Eoan Desire
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
"I told you it was perfect up here," Dawn said as Rali perched next to her. They were balanced on a tiny ledge near the top of the tallest spire in Tereva'diel. It was high enough that they had to wrap their tails tightly around the spire to keep the winds from toppling them over.
"You were right," Rali conceded, looking out over the hold. They could see for miles—right up to the mountains, which blocked their view. The dalhari below them were little more than moving dots. "So this is where you come to get away from Bai?"
Dawn snorted. "Yeah, but I like it up here, so I come here a lot," She replied. "I don't think he likes this spire."
Rali looked around, wondering why anyone wouldn't like it—the view was beautiful. She leaned back, brushing against Dawn. "He's not bothering you, is he?"
The musician sighed. "No worse than usual. It's nothing I can't handle."
"Tell me if he gets worse. There are ways of dealing with that type," Rali said darkly. She didn't like the idea of anyone messing with Iriya, particularly that one. Rali could tell that the musician was attracted to her, but she didn't feel the same way—she was drawn to Iriya, and was fairly confident that Iriya reciprocated that attraction. If only she would open her eyes! Rali had never met someone quite as blissfully unaware as Iriya.
"I can handle it," Dawn insisted. She didn't want anyone fighting her battles for her, and Bai was little more than a gnat.
"Sometimes people like that cause more problems than you'd think they could," Rali replied. She couldn't help but think of Gaihi—her parents had told her stories about the insane dalhari who had terrorized her mother and changed her father.
"I know, but there are others watching out for Bai," Dawn stated. "The guild knows about him—and he doesn't have very many friends in this hall."
Rali turned to Dawn. "Promise me you'll be careful?"
Dawn rolled her eyes. "I promise. You do know, though, that I've lived around him for more than a hundred years, don't you?"
Rali frowned and leaned closer, her face almost touching
Dawn's. "I won't have anything happen to you, not while I'm here,"
She murmured, pleased by the shiver she felt run though Iriya's
body.
Dawn turned her head a little to look straight at Rali.
"Nothing is going to happen to me, Rali."
"You can't be so sure! Better warriors than you have
been brought down by lesser beings than Bai,"
Rali warned.
Dawn inhaled sharply. This wasn't the most comfortable
conversation she'd ever had, and she couldn't concentrate properly on it
because Rali was so close. She wanted to drag the dalhari on top of her and
devour that pale mouth, regardless of what it was saying. "The elders and
the guild know how he is, and they watch out for me because of it. Please stop
worrying about it, Rali," Dawn pleaded.
Rali narrowed her eyes, about to start into another rant.
Then she noticed the gleam in Iriya's eyes, the way
her lips parted and her cheeks flushed. Most of her anger stepped aside as she
realized that maybe Iriya wasn't quite as blind as
she'd originally thought. Taking a chance, Rali leaned forward and sealed their
lips together instead of shouting again.
Dawn couldn't suppress her moan as Rali suddenly darted
forward and kissed her. All she could do was lean back against the spire and
let the teacher devour her mouth. When Rali begged entrance, Dawn parted her
lips obediently, inviting her in. The dark taste of the dalhari slid over her
tongue, wrenching another moan from her.
Emboldened by Iriya's acceptance,
Rali pressed closer to the musician, holding their bodies tightly together as
she mapped out the interior of Iriya's mouth. The
musician was intoxicating; her body warm and lithe, her mouth sweet and pliant.
Ah, this was what she'd been waiting for. Months of want, of watching hopefully
as Iriya walked beside her. What she found made the
wait worthwhile.
By the time they broke apart, Dawn was breathing hard and
her lips were bruised a dark, vivid peach. "I will worry as I
please," Rali whispered breathlessly. It was her right to do so.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
When Dawn got back to her quarters after a long day of
yelling at workers at the guild hall, she found a small, flat package tied to
her door. She pulled out a dagger and cut the string before letting herself in.
Examining the cloth-wrapped parcel, she wondered who would have left her
something. Chadei had been at the guild hall all day.
Upon removing the fabric, Dawn found a pair of long,
slender wooden blocks pressed together, bound by several strings. Curious, she
unwound the strings. The blocks were nothing special, just two matching pieces
of wood, unadorned in any way. She separated the blocks, only to see a piece of
paper flutter to the floor.
She moved quickly, catching the paper before it landed. It
was small, about the length of her palm, and perhaps two fingers wide. The side
she could see was as plain as the wooden blocks. When she turned it over,
though, she saw that it wasn't simply a piece of paper.
The reverse side was decorated with a complex design of
arcs and whorls, painted in gold, silver and a deep, burning red. Now that she
had seen this side, she recognized it for what it was—an illumination for a
book. They were a very coveted art form, used to embellish the covers of books and
journals. She had quite a collection of them adorning her folios. This one was
exquisite; she'd never seen this particular type of design and couldn't think
of an artist that did such work. The curves were precise, almost painstakingly
placed, each one exactly matching the next, as though the artist had measured
out…
/Or perhaps the artist used a formula?/
Dawn thought to herself. She could certainly see where someone could have used
mathematics to determine the design on the paper. The colors were some of her
favorites—ones that Rali knew she preferred. Dawn knew exactly what that meant.
Now the question was, did she
want to be courted? Dawn sank down into a pile of cushions to think. Rali was
nice enough, and they certainly got along nicely. Heh. The truth was, they had some serious chemistry going on. Ever since that
morning last week on the spire, it had taken all the self control both could
muster to not just attack each other. Only their busy schedules had kept them
from sneaking off somewhere. Perhaps, though, this was better. Dawn could
easily see her and Rali together on a long-term basis, instead of a convenient
and temporary liaison.
But on the other hand, Dawn didn't really relish the idea
of being pursued. According to tradition, since Rali had made the first move,
Dawn was supposed to accept her courting gestures—but that irked Dawn. What if
she wanted to do the courting? Was she just supposed to sit back and not do
anything because Rali had made the first move? Generally Dawn loved dalhari
traditions, but she had no problem altering them to suit her needs.
She glanced out the window, checking the time. It would be
perfect. If she left now, she could get where she wanted to be before Rali
returned home.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
Rali trudged down the street, kicking the cobblestones
here and there. She would've flown, but she just didn't feel like it. The
teacher had held out hopes that Iriya would show up
at the university, but the musician hadn't appeared. Perhaps she'd been too
forward. Maybe Iriya had interests elsewhere.
She was so caught up ruminating that she didn't notice the
sound of a cyar'dil until it trilled in her ear. She looked around, wondering
where it was coming from. After a moment, she saw Iriya
standing on a ledge a few feet in front of her, managing somehow to smirk
whilst playing. Rali stepped forward and Iriya jumped
to another ledge, edging further down the street. Whenever Rali moved, the
musician did as well, leading her toward the Disiaron house. All the while, Iriya played a quick spring tune, cheering Rali up
immensely. It didn't hurt at all that Iriya seemed to
be in a very good mood.
When they reached the Disiaron house, Rali expected Iriya to drop down and talk to her, but the musician simply
grinned and waved before flying off toward the Hailae
house. It didn't hurt her feelings, however. The performance had told her what
she needed to know; Iriya wasn't opposed to the
courting.
Rali spent the rest of the evening plotting and scheming.
It wasn't easy courting someone when your chosen profession was mathematics.
Unlike her father and mother, she didn't have a craft trade to fall back on,
and unlike Iriya she couldn't just compose and play
something. As much as Iriya seemed to like
mathematics, something told Rali that she wouldn't really appreciate a treatise
on advanced geometry, and trigonometric drawings could only be done so many
times. What Rali really needed was Chadei's
permission. That would have to wait for a few weeks; it was still too early yet
to make that kind of announcement, even if it was private in nature.
What to do, what to do…An idea popped into Rali's head just as she was getting ready to sleep. It
wouldn't be too difficult to do, since Iriya had
loaned her a book of her music, at Rali's request,
some time back.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
"Enter," Dawn yelled when someone knocked on her
practice room door. A runner from the university popped in, looking around
nervously. Dawn smiled. There weren't many reasons for someone from the
university to come here, and she'd been waiting to hear from Rali again. They'd
been so busy that they had only seen each other twice in the last three weeks,
which wasn't enough for Dawn.
"The report on the bardic
apprentices is here," The runner said, handing over as sheaf of papers.
Dawn grimaced, but took them. She didn't have any apprentices—she was far too
young for that, but she was in charge of updating their records. "Oh, and
Master Rali asked to have this delivered to you," The runner added, proffering
a good-sized cloth bag. Dawn took it and waved the runner off.
Ignoring the papers for the time being, Dawn opened the
bag, dumping the contents onto a workbench. A piece of folded-up fabric spilled
out. Curious, Dawn unfolded the fabric, revealing a tapestry and a small piece
of paper. The design on the tapestry was an odd one; a series of colored lines
danced across the long, narrow fabric, twining and separating here and there.
It was striking, and attractive, but definitely not the usual sort of tapestry.
She knew that it had something to do with mathematics, but she couldn't figure
out what it was.
The paper that had come with the tapestry explained that
quite nicely. As it turned out, Rali had converted each instrument's part of a
composition that Dawn had written into a separate line on the tapestry. Where
the line went was determined by the notes played by that instrument, using a
formula that made Dawn's head spin. She liked the end result, though, and put
it up on the wall of her practice room, right over the fireplace. She was here
more than in her quarters anyway, so she would get far more enjoyment out of it
here.
Standing back to admire the piece, she wondered what Rali
was doing that day. Perhaps they could spend some time together.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
Rali was just shooing out the last of her idiotic students
when a familiar flame-colored head popped into her office. "Working hard,
teach?" Dawn asked as Rali sank down onto a low bench.
"Too hard," Rali sighed. "I want students
who want to learn. Please?"
"Maybe you shouldn't be teaching basic mathematics
then," Dawn replied. She stepped into the room and closed the door.
"I received the tapestry."
Rali's head shot up. "Oh. Is
it…"
"Beautiful," Dawn said, stepping closer to the
teacher. "I had no idea you could embroider."
"Laio taught me," Rali murmured, watching as Iriya got closer and closer, almost within reach. Much to
her surprise, Iriya reached down and pulled her up,
tilting her head back to place a soft kiss at the base of her neck.
"Thank you," Dawn whispered against smooth,
luminescent skin. "It brightens my practice room."
"You shouldn't be here alone with me," Rali
murmured. The very few times they'd seen each other lately had been in public.
They hadn't said anything to anyone yet, but that didn't mean they didn't
follow the traditions.
"Rules, bah. Meant to be bent," Dawn
muttered. "And I'm not waiting until I manage to make it to Na'alha to get
your parents' permission. Ugh."
"I started it; only I need permission," Rali
reminded her absently. Iriya was brushing her soft,
warm lips up and down her throat, distracting her most effectively.
"Then ask for it," Dawn replied hotly. "Or
suffer the consequences."
"Consequences?" Rali echoed.
"I can give whatever I want. You, though, are bound
to your trade," Dawn replied, stepping back. "I can see, however,
that you have papers to grade. Will you accompany me tomorrow? I believe that
neither of us has anything keeping us after lunch."
Rali nodded. "Of course. I
would be honored."
Dawn walked out, still smirking over the glazed look in Rali's eyes. It was gratifying to be able to elicit that
kind of response in the pale dalhari. She smiled up at the sun as she walked
out of the university and took off toward home. It was too nice a day to not
fly.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
Rali wasn't surprised to find a note on her office door the next day. The note, from Iriya, told her to meet the musician at the east gate. They were going to spend the afternoon in the forest, looking for raw materials from which to carve instruments. Rali was pleased with the activity; it was well within the boundaries of courting, and it sounded interesting besides. Her day was brightened and she managed to not get angry at her less-than-stellar students.
When she got to the gates after her last class, she wasn't surprised to find Iriya already waiting for her. The musician was a very prompt individual. "Hiya," She said as the bright dalhari smiled down at her.
"If I may inquire, how are you today?" Dawn said formally. She shifted the basket she carried to her other arm so that she could walk closer to Rali as they walked down the path toward the forest.
"I am well, and you?" Rali countered, smiling softly.
"Well also. Have you eaten?"
Rali shook her head. Dawn opened the basket and handed the teacher a sweetcake. "I got hungry and didn't wait for you."
"Thank you," Rali said as she took the sweetcake. It was good—fresh and full of berries. "What type of material do you need?"
"I'd like to carve a new cyar'val or two," Dawn replied. "Mine are getting a bit old."
It took several minutes to reach the forest. Dawn led Rali through the trees, looking around for what she wanted. Rali took hold of the basket and followed behind, simply enjoying being outside on such a nice day. She was so caught up in the scenery that she didn't notice that her companion had stopped until they were practically on top of each other. Dawn smirked and took the basket from Rali. She was feeling a bit mischievous.
Rali's head jerked up when she felt a pair of warm hands on her shoulders. Dawn pushed her backwards, leaning her against a tree. The pale dalhari had only a moment to think before Dawn bent her head and captured her mouth. Much like their past kisses, this one was overwhelming. Rali felt her body melting, relaxing under the weight of Iriya against her. She reached up to clasp the musician to her, but found her hands caught and pressed back against the tree.
"Ah-ah," Dawn admonished. "That isn't for you."
"What?" Rali questioned, her brow crinkling.
"Did you ever ask Chadei?" Dawn inquired, grinning slightly.
"No," Rali said without thinking. What did Chadei have to do with this?
"Then you cannot give me anything but the fruits of your trade," Dawn replied. "I, however, am not bound by those rules." To prove her point, she ran her hands over Rali's body, pressing and caressing until the pale dalhari was gasping for air. More than once Rali's hands lifted off the tree, but Dawn simply put them back down. Rali couldn't keep from shuddering when Dawn turned her around and began on her wings, running teasing lips and teeth over the sensitive bones. One strong hand pressed rhythmically on the base of her tail, making her twitch with pleasure. Still, she couldn't touch Dawn, not if she wanted to follow courting rituals. It was torture, though, particularly when her lover scratched her nails down the nape of her neck and over the base of her wings. Were she not clothed, that caress would have sent her to her knees.
When Dawn pressed her lips to the soft skin just under her ear and began to suckle, though, Rali did collapse. Dawn followed her down, easing the teacher's fall with her body. She let Rali fall onto her back and crawled up her front, pressing them together. Once again Rali tried to touch her, so she grabbed both of the Saydhe's hands and pressed them above her head, pinning them together with one of her own. Her other hand roamed over small, round breasts and sculpted arms, teasing whimpers and whines out of Rali. Meanwhile her mouth was busy nipping along one ear, tasting the seductive skin she'd been lusting after.
Dawn let her free hand drift down to settle between Rali's widespread legs. She rubbed against the covered flesh, intoxicated by the heat seeping through all those layers of fabric. Rali arched into her hand and moaned louder. Dawn covered the dalhari's mouth with her own and moved faster, knowing that Rali wasn't far from climax. As she'd suspected, just a few moments later Rali arched and froze as ecstasy raced through her. Dawn watched in fascination as the pale woman quivered with little aftershocks and came back into herself. Once Rali looked like she could sit up, Dawn released her and sat back.
"I don't think that's part of the usual courtship ritual," Rali remarked as she rubbed her hands over her face.
"Really?" Dawn murmured. She crept around Rali, bringing the dalhari back against her chest. She leaned her head forward, whispering right in Rali's ear. "I believe that the courtship rituals call for gifts to be exchanged. I chose to give you pleasure. Did you not enjoy this?"
Rali shuddered again. Enjoy it? She'd almost passed out, and they were both still fully clothed! "But…" She had done nothing for Dawn—the musician hadn't let her.
Dawn grinned, knowing that Rali couldn't see her. Oh, she'd gotten plenty worked up, but she'd take care of that later. "Think of it as incentive." Rali choked. Incentive? She was nearly ready to chase down Chadei and beg for permission. At least Iriya's adoptive father lived in the hold and wasn't as far away as her own parents. If that had been the case, she would have born her fathers' disappointment and would have chucked formal courting right out the window.