Radiance Ch. 23

Chapter 23: The Shadow of Death.

After the crazy run from the city the group finally reached the outer edge of Zion, it had been a truly exhausting sprint for them as they hadn't slowed down from full sprint from the second they had burst through the doors to the point they hit the outer edge of Zion, a grand total of ten miles at full sprint.

"I-I-I think we're clear" Ven stammered in a heavy pant as he slowed down to a rather laboured walk, it was obvious to Visa that his legs and feet were burning up just like her own.

"Agreed, we sssshould ressst here," Riss said through a heavy pant of her own, her tongue seemed to be flickering ninety to the dozen as she hung her head and panted, it was obvious she was not used to going quadrupedal and she looked near to collapse.

The area they were in was covered on both sides by huge rocky canyon walls but the canyon itself was surprisingly green, filled with trees of all shapes and sizes not to mention a truly incredible floral display of colour, it was truly breathtaking.

"Over here there looks like a small cave we can use to rest," Ven said pointing to a small ledge along a short ramp of rock set into the right-hand wall, it was a bit tricky for Wisp to roll herself up there but she managed it and the others all followed her inside once she'd indicated it was clear, none of them wanted their precious human cargo at risk.

Visa set her beloved Seven down on the floor propping him against the wall, he was still unconscious from his explosive use of his ability that had taken them all by surprise, the sheer violent and raw power behind the expulsion of force had shocked them, even Visa herself.

She'd known that her beloved little male was powerful since the display he'd given them back in the tunnel where they had first met, plus ever since then she'd been on the receiving end of the truly incredible and delightful ways he kept coming up with to use it, like caressing her rear end with an invisible hand while they were walking nearly making her trip over her own feet as she felt the perfect replica of his own hand running over her scales and caressing the fat covered muscle.

Infact the very memory of it made Visa's tail swish with desire and that was the tamer stuff he did, ever since she'd confessed her feelings and he his they had gone from strength to strength together, she had learned what he was about and who he was but mostly she had learned that she utterly adored him on every level, she couldn't imagine her life without him in it now and if that day ever did come she silently swore that she would step through into the void just to be with him again, she didn't care if they walked forever in darkness as two lost souls, as long as he was at her side where he belonged she knew she would be happy.

Now as she looked at him laid against the smooth wall of the small rocky cave she couldn't help but feel afraid, her beloved one was suffering because of what he'd done to save them and she didn't know how to help him if there was one thing that Visa hated more than anything else in this life it was feeling powerless.

Suddenly a small hand on her shoulder made her jump and she spun around so fast she nearly knocked Gregory over with her tail before she realised who it was who had touched her.

"He'll be alright Visa, he might not look it but Seven is as strong as they come, he'll be back in your arms in no time, you'll see," he said smiling at her before turning and heading over to tend to his own exhausted Claw by fetching him water and propping up his tired feet on his backpack, but it seemed all Ven wanted was a drink and a cuddle because after he'd necked most of the canteen of water he leaned forwards grabbed Gregory and pulled him into his arms just to hold him.

Visa wished she could pry Seven out of that tin suit but she knew that she could not do so without damaging it and she figured that Seven wouldn't be very happy with her if she did damage his new power armour suit.

So instead she decided to sit down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder pulling him in to lean up against her, she really hoped he would wake up soon.

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On the other side of the cave, Riss was so exhausted that she pretty much collapsed the moment she'd been able to put Runs down, she'd never run that far that fast in her life and running quadrupedal had really taken it out of her, both her hands and feet were pure agony not to mention her thighs and shoulders felt like they were on fire.

"You are bleeding!" Run exclaimed from her side suddenly and Riss looked down to where she saw he was pointing.

Her hands were absolutely shredded, the hard stone covered ground had opened up all sorts of little cuts and scrapes all over them and her feet felt no better either, "Itssss fine I sssshall take care of it" she said but before she could turn to go deal with it Runs grabbed her arm and stopped her making her look at him in surprise.

"No! I will care for you, you save my life, free me from green monster men and then carry me here, my honour will not allow this brave thing to be unrewarded" he said so forcefully that it took Riss aback and before she could protest he gently led her to the rear of the cave and sat her down.

The first thing he did was make sure she was comfortable, using his backpack to lift her feet up off the floor, the second thing was he gave her his canteen of water and told her to drink it, as she did her super sensitive tongue kept getting little tingles running through it where it managed to taste the surprisingly sweet flavour of his saliva that was still on the neck of the crude canteen but it still managed to make her head swim with all sorts of delicious thoughts.

That's when he began tending her wounds, it turned out that Runs kept a kit in his backpack which they'd managed to recover from the site in the building that the super mutants had held him in when they'd rescued him, that contained a plethora of odd mixtures and plants, he even had a little mini pestle and mortar for grinding up said plants.

She watched in utter fascination as he studied the wounds and selected a few of the plants and after grinding them up into powder added just a little water to form a paste.

The next thing he did was use some more of the water to wash out the stinging cuts all over her hands and feet to remove contaminants from the wounds, like grit and dirt etc.

"This will hurt, I is sorry," he said before applying the paste he'd made to every one of the little cuts all over her feet and hands which instantly made them feel like he'd dipped them into a liquid fire and made Riss hiss in pain not to mention made her tail rattle like crazy.

But this time despite flinching like crazy at the rattling Runs managed to complete his task and then using strips of cloth and odd-looking leaves from his kit he bound and bandaged both Riss's hands and feet making her look like she had a pair of primitive cloth gloves and shoes on.

The odd plant mixture seemed to work pretty fast as even though it burned like crazy when he applied it, now it just seemed to numb the pain turning the burning into nothing more than a slight annoying ache.

"Will heal better and faster now," he said proudly as he admired his handy work.

Riss flicked her tongue at one of the bandages on her hand and the air around it seemed to be filled with a slightly bitter smell coming from the plant mixture.

"Thank you Runssss you are mosssst kind," she said wincing slightly as she adjusted her position on her seat, Runs noticed this too.

"I is not done, Riss has hurt more than hands and feet, I will fix for her," he said dropping to his knees in front of her and picking up one of her legs to examine it.

This startled Riss and she very nearly pulled her leg away from him in surprise and fear before she caught sight of something, looking up she saw both Gregory and Ven both waving their hands about and mouthing 'No! Don't!" to her.

She frowned at them and then they both began to mime for her to let Runs continue by motioning a kind of 'Go on' motion with their hands, she cocked her head curiously and then Ven picked up Gregory and shuffled his way over to his sister further away from them, even Wisp was giving her some kind of thumbs up motion with her hand before she too rolled her way over to the others, leaving Riss and Runs alone at the rear of the cave.

Very gently Runs prodded the calf of Riss's left leg and then he frowned and looked both upset and deep in thought, then he did the same to her thigh but on her right leg, his scowl intensified and he seemed to be tutting and shaking his head, he gently poked her in the side right next to her abs making her wince and he sighed, then he moved and did the same to her back earning another tut and yet another head shaken finally he did her left shoulder and her neck and he grumbled something in what must be his native language before moving around in front of her and squatting down letting his loin cloth hang below him like it was designed to tease her eyes into staring at it dancing slightly in the breeze.

Riss had to force her eyes back up to meet Runs handsome but very concerned looking face, "Riss is in bad way, not take care of self, has led to bad muscles, strong muscles but bad" he said his voice low as if he was revealing a secret to her that he felt would shame her in front of the others and he didn't want to do that so he was making sure his words reached her only.

"Bad musclessss?" Riss asked questioningly feeling both hurt and slightly angered by his comments, she very nearly launched a counteroffensive as she felt like he was insulting her honour as a NightStalker, she was in prime physical shape and she knew it.

But Runs was seemingly unaware of this building anger in her and he nodded, "Riss is fine NightStalker, strong and true like NightStalker should be, powerful and ready to run or fight, Runs sees this, but Runs also sees Riss has not cared for body right, this has made strong muscles bad, not as strong as Riss should be, Riss is proud NightStalker, Riss should have good muscles, make her stronger, faster, more flexible to strike at enemies or prey, Runs has seen this before with pack that comes to him, if Riss allows it, Runs will fix for her as thanks for saving him" Runs said.

Riss found it odd that when Runs was struggling to find the right words in the human tongue of English he had this odd habit of referring to himself in the third person, but it was also oddly kind of sweet and cute, she was also intrigued by his offer to fix her wondering how one fixes a broken NightStalker, so she letting go of her anger as she realised he was not trying to insult her nodded her large head and gestured for him to continue.

"Good, I is happy, least I can do is help fix Riss, please, lay down and roll onto belly," he said taking the blankets he'd swiped from the Government building they'd all slept in the night before and turning them into a makeshift bedroll for her to lay upon.

Riss did as he asked wondering what he was going to do, she noticed her was back at his medical kit again and working with the plants, though this time rather than using water to mix the ones he was using he used a kind of oil that smelt kinda like tree sap to Riss's sensitive tongue.

"This will stick in fur a bit but don't worry, I is very good at this, will rub in till very little will stick, when Riss bathes next will all wash out, not worry though does not smell bad," he said trying to reassure her though the thought of having something oily in her fur wasn't exactly a pleasing one, but she still nodded her consent anyway.

That's when Riss's world blew apart, Runs picked up her left leg and with his freshly oiled hands pressed his fingers deep into the calf muscle, it was like he was plucking and an elastic band through her skin, Riss had no idea how the hell he was doing what he was doing but somehow he sent a mixture of pain and incredible warm pleasure shooting up her leg making it freeze ramrod straight like it was cramp locked.

She just couldn't move, half her brain was screaming for her to pull her leg from his hands and to bite him and the other half was screaming at her to shove moe of her leg into his hands and to grab hold of him so he could let go and take those magic hands off her.

"Poor Riss, hunting must have been so hard with such bad muscles, I is amazed she was able to walk let alone run so far so fast, is testament to how powerful and good NightStalker she is" Runs said softly his words at first stinging like a Cazador sting then soothing like a balm to her soul while also stoking the fires of her pride, it seemed that Runs had really earned his name, he really did know a quality NightStalker when he saw one.

'I never fail my huntssss and I never let my prey essscape" she said proudly looking over her shoulder as he knelt over her leg and worked up it towards her thigh.

"I is glad I is not your prey, I would never escape such a good NightStalker" Runs said happily.

Somehow the words sent a flurry of tingles down her spine that set her tail rattling again and filled her mind with delicious images, images filled with her stalking this beautiful little red-skinned human through the shadows, closing on him, feeling his worry in the air like electric, tasting his fear on the breeze like a sweet trail leading her right to him, closing on him while he felt her but did not see her, waiting for the perfect moment to strike before pouncing from the darkest of shadows and pinning him down, seeing the fear in his eyes as she lunged forwards for the strike, but rather than ending his life with a fierce and venom fill bite instead taking his lips in a power and passion-filled kiss, before claiming not his succulent meat as her prize, but his even sweeter chastity.

The fantasy set every instinct in the deepest depths of Riss's mind aflame, of course, she would never hurt this sweet and gentle human, or indeed ever take him by force like that, but the fantasy was so powerful and so very primal that it still makes her tail dance and rattle like it never had before, this time its song was going to be heard.

Runs looked at her rattling tail as it swished and danced back and forth next to him, "D-Does this rattle mean Riss is happy with what Runs does?" he asked nervously and she snapped out of the fantasy at his words looking over her shoulder and seeing a worried look on his face, a part of her wanted to try teasing him and telling him that he would have to work that out on his own, but that caused her a worry that he might actually stop this delightful thing he was doing to her and that would mean he would take his hands off her and she'd lose his touch and she couldn't even bear the thought of that for a single second.

"Yesss I am happy," she said in a soft voice hoping to calm his nerves.

Runs seemed to visible relax and nodded before continuing his rubbing, "Then so is I" he said and that's when his hands moved onto her thigh and every part of Riss's nervous system lit up like an electrical storm.

She'd never felt anything like this in her life before, this was utter heaven, pure and utter heaven, as his hands moved to either side of her thigh one on the outside and the other on the inside he began to push in with his thumbs while rolling the meat of his hands in heavy strokes all while gripping oddly with his strong fingers, it made the muscles of her leg pulse and twang like he was plucking a stringed instrument, without even realising it Riss parted her legs enough for him to work, she could also feel a sudden and very intense burning coming from her loins the closer his hands got to them, another image snuck into her mind, this one involved coiling her tail around his wrist and pulling his hand to where her body yearned for it to go, to hold it in place while those nimble fingers danced and delved overexposed burning flesh.

A soft gasp and a long hiss escaped Riss and suddenly her eyes snapped open as she felt a wave of embarrassment shoot through her, she'd just made a pleasure hiss in front of him and she shot her eyes back over her shoulder praying that she wouldn't find him glaring daggers at her, but to her pure relief he was simply smiling to himself while he focused on his work, it truly did seem to make him happy that he was helping her, now it was her heart burning as well, not just her loins.

Runs hands inched their way up her thigh towards her most sacred place which right now was utterly dripping wet because of the incredible sensations he was exposing her to, she'd never in her life imagined that something as simple as touch could feel as good as this, but his hands were like pure magic on her flesh.

The way his nimble dextrous human fingers seemed to seek out every ache in her muscles and force them out before kneading and working to turn the muscle into butter under his expert stimulation.

As his hands drew tantalizingly close to her rear and her loins Riss found herself both holding her breath and a little to her shame lifting her rear slightly towards him, it was like her body suddenly had a mind of its own and this mind was fighting her for control, hell it was all she could do to stop her hips from coming right up off the makeshift bed and presenting itself to him by arching her tail right up over her shoulder.

Riss found herself blowing out the held breath as he switched legs and began the process again on the other leg, though the relief was a little bittersweet because she really had hoped those beautiful hands would make it all the way up between her thighs.

Once he'd succeeded in turning her other leg into butter Runs shifted his position so he was straddling the rear of her thighs, for a second this confused her until she felt his hands, oh her hips and an odd sense of relief washed through her, for a dreadful moment she'd actually thought he was finished, but as she felt his hands spread over her wide feminine hips another pleasure hiss escaped her followed by the obligatory flush of embarrassment that accompanied it.

As his hands worked up her back Riss's mind was turning to the same butter that he seemed to be turning her muscles into, never had she imagined pleasure like this could be achieved by something as simple as this, every stroke, every knead, every delving press of his fingers was sending a near-constant barrage of pleasure laced pain into her brain utterly confusing her senses, the pain of the muscles unknotting and expanding was incredibly short-lived almost instantly sending a burning pleasure chasing it into her brain.

It was so incredibly good that Riss could barely stand it, her whole body was screaming at her to take him, to spin over grab him and pull him under her, to have her wicked way with this utterly sublime human, to show him that he did not need another human to make him happy and that she could be all the female he would ever need.

It was getting harder and harder to restrain these instincts as it had become like a wild beast chained deep inside her brain and it was fighting hard to be free.

Runs reached her shoulders and neck and Riss felt Runs hesitate when he felt her scales, he was obviously trying to decide how to deal with them but no sooner had he run his hand over them and realised that they were as smooth as glass he took the plunge and began to run his hands over them.

Riss had always taken pride in her scales and was always tending to both her tail and her head to ensure that her scales not only shone but were as smooth as they could be and now as she felt his hands gliding over the back of her head and neck, that's when he did something that utterly blew her mind, he began to rub her ears.