Lights in the Night Sky

[The Mongrel]

The bitter scents of wine, violence, and passion mixed with the sweeter scents of plant life, but the moss beneath me didn't have nearly as much attention as the powerful body on top of me. I'm not conventionally attractive to any race, so I hadn't been enjoyed this eagerly in decades. It was already a little overwhelming. Just a little.

I seized his head after a long moment, kissing him passionately, then sank my teeth into his shoulder while my hands worked their way down to his trousers. There was no surprise in the dexterity of my fingers, and I wasn't about to grant him satisfaction when I could give him anticipation. I had felt where his flesh had trembled before, now I wanted it to shudder. I'd bare him fully to the moonlight soon enough, but first I wanted him to experience a taste of delicious torment.

[SerCasimir]

Casimir growled with lust as her hands played on his flesh and began to open his breeches. His lips found hers again and their bodies collided in sweet agony.

Overhead the moon shone, the stars twinkled, and the wind played through the leaves of the trees, and for that moment two outcasts, far from home, took solace in each other, finding acceptance in a world where so often there was none.

[The Mongrel]

I slept for an hour or two when we had had our fill of passion. Though I was naked and out in the middle of nowhere, I was warm and content, safe in the knowledge that if anything wanted to get at me, it would first have to get through the arms around me. When I woke, more out of alert habit than desire to open my eyes, I laid on Casimir's chest for a while, just listening to the slow, steady beat of his heart and the rumble of his breathing.

This isn't right and you know it. I recognized the voice as Zarae, the Alerian half of me. I wanted to call her on her bullshit. I'd been wanted, desired, and appreciated more on this patch of ground than I had been while the Bards sang my praises after the fall of Pode. Without knowing who I was and what I'd done, he'd taken my actions and judged me on them.

He judged you on the fact that you like orcs and orc hybrids and that you sliced open your fair share of bandits, the voice insisted. He doesn't know that you're Illara of Nosse Alfheim, she who slew Pode. He doesn't know your reasoning for doing it. He doesn't know that you're a criminal who has killed people you barely had a quarrel with. He doesn't know you don't lose sleep over it. He doesn't know that you're lost and misbegotten, friendless, faithless, and forgotten. And if he knew, there would be problems. He's not the type of man we can be with for long. He's not the type of man who can truly know us. He's not Mutt. He never will be. And he deserves better.

Stars damn you, Zarae. You're right, of course you're right. But Illara wanted to stay.

I slid out of Casimir's arms like a thief escaping a vault. Some of my muscles protested moving even more than my spirit did; his love had been predictably vigorous, and I wasn't used to that anymore. Silently I donned my clothes and armor, then I dug around in my belongings for a sheet of parchment and a stick of charcoal. Each snort or interruption of his breathing froze me; I really didn't want him to wake up while I was leaving. But he deserved at least a note.

Casimir,

This is not an easy letter to write. While it is here and I am not, know that I very much would have liked it to be the reverse. Certain truths are hard to bear, and one of those truths is that you deserve so much better than me. You're a good man. I'm not a good woman. The life I lead comes with dangers, and I have enemies in Scara Brae. They are relentless as hunting hounds and pervasive as rats, and they are enemies you don't need to have. You haven't been seen with me by anyone tied to them, and so you should be safe. If they knew you were somehow connected to me, they would do their best to kill you. I can't have that.

Someday, you'll find a good woman, and she will love you because you are Casimir Taryndor, not because you remind her a lot of the love that she lost. When you find her, I wish the both of you all happiness.

Until then, may the Stars light your footsteps, and may sunlight keep you safe.

I folded the note carefully, trying not to smudge the delicately-written words, and tucked it into his hand. Standing, I gathered my belongings and turned to the forest. Scara City was about two hours east; I could be there before dawn. Just before I could slip away, though, I hesitated. I was the first woman who'd ever had him willingly. The first one who mattered.

Knights from the human tradition liked physical tokens, I seemed to recall. At the very least, I could give him that. I pulled a knife out of my belt, and it gleamed with gentle starlight. I shore a lock of raven hair from behind my ear with it, knotting the tress at both ends so it wouldn't ravel, then knelt beside Casimir and tied it gently around his wrist. Just a square knot so he could pull it apart and do with it as he would. If he left it in this copse or took it with him across seas and through wars, that was up to him.

I kissed him one last time, a light touch of lips on lips that he'd never remember. And then I was gone. Just a memory. Hopefully not a regret.

[SerCasimir]

Casimir slept more soundly than he could ever recall, his arms wrapped around Kon. His dreams were untroubled, and full of the pleasant thoughts of their coupling. When dawn came it was chilly, particularly on naked flesh, and he awoke slowly.

She was gone.

At first he panicked, thinking perhaps some harm had befallen her. He shot up swiftly, calling out for her when he noticed the parchment in his hand and the hair wrapped around his wrist. He unfolded the letter and began to read. She had left him in the night, leaving him cold, naked, and alone.

He didn't know how to feel, part of him roared in anger, but his more rational side spoke as well, telling him to be calm. She didn't owe him anything, and she certainly didn't love him. They were two people fresh from combat who had sought solace and comfort together. He was a fool to think she wanted more than that, and he shouldn't be angry at her for not accepting the duties he projected on her.

On the other hand, the fact she was afraid of exposing him to her enemies angered part of him even further. Did she think he cared if she had enemies? Did she doubt he would stand against them with her? Did she think him unfit for the fray?

No, she couldn't think that. She would not have given herself to him over and again in the night if she had thought that. He felt a single drop of moisture roll down his cheek. In any case, she had left him. She had snuck away in the night leaving him only with a note and a lock of her hair.

He thought of the hair, how it was carefully cut and tied together, then tied around his wrist. If she truly didn't care, would she have done this?

He just didn't know, and would never know. He would likely never see her again. Part of him considered tracking her down, he was confident he could, and getting answers.
What's the use, as fast as she is, she would be far ahead by now.

He untied the hair and placed it in a small pouch in his pack. He would decide what to do with it later. He dressed and rearmored, finishing the last bit of wine, then started marching toward the next town.

Alone again, naturally.

[Rayleigh]

Thread: Lights in the Night Sky
Participants: SerCasimir & The Mongrel
Judgment Type: No Judgment

SerCasimir receives 400 EXP and 50 GP!
The Mongrel receives 900 EXP and 85 GP!

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added