O Pale Moon

Shona squeezed Maeve's hands before raising them to her lips. "And I love you, so much, and want you... now."

Maeve stood and with one swift movement stripped her sole garment to reveal her nude body to the younger woman. Shona gasped with delight. Her lover's breasts were round and full, tipped with long, pink nipples and puffy, darker-coloured areolas. Her thick pubic bush and the clusters of hair beneath her arms were of the same silver-white as the hair on her head.

Shona crawled forward on her knees to bury her face in that inviting bush. Kissing and parting Maeve's labia, she inhaled and raising a rapt face to her lover said: "Now I can never forget your scent. It will be with me forever." She allowed her tongue to slide between those inviting lips, gently licking at the clitoris hood which was larger than her own.

Maeve reached down to lift the girl to her feet. "Now let me see your body," she said.

Shona had always thought she would be shy to reveal her nakedness but now she was driven by an urge to display herself, most likely because her sole witness was her beloved Maeve. Shedding her clothing, Shona revealed a slim body with small breasts and stubby brown nipples with sparser body-hair of a slightly darker shade of rich copper. Maeve wrapped Shona in her arms, pouring kiss after fiery kiss on her face and neck. She bore the girl to the ground and lay atop her, rubbing their mounds together. Instinct drove Shona to wrap her legs around Maeve's and strain upwards to enhance the pleasure she was feeling. At last, and with joyful cries, they climaxed together.

Shona looked with wonder at Maeve. "Is it always like that?" she asked.

Maeve nodded, delighted that she had pleased her virgin lover. "It can be," she replied, "with the right partner it can be. And I think that we have each found the right person." She took Shona's hand and guided it between her legs. "Slide two fingers inside me," she instructed, "and I will do the same with you."

Shona did as bid and was surprised at how wet and slippery Maeve was. She mentioned this and the woman said: "You too, sweetheart." She withdrew glistening fingers for a moment and showed them to Shona. "It's a sign that we want one another so much."

Shona closed her eyes, snuggling close to Maeve, and the two lay there on the soft sward, each playing gently with the other's vagina. Then Shona became aware of a chittering and babbling above their heads. She opened her eyes to see a horde of small flying creatures hovering over them, too many to take count of.

Maeve looked up too then laughed. "It's the fae, the little people. See, we have excited them." And it was true enough. The naked fairies were combining in a multitude of sexual activities, so many that Shona found it dizzying.

Maeve turned Shona's head and kissed the girl deeply. "Let's join them," she said, "why should they have all the pleasure..."

* * * * *

It was said that the new religion harshly condemned such relationships as theirs but for the moment their priests ruled only in small enclaves far to the east, near to the narrow water beyond which were the lands of the Cymraeg in their tongue [the Welsh] and na Breatnaigh [the Britons]. It was unlikely, too, that they would encounter the ciaróea for it was their earnest belief that were-beasts, leprechauns, the fae and others of that ilk did not exist. Perhaps their hope was that they could wish the ancient races out of existence. The older people of the land knew better but soon learned to hold their tongues in the face of the terrible eternal punishments threatened by the priests. The foreigners came preaching that their new religion was one of love and hope and then offered nothing but everlasting agony and damnation to those who doubted their words.

"If only I had the power to change at will as you can rather than rely on the full moon," Shona sighed some months later at one of their meetings, "Then we could be together as the old gods intended, far from here."

"Never mind, sweetling," said Maeve, "your time is not far off."

The education of ciaróea young into their heritage, ordained by the gods, followed a set pattern which was simple enough and Shona's initiation was no different. On the seventh anniversary of her birth, Darragh and Keri, her mother, took her into the deep forest where none but other ciaróea were likely to encounter them and there, before her fascinated eyes, assumed the shapes of wolves. Once they resumed their human shapes, Keri told her daughter: "This is how it shall be for you, child, when you are grown. Over the years until then, you must learn to control the savage instincts that lie within. While wolves are mighty hunters, so it be for the ciaróea. However, the gods have placed a heavy geas upon us that we must not hunt nor harm the human people we so much resemble."

There was a full moon very close to Shona's fourteenth birthday and once more Darragh and Keri took her into the deep forest and under the light of that moon Shona made her first change. It was both harder and easier than she had expected, harder in the momentary agony as her human frame transformed itself into the shape of the beast, easier in that it lasted no more than a minute or two. Instantly for Shona the night changed from semi-darkness into a near dawning and her hearing was greatly enhanced, even to being aware of insects crawling upon and under the ground. The air was filled with a medley of new and exotic scents and she was suddenly filled with the urge to run. Shona's blood seemed to sing in her veins and she had never felt so alive. Her parents fell in beside her to control her, staying with her until the night had ended and the wolf within faded back to its daytime humanity.

"In seven years' time, daughter, you will be able to change at will," explained Darragh, "Until then you must rely on the three nights of power at the time of the full moon. Unlike when you attain full powers, the change during this time will be involuntary. You must also accept that when changed, Keri and I will be with you at all times until you have mastered the instincts of the wolf."

There was also a prayer to be learned, a prayer to the gods and the full moon. It began: "O ghealach bhán...O pale moon..."

And so another seven years had passed and within days, the first day of November, Shona would attain her full place among the ciaróea.

"Be cheerful, little one," Maeve told her, "only a few more days until you reach the age of twenty-one and then you can bathe your body in fresh spring water under the moon's light and receive all your powers from the gods." The smile left her face and voice. "You are sure that none in your pack suspect us?"

Shona shook her head. "I always bathe in the stream and anoint myself with the herbs that you showed me to disguise your scent."

There was an uneasy alliance between Darragh and Ciar, the Alpha. Ciar tended to allow his inner wolf to rule him and there were many in the pack who believed that Darragh would be a superior Alpha. Darragh, although questioning of aspects of Ciar's leadership, had taken an oath of loyalty which he would not betray.

Satisfied now that Shona took all possible care, Maeve seized her younger lover's hand. "Let's go to our secret place then."

As always, once inside their hideaway the two women removed their gowns leaving them quite naked. Shona never failed to thrill at the sight of Maeve's body and the two would make love for hours, often into twilight.

* * * * *

As always, Maeve had offered to escort Shona to her home. As always Shona refused. She knew the forest well and did not wish to put her lover in any kind of danger. Like most ciaróea villages, they lived under an enchantment that compelled humans to avoid the place. Any man approaching the village would immediately and inexplicably realise that they had taken a wrong path and change direction. It followed that if any stranger was seen in a village, they had penetrated the enchantment and would be identified as a shape-shifter, a potential enemy.

At their latest meeting, the lovers had parted early. There had been a bitter driving wind all day, almost a gale, and now a rainstorm began, spiked needles of ice-cold water penetrating Shona's cloak and dress until she was sodden. Now more than ever she envied the power to change at will---as a wolf, she could shake herself almost dry before settling at the turf-fire and bask in its embers. Oh, she could still bask but only after Keri had stripped her bare and roughly rubbed her down with coarse sacking until her body glowed. She could not make up her mind. Perhaps it was better than wolf-form when her damp fur would steam for an hour or more.

The driving rain was aslant now, slashing at Shona's face until she was forced to bend near double to escape the worst of it. Thus she entered the village and almost immediately collided with another.

"Beware you clumsy child, take care," grated a harsh voice and recognising the tones as those of Ciar, the pack Alpha, Shona flinched, feeling a pang of fear. In human form, Ciar was huge and habitually clad in a shaggy black wolf-skin, a gigantic creature he was said to have killed himself with his bare hands. In the ancient tongue Ciar's name meant 'The Dark One' and he was surely darker than dark by nature. A very few in the forest pack's village did not fear Ciar, Darragh among them, but even they trod warily around him, uncertain and vicious as his temperament was. Shona's chin was seized roughly and her head tilted back. "Let's see who has the audacity to run so rudely into her leader. Huh, in this rain I can see little."

Taking Shona's arm in an unbreakable grip, he hustled the helpless girl into a pool of light shed by one of the nearby cottages, ungently turning her head to revel her face. "Ah, you're Shona, are you not, Darragh's whelp?" Ciar's yellow eyes narrowed and his craggy scarred face twisted in a grimace. Even in human shape there was something wolfish in those features There was a brief second when the wolf proper almost showed through then subsided. "You have grown into a great beauty, Shona, Darragh's daughter, even in this pouring rain that is obvious." The Alpha thrust her away from him. "Better hurry back to your cottage. I'm sure that we will meet again---perhaps sooner than you might think." As Shona ran to her home, she could feel Ciar's piercing gaze. She glanced back to see that he was still watching her. A few more days only and then she would be able to run with her love, Maeve, and hope to evade the attentions of Ciar until she was out of his territory and beyond his reach.

The following morning Darragh was summoned to meet with Ciar and there was an unaccustomed silence at supper that evening. It was obvious that Darragh had something serious in mind. He constantly gazed from Keri, his wife and Shona's mother, to Shona herself. Several times he seemed about to speak, first glancing at Keri as if to seek approval. In turn, Keri appeared to give a slight shrug. Shona was the first to speak.

"What ails you, father, mother? Is it something to do with me?" Had they somehow found out about her and Maeve?

"Yes, daughter," said Darragh at last, "it is to do with you. I have received a mating request for your hand." Most parents were filled with pride at their children's first mating request. Shona's were obviously ill-at-ease.

Shona looked from one to the other. "I am not ready to mate," she said, "nor do I have any desire to mate. Who has requested this?" The thought of any male covering her repulsed Shona. The thought of any male being able to give her the pleasure that Maeve did was laughable. It had to be one of the pack's immature males. "Who has requested this?" she repeated.

Her father's discomfort seemed to increase and he took a gulp of ale before replying. "It's Ciar," he said.

"Ciar? For one of his sons?"

"No, for himself."

"What? Ciar? For himself?" Shona was aghast "He's old!" the girl cried, "And he's said to be a brute within his household. His last mates have all died and none could explain why save for ill-usage. Even the most courageous of pack members tread warily around him."

"It's a very great honour to be asked," Darragh said, not sounding particularly honoured. "Ciar is the pack's Alpha."

"I will die before submitting myself to such a monster," vowed Shona. Leaping up from the board, she cried out: "I already have a lover who is worth a thousand-fold of Ciar!" Horrified, she realised what she had confessed and clapped hands to her mouth. Too late. Her parents looked at each other and Shona thought that they nodded as if they had suspected but taken no action against.

"This lover," said Darragh, "is he human?"

"No."

"At least we don't have to worry about that," Keri observed, "so, he is of this pack?"

Shona shook her head. "The hillside pack."

"Ah, now we begin to tread in dangerous waters," said Darragh, "I for one would have no objection. You know I have long thought our packs would be better in alliance should humans ever decide to ignore The Pact. There are others, however, others within the pack who would take strongly against you. It is serious, this business of your lover?"

"More serious than I can tell you, father."

"As long as your lover is willing, I think it would be best for you to leave this place and find sanctuary elsewhere. It will soon be the eve of Samhain---that will be as good a time as any for you to depart. You have faith in this lover?"

"Yes, father."

Darragh nodded as he rose from his seat. Before donning his cloak, he took a large hunting-knife that he concealed in the back of his belt. "I will take your answer to Ciar now, hoping that he is willing to listen reasonably. However..." he patted the knife "...there is no harm in taking precautions."

But Darragh seemed puzzled when he returned to the cottage. "Ciar took it well," he told his wife and daughter, "Almost as if he expected a refusal."

"Then all is well," said a relieved Shona.

"I fear not," replied her father, "I know Ciar too well and I do not trust him. When away from home, daughter, take the greatest of care in all that you do."

* * * * *

It didn't take long for Shona to realise how right her father was. Ciar approached her in the village square the following morning and whispered. To the others around it would appear that he was just having a friendly word. What he whispered, though, was far from friendly.

"None turn me down, girl, none!" he hissed, "I will give you a few days to change your mind. If you still refuse to mate with me, then you die."

Shona did not tell Darragh of this threat. She did not wish to put her father's life in peril. She did tell Maeve at their next meeting. "Then we must be prepared to flee," said the older woman, "On the eve of Samhain, while others are feasting, we will make our escape. Meet me in the clearing where you gather mushrooms, we will decide then which path to take. Now come to my arms, sweetheart Shona, and let us forget Ciar and his threats for the moment."

Shona always felt safe when meeting with Maeve. None but they could enter the enchanted glade. Furthermore, Maeve had entreated the little people to protect Shona on her way home through the forest and the fairies had granted this wish. There had been a price to pay, one which cost Maeve little and which the fae treasured---they asked for a length of the woman's silver-white hair to fashion into cloaks.

Despite this protection, Shona was sure that in the several nights leading up to Samhain she was followed from the forest. There was nothing specific she could point to, just odd sounds, unnatural sounds, whispers on the breeze. She would stop to listen, the other---if there was another---would stop too. Detecting nothing, Shona would continue and moments later the apparent stalker would resume. Each night, as she entered the village square, she would stop and look behind. She could see nothing.

Until the last night, the night before Samhain's eve. The day and evening had been heavily overcast and when Shona cast her backwards look, it seemed that there might be something against the edge of the forest, something huge, something hunched, a shadow upon a shadow. As the girl peered hard, hoping to see more, there was a sudden and momentary split in the clouds and the moon shone through briefly, lighting up the ferocious countenance of Ciar...

* * * * *

On the eve of Samhain the skies were clear, a relief after the few previous nights, and Shona hurried through the forest, nimbly avoiding the obstacles that made the path treacherous in the darkness. Thankfully she had the wolf's more powerful eyesight. At last the clearing lay before her and she could see Maeve waiting on the far side. She dashed forward to be clasped in her lover's arms once more. "We are safe."

"I fear not," replied Maeve, sniffing the air, "Someone approaches and I sense evil."

Shona concentrated on the night. Although her hearing was not yet as acute as Maeve's... Yes, there it was... someone moving towards them but stealthily. Both girls stared into night to see their stalker step into the glade.

It was Ciar.

The Alpha was clad in his heavy, black wolf-skin cloak and little else as far as they could see. Although still in human shape, his face appeared to be morphing into a lupine guise, his lips turned back in a snarl that revealed huge yellow fangs. A low growl came from his throat but then he relaxed and his features resumed a wholly human appearance, although scarred and brutal as always.

"I told you to accept me as your mate or die," he rasped.

"I would sooner die than mate with the likes of you," spat Shona with a bravado she did not feel.

Ciar turned his gaze towards Maeve. "Not only do you reject me, me Ciar! but you would choose in my place an unnatural form of mating."

Maeve returned his glare. "You consider your form of mating to be natural when all of your mates are said to have died in terror at your ill-usage?"

"I will offer you a final chance, Shona." His face once more began to assume the muzzle of a wolf and saliva dripped from the fangs. "Come with me now and I will spare your lover, as the gods witness me. That or you both die and your deaths will not be pleasant."

Shona whispered hastily to Maeve. "I will go with him. I cannot allow you to die to save me."

"We live or die together," answered Maeve, "Do you really believe that he'd keep his word? The moment you went to him he would attack me." She stepped in front of Shona and changed. Now the white wolf, ready for combat, stood between Shona and Ciar.

The Alpha gave a great bark of harsh laughter. "You truly believe that you can best me, girl? You have courage, I will give you that, but to no avail." He underwent the change. Before them now stood a giant of a black wolf, at least twice the size of Maeve. A dark tongue lapped at his yellowed fangs spraying saliva, and then Ciar leapt...

..and screamed as he crashed to the ground, the wolf transforming as his body once more became human. His yellow eyes glared hatred as his fingers scrabbled at the ground, trying to rise, and then the light faded and Ciar stilled in death.

Two quarrels, one in his throat, the other in his chest, transfixed the monster.

Maeve returned to human shape to put a protective arm about Shona as Darragh and Keri came into the clearing, each one armed with a crossbow. They rushed to their daughter and hugged her. "You are free," Keri told her.

"But... but... how are you here?" Shona asked.