Part 39: Consummation

Note: This item has been rewritten and edited. All text in rose is BRAND NEW MATERIAL for this chapter of the story. In addition there are many minor changes to the original text itself. Please enjoy this new, expanded version of Part 39 and be on the lookout for updates to the next parts!


THE HALLWAYS OF Mahakhi's household stood as still and silent as ever, most of the residents having retreated to the south courtyard for a late dinner. Every so often a very faint echo of a laugh or a yell would make its way down the hall, and then the shadows would creep in again to smother all the noise from any listening ears, though there were not very many to be had. Kana still arrived now and then in pairs or trios, talking as they went, before disappearing from view, and it was as if a giant blanket had been thrown over the rest of the house for how deathly quiet it was in the evening chill.

One Kana entered the household alone, slowly making his way up the steps and past the guards without even acknowledging their salutes. He passed the courtyard, and a few within looked out at him, but he ignored them as well, staring only at the floor he walked. Lieutenant Djuta passed silently through the main hall on his way to his own rooms. Several times he passed other Kana guarding the doors, and their reactions were always the same. Some of them would grin at him as if he had defeated the River Tribe singlehandedly; others sneered as if he were Captain Sut'khut himself. He ignored all of them. After the long day spent in the prison cells, and then trying pointlessly to defend himself before the tribunal...if what he had done could be called defense...he wished only to lie down in his own bed. He briefly considered calling Rithukh'het, letting her know he was all right...but he was too tired to deal with her right now. Perhaps in the morning, he would feel more inclined. As soon as he could realize how truly lucky he was.

He shut his eyes now as he walked, since he knew all the halls by heart and wouldn't trip or stumble into any walls. His ears flared and he bit his lip.

He lied. They both lied! Before the grand tribunal, BOTH of them lied! How could he do this to me? How could he do this to himself? How could either of them...?

He has always been the best Kana I know. And he would throw this all away because of my stupidity? How could he do such a thing...?

The anger flared in his breast, making his wound ache, and he reached up to rub at it gently. It had taken him a while to get his affairs sorted, and his property returned, after the trial, and all he felt now was dead tired, yet the thought of what Resikh had done infuriated him like nothing else. He briefly considered, then tossed away the thought that the other lieutenant had coerced Ri'hus into changing his testimony; Resikh would never do such a thing, no matter how great the lie he had told. Yet that was just it. He had lied...and Resikh never lied! Not in such a way as that! He had looked straight at General Mahakhi, and had lied, without so much as a blink or a grimace. Djuta had known him almost all his life. He had always been a lousy liar. Even insisting that he did not know where Be'shen was whenever they had played hide-and-seek had been a great test of his ability to fib. How had he lied like that, so easily--and even more, how had he changed so much that Djuta barely recognized him anymore...?

Some small part of him insisted that the lie hadn't been quite as convincing as it had seemed...which just made him wonder about the one who had accepted the lie. He bit his lip even harder, eyes darkening.

He'd heard the tone of Mahakhi's voice, when he'd denied him a retrial. His general hadn't wanted him to be found guilty. Neither had Resikh, nor Ri'hus, nor mostly everyone else, it seemed, except for a few of the captains in the tribunal, who had never much liked him anyway. Why would Mahakhi accept such a blatant lie, when he had seemed so set on this trial in the first place? What had made him change his mind? Had he ever really been as angry as he had seemed? What had Djuta done to earn any of their respect? He could think of absolutely nothing.

The one time I am actually guilty of a thing, he thought wearily, rubbing his eyes, and they all wish me to be innocent. I do not understand what has become of this tribe...

He lifted his head, sensing his room drawing closer. He saw a shadow standing beside his door and almost stopped, until he recognized Lieutenant Nehef waiting in the hallway for him. Djuta suppressed a sigh. He didn't wish to speak to anyone right now. Yet when Nehef turned and saw him, he knew he had to keep going. The other lieutenant came his way and held up a hand to his mouth, whispering loudly.

"Brother! I thought you might like to know something."

"Not now, Nehef," Djuta sighed. "I'm not in the right mind at the moment. Tell me in the morning once I've rested."

Nehef bit his lip. "Well...it's rather important that I fill you in now."

"I just spent the entire day lounging in a cell with a stupid mutt, and then being paraded around in the trial square like a Moru on sale," Djuta had to keep himself from snapping. "I rather need my sleep right now! And after being stuck in that cell, I'd prefer doing it in my own bed!"

The other lieutenant fiddled with his pectoral somewhat nervously. "That's just it, Brother. That might not be so--"

A thunderous CRASH came from the direction of Djuta's room. The two Kana jerked upright and glanced at the closed door, before a thumping noise came, then another, smaller crash. Nehef turned back to the startled Djuta and winced.

"Eh, that's rather what I was trying to warn you about, Brother."

Djuta's brow furrowed and he took a step forward, thoroughly awake now. "What's going on in my room?"

"Um...more like who." Nehef rubbed at the back of his neck and looked as if he were choosing his words very carefully. "You see...since she is now your property and not Lord Mahakhi's...the captains decided that the Moru Khetai is to be roomed in your own quarters."

Djuta stared at him for a minute, then looked back at his door when another crash came. He felt a headache coming on. "For how long?" he asked.

"Well...they were not specific." Nehef fiddled with his necklace again and averted his eyes. "Though I rather got the impression that they meant, until you should get her with child."

Djuta's eyes went wide, then his fists clenched. "That could be months! What sort of plot is this? I get set free, and now I'm stuck with this--?"

Nehef waved his hands. "Forgive me, Brother, for I'm on your side and I agree completely! A Kana should always have his space! Yet it's part of the terms, I gather. To ensure that you hold up your end of the bargain, and do not attempt to pass her off to another who may try to fatten her up. They wish for her to stay with you exclusively until such time as she is proven pregnant, or until a year has passed. This means, no housing among Mahakhi's Moru, where she is quite likely to end up with someone else's pup." He shrugged sympathetically. "You know how lusty they can get in there sometimes..."

Djuta bared his teeth and glared at the door. "The asses!" he hissed, the wound to his chest flaring with pain as anger surged up inside him. "What is she even doing in there? Destroying my quarters?"

"Well...that may very well be so, Brother." Nehef made a face. "She wasn't in a very hospitable mood when she was dra--um--brought back."

"Stupid ungrateful wench!" Djuta put his hand on the pommel of his sword and went for the door. Nehef made a face that might have meant "I wouldn't do that so hastily!" yet didn't attempt to follow. Djuta pushed open the door--which was a bit difficult, considering that it was partially blocked--and went inside, letting it swing shut behind him.

He then simply stood and gaped at the spectacle within. Khetai, still dressed in Moru's clothes, stood at the far side of the room, picking up every heavy object within reach and hurling them at the walls. Now he supposed it was unfortunate that she'd trained herself as a Kana, however briefly, as she lifted large wooden boxes with ease, letting out a weird strangled sound every time she threw one. They splintered and crashed to the floor, littering the place with clothing, jewelry, weapons, and every other manner of item. He stared at the mess she'd left, and wondered why he'd even considered saving her life.

She turned and saw him now, her eyes going wide. "You!" she hissed, as if she'd just stepped upon a snake. Then her face contorted with hate. "YOU!" And she picked up the chest that held his pectoral and hurled it at his head.

Djuta ducked and it slammed into the wall behind him, falling to pieces. Something snapped in his mind as well and he surged forward, teeth bared and a growl rising in his throat. Khetai saw the look on his face and finally her anger faltered; she stumbled back over the scattered remains until she bumped into the wall, and pressed herself against it. Djuta forced himself to stop several paces away, claws digging into his sword and his muzzle wrinkling furiously.

"What in the hells are you doing!" he barked. "I give you your damned life back and the best you can do in return is destroy my rooms?"

She blinked, then snarled back. "You saved my life! Stupid fool! You SAVED my life!! I would rather be DEAD now than be your slave!"

He felt a pang, but hid it. Instead he scowled and bent to retrieve what few of his cases remained. "Perhaps I am merely ignorant," he snapped, scooping a stray necklace back into its container. "Yet I had thought this was a better arrangement than death!"

"You think I want to put up with this?" She kicked aside a chest as he reached for it, then pulled her foot back when he snarled. He saw to his surprise that her eyes were red--had she been crying?--but no tears streamed down her face now. "The things that I have done, have gone through, just to remain free! I would rather die than be a Moru again! And then you come along, and PURCHASE me like some whore! You even expect to bed with me?"

Djuta rose to his feet and glowered at her. "If it were to save your life, I had considered subjecting myself to that punishment, yes."

Khetai's face went white, and she blinked in disbelief. A second later her fist slammed into the side of his face, knocking his head back. He reached up to wipe away a line of blood from his mouth, not saying anything. Khetai clenched her fists and flashed her teeth.

"Selfish bastard! Stick your cock in your other female! I won't allow it inside me!"

Djuta forced his temper to simmer at least a bit longer, and rubbed at his already swollen cheek, setting the boxes aside. "And so you would rather have them slash your wings and take you to the selling block. Very well. I hope you enjoy sleeping on the floor, for I am going to be using the bed!"

"It is not a given that they should sell me," Khetai shot back. "Death is an equal punishment! That I would choose over bedding with you! Filthy Kana!"

She spat in his face, as if to challenge him. As with the blood, he silently wiped it away, and stared at her until she was forced to avert her eyes. Her ears flared and her muzzle wrinkled in anger, and her eyes grew wet but she still didn't cry; he sensed that she must be forcing herself not to cry just as much as he was forcing himself not to yank her wings off right now. It was only then that he noticed how her wings trembled just slightly, and how her face was flushed as if in humiliation; then he remembered how truly embarrassing this must all be, when she had lived half her life as a Kana, only to have it all taken away so suddenly.

You yourself know this feeling, of being declared something you know you are not, or at least, feel you should not be. You could not even seek out Resikh if you had been able, as it would have been the death of you to see the look on his face when he saw you. As if a Kana is the only one who may feel such shame...?

Seeing this reaction in her, he felt his anger slowly die away, and unclenched his fists, taking a breath and letting it out. She heard the sound and lifted her head, then scowled at him, every trace of her embarrassment vanishing though he knew it was still there, only hiding.

"You truly do not understand, do you?" he murmured. He took a step or two closer and she gasped and pressed herself to the wall, as if expecting him to try something. He placed his hand beside her and leaned forward until she cringed. "You really expect that that is as simple as it would be?" he asked. "Flay your wings, cut off your head? You believe that is all that would be involved?"

"Of course!" She spat at him again, then gave him a challenging glare.

Djuta realized she was being sincere. He snorted and pulled back, just noticing her uncertain look before turning away. He removed his pectoral and sought an undamaged box to place it in.

"Then whoever has taught you, has not taught you nearly enough. If you were a male Moru, perhaps, impersonating a Kana, then yes, likely you would get off simply with death. You have a problem though. You are female."

"So?"

He looked at her over his shoulder. "You are truly so naive? What do you think will happen after a group of angry Kana slashes your wings and humiliates you? They will merely let you off with this, and then kill you?" He nudged the box toward the wall. "There is more than one way to humiliate someone, and trust me, they would not shy away from doing it to you just because you were the physician."

Khetai blinked again. After a moment her wings started to lower and her brow slowly furrowed.

"You...do you mean..."

"I mean what it sounds like." He flared his wings and then settled them. "Exactly as we do to our defeated enemies. Only I doubt you would be let off with mere hakh'tua. I honestly thought that my 'cock' inside you would be much more tolerable than the cocks of ten, twenty Kana bent on punishing you for your crime."

Her face grew pale and she took a step, sliding along the wall. She shook her head as if in a daze.

"You...you lie," she murmured, her voice faint.

"Do I?" He shrugged. "Then wait and find out for yourself, when you have no children. By then I will no longer care. I've already put in my effort to see it wasted. If you prefer to be beaten and raped by a gang of angry Kana, then so be it. In my opinion, though, I would much prefer being made a slave again. At least if you are a slave, your master is forced to treat you somewhat hospitably."

Khetai slid down the wall to sit on the floor. She drew in her knees to her chest, staring ahead of herself.

"I...I had not known this." She fell silent for a moment, then lifted her head to give him a pleading look. "Then I truly have no other options...?"

"Trust me. If you had had some...I would have suggested them to you myself, just to spare the trouble." He pushed aside his pectoral box and bent to take off his sandals and anklets. He went to the middle of the room and smoothed out his bed, straightening the sheets and pillows before blowing out one of the lamps to dim the room, and climbing upon the bed to lie down. "There is a cot in the corner," he said, then placed his arm over his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

He heard her stand up after a moment, and come toward him. He remained still even when he was certain she practically hovered over him, then heard her snort with frustration.

"What are you doing?"

"Attempting to sleep." He peered out from underneath his arm and saw the look on her face. "That is one of the two main things one tends to do in a bed."

She flushed but her nostrils flared. "How can you sleep right now?" she demanded, fists clenching. "After all this? Is something wrong with your head?"

"I can sleep because I am tired." When she still refused to go away he sat up and glared at her. "What in the Duat am I supposed to do? It has been fully weeks since I have gotten a decent sleep! Today alone was about enough to break anyone's spirit! I spent most of my day within a tiny cell next to that dungball who attacked you. Then I had to face a lovely tribunal who refused to even acknowledge my crimes. And now I have to return to put up with a Moru intent on destroying my place of rest. And so yes, I am tired! This is a problem for you? You would prefer another arrangement?"

The color rose in her cheeks, and he had to admit, she looked more feminine when that happened. He didn't keep the thought long before lying back again. She appeared to want to say something, but faltered. He shut his eyes and decided that if she wanted his attention so badly, she could manage it on her own. He was tired of helping her out, if this was the only thanks he would ever get for it. After a moment he heard her start to turn and walk away, quietly--thank the gods!--then stop. She took a few steps toward him, and stopped again. Silence filled the room, and it went on for so long that he at last allowed himself to start to doze.

Her voice, soft as it was, still jerked him awake, even though he didn't show it.

"I...I refuse to be a slave."

He sighed. "This isn't really your decision to make, nor is it mine."

"But...but you do have a say in it."

"Hardly." He shifted one of his wings. "Why don't you find a decent spot to sleep. There is a cot in the corner."

She was silent a moment before speaking again, and he could tell from the tone of her voice that she was anxious.

"I would do anything to not become a Moru," she said. "I gave up everything I was just to be here! I lived with my life in danger every single day just to keep myself free. I let that bastard assault me, thinking it would help me keep my freedom! I would not even have stopped him, if I had known it would work. And so you see? I've spent three years as a Kana. I do not wish to turn back now. I cannot turn back now!"

Djuta sighed. "I have told you already," he murmured wearily. "This is not our decision. You cannot be Kana. You can either be a slave, or you can die, after you are humiliated even further. That is your choice."

"But--I will die if I am a slave! I cannot live that way! Even after I should have that pup you promised them what would I do then?--keep being your whore?"

"I prefer if you do not use the word 'whore,'" Djuta said in a flat voice. "I do not call my real mate a whore, nor have I ever called any of my mates whores. One would think you could at least show that same respect, considering you are now in the same class as she is. A whore is an indiscriminate dirty Apsiu, and does not have to have breasts or a lack of wings to be a whore. I am willing to bet more than a few sitting up in those stands passing judgement on you were whores."

He heard her shuffle her feet. "I am sorry," she said, and he was rather surprised to hear it. "I did not mean it to sound like your mate is a whore. But this--this is one place I would not want to be in. A whore is nothing but used and I cannot stand that!" She paused, then shuffled her feet again, her voice meek. "What...what were you intending to do with me, then? If they had not made you accept that deal? If you had won me and did not have this agreement to fulfill do not tell me you would have just housed me here and never laid a finger upon me?"

The lieutenant flared his nostrils. "Truthfully, sen'akha females do nothing for me. I had intended on taking you out of the city under cover of night, and dropping you in the river. I assume that you can swim, so it would hardly be a bother. And I would not have to deal with you ever again. And then I could move my real mate back in here, and have pups whenever it suits me, and all would live happily ever after."

An angry note entered her voice. "And so what was this junk about wanting a mate--?"

"I already have one."

"Yet you have not gotten her with child, you said!"

"We have not tried hard enough."

She growled. "And so everything you said back there was a lie? Before the court, you lied?"

Djuta pushed himself up again with an exasperated sigh, giving up on sleep. "What did you expect me to do--tell them yes, I intend to set you free?" he exclaimed, spreading his hands. "The jury found me not guilty once; as much as I may not have deserved that, I would be damned if I was going to set myself up again! I do not relish the thought of going through another trial, for you or anyone else! And so yes I lied! It's not as if I was the only one who did so, however--at that trial, one would have been the exception if they had NOT lied!" He fell back and covered his eyes. "Now would you drag out that damned cot and go to sleep?"

She blinked and her eyes welled up. She clenched her fists at her sides and tried to keep her voice from cracking.

"I--I said I would do anything to not be Moru!" she snapped, though her voice faltered. "You made a bargain! You are supposed to stand by it, for your sake and mine!"

Djuta lifted his arm from his eyes and stared at her. She flushed again and averted her gaze.

"Do not stare at me like that...it just makes this more difficult!"

He made a face at her. "Makes what more difficult? What are you even harping on, fool?"

He couldn't believe how red her face grew, even under her fur. She looked ready to start crying and her lip quivered a moment before she bit it.

"I...I don't want to be Moru." She paused and appeared to be struggling to find her voice. It was a moment or two before she drew herself up and flared her wings, and took a breath to steady herself. "I want you to get me with child," she stated, her voice at last clear and steady. "As soon as you can."

Djuta blinked, then gaped at her in disbelief. "You are serious?"

"Yes!" Khetai snapped, before blushing again and averting her eyes. "I...I mean...I would have accepted what U'heta did, if it had ensured my freedom...but since it has not...then I will accept this. I...I am young yet, and so it must not be too difficult. Surely one of my eggs must be good. I wish for you to impregnate me."

I wish for you to impregnate me? Djuta had been propositioned by females before, but never in that manner. He blinked a few times and then slowly sat up. His stare must have made her nervous, for she couldn't maintain eye contact for long.

His ears twitched. He drew his legs up and rested his elbows upon them. "You must realize it's not that simple. I have been with my mate Rithukh'het many times so far in the past weeks, and have yet to achieve a thing. It is rather hit or miss, if you will excuse the expression."

"I--I know that!" She looked absolutely mortified that they were even discussing this. "Which--which is why we should just get started. The sooner the better! If we--if we do it every night, perhaps within three months we will have achieved something." She winced and turned her head to stare at the wall.

He couldn't help but stare at her a few more moments before the ludicrousness of the situation finally struck him, and he started to chuckle. "You are serious," he said, and the horrified look on her face just made him want to laugh even harder. He fell back on the pillows and covered his face. "Oh. 'Tis just my luck! One mate who cherishes me yet drops no pups--another who wishes for a child yet despises the earth I walk upon. And I am just pathetic enough to laugh about it!"

"It isn't funny!" Khetai cried, stomping her foot.

"Yes it is," Djuta laughed. "I hope you do not ever proposition your other mates in this way. 'I wish for you to impregnate me.' You should truly work on that. If you were interested in males, I think you would be having trouble getting them to come back to bed with you if that's the best you can do."

Khetai's mouth opened and her eyes welled up. "St--stupid ass!" she stammered, her voice cracking again. "No wonder you've never had any mates! If this is how shabbily you treat them!"

"No wonder you do not have one at the moment," Djuta replied, "if this is how you act before nesakh'ai."

She lowered her head and her wings drew in toward her body. "I..." Her voice faltered now, and she flushed even harder than she had already. "I have not...had nesakh'ai before," she nearly whispered, yet he caught the comment, and his amused look faded. He looked at her over his arm and his brow furrowed.

"You are...?"

She nodded. "I...I am still iat'ah."

Djuta slowly sat up once more, staring at her pensively. "Your brother," he said quietly after a while. "He managed to protect you all those years? This is no small feat, you are aware."

"I know. Which is one reason why I wished to keep his memory." She lifted her eyes to meet his, and her look was pained. "So no, I have not ever had a mate aside from females. Every time a Kana has made a move upon me I've fended him off. Do you know that even Mahakhi attempted to get me, the same night U'heta did? You do not know what it is like to live like that for years upon end! Some days I even considered sticking myself just to get it out of the way, in case any of the brutes should ever succeed! I was actually glad that dumb mutt took me from behind, at least until he found me out!" She lowered her head again and her fingers fiddled rapidly. "I...he would have done it, if you hadn't come along," she whispered. "If it had been one moment longer..."

"It was not," Djuta said, interrupting her. "So do not bother even thinking over what might have happened, since it didn't." His brow furrowed. "I had thought that you only did not like males. Yet I had no idea you had never actually been with one."

Khetai kept her eyes lowered. "I haven't," she murmured. "And so no, I have no idea what I should even be doing right now, nor what else to say except what I intend. I just want this whole thing over with. The sooner it is done, the better. And gods willing I can have a pup and be out of this cursed place, if you intend to hold up your end of the bargain." She peered up at him again, and bit her lip. "It...it will not hurt too much...will it? I have heard stories...and they do not sound good."

Djuta felt the pang again. This time, it wasn't as easy to ignore. He carefully swung his legs off of the bed so as not to startle her, and clasped his hands between his knees.

"Yes," he said quietly, "it will hurt the first time. If your maidenhead is intact. It may not be, because of your training...sometimes it breaks upon its own. Yet many times, it is still intact, especially if you have not been with a mate."

Khetai stared at the floor, cheeks pink. She fiddled her fingers.

"And after that?"

"It does not usually hurt as much. Sometimes, it does not hurt at all."

"But...if it does hurt...then what is it like?"

"A good hurt, usually. Males feel it as well. An ache. Surely you have felt this, when you have been with females."

She nodded quickly, blushing. "Y-yes, sometimes...I believe I understand what you speak of."

"Once in a while, though, there is a female who cannot tolerate nesakh'ai. It is too painful for her for whichever reason. Perhaps because she is too tense. When that is so, the male has to find out why. If it concerns him enough."

She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes again. He could barely stand to face the terror there.

"Would...would it concern you...?" she asked, hesitantly.

Djuta stared back. It was a long while before he could reply.

"I try always to be good to my mates."

Khetai let out her breath. She nodded slightly, and fiddled her fingers again, chewing on her lip. He waited in silence for any other questions she might have.

"If...if we were to do this...it would not take long, would it?" she murmured. "We...we would not have to be engaged for--for hours--would we?"

He shrugged. "This depends. Upon how excited we both are, how easily we may come, how pleasurable or painful you may find it. As you are untouched, I would have to say that it is likely it would take longer."

Anxiety flitted across her face. Her eyes looked ready to spill over. Djuta nudged himself forward and reached up to take her hands. She gasped when he touched her, but didn't pull her hands away as soon as she saw that was all he intended to do.

"Look," he said softly, and she met his eyes. "We may spend some time talking over this, and I may tell you everything I know about nesakh'ai. Yet I will never be able to tell you everything you wish to know. I cannot know everything you will feel. I am a male, remember. I know only for certain what I feel."

She stared at him a moment, then nodded.

"Or," he continued, "we may spend what part of the night we have left...doing this, and getting it out of the way. I know this is what you wish to do." She flushed furiously. "Like I said, it could take time because you are untouched. Despite what you may believe about me, I do not normally like to just force myself upon my mates." He felt his ears burning, especially when she gave him a critical look. "I will not deny I have made a mistake. But this was the only time I am aware I have done so. I do not plan to do it again."

"You will...you will be easy with me?"

He nodded. "Of course. Should I go too quickly, you need only tell me."

"And--and you will stop?"

A nod.

"What if I decide I...cannot go through with it? Even in the--even in the middle of it? Would you still stop?"

"It would not suit your purpose," Djuta said, "but if you ask me to I will."

Khetai took another deep breath and shakily let it out. She took a step toward him and loosened her fingers so he could clasp her hands in his own. She still chewed upon her lip, though he could tell she was summoning all the courage she had.

"You...you will have to show me...how exactly to do this," she said with some embarrassment. "I have...have only been with females before. They do not demand much...I have no idea what males prefer."

"We are not such a great mystery," Djuta said. "We are just as you are. We each prefer something different." He stood and took her arm, guiding her to sit down beside him. Even her ears were pink, by now, and he lightly placed his hand upon her back. "You will be too tense if you continue feeling like this. Why do we not start with you telling me what you prefer. Do you wish me to blow out the lamp?"

She nodded with a look of relief. Djuta rose and blew upon another one of the lamps, scattering a bit of salt upon it to stop the smoke. The room dimmed considerably, though he could still see. He didn't tell her how well. He sat down beside her again and took her hands.

"All right. Now..." He paused to think, since nesakh'ai had never really been something he'd ever needed to discuss. "When you have been with others...have you preferred to be clothed, or...?"

She ducked her head, ears flattening. "This is all right," he hastened to say. "You may tell me. None will hear but us."

She made a face. "I...normally...I am usually clothed. Only b-because of the risk. Though once I was within my own quarters, and w-we both r-removed...each other's..."

He nodded so she knew she didn't have to continue; truthfully, the image that popped into his head clarified the entire thing for him, and he felt it would be best not to hear any more, if he wanted this to be slow. "All right. This is good enough. We have a few choices. We may both remain clothed, yet of course, below, we will have to be bared..." another flush "...or one of us may be unclothed, the other not...or we may both be unclothed. Your choice?"

She gave him a mortified look. "You--you are asking me to decide this?"

He nodded. "Yes, I am. Choose which makes you most comfortable."

Khetai wrung her hands for a moment or two. "We...we should both be unclothed, then."

"Do not mind 'should.' Please tell me what you would prefer. I do not mind if you do not wish to bare yourself, nor if you do not wish for me to be bared." He ignored the twinge he felt on saying this--some part of him minded very much not seeing his mate bared to him--yet he said nothing of this aloud, and apparently managed to hide the feeling from his face. Khetai lifted her head, but then shook it and bit her lip.

"N...no," she said, and managed to meet his eyes. "We should both be unclothed. This is how it is done."

Djuta gave a slight shrug and a nod. "Very well." He tilted his head. "Would you prefer to unclothe yourself, or would you wish for me to do so?"

Her eyes widened, then darted aside. "Oh!--I...uh..." She actually shivered. "I can--I can disrobe myself."

"All right." He slid away from her a bit. "You wish for privacy--?"

"Um..." The color of her face almost made him want to laugh again. "A little...if...if it's not too much to ask..."

"I will step out and draw the drapes. You may unclothe yourself in here." Djuta rose and left the bed, reaching for the rope that held back the gauzy curtains that surrounded it. He pulled upon it and tugged them around the canopy, granting Khetai a flimsy shield. He saw her silhouette duck and hastily work at her dress, pulling it off over her head--and he caught just the briefest glance, again, of her breasts. They seemed a bit larger, now that she was not dressed as a male--just the right size to cup in his palm. Her nipples peeked out, hard, and he wondered if she was wet already. He turned away before she could notice him looking and slid off his own clothing, waiting only until he heard her cough nervously, before parting the drapes and peering back inside. She was in his bed now, with a sheet pulled up over her, shivering.

"You are cold?" he asked.

"N...no...I'm all right." She caught sight of his own silhouette, the length of the sheath between his legs, and her eyes grew before she hurriedly glanced away. Djuta stepped inside and pulled the drape back behind him since she seemed even more nervous with it parted. He lifted his foot to climb into the bed and then knelt down upon it and bit his own lip, uncertain how to proceed. He'd been with iat'ah females before...yet they'd never been quite so ignorant or afraid as this.

He considered his words carefully for a moment and then just sighed. "Well...I'm not certain how you would prefer this to go." When she looked at him he lifted his wing slightly. "There are lots of options." When she simply looked confused he sighed again. "For instance, me upon you, or you upon me, or you kneeling, with me behind you, or me sitting, with you upon my--"

"You can--you may simply do it--what needs to be done," Khetai blurted out, her eyes huge and her face brilliant red. "Whichever way is best! If it hurts, I will just bite it back. I have tolerated pain before. And this way you can be quick."

Djuta's ear twitched. "I do not usually prefer to simply sate myself. That rather takes the pleasure out of it."

Her eyes grew as round as moons. "This--this is not about pleasure!! I do not even like your sort anyway! Just do it however you can do it quickest, and that will be it!"

Djuta shrugged and rolled his eyes. "If it's what you prefer, then."

She nodded quickly, so he had no other choice. He approached her on hands and knees, carefully pulling the sheet from her body so she shivered anew. Her arms were crossed over her breasts; though he felt the urge to squeeze one, he left her chest alone. Her legs were another matter. She had them crossed tightly, and it was only when he touched her hip and gave her a look that she flushed.

"Oh...um...sorry about that." She parted them, only reluctantly, and he could sense her shame. This was no good at all; he couldn't enjoy it one bit if he felt like he was just using her. If it took merely that to satisfy him, he could just as easily have coupled with a hole in the wall.

I have to figure out what excites her. She hasn't given me anything to go on...so what would it be? Surely even a sen'akha female could gain something from being with a male...?

He leaned down and kissed her, first. She gasped and would have pulled back, had not the pillows been behind her head; her mouth shut tight, and he had to pry it open with his tongue. She didn't turn her head away, but she squinched her eyes shut and shook so much that he could tell she didn't like it very well. He moved to nuzzle at her neck instead, seeking a pleasure spot. Everybody had one; he just wasn't certain where hers was.

She still cringed when he kissed her neck, her throat, her shoulder, when he tried caressing her arm, her belly, her thigh. He had to suppress a growl of frustration. This was annoying. Naturally, his body was growing excited, yet his mind was not in on it. Perhaps he could function properly as it was, but there was no way he would like it, and that rather peeved him.

Khetai shuddered and made a face. "You--are you ready now? For nesakh'ai?"

His muzzle twitched. "It's hardly nesakh'ai to just push in you a few times, come, and roll off! If that was what you were asking for I doubt I can fulfill it."

She blinked with dismay. "But--but I thought we were agreed!"

"Perhaps it's easy for you to separate sex from pleasure, but for me it is not." He stopped rubbing her thigh when her leg twitched away from him. "For gods' sakes, isn't there anything you like?"

Her body tensed beneath him and her face hardened. "Just put it in me and get it over with like we agreed!"

Djuta growled, startling her. "I will hardly stick my cock in you like you are some mere hole in the ground! I am starting to think you are more of a man than I am! Now shut up and let me try to pleasure you, damn it!"

She looked horrified, but he tried not to give her too much time to object. Within seconds his hands were roaming down her body, making her yelp and cringe. He rained kisses upon her, looking for all the world as if he were succumbing to lust, while in reality he was just trying to find the right spot to start her fires burning. She bared her teeth at him and wriggled so he had to hold onto her arms, which only seemed to make her angrier; he even tried caressing her wings, yet it must not have been her main pleasure spot, as it was with most males. Where in the Duat was it, then? Surely she had one, somewhere?

He considered simply reaching down and rubbing her thik'ahi, but felt it was too soon to do that yet. It would probably be best to save that until the last possible moment.

With the way things are going now, perhaps she doesn't even have a pleasure spot! How in the Duat am I supposed to fulfill this bargain then--?

Khetai started struggling harder, hissing. "Let go of me!" she snapped. "Just imagine I'm that stupid Ri'hus if it turns you on so much and get it over with!"

Djuta's anger flared on hearing this, and without meaning to he bit her shoulder. Khetai barked with pained surprise and he pulled away from her guiltily. Rather than look frightened, she merely looked agitated, and snarled at him. He felt like snarling himself. What sort of woman was this that he'd been stuck with? Perhaps the Kana tribunal had punished him, after all.

"Stop moving around!" he snapped. "I already told you we won't get anything done unless this is good for both of us!"

She gave him the most venomous look possible. "And I already told you! I have no interest in males, so there is no WAY this will be good for me! Just STICK THE DAMN THING IN AND GET IT OVER WITH!"

In frustration, Djuta dropped his head and wrapped his mouth about one of the small mounds on her chest, giving a hard suck. Immediately Khetai's whole body stiffened beneath him, trembling; her head tipped and her eyes rolled back and a strange noise escaped her. He blinked and lifted his head, only to feel her sink back to the bed, panting; a moment later she growled and tried nudging him off.

"Get off!" she groused. "If you're not going to do it, perhaps I'd best just be a Moru anyway!"

Djuta's mouth twitched. He leaned down and licked her breast and she gasped. Her breath quickened in her throat, and she quivered and whined softly when his tongue trailed over the fur, around her nipple, over to her other breast. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her eyes going shut.

He lifted his head again and smirked. "Well," he commented. "You aren't immune, after all."

Khetai curled her lip at him, panting weakly. "Get off. Let me go."

His grin grew and he cocked his head at her in a knowing way. "I do not think so. You said you would do anything to not be Moru. Since you gave me no clues, I had to find it out on my own. And it looks as if I finally did. Did one of your mates try this out on you? Or do you merely imagine someone--Simit, perhaps? Or Akhahit?"

With that he again sucked on her breast. Khetai started moaning and writhing beneath him, not in an attempt to escape; rather, her legs slid up and down, her hips swaying. Her whine grew to a higher pitch the longer he nibbled and licked at her, and he couldn't help but smile to himself.

"So your teats are your pleasure spot," he murmured as he pulled away again. "I guess I should have known, considering."

She gave a weak shove. "Get off!"

He shook his head. "Not until we do what you said you wanted to do. I just remembered. The primary way that a female may take pleasure with another female." Her face went red but before she could protest, he had turned himself about and stuck his muzzle between her legs, nuzzling hard. Khetai wheezed and bucked her hips upward with a shock. Djuta started laughing, and she started shaking.

"Be--be silent!" she cried, her eyes welling up. She covered her breasts a second time and twisted her leg out of his grasp. "You are a vulgar ass just like I knew you were! I would not even be with you if it weren't for that damned court, travesty that it is!"

"I doubt you would call Simit vulgar for making you feel good."

She snarled. "For your information I have never been with Simit! That is just YOUR depraved fantasy! As if I would tell you who my mate is, just so you can go and harass her as you do me! I will tell you that she is not a brute like you are!"

He smiled at her condescendingly. "Ah, but you know I am only a brute because I am the only one who can possibly get you your freedom. Now try to ready yourself. I'll do everything you wanted me to, but it's going to be a bit more than you expected. I doubt you will feel like biting anything back."

Khetai paled. "What...?"

Djuta turned back and swung his leg over hers so his hips were positioned above her own. Khetai's face grew panicked--then he ducked his head to lick at her nipples, making her moan. She went loose, and he slipped his fingers beneath her, fingering her thik'ahi, making her tremble. He waited until her juices flowed slick over her legs before rubbing at his already swollen sheath, emerging from it smooth and hot. He kept her distracted the entire time, his tongue causing her to whine and arch her neck at the air. She even grasped hold of his arms, apparently forgetting who he was. Her heated moans excited him--gently spreading her vulva open, he guided himself forward, the tip of his shaft pressing against the opening. Still she did not notice. He dropped his hands to prop himself above her, spreading his legs to keep her own separated. When she arched her neck again, he brought himself quickly down and forward.

Hup'khit--

A brief flash went through his mind--his young mate, so frail and slender hipped, her lovely smile, the way she had welcomed him inside her for the first time--her pale tawny fur, her beautiful dark eyes. Her high-pitched moans of desire as he had taken her within the Moru stables, the two of them shuffling upon the ground, she embracing him adoringly, he biting possessively at her neck. His hand going to cup her tender young breast. The cry she had let out at their climax. The gorgeous feel of her constricting around him when he came inside her.

Her unheard screams tearing through his head as he serviced his master--

Djuta thrust forward with a startled grunt. Khetai lurched and screamed, her hips propelling upwards into his own, driving him into her more deeply than he'd intended. When she fell down he pulled back with a gasp, slick with her blood; she twisted her head to the side with a pained whimper, her eyes streaming. Guilty again, he hurried to caress her breasts, pressing his hips to her to rub against her thik'ahi, biting at her neck again in the hopes that instinct would take over, render her limp beneath him as he finished the job. It appeared to work; still whimpering softly, Khetai relaxed, not even attempting to brush his muzzle away from her neck, and he rubbed his hand against her breast as his other squeezed her buttocks, his own slowly contorting as he pushed. He pressed more closely to her than he otherwise would have, rotating his hips, seeking the way to make it as pleasurable as possible, to distract her from her pain.

Gradually, her whimpering died away, brisk panting taking its place. When he felt her begin to tighten around him he picked up his pace, and didn't concentrate so much on rubbing her pleasure spot. He pulled away from her neck to lick her breasts again, and only now did the two of them resemble a properly coupling pair, Khetai shutting her eyes and panting as Djuta growled softly and pushed into her. Perhaps she imagined he was a female. He hoped so; it could only make this entire spectacle easier. At least she wasn't fighting him, anymore.

Neither of them was aware of how long it took, after all. Khetai seemed to lose all thoughts of keeping track of the time as she began to moan and writhe beneath him. Apparently forgetting his gender, she arched and reached up to caress him, running her hands over his back, clasping his buttocks as he moved, then caressing up and down his wings. He snorted at the feeling and returned it, his fingers trailing over the membrane as it flexed beneath her. This time, she appeared to like the touch, and whined and quivered; he stared into her face, her eyes shut tight and her cheeks flushed and her mouth slightly open. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, to his surprise, and arched her pelvis upwards with a murmur. He accepted the invitation; letting go of her, he knelt upright, Khetai impaled upon him, and started to rut. His low grunting filled the room. Khetai kept herself satisfied by running her hands over her own breasts, squeezing them and moaning, rocking into his motions. The sight of her touching herself made his tail flick wildly from side to side. Certainly, he didn't disbelieve her when she'd said she had no interest in males. Yet every woman had her pleasure spot...and if it was touched in just the right way, he knew she would do anything...

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fingers, digging into her soft skin. Her entire body bent, curving like a bow, her cry rising. She dropped her hands to dig into the bedding, and if he'd thought she must be imagining herself to be with Simit or Akhahit or some other Moru, that assumption was shattered when she gasped out at the air, her voice strained and faint.

"L-Lord Dj-Djuta..."

Her gasping of his name acted as an immediate aphrodisiac. Djuta grunted loudly and spurted in surprise. Khetai cried out, long and loud, breaking off into a dry sob. Djuta dropped his head forward as his flow began to die, and forced his fingers to relax their hold on her behind. She went completely limp, and he let her go so she slid back down to the bed, her head rolling to the side, her body glistening with sweat. Their musk filled the hot enclosure with a thick reek.

Djuta panted for breath, pushing himself forward as he had before, onto hands and knees. He dropped down beside her and they both gasped at the canopy, breasts heaving. He ran his hand back over his head and turned to look at her. Her eyes remained shut, but her face was still flushed, her nipples still hard; he vaguely wondered what had been going through her mind when she'd called out his name. Surely it had just been a mistake...?

He waited a moment or so for her to speak, but she remained silent. "Well...?" he prompted breathlessly; then when she still didn't respond, "I stuck it in you, pushed a few times, came, and rolled off. Was that suitable enough for you?"

She winced and turned her head away slightly. "P-please...do not remind me," she murmured, and he frowned to himself. "It felt...it felt pleasurable, enough, yet it is hardly what I wanted," she went on, her voice timid, hesitant. "I just want to drop your pup...and get out of this accursed place."

He felt a twinge of insult at this, as if his company were something so atrocious after everything else she'd been through...then remembered that everything else she'd been through was why she must feel this way. It was not as if she had chosen to be here, no matter how much she had said she wanted it.

I did not ever say I wished to be Tas'hukh's slave. I did not mind him mating me...yet I never asked him for my mate. If it ever came to the truth, I never would have stayed with him even if given the chance. So do not think it is myself she hates so much...but merely these circumstances she is stuck in. We are not too different, after all, are we?

He sat and watched as she pushed herself up weakly, shaking and pale; he hated the look on her face, the look of someone who had just given up everything they had to gain everything they could not have. "That cot," she whispered, reaching one trembling hand for her dress and shakily pulling it toward her. "I'll go sleep upon it for the night...and tomorrow we may try this again."

The flare of guilt came again, at how he had spoken to her, and he sat up. "Hold." He grabbed her arm as she started to roll toward the other side of the bed. She jerked and nearly pulled her hand away, then glanced back at him with a guarded look, her eyes wide but shadowed; he could tell she expected him to push her down and start rutting at her again, and bit the inside of his mouth. "No, nothing like that," he said, and he felt her tensed muscles relax. "I was going to tell you merely that you may sleep here, in my bed, if you wish," he said quietly, and let go of her arm; she drew it back toward herself but didn't move away. "It's large enough for both of us, without us having to be all over each other." When that didn't seem to convince her, he drew his claw along the middle of the bed, making an invisible line. "I will sleep upon one side, and you upon the other. This way you do not have to banish yourself to some tiny cot." He paused. "I already told you. I try to treat my mates well."

Khetai stared at him for a few moments, as if trying to determine any motives he might have. He held her stare. After a while her eyes softened, though she drew her arms up to put them around herself, as if to cover herself up again.

"You mean...you will let me sleep here? Just--sleep here?" she murmured. "Without nesakh'ai?"

Djuta nodded. "We have covered that already." He paused, then dared to add, "You did pretty well, might I say. For being iat'ah. Do you know, for a moment I was certain I must have been mistaken about my sex all this time, and I was just about ready to send myself to the Moru quarters for Mahakhi to drool over me."

Khetai's eyes went wide and she gawked at him in seeming horror, her face going brilliant red; then she hastily averted her eyes, glancing down at the bed, but when her hand went up to her mouth he was certain he heard her try to stifle a giggle. A second later she was giggling so hard she cried, and he couldn't help but smile at her reaction. She tried wiping the tears away from her eyes though it was fruitless.

"Well," she managed to get out, "for a moment you made a passing good female. I am still not interested in your kind. But at least you know how to use your mouth more than any other of you dumb louts who've come after me."

"I bet you did not give them enough of a chance before you broke their muzzles," Djuta said, and her giggling resumed; he knew all he had said had not been that funny, but could tell that the need to laugh relieved her somewhat of her anxiety. He waited for her to calm herself, and after a few more moments she started sniffling and wiping at her eyes again; "You are feeling all right?" he asked, and she nodded quickly, blushing.

"I...yes, I am all right."

"You wish to bathe or anything--? I realize our musk is somewhat stronger than females', and you may wish to clean yourself up..."

"No, I--I am fine." Her ears went pink. "It...didn't feel quite like what I had expected...but I will be all right." She moved her leg and made a bit of a face. "Though..."

He reached over the bed, past her, and retrieved his loincloth, holding it toward her. "Go ahead," he said, bobbing his hand when she peered at it uncertainly. "I can fetch another one come morning," he said quietly. "I do not mind."

Khetai stared at him for a moment again, then accepted it. She blushed as she slipped it up between her legs, wincing a little at the odd slipperiness between her legs; he waited until she had finished, and slowly pulled the bloodied cloth away, her muzzle wrinkling in distaste. He took it away from her and dropped it on the other side of the bed where she would not spot it, and she let out her breath. Djuta pushed himself back again.

"You simply take that side," he said. "I will lie over here. Take your rest now. If you wish to do this every night, then we will have to get as much sleep as we can. Even Rithukh'het does not ask for it every single night."

She covered her mouth, cheeks going pink, and giggled once more. The corner of his mouth twitched up. He waited until she had gathered herself, then turned away and started to lie down.

Khetai coughed timidly, then tried to speak. "I...would...that is, would you mind terribly...?" He turned his head to look at her, and she averted her eyes, her fingers fiddling nervously. "If I just...held onto you? While we sleep?" she murmured in a small voice; his brow furrowed and she had to take a deep breath. "I am...I am used to doing it, when with Bikhthet," she explained. "I...I've grown rather used to...to sleeping this way. Neither of us need do anything, I only wondered..."

Djuta stared at her for a moment, then slid back slightly upon the bed and looped his arm about hers. Khetai flushed one last time but moved close, pressing herself to his back and resting her head against his shoulder with a sigh. They both shut their eyes, and for a long while Djuta just lay and listened to the sound of her breathing against his ear.

Just as he neared sleep, she murmured to him.

"Djuta...who is Hup'khit...?"

His eyes opened. "You said her name," Khetai said softly. "Just before you came into me." She paused. "She is someone you knew...?"

Djuta stared toward the drapes, then shut his eyes. "A long time ago," he replied quietly. "Another lifetime ago. It does not matter now. Try to sleep."

He sensed that she wished to speak again, yet after a moment she nestled her head at his shoulder once more, and the room fell silent. It wasn't long before Khetai's breathing had slowed into sleep, though Djuta remained awake for quite a while, listening to the sound of her. After a very long time, it felt almost as if he slept with his mate, and he at last allowed himself to doze into oblivion as she had.

Continue:

"Part 40: Heir" 


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