I own nothing.

Man, now I've definitely earned my M-rating. I'm really nervous about this. This is, I hope, a lot of fluff and some (maybe a bit of a lot) sex that I hope is neither bland nor tasteless. I tried for warm and fun, but still somewhat steamy. It does get fairly explicit, so if you don't want to read the sex bit but want to read the fluff, I recommend jumping from whenever you get uncomfortable and to "She slipped her hands beneath one of his". That sentence is not as racy as it may sound.

Then again, I'm not sure this gets more intimately explicit than some of my descriptions of carnage. Let me know, if you want. I just hope I didn't break my neck completely on this. If I did, let me know. Either way, normal plot will mostly resume in the next chapter and I apologize to those who may think this is senseless, tasteless filler.

Chasing Through Hell

Fumbles and Fulfillment

Maurus lay in his tent, listening to quiet, muffled murmur of the camp, looking up at the pale fabric stretched out above him, lit a warm gold by the two small lamps he'd placed along the sides of his tent. Despite the unusual brightness, the noise and soft light was soothing and on top of the comfortable, fluffy feeling of properly clean fur and skin, it would usually have lulled him to sleep. Instead he was wide awake. H body thrummed with vague excitement and beneath the hands he'd placed over his bare belly, his stomach fluttered a little.

In the privacy of his own head, he could admit that he was a little nervous and despite the slight blow to his pride, he could accept it as reasonable. The woman he was waiting for was, after all, significantly older than him, entirely different from anyone he'd ever been with and felt much more important.

Less reasonable, he told himself, were the treacherous recurring thoughts that Arianna would be wholly unimpressed with him. The thought that either her age or her decided un-taurenness would make his skills useless, even if he wasn't out of practice, kept sneaking into his head. He rebutted with halfhearted conviction that she couldn't be that different, or jaded, and that he definitely hadn't been out of practice when he'd tumbled pretty, strong Chesta the night they'd reached Ratchet.

The thoughts went back and forth like that for a little while, before he shook his head in annoyance at the stupidity of it. It was ridiculous, he hadn't felt anything close to that nervousness since Anko, more than a decade ago, before he'd even left Mulgore, and, he told himself, it was pointless to feel so nervous now.

He blew out an irritated snort, sat up and reached for the bag with his tools and bones. His hand stopped halfway there when a slender hand pushed the tent-flap aside and, it seemed, most of the worry. What remained crystallized into something anxious which could have been both eagerness and excitement.

Arianna appeared in the opening. Unusually, her hair was down, falling in slight curls around her face, softening her angular features. It was not the only thing unusual about her. A soft shape had been painted just beneath her left eye and both of her eyes were edged darker than usual, making her luminous green eyes even more striking as they found his. Her lips, already set in her usual smirk, quirked a bit higher as she took in his pose, awkwardly frozen half-leaned forward.

"May I come in?" She asked. She made it sound like a jest, but he thought there was a timbre of anxiousness in it as well.

"Please," Maurus responded warmly, his voice much more confident than he would have thought it could have been moments before. He shuffled back a bit, making more room for her.

As he did, he ran his eyes down her body and the first thing he noticed was the bone necklace that still graced her neck. The sight of it made up for the very slight bit disappointment he felt that she'd worn her old, red-and-gold robe, as did the way the garment left her arms and throat bare and clung pleasingly close to her slight curves.

"Quite bright in here," Arianna observed, letting the tent flap fall closed behind her.

"I'd like to be able to see properly tonight," Maurus replied amiably. "You're back in your old colors."

"This one is lighter. Easier to move in," Arianna answered, crawling forward to kneel between his outstretched leg before placing her scarred palms on Maurus' cheeks. He readily let her draw his head down toward her, swallowing the little clump of herbs he'd been chewing and wrapping his hands around her back, feeling scars through the thin fabric. She paused an inch from his nose, so close that he could smell a faint hint of something sweet and flowery on her, and added pleasantly: "Very easy to take off."

A bit of heat stirred in Maurus, which only grew when she kissed him. As always, he was struck by how small and how hot her lips were, a feverish softness against his. Following on that thought came the realization that a year ago, he would have been repulsed by the faint hint of fel that made his lips tingle, but now, he found he quite enjoyed the feeling. A ghost of a chuckle rolled up through his throat and Arianna must have felt it, because when she drew back, she raised a long, golden eyebrow in question.

Maurus was about to say that she was corrupting him, but the sudden flash of his nightmare, as well as the memory of some of the comments Arianna had suffered, made the comment seem not funny at all.

"It's nothing," he said. He raised a hand to cup the side of her face, resting a thick finger beside the marking under her eye. The wetness beneath his hand, where his lips had engulfed both her mouth and her cheeks, reminded him that they still hadn't figured out how to kiss without getting his spit all over her cheeks and that more heated kisses would only make it worse. The thought made mirth win forward again and he smiled as he softly said: "You've prettied yourself up. And you smell of flowers."

"Roses," Arianna replied, with an emphasis that made it clear that it was significant. She brushed her fingers over the fur on his cheeks and her eyes wandered down over his chest before coming back up to his face. "You did a bit of grooming yourself. I don't recall you being this soft. Or so cleanly white."

Her gaze lowered to his lips. "Or tasting of lemongrass."

Maurus smiled and leant in again, pressing a kiss against her lips that held a bit more heat than the previous. When he withdrew, she took a slow breath before her smirk reasserted herself and her eyes drifted to the left of his face. "Did you polish your horns?"

Maurus grinned. "That was supposed to be your-" he began, then made a show of cutting himself off, and, as if he'd caught a mistake he'd made, said: "Oh. Those. A little. They needed some care."

Arianna's smirk faded to an unimpressed look, but her eyes remained amused. "You're being crude."

Maurus lowered the hand that was still on her back, placed it on her rear and pushed her toward him, so she was a couple of inches from his face without even leaning forward. As he did, he appreciated the thinness of her robe and again noted how strange it was that she lacked a tail. "I think it's a good sign that my mind is wandering in that direction. Don't you?"

Arianna let out a humming sound of agreement and shifted, lifting her leg over Maurus' right and sitting down. Her smooth legs pressed against the sides of his wide thigh and, much more immediate to his senses, he felt soft, naked warmth press against the top of his thigh. His gaze dipped to where her red robe folded over his thigh while a burst of heat swept up his leg and into his loins, making the breechcloth he was wearing seem a little tighter. It seemed a little more so when he dragged his gaze back up her body and thought he could see two points pressing against the robe and betraying some excitement.

Arianna's expression had gained a pleased edge, one that grew when Maurus adjusted his hands, placing them on her hips so his large fingers covered much of her lower back and backside. Circling his thumbs lazily against her, he said pleasantly: "I'd actually expected you to be more clothed."

"That goes against the point of the exercise, doesn't it?" She asked slyly. She twisted the slightest bit, a sensation Maurus was very aware of, as her eyes roamed over his body as blatantly as his had over hers. A frown appeared momentarily as her eyes stopped at a few points on his torso, but before Maurus could ask about it, she leant in to capture his mouth in a heated kiss, teased him with her tongue and allowing his to push into her mouth.

"True," Maurus replied, a little roughly, when they broke for air and saw that, true enough, a lot of moisture had been left on Arianna's face. His tongue tingled and his nose was full of the odd mix of the scent of her skin and the roses. "How in the world did you find roses?" He asked placidly, idly caressing Arianna's back with one hand. A little more soberly, he voiced the following thought: "And should I know the significance of them? Or of your elegant little mark?"

"Our herbalists are very resourceful," Arianna said lightly. A hint of embarrassment flashed over her face and she spoke a little quickly when she continued: "Roses are often associated with marriage. It was half-whim, but also seemed fitting. This is not just a random tumble beneath the sheets after all."

Maurus felt a mix of nervousness, guilt and affection swirl in his belly. "Definitely. But I hadn't thought that far ahead yet," he said, a little of the guilt slipping into his voice. His tone grew lighter as he pondered: "Though we could consider this whole thing our courtship hunt."

Arianna let out a little snort and gave him a quick kiss. "It is a little soon to be thinking along those lines," she admitted. "But I wanted to make a grand gesture."

"I appreciate grand gestures," Maurus rumbled, smiling, and bent down to press his lips to her throat.

He'd only just touched her when she recoiled with a sharp little exhalation and he jerked back in response. Arianna was leaning back against his hands, but any discomfort was already melting away from her face, her expression turning wry. She raised a hand and put her finger on the tip of his horn. "Careful with those," she admonished him lightly.

Maurus let out a little growl and leaned back in, making sure to tip his head a little, pressing a few kisses down her throat, then licked her almost from her neckline to her chin.

Arianna let out a sound that was half a laugh, half a hum of pleasure. Her hands moved back behind his head, trailing aimless warmth along the fur on his neck. "You really do have a huge tongue," she said, amusement evident in her tone.

Maurus rolled out his tongue and covered her throat from right to left for a moment, before saying wryly: "I'm guessing we can get more use out of it than I'm used to. I won't get so much hair in my mouth."

Arianna kissed the top of his nose and he looked up into her eyes. Her eyes glowed, not just with the fel light, and he was glad the lamps made her beautiful face so different from his dream. Her hands were stroking slowly, more purposefully along his neck as she asked: "So, you're more fondling and caressing?"

Maurus dragged the fingers of one hand up along Arianna's side and in between trailing his mouth down toward her collarbone, he answered, his voice lowered by the pleasant feeling of Arianna's hands: "In some respects. But I'm willing to learn."

The murmur against her skin got a reaction, a faint shiver that ran through Arianna's entire body. It felt like she was getting warmer and when his hand came up beneath her arm and he rolled a thumb over her breast, the hard nub, tiny against his thumb, confirmed his earlier impression.

He smiled against her skin, both relieved and gratified at her obvious excitement. He felt himself swell in response to that, and grew a bit more when Arianna left hand wandered lower, nails dragging down his skin before her fingers rolled over his sensitive nipple.

"Seems we've found something we have in common," Arianna murmured, fingers hot and tickling on his chest. He blinked when the fingers of Arianna's other hand caressed his ear, a ghostly warm and pleasant sensation.

He chuckled, mouth moving along the neckline of Arianna's dress, dipping below the bone charms ringing her neck. "Are your ears something I should pay attention to?" He asked.

"Not really," Arianna replied, toying with his ear to surprisingly distracting effect. "Only some have sensitive ears. Like you."

Maurus raised his head and Arianna moved her hand to his cheek to guide the long kiss they shared, while her left hand kept drawing feathery touches over his chest. When it drifted low and ran along the edge of the scar on his belly, he realized that her movements weren't entirely aimless and abruptly understood her earlier frown.

But when they paused, she looked lazily content, so he saw no need to comment on his scars. Instead, as his fingers still idly caressed her, thumbs brushing over her nipple and the spot where her tail ought to have been, he rumbled: "I don't think this will be as hard as I feared."

Arianna's right hand trailed down over his stomach down to cup the bulging breechcloth very briefly, before she lifted her fingers to his face. "Oh, I hope it will be," she said, her smile turning a little wicked.

"Now who's crude?" Maurus chuckled, avoiding Arianna's lips just long enough to get the words out. Smiling into the kiss, he slid his hand down further along her behind, sliding a finger between her buttocks, beneath her robe and in between her soft folds.

Arianna let out a soft breath around his tongue, but it was a moment before she drew back. Her eyes were half-lidded, though her voice was as much teasing as it was eager when she said: "Getting impatient?"

"Only to please you," he said, lowering his mouth to her throat again, moving his hand from her chest to her back. "This is in the way," he added, nudging the neckline of her robe with his nose before slipping his tongue beneath it briefly, sliding it over her right breast and drawing a quick, quiet inhale from her.

"Not entirely," Arianna said, pressing down against the hand he had beneath her. The slight breathiness in her voice almost vanished in her indulgent tone when she said: "But you have a point."

She pushed his head back, leaned back against his hand and grabbed the hem of her robe. In a single, sinuous motion, she pulled the garment over head and the warm light flowed over her skin like liquid amber as she revealed herself, naked and radiant and almost burning hot where he touched her.

She was so very different from what he was used to. Instead rolling, muscular curves, she was slender like a young tree, though her leanly muscled body had gained a bit more healthy curves since he'd seen her in the oasis. Instead of wide expanses of soft, most often dark fur, she was all hairless, pale skin and her nipples were a brown-pink, rather than the far darker color he was used to. The folds pressed against his finger were a shade darker than the rest of her skin and a slit of dark pink was visible between them.

The burst of warm lust that the sight of her sent through him was tempered by a flash of anger at the pain her body also revealed. Her scars weren't the most impressive he'd ever seen, nor as extensive as the ones on her back, but they did plentiful on such a slim frame. There were what looked like shallow claw-marks running over her left breast and lower stomach. A handful of small lines of raised skin and small pock-marks were spattered over her stomach and thighs and a burn as wide as her palm and as long as her hand marred her side.

An edge of anxiety and defiance had crept into her gaze when he raised his eyes to her face again.

"You are a wildly beautiful creature," Maurus said, a mix of emotions in his throat making it come out low and rough. The hint of anxiety in Arianna's expression became half-smug delight and her cheeks reddened the slightest bit, unless the lamps' light had suddenly changed.

"You're a magnificent sight yourself," Arianna replied pleasantly, running her eyes quite blatantly over his broad shoulders and down over his chest. "This will get in the way though," she said, a little quickly, and her hands darted down to his side. Before he could blink, she loosened the string holding his breechcloth in place and the cloth fell away, half pulled by Arianna, half-pushed by his freed member.

'She sure knew where that knot was,' Maurus just managed to think before a short, startled laugh burst from Arianna's lips. It felt like a slap and he frowned, pursing his lips as he felt himself actually shrink a little.

"You know, that is not the reaction we want when revealing our manhood," he grumbled.

Arianna looked up at him, her expression turning apologetic for a moment before relaxing into a softly amused expression. She rested her hands on his thigh, rolled her hips in a little, soft circle and said: "In all honesty, I'm just relieved you're not hung like a literal bull. Or proportioned like elves."

Maurus gave her a flat look, but the momentary dismay evaporated at her words and he couldn't keep the wry smile hidden for more than a moment. "I never thought I'd hear compliments for being small. Also, you little folk are freakishly endowed."

Arianna chuckled and looked down at herself, tensing her thighs around Maurus' leg. Maurus followed her gaze happily, but didn't miss her meaning. Considering her frame, it was lucky that tauren were differently proportioned.

He was dragged out of that thought and sucked in an involuntary breath when Arianna's fever-hot hand wrapped around his length, thin fingers soft compared to her scarred palm. "I think we can make this work," she said. She stroked him slowly and he took a heavy breath at the sensation, a novel one, seeing as the size of tauren hands made other methods more common. "With a little effort," she admitted after a moment.

Maurus idly caressed Arianna in return, paying a little closer attention to the sensation, a feat she made somewhat difficult. She made a soft, pleased sound that turned a little questioning when he chuckled and he smiled at her, placing his other hand on her thigh, thumb brushing down over her mound. "Somehow, I'd forgotten to worry about size."

"Stupid bull," Arianna said fondly.

They exchanged more kisses, Arianna's free hand guiding them while they caressed each other. She ground herself against him as she stroked him and Maurus readily moved his fingers in response, glad to feel that his touch seemed to have as much effect on her as hers had on him. Her breathing was growing heavier like his and her warmth and wetness became more noticeable while he felt a slowly building tension in his groin.

He frowned into a kiss when she pushed back more and eased his touch as she slid back over his leg, her hand never leaving him. A little reluctantly, feeling it wasn't quite fair to her, he let his hand trail up over her back and come to rest over her shoulders along with his other hand.

He tilted his head in question, raising an eyebrow. Her response was a playful smirk as she frustratingly stopped her fingers at the root of his member. She held his gaze for a moment and then bent down, tucking a lock of hair behind her long ears, and took him into her mouth.

His breath hitched at the sheer heat that slowly enveloped him and it was a slight effort not to tighten his grip on her shoulders. She moved slowly, feeling around him with tongue and lips, attentive and careful, something he was grateful for because her teeth grazed him a few times before she adjusted to his size.

He should not have enjoyed how he felt the same tingle as when she kissed him, but it only added to the pleasure and when she slowly increased the pace of her movements his breathing became labored and the pleasant tension tightened in him. It wasn't long before her movements became more confident and Maurus let one of his hands fall from Arianna to support himself as he leaned back and simply gave himself over to Arianna's heated touch. His eyes were threatening to drift closed but he kept them open, not wanting to miss a moment of the beautiful and inflaming sight of Arianna's naked body before him.

Amidst the immediateness of Arianna's mouth and the mounting, tightening deep in his body, he almost failed to notice that Arianna's breathing was also heavy, and ticklish, on him and he could feel her rubbing herself against his leg and somewhere in the heady heat of his mind, he found himself absurdly pleased that she was enjoying it too.

His heart thudded in his chest and the tension became greater and greater, gathering as his heartbeat sped up, and the need began to feel desperate. Despite wanting nothing more than to just let the pleasure continue, Maurus drudged up some willpower and said breathlessly: "Arianna... I... "

She pulled off of him, giving him a lick as she turned her eyes up to him. He saw her expression, teasing and challenging as she took a deep breath before taking him back in her mouth. She seemed eager now, feeling that his release was close, and her hand began stroking him whenever her mouth moved up his length, adding a second layer to the already intense feeling.

Maurus found himself trying to hold himself back, to prolong the pleasure, but it was impossible to do so for long. The tension tightened and heated even more rapidly and a few dozen heartbeats was all he could hold out before the coiling pleasure came apart in a wave of shuddering, bright sensation. Arianna didn't lift her head off him, but instead went down till her lips were touching the fingers she had around him and stayed there till the small jerks petered out and he shrank.

Only then did she look up at Maurus, looking exceedingly satisfied with herself, though also somewhat disheveled. The strands of hair had come loose from behind her ears and she was sucking in deep breaths.

Maurus' lips formed a tired smile without his conscious effort. "That was... Very, very pleasant."

"That was the intent," Arianna answered smugly, dragging herself toward him again and leaning in to kiss him. He hesitated for a rapid trio of heartbeats and then pushed the hesitation away, meeting her and deepening the kiss almost immediately, forcing down the bit of irrational disgust he felt at tasting himself in her mouth. He did quickly trail his lips down her throat again though, tasting more salt than before and smiling when she let out a quiet, breathy approval.

"Your turn, Love," he said when he drew back after a moment and pulled her with him when he lay down. She yelped, the sound more giddy than usual, when he rolled over and placed her beneath him before resuming his path down to her shoulders. One hand kept his weight off her, while the other trailed down her body, his pointer finger sliding down between her breasts, over her stomach and between her legs, finding her as aroused as before.

Finding her little nub, tiny compared to his fingers, was a little hard, especially while tracing his lips and tongue down the spots he would usually caress with his hands, but her sudden gasp when he did, as well as the growing confidence that she really wasn't so different, made him grin against her collarbone.

The grin widened when he felt her twist beneath his fingers as he licked over her scarred breast and as he explored her body, her small writhes and soft exhales were as musical to his ears as her taste and feel was delightful to his hand and tongue. He moved slowly down, much slower than her hand on his head seemed to demand, taking his time to caress, kiss, lick and nip at her breasts and stomach, tracing around many of her scars. Her need inflamed his own, though he ignored it except for enjoying his own growing heat as he continued as agonizingly slow as he could make himself go, fingers never leaving her sex.

He'd just placed a kiss against her mound when his hoof bumped against the back of the tent and he paused. "Maybe we should have found a bigger place," he chuckled. "Move-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Arianna dragged herself backward and turned so her head was almost touching the corner opposite Maurus, lying diagonal in the tent. Her smile showed teeth as she spread her legs for him, waving him forward with three fingers.

Maurus echoed her grin and leaned in toward her, only to stop when she jerked back with a brief little sound of pain. He instantly realized what had happened and couldn't keep back the embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry," he said, raising his head to look up at Arianna. Her smile had turned a little annoyed, or maybe rather impatient, but not at all pained.

"I have half a mind to sand those down," she said, as Maurus softly stroked the spot he'd poked and bent back in, moving carefully and tilting his head. It put his mouth at an odd tilt to her engorged lips, but she made a noise of approval when he ran his tongue over her.

She was smaller and hotter than anything he'd ever experienced and she tasted different than he'd expected, but he savored the experience nonetheless, then had to chuckle when he felt his tongue begin to tingle again. The rumble of that seemed to surprise her, making her let out a little sound somewhere between a sigh and a hum.

He was as careful as she'd been, leisurely running his tongue over her, tracing her folds while he caressed her stomach, mound and occasionally her little hard nub with his fingers, all senses alert for her reactions. Arianna guided him with quiet shifts in her breathing, minute shivers and sporadic, one- or two-word encouragements, her need slowly becoming more clear in her voice.

He took his sweet time though, delighting in her reactions and her consistent surprise at the reach and width of his tongue. He pressed against her, tongue dipping deep inside her or rounding her nub, his free hand touching her where his tongue wasn't. He kept feeling small rumbles of half-begun chuckles at how his tongue simply kept tingling, but if he wasn't mistaken, that felt good too, so he didn't hold them back.

Her breaths and pulse became heavy and quick, small shudders running through her body. One hand tugged at his horn, while the other brushed over his hand, both motions aimless and insistent and Maurus did what he could to answer her silent demand.

"There," she breathed, and he obediently rolled his tongue over the spot he'd found, and a few heartbeats later, her breath caught in a gasp, her back arched and her legs closed around his horns. Feeling a rush of warm accomplishment, Maurus pressed his lips against her and stayed there as he felt the tremors roll through her body, seeming to echo down his own.

When the trembling faded, Maurus looked up along Arianna's body. The angle and the content expression on her face, as well as her smell and taste was almost intoxicating and as he watched, he felt himself reach full size again. Her chest fell a couple of times as they simply looked at each other, before her smile turned wicked and her eyes challenging.

"Do you have another round in you?" She asked.

"Oh yes," he rumbled heatedly, feeling his hard member pressing against the groundsheet. He picked himself up on his hands, then hesitated. "Maybe you should be on top."

Arianna raised a slender leg, the motion graceful, and prodded his shoulder with a dainty toe. "Roll over then," she demanded lightly.

Maurus readily obeyed and thoroughly enjoyed the sight when Arianna crawled past him and up unto his chest, seating herself, soft and warm, so far down that his member rested between her buttocks. Her expression was mockingly thoughtful as she spread her legs, a motion that didn't take them off Maurus' broad chest.

"I don't think you can comfortably straddle me," Maurus said dryly, guessing at her thoughts.

"Very perceptive," Arianna allowed pleasantly, prodding his nipple with a toe. "That ill-advised climb left me somewhat sore, even without considering the lashes."

Maurus scowled at the memory, but it wasn't hard to banish the anger by focusing on the sight in front of him. He ran his hands up Arianna's legs and up against her side before placing them back down on her thighs.

Arianna tilted her head, considering, and smirked again. "I don't have to straddle you though."

She leaned forward, resting her weight on her hands and after a moment, Maurus went from idly following her movements with her hands to grasping her waist and helping her lift herself so she could pull her legs in under her.

"That works," Maurus rumbled, as she arranged herself so she was kneeling on top of him, her legs on either side of his groin. In truth, her knees dug into his stomach a little, but he could manage and he almost forgot that small discomfort when she lowered a hand to his member and guided him toward her opening.

She hesitated though and as enticing as the meeting of their bodies were, Maurus dragged his gaze up to her face. Her face was rosy and her mouth was quirked in a smile, but he saw a glint of something nervous in her eyes. There might have been a hint of the same emotion in his eyes. Spirits knew he didn't want to hurt her.

He glanced to the side, then the other as he realized he'd gotten the tent turned around at some point, before catching sight of the little glass jar he'd bought earlier, standing by his backpack.

"We could use-" he began, but he trailed off when he looked back at Arianna. She'd followed his gaze and her expression had turned fondly exasperated.

"Trust me, that won't be necessary," Arianna said, laughter simmering beneath her dry tone and lowered her hips to brush against his member to amply demonstrate her readiness.

"It might help," Maurus said.

Arianna snorted derisively and instead of answering him, took a deep, eye-catching breath and lowered herself onto him, eyes closing as she did. She let out a long, open-mouthed exhale and Maurus gave a slow, answering groan as he sank into soft, tight and almost painful heat.

His attention was split between reveling in the feeling, inwardly chuckling at that tingling appearing again, and watching Arianna's face for any hint of discomfort. There was no outright pain, but her almost blank face was not encouraging and he kept his hands ready to lift her off him if necessary.

It took a long, pleasant moment before she stopped, slumping forward and planting both palms on his stomach. To his great relief, she looked up at him with a wicked, open-mouthed smile, rather than the pain he'd feared, and with her facial marking, loose hair and sweat dotting her body, she looked even more alluringly wild than before.

"Seems we fit rather well, after all," she said, her voice sultry and rolled her hips a little. Maurus' breath caught again at the sensation and he ran his hands up so his thumbs could brush over her nipples while he raised his hips a little.

Her little intake of breath was very satisfying, though it paled against the sensation of her lifting herself carefully and descending again, which made him groan in pleasure. She repeated the motion a few more times, each feeling sweeter than the last, as Maurus simply let his hands rest on her hips. Her heavy breaths made her chest rise and fall sensually, but they also made the worry reappear and in spite of Arianna's small smile, he asked: "Does it-

"I'm not made of glass," Arianna said. Her eyes smoldered. "Now do some work, lazy bull."

Comforted by her words, Maurus tightened his grip on her belly, pushing her down on him. Her reaction was an immediate gasp, but before he'd even begun to worry that he had hurt her, she moved with him, her eyes finding his and showing nothing but bright desire.

They moved carefully, slowly figuring out a rhythm and growing more confident. She leaned down and he raised his head to meet her for a brief kiss, their movements only faltering briefly before they separated.

Arianna leaned back in his grip, her back arching and sending another pulse of lust through Maurus. Then her right leg slipped a little and Maurus' grip on her hips tightened while his entire body tensed. To his intense relief, no wrenching agony came and he released the breath he'd been holding in an unsteady sigh.

Surfacing from his momentary panic, he couldn't stop his lips from curling into a crooked grin as he looked at Arianna. She'd thrown her weight forward and sat slightly askew from her slip, with her hands on his chest and her arms taut with effort to hold herself in place. Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted slightly, making a worried expression that was touching but also comically at odds with the hot flush in her cheek and the breaths that puffed out between her lips.

"That was close," Maurus muttered. It came out in an unsteady, deep chuckle.

Arianna's face relaxed, though her body remained tense and Maurus felt a little guilty at the realization that her tension felt good around him.

"You're not the easiest thing to balance on," Arianna said, the heat and slight annoyance blending in her voice and making the words come out in a huff. With a quick movement, she raised herself off him, leaving him feeling suddenly very cold and exposed and he momentarily wished he'd held her there. She moved herself back, sliding down between his legs onto her feet and said: "Sit up, fold your legs."

As he did, closing his legs around Arianna's feet, she turned in his hands. Then she leaned back against his chest before taking hold of him with one hand and guiding him into her as she almost daintily sat down in his lap.

Maurus let out another low groan as she lowered herself till she was flush against him, taking him even deeper than before. He folded his arms around her and pressed her body to his, one hand on her hip, forefinger on her little nub, the other around her stomach. The tent was already hot, but with her within the circle of his arms, flush against him, it seemed to become a great deal hotter, not that he minded in the least.

Arianna's chuckle surprised him, but did nothing to douse his mood and he made a low, questioning sound in his throat. Her hair tickled against his chest as she shook her head a little, putting her small hand over his. "Just an old line of poetry. 'The fortress of your arms'. It doesn't sound ridiculous now."

Maurus stroked his fingers idly over her. "I hope you don't feel trapped," he murmured.

"I think we've equally caught each other," she replied, rolling her hips in his lap and dropping her hands to press against his thighs. He took that as cue and began moving again, raising his hips a bit but mostly just aiding Arianna's movements by lifting her bodily with the grip he had on her.

This time, they quickly found the rhythm and Maurus felt his arousal tightening in his groin again. Pressed so close in their embrace, the heat and pressure was almost dizzying and the feel and smell of her filled his senses. His heart thudded in his chest, his blood pulsing through his veins and his breathing was rapidly becoming loud and ragged.

Arianna was taking unsteady breaths as well, interrupted by quiet moans that he could now hear were as far from pained as they could be and he could feel her pulse quickening, seeming to make her even hotter to the touch, all of which also heightened his own pleasure.

The tension grew and grew and it became a conscious effort for Maurus to keep his movements steady and his grip loose. Arianna was leaned back against him, sliding her back against his chest, her sweat seeping into his fur, a writhing in her movements that both spoke of her own need and pushed Maurus closer to his release.

The pressure was a wonderful little agony and Maurus tensed, wanting to hold on to it for as long as possible but he knew the effort would be fruitless. Arianna was wonderful, warm and sensual to every sense and he couldn't have slowed down if he'd wanted to.

"Don't stop," Arianna gasped, curling a hand up around his neck. In almost immediate, accidental defiance of her demand, came the moment he couldn't hold back anymore. His body tensed with rhythmic shudders as he pressed her down and against him, covering as much of her body with his as he could while he pulsed inside her.

She wriggled, but she could barely move in his tight embrace and it was a couple of heartbeats before the blankness faded from his mind enough to notice her frustrated movements. He was shrinking, but she was still hot and trembling and under the sultry teasing, there was some genuine annoyance when she lamented: "So close."

"Sorry," Maurus rumbled, voice still a little unsteady. He smiled slightly and raised one hand to his mouth while brushing over her nipple with his left hand, before lowering his wetted finger to rub circles over Arianna's little nub. He rolled his hips very gently and added: "Let me see what I can do."

Arianna let out a quiet, almost surprised sound and moved her hips in response to his. The annoyance was gone, leaving only the heated tone when she tried nonchalantly saying: "You really don't shrink much, do you?"

Maurus' smile grew larger, feeling her hard breathing and her pulse against him. "As I said: You're freaks."

"Guess-" Arianna began, but a sudden intake of breath interrupted her. She tried again: "Guess we should be thankful for that."

"Oh, I am," Maurus murmured earnestly. Arianna didn't respond. Her body was tensing in his arms and her head had fallen back to press against his chest. Her hands roamed over the back of his hands in what Maurus took for idle encouragement and her could feel every beat of her heart and every rise of her chest. His own heartbeat, which had calmed somewhat, sped in anticipation as he eagerly caressed her, reveling in her reactions.

His efforts bore fruit before long. Arianna made a weird little sound, more like a sound of effort than a moan or gasp, and her body seized. Her chest pressed against his hand as her body arched out from his and one leg pressed in against his hand. He felt pleasant little throbs as she clenched around him and was quietly glad he hadn't changed their position.

He didn't stop his caress before the tremors ebbed and Arianna relaxed against him. Feeling warm and content, he brushed his neck over her hair and adjusted his arms to simply embrace her, luxuriating in the closeness.

She slipped her hands beneath one of his and lifted it so she could press her lips to the back of it.

"That was..." She said began, and paused. Her could hear the fond smirk in her voice when she said: "That was most adequate."

Maurus snorted. "Thank you," he said, the words both light and a little sarcastic. He idly stroked her belly. "I think it went as wonderfully as we could have hoped."

"Hmm, it is worth repeating," she allowed warmly.

Feeling lethargy creep into his limbs, he lay down, gently pulling her with him, unwilling to let go of the slender furnace in his arms. She shuffled against him and reluctantly he loosened his grip enough that she could slide off him and turn in his arms. He did smile when she slithered up so she could kiss his mouth though. The angle he had to bend his neck in to answer the kiss was a little uncomfortable, but he hardly cared as their mismatched mouths and tongues met.

Arianna's chuckle broke the kiss, though the vibration in her chest felt pleasant against his. Maurus opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. She put her chin in her hand, tracing the fingers of her other hand over his chest. "There was a time when I'd have found the idea of wanting the love of a non-elf utterly preposterous."

Maurus smiled softly, carelessly running his hands down Arianna's back. "I shouldn't find you as alluring as I do. I shouldn't find you alluring at all." His voice turned dry when he added: "I blame succubi for rattling my taste."

"I don't even have that excuse," Arianna replied, her tone teasingly resigned. "If I was a more foolish person, I could have blamed it on some extreme act of rebellion against my dear uncle."

She laid her chin against his chest, her arms embracing him. Her mouth opened, but she frowned and closed it again, before turning her head so she was looking up at him again. As she caught his gaze, the blaze of green in her eyes was oddly fragile, like a gust of wind could put out the light, and her voice was soft and quiet when she said: "But you don't love out of defiance."

Maurus heart swelled in his chest. It was odd, how such a small word and such an indirect admission, could have such an effect on him, but it had. "No," he said, unable to help a wide, fond grin and his voice was so full of affection that it almost trembled. "We love because we can't help it."

"That is very true," Arianna said, the simple words belying the emotion in them. She gave a little sigh and said wryly: "It certainly isn't the wisest course of action."

Maurus shrugged. "I thought we'd both come round to Mathias' way of thinking," he teased. A little more seriously he added: "The tauren speak of the wisdom of the mind and the wisdom of the heart. My heart says this is wise, whatever troubles we bring upon ourselves."

Arianna chuckled. "And there is a least one advantage my mind tells me we have in our current circumstances. We don't have to worry about pregnancy."

Her tone was light, but it seemed her words sparked something in her, because an edge crept into the words as she spoke. Maurus idly stroked a thumb over her back and said thoughtfully: "I don't know. We do fit together remarkably well. And Garona Halforcen got her name for a reason. Maybe the dwarves have some things right and their creators made their races compatible."

Arianna blew out a breath that tickled his chest. "You're terrible at pillow talk. That was not what I wanted to hear."

Maurus shrugged, quietly pleased that the discomfort had left her voice. "I think we'd have heard more of that kind of thing by now. At least from the trolls, they seem to think anything with two legs and a pulse is worth a shot and we haven't seen any tusked half-breeds."

Arianna snorted. "So it's not just me who gets that impression."

"You should see a troll wedding," Maurus said. He yawned before continuing. "It gets... Chaotic."

"I would never have guessed," Arianna said dryly.

"Have you ever heard what they say about enraged trolls?"

"No?" Arianna asked, her face crinkling in obvious confusion.

"When enraged and in heat, a female troll can mate over eighty times a night. Be ya prepared?" Maurus quoted, in his best attempt at the troll accent. Falling back into his normal speaking voice, he added: "I'm pretty sure that originated at troll weddings."

Arianna let out a little laugh before leaning in for a short kiss. When she pulled back, she laid her head back on his chest and said, tone playfully charitable: "Don't worry. I won't expect that from you."

"Thank the spirits," Maurus said, the word coming out in half a yawn. "I'd need at least some rest before I can take any more care of you."

Arianna gave a yawn, a small, delicate one compared to his gaping ones, shifted a little on his chest and closed her eyes. "I think I'll allow you your rest tonight."

"Your-" Maurus began, but another yawn interrupted him. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes. "You're such a charitable creature."

"I do put up with you," Arianna murmured.

"Not for nothing," Maurus rumbled, running one of his hand low over her. "But I won't complain."

One of her hands rose to caress his cheek before falling back down to hug him. A sigh escaped her and she muttered: "We should bathe."

"I think it can wait a little while," Maurus said lowly, his arms tightening a little around her.

Arianna moved a little in his arm, making a completely unconvincing show of struggling against his grip. "I guess it will have to wait, " she said, her voice more tiredly content.

Maurus smiled and resumed his lazy caress. "I wholeheartedly agree."

As always, I really want to know what you think. And if you think this detracts mightily from the whole of the story, I would like to know, because then I will remove it and repost it as a sidestory. It does not further the war plot much after all.

The fortress bit is inspired by Diplomacy. I imagine Jaina and Arianna might have read the same poetry at some point.

Also, a recommendation: If you like witty and cute couples of quite different races, I recommend reading "Technically Flirting" and it's sequel by Bookah. It might be Guild Wars, but I know little about that fandom and the only thing I think it's necessary to know is what the different races look like to understand the wonderful little gem. It is woefully underappreciated if you ask me.