Coming of Age Ch. 02

She tucked her wings in slightly picking up speed as her house came into view, descending low enough to trail her fingers through the treetops before diving into a gap between the trees. Then, flaring her wings out again to slow her decent and stop the dive, she made a graceful arc, fluttering her wings at the top of it, her bare toes touching the sun warmed stones of their front walk lightly as she landed. She ran up the walk and charged thru the front door, hardly pausing on her way through the house as she raced up the steps to her room.

"Good gracious child!" she heard Myrma exclaim as she ran past, "like to give an old woman a heart attack busting in the door like that!"

"Sorry Myrma," she yelled back, "I'm going to go get cleaned up for lunch then ill be right down."

She felt a bit bad for startling her like that and could still hear her shuffling around and muttering softly in annoyance as she finished preparing the meal. Pulling open her dresser drawer, she pulled out an outfit almost identical to the one she was already wearing that served as her day to day wear in the hot and often humid climate and tossed it onto the bed. She reached behind her back and undid the simple clasp on the back of her top, then dropped her shoulders and let the silky rose colored garment hit the floor, pulling the matching bottoms down and wiggling out of them as she grabbed the wash basin and pitcher. As she set the basin down and filled it, she noticed her reflection for the first time in the mirror that was attached to the back of the dresser, and what a sight she was. She was glad suddenly that Myrma had not seen her. Her hair was tousled and her normally fair colored cheeks were bright pink , and her lips were also a darker pink and slightly puffy, making her look almost like she was wearing make-up.

Upon further inspection she had a slightly pink spot on her neck and another on her shoulder that she trailed her fingers over, finding they were only a bit tender, but causing a wave of heat to go through her at the memory of how they got there. She trailed her fingers lightly over the leather cord around her neck and across the shiny black claw, wondering if her guardian would have any insight into the sudden predicament she found herself in. She grabbed a wash rag and a bottle of soap perfumed with demonic rose oils, and started cleaning herself up, pulling the basin to the floor and standing in it using what was left in the pitcher to rinse off with, washing everything but her hair. Then after using one of the hand towels to dry off, she redressed, gathering up the dirty garments, the cloth she used to wash with and the towel, she made her way back downstairs, handing her laundry to one of the stuffed dolls Myrma had sewn and then infused with magic for tending laundry.

Renna could remember playing with the stuffed cloth house servants when she was younger and trying to disrupt them from their appointed tasks and getting scolded repeatedly for succeeding. She grinned to herself over how funny the little laundry dolls had looked trying to wash her clothes while they were dressed in them, and how proud she had been once she was finally strong enough to wrestle them down and accomplish the prank. Myrma herself had even laughed over that one, but still chided her and chased her up to her room while she convinced the sopping wet dolls to get out of the washtub and stop trying to scrub each other. She watched the doll efficiently sort her garments into one washtub and the towel into the other, then turned and made her way into the kitchen, stepping around a different doll that was setting the table to see if Myrma wanted her to lend a hand with anything.

The Sadi woman was just in the process of putting the top layer of bread on the sandwiches she was making from what was left of the roasted gobball from the night before. She had added fresh sliced tomatoes to each plate and handed one to Renna without looking up at her, adjusting the last slice of bread and cutting her own sandwich neatly in half before following the now fully grown Eniripsa she had raised from a baby into the dining room to sit at the table. Renna was finishing off the tomato wedges as Myrma sat down and could feel the older woman eyeing her curiously. She shifted nervously in her seat and waited for the question Myrma had asked her every time she went anywhere and came back since her wings had grown in.

"So...did you meet anyone new today? Anything interesting happen?"

Renna peered at her guardian through the dark fringe of her lashes and wondered if it was her imagination making her hear an expectant note in Myrma's voice, and exactly how much she should tell her. She drew in a deep breath, nodding and was reassured by the knowing smile and nod the woman gave her in return as she picked up the cup of lemongrass tea and took a sip.

"Well are you gonna sit there nodding all day like a mad doll while I sit here in suspense, or you gonna out with it and tell me about him?"

Renna's eyes got big for a moment and she couldn't help but grin as she relayed the story of the events of the morning and the dark winged, dark haired Eniripsa boy she had met out in the plains. She didn't go into a lot of detail, but told her about everything including the odd instructions regarding the dreg claw necklace and his promise that she would see him again tonight. Myrma listened quietly till she finished speaking, nodding every so often and taking a sip of her tea. As Renna finished her story, the woman sat forward and lifted the claw from its resting place against Renna's chest and put her spectacles on for a better look. The question she asked next made Renna pause for a moment.

"Have you tried using it yet?"

Renna opened her mouth and was about to voice her fears and hesitations about not wanting to see him again, but stopped before she said a single word because she realized she actually DID, and simply shook her head.

Myrma chuckled softly at her and shook her head gently, "Poor child, i really haven't given you a proper upbringing. You know so little of you own kind. Eniripsa followers are among the gentlest in our lands. You say this one was alone?" when Renna nodded, she gave another knowing smile and a nod of her own, "You will likely meet the others tonight when he comes to see you again. To my understanding Eniripsa are in the habit of travelling in tight knit groups." She paused to take another drink of her tea, "They are not casual creatures as they may seem. As Lily explained it to me once, once courtship has ended, though each may have more than one mate, they are mated for life," at this, Renna bit her lower lip suddenly wondering if she had made such a large decision by accepting the advances of the dark winged stranger.

"Mated for life...Do you think...?" her fingers trailed across the black claw as her voice trailed off and Myrma started laughing out loud.

"Gracious no child, but I think its safe to say you've made it into the courtship stage," Myrma smiled then, her eyes fairly twinkling while Renna's face burned pinkly, remembering what courtship entailed, "But first and foremost i think you should try using that claw he gave you and talking to him again."

Renna nodded and murmured her agreement. They both finished their sandwiches and Myrma called the kitchen dolls to come clear the dishes and wash them. As the dolls set about their tasks, Renna walked over to Myrma and crawled up in her lap as she had done so many times before as a child, wrapping her slender arms around woman's shoulders in an affectionate hug, which the Sadi woman returned, smoothing her hair from her face.

"Heaven love you child for I surely do."

"I love you more...and I don't know if i have ever said so before, but thank you...for everything."

"No 'thank you's needed precious one. You have brought me joy, filled my heart with love and my days with sunshine. You have been a gift in my life.... Now, get your full grown self out there and call to your Eni friend before he thinks he has scared you off."

With that Myrma pushed her gently to the floor and swatted her behind lightly before grabbing her tea cup and making her way into the main room to what Renna called her "snoozing chair" for her tendency to nap there after meals. Renna grinned at her retreating form as Myrma made her way to the other room. She then turned and made her way out to the front yard, feeling giddy and excited by the thought of talking to Raife again.

-Hold that claw and think of me, ill hear you no matter where you are.-

Taking a deep breath and grabbing hold of the sharp talon before she had a chance to change her mind, she called the image of him into her mind, and suddenly without warning she had him in her mind clear as a bell,

"Well hello beautiful, good to know I didn't scare you away."

What he had done to her was too amazing to be too scary, she thought

.

"Well that's good to know," she heard him say "but honestly if I had known you were so inexperienced id have been more careful with you.."

Renna's eyes went wide as she realized exactly what the strange claw did. So...you can hear what I'm thinking?

"Yes. With that amulet I can, Enis use them frequently to stay connected with each other." Renna looked down at the claw and wondered idly what else she still had to learn about others of her race.

"Others of your race?" his voice slipped through her mind gently, curiously.

"Yes...you are the first of my own kind I have ever interacted with." All of her memories of her childhood in the village with Sadidan children and families floated through her mind, growing up in a world where everyone was larger than her.

"Wow...I had no idea. That must be hard for you to have grown up knowing nothing of your heritage. A Sadi woman raised you? That's quite amazing."

Yes, she is an amazing woman, I could have asked for no better guardian to care for me...

Quite suddenly she had a clear picture in her mind of herself standing topless and realized with a flush that the idle thought had come from him.

"So beautiful...with skin the texture of silk," she felt the heated words slip through her mind with the smoothness of satin and wondered if the rush of longing she felt was from him or her. Her mind was streaming with brief snap shots, some memories, but she guessed the rest were fantasies, images of her from his perspective, his hands and lips gliding over her skin, the faint rose smell left behind by her scented soap and the feel of her own skin coming through with the images.

As his mind continued, she felt the sensations he felt as he had entered her, the blast of energy from her as they had exploded together. Her breath caught in her throat and her wings quivered slightly, her mind picking up where his left off recalling the way his hands felt on her skin, the way it had felt to have him inside of her, the way it felt when he bit her, on her shoulder and on her wing tips sending her body over the edge.

"Can you meet me somewhere?" came his response, "I have a first time to atone for...if you are willing that is."

At the thought of seeing him again her heart jumped into her throat. Right now?

"Yep, right now. My group knows I have a new prospect in the wings and won't even worry if i disappear for a while. Besides I must make up for my blunder or I'll never hear the end of it. I may have let slip that I was your first and didn't realize it till it was too late. My first attempt at mating, finally find a female I favor, and scare her away being clumsy."

It was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced, though I have nothing against which to compare it. I don't scare that easily, and there is so much I want to learn from you...How do I find you?

No sooner than the thought crossed her mind and she feel his warm breath on her ear and his hands sliding down the skin of her sides.

"Look no farther than behind you... I'll never be far Renna," he smoothed her hair back from her neck placing a gentle kiss there, "not unless you want me to be."

She released a small sigh as his lips brushed her skin and his hand ran gently up her wing ridge to the tip, then he trailed his fingertips across the surface back down to her shoulder. He moved around to stand in front of her, pushing her hair off her face as his other arm moved around her to embrace her gently, pulling her body to his.

She brushed her lips across his biting the lower one gently as she ran her hand up the ridge of his wing, hearing a small moan escape him as his body hardened against hers. She ran her hand back down his wing running her other hand up the taut muscles of his stomach and across the smooth skin of his chest, pushing his vest off his shoulder and continuing down the lean muscles of his bicep and forearm. He pulled away from her for just a moment, undoing the ties at his neck and spreading out his soft lined hooded cloak at the base of the small stone wall around the little flower garden where they would be out of sight of the house before wrapping his arms tightly around her again, guiding her gently down and laying her on the cloak, carefully smoothing her wings flat under her as he joined her.

He propped himself up on his elbow letting the vest slide down his other arm and dropping his wings to allow it to slide with a whisper to the grass. She looked up at him from her place stretched out on his cloak, her wispy rose colored hair fanned out around her face and her soft pink lips parted slightly, her smooth skin making Raife's lips almost burn from his desire to touch every inch of that skin and set her on fire beneath him. He reached out slowly, almost tentatively, and stroked her lips gently with the pad of his thumb watching her eyes flutter closed and her lips part a little more, grazing his thumb gently with her teeth before his hand travelled down and his lips laid claim to her mouth. His fingertips traced her jawline, slowly travelling down to the hollow of her throat and across her collarbone, then wrapping his fingers gently around the curve of her shoulder to enjoy the smooth texture of her skin against his palm, his hand continued down her arm to her wrist pinning it firmly but gently over her head as he moved to straddle her hips. His mouth followed the same path, trailing feathery kisses along her cheek and under her jaw, brushing his lips down the skin on her throat, dipping his tongue into the hollow spot there before moving across her collarbone, using his lips to brush down the slender shoulder strap of her top slightly. He shifted his weight a little more, one hand still pinning her wrist up by her head, and the other Renna felt him lay gently on her side just above where her straddled her, stroking her stomach and up her side with his full hand backing off as his hand moved higher until only his fingertips still touched her, dancing in teasing little circles around the edges of her top, then cupping her shoulder and sliding down her arm to pin her other wrist.

Renna wiggled her arms experimentally, to which he shifted his gentle grip but didn't loosen it any or make any indication he was going to let go as his lips nuzzled from one side of her collar bone to the other. He moved down lower kissing the exposed skin above her top and readjusting his hold on her wrists as he went lower to run his tongue in the hollow spot between her breasts before moving to the side, his lips dragging over the fabric and the heat of his breath penetrating the thin material causing her nipple to tighten almost painfully and a small moan to escape her. Smiling at her reaction and targeting in on her nipple easily as it tightened under his lips, he caught it gently between his teeth raking it over lightly before moving to the other breast and exciting it the same way. She wiggled slightly under him, her breath picking up as he shifted a bit and moved lower, keeping her arms gently pinned now at her sides. as his warm lips brushed her sides and her stomach, his tongue darted out to explore the curve in her hip just above the waistline of her bottoms. As he made his way to the other side, his lips trailing the banding at the top of the hip hugging bottoms she wore, he knew he was having the kind of effect on her he wanted. He felt her twist and rub one leg against the other, and looked up at her to see her eyes almost closed and her cheeks flushed, and smiled slightly.

He slid one leg down the outside of her calf letting the fabric of his pants drag across her skin, then drawing his knee up the inside of her ankle, feeling her move her leg aside slightly in response. He did the same with the other leg, then moved back up slightly till he was kneeling between her knees. Raife brought his lips back to the silken smooth skin of her lower belly, dragging his lips and breathing hotly down to her hip, nuzzling at the spot where the fabric covered an inch of skin at her hip till he had kissed it both from the top and the bottom, then kissing a trail close around the leg banding on the bikini style bottoms, using his legs to push hers farther apart as he felt her try to wiggle away from him. The silky fabric of the bottoms fit her perfectly and he could see she was already quite excited and the way he had her legs spread out was making the damp fabric cling to her in a way that left little to the imagination.

He released her wrists for just a moment, sliding his hands up her calves and positioning her knees over his shoulders then twining his fingers through hers trapping her hands again, feeling her tense up under him and struggle slightly against the position he had her in.

"What are you doing?" her voice was breathy and unsure.

"Shh...Relax Renna, trust me. I'm not going to hurt you."

He followed up the gentle words with soft kisses up the inside of her thighs, brushing his lips gently across the fabric covering her, making her draw a sharp breath and utter a low moan, her hips bucking under him before she went still and seemed to relax entirely into the sensations he was causing. He repeated the process kissing down the inside of her other thigh and making another pass across where the thin bottoms covered her, hearing her sigh softly as the tension left her body and her legs opened a little farther to him. He smiled at her gentle submission, continuing his gentle assault for a few moments longer until he saw her wiggle with impatience, longing for a deeper touch. He then released her hands, running his palms down her sides to her hips and slipping them under her to cup the cheeks of her rear, slipping his fingertips under the band and sliding the fabric down below her hips before shifting her legs to the same shoulder and slipping the bottoms the rest of the way down her legs and off.

Moving her leg back to the other shoulder so he was between them again, he then ran his hands from her knees up the top of her thighs to her hips, pausing for a second to grip her hips in either hand before sliding his fingers the rest of the way under her to cup her ass again, his hands memorizing the soft way her skin felt under them, slightly fuzzy like a peach, warm, and as smooth as silk. He ran the backs of his fingers up the backs of her thighs to her knees then back down, moving toward the inside of her thigh slowly, watching her face closely. Renna still had her eyes closed and found herself holding her breath in anticipation as she felt him trail his fingers slowly up the inside of her legs. When he got to the very top of her leg, he paused, dragging his fingers along the crease of her leg, and Renna just wanted to scream from frustration, a small whimper escaping her lips in spite of her best efforts to hold it back.

Knowing she was ready, he didn't hold back from her, his finger finding its way between her wet folds, sliding down the drenched seam and penetrating her easily. He heard her utter a low moan and felt her hips jerk as her muscles gripped at his finger, and his mouth went dry remembering how tight she had been when he had claimed her virginity just that morning. He withdrew the finger almost all the way out, sliding a second one in, twisting and moving them around as he penetrated her more deeply, using his fingers to ready her so she wouldn't have any discomfort this time.