Raptor and Rapture Ch. 03: Sabre Ballet

Tarquin too, was lost in the girl, and he felt almost as if they were fighting again. Ashey's poor clit was rock hard, but she was trying to keep herself from climaxing, and likewise he was doing everything he could to focus on her pleasure and not explode in her mouth. His jaw was beginning to ache, and his own saliva mixed with the girl's sweet pussy juice was dripping over his face, but he wasn't going to cum until she did, even if it killed him.

Ashey grabbed Tarquin's balls and kneaded them lovingly as she she began to bob her head up and down his shaft. As she groaned, she made strange sounds over his cock that sounded horribly lewd to her, but she didn't care, and somehow it made it even more exciting. She could hardly breath, and she began to cough once more as she struggled to choke him down. Her hips began to shake as her knees trembled, and she knew if she had another orgasm, she probably wouldn't recover.

Tarquin could feel his load churning inside of him as he resisted the stabbing ache for release. He couldn't believe how desperate and lecherous Ashey was, but then, he remembered that she had been locked up for her entire life in some way or another. He couldn't hang on any longer, and he grabbed her ass roughly and forced her down before he wrapped his lips around her clit and began to suck. As he did so, he moved one of his hands down her ass and fondled her little asshole, and that was when he heard her scream.

Ashey's eyes shot open as she came. She tried to scream, but Tarquin's hot cum began to flood into her mouth once more, and she drank it down even as she convulsed over him. She'd rolled off of him suddenly as she heaved for air, and her body pulsed mercilessly as she shoved her face into the bed and cried out. The line between pleasure and pain blurred as arm began to bleed again, and before she knew what had happened, she closed her eyes tightly and passed out.

Small sounds broke into her consciousness as she opened her eyes slowly. There was a man in her room. He was fully dressed, and he was staring into the fire with his back to her. She remembered what had happened, and she realized that he must have washed her face, because she didn't feel nearly as sticky as she thought she should. He'd also covered her with a blanket, and though she was still naked, she was plenty warm.

"I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye," The mercenary said as he continued to stare into the fire.

"I wouldn't have hated you if you did," she replied softly, barely able to hear her own voice. "How did you know I was awake?"

"I heard the change in your breathing," the mercenary replied as he turned towards her. "Honestly, I was enjoying the sound of you sleeping quietly... it's been a long time since I've gotten to hear such a nice sound.

Ashey sat up slowly and held the blanket around her, "It's nearly sunrise... you should go."

Tarquin nodded, "Come upstairs with me?"

She nodded tiredly and got to her feet.

A few moments later, Tarquin was standing beside the curtain that led out onto the balcony. Ashey was holding a candle between them, the blanket spilling over her body like a cape.

"Someday, I would like to fight with you again?" She told him with a sad smile.

Tarquin nodded and returned the smile, "On one condition."

She frowned slightly, "I'm not swallowing any more of your..."

"No, no," Tarquin chuckled, "Not that. My condition is that the next time we fight, you'll be an international fencing champion."

She giggled, "We'll see about that." She looked down and shook her head, "Do you really think you can end the race crisis?"

"I'm going to try. If I'm successful, then you won't have to have your father killed, and he can arbitrarily thrust his empire upon some unknowing, yet to be born, boy. I want to see you break out of all of this... if you can do that for me, then I would gladly cross swords with you once more; without all the stipulation, of course."

She smiled widely, "Of course." She took a deep breath and reached out to him, "This whole thing... it could have gone a lot worse for me. Thank you."

The mercenary scratched his head, "You don't have to thank me for violating you."

She shook her head, "No, I... it was nice. It was dirty as hell, but I can't lie to you... I loved every second of it. I understand now why some of my sisters risk so much just to go out and have sex... it's a lot of fun."

Tarquin tried to keep his laughter down, "It certainly can be, if you have the right partner." He leaned forward and kissed Ashey's forehead, "I assure you, the pleasure was all mine. I gotta say, I was a little shocked."

"Oh, why?"

"You were a lot more than I bargained for. You're as crazy in the sack as you are with a sword."

Ashey blushed as she shook her head, "Would you get out of here already? I need to clean up and figure out a way to hide all of the stains on my sheets."

Tarquin nodded, "Be sure to draw the rope back up when I hit the ground."

"Do you want it back?"

"No," Tarquin smiled, "You keep it; maybe you can find a nice boy who would be more than happy to tie you up again."

She smirked, "Get the hell out of my tower."

The mercenary looked around cautiously before he began to scramble over the wall. The pinkish hues of the sunrise were barely beginning to illuminate the sky, but within minutes the partial darkness would turn to an uncomfortable amount of light.

With the help of the rope he'd used to tie up Ashey (the irony wasn't lost on him) he managed to lower himself far enough down to make a drop the rest of the way. It was scarcely a safe distance to fall from, but he'd landed without breaking anything, and he waved at Ashey as she began to draw the rope back up. he could barely see her in the early morning light, but he knew she was smiling.

As much of a great time as he'd had, he still needed to get out of the city. He managed to make the wall and he lowered himself to the other side. he turned and began to move to the spot where he'd left Axis, and that was when he heard a low voice.

"Have a nice fuck?"

Tarquin nearly drew his dagger, but shook his head instead, "You're lucky I recognized the sound of your voice... I almost threw something at you."

From the shadow of a tree, Vana stepped up to him. She was wearing a long leather jacket that was wrapped tightly around her body, and he could see her mattatti boots poking out of the bottom as it nearly brushed along the ground.

"I figured I'd find you here when I heard what happened earlier. I take it you had your way with my sister?"

Tarquin crossed his arms and chuckled, "Me? More like the other way around. Turns out that your precious little Ashey is a real man eater."

Vana cocked her head in the early morning darkness, "Really? Who would have thought."

"I didn't take her virginity," Tarquin commented a bit awkwardly.

"You didn't? How's that work?" Vana stepped up to him and took his hand, pulling it toward her.

The mercenary let her, and she flipped his palm upwards to look at the map that was etched there, "Well shit... your mark disappeared."

"Ashey saw it too, after she wiped her mouth... then she wanted to keep going," Tarquin chuckled.

Vana laughed lowly and shook her head as she relinquished his hand, "Poor girl. You were patient with her, I hope?"

"She wasn't all that ornery once I got started; she was actually surprisingly docile. We did have an incredible bout, though, and I think that helped to put me in her good graces. But really, you didn't come here to talk about me fucking your sister, did you?"

Vana shook her head, "No, that was out of sheer curiosity. Maybe one day I'll be able to get her drunk so she can admit it all to me. In any case, I came here to tell you that the gate you came in through is already being reinforced with guards; they seem to know that you aren't snoozing away peacefully in your bed."

Tarquin began to walk towards Axis, "Gotcha. I'm surprised you're out, I would have thought that you'd be locked up in your home like everyone else."

She offered him a sideways smile, "You're not the only one who can climb over a wall, mercenary, and the words of my father don't scare me as much as they scare Ashey or most of my other sisters. He came to me a few hours ago and tried to interrogate me, but I didn't tell him anything. I came here to help you escape the city, and I wanted to clear my name in case you had any suspicions that he found you because of me."

Tarquin shrugged as they reached Axis, "Thanks for waiting, buddy," he patted the beast before he untied his reigns. "I never blamed you. There were a lot of people at the theater, and plenty of people at the mattatti match."

"Yes. Incidentally, I believe it was Harold who told my father about our little match, and he probably had you followed to the theater."

"Ah, Harold," Tarquin chuckled, "I see a man for less than a minute and exchange a few words, and he becomes a mortal enemy."

"He hates me because I'm better than him, and you beat my score, which makes you better than me in his eyes... I think he hates you by proximity."

Tarquin grinned, "I could think of a worse proximity to be in... that means area, right?"

Vana laughed, "Yes it does. Look, stop trying to charm my pants off and listen to me. You've got to leave out of the southern gate. There's a gate there that is built between the walls, and they open it at daybreak to let the corralled sheep back out to pasture. If you can make a move right when the sheep are rushing out, no one will be able to stop you and you can ride right through."

Tarquin nodded, "Thanks for the tip."

She crossed her arms and nodded in return, "You're welcome. You should get moving before you lose your chance."

The mercenary frowned slightly as he faced her, "Look, Vana..."

She turned her eyes away from him and frowned, "Don't. I know that tone of voice, and I don't want to hear you make any promises you can't keep. Go do what you have to do and if you want to see me again then you can come find me. I'm not giving up mattatti any time soon, and you're a clever guy... I'm sure you won't have too much trouble tracking me down."

Tarquin smiled, "That sounds fair," he stuck out his hand, "Will you shake my hand at least?"

She grinned and shook her head as she laughed, "No, I won't. Not after what you just did."

He hung his head slightly and laughed along with her before he mounted up onto Axis, "Very well. Thank you for everything, then... I wish you the best," he said as he turned Axis.

"Good luck out there," She replied with a sad smile. She didn't want to admit that seeing him go was harder than she thought it would be, and she turned as well.

"I hope to see you again in the future," he commented quickly before he urged the raptor forward and ran off.

Vana turned and saw him go, and she shook her head and grinned, "You're the kind of fucker that always has to have the last word, aren't you?"

-weeks later-

Tarquin looked up at the horizon before staring down at his palm. He'd been doing a little experimenting, and he was beginning to realize something that was a little alarming.

The last mark on his hand was moving.

He'd had his suspicions for several days, but he'd thought it was all in his head. He headed to the nearest mountain range and used a bit of charcoal to mark the place on his hand, and now he could see that the magical mark had moved away from the range and was heading south. It was perplexing, but not enough for him to give up, and he was still getting closer to it with every day he traveled.

The further south he moved, the more lush and humid the environment became, and soon he was away from any signs of civilization.

Soon, the terrain became a grassy jungle, and Tarquin knew he was beginning to move deeply into unsettled territory. He saw signs of wild carnivores on several occasions, and even spotted a few in the distance, but Axis' was able to steer clear of them with his acute sense of smell.

As the mercenary approached his third week of travel, his rations ran dry, and he was forced to hunt for his food. Thankfully, the thickening jungle was rife with some sort of small herbivorous dinosaur. They were small, greenish blue things that Tarquin had never seen before, but they were easy to hunt and they tasted halfway decent. Axis didn't seem to mind them, at least, and when the mercenary had certainly eaten less palatable fare.

Over the course of his travel, Tarquin fell into his usual, almost trance like pattern. His hair became disheveled and his beard began to grow in. At one instance, he opened his pack to grab a tool and he saw the outfit that he'd purchased for Ashey's ballet. The sight gave him a good chuckle, and he tucked it away safely. It was hard to believe that after several weeks of traveling alone, that there was a single place in the world where he'd have another use for the outfit, but he knew that situations could change as quickly as the weather.

Finally, after consulting both his palm and his instincts, he came upon a traveling caravan. It was midday when he came over a hill and saw the caravan camped in a valley, and he looked down at the map on his skin to confirm.

From what he could see, he guessed their number to be at least a thousand. Thick leather tents had been erected here and there, and huge wagons with wheels twice his size were parked at the front of the camp. Tarquin wondered how they could possibly move such heavy wagons, but that was before he looked at the opposite side of the camp. On the opposite side of the wagons, a temporary corral had been built for an assortment of mounts. The mounts themselves looked like massive bulls from where Tarquin sat, but then he realized that they were actually domesticated triceratopses.

A few days prior, when he'd come across a river, he'd filled a cup with water and had another chat with Ne'shita. The goddess' information was somewhat more helpful than it had been with Ashey, and Tarquin learned that he was to seek out the strongest woman in the village. Apparently, it would be obvious, because the strongest woman would be the leader, and the village (which now appeared to be a traveling one) would have bestowed some sort of crest on her body.

Tarquin had no idea what he was looking for past that, but between the giant wagons and the hulking mounts that pulled them, he was sure that the villagers wouldn't take terribly kindly to his barging in. Still, there was no better way to go about it, so he urged Axis forward towards the closest grouping of tents.

It wasn't long before the mercenary's approach was noticed, and as he made his way down into the valley a small group of armed men began to gather.

He slowed considerably and raised his hands in a fairly universal gesture that he hoped would imply that he came peacefully. He was not quite within shouting distance, but he could see the men clearly enough.

Each of them was dark skinned, broad, and tall. Even from afar, he could see the sheer amount of muscle they possessed, and most of them weren't wearing much more than a simple wrap around their waist.

"Holy shit...Jeyulians?" Tarquin breathed as he neared. He hadn't seen a Jeyulian in years, but then, they traveled in groups.

The Jeyulians were a nomadic people that traveled the world along with the seasons, and though there were probably hundreds of thousands of them between various tribes scattered over the continent, they rarely came into contact with civilization or each other. They were known to be ferocious warriors and masters of nature, and their poisons were some of the strongest ever concocted. The only thing that was even better known than their deadly poisons were their even deadlier women; women who were considered by many to be the most beautiful in the world.

Tarquin didn't know how much of any of that was true, but he did know one thing: every man woman and child in the village would know how to fight on some level, and if enough people decided to give him trouble all at once, there was no way he would make it out alive.

The foremost man at the front of the group lifted his hand as Tarquin neared and shouted, "You are a mercenary, yes?!"

The man's voice was deep and commanding, but Tarquin didn't hear any fear or concern in it, "Yes, I am a Raptor rider! My name is Tarquin!"

The warrior looked back at one of the other men behind him and nodded before shouting back at Tarquin, "Ride in! We've been expecting you!"

Tarquin's eyes widened, "What the fuck? How?" He muttered under his breath as he tried to quell his sudden nervousness.