Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

(Exalted 2.5) To Defend Against a Snake in the Grass. Ch 1

Status
Not open for further replies.
The smallest of relieved sighs escaped Challenger as Clarity gave her take on the matter. He'd learned by then to trust her judgment on most occasions outside of battle, and the body of a deserter wasn't as likely to spark a manhunt. The two could travel easily on their way North. "Good. That's less trouble for us." When she spoke again to express what he perceived as boredom, fur-clad warrior sprung to his feet in one quick motion and reached down to help his traveling companion up. "There's no music here. What game did you have in mind?"
 
"We could play a game of gateway. We could go hunting. We could even race each other through the snow." She concludes as he swoops her up. She places one of her delicate hands on his chest."Just something..."
 
Now standing on their feet and facing each other, the two locked eyes more directly, Challenger's smoldering in the way they did when he was feeling entirely too idle. Each of her suggestions spoken aloud would have normally caught his interest, but just then, he was more intrigued by the one left unsaid. The one that Clarity suggested with a single, unmistakable touch. The martial artist responded in turn, stepping close enough that the mist in their breath mingled in the air between them and his hands rested too gently on her waist for how powerful they were. "Yes... Something..."
 
Clarity closes her eyes and give Challenger a gentle and lingering kiss as she guides his hands from her hips to the lacing of her armored corset and drawing their hips together with her own hands. Looking again into his eyes with an impish grin. "...or something?"
 
Their lips met. Then their bodies. The exalt held his companion tightly enough to feel his heartbeat quicken against her own chest, if she concentrated. Just then, Challenger's concentration was elsewhere, in his nimble fingers undoing the knot of Clarity's lacing. By the time the kiss broke, the garment had been loosened just enough to be pulled off like a shirt, if its owner desired to do so. Free to speak once more, he heard her request for affirmation, watching the jadeborn woman's eyes with a silent passion that bordered on frightening. "Something in the tent."

Like a dog with a stick, Challenger hesitated slightly to release statuesque beauty in his arms. He politely nodded toward the small shelter to indicate that Clarity should go first, partially remembering the manners he learned as a mortal, and partially just anticipating the view as she crawled in. Unlikely as it was that anyone would come by, the solar still felt a need for some privacy in such situations, and even the fire she sent through his veins would likely be a poor match for the cold outside.
 
Echo initially didn't bother to look up from the treatise he'd been reading. Any entrance that didn't begin with an immediate announcement was likely unimportant. Only once she addressed him did he look up with mild curiosity. "Interesting," he said by way of greeting. He looked her over as she paused between statements, silently noting the shape of her ears. Hearing the more important part of her announcement, Echo rose. "Well then, let's not be unreasonable." He regretfully put away the treatise, having hoped to glean something more...directly applicable from it, and made his way to his father's study.

Echo simultaneously felt a small surge of pride and twinge of disgust upon seeing the face of Noble Brook, a military officer from the Blessed Isle. On one hand, Noble Brook was extremely competent, the result of some of the best training available to mortals, and he'd served Shard of the Sphere well. On the other, he was a reminder of the exceptional resources and influence that the Blessed Isle could wield, and that Echo would need to weaken before his plans had a chance to succeed.

Once in the study, Echo smiled at his father and took his hand, casually seeking out a chair and turning it to face his father. "Much to study, little to complain about." He nodded as his father cut to the chase. "Well, seems there is something to complain about. What is the issue there?"
 
Shard of the Sphere nodded in approval at his son's response—reflecting that his son had learned faster than he had when to put aside contemplation for action.

“In the last four days,” the king explained, “three farming villages in the north east of our land have been assaulted. Reports speak of tall men with shaggy fur and tusks, claws like diamonds and swords of ice. Captain Night Cloak reports that the creatures went out of their way to inflict terror and suffering, without much care for plunder. Attempts to track the creatures reported that they either mounted or transformed into omen dogs after leaving the scene.

“I believe these are hobgoblins—foot soldiers of the Fair Folk who feed on terror. I'd like you to select a reasonable unit of soldiers and deal with them.”
 
Echo remained silent, processing the information in his head for a moment. He stood and walked over to a map. "Which villages were attacked? How many of the creatures were reported in the attacks? Were any killed?"
 
Clarity and Challenger
Kneeling clarity crawled forward lingering playfully in the entrance to slide her corset off and flipping the leathers on her armored skirt up around her waist revealing shapely cheeks on either side of her slim loin cloth and slender muscular thighs. Her skin was impossibly smooth and perfect but what would you expect from a girl with the appearance of perfectly sculpted black jade?
 
Clarity and Challenger

Clarity didn't have to look back to tell that her traveling companion was drinking in the sight. Challenger's eyes ran over her hindquarters with such carnal thirst that his gaze could nearly be felt. Once she had crawled completely into their shelter, he followed closely and began to remove his own winter clothes. The coat's front split open to expose the bold muscles of his chest and stomach before it slid down a pair of equally chiseled arms. Arms that then wrapped around Clarity, pulling her into another heated kiss that united their bare torsos.
 
Shard used small red glass beads to indicate the three villages that had been attacked. "Reports are muddled of course, but we suspect more than a score, less than two score. Probably less than thirty."

The towns assaield were all within an hour of the hinterlands for an omen dog. There were tundras, a few pine forestst, and one low but convoluted area of cragy hills wihtin a half days ride.
 
Clarity and Challenger

Seeing his bold muscles made her for the first time since she surfaced feel somewhat at home. Compared to the men of her court far below, the men of the surface were weak. Challengers athletic purposed frame and his lustful conviction thrilled her. Joining in his kiss and pressing her bare torso into his she did not waste time gently cupping his manhood with one of her hands while starting on her skirt the other one.
 
Between the muscles pulling her body against Challenger's and the one straining against its confines to enjoy her grip, it would have been easy for Clarity to imagine that she was with a man hewn from solid stone. The warrior, whose heat and passion gave him away as a being of flesh and blood, reached his skilled hands down to help the earthborn beauty with her final garments before he broke the kiss to shuck his own. When their bodies and lips met once more, the two were bare before each other. Calloused fingers sought what softness they could on the woman's chiseled frame, offering a gentle tweak or squeeze before moving on to some other spot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom