Unconquered Pt. 02

With the last repetition, his voice rose to a roar and his muscles tightened, bunched, then shoved. The door squealed and sparks shot into the air as silver grated against gold. But the door slipped fully open, revealing a corridor of silver walls and red carpeting. The ceiling was painted like a wide open sky, and there were gemstones set every five feet, each one glowing very faintly. Not that he needed a glow -- since he was shining as bright as a small sun. Ember pumped his fist and strode forward.

Exploring the ship was fascinating and...confusing.

Essentially, the bulk of it was a palace. A palace. A frigging palace. There was enough space for the entire village of Rataka, but rather than bunches of smaller chambers, there were only a few larger ones. One looked like the bathhouse at Rataka, but rather than warm, happy water, they were filled with ice cold shivery water. The next room had a series of smallish tables and chairs and what was clearly a kitchen, though it had three pantries and several ominous black cubes that had doors on the front that Ember was not quite brave enough to open without June helping him out. There was a single bedroom near the back with a bed nearly as big as his entire old room -- vast and silky with four pillars at each side, draped with silken sheets and pillows. There was a chamber that looked nearly useless...just a big rectangular, silvery area with smooth, unadorned walls and ceilings.

But then, if he went up a ladder near the middle of the palace, he came to a half circle chamber that had six seats: One in the center, two near the front, two to either side, and one to the left of the central seat. Each seat was adorned with one of the symbols of the moons, while the central seat was bright gold and the biggest.

"I wonder who sits here..." Ember murmured. Then, blushing, he said. "Uh, just to be clear, it's me."

He heard a very soft giggle.

Ember's brow furrowed and he pursed his lips. Then, slowly, he turned, and walked down the ladder. Because, at the base of the ladder, there was another door which, when he ripped it open, led into an area of the ship that was as sparse as the palace was fancy. Here, he found two huge chambers that had...well, they looked like a series of four waterwheels, mounted parallel to one another in cylindrical tubes. He would have expected any ship that used a waterwheel to have the wheel mounted along the line of passage, so the wheel could slap at the water and push the ship forward. But that was not even the strangest thing. He could walk around the cylinders of wheels on a series of catwalks, seeing them from every angle, and each wheel was made of steel and with 'spokes' made of semi-transparent red metal that looked faintly familiar.

It wasn't sunmetal. When he tentatively touched one of the massive spokes, he found the were faintly warm. Like they had been warmed by the sun.

Ember scratched his neck. "W-Well...when water goes through a water wheel, it makes power. Maybe these wheels have to spin to provide power for the ship?" He nodded. "Okay, uh..." He swept his gaze around the room, still relying on his own golden glow to light the whole area up. He saw that there were a set of four large clamps that kept the wheels in place. He leaped up with ease, landing on one such clamp. But rather than just ripping willy nilly, he poked at it until he found a large green pin that was thrust thrust the clamp, keeping it shut.

Tugging that free caused the clamp to pop open.

"Progress!" Ember leaped from clamp to clamp, moving with blurring speed. Soon, he had four pins in his arms and saw that the wheels were spinning...no. They were just kinda slipping around, pushed ever so slightly by his movements. "Now...to spin them up..." He swung himself over the catwalk and dropped into one of the wheels. He leaned against the red spoke, then reached outwards, gripping onto the catwalk. He shoved. Hard.

The entire wheel groaned as it began to spin -- pushed by his arm's strength. He was mashed, face fist, into the opposite spoke as the wheel spin counter to where he had positioned himself. Ember groaned, but felt the red spoke he was pressed against growing warmer. Glowing brighter. His eyes widened -- and then he heard the wheel groaning and whirring. It was beginning to slow, the pressure pressing him down growing slack. Ember gritted his teeth. Closed his eyes.

"I...am...Unconquered!" Ember bellowed, grabbing onto the edge of the spoke and hauling himself off it. As he flung free, he kicked off the spoke as hard as he could -- driving him away from the wheel at an angle. He flipped in the air, his body exploding with golden light, and skidded across the catwalk before he crashed into one of the many strange desks, similar to those in the security station, with a grunt. He sprawled against the desk -- and laughed as the wheel whirred, growing faster and faster and faster. And as it spun, the other wheel spun, in an opposite direction.

The red spokes glowed, then flashed, turning from a dull glow to something as bright as his anima.

The wheels blurred -- their motion so fast that his eyes could no longer track the spokes. They looked like solid red disks, crackling and buzzing. And as he stood there, the entire Starshrike began to whirr and groan and hum. The gemstones in the ceilings flared, going from a dim light to a full daylight. The desk he was leaning against chimed like a whole collection of bells, each gemstone set in it flaring with its own light. Ember sprang away, then thrust his fist into the air. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I fucking did it! Haha!" He turned and grabbed the hands of the beautiful, pale skinned girl that had appeared behind him.

The girl had skin the color of chalk, pointed ears, and bright blood red eyes. Her canines were long and fanged and were shown by her huge, huge, huge smile. A blood red ruby was set on her forehead, right above her nose. Her hands gripped his and the two of them danced, laughing and kicking their legs.

"I did it!" Ember said.

"You did it!" The girl squealed.

"Yeah!" Ember beamed, slowing in his dancing. He blinked. "...wait, who are you?"

The girl looked straight at him. Lines appeared around her eyes as her face froze and tightened. Her fingers squeezed Ember's hands so hard the bone creaked.

"NobodyIdidntstalkyouanywhereorstealyourthonggottagonowbye!" The words came out all in one, flowing spluttering wave and then she glowed, brilliant red, and when the glow faded, she was a tiny bat. The bat flapped once and shot through the door that led into the room and out of sight.

Ember blinked, then dropped his hand to his belt pouch -- which was now empty.

***

Ember came to the bedroom, his eyes narrowed. "Sure would be weird if a mysterious and beautiful girl with a ruby soul gem was hiding behind...this curtain!" He sprang forward, grabbing some silks and jerking it aside -- revealing a silvery mirror. He scowled at it. But as he scowled, he noticed a pillow on the bed moving despite nothing being there to move it. He spun around and saw the bat, visible to his eyes if not in the mirror, trying to crawl out from under where it had hidden. Ember launched himself forward, his hands reaching out. The bat squeaked and flapped, but Ember's hands closed tight around it. He tumbled into the bed -- and then the bat was glowing, his hands forced apart, and the two of them tumbled and ended up with the mystery girl underneath him and his hands pinning her wrists over her head.

The girl panted, her eyes wide.

Ember gaped down at her.

"H-Hey," he whispered.

The girl was trembling. He could feel her quivers, buzzing through her entire body. Her cheeks, despite her pale, pale skin, showed the tiniest flares of color. And she didn't feel cold -- just...pleasently smooth. Looking down at her, into her eyes, Ember felt his heart rush faster and faster and faster. His blood thundered in his heart and he realized that if he hadn't had his weight pressed to the bed, if he hadn't been holding her down, he would have been trembling as well. Every moment, he noticed new details about her...them...to be in awe of.

For one thing, Ember was getting increasingly uncertain if she was the right word. Yes, they had a delicate face, with a narrow chin. But something in their eyes didn't quite seem feminine -- it was something soft, but men could be soft too. And their clothing wasn't quite feminine or masculine either -- they were clad in black, rumbled clothing that was as baggy as it could be, concealing curves and bulges both. But everything that Ember saw made him want to nuzzle and kiss them more. The tiny dimple on their chin.

The way their throat bobbed with their gulp.

The glint of their fang.

The warm red of their eyes.

"Hey," they whispered.

"M-My name is Ember," Ember whispered. "S-Sleepy Ember."

"I know..." they whispered. Then, quietly. "Mine's Chirp."

Ember nodded.

"I think I love you," he said.

Chirp's eyes widened and they drew in a short, sharp gasp.

"I mean I...uh..." Ember realized he had just said that he loved someone and he didn't even know their pronouns. And he had just tackled them. He jerked backwards, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I mean, love can mean a lot!" Chirp squeaked, sitting up, their ears twitching up a bit. They looked aside, their cheeks almost as red as their soulgem. "Love can mean, uh, affection. Or friendship! It could be friendship!"

"Totally!" Ember said.

"And we just met!" Chip said.

Ember's head bobbed wildly. Somehow, Chirp's fingers had interlaced with his. The two of them looked down at where their hands were closed tight. Chirp let out a very nervous giggle. "S-Sorry..." They said, then reached down with their other hand and tried to tug their hand free. Their fingers only tightened more against Ember's fingers, almost digging into his skin. Ember giggled and grinned at them.

"Y-You, uh, having trouble there?" he whispered.

"I love you!" Chirp squeaked.

"I-"

"I mean, like a friend! Or...stranger I just met!" Chirp added. "I mean, strangers often fall instantly in love with the gorgeous, strapping, beautiful men they just run into and spied on for a full day and you...you smell...really...good..." They mumbled the words, growing softer and softer as Ember slowly leaned in, growing closer and closer, drawn to Chirp, as if they were magnetic. His lips came closer and closer still, and Chirp breathed. "Really...good..."

Their lips met. Chirp tasted faintly of copper, of warmth, of the undefined flavor of Chirp. Somehow, Ember knew that if he kissed a million other girls, men, or anything in-between, he'd be able to remember, with absolute clarity exactly what Chirp tasted like. His tongue and theirs met and played and explored. Their tongue was so mobile. So quick. So flexible. They slid against his, then drew back, teasing him into kissing them deeper. More eagerly. Chirp's hands reached up to cup Ember's cheeks -- but then drew back, then reached up again, as if Chirp wasn't quite sure what they wanted to do with their hands. And so, they instead planted them down, squeezing onto the red sheets.

Ember broke the kiss. A thin line of gleaming saliva connected their tongues and, for a few moments, Chirp remained there, mouth open, fangs throbbingly eager in their gums, tongue thrust out, waiting. Then they closed their mouth and looked away.

"That was...okay!" they said.

"Uh..." Ember gulped.

"More than okay..." Chirp whispered.

Ember nodded mutely.

"Y-You're the Unconquered..." Chirp looked back at him. "I-I'm...your...Lunar..." They made a face. "Wife. F-Feels kinda dumb calling myself a wife when, I mean, I don't...I don't feel...I mean, I do, I want to be with you, but I-" They were cut off by the only thing that Ember could think of that would comfort the nervous, shy, awkward Chirp.

A kiss.

Ember's hands cupped the back of Chirp's head, cradling them close as Chirp's palms pressed against Ember's chest, their fingers spread wide, their moan muffled and oh so eager. Chirp molded themselves against Ember and Ember's hands slipped down their back to their ass, squeezing them. Ember drew back, gasping softly. "S-So, uh, if you're not a guy or a girl, or, I mean, if you're...I mean..." He blushed. "How do..."

"I-I bottom," Chirp whispered.

"C-Cool! A thing I know...what...is!" Ember said.

Chirp bit their lower lip, their fangs glittering. Then they leaned in, whispering, very softly. "It means, uh, y-you can...fuck my..." They gulped, then squeaked. "My ass!" Then they drew back, flushing and giggling. "Ohmygod, I just said that to a guy I just met. Who I don't know. Whose red!" They gestured to Ember, who grinned and put his hands on his hips.

"Lots of humans are red," Ember said. "You have fangs."

"I have the aspect of the drakhul bat," Chirp said, giggling. "One of the sacred animals of Ruby."

"The hottest moon," Ember crooned, trying to sound seductively charming. "Ladies. I mean...saris."

"Saris?" Chirp asked, their brow furrowing. "Also, uh, the hottest moon is Pearl, everyone knows that."

"I-" Ember scowled. "Wait, you don't have saris where you come from? In Rataka, half the marriages have a saris. T-They're neither male nor female, but help to raise kids. I have a mom and a dad and a saris." He frowned, slightly, seeing Chirp shaking their head and blushing, their ears pinning back against their head as they looked deeply sad. Ember cupped their cheek, his voice growing soft. "Well, I...I'll make you my saris. You're my Lunar S..." He paused, the word catching in his throat. His soulgem throbbed with pain.

Chirp sighed, looking down. "I'm your Lunar Wife. That's how the bonding works. It's...not something you can change."

Ember frowned. Then he smiled. "You are my saris," he whispered. "And my Lunar Wife."

And with that, he leaned forward and captured Chirp's lips again, pushing them back into the bed. The silk shivered and the kiss dragged on and on and on, like one delicious drink from an oasis after a month in the desert. Chirp's tongue darted into Ember's mouth, then drew back, and let him plunder their mouth as Ember took hold of their baggy shirt and began to lift it up. Chirp lifted their arms up and they broke the kiss only barely long enough to get it past their ears -- once it was off, Chirp wriggled. Their chest was utterly, pancake flat, save for the two small nubs of their nipples, both a very light pink. Like the nose of an albino rat. Ember could have guessed if Chirp had breasts, or if they didn't have breasts, or if what breasts they had came from being male or female. But he chose not too.

Chirp started to lower their arms, to cover their chest. But Ember darted forward and sucked one nipple into his mouth. His tongue and his teeth worked together -- teasing and stroking their nipple and drawing the sweetest, most gorgeous moan that he had ever heard from their lips. Chirp's back arched and they whined out: "Ohhh Ember!" Their eyes closed and they reached down, cupping and squeezing Ember's hair, fingers working in tightly. Ember then began to plant kiss after kiss after kiss down Chirp's flat, flat belly. He paused to tease their belly button, and while Chirp might have floated in an ambiguous middle ground...the smell of their arousal was still as tantalizing as ever.

Chirp grabbed onto their leggings, making a quiet mewling noise. "I d-don't want you to see...you know..." They stammered.

But Ember just grinned. He grabbed their hip and rolled Chirp onto their belly -- making them squeak with confused shock. Then Ember tugged the leggings down juuust enough to expose the pert, softness of their chalk pale rump. He leaned forward and darted his tongue out, teasing the rosebud of their ass, and tasting nothing but Chirp's cleanliness. Chirp reached up with their hand, muffling their mouth, their own moans as their eyes narrowed to thin, red crescents. Their ears were flushing with their own arousal as Ember tongued them with the skill of the Unconquered -- golden flames roiling along his shoulders, his arms.

He didn't know if a mortal's spittle and tongue would serve as enough lubricant for fucking a saris in the ass.

But he knew that the Unconquered's tongue sure as fuck would. Once he drew away, Chirp's anus shone as if they had been oiled by a seductive deviless. He looked down at their pertness and heard Chirp's whimpering, muffled by their hand. Ember grinned slowly. "Do you want me to fuck this adorable little ass, my Lunar?" he whispered. Leaving off the term 'wife' let them both imagine what they would in the space.

Slowly, Chirp jerked their hand from their mouth. They grinned, slowly. "I-It's not...adorable. It's just a butt."

"No. It's your butt," Ember murmured, kissing one of their pale white cheeks. He nipped at their skin and Chirp giggled, pressing their face against the pillow.

"N-No, stop!" Chirp spoke around giggles, squirming a bit. Their eyes sparkled with a mingled delight and utter, complete and total embarrassment. They buried their face against the pillow, muffling their voice. "It's not...I mean...it's an okay butt...m-maybe a good butt, but not a perfect butt."

"Your butt is perfect cause it's yours. Flawless. Logic." Ember planted a gentle kiss against them with each word. "You cannot dispute it, Chirp. All you have to do is say: Fuck my perfect little ass, my glorious Unconquered." He grinned, wickedly. "And I shall plant everrrry inch of my eager, divinely inspired cock into you."

"Unnnhhh!" Chirp bit down on the pillow, mashing their face against it. They mumbled into it, the sound of their voice so muffled that even Ember's attuned ears couldn't hear it. He kissed the base of their spine -- right where the tail would be if, if either of them had had tails. Chirp squirmed.

"Not dooooing it until you admit you're perfect," Ember crooned.

Chirp jerked their head aside, squealing and giggling. "F-Fine! It's...a..." They blushed and giggled more. "A perfect butt. And..."

"You need..." Ember crooned.

"Y-Your cock..." Chirp breathed.

"Innnn?" Ember prompted, his grin growing wider.

"Ohgod!" Chirp pressed their face against the pillow, then shifted, so that their mouth was free, their eyes and forehead pressed into the pillow. "T-This is so..." They arched their back, thrusting their ass as emphatically into the air as it was possible while still, desperately, trying to maintain some measure of decorum. Ember giggled and then sloowly tongued at Chirp's anus again, teasing them as his hand deftly kept their pants up just enough to keep the only modesty that mattered. As his tongue delved into them, Chirp moaned: "Lewd!"

Ember drew back again, his voice a husky croon. "That's why I wanna hear it."

"Oh for the God's sake!"

The two of them snapped their heads around so fast that Ember was shocked he didn't snap his spine. June stood in the doorway of the bedroom, glaring at them, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Just fuck their ass already! We have a skyship to get into the air!"

Chirp squeaked. Turned into a bat. And shot out of the room so fast the left behind a streak of brilliant red light, leaving Ember gaping at June. June looked at him, then shrugged. "What?" she asked. "We have to get going."

TO BE CONTINUED