Percussion

The center of town wasn't far from where her hut was located, and already she could hear the boisterous chattering of the excited villagers. There were too many huts in her line of vision, but she could see the great fire glowing above them, and she figured that it must have been close to midnight.

Penny hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, but the real reason why she didn't want to attend the ceremony was because the idea frightened her. She'd never been superstitious, but there was a certain foreboding that she felt every time someone mentioned the Rizm, and she hated the fact that she couldn't explain why she felt that way. She scurried back inside with the basin in tow and entered her hut with a sigh of relief.

"They don't need the likes of me there," she reassured herself as she lit a candle.

The evening was warm, and she'd taken to sleeping in a long, sheer gown that went down to her knees. The garment was made of some sort of silk, and she'd traded for it several weeks prior because she hadn't brought any decent sleeping apparel. She gathered the material up around her legs and sat beneath the candle as she cracked open a book.

Penny tried to concentrate on reading, but the outside atmosphere was pervasive and disturbingly quiet. The sounds of people talking outside of her tent could no longer be heard, and not even the chittering of insects or animals was present. Even though the evening was warm, she brought a blanket around her knees and shivered. She felt as if she were being watched, but she dismissed the idea as she huddled closer to her book. There was no denying that something about the night was different, but she refused to feed into superstitions as she staunchly clutched her book.

Midnight struck, and with it, a single, solitary drum sounded hollowly in the night. Penny flinched as the deep, bassy tone echoed throughout the village, somehow penetrating through the myriad of huts and into her ears. She frowned as she focused on the sound; it felt lonely and achingly beautiful. She remembered that there were a hundred drummers, and she wondered suddenly why she had been so adamantly against attending the ceremony.

It's not too late to go, A small voice inside of her told her quietly. She shook her head, however, and took a deep breath.

The second drum began a moment later, playing seamlessly into the first. Penny stared at her book intently, forcing herself to concentrate on the words as the sound permeated her tent.

Several minutes later, she could barely distinguish how many drums were playing as she set her book down and listened intently. The seemingly random sounds were beginning to come together to make a clear, decisive beat. With every minute that passed, it was as if a large puzzle was being pieced together, and though the music had scarcely begun, Penny found herself admiring the composer.

Thirty minutes into the ceremony, Penny set her book down and resigned herself to listening. A beautiful, slow melody was being played, and though there were no words she felt as if the meaning of the music was being conveyed as clearly as a well written novel. The beat was haunting and honest, and it reminded her of feelings that she suppressed every time they surfaced.

She thought of her ex fiancee and how he'd rejected her. It was not a pleasant thought, and though she'd told herself a thousand times that she was better off without such a man she secretly blamed herself. She knew that there was nothing she could have done to stop him from leaving, but she'd also hated herself for letting him without telling her how she felt.

As the drums played on, Penny began to cry. She didn't know why, exactly, but before she realized what was happening she could feel the hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What's wrong with me?" She pulled off her glasses and chastised herself softly as she wiped the lenses with the hem of her gown. She took a deep breath and shook her head as she drew her index beneath her eye and flipped a tear away.

The music intensified slightly as the melody built up. Not even fifty of the hundred drummers were playing, but Penny was already wondering how she was going to survive the night.

"I should have told him...I shouldn't have let him trample all over me..." she whispered to herself as she hung her head with regret. "I was ready to give him everything... but all he could see was the one thing I couldn't give him," she said bitterly as she clenched her fist. "I should have..."

She stopped suddenly as she heard a shuffling at the entrance of her tent. A chill ran down her spine as she stood, not because she thought that a stranger was entering, but because she already knew who it was.

Trenton poked his head in slowly before he halfheartedly raised his hand at her in the dim candlelight.

She wondered how she knew that he would come to her, but then, who else would enter her tent in the middle of the night? There was more to it than that, but she was unable to face the mysterious force of the drums without losing her cool and she didn't dwell on it.

"Trenton... What's wrong?" She mouthed to him with concern as she saw his features. The young man looked haggard and lost, and it was clear by his streaked cheeks that he too had been crying. He was only wearing pants, and had no shirt on, which made her think that he really might have just wandered out.

The music... he signed as if he were on in daze, I can hear it...

Penny's eyes widened, How?

Trenton shook his head, It's reverberating inside of me...I can feel it...

An overwhelming wave of compassion washed over her as she took a step closer to him, "And it's talking to you?"

He looked at her with anguish and relief, I know it's crazy...

"What is it telling you to do?" She breathed, mouthing the words carefully.

He gave her a long, steady look before stepping closer to her.

She gazed into his eyes as brazenly as she could. In that moment, both of them knew what was going to happen. She couldn't stop it, didn't want to, in fact, and as he drew closer to her she met him halfway.

The first kiss they shared was soft and sensual. Penny listened to the drums as she closed her eyes and opened her mouth for him. The music was tremulous and fragile, and she could feel her heart swelling as it brimmed up inside if her.

Trenton wrapped his arms around his survey partner and kissed her harder. He couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted anything so badly, and the closeness of her was stark compared to the loneliness and isolation he had become accustomed to.

Penny broke the kiss and took a deep breath, "We should..."

Trenton shook his head and traced a finger over her lips. Just his touch was enough to thrill her senses and she shuddered as he moved behind her.

She gasped as he swept aside her short hair and kissed her neck. Then, before she could take another breath, she felt his arms around her. His face was right beside hers, and the feeling of his warmth permeated her as she heard him whisper, "Penny..."

It was the first time she's ever heard him speak. It was a small sound, barely loud enough for her to hear, but the desperation in his tone conveyed everything she needed to know. She tilted her head back and bared her shoulder for him, and she swallowed hard as she felt his lips on her.

The drums played on as Penny cried anew, but this time, her tears were shed for an entirely different reason. Trenton bit into her skin gently, nibbling at her ears and pressing his face into her. She could feel his tears falling on her gown as he cried alongside her, and her chest began to heave as she leaned back into him.

He tasted her skin languidly, allowing his lips to brush against her softness as he gave in to the power that he'd been fighting since the beginning. It wasn't lust that drove him, but a pervasive need to fulfill his partner with the kind of love she'd been denied. He wanted to tell her that he'd fallen in love with her almost immediately, but he was afraid of his own voice, of the way he might sound to her. The night had led him to her, oprosssive in its purpose and urgency, and now that she was in his arms he could think of nothing else but pouring himself into her.

Penny closed her eyes and trembled as every nerve in her body spiked hotly. It had been too long, not just physically, but emotionally as well, and her reason seemed to melt along with her shyness. She reached up behind her and grabbed his neck, pulling him harder down onto her, willing him to take her completely.

Trenton did. He dipped his tongue over her earlobe before suckling on it, then he ran his hands over her body slowly and deliberately, drinking in her heat through the thin material. His fingers slipped over her hips, running up her sides, then around her breasts. Her nipples peaked through the gown, hard and sensitive, and he played his palms over them slowly as he continued to ravish her.

"Oh..." Penny gasped as her mouth fell open. Her long neglected body protested as she felt herself become wet, and her need for release was suddenly unbearable.

As if Trenton had sensed her need, he turned her gently as kissed her fully on the lips once more.

Penny jolted as their tongues touched. The drums echoed throughout her tent as she struggled to keep from crying out. Trenton was treating her in a way that no one ever had, and the contrast between his closeness and the loneliness she'd been feeling only moments before was too extreme.

He tore himself away from her suddenly, his eyes full of hunger as he looked down at her. Penny nodded once, meeting his gaze with equal eagerness as he reached out to her and took hold of her glasses. With a fluid motion, he slid them off of her face and tossed them aside before he took hold of her waist and kissed her once more.

She didn't know how she knew, but as the drums rang in her ears, Penny raised her arms as her new lover kissed her. Just as she did, Trenton grabbed up her gown at her waist and began to lift it over her body as he stepped away from her slightly.

The sheer material seemed to glow in the candlelight as every inch of Penny's skin was revealed. She turned her head as he undressed her, and within seconds she was completely naked. The warm night air whipped around her heated body as the wind crept in through the tent flap, and Trenton stood back for a long moment and looked at her as she blushed up at him.

The deaf man had told himself so many times that he was fine with the way things had turned out. Before he'd lost his hearing, he thought he was in love, but he realized afterwards that he'd never really known what love was.

It had been different with Penny. Between her willingness to sign and speak to him normally, he'd regained a portion of himself that he'd lost after his accident. She didn't treat him any differently than she treated anyone else, and she'd brought peace and normalcy to his life that he'd been convinced he would never have again.

For Trenton, the drums were just as different as she was. He couldn't hear the music, exactly, but he could feel it tolling through him like a well timed bell. The bass washed over him, expelling any doubts he might have about himself.

He sighed sharply as he shook his head and admired her. He wouldn't be able to hear her cries, but he needed to make her scream. He needed to give her something that she'd never experienced, and in that moment, there was nothing else he could have otherwise done as he moved toward her.

Penny cried out as he swept her into his arms. Before she knew what was happening, he was laying her down on her cot and his mouth was on her, kissing her everywhere. Her confusion turned to gasping as she felt his lips on her breasts and stomach. He bit each of her nipples gently, and her eyes widened as she threw her arms down to her sides, "Yes..." she murmured to him as she laid her head back, "Please..."

Trenton lost himself in the taste of her skin as he slid down her body and kissed her thighs. The smell of her sex made him growl as he forced his face between her legs, and he reached out with his hands and laced his fingers into hers.

"N, no!" Penny howled as she felt his tongue on her. Her mind exploded into a million tiny fragments as the aching finally came to an end. It was replaced by a blinding, terrifying pleasure that plummeted her into the sound of the rizm as it picked up its tempo.

She could no longer hold her screams in as she felt his tongue inside of her. Her face felt hot and wet: she was crying again. Everything she'd been worrying about fled from her consciousness and only pleasure remained.

It wasn't just pleasure, it was acceptance. She knew that the man who had left her had never really loved her, but Trenton... She could feel Trenton's finger's tightening around her own as she arched her back, and she spread her legs open more widely. She gasped loudly as his tongue rolled and lapped over her repeatedly, and she tasted the salt of her own tears as her mouth fell open.

He could remember nothing as he moved his mouth over her. The music buzzed through him, controlling every movement of his tongue as he lashed into her. It was becoming faster, and he matched it's pace, releasing his hands from hers as he allowed them to wander over her prostrate body.

Penny began to tremble as something vengeful rose up within her. The rizm pounded in her head as Trenton moved his tongue over the same damned, wonderful spot over and over again. His fingers flipped and pinched her hard nipples, and she cried out as she tried to control her writhing body, "T, Trenton!" she shouted his name as her trembling increased, and her hands shot down to his head where she wove her fingers into his hair.

He held her waist as she writhed over him. He relished the feeling of her hands pulling his hair roughly, and though he couldn't hear her, he knew that she climaxing.

The taste of her was burned into his mouth, and he sat up suddenly and clawed at his waistband wildly, unable to keep himself from her for another moment.

Penny trembled as the unforgiving climax continued to assault her. She couldn't tell if her eyes were closed or not, but all she could see were bright stars dazzling her vision. Before she could even come down from it, she felt Trenton grabbing her ankles and flipping her legs up, "Trento... ah!"

Then there was only heat and pressure as the world stopped for both of them. It had never felt so good, and Penny wondered distantly if she'd ever really had sex as he began to move inside of her.

Trenton pressed the side of his face into Penny's ankle as he gasped. Her heat and pressure collapsed around his mind as he buried himself deep inside of her, and he rocked into her steadily along with the pulsing bass, unable to hold himself back any longer.

Penny moaned wantonly as she closed her eyes tightly and tossed her head. Trenton was stretching her out all at once, filling and fulfilling her to a point that was almost painful. Even so, the borderline pain was exquisite, and she leaned her legs back even further towards her body as she gasped.

The desperate archeologist didn't know how many minutes or seconds passed as he took his lover, but he could feel the drums of the rizm beginning to beat faster and louder. He was pushing himself as deeply inside of Penny as he could, all the way to the hilt, and she was becoming even tighter around him. There was nothing he could do as he felt the torrent of heat burning up from inside of him; nothing but to move faster and harder. He groaned as he clutched her legs closer and slammed himself into her, and he glanced down at her as he felt himself reach the place of no return.

In the candlelight, her mouth was open and her eyes were shut tightly, and her face was so beautiful. He remembered how'd they'd talked the morning before; it had seemed like only a few hours since then, but now she was completely exposed and he was inside of her... it was too much to bear.

Penny heard Trenton cry out loudly before she felt the flood of his release. She could feel him hugging her legs to him as he shook, like she was some sort of salvation, and she wanted very much to give him anything he needed from her. She was already so close to another climax, and as she felt his heat filling her up, so too did she hear the crescendo of the drums. Somehow they were growing even louder and faster, and her appetite for him was increasing along with it.

Trenton was barely recovering from the most dizzying climax of his life when he felt Penny drawing back. Second later, she was on her knees, pressing her hands against his bare chest and looking up at him with an animal tenderness. He made a move to kiss her, but she pushed him back and began to kiss his body, and he sighed heavily as he felt her teeth on his skin.

Penny straddled him as he moved his knees upward, and she reached between his legs as she positioned herself above him. He was slick and warm around her hand, and he hadn't lost hardness in the least. She lowered herself down into him with a long, drawn out sigh before she leaned forward and began to rock.

Trenton moaned loudly as she moved over him. He reached out to her and caressed her as she moved faster, and soon he was scarcely able to keep his eyes open because the pleasure she was bringing him was so intense.

Penny leaned forward and continued to rock her hips as she kissed Trenton. The drums, or the rizm, whatever it was, was taking her over completely, and she wanted it to.

He felt her tongue on his for the second time and everything around him dissolved. He grabbed her waist roughly and lifted her slightly as he moved his legs in, and soon he was cradling her on top of him in a sitting position, her legs wrapped around his backside. He could feel her hands all over his back as they kissed; he could feel her nails digging into him as she lost her mind even further, and he was lost it along with her as he began to move inside of her once more.

The drums played on as the two lovers clashed, and for just a little while, time stopped completely for them.

"So, you're ready to move on home then?" The old woman regarded the younger with an even tone.

Penny nodded with a sad smile, "Yes. Trenton and I have concluded that we have enough material to build our presentation. Honestly, I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here; it's been a real privilege."

"Bah," Hanma laughed as she threw out her hand, "It's fun when outsiders visit, and it reminds me of why I'm glad that I don't live among the rest of the world," she added. "Oh, I forgot to ask you: how did the rizm treat you?"

It had been three days since the night the drums played, but Penny was unable to hide her reddening cheeks or her smile, "It was... interesting."

"Interesting, huh? How did your partner take it?" She asked with a persistent smile.

Penny's cheeks reddened even more, "He told me that he could feel the music. It was quite, um... an emotional experience."

"I'm sure it was. You must have had a wonderful time."

Penny's eyes widened and she looked away and coughed.

Hanma laughed loudly, "I'm sorry, I am too cruel to you! Take the useless trinkets you found and go get your slice of paper!" She leaned back in her seat and nodded slowly, "And tell that young man I said congratulations; you two make a wonderful couple and I wish you all the best."

Penny pressed her lips together before she was forced to laugh out of exasperation. There was no point in hiding it: everyone in the village knew that they were officially an item. "Thank you," Penny bowed a bit to hide her embarrassment before turning away.