"You don't have any? None at all?" I despaired at the discovery- and the fact that I couldn't even voice my despair, merely shape the words with my lips as the void in my throat swallowed any sound that may have otherwise come forth.

"And there's none on the ship either?" Vaan asked in my stead.

"If there's any left on the Strahl, it would be a surprise to me. We cleared the stash of it for this trip already. Ah well, we were going to head back to Rabanastre anyway, once we get there, we can restock on echo herbs."

"But... But I hate being silenced..." I whimpered noiselessly, dropping dramatically to my knees in the grass.

"Hey, don't worry, the ship isn't that far away, it shouldn't take us too long to get there, and then you just have to wait until we get back to Rabanastre and cash in on the hunt." Penelo rubbed my back soothingly, knowing from experience from every time I had ever gotten silenced in the Estersands, Westersands, Giza Plains or Garamsythe that it certainly ranked very high on my list of most hated status ailments.

When we were a lot younger, I had gotten silenced in the Estersands. When we got back to Rabanastre, Vaan had told me to wait in the Southern Plaza while he got an echo herb from Migelo for me. As with most children, it wasn't exactly in my nature to just sit there and wait patiently. So, I had taken to jumping around the plaza, when, as it happened, I stumbled over my own feet, right into the large drain that other kids, who had parents to warn them, knew not to play around. No one happened to be looking my way when I fell, and I was silenced so I couldn't even yell for help from the drain. My arm had been broken by the fall. As it was a much more dangerous area than Vaan and I had ever gone, and I had a broken arm, there was little I could do except run and hide from the monsters until, finally, several hours later, Reks and Vaan, along with a few of the nicer soldiers, found me. A potion, an echo herb and a lot of brotherly cuddles from Vaan and Reks later and I was as good as new, but I still hate the very idea of being silenced more than nearly anything else.

The trip back through a few areas of the Cerobi Steppe was mostly filled with Penelo and Vaan trying to distract me from my own silence, Balthier asking why it was such a big deal and Vaan quietly explaining the situation as it had happened. Ashe, Basch and Fran were waiting for us already when we returned to where the Strahl was anchored. Still very upset from being silenced, I immediately went to Fran and hugged her, clinging as if she could cure my silence, even though I was pretty sure by the fact that they were waiting at the ship that they were all out of MP by now too.

"What is the matter?" She asked, wrapping her arms around me instinctively. I buried my face in her shoulder and shook my head, unable to reply.

"She's been silenced and hates it." Vaan supplied helpfully.

"Is this your first time to be silenced then?" She asked me. I shook my head again, silently sighing in moderate relief when one clawed hand reached up to carefully thread through my hair.

"No, she's been silenced before a couple times, but she absolutely hates it because of this one time when she fell into the most dangerous part of the sewers and broke her arm while she was silenced. It took Reks hours to find her down there, and she wouldn't leave his side for weeks afterward." Penelo explained. I whined silently and clung tighter, remembering how terrifying it was, being so vulnerable and unable to call for help, surrounded by huge, scary monsters that could kill me in a single hit if they saw me. I felt Fran nod and then rest her head atop mine in silent comfort.

"Unfortunately, we ran out of the ship's stock of echo herbs long ago and haven't thought to restock." She hugged me a little tighter in apology, "However, it shouldn't take more than a few hours to get back to Rabanastre. We shall have you speaking again soon enough." I nodded, unable to reply otherwise and finally let go so that we could board the Strahl.

Once on board, I sat in the seat directly behind Fran, with Penelo sitting to my right and Vaan to my left in the seat behind Balthier. As soon as everyone was not at risk of falling and cracking their head open, the pirates quickly and efficiently set to work getting the ship moving and well on it's way towards Rabanastre.

"You can handle her?" Fran asked Balthier once the ship was steady.

"Do you need to ask? I'll call you if we get attacked." Balthier dismissed her, easily taking full control of the large ship, even going so far as to invite Vaan to sit- Just sit Vaan, nothing else, and if you dare even touch anything I will never let you do so again - in the seat that Fran vacated.

"Come with me." She commanded softly, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her through the ship to her room. The door closed behind us and, as per usual we were cast into darkness. She led me a few more feet and then I heard the bed creak ever so slightly as she sat down. With another gentle tug to my wrist, she pulled me down onto her lap and embraced me tightly.

"I apologize for the circumstances. It is quite regretful that we are without means to fix this affliction." I shook my head, because, after all, it wasn't her fault I got silenced.

"Of course," She hummed thoughtfully, tone lightening with seductive playfulness, "I may not be able to offer you reprieve from this condition," She turned, sliding me off of her lap and onto the bed, leaning me back until I was laying down and she was on top of me, "But I can certainly offer distraction from it."

She kissed me then, flicking my lips teasingly with her tongue as she nudged my legs apart with a knee. I moaned silently and bucked, teenage hormones going wild already at the friction, even muted by cloth as it was.

"And," She spoke as she broke the kiss for a moment, "Now that you can't alert the rest of the ship to our doings, there is something I've been considering for quite some time. Will you trust me?" My breath caught, thinking of all the things that could mean before nodding, perhaps more eager than I should have been at some of the ideas.

"Wonderful." She kissed my forhead sweetly before sitting up and sliding to the other side of the bed. A drawer opened and then closed and she was back before I could miss her radiant warmth.

"Be certain, if you wish for me to stop, you need only kick, in your absence of speech." She kissed me once again before reaching over me to do something to the headboard of the bed. After a moment, she hummed in satisfaction at whatever she had done before postioning me so that I was laying in the center of the bed with my arms above my head, crossed at the wrists. I felt something soft and silky slide over my wrists and wrap loosely around and between them before finally tightening.

"I will admit, I concieved the idea the first time you summoned Mateus in the battle with Balthier's Adrammalech. As a matter of fact, a fair part of the reason why that battle took as long as it did was because I was simply quite distracted at the idea of you in a situation such as this." She admitted. My silent laugh was quickly cut off by another searing kiss.

Quickly, her mouth moved from mine, planting sweet kisses and gentle nips along my jaw and throat as her hands deftly moved to unbutton my vest and undershirt and push both out of the way. Deciding she had laved enough attention on my throat, she moved down, leaving a trail of kisses as she went, teasingly stopping in the middle of my chest. Her fingertips grazed my sides faintly as she slid her thigh in between mine once again. I gasped silently as I felt the thigh grinding against me and thrust back unconsciously. Immediately, the thigh ceased its movement and her hands latched on to my hips and held them still as her head moved next to mine.

"You will not move unless I tell you to. Understand?" I nodded, already breathless, due in no small part to the obvious lust in her voice.

"Good." She murmed, her thigh giving one forceful grind as a reward before she moved back down and latched onto one of my nipples, licking and nipping fervidly, just forcefully enough that it left a pleasant ache as she moved to the other. I whined silently, hands grasping for purchase on air as I tried not to move unnecessarily. She used one of her hand to keep her balance as the other came up to pinch the already abused nipple almost painfully. With one last stinging nip, she traveled down further, leaving gentle kisses down my stomach in contrast to the harsh treatment. When she reached the hem of my pants, she stopped. I whimpered silently at the lack of contact, staring pleadingly into the darkness where I could still feel her breathe softly against my stomach, mouthing Please over and over, knowing she could see it. Her chuckle was answer enough.

"So impatient." She murmered, one hand settling on the inside of my thigh and slowly sliding up, "Yet how easy it would be, for me to keep you exactly in this state for hours." Her fingertips stopped directly on my clit and then, oh so gently, she applied just enough pressure to drive me crazy. I choked as she gently rubbed me through my pants, fighting every urge in my body to buck against the teasing finger.

"Ah, but that would be cruel of me. And as you are trying so very hard to be good, I believe I should reward you." She cooed as her hand moved upwards, unbuttoning my pants with a haste that betrayed her own eagerness. She stood from the bed and pulled off my pants quickly, then crawled between my legs once more to teasingly kiss the inside of my now exposed thighs. She leaned forward and placed a single kiss on my clit through the damp underwear and then, quickly, got off the bed.

I silently cried in displeasure, straining against the silken ties in the direction where I thought the viera had gone, wondering if I had moved on accident and this was punishment of some kind.

"Calm yourself, my beloved," She sounded very amused, though the breathless hints of lust were more present than ever, "This shall be more pleasing for us both if I, too, am undressed." I sighed, a mixture of relief and frustration obvious as I blinked in the direction of her voice, listening to the soft sounds of clasps being undone and smooth, semi hard material dropping to the floor.

"Now," Hands slid up my thighs once more, not wasting any time in hooking in the waistband of my underwear and dragging them off, exposing me so quickly that I was surprised the underwear didn't rip, "We are on equal ground."

The viera crawled on top of me once again to initiate another heated, hasty kiss. Then she pushed my thighs even farther apart, settling on her knees with her shins across my thighs, holding my legs apart. She carefully braced herself with her arms on either side of my head as she lowered herself until we just barely touched, sending another shock of pleasure through my body at the split second of contact. Slowly, she established a rhythm, just barely brushing our clits together each time, far too softly to be called grinding, far more gently than I would have liked.

"Would you like more, my love?" She asked, voice teasing voice darkened in mirrored want. My ragged breathing resolved into a silent jumble of Please, Yes, Fran, and I found I could think of nothing other than these three silent syllables.

"Well, since you attempted to ask so nicely..." Before I even had time to think, she harshly ground her arousal against mine. I threw back my head in a silent cry, bucking wildly despite her previous commands. She thrust back strongly, angling so that our clits were grinding together, the direct contact maddening and almost painfully intense. I tugged and strained against the bindings, able to do little else with my legs mostly pinned to the bed. It didn't take long for us to near the peak, her hips accelerating to an almost inhumanly fast pace, and when my orgasm hit, it was nearly a shock. I came harder than I ever had before, choking and moaning silently, hips stuttering against her's, which somehow manage to keep a steady tempo despite rapidly approaching fulfillment. As I came down from my orgasm, I quickly began to experience the post orgasm sensitivity that quickly resolved to severe discomfort at the continuous stimulation. She noticed my discomfort almost immediately, despite my attempt to grit my teeth and bare with it for her sake.

"Ah," She stopped moving against me with little hesitation, though not without some regret, "This must be uncomfortable for you now." I shook my head, hating teenage hormones, which got me worked up immediately but also managed to push me over the edge far too quickly every time as well. "Do not lie to me." She scolded, giving another slow, hard thrust to prove her point as it elicited a pained shiver of over-stimulation. "You do not need to pain yourself for my sake. I could never recieve any sort of satisfaction at your expense." She reminded gently, kissing my forhead softly before moving to crawl off of me. Before feeling could even hope to return to my newly relinquished legs, I wrapped them around her, staring at her determinedly, refusing to simply take my pleasure and let her see to her own by herself.

"Worry not, my beloved," She murmered, amusedly, "There are other ways for you to participate without costing you your comfort. I wouldn't dream of leaving you out of the fun, after all." She gave a quick, bell like giggle that even I rarely had the pleasure of hearing before unwrapping my legs from her waist. I felt her reach above me and after several seconds, the bindings on my wrists were disconnected from the headboard, though my hands remained bound tightly together. She seemed content to leave them that way as she pulled me up into a quickly, slopping kiss before moving past me, I assume to lean against the headboard of the bed.

"Come here, my pet." She murmered. I turned around so that I was facing her and crawled across the small space between us on the mattress on my elbows and knees. A bit of exploring with my still bound hands revealed that she was indeed leaning against the headboard, and that I was between her open thighs. Not feeling the need to waste time at this point, I balanced my weight on my fore arms and bent down, trailing kisses up the inside of her thigh, delighting in how her muscles tensed in anticipation as I neared her womanhood and then relaxed in disappointment as my lips merely ghosted over her open folds as I switched to the other thigh.

"So eager to please, yet still perfectly capable of teasing- Whatever shall I do with you?" She mused breathily, legs spreading wider unconsciously as one hand moved to affectionately thread through my hair- conveniently just forcefully enough to move my head closer to where she clearly wanted it. I chuckled silently and, needing no real encouragement, obeyed her unspoken request to end the teasing.

I kissed her clit, not surprised at the slickness that covered my lips as her hips jerked up to meet my mouth. I flicked the nub softly with my tongue then licked down the small expanse between her clit and her entrance, relishing the taste of the slick combination of our arousal. Teasingly, I let my tongue flick around and over her entrance, enjoying her breath hitching and the way her hand finally tightened of the back of my head, a small warning that she was still very much in control, and there would be consequences if I continued teasing. I smirked and gave one more teasing swipe before slipping my tongue inside her startlingly warm crevasse, exploring the smooth walls that my tongue could reach. Her hips bucked against my face again.

"Alright, my pet, you have had your fun, now," She breathed, stroking my hair fondly, "Finish me before I actually do decide to leave you out of the fun and finish it myself." I wondered if she actually would do it too, and decided the risk was not worth finding out. I began to quickly assault her clit with kisses, stiff tongued licks and gentle nips. Her breath hitched as she neared the edge, her hips thrust back needily as her rare moans became more frequent and increased in pitch. Just as she hit her peak, her legs came up and wrapped around my shoulders, trapping me against her as her hand held my head so firmly that only things moving were my tongue and her erractically thrusting hips. Her high pitched, keening moan was, perhaps, the loudest I had ever heard her voice reach in the bedroom. With a final cry, which she quickly choked off, she came against my chin, riding it out on my tongue. I continued to lick with softly tongued strokes as she came down until she finally pulled me away herself, and brought me in to a soft kiss, the kind that says I love you before, during and after satisfaction and there's nothing you can do to stop me or something equally sweet and cheesy. When she pulled away, she kissed my forehead and vocalised what the kiss already said.

"I love you, my sweet mate." She murmered against my forehead as she began to undo the bindings on my wrist. I leaned up and pressed my lips against her cheek, mouthing I love you too into the skin, knowing she would understand. And, she did.

I don't know how long we stayed there, reclined against the pillows with my head on her chest, petting and cuddling and dozing, but it seemed far too early when Balthier's voice came over the speaker, saying that we were landing in about fifteen minutes.

But, suffice to say, her distraction from my current state of silence was more than effective.

End

My first time to write smut, please be gentle T.T but, also tell me how I can improve, cuz this was more fun than I expected and I fully intend to do so again in the near future.

Well, I hope you enjoyed, my lovelies, and feedback is, as always, appreciated but never required. See you in the next update, my lovelies!