"Make every moment of your life worthwhile, so that when your time comes, you can go with no regrets left behind. Dally too long, and it would be all too late to change your mind." - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

"This is truly a beautiful land," Artair said with a sigh as he watched the sun set far in the horizon. The therian man reclined on a lounge chair so large it would have accommodated even the largest of therian breeds, and he laid on it without any clothing whatsoever.

Aideen laid beside him, similarly naked, and cuddled closely to him. It was already autumn, close to nine months since they had taken a vacation to just enjoy themselves, and the weather had cooled down once more. Aideen might no longer be bothered by hot and cold, but snuggling close to Artair's warm body in colder weather was no less comfortable regardless.

The scenery from their little private cottage was breathtaking to say the least. The open ocean with a pristine beach that had beautiful, white sand, framed by a multitude of maple trees, with leaves that turned a shade of pretty orange in the early autumn.

They were staying at a popular vacation house in the south-east of Ptolodecca, one famous for its beauty… yet also somewhat infamous for the purported debauchery that regularly took place there. It was a place most popular amongst the more liberal minded, and particularly popular amongst couples.

Aideen and Artair were relatively wealthy so they had rented a more private cottage, with its own private beach and other amenities. Other cottages linked to the public beach instead. At this hour, many stayed in their cottage like them, to enjoy the beauty of the sunset.

Yet others still remained at the beach, and even at their private area, they could still vaguely hear screams and moans, as other vacationers made love on the beach, right in the open, without a care in the world.

"Man, someone sure is a screamer out there," said Aideen with a giggle as she cuddled closer to Artair and laid one of her legs atop his leg. Couples just making love out in the open - or as hearsay goes, trading partners with other vacationers - was a common sight in the place.

When they were younger, the two of them were too shy to go there. They had grown more adventurous as they grew older though, and when Aideen had suggested that maybe they ought to try visiting the vacation house, Artair had agreed right away.

The past nine months of their vacation, they had practically toured many scenic vacation spots all around Ptolodecca, ones they had not had the time to visit before, or had been too embarrassed to approach when they were younger.

It was nine whole months of enjoying the sights, tasting the many regional delicacies, trying out various activities the locals do for fun, and making love whenever they felt like it, which was a lot. In a way, it was much like a honeymoon they had never done because both of them had been too engrossed in their respective duties and responsibilities back then.

Just letting go like they did these past few months had been a cathartic experience for the two of them, and helped lift the pall of gloom that the death of Artair's father had brought. It was something Aideen now realized she had needed more than she thought.

Artair was right. Once she took a more relaxed attitude with life, and focused on what she wanted rather than what she had to do, she felt lighter, as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

To take life as it comes, one day at a time, and leave tomorrow's worries to tomorrow, instead enjoying a fulfilling life today. Savor the time she had, he had said, rather than brood over the uncertain future. She took that advice to heart.

They definitely had savored their time together. A therian like Artair usually doesn't begin to decline physically until the last few years of their life, so he was still a very fit and healthy man, with urges to match.

His growing softer was less because of age and more due to the rather sedentary lifestyle of his line of work. He still joined her to practice from time to time, but was nowhere as diligent as she was, as Aideen never missed a single day of practice over all these years.

To be fair, her lack of need for sleep also likely played a role in that, as she effectively had half again as much time awake than most people who were not Unliving.

That he still kept such firm, strong muscles were mostly thanks to therian physiology, which retained muscles far better than humans did, even when they were rarely used. It was the main reason why most therians were in good to excellent shape, and it was rare to find ones who were in poor physical condition.

Aideen was not complaining either way, as her hand gravitated to Artair's firm chest muscles, soft as they were relaxed, yet hard as rocks when he tensed them. He still smelled of sweat, and of musk, as they had just made love on that very same lounge chair a few moments ago after all.

Both of them had allowed themselves to be completely uninhibited in this private getaway of theirs, and just did many things they had been too embarrassed to even suggest to try before. Aideen might have blushed at even the idea of what they had tried out of late, but strangely found herself comfortable instead, relieved, somewhat like a bird that had flown out of its cage.

Her hand slowly crawled lower from his abdomen, to which Artair reacted with a yelp, his voice as if he was scandalized by her behavior. That got both of them into a fit of laughter that took them until their stomachs hurt and they had a hard time breathing.

Then he rolled over and kissed her lips, as they made love while bathed by the rays of the setting sun.