10 - Drink from the lips of a goddess

Everything was red outside. It was like being inside a giant sandstorm, but instead of yellow the only color that was visible was red. The waves of heat and molten material constantly hit against the light blue energy of the shields and disintegrated in horrible hissing and burning sounds. Fenrir reassured her they would hold, and everything would be alright. She wanted to believe him, and yet she found herself on his bed curled up into a small ball, crying. Inside the ship, everywhere she went there was only an unnatural, eerie silence. Almost like whatever was happening outside did not matter at all. Like it was all a dream. She liked to think it was actually a dream, a nightmare perhaps. That none of this was real. She missed her parents, her people, her old life. She used to be so carefree and away from danger. And then, just as she thought she was living the happiest moment of her whole life, everything was taken away from her.

Perhaps not everything. Perhaps it was not all bad things after all. Perhaps it was not all a nightmare here. She was not alone. She still had him. The most important thing, the most important person still remained. She wanted to be sure she’d never, ever lose him. She knew she wouldn’t be able to live without him, and she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to be forced to live alone ever again. In case he died, she knew she’d follow him without a second thought. Even the smallest hope of an afterlife together was better than to keep living without him.

She knew that many people would have called her silly. Especially the elders of her village. They would have argued that she was rushing things, that she was going too fast. She had met him barely a month ago, after all. What were a few weeks compared to the lifespan of an elf? Why would she chain herself to a man for the rest of her life, even knowing she would live far longer than him? She couldn’t know if this was true love or just a fleeting infatuation, and surely they’d tell her that. But she also knew something nobody else could know. She knew just how profound and true both their feelings were. And she knew, she was sure he was the one she wanted to spend her life with, just like she knew that he shared her same feelings. That he too felt that way, although he was too timid to show it.

She had felt it, barely at first, but then stronger and stronger all the time they had been together. And today the sensation had been so strong she realized she could communicate with him this way. For the first time since they met he had actively used this strange, magical empathic link willingly, transmitting his own emotions and opening up his own heart to her. They had communicated, opened each other’s hearts and connected them with a thread that transcended concepts like distance, language, and race. What once was only a strange force pulling her towards him had now transformed and had become a well of emotions that attracted her like a black hole. It was destiny itself that was drawing them together.

She used to fear that this moment would never come, and yet he proved her wrong once again. She was wrong to doubt him, she should have always believed in him. She smiled with her face pressed against the soft pillow under the sheets of his bed, and took in his scent that still permeated the room, almost drowning her with the pleasant smell. Just how many nights had he slept on this bed, alone, without her? She felt her desires ignite and her lust for him turn into a strong fire in her womb.

There was an infinite swirl of emotions inside of her. They were opposite, and yet coexisted and strengthened each other. She cried tears of joy, of happiness, but also of sorrow and loss. She didn’t want him to feel all that she was feeling now, so she kept it away from him and did not share it. She didn’t want him to see her scared or sad, she wanted to be strong just like him.

She heard the door slide open, and felt the familiar feeling of the man she loved enter the room. He smelled of home, of family. She curled up even smaller inside the sheets, almost instinctively protecting that vulnerable part of herself she wanted to keep hidden away.

“Hey.” He said, softly and gently. He sat on the bed, one hand stroking the small of her back through the smooth texture of the sheets. They felt soft and pleasant, and that made the feeling of his hand through them against her bare skin even more intense. She felt goosebumps on her skin, and her heart rushed in her chest. She breathed heavily for a moment, trying to suppress the well of tears that were coming from her eyes like a broken dam.

“Hey.” She replied, trying to mask everything under her voice. She knew everything was okay, that he was here now. He had been away for so long, working on the repairs of the ship, but now he was here, and it was all that mattered.

“I'm here with you. You are not alone.” He said, while still moving his hand up and down through the smooth fabric. And every one of his words was accompanied by the million emotions he felt and shared with her, undiluted and genuine like nothing she had ever seen before. Even what he had shared so far, both passively and actively like earlier today wasn’t even near the power of their connection right now. It was as if it had been strengthening more and more as they grew closer to each other, never to be separated again. There was a compassion there, a love and a caring that she had never even thought possible. She knew she had fallen for the right man, there and then. And she realized she could open up to him, expose the most vulnerable part of herself to him. Because he would understand.

“I’m scared.” She said, and the words carried with them her own emotions, her own little inner world. And as the words left her mouth, another even stronger surge of emotions came to calm her, to tell her she was safe now. That everything will be okay. Like a tidal wave, they washed away all the fears, all the bad things until all that was left were the two of them. Alone with each other, forever.

He gently slid under the sheets to join her, and she felt a hint of surprise come from him as he noticed she was naked. He seemed puzzled, like he didn’t know what to do, how to react. She felt everything he was feeling because he had left the channel open for her. She could see everything that was going on inside his mind, he had left the doors to his inner world open only for her to see.

She took his hand and gently kissed it, before turning to his face and kissing his lips. He was so embarrassed, so confused. It was very cute, it made her heart melt. He smelled of sweat and the scent was so strong she felt inebriated. She felt her mind losing lucidity as she lost herself in the moment, in the sensations. She pressed her body onto his, enjoying his embarrassment for a moment. She felt the desire inside of her, and inside of him as well, mixed together with the embarrassment for the dirty thoughts he was having. She felt overwhelmed by the innocence and immense love this man had for her. She gently guided his hand to discover all the parts of her bare body. He enjoyed all the new sensations as she guided him across her smooth face, he stopped to play with her pointy ears before moving on to stroke her hair. Then she kept moving his hand towards other parts of her own body. She wanted to give every part of herself to him, and so she placed his hand on her breasts, feeling the desire ignite and turn to lust inside of herself and him. He touched them and played with them. He felt their smoothness, and enjoyed the sensation of the soft parts against his rugged hands. She felt heat rise from within herself and condensing against those parts he was touching. His touch was so firm and powerful, yet so gentle and caring. She could no longer wait. She could no longer hold it in. She tore his hand from there and guided it down, towards her belly and then further down until she could feel the waves of pleasure radiate from inside of her. She tore his clothes open, revealing his chest and his skin. He was immobile, perfectly still as he let her do as she pleased with his body.

They made love that night, and then again and again until it was morning. By the time the sun was up again, they were both covered in sweat, exhausted and very, very happy. They were hugging while they slept on the bed, pressed close to each other so intimately their bodies were still joined as one. At times she opened her eyes to take in the beauty of the man next to her, while at other times she felt him doing the same thing. She still felt all the emotions within him, all the joy and happiness that slowly replaced every negative thought in their heads.

She didn’t know why he was still sharing everything with her, his every emotion and the deepest parts of his being. He was hiding nothing, not even the parts that haunted him in his dreams, or the fears and concerns he was still struggling with. She learned everything she could about him, and she decided that she too would do the same with him. She would no longer hide anything of herself to him. Not of her body, not of her mind. She would literally stand naked before him and allow him to enter even the most private part of her being.

It made her feel safe and loved, knowing how terrified he was of losing her. It made her feel accepted, and that she was not the only one thinking those things after all. She woke him up by kissing him passionately, and then they went at it again with renewed fervor.

“I love you.” she said, looking at him. She was leaning onto him, but kept her head turned so that she could see his face.

“I love you… too” He replied, and she felt an intense wave of pleasure come from within. He was panting and sweating, and his sweat was almost an aphrodisiac. It made her mind go blank and she launched herself on top of him, making the two of them fall out of the bed and onto the floor.

***

He had no idea what, but something seemed to have changed between him and Lunora. The way she acted was different, she was much more assertive and direct in her approach with him, as if she knew that he was actually very shy and that if she didn’t open up to him first, then he probably never would. She also seemed to have an endless desire and lust for him. That was not all, of course, it was just the most evident point. Much more subtle, and yet so much more important was the fact that she now understood him. On a level so deep it was like she had always been with him. Perhaps it was this new empathic connection, or perhaps it was something else, but he was very happy with the change. He too felt something had changed in the way he saw her, and he was ready to embrace the novelty of it all with open arms. He felt like he was in heaven. Everytime he had doubts about himself, about not being enough for her, about anything really, she just came and comforted him as best she could. Not only that, she too seemed to be much happier and satisfied; he didn’t even need to express his emotions with words anymore. She just knew.

He had his suspicions about the nature of this connection they shared, almost as if someone had understood all of his struggles and decided to help him out. Perhaps it was the system itself that had experienced just how scary the world of human relations was to him, just how difficult it was for him to express himself that it decided to use a part of its power to help. Or perhaps it was some higher intelligence that had manipulated them. But if that was the case, then how should he feel? Annoyed and enraged because it had intruded in their life perhaps? Or because it was manipulating him for its goals? Or should he thank it for giving him the happiest moments and memories of his whole life?

He decided that, at least for now, he didn’t care. He was here, and he was happy. No need to ruin this moment, especially considering the little angel who was looking at him with her big round eyes.

“What is it that disturbs you?” She asked. She had probably sensed that something was on his mind. He was still annoyed at the fact that someone had put that link in his head without his consent… But damn was he happy to have someone who cared for him this much.

“It’s nothing. Just a few random thoughts. Anyway, I’m quite hungry after all this… physical activity. What about we grab something to eat in the canteen?”

“Yeah! I’d love that!” She replied enthusiastically and bolted towards the door. As soon as she turned around the corner, he felt some mild embarrassment come from her as she came back on her tracks. “Where is the canteen?” She asked, fidgeting with her fists between her legs. She was still in underwear, and the action was dangerously seductive. Feeling the change in his mind, she began to move around on purpose just to tease him. She giggled as she moved around, showing her cute but dangerously sexy body to him while her cheeks grew red.

“Follow me. Come on, don’t run away!” He said and began to run himself. He let her catch up to him a couple times until they reached the room. It was still the same way he left it when he was here last time.

Flashbacks of the bodies, of the death and destruction came back to his mind. The smell, it was impossible to forget it. The panicked expression that the lifeless bodies still wore as they died.

“Hey…” he heard her say, as she put her hands on his face. She pulled him to her and shared her own emotions with him until they met and kissed gently. It was like a nepenthe, to forget all that was bad in the world. He felt better already.

“Find a table and sit, I’ll be right back!” He told her, and went for the pantry. There were a number of dehydrated rations there.

As he inspected all the selection of food available, he also opened up his status screen for the first time in a while. There were a few notable differences from last time.

Fenrir [Level: 4] Magic affinity: [E] Unique skills: Transcendent; System Version 1.1.0, Magic conversion Active Skills: Pulse scan 3, Spirit arrow 2, Elemental spirit arrow 1, Seduction 5 Passive Skills: Endurance 8, Stamina 5, Genetic augment (body) 2, Strategic map 1, Fusion energy expert 1, Charm resistance 5

So obviously he had gained quite a few levels and skills after doing certain... things so much. He doubted the charm resistance would work against Lunora though, or perhaps she had a way to go past it, because he never felt his lust for her diminish at all. Well, it was good in the end, better this way than the opposite.

Also the system had evolved apparently, and now had a new feature. Missions! One was even active right now.

Mission: survive the firestorm [Day 1 / 5] Reward: Feature: mana-energy conversion.

The reward seemed appealing, and it wasn’t like he wanted to fail this particular mission. To the best of his knowledge, mana was what made magic possible. But if there was a way to make mana into energy and vice versa, then suddenly the whole notion of levels and skills made perfect sense. In a way, perhaps levels signified how much mana his body was holding, and how much stronger he was because of it. It was like having living energy reside inside of him and make him stronger.

He returned from the kitchen with a few dishes ready and steaming hot in each hand. He served Lunora first, then went to sit right beside her on the metal bench. There were windows in the room, and although none of them was broken, they were all buried under the rock.

“I’m sorry for what happened to your family.” He said, and then he felt the mood change immediately. Perhaps he shouldn’t have brought it up? He felt guilty now, but the elf sensed it and tried to calm him both mentally and physically. She wrapped herself around him like a candy, and offered him a piece of hot bread.

“Thank you… I miss them so much. But I also feel guilty, because I am so happy now that I am with you!” She said, on the verge of tears. Now it was his time to try and calm her down.

“You know you can tell me how you feel, what you think… although perhaps we don’t need words for that anymore.” He said. The link suddenly became alive with a swell of swirling emotions. He embraced them, and added his own to the great sad song that was being sung.

“I only know one thing. That I love you. And I want to be forever with you.” She replied, and looked up to meet his eyes. Even when sitting she barely reached to his chin. He smiled gently at her, and then she began to move to go and sit on his lap. She also started moving around quite exaggeratedly, and he knew what her intentions were.