A Big Shiny Blue Marble Ch. 23

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TaLtos6
TaLtos6
1,931 Followers

Then she thought about what had been offered and she felt better for the promise of something that she at least knew a little bit about -- being a sneak. And finally, she thought about Shaevre and the sort of work they might be able to take on as partners. She didn't particularly like the idea that the Xer who she found herself liking so much was going to be the only one, likely very soon, but she liked her enough to know that they could likely form a good partnership. The thought intrigued her and she found herself looking forward to it. How many times had she found herself with only a wall at her back and needing help? With Shaevre along, ...

She realized that she'd walked a good distance away from the house and the grounds and decided to head back.

As she turned to go back, she found that she really hadn't been alone. A pair of hellhounds stood near her, as silent as death, only regarding her, but appearing intent on blocking her return at the same time.

"I was um, ... I was just heading back," she said as she tried to get by them to walk back to the house. They only looked at her, and yet their demeanor told her that unlike Shaevre, these ones might have been friendly to her inside the house, but out here, it was a little plain that they didn't particularly like her very much. They didn't make a sound, but she felt a bit of fear at the prospect of walking past them and wondered if they'd let her back onto the grounds.

But then she saw Shaevre, walking on two legs, striding out toward her. She made one sound, something like a bark which contained a single word in it, and the pair of hellhounds looked as though they almost left the ground at the sound of it.

Shaevre strode past them and she glared at the pair, beginning to speak in the Xerian tongue in tightly clipped and obviously angry tones. The others looked as though they were trying to explain something, but Shaevre said one more word and it shut them up.

Selena watched as Shaevre leaned forward a little and said one phrase to them and finished it with a one-word command which was shouted loudly and ended in a rather vicious-sounding snarl.

The hellhounds turned sharply and trotted off without looking back. Shaevre held up one pawed hand for a moment as she watched the others carefully until they were out of sight. After that, Shaevre looked more like a happy puppy than whatever that had been.

"What was that all about?" She asked Shaevre.

"Enforcement which should not have been needed, "she replied, "Those two are supposed to be mine to command, as they are below me in rank. But they all play a game here because I have no high place on our world and they ignore me as much as they can. I asked them just what they thought that they were doing out here, watching a guest outside the circle of responsibility, and before they began their lies about being concerned that you would wander off, I told them that you knew the land here far better than they ever would, and that I could smell their dishonesty.

I commanded them to return to where they are supposed to be patrolling instead of trying to intimidate a guest. Before they began to play their game of ignoring me, I told them that since we were outside our circle of responsibility here, then I would yank their ballsacks for them hard enough to see whether their eyeballs were attached to them if they didn't do as I commanded instantly -- unless they now wished to challenge me, the two of them at once."

"At once," Selena said, "You mean at that instant or did you mean that they were supposed to fight you or something together?"

"Just that," Shaevre grinned a little, "together at the same time. They try to look hard, but the hounds here have no stones at all. They all pretend to be Death hounds. It is our word for the hard line fighters in a few units of the Brigades of Xer and the small honor of it remains even after one's service has ended.

Well I am a Death hound, Selena. Other than Arrax, I am the only one here. They are only here for the higher pay of staffing a remote outpost. Other than a brawl in an alley back on Xer, they have never seen action before and certainly not what I would call a fight of any kind. They have never served in our military, no matter how hard they pretend at it out here. They wouldn't live an hour in the Brigades, they'd be beaten and killed before they'd found where they were supposed to sleep the first night in Barracks."

"But they're bigger than you are," Selena said, "both of them. Could you beat them?"

"Any one of the line fighters that I ever served with could kill those two in a breath," Shaevre said in disgust, and then it was clear to Selena in the next instant that she didn't wish to spend another second of her own time on the others.

She leaned toward Selena a little and spoke very quietly over Selena's shoulder facing away from the house, "This is where the show begins, I guess. They are listening and hide themselves not far away. Such idiots," she frowned.

"So," she smiled, brightening as she slipped her padded fingers between Selena's fingers while she took her hand, "We are here in the human world, where I have little experience myself, and I must rely on my friend to show me how things are out here."

They walked for a time all over the flat top of the mountain, holding hands. Selena considered a few other things as they walked. The thought of a working partnership with a hellhound who could handle herself and had the ability to fade from sight was a little tantalizing.

"I have a question," she smiled as she leaned on Shaevre a little when they stood together looking out over the surrounding night landscape. There were small points of light out there, from the village below and the occasional night fire of a shepherd. They were far from the grounds now, and Shaevre said that the others were not far from the gate a long way back.

"Are you sure that you want to take up the sort of life that we talked about?"

"Try to see it from my side," Shaevre said as they walked back toward the gate, "We like each other. When you spoke of being partners and working together -- me as a partner, I knew that I wanted this so much. You are not the kind to sit in a tavern and grow fat drinking ale. You are not the kind who would stay at home and do nothing. From what I have heard in your stories to the young one, you seek adventure -- as do I. I hate being here, other than how I love the little one. I would rather be cold and wet seeking my fortune with Selena any day."

Sheavre smiled and leaned back against a tree that they found themselves under. It stood in direct line of sight from the gates. From that, Selena knew that the Xer was willing to go to the next part of their charade. She looked down and thought about it. It had to be done, and they'd agreed on it. Even so, it was very strange to her. She smirked to herself in the darkness.

Strange to not, this was already a lot more fun than just wandering around the house, no matter what.

Selena stepped over and pressed Shaevre up against the tree. She reached up and had to stretch a little, but she pulled herself up a little better after she'd gotten her arms around the tall girl's neck, and once she was there, she kissed Shaevre hard and said her piece with her body as it pressed against that long lovely frame. Her hand on the back of Shaevre's head kept her mouth captive just the way that she wanted at the moment. They broke apart after a minute and panted a little as they stared and smiled, looking a little dazed to each other.

Selena pinned Shaevre to the tree all over again a minute later. She couldn't help it, she'd never been kissed like that.

"Listen, Xer," she said, just loud enough to be heard from the gate, "I don't know how this will go. Let's just see if this keeps building between us, and I'm telling myself at the same time, because I already want to use a word here that we are not ready for. I am pretty confident that this will happen, and if we're going to do this as you said, then I am absolutely thrilled at the prospect. It feels to me as though I am awaiting the start of a great adventure. I know that you have your job here, but I can rent a place in the village. When you are off-duty, you will come and stay with me."

Just inside the gates, the pair of invisible hellhounds stared as Shaevre kissed Selena in return and ran her hands over the curve of her clothed bottom.

They smiled at each other for a moment, but Selena leaned in again and began to kiss Shaevre once more. Shaevre's eyes opened wide, out of the view of the pair of watchers when Selena slipped her tongue into the Xer's mouth.

Sheavre groaned once against it and then she sighed and allowed it, even beginning to kiss back. When Selena gave her the chance for it, Shaevre disengaged a little, but Selena tried with some success to tease Shaevre's tongue out of her mouth a little and she sucked the tip of it a little hungrily. They stopped a few minutes later and looked at each other breathlessly.

"What - what are you doing?" Shaevre hissed, "What was that for?"

"I was giving them a show," Selena smirked as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Before Shaevre could reply, Selena went back to it again and they stood there holding each other tightly and kissing as though it was their last night on Earth.

After five more minutes of it, Shaevre hissed as softly as she could, "Please Selena, stop. They have had their show."

Selena drew back a little and kissed those lips once more, "Sorry if I overdid it," she smiled. She looked up and Shaevre nodded with a surprised smirk, "I feel as though I should thank you."

"Well if you feel that way, then you're welcome," Selena grinned, "It was a bit of hard work, but I didn't mind it too much. I think that it was believable."

"I think that it was as well," Sheavre chuckled, "I was about to fall down," she hissed into Selena's ear.

"I don't know the angles here," the rogue replied in a breath, "It might have looked real from one angle, but if there are any others here or some way to watch us besides them, it was obvious that it wasn't real. That was why I was so ... pointed about it."

They looked at each other and Shaevre nodded, "This is surely enough," she said, "Let's go back inside."

They walked holding hands as they went in, the two who had been watching them jumping away to give them room. One leaped right into a garden and froze there.

The pair walked all the way up the walk, "That was maybe a little too much," Shaevre whispered.

"I know," Selena grinned and she sighed, "But I liked it."

Shaevre snapped her head around, and Selena laughed quietly as they went inside.

When they got to Selena's room, Shaevre closed the door and threw Selena up against it. "I thought that you liked males," she hissed angrily, "Is this what human girls do with a friend that they have only just made?"

"I do like males," Selena whispered as she struggled against the strength of Shaevre's grip. "Humans don't do that, at least not that quickly, not often anyway. I wanted it to look real by being real. I like you and I'm sorry if I've made you angry."

She sagged a little and looked a bit upset, "I've never done anything like that before in my life, and -- and I liked it. I didn't want to stop. I'm sorry and if you're that upset, then let me go and leave me alone. I'll still do the job."

Sheavre looked hard at Selena as they struggled, "You cannot just do that to a Xer. It makes feelings rise in us of being wanted and needed. It is not something that can just be done, and I am one who wants a male."

"Now," Shaevre whispered, "I need to know what was really behind that out there."

"Why?" Selena hissed back, "We did as we agreed, and I'm sorry that I put that much into something that I suddenly found myself liking to do. I like men. I just found that I also like you, Shaevre, at least enough for that. You obviously survived it. What do you care anymore what was behind it? It's over, alright?

Now, if we're done here, please let me go. I'll meet you tomorrow sometime and we can go for a walk outside to go over details. Don't worry, I won't kiss you again."

Shaevre said nothing. She only nodded and released Selena, who walked away to give her the room to open the door. Shaevre walked out and closed the door behind her.

Selena was a little angry at herself. She hadn't meant to get carried away like that at all. Worse, she felt sad that she'd ruined the friendship that they'd begun. She seemed to be getting quite good at ruining things. She looked at the coins that she'd accepted. She'd declined the gold as pay, saying that she'd use what she needed to cover any incidental expenses which might be incurred and return the rest.

In fact, she intended to return it all now. She decided that she'd do this for nothing, and then after the dust had settled, she'd just ride off one day soon after and forget the whole thing as quickly as she could. She felt that she'd embarrassed herself and when she thought about Shaevre being alone after this was over, she felt even worse.

She removed her clothing, feeling the warmth of the always too-warm house as she brushed her hair a little. Then she turned the strange light off and got into bed, asking herself what the hell was wrong with her.

She had her answer after only a little thought. Shaevre was a girl, but from her viewpoint, both Shaevre and Arrax appealed to her. She was just attracted to them, that was all. Even though she was female, Shaevre's body was harder against her then anyone's, excepting maybe Dahlgren, and she liked how it had felt to her. Yes Shaevre was a female, but to Selena, she'd felt wonderful to hold and kiss. That muscled body was like nothing she'd ever laid eyes on in her life. She'd wanted to lose herself in that soft fur and the gentle way that she'd been kissed in between the forceful ones.

It all left her very confused, but she thought that the Xer was beautiful in a feminine way while exhibiting such masculine features, and her voice when she spoke in that soft accent, ...

She'd only been lying there for a few minutes, looking up at the ceiling when she heard a soft knock at her door. She got up and opened the door a little.

"Did you forget something?" she asked Shaevre, noting that she looked even angrier now.

"My quarters are much less private than your room," the Xer said, "May I come in?"

Selena nodded and stepped away from the door. Shaevre stepped inside and stood, looking very uncomfortable. "There are two other female Xer here," she said, "They already knew about what we did and stared at me. I forgot about that, and also, I am very sorry for being upset with you. If you would allow it, I will sleep sitting on the floor."

Selena shook her head, "I'm still sorry that I upset you in the first place, and I won't have you sleeping on the floor. My bed is big enough for us both to sleep in without touching and I guess that we'll need to keep up the ruse for tomorrow and the next night, so we may as well get used to sleeping in the same bed, if we want everyone to think that we're like that."

She got onto the bed and looked back at Shaevre. "Come on," she said, "This is getting more stupid by the second. I said sleep. I didn't say anything else. I'm sure that you'll survive sleeping next to me too."

Shaevre walked over and sat on the bed. "Selena? Could we just begin again? We are both not worth each other's company like this. I was upset, but I am not anymore."

"Why?" Selena asked, just barely managing to hold back the sarcastic remark that she had on her tongue.

Shaevre shrugged, "I survived it, as you said. I had to think about it and I even liked it very much. Why did you do that so, ... so hard? I think that it was more than just for the show of it."

Selena didn't blink or hesitate. It wasn't in her to not face something. "Look, I'm very sorry, alright? I did want to do this as a show so that Ny'Zeille could have her little thrill and not think too much about seeing us together tomorrow. We both forgot about the other Xer getting even dumber over it.

I liked it, Shaevre. I'm probably as surprised as you are. It wasn't what I'd expected. It wasn't like kissing a girl, even though you are another female. It felt good to me to hug you. The way that your body is, you're quite a bit different from me, and I've only liked kissing somebody that much only once before. Most of the men that I've kissed do it far too hard."

"Who was the other female?" Shaevre asked.

"There was no other female," Selena said, "I told you. I've never done something like that before, not even the day that Ny'Zeille was feeling me up in the water. The other person was Dahlgren."

Shaevre stared, "You have kissed Dahlgren?"

Selena felt awkward lying there, so she say up, "Yes."

She could see that she'd have to explain, so she told Shaevre what had happened.

"I am sorry that it did not work out well for you," Shaevre nodded, "I have always liked him. I think that he is the sort of male that I would like to find one day -- since there will not likely be any Xer here. But that is like a little dream, and I know that nothing like that will happen for me."

"Why, Shaevre?" Selena asked, "You're different from humans, but you are beautiful, you know. I was kissing you, wasn't I? You might find someone one day."

"Are we friends again?" Shaevre asked, "If we are, then maybe you can help me to find someone, if you still wish for me as your partner after this."

"I do," Selena smirked, "I was very angry with myself for ruining what we started. I do want to work with you. I was looking forward to it very much."

They talked for a while longer and then Selena suggested that they'd better try to get some sleep. Shaevre had it in her mind to sleep facing away from Selena, but changed her mind and was lying to face her. It led to an awkward moment for Selena. She was about to ask, but Shaevre spoke first.

"I had the feeling that you liked to hold my body. You said something about this."

Selena nodded, "Yes. To me, it didn't feel as I thought that it would, and the way that you're made, well it felt inviting to me, and I felt a lot of comfort in it. It was another surprise to me. Other than Dahlgren, I haven't ever felt so good holding anyone -- a big surprise to me, I can tell you."

Shaevre smiled, "Thank you. It feels good to me to hear that."

"What did it feel like to hug me?" Selena whispered.

"Not like holding any Xer," she grinned, "It felt as though I was holding someone who was more female than anyone that I have ever known. Neither one of us is very soft. But I liked it. I think that, since we have both survived our misadventure, and we are here pretending to be lovers, I see nothing wrong if you wish to hold me again."

Selena smiled and she moved over. They were nervous and tentative, but they finally found their way into each other's arms a cautious minute later. Selena groaned in happiness for the way that it felt so nice. Shaevre moved very carefully to get comfortable and kissed Salena softly only once before she moved her head away a little and smiled.

"Good night, 'lover'," she whispered with a soft chuckle.

---------------------------

While Selena taught Nahl'een another lesson in dance, Shaevre went to see Arrax and asked permission to go to the village with Selena for a few things and to see how it felt to be outside away from the house, and he cautiously granted it.

"You will have to behave differently from how you were last night from what you told me."

He smiled, "I have had a lot of enjoyment listening to the complaints of the other females. They insisted that you be moved from the female quarters and I told them to hold their tongues. Before you arrived, they often brought the males there overnight. They like to pretend to be fine Xer females, but they act like they do not care at all who mounts them.

TaLtos6
TaLtos6
1,931 Followers