Taking Flight

-*-

It was several hours after dark when the vanguard sighted camp. The two women had not spoken much to each other since their reunion on the plains, much less touched. Each time Vira had reached out, Niox pulled away. After all the agonizing about being separated that morning, the terse responses and physical rejections were like daggers. It felt like a bottomless pit had opened up between them.

Putting their issues aside, she dreaded explaining her transformation to command. Much to her surprise, her glowing wings faded away as the column marched into the tight quarters of the tent city. Sure, she was noticeably larger and brighter than before, but at least she was no longer draped in ghostly, glowing feathers.

They reported to command a few moments later. Vira half listened as Niox outlined their sortie before the four generals that oversaw the Eastern front. She tried to be attentive, but her mind was occupied with what had transpired. Meeting Buvhan, embracing her, was a feeling she would never forget. Looking down at the glowing rings around her upper arm, Vira still could not believe she had received such a benediction. Her Goddess assured her there was no one better to be blessed with a fragment of divine power. Buvhan was clear that she was making her cleric a demi-goddess so that she would always have the power to protect the one she loved. The power to ensure that the future would be happy not only for them but so many others.

'You love so purely, so fiercely, Virasviel. You wield that hammer, not out of obligation, or duty, but for the singular purpose to forge a life for you, Niox, and so many others beyond the constant fighting. This is twice now you have drawn on something few ever touch and I am doing my part to ensure that light only gets brighter.'

Niox was getting to the ambush when she was interrupted by Deljhan, Lord Commander of the Republic's Eastern Force. He was a swarthy old man, his face and head clean shaven. Vira was not a fan and the feeling was mutual. He had never been happy about her being assigned to his force and was once of the most vocal opponents of her and Niox having a relationship after the attack at Greldyne.

"If you sensed the attack, Captain Analan, why did you not sound a retreat?"

"The trap was already sprung, Lord Commander. If we had retreated, we would have been pursued nearly the whole way back to camp, taking losses the entire way. As it was-"

"As it was, you were saved by a miracle." Interjected Vice Commander Jellad. "You are fortunate the Hammer of Buvhan strikes true."

As the portly man continued to berate Niox, the Deljhan turned his attention to Vira. His gaze lingered on her far more than she was comfortable with. He always looked at her like she was some prize to be claimed, but the rift with Niox made her particularly aware of the old man's eyes on her. She could almost feel his hunger to bed her, to subjugate her.

Though she was still at arms, she still raised her arm to her chest reflexively in modesty. In that moment it felt as though he had walked in on her half-dressed. As she watched him watch her, more of his thoughts unfolded. Behind him a sick fantasy played out where he had his way with both of them and then left them chained up, only to be released when violence was necessary. Before she realized it, her other hand was reaching for her hammer as the brightness in her eyes flared.

"Mind your eyes and thoughts, Lord Commander," she said with a hint of steel in her voice as she tapped the hammer on the floor drawing everyone's attention. "Lest they be burned out."

"I know not what you mean, Priestess. I have-"

"Nothing but lust for me in your heart. I am not some maiden to be leered at. I am a Cleric of the Horizon, a Bringer of Promise, and now, a Chosen."

With her last words, her wings flared into life. Those assembled scrambled back from the sudden brilliance. Only Niox did not flinch at her display. Though she was not sure if it was trust or stubbornness that kept the warrior nearby, but she remained at attention all the same.

"I do not claim to understand the intricacies of war, my Lords, but you will do well to remember that while I fight for you, I am not one of your soldiers. The unit I am attached to is under my command and my divine protection. Is that not why you send us on missions you would not send any normal group?"

The council of elder men all managed to look a little embarrassed.

"So do not speak to your officer and my partner as if she made some critical error. You had her patrol broken land that had not been scouted for weeks. You sent a force with only a half dozen archers into territory with major changes in elevation. All things considered, today went well. Though it was my hammer that ended the skirmish, it was Captain Analan's actions and quick thinking that saved twenty-seven this day."

There was a moment of stunned silence, during which she turned and strode out leaving a trail of ghostly feathers. She waited outside of the audience chamber after that and then followed Niox to the mess hall. The pair got food quietly.

Niox dropped onto a bench, her food hitting the table a second later. She sat around the fighter with her legs outside. She wrapped arms around her waist and rest her chin on her shoulder. Exhausted, Niox leaned into the embrace at first but then jerked away with a shudder.

"I don't think the hammock is going to work any more," Vira ventured, trying to crack open her lover's shell as she struggled to fit her knees under the table.

"At least with its configuration, yes." Niox was busying herself with the food on her plate. "Will probably need stronger and thicker timbers to support us."

While positive in its implications, the answer did not really give Vira a handhold so she changed tracks.

"Sleeping on the ground for a little while won't be so bad. I have you with me and it'll be like when we first started out."

"I suppose that is true."

The silence between them stretched on with only the sound of Niox's fork against the plate to fill it. Finally, Vira put her hands on the fighter's shoulders and forced her to turn around.

"What is wrong, Ni? You have been...different since we got back."

"I've been different?" The warrior got up and turned back to face her. "Vira, look at yourself. You're the one who's different! People don't just grow two feet in an instant and then act like nothing happened!" With that, Niox walked away.

Vira paused for a moment, stunned by the words. Niox was out of sight before she could bring herself to move, but the fighter was not hard to find. In her wake was a trail of startled soldiers and broken standards which lead to their tent.

Niox was packing her things when Vira walked through the flap. "Talk to me, Ni! Tell me what is wrong!"

"You aren't you anymore, simple as that."

"I am still me though, just bigger."

"Bigger and with wings!"

"What does that even matter? They go away!"

"I...I..." The warrior sat down on her trunk. She took a deep breath and then exhaled. "Being around you is frightening now. Whenever I'm near you, I feel this darkness and this maliciousness that scares me more than the flashbacks."

"Buvhan said-"

"I don't CARE what Buvhan said! She's an impossibility."

"Are you saying that everything I've ever done is an illusion? That it is worth nothing?"

"No, that's...that's not it. At least, not really. I felt so small today, so powerless. We ended up in a trap because I made a bad judgment call and you just happened to be favored today so things turned out all right. At least until Buvhan actually showed up..."

Vira sat awkwardly on the trunk next to her beloved. "It was not Buvhan's favor that won this day, Ni. Trite as this might sound, you are the reason I could summon that power today."

"But I saw her bless you!"

"Yes, how I am now is her benediction, but it is because I have drawn power from our connection twice now that she even noticed me. It was not her blessing that gave me the strength to heal you, the hope and faith you had in me was what gave me the power to heal you."

Niox began to speak, but Vira shushed her. "It is likely the darkness that you are feeling Hilluk's attention on me. I am a curiosity now, one of only a few disciples granted direct favor from our patron in the whole of the Theonite. I'll protect you from him. Have the same faith in me you always feel."

The warrior leaned into her and tensed, but did not recoil. Eventually, she sighed. "I don't feel the darkness anymore, there is just a sense of calm," she looked up at her, hand caressing her jaw. "And the scent of lilac."

The kissed then. Quickly, halting, unsure and yet, wanting.

Niox grinned as they sat back. "How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Why don't we find out just what that new body of yours feels like? Maybe I can make you feel great," she said with a laugh.

Vira undid the ties on her leather vest first, slipping the armor off. As she held it in her hands, she was honestly amazed that it had somehow sized up with her. It had not occurred to her that she should have outgrown it. Curious, she cupped her bosom and was surprised to find that her hands could no longer contain her boobs.

The clamps on Niox's armor sang with their release, pulling her back to the moment and the warrior got up to put the breastplate on her armor stand. Kneeling behind her, Vira undid the straps on her greaves and helped her slip off her boots as the warrior removed her bracers. Dragging circles in the sore calf muscles of her partner, she slowly rose until her thumbs were working out knots in Niox's shoulders.

The fighter turned and pulled her down into a kiss with lots of nibbling. Going to her knees, Vira worked her fingers into her partner's ass. Niox pulled off her shirt and kissing once more, they rolled to the floor in their embrace. Hands rubbed skin under cloth as the tent began to fill with a soft green glow.

Unlike that morning, Niox took control of the situation right away and pinned her larger lover by her wrists and began attacking her neck with bites and kisses. The warrior dragged her teeth along her jaw, moving ever closer to her mouth until she bit bottom lip.

Niox's hands were smaller against her than she remembered, but no less deft. The warrior turned her attention to the Vira's own muscles. She moaned as her fingertips gently brushed hardened stomach. She leaned down to caressed her more defined sides, kissing the cleric once more. Finally they dug into shoulders that were surprisingly big and so very tight.

Sitting up, her shirt came off and both women let out a gasp. Even with an idea of how much she had grown, seeing them in just her brazier underscored the scope of her changes. Unclipping her undergarment, she let her boobs drop to her chest. Niox at once was palming them, the fighter's whole hand just barely larger than her expanded areolae.

The touch made her gasp and then moan as her love began to massage her. The sensation was amazing, the pleasure even more intense than it had been in the past. Back to kissing, they were both getting into their rekindling connection. It felt like they would be able to spend the whole night in each others arms. Which is exactly when the alarm bell began to sound.

-*-

Niox was on her feet before the third chime, stumbling as she climbed out of Vira's lap. The reports abruptly came to a halt as screams began to filter through the camp. A moment later, three soldiers in black armor and white masks entered their tent.

"For the glory of Hilluk!"

The pair reacted instinctively, Vira lashing out with divine magic as Niox scooped up her spear. One went down with several feather-like blades lodged in his chest, but the other two had raised their shields in time.

As the warrior took up a defensive posture, Vira's hands rested on her shoulders. The warmth of her lover spread over her body as glowing green armor formed around her. Charging into the pair, she hit them both with her spear held sideways and forced them back through the flap. She lifted her tower shield out of the dirt as Vira, also wrapped up in glowing armor, stepped out of the tent. Her hammer was burning as were her eyes. Her ghostly wings flared into life, lighting half a mile in every direction.

"Do you think you can fly with those?"

Vira shrugged and jumped, only to hang in the air at the apex of her leap. "This is..."

"So amazing."

They both laughed and then set off for command. Niox moved down the narrow roads between tents with her shield raised as Vira hovered over her shoulder. Another Hillxian soldier burst out of a tent right on top of them, his dagger flashing in the dark. Niox dropped her shield to jump back as the blade whistled past her ear. Several wet thuds came from behind her as he was dispatched in a flurry of energy flechettes.

"Whew, have to be careful. Can't assume that the camp is still ours. Have to behave like this is enemy territory."

"These seem like a liability then." She pointed at her wings, still glowing cheerfully. "As does our present armor."

"True." Niox put her hand on her hip and then swore. There was no telling if these were just grunts, or if there were spellcasters with them. The images of Vira being shot out of the sky with a ball of fire or bolt of lightning made her bite her lip, but there were not any other options. "All right, stealth is out. Just, be careful, okay?"

"I will, you do the same," she said, jumping back into the air.

It was not long before their encounters were no longer with single soldiers, but small units. The first trio spent all their time trying to knock Vira out of the sky, allowing Niox to defeat them easily.

"So I say we keep doing that."

"Seems right, they did not even notice you until two of them were downed."

The next encounter went much the same way. Vira flew over them, catching their attention. When the detachment of soldiers looked up, Niox would get in a couple of good stabs to disable at least one. Vira typically would get a second between her hammer and the energy daggers her wings produced. Landing among the survivors was usually enough to get them to try and attack the cleric which gave Niox an opportunity to get in another disabling attack.

The groups got larger as they neared the center of camp, but the plan continued to work. Reaching the command post, they found a good number of survivors manning the fortifications, but it was likely a third of the main force had already perished in the raid. Among the survivors was Lord Commander Deljhan.

"What seems to be the situation, Lord Commander?"

"Ah, Captain Analan, Madam Virasviel. I am glad to see you unharmed."

Vira clicked her tongue. "Wouldn't want your precious weapons stolen or broken, right?"

"I, uh, that is to say..."

"Forget it! Ni, find the wounded. I'll see what I can do about giving us some breathing room," and she was off again. Niox was not sure if it was just a trick of her light against the night sky, but she seemed even bigger than before. As she began to tear up tents to clear a space around the command post, Niox turned to Deljhan.

"Lead on, Lord Commander."

The old man grit his teeth but turned and led her to the makeshift infirmary. There were two dozen wounded many of them critical. There was no way Vira could handle healing them all. Still, she had to try. She snapped a flare and set it on the window. A moment later, her visibly larger partner arrived. She had to be over eight feet tall now, her swelling arm and shoulder muscles shining with sweat.

"I cleared a half mile in every direction. It should give us a chance to respond if they attack again."

"Good." She pecked her wife on the cheek. "Do you have power left for healing?"

"I'll be honest, I feel like I am made of power right now," she said as she moved towards the first soldier. "I can't quite explain it, but it is like I can hear everyone's thoughts below me while I am aloft. I can feel their faith in me. This must be what it feels like to be a goddess, well, a demi-goddess."In fact, I wonder..." The cleric raised her hands and the light from her wings intensified, washing over all of them.

Niox felt her fatigue fade as cuts and bruises from the course of the day began to heal. The soreness from two skirmishes in one day leeched out of her. In the span of a couple breaths, she felt like she had rested for a couple days.

"That felt wonderful, Em. Now, let's kick these scum out."

Returning to the fortifications, Hillxian soldiers were pouring out of the tent city. The raiding party seemed to be almost a full scale deployment. Niox was not sure how to get out of this situation.

"Don't worry, Ni. Have faith."

As the first wave of invaders approached the barricades, green light obstructed their path. Vira raised her hammer and the barrier solidified into another wall. A battering ram was brought up. The first hit threw her hair back. The second knocked her down. The wall flickered, but she threw both of her hands up and squeezed her eyes closed as she fought to hold the wall.

Niox turned to the soldiers hunkered down behind the fortifications. "Comrades! I need your hearts and minds. I need you to remember all the times I've had your back. All the times Vira's hands soothed your wounds. Focus on those moments and have faith we'll survive this the same way we have survived until now. Together!"

A shout went up and the effect was evident. As their faith in Vira grew so did both her power and her stature. Pulling herself to her feet, the cleric began to grow. First nine feet, then eleven, she and her equipment expanded until her light she was a beacon to all in the camp. As she began to chant, the energy peeled back from her wings, revealing white feathers tipped in shimmering emerald. The change in brilliance was it was like the sun had risen.

The walls had grown with Vira, the fortifications now fifteen feet tall. Finishing her chant, she thrust her arms forward and the walls became waves. The flow of emerald energy surged through the camp, pushing back the invading force. Scattered, the remaining Hillxian forces withdrew.

Deljhan stepped up on the battlements. "We may have won a victory tonight, but the raid has served its purpose. The camp was destroyed, the army shaken. We will not be able to defend this position any longer."

He continued to grandstand, to take credit for the cleric's actions and Niox turned her attention to her love. Coming down off the high, Vira had shrank almost back to her original size. She smiled as she collapsed into Niox's arms.

"I guess we can use the hammock tonight after all."

-*-

Vira actually got up before Niox and, to her surprise, the world kept turning. She drifted awake at the sounds of birds tweeting and camp being broken down. Attempting to get out of the hammock was even more difficult than usual. It seemed that after some rest her body had returned to its new baseline. She found herself running her hands over her naked body, taking in just how much she had been changed. In all of the action last night she had not really be able to come to grips with how she looked now.

She could not even cup her bosom anymore, the soft flesh flowing way over her fingers. Her hips, too, were even more womanly than they had been, her fingers sinking in to the first knuckle before hitting toned muscles. She had never though about being so curvy, but was enjoying how it made her feel, especially as Niox snuggled into her.

"Ni, we should get up."

The warrior stirred and smiled before kissing her. "G'morning, you."

"Morning to you, too. What happened? I don't remember anything after that huge spell I cast."

Niox shifted to look her in the eye, cradling her head. "We're moving out by noon and headed south to meet Prince Raldar of the Jethloth."