Chapter 2

She woke in the middle of the night to hearing him groaning in his sleep. She smiled to herself, the spell are worked well. Her plans were going well so far. After tonight, there would be no way he would be able to talk himself out of wanting her. And, he would think it was him who initiated it.

He awoke that morning, his head swimming. He felt something wet in his blanket, he lifted it up, and was ashamed. He had ejaculated while asleep. He hadn't had a wet dream like that since was, goddess, barely 30. And here he was in adulthood, 162. But then it all came back to him, he had dreamt of the most erotic things. And all of them were about that Gwenyfar, he had taken her in positions he hadn't even known existed. What was wrong with him? First of all, she was a human. Second, he had barely known her for a day. Memories of her in that slip, the taste of her…came flooding back. Rubbing his temples, he tried to clear his mind. He looked over to her pallet, and was surprised to see it empty, the slip folded carefully on it. On a table, there was half eaten loaf of bread and a jug of water. Apprehensive, but he was hungry. He started eating. When he had finished, he got dressed, re-strung his bow and went to get his wolf and feed it, and get his mount ready. With his wolf trotting behind him, he went by the tent again; he walked by the skirts of the forest, she was a few feet in, currying a dark brown warhorse.

"No infernal beast from the netherworld as a mount?" he asked

Laughing, she replied "Nope, I like to use my felhunter in raids, and my dear Arkonen here actually likes me." Theldion smiled as the stallion nudged her with his nose; upset that she had stopped brushing him. She turned and bent over, searching through a rusack. She came up with something clutched in her hand, and kneeled turned towards his wolf. She looked at him with a kindness he had never expected from her, and opened her hand and revealed a strip of dried meat. "Come on Wolf, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to be your friend. His wolf sniffed cautiously, and looked to him for advice, and Theldion nodded at him. He then slunk up slowly to her, grabbed the meat almost too quickly for the eye. She sat cross legged on the ground, and reached out to pat his head slowly. He allowed it for a minute or so, then licked her hand in thanks and returned to his master's side.

Ah…seemingly, this was her only weakness, animals. Well, even warlocks have to have a soft spot somewhere. He thought

"Very pretty animal. What's his name?" She asked her eyes still shining with affection

"Corvus." (For all of you out there, "Corvus" means "deer" in Latin. I always thought it would be a nice name, though.)

"Do you fight with him?'

"Yes."

"Good. The killer's instinct is written in his eyes."

Before he could say anything, her stallion butted her with his head, knocking her over in jealously. She started laughing, and he couldn't help but laugh also. He offered her his hand to help her up, and as he lifted, the warm smell of flesh and soap attacked his senses. Even the simple feeling of her hand in his sent his blood pumping. He tightened his muscles to resist a shudder. She looked at him curiously, for he hadn't yet released her hand. He pulled her a little closer.

"You should have been a hunter."

"I don't think there's ever been a human hunter before."

"You could be the first. And I'm sure you would like it more than being a servant of the god of the underworld for eternity."

"He would send an army of undead personally to slaughter me if he heard me say this but…I do like animals quite a bit…and archery. BUT, I still enjoy seeing my enemies writhing in the flames of hell and their horrible screams as they are pulled in to the darkness to be punished for all time."

He chuckled and ignored the second part "I would be there to fight with you, and Elune herself."

"The Elfin goddess? What is she going to do for me?" she snorted

"Elune recognizes all who accept and respect her. Even some who do not."

Moments pass of them searching each others eyes

Gwenyfar's voice has softened much, and her uncertainty is obvious in her wavering tone: "To be honest Theldion…I have no clue what to do. I can't just abandon this…I'm too deep in."

He whispered in her ear: "I will teach you. Just open yourself to her. She will protect you, that I swear to you."

She moves closer to Theldion, wrapping her arms around his middle, and she closes her eyes.

The sweetest voice she had ever heard gently spoke in her mind, so wisely "Young Gwenyfar…you can only foresee so much. We both know you have slithered into something much more then a simple rut. Your beauty attracts many; you use it to your advantage. You leave so many hanging, lost without you. You broke the racial barrier, something not usual in your kind. It seems as though the tides have turned. You present yourself as any warlock does, confident, intelligent, stubborn, and seemingly emotionless towards everything. Though, we both know this is not true. The resulting solitude kills you. You long for someone just to see through it and love you.

Barely audible, even to him, she whispers "Yes…" He feels The Lady's presence, and Gwenyfar's arms tighten around him. He gently starts stroking her hair, resting his head on hers.

Silver light bathes the forest, a slightly stronger shaft of light on the pair. Arkonen is standing calmly, ears flicking, tail swishing, and his eyes bright. Corvus has lain down next to his master's leg, his head resting on his paws, alert. A silent, lonely tear runs down Theldion's cheek. Sensing this emotion, Gwenyfar's eyes suddenly awake, and she tenderly kisses the tear away. Her hands, like feathers, drift up to his hair, entangling her fingers in the silky cascade of dark blue. Their faces almost touching, Gwenyfar kisses him.