Kiravi's Travelogue Ch. 13

Tukyo remained stiff, but the corners of his eyes quivered with thought, "Will knowing the source of our — your — pain make it any easier to avoid it?" When Kiravi neither flinched nor responded, Tukyo sighed and continued. "First, we are expected to starve. Thanks to you, all the tribes have avoided that for a few more weeks." His eyes flicked toward me, and I nodded my head slightly at the oblique compliment. "Then, we go out to the Great Hunt, facing waves and storms and beasts to fill our bellies and put more fat and meat on the men of Gavic. Then," he paused and glanced so quickly at the silvered sea stack that I almost missed the movement of his eyes, "With the whole nation and all of the tribes fed, with the land bent to the will of the Undying One and his Men, the festivals begin."

Tukyo's pause was too long, and not even Quiktu spoke to fill the uncomfortable pause. "What harm is there in a festival, grandfather?"

"Sometimes...none. Sometimes the Gavic mingle with us, feeding us, treating us as if we weren't lower than beasts. Other years, they grind us beneath their heels with some new depth of hatred. Either way, there are sacrifices at the conclusion of the festival, and then we are given our commands for the year and sent away from the coast."

Kiravi paused, nodding slowly, absorbing Tukyo's words. But he tensed and glared down at Tukyo once more, "What kind of sacrifices, honored grandfather?" His voice was suddenly smooth like the wool of a newborn vicuña. Altogether unbidden, my mind raced back to the sun-dried, mummified corpses the Old Nobles had left on the cliffs above the Seleyo.

"In...good years, the chieftains accept the blood of beasts. In bad years," he glanced again at the sea stack, eyes lingering long enough for Kiravi to notice. "The Undying One is hungrier. He will take his sacrifices from the tribes of non-Men if his hunger strikes him."

Kiravi's face, already drawn and hard, turned to stone. Ice curdled the molten heat in my veins and sent a spike of fear through my gut before it was overwhelmed by my sheer revulsion. Serina hissed inwardly, the sound almost smothering the tiny groan that escaped her lips.

"It is not enough that you threaten my mates with starvation and the fickle seas and beasts of your Great Hunt...we risk cold-blooded murder from the Undying One as well? Tell me plainly, Tukyo. For once, grandfather, speak the even truth."

Tukyo did not speak, nor did he meet Kiravi's eyes. He just clenched his jaw and stared out towards the crashing waves of the Choked Sea. What else could he do? With the Undying One watching our every move and breath within Gavic, what could any of us have done?

Kiravi's fists clenched white, "Godsdamn you, grandfather." Now it was my mage's turn to glance up at the sea stack, then the terraced cliffs, then back up the dark valley we'd just traversed. He reminded me of a trapped animal, ready to lash out at the first hunter that approached with lethal violence. "And not just this season, but every other year we stay in this place." He snarled and shut his eyes before jabbing a finger at Tukyo's chest, "Unless I change things for you."

"We have not struggled this far to die filling the bellies of those useless Men," I said, trying to focus the swirling anger on the things that mattered. "We're all one tribe now, aren't we? Or trying to be?" I glanced at Serina, Kiravi, and the embarrassed and defensive elders. "Aren't we?" Serina smiled nervously, and Tukyo regained some of the strength in his gaze. But I didn't look at Kiravi. He didn't want to be tied to these people, but he said nothing. That, at least, was something. "We will kill whatever waits for us in the Choked Sea, and we will survive what comes next. We must."

***

We worked all throughout the rest of the day, determining who would ride in each vessel, hardening the dike for any flood that could race down the river while we were afloat, and rendering whatever remaining food we had into travel rations for the other, still-weak tribes. Kiravi spent the afternoon and evening alone amongst the half-processed logs and timber he'd brought from the wooded bank. Normally, he would've spent his afternoon avoiding his mates and discussing who knows what with the elders, but now he only wanted to avoid everyone. The camp echoed to the endless rhythm of his hand-ax, pausing only when he broke a tool and fumbled about for another with a stream of foul curses.

Serina tended to sickly children and adults nursing chronic injuries, trying her best to prepare them for the trials ahead. She'd never quite been able to recreate the raw healing power she'd unleashed that bloody night in the Ketza, but I could practically feel the energy radiating off her as her small hands changed bandages and held the tiny hands of wide-eyed and sunken-faced children. I hoped there would be no need for us to see her powers again, but that's all it was. A hope.

So, like every other night since the argument in the mountains, we piled into a corner of one of the larger but half-demolished huts and under the blankets, but barely spoke. We certainly didn't hold each other. My anger, as it usually does, was fanning the heat of my desire, but Serina was too exhausted, and Kiravi too angry and lost in thought to give me the release I so desperately needed.

The camp settled into its muted, dim routine beneath the twin moons and the star-studded sky. Were the Huri gazing down at me, as I'd always been taught, seeking out the weak and the vulnerable for their evil? Were the gods silent here, or worse, was even a shred of the Undying One's power real? Was he watching us, me, as I ground my teeth in frustration so hard my skull ached?

I blinked. The stars already seemed to be dimming as morning threatened. Had I slept? Or just drifted in and out of fearful speculation.

I looked over at Kiravi, and a better part of my nature felt for his anger and anxiety all at once in a flutter of understanding. His brow was knotted even in his sleep, and he fidgeted every few breaths. Even though we'd fallen asleep separated by an arm's length, he'd managed to shuffle over to keep one burly arm against my side. I understood then, just a bit, his anger and hurt and fear. I felt some different versions of them, but I was determined to drag the Kroyu out of their threatened oblivion instead of just running. But he was mine and, to me, a part of the desperate Kroyu tribe that deserved life.

And so damned handsome, even dusty and dreary as he was.

I took one of those burly arms and pulled him towards me with it, eliciting a fussy groan from his lips. "Oh, be quiet, you beautiful fool," I murmured to him, the heat rising at me. Lust, anger, exhaustion, anxiety, understanding: they all swirled inside me, and I could think of only one way to quell them all quickly.

Staying under the patchy furs, I slid my leg over him and settled over his slowly rousing form, "Leotie?" He murmured but, as much as his face and voice showed tired confusion, his hands rose to my waist, and something else of his rose, too.

"Yes, it's me, useless man," I whispered back, and I reached down to help his cock grow to its full, intimidating size and out from under his breechcloth. Gods, the need in me was so intense my hand trembled like a shy virgin's.

As I stroked him, his hands left my waist and fumbled with my own garment, pulling it aside even though his eyes had yet to open. "I'm angry with you," he muttered and yawned, even as he pulled me down towards what we both wanted.

I moaned far louder and far more whorishly than I wanted when he slid inside of me, but I'd needed him for so long. "And I'm angry with you," I hissed back, but my voice quickly fell into a girlish whimper, "But I need you." He felt so amazing inside me, a perfect fit for the woman that still belonged to him no matter how angry we were at each other.

His eyes finally opened, and I nearly melted all at once at the unexpected vulnerability that I saw there. He was shaken by Tukyo's eventual admission, more than even I or Serina had been. I felt like Serina for a moment and stroked his face with one hand even as I wriggled my hips down onto him. "You know I need you too," he whispered and finally grabbed at my waist, just how I liked.

I felt a grin tease at the corners of my mouth before it spilled across my face, "So use me then. Take what you need from me."

No more words passed between us; there was no need. This was no apology, no admission of guilt or wrongness or failure. It was an admission, though, that we needed each other and that we belonged to each other. Perhaps those other words would come later, along with, I hoped, a rutting that would leave me walking sideways.

Despite his fatigue, Kiravi certainly did exactly what I needed from him, and got what he wanted from me. He only let me ride him for a few more moments before he growled up at me and clenched my waist so hard the pain of it nearly overwhelmed the surge of lust the act created. With me trapped in place, he pounded up into me, first with long and deep strokes, but moving quickly to relentless and frantic pumps of his hips.

Each stroke sent lightning through my nerves and a fresh surge of liquid heat through my womb. All I could do was hold tight to his powerful shoulders and hope my release came before his. All I wanted to do was hold on for dear life and let him rut me into sweet oblivion.

The slap of his hips against my pert ass would've echoed through the camp if not for the furs, but even still, it was loud enough in my ears that some part of my mind worried we'd wake the tribes. The rest of me — the far greater part of me — didn't care if the gods themselves heard. I'd needed Kiravi for so long, and I wanted him to show me and remind himself that I was his. If Serina woke up and got a glimpse, all the better.

He was pounding up into me so hard and fast that my breasts bounced painfully despite my bandeau. I let go of his shoulder with one hand to press them against my chest, but he wasn't having any of that. And I loved it.

With a sleepy growl, he pulled my hand away and yanked my bandeau down for good measure, letting my breasts bounce free into the steamy air between us. His mouth hungrily closed around a nipple, sending a fresh wave of pleasure through me. Held firmly in place by my brute of a man, I gave up on trying to support myself and just clutched onto the back of his head for dear life.

His pace grew wilder, but each stroke pounded into the very core of me. I moaned and whimpered, already feeling my release cresting in my gut, the heat churning and surging from my core to my curling toes and back again. Every scrap of anxiety, of anger, of doubt: it all disappeared under that frothing wave of lust.

I heard a soft coo and looked over to see Serina looking at us and smiling, and I exploded.

I buried my face in Kiravi's long black hair and wailed my release. Every muscle in my body clenched in painful ecstasy, and heat exploded in my womb. Kiravi burst in the next instant, growling into my breast and shuddering as he spilled his seed inside of me. Claiming me, all over again.

None of us spoke. We just listened to each other's panting breaths, basking in the feeling we'd all been missing. I nuzzled into Kiravi, and Serina gently brushed my hair and Kiravi's shoulder. I thought that they might rouse themselves to more, but both my mates were still exhausted and quickly drifted back to sleep. My mind, though, may have been quieter, but I knew there would be no chance of getting anything resembling sleep.

Exhausted but feeling at least slightly better, I rose and left Kiravi and Serina behind. Sunrise was still a way off, the light of the new day a mere glow behind the snowcaps of Yavlon. Niknik padded after me, yawning and stretching more than once before we even left the camp. Only a few others stirred, and those mostly from other tribes.

Most mornings, I meditated on the few rocks that protruded from the mudflats, but my strange mood and the muted cries of seabirds drew me south and west toward the coast. I picked my way along the few elevated paths, the breezes flowing down the valley whipping my half-braided hair all about my face. The cliffs above were silent but menacing, and the fragile-looking rope bridge leading out to the silvered longhouse creaked in the wind.

"They don't have any sentries," I murmured to myself, knowing Niknik would hear. "Not even for beasts coming to steal their food."

They are strong.

I snorted, "Only because they steal from the Kroyu. From us."

They don't fear anything. His voice was flat but raised slightly soon after. They only fear the Undying One. I grimaced, both from the insult that the Gavicans thought so little of the Kroyu hunters - and by extension, me - and from the thought that nothing was free from the Undying One's menacing pall.

All of us could only hope that Kiravi's theory, that there was no true Undying One, just a cabal of malicious sorcerers, was true.

We clambered up the rock pile that served to force the river in an arc due south before it emptied into the sea. The unpleasant stink of rotting flotsam wafted into our noses, and we spooked a handful of noisy seabirds roosting amongst the blackened stones. After I dispatched one with my sling, the others accepted their temporary eviction and settled down a few paces away.

"This will have to do, old friend," I murmured as I sat on the largest, flattest stone I could find. The rock pile dropped off steeply in front of us, ending in a tumble of stone and driftwood stacked on a narrow strip of sand. The coast arced almost due north from us, the surf riddled with sea stacks and foam-flecked rocks that broke the tide into swirling eddies and crashing breakers. Fog was starting to form amongst the rocks and islets, but I could still see the scores or even hundreds of larger islands that stretched out into the Choked Sea and faded in the dim distance.

Don't want to hunt out there. Niknik said with a chuff.

"I could leave you here?" I teased, though I mostly felt the same way.

Never. He grumbled.

"Enough," I shivered suddenly, feeling the cold dust in the air beginning to seep into my skin. I probably should've worn more than my bandeau and breechcloth, I thought, but put it out of my mind. I tried to clear my thoughts and focus on why I was there.

Clarity, though, was fleeting. My emotions were a current that refused to be controlled. Anger was still there. At Kiravi, for still wanting to run instead of aid the Kroyu. At the Kroyu elders for allowing this horror to continue for so long. At the Gavicans and their master for their monstrosity. Even at Serina, for focusing so much more on treating the suffering instead of preventing it.

Fear, too, tinged everything, though I wouldn't admit that to anyone but Niknik. Would we survive the festivals? Would we find a way to help the Kroyu? Gods, would I even last through this "Great Hunt" without being reduced to a sea-sick wreck?

My thoughts, and my abortive attempts at my morning ritual, were soon cut short by something else entirely. I had just begun to see Bones-in-Water's form when the clatter of rocks caught my attention. To the south, near where the rocky outcropping loomed over the river's mouth, two figures settled amongst the jumbled stones. They didn't seem to notice me as they sat and embraced each other.

They were obviously tribespeople, but not from the Kroyu, as I didn't recognize either of them. They were young adults, thin but energetic enough. Enough for me to know what they were doing almost immediately.

The woman looked to be full Bhakhuri, much like Moha. Her skin was a pale blue, while her hair was a richer hue, like the highest part of the sky at dusk. She was lithe and toned and dressed much as I was. Her companion had more human blood in him, but his skin was still yellowish, and his hair a golden blonde I'd never seen before.

They most certainly didn't see me perched on the rocks because the blue-hued woman quickly crawled onto her partner's lap and took his face in her hands. They kissed hungrily and desperately, their faint moans carrying all the way to where I sat. His hands roamed across her lean body, clutching her close, enveloping her like he'd never be able to experience each other ever again. She dug her fingers into his blonde shock of hair, clinging to him in the cold mist.

I was frozen, any sense of shame that I should have felt instantly buried beneath the strange mood I found myself in. The male tugged at her narrow bandeau, teasing the thongs open before ripping it away entirely. I could just barely hear her gasp and squeal of excitement and his muted laughter. Any thoughts of finishing my meditations were long gone, and Niknik groaned and flopped onto the rocks beside me.

The woman arched her back, small but pert breasts quivering in the cold air, and she pulled her mate's face in between them. Her bandeau gone, he busied himself with her loose breechcloth. It wasn't difficult for me to tell when he'd pulled it aside; she cried out into the morning, her shriek of pleasure echoing from the rocks.

The male's hands slid down to her thin, waifish waist, feverishly bouncing her up and down on his cock. I imagined what I couldn't see, that his manhood was thick and hard, touching every part of her clenching depths. My thoughts went back to Kiravi, imagining him and me atop the rocks, his length utterly filling me as I rode him and screamed into the dawn.

Instead, it was the blue woman who squealed, clinging to her mate, fingernails leaving lines across his back that turned orange in the growing dawn light. Instead of easing his partner down from her peak, he spun her around quickly and put her on all fours on a slab of dark stone. Tearing her breechcloth entirely away, he settled behind her and grabbed at her waist again. He smashed into her with a grunt and another yelp from her, and I could hear the wet, lustful slap of hips on hips echoing from the stones.

My thoughts wandered and, despite the slight release I'd just enjoyed, they went to Kiravi and Serina. We needed to come back together. It was how were strongest. Together was the only way we'd escape this place, forsaken by gods and Kwarzi both.

There was another scream, a panicked shout, and my eyes snapped open to see a shadow swooping toward the pair of lovers. One of those massive condors dove towards them, silver magic pouring from its eyes and screeching mouth. The male threw his arm up, trying to fend it away even as the lovers tripped and tumbled. The unnatural buzzard slammed into them like an unholy missile crashing into the stones. They didn't die right away, no. They died after they screamed in horror and despair, smashing into the rocks before joining the flotsam below.

I was up the instant the condor hit, fitting a stone into my sling. It whirled around once, twice, gaining lethal force. I would avenge my cousins; there was no other thought in my mind but bloody vengeance. The Undying One would hurt, because of me.

A strong hand slapped the sling away, and another wrapped tight around my waist even as I surged forward. The first hand clapped over my mouth just before a yipping cry of rage bubbled up from my throat.

"Do not move." Moha's voice was quiet and level in my ear. "Do not look at it."

Every fiber of my body tensed with volcanic hate, but one single glance at the condor was like jumping into a half-frozen river. It preened and squawked as it peered down the rocks at its victims. Then, just before I was able to tear my eyes away, that revolting head twisted towards me. Nausea pounded through my guts, down to my toes, ricocheting inside my skull. We were ants before an angry, vicious child.