From another realm of existence he was, his power so much the same and yet so different. Two lonely warriors came together in the night, and shared their warmth. It might not be forever, but it was enough for the battle ahead.
*****
By Trynia Merin
Disclaimer: Excalibur and its characters are property of XMEN. This is a work of fiction, and is not meant for profit or to demean the characters. The events here take place after my first story Dreams Nailed. Please R and R.
***
Chapter 8
"Why do you waste your affection on a man who no longer loves you," Khaos asked Cerise.
"Let us not speak here," Cerise said, as Khaos helped her to her feet.
"Do I have your leave to accompany you to your private quarters, so that I may speak with you further of these matters, milady?" Khaos asked.
"Agreed," she said, and turned to D'marran. "You are in command this watch. As soon as we are in proximity to the enemy's base, inform me on my private channel."
"What about Excalibur?"
"They have earned their rest," Cerise said to D'marran. "Keep me informed of any activities. And if we should be detected, do not hesitate to rise the alarm..."
"Aye, Commander," saluted D'marran. "May your rest period be tranquil."
"Come this way, Lord Khaos," Cerise said, taking his hand in her space gloved one, and bidding her to follow him. Khaos followed her, down the long winding corridor to her chambers, where Cerise swept her hand over the door and it dissipated to show her private command suite. She stepped in, and invited him into the small antechamber. With but a press of a button the seams of her armor opened and she stepped out, shifting the armor into its cabinet where it would be repaired and cleaned. Khaos touched his talisman, and his own space armor dissipated, leaving him clothed in h is customary costume. A light mist showered them before they stepped into the body of the chamber, where a low table and a tridimensional entertainment center curved near another alcove.
"Relax yourself and remove your armaments, you will not need them here, Khaos," Cerise said. He unbelted his twin blades, laying them to one side as he sat on the sofa Cerise indicated.
"You have a fine ship, and the command of many warriors, Cerise," he said, the need for formality leaving him.
"Do you wish to partake of refreshments? The synthesizers..."
"I know milady," Khaos nodded, knowing she would speak when she wished. Free of her space armor, the tight fitting bodysuit he was familiar with now sheathed her muscular form, the nape of her neck visible as she took the white plume in her hand and slowly walked over to the fresher alcove. She took but a second to step inside and a light bathed her scalp, simply reattaching the plume to its roots. When she stepped out, the long white plume was again restored to its previous position.
"Forgive the delay. What is it you wish to ingest?"
"Your choice. If there are wines among the Shi'ar, I think this would be a good occasion for one," he said. "I doubt your machines can duplicate a glass of meraiinian mead well."
"Shaskofrugrnon 45300," she said to the machine, as her fingers played over the controls. Two glasses of a strange blue substance in tall swirled drinking containers were produced, and she picked each one up, one in either hand.
Khaos sat down on the curving sweep of the settee b y the low table, and glanced at the rear view of the Commander as her back was turned. The restored plume spilled down over her back, partly obscuring her shapely flanks. Strange how an alien warrior could stir the blood far more then the elfin women of his realm. It was not her mere physical beauty that now aroused him, but the true package comprised of the many bits of who she was. She strode back to him on shapely long legs, her muscular bound form far more solid then the graceful sylph forms of the women of his own race. There were the other races as well that inhabited his world and city of Ameroth, but he had never chosen a mate. Yes there were the women who satisfied his needs as those of his companions, but they always remained behind when the warriors were on their quest. Those females who were warriors often accompanied the parties, but few ever dallied in relationships with their questmates. It wasn't done. Except when one was lifemated and pairbonded. Only when one had shared fight and blood could one truly know when one's lifemate had appeared. He took the drinking vessel she offered, and smiled politely as she sat beside him, and looked at him in strange confusion as he clinked his glass to hers and insisted on a proclamation.
"To your health," he said. "And your fine ship."
"Your customs are much like those of Earth," she said to him as he sipped the ethanol intoxicant, specially formulated to give the hazing effect yet not linger in the system for hours like the ethanol 'drinks' of Earthers.
"Now that the pleasantries have been made, I ask you again, why do you waste your affection on a man, and I speak of Kurt Wagner, who loves you not. Not in the way you profess?" Khaos asked her, his moonstone eyes fixing into hers. "I think your challenge of his mate was warranted, but don't you think your challenge without informing her was underhanded?"
"It was not," Cerise protested, her face flushing in anger. "I simply wished to introduce her into the ways of offensive combat. It was she who insisted on escalating. According to Grand Jhar training, if a warrior is not performing to capacity, it is incumbent upon the commander to test the limits of that warrior to draw out their natural defensive instincts. The fact that Amanda Sefton finally defended herself in the fashion you saw showed she was capable of far more then she professed. She simply required the correct motivation..."
"Cerise, she isn't one of your soldiers, a warrior under your command such as D'marran and Shakarr," Khaos shook his head. "If you are to be a leader, you must realize the universe doesn't work like the Shi'ar imperium..."
"I realize she is a native of Earth, but she is in the team Excalibur, and Kurt enforces discipline. I simply assumed one of his warriors would know the codes of combat, and use their talents and skills as a warrior of his caliber should."
"Amanda is far more then a fighter. She is a sorceress. And not all trained in magic use powers that are for combat. She is primarily a healer, trained in the arts by her mother and family. Did it not occur to you that fighting isn't in her blood as it is in yours? Not ALL of us are born to be warriors."
"But I did not think," Cerise lowered her head. "And now Kurt is upset with me."
"He is, because you attacked his woman, his mate. You made a serious mistake, Cerise," Khaos chastised her. "You've been apart from him for a long time. He's moved on. You should do the same."
"He came after me when I stood trial for a crime... and said he would defend me with his life. He was terrified when he saw me shed blood, but still accepted me. And now that her Majestrix has given me the leave to command this mission, I thought it would be the time to profess my desire to take him as consort. Isn't it customary for Earthers to take mates for life? If they profess their love?"
"Are you expecting Kurt to push Amanda away, because you've come back?" Khaos asked.
"He professed his love," she said. "Normally those of the Grand Jhar don't form emotional bonds in the service of the Empress. We satisfy our instinctual needs when wanting to reproduce, or when our missions are complete and we can qualify for consorts."
"Are you in the service of the Empress for a crime?" he asked.
"Indeed, I must serve my life sentence at her side..." she said.
"Then your mission is for the rest of your life, in her service," said Khaos. "Is it not."
"Yes," Cerise nodded.
"And you desire Kurt as your consort?" asked Khaos, sipping his beverage and peering into her eyes deeply.
"Is it wrong? How can he forget the love we shared? I won't throw away the one I have formed emotional bonds with. Did his love mean nothing?"
"Perhaps, but from what you say, this realm is vast, and the space between Earth and Shi'ar needs great powers to cross. Kurt Wagner's duty is here, and yours is in the service of your Empress. You can't expect him to drop it all and come with you to the Imperium, can you? He didn't think he would see you again, if what you say about serving Lilandra your emperess is true? So he tried to move on."
"No... b t he loves me," she said. "He has to..."
"He still cares for you, but he loves another, Cerise," said Khaos. "You must forget this foolishness and remember your duty to your Empress comes first. You and I both cannot escape our duties. And neither can Kurt."
"Can you honestly say that you have never found love, and had it consume you?" she asked.
"There are other customs. You said that being a warrior means you couldn't form emotional bonds till your mission is complete. And you must have stirrings of the blood you can't deny. The urge to mate and make love is strong. Can't you find another to slake your appetites while you find another to love?"
"Indeed, but I desire Kurt," she said.
"You can't have him. He isn't yours anymore," Khaos said. "And you woman are a fool to throw away everything for a feeling he doesn't' return. You have a command, and warriors who look to your for guidance. And your duty is to them, and to save Brian and Meggan. You can't throw THAT away, and attacking Amanda won't win Nightcrawler. For what you did, he's furious, and you've compromised his trust," Khaos said harshly. "A commander should know better Cerise."
"How can you judge me?" she snapped.
"I can because I care for you, Cerise," he said simply. "And it is folly to see you waste your affections on Kurt. When you have others you can win, or who would desire your love."
"Others being?" she said angrily.
"Others being those before you. Those of us who have felt the spark. I cannot return to my world, and my first duty is to do just that. Yours is to serve your Majestrix. But the time between that day I return and the now is perhaps long, and that time can be filled with many memories. It is the NOW, not the past you must focus on, Cerise," Khaos said, taking her hand in his, and kissing the back.
"Do you mean... you specifically?" Cerise asked, her gaze turning to his. "But..."
"I mean me, milady. I can't return now. It was foolish of me not to stay with you and ask for the help of Excalibur. Now that fate has brought us again together, I profess my affection for you, which has grown, and I will not be denied by your foolishness," he said, his lips traveling up to the bare flesh on her arm, above her gauntlet.
"But you said... yourself that you must return to your world," she gasped as Khaos' warm lips glided up her flesh to her neck, and softly kissed it. At the same time his arm had slipped around her hips and pulled it close to his. She moaned, tossing her head back as all control deserted her, and the hunger for affection won over her trepidation.
"Not now, sometime then," he whispered, silver eyes gleaming like moonlight. Taking her face in his hands he cupped it, and peered deep into her eyes, her body freezing as their eyes met, and she felt his hot breath in her face.
"I..." she stammered, at a loss for words. A tear formed in her eyes, and she felt her hands sliding up and down his armored arms. Taking his face she seized it and pressed her lips to his. Khaos' arms wrapped her body close and crushed it to his, hands plunging into her feathery locks. Lips moved and his hot breath merged as she gave him a deep lip massage that matched the hunger in her empty heart.
"The time for you and me is now," he said, as they parted from their deep kiss, arms entwined around one another, their armored bodies crushed together, his arms thin but strong like iron. Her fingers tangled in his silvery hair, and she panted deeply, unable to stop her body from screaming in hunger.
"Your duty..."
"duty is duty, and perhaps I will stand before your Empress and plead that your service be known when this mission is done," Khaos said. "And if your Imperium's powers over space and time be great enough to open the way to my world, perhaps she would welcome intercourse between my world and hers. And demand that one in her service represent her. One such as you perhaps?"
"You must be careful not to promise what you can't deliver," she panted, tears forming in her eyes.
"I vow I will try. I will need your strong skills by my side. As I take the throne of Ameroth, and unite my peoples. The choice is yours to contemplate. But before this can be a reality, you and I must know each other better. WE have been apart for far too long, Cerise, woman of light," he purred deep in his throat, a silvery aura encompassing his body as his technomagical power washed over her senses. Her crimson light responded in its own, forming a shell that bound them together.
"what are you..."
"You showed me the custom of lip massage. I show you now the custom of combining our energies. The energies of my technomagical are around you. Can you match them with your power?"
"We have a similar ritual on Shaskofrugnon, my home world," she said. "We all generate malleable light fields that conform to our will. I am genestock of Sabruki, Zarstok and Kuli ka, all wielders of the power from the Source..."
"That is a mighty heritage to uphold," he laughed in amusement. His golden power washed over her as he stood, and pulled her to stand before him. "Give me your energy. Match mine..."
Instead of being able to generate solid light, she felt the caress of his energies seeping under and through her armor to caress her skin with precision only met by those of the legendary Sabruki. Cerise closed her eyes and opened them, sending her red powers to sweep over his body and the chinks of his armor. Slowly the energies of IBIC dissipated her concentration, and her armor slowly dissolved. His did as well, revealing his jerkin and doublet clad body beneath. His hands moved over her, removing the armored gloves and tugging at the breastplate of her armor which fell away.
"Is there more then this?" she asked. "Isn't your society one that engages in physical interaction."
"Woman, you have much to learn," he said. "You take it at face value this is the custom..."
She realized he had been playing with her. His ebony hands moved over silky white skin, his lips tracing silver fire as they found her neck and moved lower to her waist. She gasped, tangling fingers in the white river of his hair as he progressed up then down. Indeed she had passed the first test of power, for her energies matched those of IBIC, and she was indeed judged a worthy match for his energies. They would indeed be compatible for the next step ahead. New to the feel of his hands on her body she surrendered, as she seized his face, planting another firm lip massage with all the finesse and skill Nightcrawler had taught her. She nibbled on the tips of his pointed ears, and he moaned in turn, his slender body hard with muscles much like that of Kurt's body.
"Do you want me, woman?" he asked her softly, his fingers exploring hot sensitive flesh, his eyes making love to her muscular form now.
"I desire... I hunger... for physical..." she gasped in short spurts, his fingers sending soothing fire in their touch as he put the power of IBIC behind them.
"My hunger matches yours. We can be one, like you were with Kurt," he whispered seductively as he molded his hard body to hers. Cerise panted, then crushed his body to hers, kissing him hard and deep as she lifted him off his feet and bore him towards the bed module. She closed her eyes, trying to remember what she and Kurt had done the few times before.
"I ask again, do you want me, woman?" he asked, arching up over her. "Yes or no? I can give you great pleasure... make you forget him..."
"I want... you... Khaos," she stammered. Not since her contact with the Source could she feel such a rush of blinding fire and ice simultaneously.
She was magnificent, strong and brave as he battled to bring her as much happiness as he could muster. Her soft feathers moved through his fingers, her liquid brown eyes fixed into his moonstone ones, with nothing but his admiration and something else she dared call love there present.
When they were finished with their love, he lay there upon her strong body, kissing her and worshipping her magnificence. He whispered into her ear, "You are truly worthy of me, and worthy to be with a man who loves you, and no other..."
"My lady Lilandra will never release me," she sobbed softly. "I am a killer. Kurt did not understand when I shed blood, and he rejected me... and I only can live to serve the empire..."
"Hush, I too have taken life," Khaos whispered, embracing her in his dark skinned arms and kissing her between her breasts. "And can you not see we should share what we can now?"
"Brian and Meggan..."
"Will be avenged. They were your friends and your teammates. We will find them..." he promised.
"Kurt perhaps hates me... he said he loved me... and now... you say the same. How can I trust..."
"I am here, and he is not. Shh, don't utter his name,' Khaos said with a slow smile. As dark as the stars his skin was close to hers, as white as the Milky Way. From another realm of existence he was, his power so much the same and yet so different. Two lonely warriors came together in the night, and shared their warmth. It might not be forever, but it was enough for the battle ahead.
*****