Elegy for a Star Ch. 001-010

"How-.." Tess blurted.

Gwendolyn seemed to predict her question, "Our God of Light, Uthr. He resides in Thyr. He is constantly at battle with the denizens." Gwen sighed, "But he's losing. The Expeditionary Corps helps by delving into that fucking thing and killing what we can in support of Uthr."

Chapter 8 - New Experiences

They kept watch that night, wary of wolves or other dangers. Despite Gwen's concern, Tess was familiar with the concept of a camp's watch, so after some convincing, Tess was given first watch.

"Miri?" Tess whispered, looking around for her body-partner. There was some irksome feeling of jealousy that Miri could get in touch with Tess whenever she wanted, but not the other way around. She wondered if Miri felt the same way, about Tess' fortune of being the one to be seen and to interact with the world. Well, at least interact in a visible way. She still didn't understand how Miri could affect the world around them when she was just a prisoner of Tess' mind. Of their mind. She wasn't sure how to phrase it to be respectful to both of them.

A warm hand came to Tess' shoulder. There was a brief startle, but she turned to see Miri's face looking into her own. "You called?" The demoness whispered.

"I'm trying to puzzle this thing out," Tess explained, sitting cross-legged by the fire. The crackling and the distance should be enough so that Gwen wouldn't be able to hear her.

Miri looked uncertain, floating around to levitate in front of Tess, tapping her chin in thought. "Thing? You mean the inexplicable merger of our minds, bodies and souls into a single entity that can not only communicate to itself with two distinct personalities but has the power-..."

"Yes," Tess interrupted.

But Miri continued, "...to allow the unseen personality to still affect the world as though it were the physical body-..."

"Yes."

"But with a huge girlcock?" The demon said with a mischievous smile.

"Miri!" Tess whispered harshly.

"That thing?" Miri inquired, feigning curiosity.

"Yes," Tess confirmed, "That thing."

"Oh. Well, good luck."

"Miri, please." Tess said in an exhausted tone.

Miri let out a sigh and rolled onto her back. Well, as much as someone floating in the air could. She reclined and supported her head with her hands. "Tess, I'm not sure how I can help," the horned one replied with a lazy whine, "I could try to dig into your head to figure out more about you, but that seems quite invasive. Not to mention dangerous."

"I'm surprised you didn't make yourself at home already," Tess mused, to which Miri scoffed.

"I would never," Miri said with a wave of her hand, "I'm all about consent, darling."

Tess looked away from the fire to the darkness that stretched beyond. She could see lights up in the higher mountains. Gwen had said it was Hastenburgh up there, and that they would reach it tomorrow. They may have made it sooner if they weren't interrupted by the wolves, and slowed by their wounds. Tess was relieved to be done with the traveling soon.

"So you think we need to go to the Black Sun for answers?" Tess asked.

Miri nodded, "That I do, sweetness."

"And the only ones that do that are the Expeditionary Corps?"

"Among others, but that would be our easiest way."

Tess hummed in thought, "Alright. So we join the Corps."

"Babe, I'm sure you didn't need my help to puzzle that one out," Miri said with a little laugh. Tess rolled her eyes, and Miri asked a question of her own, "How much more time until we wake small, bright and beautiful?"

"Not sure," Tess said. Gwen had already said that the orbits of the moons were irregular due to the Black Sun's pull, and without some reference she had no means of knowing what time it was. "Maybe a couple hours?" Tess estimated.

Miri slipped through the air and ended up face-to-face with Tess, cupping Tess' cheeks in her warm palms. Tess went eyes wide as she stared into that gorgeous face Miri possessed. "Wanna fuck?" Miri proposed with a soft whisper.

"What?!" The word was too loud, Tess knew immediately, and the pair both waited in silence and stared at Gwendolyn's sleeping form to make sure she wasn't waking up. She didn't move, at least.

Miri broke the silence first, "Do you want to fuck? Easy question."

"Miri, we're the same person," Tess insisted, "Aren't we?"

"To others, maybe. But to us, we seem to be two pretty distinct halves, don't we? Besides, in the other case, how would it be any different from jerking yourself off?" Miri nudged Tess with the curve of one of her horns, "How about it?"

It isn't that Tess didn't want to. She wanted it. She very much wanted it. A part of it felt wrong, though, and she couldn't place exactly why. Was it too good to be true? Was there some downside to consorting with a literal demon? What would it look like if Gwen saw her? There were so many questions that Tess wanted to have answered before trying something like that.

Regardless, there was a lot less room in her pants than there was a second ago. Her cock swelled and filled with excitement, bunching up in her underwear and forcing her to shift and pull at her clothes.

"Miri.." Tess protested.

The demoness laughed, "Well, someone wants to, at least."

Tess could feel her willpower breaking down. The only thing that could go through her mind was just how amazing it had felt last time, and that was just with Miri's hand. Who knows what kind of pleasure she could experience being stuffed into Miri's pussy. The thought left her cock fully erect, showing through her pants as a bulging tube running down the inside of her thigh.

"Oh, come now, where was all of this hesitation last time?" Miri spoke so sweetly, "Tell you what, maybe we start small. How about another handjob? Wouldn't that feel nice?"

They'd already done that much, hadn't they? What's the harm in doing it again? On the scale of perversion, it wouldn't be going any further than she'd already gone, right? What's the harm?

"Yeah," Tess replied with a husky, distracted note, "It would."

"There we go, baby," Miri whispered, bringing a hand up Tess' thigh, just a hair's breadth from touching Tess' length through her trousers, "Can I touch it?"

"Yeah," Tess replied with a hazy look in her eyes.

"Do you want me to?" Miri purred, leaning in and nipping at Tess' ear. The sharp poke of fangs gave Tess a little jump, but it was ultimately pleasant.

"Yes," Tess affirmed once again.

"Yes, what?"

"Miri, please." Tess whined, arching her back and bringing her hips forward.

Miri kept her hand drawn back to keep any contact from happening until she got what she wanted, "Yes, what, Tess?"

"Please touch it," Tess started, her back arched sharply now, "Touch my cock. Make me cum."

Miri's hand laid down atop the bulge in Tess' pants and she purred, "You are just precious, Tess." Miri let out a warm breath along Tess' ear and assured her, "Right away, dear."

Chapter 9 - Spectator

"Uuhn~.."

The sound had been repeating for some time now, and it drew Gwendolyn from her rest. The moment her senses came to her, she knew what was going on. Really, again? She hadn't had many male traveling companions. How often do they need to even do that? She heard a repetitive, wet, slick sound mixed with Tess' little moans and whimpers.

Well, if Tess wasn't going to keep watch, Gwen might as well. She didn't want to interrupt Tess' moment of fun, of course, so she rolled over in her sleeping sack. For a time, she kept her eyes closed, and could hear the slick sound stop, and Tess' whimpers broke down into panting breaths. Gwen kept her eyes closed and did her best sleeping impression.

It was something that she was particularly skilled at. Growing up in the Mirabenise household meant following some strict rules and becoming really good at breaking them. Evading bedtime was a basic skill for any royal delinquent.

After a time, Gwendolyn opened her eyes, but the sight in front of her was nothing that she could've expected.

Tess was there, leaning back, legs splayed. Her face was a mask of pleasure; hips and thighs quivering with unabated excitement. The surprising element was the white-haired, horned woman with a small hand embracing Tess' cock, giving it swift, firm pumps from mid-length to tip. The whole shaft was coated in something shiny and slick.

Gwendolyn scrambled for her sword, causing Tess and the beast to gasp simultaneously. Broken steel drawn, Gwen spun around to face the threat.

"Gwen!" Tess blurted, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you!"

The demon looked surprised and remarked to Tess, "Oh, she's hot." It dawned on Gwendolyn that she was sleeping naked in her sleep sack, and now stood fully exposed. It was not the primary thought in her mind, though.

"What is that?!" Gwen snapped, pointing the end of her blade in the horned one's direction. Both it and Tess looked dumbfounded.

Tess' eyes were wide when she asked, "You can see her?"

"What the fuck is she, Tess?!"

"Oh my," Miri said, floating up into the air and crossing her arms underneath her barely-covered breasts, "This is getting interesting."

Tess held up a hand for Gwen to pause, "Just calm down, I can explain."

"You knew about this and said nothing?" Gwen asked, lips parted in surprise.

Tess held up her hands helplessly, "I didn't think you could see her. She's been with us the whole time, but you haven't said anything. I thought you'd think I was crazy."

"She has certainly not been here the whole time," Gwen insisted.

"She has," Tess replied, "I promise you, Gwen. Her name is Miri." She scrambled for answers, looking around, "Maybe it's to do with nighttime."

Miri's mouth makes a circular shape, "I wonder if it's to do with sex." The demon lets out a giggle, "Tess' horny cock makes me visible to others."

Both of the other girls turned to look at her with puzzled expressions.

"Just a guess." Miri shrugged.

"Gwen?" Tess asked.

Gwendolyn looked at her, and Tess gestured downward. Following her hands, Gwendolyn observed the hard length jutting up between Tess' legs. A slick liquid dribbled from the tip, running down the underside and over that tight sack that held those two hefty orbs. It throbbed. For the first time, Gwen was noticing just how pretty it looked. It was big and thick, yes, and masculine in that sense, but it was smooth and hairless, a pleasant, warm color, not an angry red or purple. It almost looked feminine, in a sense.

"I think she likes it," Miri hummed.

Gwen snapped toward Miri's direction, "You don't know anything."

Tess pleaded, "Gwen, can I finish what we started? Please?"

"Yes, but.." Gwen paused. Her head was full of thoughts, a braided rope of ideas that couldn't be untangled enough to focus on any particular one.

Miri quipped with a little giggle, "Maybe she wants to take over where I left off."

Gwendolyn's eyes shot daggers at Miri, but she couldn't find the heart to outright deny it. She came up with something just as good: an alternative. "I just need to make sure she's not going to kill you," Gwen insisted.

"That's okay," Tess replied hastily, "That's okay, I don't mind. Miri?" The poor woman looked desperate, her gaze toward the demoness conveying desperation.

"Well," Miri hummed, floating down toward Tess and positioning herself just in front of that 10-inch pillar of girlcock, "Don't mind if I do." She brings her hand back to Tess' length and smooths it along her shaft and that swollen head, collecting all of that clear liquid and using it as lubricant to spread around and make her pumps slick, smooth and wet. "Let me know if you want to take over, milady," Miri quipped toward Gwen.

"I'm not-.." Gwen managed to get out before she lost focus on her own words. Tess looked so happy, head rocked back, eyes closed, lip quivering. Miri was doing that. And on Miri's end, Gwen wondered what it must feel like to have that big, powerful dick in her palm. To feel it throbbing. To feel it swelling as Tess grew closer to orgasm.

When Gwen raised her eyes to see Tess' face again, she saw the woman looking right back at her. Or rather, at Gwen's body. Suddenly Gwendolyn felt exposed, but she made no move to get dressed or to cover herself. Miri's hand picked up pace, and from Gwen's perspective, she was squeezing firmer the closer her hand grew to the tip. When Miri's hand started pumping from the very base of that long shaft, the only comparison that Gwen could imagine was a proper milking.

Tess was still watching Gwen's body, too. Why was she doing that?

"Gwen..." Tess murmured huskily.

Gwen's voice caught in her throat, and Tess added, "Fuck-.. You're gorgeous."

"It's Gwendolyn," she managed to whisper, but there was no force or will behind the words. Was Tess thinking of her? "What are you doing?" Gwen gasped, just as weakly as before.

"I want to think of you," Tess asked, "I want to think it's you making me cum." Miri let out a wicked laugh, sounding all sorts of amused.

"You.." Gwen paused. She adjusted her footing, looking down at the length of her naked body, exposed for Tess to see.

Tess only nodded, lip pinched between pearly teeth, breath coming in needy huffs.

"Whatever you need to do," Gwen offered, turning a bit to the side and crossing her arms. What else was she supposed to do with them? She certainly wasn't going to pose. Or should she?

As if given permission, Tess gave out a soft cry. Gwen could only describe it as beautiful and sweet. A gentle, erotic note extended to Gwen in appreciation. Gwen looked over at Tess as Miri's hand went faster and faster.

"That's it, that's it-.." Miri encouraged, as a jet of cum shot from the end of Tess' cock.

Gwen was mesmerized, watching rope after rope of white cum fire into the air a few feet before mingling with the melting snow beside the fire. Tess bucked her hips, whining, whimpering, and gasping as each spurt of cream came out.

Eventually it slowed down in intensity, but lasted for quite a while as it began coming out in creamy swells and pouring over Miri's small hand. Tess was quivering by the end of it. Her eyes were lidded, her lips parted. She looked dizzy.

Gwen breathed a single word.

"Wow."

Chapter 10 - The Wanderer

To say the next day was awkward was an understatement. Gwendolyn didn't want to discuss anything that had happened the night before, so Tess was left with worries, questions and assumptions at best. She tried to focus instead on their journey.

According to Gwen, they should be arriving at Hastenburgh today. Tess only saw an enormous mountain jutting up from the ground ahead of them, and when she asked if Hastenburgh was at the base of it, Gwen insisted it was at the peak. Tess had no idea how this was going to work, then. The mountain looked as though it would require a week for even the most skilled climbers, and as far as she knew, there was no climbing equipment in Gwen's pack. There must be some other trick.

It revealed itself sooner, rather than later. At the base of the mountain, just behind a path that begins to scale its cliffs with numerous switchbacks, was a small town. It wasn't densely populated, as far as Tess could see. Just a few hovels were present, smoke pouring out of their chimneys to stave off the remaining cold. The people she saw roaming the streets were all garbed in yellow, wearing masks.

"Should I be worried?" Tess asked.

"No," Gwendolyn responded, "This is a Waypoint. The devout of the Wanderer maintain these as traveling hubs."

"The Wanderer?" Tess echoed. Gwen had been teaching her about the constellations in the sky, pointing them out here or there as they appeared. The Wanderer was one of them, responsible for all things regarding travel, uncertainty and adventure. It was one of Tess' favorites. "People worship the constellations?"

"Not usually, but these folk do," Gwendolyn explains, "They don't share much and they stick to themselves, but they lend their services to those willing to pay."

Up ahead, Tess could get a better view of these so-called devouts. Their masks were wooden, taller than their own faces, with odd, circular holes drilled into them that give room for the eyes and mouth. Lines of painting give these masks a tribal look to them. Each one seemed to have their own unique design. Other than that, they wear heavy, yellow robes that stand out against the white snow and conceal the devout from toe to tip, aside from their hands, which range from all of the typical colors one would expect of a human.

They passed through the town's only street. There was little there that wasn't a necessity. Tess could only describe it as ascetic; a living of deprivation. "What do they use the money for?" Tess asked.

Gwen just shrugged, "They don't tell, and we won't be asking." She gave Tess a stern look that implied it wasn't something to be tested. Tess never planned on asking anyway, but she registered the seriousness of their interactions with these devout of the Wanderer.

At the end of the street, closest to the base of the mountain path, was a platform guarded by two devouts with pole-arms. Glaives, if Tess had to put a name to them. The platform was intricately decorated, made of silver metals, with an inlay of three different colors--red, blue and yellow--in the pattern of three different constellations.

Tess immediately recognized the Wanderer as one of them, but the other two required some thinking. One of them must be the Archer. Or was it the Devil? The constellations for truth and lies, respectively, were difficult to tell apart aside from one difference. The anchoring star, that being the brightest star in the pattern, was different for the Archer and Devil, but the constellations were otherwise nearly identical.

The third constellation evaded her, however. It looked familiar, but Tess hadn't mastered everything Gwen had taught her yet, and due to the night sky's rotation, she hadn't seen all there was to see of the stars yet, either. Especially when there had been so many other distractions at night.

The jingling of a coin purse brought Tess' thoughts to the present. Gwen was sprinkling a few silver coins into one of the armed devout's outstretched hands. After Gwen ceased further payment, the devout pointed toward Tess.

Gwen shook her head and explained, "That is for her. I have a voucher from the Corps." She flashes a small piece of parchment to the devout, who examines it quickly, and then nods.

The pair of them are guided onto the circular platform, and Tess speaks softly to Gwendolyn, "I'll pay you back."

"I don't expect you to," Gwen responds, "Consider it a favor."

"One of many," Tess added.

Gwen cracked a smile and nodded. That was nice to see. She can usually be so stern. The warrior reached over and gave Tess a pat on the back. "Quiet now, and try not to vomit," Gwen requested.

Tess' eyes widened and her mouth opened to ask the obvious question, but she was immediately distracted by a shining light all around them, bursting upward from the glyph below. Tess felt her insides lift within her body, and her heels rose off of the floor, gently lifted by some unseen force. The light grew and grew until she felt that lift grow stronger, and she was suddenly flung into the air. The wind and noise vanished as the world was swept away from underneath her in the blink of an eye, until she was catapulted into the stars.

Flipping over and over herself, Tess slipped beyond the stars, beyond unknown planets and moons. She felt pulled in every direction at once and lost all sense of up and down. The lights around her stretched and bended as if seen through a lens. When she caught glimpses of her own body, she appeared stretched and smeared across the backdrop of stars. She tried screaming, but everything was silent save for the sound it made rattling around her own head.