WIP: "Reap the Wild Wind," post two
Title: Reap the Wild Wind (thanks to Ultravox)
Rating: Adult; nearly all OCs, but Cobweb is there, very new to Wraeththu-dom
Thanks to those who have started down another path with me and Storm's wonderful world of hara. This is set in those early, mist-filled days of the first decades of Wraeththu, and the enigmatic, mysterious Sulh.
The scent of potent coffee woke Kelp, though he felt he was having to struggle through a lingering web of dreams before he surfaced to true wakefulness. He flexed his fingers and toes, stretched, hitting his hands against the cold stone of an interior wall.
"Fuck!" he muttered, still languishing in the misty area between being fully asleep or awake. With the force of a cold, smacking wave, he jolted into full consciousness, his eyes staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. One hand clawed at his long hair, the other slithered between his legs. For a brief moment of terror, he fingered the unfamiliar organ until recognition and memory shifted around him, soft grains of sand to remind him of who and what he'd become several weeks ago.
"I can't imagine that you'd want to take aruna so soon again after last night," a kindly voice said. It belonged to the har who had cleaned him up and tenderly put Kelp to bed last night. He sat up slowly, newly aware of a low ache within his soume-lam and a lingering feeling of being drained. It had seemed like he'd been outside of himself for the rituals; Kelp couldn't even conjure clear images. They were shadowy, but compelling.
A har Kelp knew to be with Cairn's tribe but who had hung more in the background during their introductions handed Kelp a mug of coffee before sitting next to him on the bed. Like all but Ferngarn and Blackspur, the har had long, dark hair and pale skin, though like Petrichor, kindness shone in his eyes. Oddly, to Kelp's observations, he wore a human woolen jumper, heavy with cables in a deep indigo colour. Several thin necklaces hung about his neck, made of braided leather with bits of shiny black stone woven in.
"I'm Thistle," he said, blowing across his own tin of coffee. "Some of the others are a bit more memorable, at first, anyway. But I'm going to work with you on your caste training, at least for a short time. Cairn's really itching to head further south in Alba, but I've convinced him to take a small party up north for a few days while you and your companion recover."
Kelp clutched at the mug in his hands, now assaulted by imagery that he simply couldn't reconcile with his usual, rational self. "The stone," he murmured, looking to Thistle for affirmation.
"Yes. You're definitely Sulh; you heard the monolith speak to you. That was the primary test. The rest was sacrifice, but as a har, you'll find that you recover from any injury with a speed inconceivable as a human. Look at your arms."
Kelp did, recollecting with ghostly clarity a knife cutting into his forearms. There were only the faintest traceries of pale white, one on each arm. The stone had spoken to him. He'd defiled it, smearing blood all over its surface-
"Kelp. Slow down," Thistle said, patting him on the thigh. "You were projecting your thoughts; nothing was defiled. You gave to one of the stones of power; it beckoned to you. And in return, it infused you with tremendous energy. That's why I'm here, to help you harness some of that, to help raise you as quickly as possible to a higher caste. We're going to find others, and I'll need you to help me. You're gifted with the power of teaching, of communicating with those who are usually mute." He tilted his head, quirking his mouth to the side, a strangely enticing expression on his face. "I'm envious."
Kelp took a few sips of coffee. It was strong and bitter and warmed his blood. "How did you learn what you'll teach me?" he asked, easing out a hand to intertwine his fingers with Thistle's, still on his leg.
"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted, rearranging their hands so that they were palm to palm.
"Is Blackspur okay?"
Warm, brown eyes gazed affectionately at him as Thistle nodded. "Yes. He's more of a seer- Cobweb's territory."
Kelp's alarm must have shown on his face because Thistle let out a low laugh.
"He'll be fine. Cairn is very pleased; only two of you from the outer island there and both with exceptional skill. Potential skill," he went on, bringing Kelp's hand to rest against his strong jaw. "Drink your coffee, then it's a quick wash up and you're my dedicated pupil for several days. You have so much wild energy; I'm going to help you tame it."
His voice and mannerisms were so reassuring Kelp didn't need to be told twice.
"Petrichor gave me this," he said later, through a mouthful of scrambled eggs and mushrooms, lifting the amulet from his chest.
Thistle raised one dark eyebrow, stirring a small pot of something non-breakfast-like as he ate some smoked bacon and stewed tomatoes. "Did he, now?"
Kelp suddenly worried he'd gotten his new kinshar in trouble.
Okay, bright eyes, Thistle's voice sounded in Kelps head via mind-touch. First lesson: how to channel and focus your thoughts so that they're not heard from here to Keltoi.
The next several days were a blur; Kelp was keenly aware of the comings and goings of his new clanshar as Thistle patiently taught him to create levees of thought, as he called them. There was also general instruction about Alba: the earth, trees, stones, messages from hawks and dancing rivers; how to taste starlight and praise the sun, to shoot a rifle and send out his thoughts, like creeping fog, to find out whether or not there were any appropriate young humans who would be worthy Wraeththu.
He cut out and sewed his own leather trousers, saving some of the buttery mahogany to braid a wide wrist circlet for Blackspur. Kelp had been granted leave to see him for an afternoon while most of the rest of the clan was in a private consultation of sorts. The rain was falling in torrents on the thatched roof, so the sound was far more muffled than either he or Blackspur was used to, but it still smelled of home. Kelp stood behind Blackspur in front of a ridiculously ornate standing mirror- Blackspur had been quick to note it was Cobweb's. They both had been taking aruna with their respective mages, but it was still passionate and a homecoming for Kelp to be able to visit. He teased and pleasured Blackspur with his achingly hard ouana-lim, egging Blackspur on, forcing him to look at himself while Kelp stood behind him. With skilled fingers, he stroked and massaged the sensitive petals at the base of Blackspur's mostly retracted ouana-lim, feeling his soume-lam clench tightly as Kelp repeatedly buried himself in his lover's body.
Earlier, Blackspur had told him that Cobweb had been instructing him in how to filter his thoughts, but also how intentionally to project them; it was obvious Cobweb was skilled in harish sensibilities, and that he'd also manipulated Blackspur in his teachings of aruna. The waves of their combined pleasure crescendoed; Kelp draped an arm across the front of Blackspur's chest as he looked in the mirror, gauging how close he was to his completion by the buffeting currents and rising timbre to his cries. Their climax was surprisingly gentle, though it went on and on, like tireless waters lapping at the shore. Exhausted and invigorated at the same time, Kelp eased out of his companion. Blackspur lit a fire while Kelp found a washcloth to clean them up. They lay down on some soft furs in front of the fire and Blackspur spooned behind him; Kelp watched the rosy flames dance and crackle as he let himself rest in Blackspur's embrace.
"We're not alone any more," he said quietly, pulling Blackspur's freckled arm closer to his ribs. "What's it like, spending so much time with Cobweb? He seemed so distant, so- apart."
Blackspur made an amused sound against Kelp's neck, his warm breath causing chills to flare on Kelp's skin before they subsided.
"He's quite the taskmaster, actually," Blackspur murmured before placing a short row of kisses across his shoulder blade. "But very enigmatic. You, I feel I really know; I could spend years with Cobweb and I don't think he'd ever really let me know what's really going on in that beautiful head of his. He's a puzzle, but he doesn't want anyone to put the pieces together."
He snuggled against Kelp's back, warm and alive and so familiar. Kelp stretched out, trying to get more contact, to ground himself in his companion, so dear and yet they were so different. The amulet from Petrichor still hung on his chest; it seemed it would be sacrilege to take it off, and Thistle hadn't said that he should.
"We're both Acanthalids now," Blackspur said quietly. "I've learned so much, and yet, compared to our new kinshar, I feel like a child."
Kelp nodded; he'd felt the same once he'd realised just how much Thistle knew about their new race, and the lands they'd soon be travelling. "We may incept others," he said. "It will be our privilege to bring them into this life we now live, and see more of Alba. It's so different from what we were before."
"Before is the dreamworld," Blackspur said against Kelp's back. "This is our reality. The stones called out to me, and I can see our place in the world. We have meaning and purpose," he said more vehemently. "Wraeththu is the land. We respect her, and she will reveal her secrets to us."
Kelp pulled Blackspur's fingers to his lips, breathing on them before he clutched them to his chest. "I'd like to give my blood to another, to someone who will bring new gifts to our clan. To be with him through the few days of suffering "
"You and I were delirious," Blackspur reminded him. "The pain passes. And then you're on the other side of it."
Kelp stared into the fire, watching the flames lick at the logs, imagining himself at the side of another as he made the transformation from human to har. "Thistle says I'm a born teacher."
"You also guided us," Blackspur reminded him. "And I have no doubt that you'll be able to lead other, new hara down paths of knowledge in your own unique way when we do incept new kinshar to our tribe."
Kelp smiled ruefully. "I still have so much to learn."
"Hopefully we'll have long, long lives to discover as much as we can about our new abilities."
They lay in a companionable silence for a time until at last Kelp's stomach began to rumble.
"I guess we should go and see if Ferngarn wants some help with our evening meal," Blackspur said with a short laugh, running his fingers over Kelp's belly.
"Indeed. Being with you worked up my appetite!" he turned his head and shared breath with Blackspur, reveling in his familiar taste of dawn and thorns.
* * * *
Three days later Cairn called for a tribe meeting. It had been decided that they would leave their enclave; they would ride the horses they had stabled in a nearby paddock, heading down south, further away from the highlands to lower Alba Sulh.
"I believe there are more Wraeththu," he said, standing at the head of a long wooden table. "We're a small group, though very powerful. Still, I think it would be prudent at least to meet them, wherever they may be, however many groups there are. There may also be some humans as well, unless they all succumbed to plague or insanity."
"There were large cities," Sanweryn said, drawing his finger down a map he and Ferngarn had been making from memory. "We may meet up with some violent human confrontation unless we keep our presence a secret."
"Do you think we were all incepted by the same first few Wraeththu?" Blackspur asked, toying with the sleeve of his tunic. "And where do you believe they went?"
"I think they went across the waters, over to the east," Cobweb said, a dreamy look on his face. "We'll have our turn to bring new humans into our fold, but we should be choosy. Only those who have strength, or beauty, or both."
"We'll pack lightly, as I'd like to return to these lands, near the valley of stones," Cairn stated, drawing the map to him. "We'll take this route south, down to where the larger former human cities were. There are bound to be villages along the way, where we can find ammunition and more horses, if we're lucky."
"I'd never left the outer island until we came across to find you," Kelp said. "I guess I was pretty sheltered until the world fell apart and then we two were transformed."
A warm smile bloomed on Petrichor's face. "Some of us had traveled quite a bit as humans; it's beautiful country, or was. Many cities and villages were burned nearly to the ground. There was fighting, and humans dying in the streets, crazed, mad with fear and incomprehension." He shook his head. "We'll need to be cautious as we go, especially since we don't yet know how much resistance to disease our new bodies have. There could be air-borne illness still lingering."
"I've been studying up on herbal lore," Ferngarn said, his demeanour less standoff-ish since Kelp and Blackspur had shown they wouldn't shirk from hard work and were dedicated to their caste training. "There are useful books here, and in my meditations, the earth has offered up more knowledge to me."
Cairn nodded his approval. "Tonight we'll make a gift to this space- Kelp, I charge you and Petrichor to take aruna near the birch trees; it will be a sacred rite and then some of your mingled seed will be gifted to the ground. This is Grissecon, profound aruna. A small phial of your combined essence will be kept with us, in case we find we need the strength of your energies to attack potential enemies with more than guns and knives."
"It would be an honour," Kelp said earnestly.
"You'll need to focus and climb to a higher plane; Petrichor will guide you," Thistle said, his gaze fixed intently on Kelp's face. "You should go and sit in meditation for a time. I'll come and get you for the meal."
Kelp's stomach buzzed with excitement. Aruna was necessary to harish life, he knew that innately. But he'd not truly realised how much controlled power there could be in the act and the potency of the pearly fluids that spilled forth at the moment of orgasm. He wasn't certain, but he suspected they had healing powers, and from what Cairn implied, they could be contained and somehow the energy could be unleashed to protect and even assault. Kelp felt humbled and in awe of his body's new abilities; after the meeting was disbanded he went to the home he'd been sharing with Thistle, drawing on all he'd learned until the meal was served.
Rain continued to fall, so once it came time for the Grissecon to take place, Cobweb suggested both a ground covering for their aruna as well as a tarp of sorts to shelter Kelp and Petrichor. As on the night when Kelp and Blackspur had been initiated into the Sulh tribe, Cairn led the group in chant and low drumming, though the patterns and words were different.
"You'll be ouana," Petrichor murmured as they sank to the ground, lying side by side at first on the cloth and blankets. "Swim in my waters; follow me as I take us on a path of light and strength. Don't fear if you have visions, it's to be expected."
He moved his lips to Kelp's, sharing breath with images of deep forests. With expert fingers he brought Kelp's ouana-lim to full hardness, the petals opening as the chanting buoyed him up, filling him with purpose and the grounding spirit of the earth. Petrichor was passionate and commanding, moving to lie on his back before guiding him into the slick warm folds of his soume-lam. His powerful muscles drew Kelp in; he could sense Petrichor's adoration, feel him reach to Kelp's soul and rise into a realm of azure shadows and luminous, viridian lights that danced and leapt as their bodies moved together in an ancient rhythm. Kelp was drowning in the colours and growing waves of pleasure, but always Petrichor's spirit was there, delighting him mercilessly as Kelp rocked against him, half-delirious with ecstasy and the sound of his blood roaring in his ears.
Now, Kelp, surrender yourself! Petrichor's voice sounded somewhere in this foreign land of arunic bliss. Kelp's cries punctuated the air as he tumbled into a powerful climax, still held safely in Petrichor's arms and also in the realm of emerald flames that didn't burn. Petrichor thrashed underneath him as the tongue flickered out from Kelp's ouana-lim, snapping to touch the burning star deep in Petrichor's body. He visualized the prismatic vigour of their commingled release, thundering through them both as the drumming reached a fevered pitch and then ceased. He was too boneless to move himself once it was over; Kelp felt like a rag doll as he was rolled off Petrichor. Despite the exertions of body and spirit, he was aware enough to see the handsome har wince as Cairn stooped between Petrichor's legs, gathering the shimmering results of their aruna. Coruscating violet-gold lit up the small glass jar, vivid and seeming to possess a spirit of its own.
"For this land of Alba, for we Sulh, and for our protection and safety, receive this gift of thanks," Cairn spoke into the ensuing quiet. He drizzled a few drops onto the base of one of the birch trees, making a gesture of power with his hand from his forehead to lips to heart. He handed the phial to Cobweb, who incanted something in a soft voice before placing a stopper in it and tucking it away in his robes.
Petrichor and Kelp slowly got dressed- their Grissecon seemed to have been a success. The next day, not an hour after a weak sun rose above the valley's shelter, their small group saddled up. Each har had fastened their few belongings and a load of provisions on their respective horse before they left the mysterious stones of power. More changes were coming, at a quick pace. Another new chapter in Kelp's life stretched out before him and he sat straighter in his saddle, breathing deeply of the chilled air, bright and brisk with anticipation.
.:~ to be continued ~:.
Rating: Adult; nearly all OCs, but Cobweb is there, very new to Wraeththu-dom
Thanks to those who have started down another path with me and Storm's wonderful world of hara. This is set in those early, mist-filled days of the first decades of Wraeththu, and the enigmatic, mysterious Sulh.
The scent of potent coffee woke Kelp, though he felt he was having to struggle through a lingering web of dreams before he surfaced to true wakefulness. He flexed his fingers and toes, stretched, hitting his hands against the cold stone of an interior wall.
"Fuck!" he muttered, still languishing in the misty area between being fully asleep or awake. With the force of a cold, smacking wave, he jolted into full consciousness, his eyes staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. One hand clawed at his long hair, the other slithered between his legs. For a brief moment of terror, he fingered the unfamiliar organ until recognition and memory shifted around him, soft grains of sand to remind him of who and what he'd become several weeks ago.
"I can't imagine that you'd want to take aruna so soon again after last night," a kindly voice said. It belonged to the har who had cleaned him up and tenderly put Kelp to bed last night. He sat up slowly, newly aware of a low ache within his soume-lam and a lingering feeling of being drained. It had seemed like he'd been outside of himself for the rituals; Kelp couldn't even conjure clear images. They were shadowy, but compelling.
A har Kelp knew to be with Cairn's tribe but who had hung more in the background during their introductions handed Kelp a mug of coffee before sitting next to him on the bed. Like all but Ferngarn and Blackspur, the har had long, dark hair and pale skin, though like Petrichor, kindness shone in his eyes. Oddly, to Kelp's observations, he wore a human woolen jumper, heavy with cables in a deep indigo colour. Several thin necklaces hung about his neck, made of braided leather with bits of shiny black stone woven in.
"I'm Thistle," he said, blowing across his own tin of coffee. "Some of the others are a bit more memorable, at first, anyway. But I'm going to work with you on your caste training, at least for a short time. Cairn's really itching to head further south in Alba, but I've convinced him to take a small party up north for a few days while you and your companion recover."
Kelp clutched at the mug in his hands, now assaulted by imagery that he simply couldn't reconcile with his usual, rational self. "The stone," he murmured, looking to Thistle for affirmation.
"Yes. You're definitely Sulh; you heard the monolith speak to you. That was the primary test. The rest was sacrifice, but as a har, you'll find that you recover from any injury with a speed inconceivable as a human. Look at your arms."
Kelp did, recollecting with ghostly clarity a knife cutting into his forearms. There were only the faintest traceries of pale white, one on each arm. The stone had spoken to him. He'd defiled it, smearing blood all over its surface-
"Kelp. Slow down," Thistle said, patting him on the thigh. "You were projecting your thoughts; nothing was defiled. You gave to one of the stones of power; it beckoned to you. And in return, it infused you with tremendous energy. That's why I'm here, to help you harness some of that, to help raise you as quickly as possible to a higher caste. We're going to find others, and I'll need you to help me. You're gifted with the power of teaching, of communicating with those who are usually mute." He tilted his head, quirking his mouth to the side, a strangely enticing expression on his face. "I'm envious."
Kelp took a few sips of coffee. It was strong and bitter and warmed his blood. "How did you learn what you'll teach me?" he asked, easing out a hand to intertwine his fingers with Thistle's, still on his leg.
"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted, rearranging their hands so that they were palm to palm.
"Is Blackspur okay?"
Warm, brown eyes gazed affectionately at him as Thistle nodded. "Yes. He's more of a seer- Cobweb's territory."
Kelp's alarm must have shown on his face because Thistle let out a low laugh.
"He'll be fine. Cairn is very pleased; only two of you from the outer island there and both with exceptional skill. Potential skill," he went on, bringing Kelp's hand to rest against his strong jaw. "Drink your coffee, then it's a quick wash up and you're my dedicated pupil for several days. You have so much wild energy; I'm going to help you tame it."
His voice and mannerisms were so reassuring Kelp didn't need to be told twice.
"Petrichor gave me this," he said later, through a mouthful of scrambled eggs and mushrooms, lifting the amulet from his chest.
Thistle raised one dark eyebrow, stirring a small pot of something non-breakfast-like as he ate some smoked bacon and stewed tomatoes. "Did he, now?"
Kelp suddenly worried he'd gotten his new kinshar in trouble.
Okay, bright eyes, Thistle's voice sounded in Kelps head via mind-touch. First lesson: how to channel and focus your thoughts so that they're not heard from here to Keltoi.
The next several days were a blur; Kelp was keenly aware of the comings and goings of his new clanshar as Thistle patiently taught him to create levees of thought, as he called them. There was also general instruction about Alba: the earth, trees, stones, messages from hawks and dancing rivers; how to taste starlight and praise the sun, to shoot a rifle and send out his thoughts, like creeping fog, to find out whether or not there were any appropriate young humans who would be worthy Wraeththu.
He cut out and sewed his own leather trousers, saving some of the buttery mahogany to braid a wide wrist circlet for Blackspur. Kelp had been granted leave to see him for an afternoon while most of the rest of the clan was in a private consultation of sorts. The rain was falling in torrents on the thatched roof, so the sound was far more muffled than either he or Blackspur was used to, but it still smelled of home. Kelp stood behind Blackspur in front of a ridiculously ornate standing mirror- Blackspur had been quick to note it was Cobweb's. They both had been taking aruna with their respective mages, but it was still passionate and a homecoming for Kelp to be able to visit. He teased and pleasured Blackspur with his achingly hard ouana-lim, egging Blackspur on, forcing him to look at himself while Kelp stood behind him. With skilled fingers, he stroked and massaged the sensitive petals at the base of Blackspur's mostly retracted ouana-lim, feeling his soume-lam clench tightly as Kelp repeatedly buried himself in his lover's body.
Earlier, Blackspur had told him that Cobweb had been instructing him in how to filter his thoughts, but also how intentionally to project them; it was obvious Cobweb was skilled in harish sensibilities, and that he'd also manipulated Blackspur in his teachings of aruna. The waves of their combined pleasure crescendoed; Kelp draped an arm across the front of Blackspur's chest as he looked in the mirror, gauging how close he was to his completion by the buffeting currents and rising timbre to his cries. Their climax was surprisingly gentle, though it went on and on, like tireless waters lapping at the shore. Exhausted and invigorated at the same time, Kelp eased out of his companion. Blackspur lit a fire while Kelp found a washcloth to clean them up. They lay down on some soft furs in front of the fire and Blackspur spooned behind him; Kelp watched the rosy flames dance and crackle as he let himself rest in Blackspur's embrace.
"We're not alone any more," he said quietly, pulling Blackspur's freckled arm closer to his ribs. "What's it like, spending so much time with Cobweb? He seemed so distant, so- apart."
Blackspur made an amused sound against Kelp's neck, his warm breath causing chills to flare on Kelp's skin before they subsided.
"He's quite the taskmaster, actually," Blackspur murmured before placing a short row of kisses across his shoulder blade. "But very enigmatic. You, I feel I really know; I could spend years with Cobweb and I don't think he'd ever really let me know what's really going on in that beautiful head of his. He's a puzzle, but he doesn't want anyone to put the pieces together."
He snuggled against Kelp's back, warm and alive and so familiar. Kelp stretched out, trying to get more contact, to ground himself in his companion, so dear and yet they were so different. The amulet from Petrichor still hung on his chest; it seemed it would be sacrilege to take it off, and Thistle hadn't said that he should.
"We're both Acanthalids now," Blackspur said quietly. "I've learned so much, and yet, compared to our new kinshar, I feel like a child."
Kelp nodded; he'd felt the same once he'd realised just how much Thistle knew about their new race, and the lands they'd soon be travelling. "We may incept others," he said. "It will be our privilege to bring them into this life we now live, and see more of Alba. It's so different from what we were before."
"Before is the dreamworld," Blackspur said against Kelp's back. "This is our reality. The stones called out to me, and I can see our place in the world. We have meaning and purpose," he said more vehemently. "Wraeththu is the land. We respect her, and she will reveal her secrets to us."
Kelp pulled Blackspur's fingers to his lips, breathing on them before he clutched them to his chest. "I'd like to give my blood to another, to someone who will bring new gifts to our clan. To be with him through the few days of suffering "
"You and I were delirious," Blackspur reminded him. "The pain passes. And then you're on the other side of it."
Kelp stared into the fire, watching the flames lick at the logs, imagining himself at the side of another as he made the transformation from human to har. "Thistle says I'm a born teacher."
"You also guided us," Blackspur reminded him. "And I have no doubt that you'll be able to lead other, new hara down paths of knowledge in your own unique way when we do incept new kinshar to our tribe."
Kelp smiled ruefully. "I still have so much to learn."
"Hopefully we'll have long, long lives to discover as much as we can about our new abilities."
They lay in a companionable silence for a time until at last Kelp's stomach began to rumble.
"I guess we should go and see if Ferngarn wants some help with our evening meal," Blackspur said with a short laugh, running his fingers over Kelp's belly.
"Indeed. Being with you worked up my appetite!" he turned his head and shared breath with Blackspur, reveling in his familiar taste of dawn and thorns.
* * * *
Three days later Cairn called for a tribe meeting. It had been decided that they would leave their enclave; they would ride the horses they had stabled in a nearby paddock, heading down south, further away from the highlands to lower Alba Sulh.
"I believe there are more Wraeththu," he said, standing at the head of a long wooden table. "We're a small group, though very powerful. Still, I think it would be prudent at least to meet them, wherever they may be, however many groups there are. There may also be some humans as well, unless they all succumbed to plague or insanity."
"There were large cities," Sanweryn said, drawing his finger down a map he and Ferngarn had been making from memory. "We may meet up with some violent human confrontation unless we keep our presence a secret."
"Do you think we were all incepted by the same first few Wraeththu?" Blackspur asked, toying with the sleeve of his tunic. "And where do you believe they went?"
"I think they went across the waters, over to the east," Cobweb said, a dreamy look on his face. "We'll have our turn to bring new humans into our fold, but we should be choosy. Only those who have strength, or beauty, or both."
"We'll pack lightly, as I'd like to return to these lands, near the valley of stones," Cairn stated, drawing the map to him. "We'll take this route south, down to where the larger former human cities were. There are bound to be villages along the way, where we can find ammunition and more horses, if we're lucky."
"I'd never left the outer island until we came across to find you," Kelp said. "I guess I was pretty sheltered until the world fell apart and then we two were transformed."
A warm smile bloomed on Petrichor's face. "Some of us had traveled quite a bit as humans; it's beautiful country, or was. Many cities and villages were burned nearly to the ground. There was fighting, and humans dying in the streets, crazed, mad with fear and incomprehension." He shook his head. "We'll need to be cautious as we go, especially since we don't yet know how much resistance to disease our new bodies have. There could be air-borne illness still lingering."
"I've been studying up on herbal lore," Ferngarn said, his demeanour less standoff-ish since Kelp and Blackspur had shown they wouldn't shirk from hard work and were dedicated to their caste training. "There are useful books here, and in my meditations, the earth has offered up more knowledge to me."
Cairn nodded his approval. "Tonight we'll make a gift to this space- Kelp, I charge you and Petrichor to take aruna near the birch trees; it will be a sacred rite and then some of your mingled seed will be gifted to the ground. This is Grissecon, profound aruna. A small phial of your combined essence will be kept with us, in case we find we need the strength of your energies to attack potential enemies with more than guns and knives."
"It would be an honour," Kelp said earnestly.
"You'll need to focus and climb to a higher plane; Petrichor will guide you," Thistle said, his gaze fixed intently on Kelp's face. "You should go and sit in meditation for a time. I'll come and get you for the meal."
Kelp's stomach buzzed with excitement. Aruna was necessary to harish life, he knew that innately. But he'd not truly realised how much controlled power there could be in the act and the potency of the pearly fluids that spilled forth at the moment of orgasm. He wasn't certain, but he suspected they had healing powers, and from what Cairn implied, they could be contained and somehow the energy could be unleashed to protect and even assault. Kelp felt humbled and in awe of his body's new abilities; after the meeting was disbanded he went to the home he'd been sharing with Thistle, drawing on all he'd learned until the meal was served.
Rain continued to fall, so once it came time for the Grissecon to take place, Cobweb suggested both a ground covering for their aruna as well as a tarp of sorts to shelter Kelp and Petrichor. As on the night when Kelp and Blackspur had been initiated into the Sulh tribe, Cairn led the group in chant and low drumming, though the patterns and words were different.
"You'll be ouana," Petrichor murmured as they sank to the ground, lying side by side at first on the cloth and blankets. "Swim in my waters; follow me as I take us on a path of light and strength. Don't fear if you have visions, it's to be expected."
He moved his lips to Kelp's, sharing breath with images of deep forests. With expert fingers he brought Kelp's ouana-lim to full hardness, the petals opening as the chanting buoyed him up, filling him with purpose and the grounding spirit of the earth. Petrichor was passionate and commanding, moving to lie on his back before guiding him into the slick warm folds of his soume-lam. His powerful muscles drew Kelp in; he could sense Petrichor's adoration, feel him reach to Kelp's soul and rise into a realm of azure shadows and luminous, viridian lights that danced and leapt as their bodies moved together in an ancient rhythm. Kelp was drowning in the colours and growing waves of pleasure, but always Petrichor's spirit was there, delighting him mercilessly as Kelp rocked against him, half-delirious with ecstasy and the sound of his blood roaring in his ears.
Now, Kelp, surrender yourself! Petrichor's voice sounded somewhere in this foreign land of arunic bliss. Kelp's cries punctuated the air as he tumbled into a powerful climax, still held safely in Petrichor's arms and also in the realm of emerald flames that didn't burn. Petrichor thrashed underneath him as the tongue flickered out from Kelp's ouana-lim, snapping to touch the burning star deep in Petrichor's body. He visualized the prismatic vigour of their commingled release, thundering through them both as the drumming reached a fevered pitch and then ceased. He was too boneless to move himself once it was over; Kelp felt like a rag doll as he was rolled off Petrichor. Despite the exertions of body and spirit, he was aware enough to see the handsome har wince as Cairn stooped between Petrichor's legs, gathering the shimmering results of their aruna. Coruscating violet-gold lit up the small glass jar, vivid and seeming to possess a spirit of its own.
"For this land of Alba, for we Sulh, and for our protection and safety, receive this gift of thanks," Cairn spoke into the ensuing quiet. He drizzled a few drops onto the base of one of the birch trees, making a gesture of power with his hand from his forehead to lips to heart. He handed the phial to Cobweb, who incanted something in a soft voice before placing a stopper in it and tucking it away in his robes.
Petrichor and Kelp slowly got dressed- their Grissecon seemed to have been a success. The next day, not an hour after a weak sun rose above the valley's shelter, their small group saddled up. Each har had fastened their few belongings and a load of provisions on their respective horse before they left the mysterious stones of power. More changes were coming, at a quick pace. Another new chapter in Kelp's life stretched out before him and he sat straighter in his saddle, breathing deeply of the chilled air, bright and brisk with anticipation.
.:~ to be continued ~:.