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-=Chapter 04 - Developing Skills(Cont...)=-

At the sound of an erupting blast of fire, the Saurossin Watcher hopped out of the middle of the arena to observe from his judgement seat, leaving both Kila and Revau to engage. The fight had begun.

Kila readied her blade by tossing it in the air and flipping it around, catching it by the handle while her other hand grabbed her dagger and pressed the blunt side of it against her forearm. She was prepared for a fight and she knew he would bring it, doubly so since he planned on winning. Across the clearing, Revau growled angrily while curling his claws as though he were prepared to slice someone open with them.

In that brief instant, the entire arena glade seemed to pull away and darken, as Kila's focus narrowed in on her opponent. She didn't see the watchers, she didn't see her people, and she barely registered the presence of the hundreds of cien that were crowded around the Arena Glade behind Revau. Her ears felt dulled, leaving her to hear only her own heavy breaths and the faint flutter of her heart beat. Though it was too late to change her mind now, she didn't want to fight him anymore. If she won, he'd likely distrust her and never speak to her again. If she lost, he'd think it was part of the plan and she would lose all self respect and her people would not think she was the cunning warrior she actually was.

Either way she lost, in a manner of speaking. That revelation changed everything right there.

To make matters worse, she couldn't stop thinking of how sad she would be if her arrogance made her push away one of the few people who seemed to want to brighten her day. Sure, Tavi was a good friend and Iteciu was a powerful ally, but neither seemed so keen on bothering themselves with Kila's happiness. Neither devoted time to her unless it benefited them some how, such as Iteciu priming her to win her first fight or Tavi just...well, Tavi was a true friend.

Still, nobody back in Endra had any interest in Kila's happiness except Kila. She wasn't romantically linked to anyone, nor was she interested in doing so, but Revau? He seemed to genuinely care. He spent a morning learning to fish just for her and he didn't have to. He went out of his way to offer her respect and to introduce her to his culture and the relaxed feel of it. He wanted her to be relaxed and stress free and was willing to put in effort to ensure that it happened.

And he was quickly running towards her, using her distraction to his advantage.

Kila readied her weapon again and assumed a proper stance for defense as he leapt into her. In response, she rolled forward out of the way of his slamming fists to lightly poke at his backside with the tip of her sword, the silly action setting a jovial tone for the battle. "Still not fast enough for me, pup!" She started hopping from talon to talon, slowly backing away to ensure there was plenty of room between them. One thing she knew for sure was that if Revau got his hands on her, she was as good as defeated - at least if he planned on winning quickly and not toying with her a bit for the entertainment of the onlookers.

Revau growled as he glared over his shoulder at her, shoulders heaving with each heavy breath. After a few short huffs, he grinned and winked at her before returning to his aggressive state. "You may be quicker than me, but that tiny blade of yours is little more than a toothpick as far as I'm concerned." He turned and pounded his chest, a glint of softness emanating through his tough facade.

Right then, she knew this would be a real pain to her ego. For a moment, she considered letting him win just because he was being such a goof. If what he said the past weekend was true, then nobody cared about her win and loss ratio as much as she did; if he was wrong, she'll always have that first victory with plenty of time to make up for it. It was shocking to her how willing she was to reconsider her stance on her legacy just to make him happy.

On the other paw, she still worried for her own pride if she beat him. At this point, it was already clear he was more interested in making the fight look good than the actual victory, so any win she might have achieved would be because he wasn't really trying to win. If she forced a killing blow victory on him early, she would look like a beast of a competitor to all her onlookers and her people, but she'd know deep down inside that it was a farce. An accident. A mistake.

Kila needed to decide between her self respect and public image, which was not an easy decision at all, given the months she'd spent preparing for her debut. For now, she would test Revau to see what he would do.

The two clashed in the middle of the Arena Glade, blade to gauntlet as a thundering echo blasted out from them. They kicked off one another, slicing and swinging at each other in an elegant dance with Kila twisting and flipping and dodging every one of his attacks while he was doing his best to keep up. She knew he wasn't going to take her out yet, even with her showing off, since he wanted to make the fight look long and intricate. It would be a waste of his plans to end the fight early.

So she kept at him, thrusting and slicing and using her dagger to defend against his claw swipes. She would duck and roll under his arm, then lightly graze him up the flank before he turned to back-swipe at her, catching her off-guard and tearing three slices through her exposed shoulder. Blood started pouring down her chest, soaking her fur as she stumbled away. "Alright, you wanna play that game, I'm better at it than you!" She growled, only loud enough for him to hear it while being sure nobody else could.

Revau kept on her, leaping forth on all fours to tackle her. She saw it coming and leapt up, twisting into a back-flip as she extended her dagger down his spine, nearly slicing apart the leather that held the gauntlets in place as a gash opened up down his back right to the base of his tail. He fell in a pile before her, then quickly rolled and flipped back onto his feet, preparing for another round.

She went on an aggressive offense, slashing wide and stabbing and parrying every one of his defensive blows. Her blade clashed with his wrists, knocking them to the side and opening herself to attack his torso with ease, only to have him twist and move to avoid her attacks. To her surprise, he was nearly as graceful as she was despite being considerably larger, and his poise in battle impressed her. However, his change of pace concerned her; when he was on the offense, he was skilled but lacked the speed she possessed. Now that he was on the defense, he was keeping up with her blow for blow. Very peculiar.

Kila was testing him by occasionally opening herself up for him to retaliate, seeing if he'd make any move to beat her, but he didn't. Not yet. He was mostly on the defense, dodging and deflecting every blow she offered him while looking as acrobatic as a beast his size could. He flipped and rolled, twisting in the air, to avoid some of her blade slashes while bringing his gauntlets up to block others.

Their dance went on for more than ten long minutes, with her pausing in between each volley to stand her ground, waiting for him to attempt that killing blow, but he still didn't; he wasn't ready to end the fight, so she did. After toying with him a bit, she was ready to put an end to their rematch. She had been holding back, making everything look good as he'd hoped, but now it was time to finish him. Kila was growing tired, and more than ten minutes in vicious combat with dried blood down her chest and neck fur was starting to wear on her.

In she lunged for the killing blow, only to have him grab the blade mid thrust and push it aside. He swung into her with aplomb, like he was planning to rip her head off, but she ducked under it and brought her dagger up to lodge it into the tiny gap between the wrist plates, just as she'd done to help her win their first fight.

But this time Revau was not having it. He immediately grabbed it and tossed it aside, balling his fist up to push out the spiked knuckles, and the look on his orange and green eyes showed an intensity that Kila was not prepared for. He lashed out at her, swiping wide and jabbing tight at her, his fist impacting with her chest and knocking her a few meters back.

She stumbled over her talons, then used her blade to kick back up onto both feet, her body twisting and bracing itself for his follow up. His massive form was already over top of her, ready to bring a fist down on her like a hammer. She dodge rolled to the side, then immediately back-hand swung around to catch the attack she knew was coming. The metal of her sword clanged against his gauntlets, then was knocked right out of her hands to scuttle across the dirt of the ground out of her reach.

"Well this isn't ideal." Kila muttered to herself as she ducked and stepped to avoid his flurry of attacks. Her motions were graceful but desperate as she twisted and turned to avoid each of his swings, eventually having her dive away and grab her blade again.

It was clear in her mind that, now that she'd had him on the defense for so long he was reversing the scenario on her. With some distance between the two, she was piecing together the story he was concocting with her. She wins their first fight, he feels ashamed so he doesn't sleep with his usual crew, only returning to the island during the second fight to claim his revenge. He let her go on the offensive, proving her skill for a moment, only to have her retry the same dagger-in-armor trick she used to win the first time. However, he was expecting it and knew how to defend against it, plus her attempt only angered him.

It all flowed so well from one point to another, as if it was rehearsed beforehand. She wasn't even in on the play, yet she was fulfilling her role perfectly.

Now he was on an unrelenting assault, and she was on the defense. According to the story - as far as she could tell - it was his time to get the better of her and win, thus proving his worth again. The plot was pretty engaging, but there was one problem: Kila wasn't going to give him the happy ending he was expecting. Now, she was going to take him out. In accordance to his own story, she let him fight, but it was time for her to get serious again.

Once she grabbed the blade, she raised it and leaned into him, intending to run him through the belly. He grabbed the blade and redirected it so that the tip blew past him to the side, only slicing a few hairs and barely touching his skin. She tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight on the blade and she couldn't retrieve it.

Time for a recalculation.

Kila let go of the hilt to jump up and kick off his shoulder and bound over him. She could see her dagger a few meters away, so she was racing towards it with all her might. Once she grabbed it, she turned and raised it up in defense against her forearm. Before her, she saw her own sword coming right at her face like a throwing knife. In a split second reaction, she brought her wrist and the dagger up to deflect it, forcing its end into the ground next to her as he lunged forward. While it was still wobbling from the impact, she grabbed it and back-slashed him across the belly, causing him to stumble past her with arms over his abdomen.

This was it, she had him.

With sword still in hand, she flipped it around and leapt towards him, blade ready to plunge through his back. Due to the fatigue that had built up over the twenty minutes of the fight, she hesitated and therefore tripped over her own feet and lost her balance, losing a fraction of a second. That brief moment proved fatal to her plan, as it gave Revau the time to pivot and deflect her sword blow with his armoured forearm.

As her body crashed into his - her blade skittering across the ground away from her - He tore the dagger out of her hand and flipped her over, slamming her onto her back. His body landed on hers, pinning her to the ground as he pressed the blade to her throat with enough force to draw a thin line of blood from shoulder to chin.

A loud crash of erupting flame burst into the sky as the victor was declared. However, she wasn't listening to what the Saurossin Watchers were saying, as she couldn't pull herself out of Revau's gaze. He was staring down at her, his green and orange eyes piercing hers as his body heaved with every breath. His visage softened a bit from snarling predator to intense lover as he squeezed his thighs tight to her hips.

She could feel his heart beat twitching against her as the adrenaline and ademane filtered out of her system. An eternity seemed to pass as the two refused to break eye contact, the blade still tight against her throat. Her respect for him was immense, yet the thing that made her most excited was the warmth of his body pressed to his, conjuring a level of excitement in her nethers that she wasn't prepared to admit even to herself. The longer they stayed there, the more awkward Kila felt; yet she couldn't pull herself away. She knew she should push him off, but in that brief moment she was tore between kissing and insulting him.

It was quite the odd feeling for her, yet his sensual victory over her seemed to flip a switch in her triggering her mind and body in the right way.

The crowd had been cheering for his victory, with Kila's fellow Endarians booing her loss, but she barely registered that as Revau leaned in close, sliding past her muzzle to whisper in her ear with his blade still held against her throat. "Thanks for letting me win. I'll make sure to show my appreciation later." He offered her the most subtle of licks - a canine kiss - to her cheek before tossing the dagger to the side and sitting straight up to raise his fist to the sky in a victory howl.

Revau offered one last sidelong glance to her with a wink before he jumped to his feet and roared in celebration, his ciennic pack mates busting from the lines of the audience to embrace him.

Kila just let her head fall heavy against the ground with her unfocused gaze on the leaves above her, mouth partially gaped in disbelief as to what just happened. She blinked a few times, staring into the midday sky through the bright green trees, unsure of what to say or do next. To an outsider, it must have looked like she was in shock about losing, but her head was swirling with emotion and only a small portion of it was about her loss. Most of it was about the storm of emotions that had bubbled up as he straddled her.

What was wrong with her? There was nothing elegant or romantic about what happened.

Still in abstract shock, she propped herself up and blankly stared over to her people. She could see Iteciu and Tavi both respectfully bowing to her even as the other jysar and oaria were lightly clapping for Revau, a subtle resentment in their applause. After a few moments, she rolled to her feet, grabbed her sword, and trudged her way out of the Arena Glade. She pushed passed her allies, ignoring them as she made her way back to her camp ground.

She didn't even stop at the healing ward to fix the gashes in her neck or shoulder; those were the objects of pleasant memories.

Once she arrived, she tossed her blades to the side and undressed, flopping into the hammock with her maw still gaped in disbelief and arm draped over her eyes.

She couldn't stop asking herself a question. "What just happened?"

-=Chapter 05 - Spoils and Celebration=-

Kila spent the rest of that afternoon in a state of shock, laying in her hammock in place as the remaining matches took place; the healers did show up at her tent, but she denied them entry and cleaned her own wound. She didn't pay attention to who won or who was fighting, all she could think about was her twenty minute epic fight with Revau, and that awkward pin he did to her when he got the killing blow.

She didn't want to think about it, but in her memory she could actually feel his furry balls pressing heavy on her lower belly as his powerful inner thighs squeezed at her. He wore a loin cloth, but there wasn't anything underneath there to hide his dignity in a breeze or if she'd sliced his hip strap. The thought of exposing him mid fight made her squeeze her legs together as she imagined the sheer size of his masculine parts.

"Dammit kitten, what the hell is wrong with you?" Kila asked herself as she slammed a fist down on her knee. Nothing had gone the way she wanted it to, and it felt like his mere proposal for a scripted loss had thrown her completely off balance. In her mind, she was playing back every element of their interactions to see if she'd missed something, hoping to decipher his intentions by scouring her memories for any hints.

But she had nothing. Despite her intention to unravel the enigma that was Revau, she seemed a slave to her primal mind as her thoughts wandered back to what he was packing under that loin cloth. She'd seen sheath on the warrior she'd caught naked at his cabin, but nothing more than that. By reading text books, she had learned a thing or two about ciennic sexual anatomy, but she'd never really gotten a chance to investigate one herself, and the prospect of it excited her. Kila was still relatively young and inexperienced with that sort of intimacy, so Revau's package was the object of her curiosity more than anything else.

She'd never seen a ciennic cock in person before, so she could only imagine what details his sheath held from her. In a way, she was kind of scared, since he was so much bigger than she was and even other males from home were frightening. Despite being relatively inexperienced, she knew her own species was adorned with barbs up and down the length of it, making sex for females both painful and pleasant. In her culture, lasting long was as hard for the females as it was the males.

Even courtship was a competition to a jysar.

After hours of trying to piece Revau's motives together, she eventually gave up and splayed out on her hammock, idly fantasizing about him. Half of her mind couldn't pry her thoughts from the powerful warrior's equipment, while the other half screamed at her to not be a fool by falling for her enemy. But she didn't see him as an enemy any more; the fight was over and he was gone, but she'd get a chance to talk to him later.

She wanted glory, but he wanted to entertain. She would achieve her goals by winning, yet all she knew for certain about his plan was that he wanted to manufacture drama to please the onlookers, and she'd inadvertently played along. Her emotions flip flopped from being impressed at how well he'd orchestrated the drama to being frustrated that he'd manipulated her.

Of course, on the opposite side of the coin, she didn't really have any reason to protest. He had deliberately manufactured the miscommunication that ensured she fought back, unsure of the plan. Through his actions and behaviour, he'd somehow managed to force her into coercion, bringing her along as an accessory to his plan. The more she thought about it, the more eager she was to perpetuate his ruse. But then she paused and reminded herself how much she hated being manipulated.

A flash of anger overcame her as she started to resent him, but then an image of his gorgeous green and orange eyes flashed in her mind and she melted again.

"Stop it, Kila!" She scorned herself as she slapped her cheek. The self punishment made her wince, but as a result she couldn't help but bite her lip and slide a hand down her naked body to lightly touch herself between the legs. When she pulled her finger away, a gooey strand of her arousal dangled from her finger, bridging to her plump lips that were mostly hidden by fur. "Dammit, I think I might be in heat." She growled, then widened her eyes in a eureka moment! "Maybe that's why I'm so susceptible to his wiles! I'm not lusting after him, my body betrays me!"

"You just keep telling yourself that." Tavi said as he unzipped the tent flap and stepped inside.

Kila flinched and closed her legs, growling at him as she tried her best to subtly wipe her slick fingertip off on the fur of her hip. "What are you doing here?" She asked with a hiss.

"You have a guest, here to gloat, I presume. Can he come in?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Who is it?" She knew the answer, but still felt the need to ask.

"It's Revau, obviously." Tavi explained. "So can he come in or not?"

After a lengthy sigh, she rolled her eyes and nodded. "Sure, let him in." It took all her strength to hold back a gentle purr as she had been caught in the middle of revering him as opposed to resenting him. Revau - at least at that instance - was the star player in her fantasy.

Tavi looked her up and down as she lay on her hammock. "Don't want to get dressed?"

She shrugged. "Not really. In his culture, nudity is natural. Ours too, no point in faked modesty." It was clear she was putting up a nonchalant front, but she felt a little exposed in the nude when in the presence of a non-feline, yet that apprehension melted away as her bold nature wanted him to see her like this. She wanted to make it look like she was just being casual, even if she knew it was actually a subtle flirtation. "And can we have some privacy?" She asked politely, with a meek purr.

He narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Alright, come on in, Revau." Tavi declared with a shrug as he slipped out through the tent flap, exiting while also holding the door for the massive warrior.

Revau ducked to get in through the tent flaps, then bumped his head on the tensile rods that held the ceiling up when he stood straight. He barely seemed to notice that Kila was naked on her hammock. "Damn, your habitation on the island is pretty minimal. It's almost like you already know you aren't getting the territory!" He joked, then squatted down on the opposite side of the room.

She growled at his jest, but then tossed her legs over the side of the hammock to sit up straight. When she saw his pose, she couldn't help but imagine what was dangling down between those legs of his, as her imagination wouldn't let that fixation go. Mentally, she had to slap herself in punishment for allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, yet she couldn't help herself. Once she shook her mind of the image, she narrowed her eyes at him and faux outrage. "What are you doing here?"

"Just coming to congratulate you on an outstanding fight. You did a great job, you almost had me about three dozen times, and I genuinely thought I was done for about half of them. You truly put on quite a show, and were easily the most impressive fighter I've ever met in the Arena Glade." He scratched himself behind the ear a bit and shifted on his toes. "Honestly, you had me convinced I wasn't going to win. I was worried."

A nervous laugh escaped her as she faked a smile. She didn't let him win, but she wasn't going to let him know that. "Yeah, all part of the plan, right? Had to make it believable or else it would be obvious. You could tell I was pulling my swings a bit, right?"

"I could not! I thought you were actually trying to kill me! I did pull my punches a bit, though. Didn't want to collapse your chest cavity or anything. Because I could do that with a full on swing instead of just a jab." He rubbed at his side a bit, where her blade had sliced a very thin line in him. "Of course, I'm sure you could have gutted me if you wanted. Anyway, good fight." He leaned in closer to her, still squatting down as he got to one knee. "And in honor of your valiant fight, I would love to have you as my guest to tonight's festivities. We're celebrating the victory of the island again, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have by my side."

"What?" She blurted out, completely baffled by his proposition. "I'm the loser of our fight, not your date. I highly doubt anyone would accept me-"

"What did I tell you about your history, my dear? Nobody cares if you win except you. I had fun fighting with you, and I'd love to introduce you to some of my friends. Come on, what bad could possibly come from it?" He took her paw in his and gently pressed the back of it to his lips, harkening back to the gentle kiss he'd given her in the Arena Glade on that foggy morning when he cooked her bolt fish.

Her toe talons curled up into the dirt as a purr bubbled up in her chest. "S-sure, I guess I can go." She relented. "Where do I meet you and when do we, you know...meet up?"

"Any time, really. We tend to get our spirits doused in drink pretty much immediately after the fights. Gives us plenty of time to just hang out, chat, and...you know, enjoy each others' company?" He kept her hand in his, smiling up at her as he gently panted, tongue hanging out a bit like a pup.

Despite her many reservations, she couldn't help but accept his offer. In her heart she knew it was dumb, but she also knew that she had wasted the afternoon wallowing in defeat while also pining about not getting to see more of him, so she didn't feel she was one to judge. She had nothing to lose. "Sure, just, you know, let me get dressed, would you?"

"Not going nude?"

"I am not." She shook her head, then shooed him away. "Now if you could give me a few moments to get dressed, I'd love to have a few minutes of privacy."

He bowed again and offered one final kiss to the back of her palm before standing up straight, his pointed ears touching the ceiling of the tent. "My lady, I shall see you in a few minutes." He offered yet another bow and ducked out of the room, zipping the tent closed upon his exit.

Kila just found herself shaking her head and resting her face in her palms, questioning her choices. Every time she thought about the course this was taking, she had to stop and mentally slap some sense into herself, only to then turn around and remind herself that she actually enjoyed his company.

Who knew? Maybe it was her heat making her do stupid things? Maybe it was his noble attitude or the shame from losing to him, but she couldn't resist him. Idle fantasizing about his equipment aside, she found herself willing to give into his wiles and see what he had to offer. Besides, anything would be better than moping about in her tent until morning when she and her kin would leave the island in shame, as was tradition.

After a full minute of introspective self reflection, she got to her feet and tied her hide skirt around her waist, followed by her tank top. She didn't need footwear of any sort, her talons were rough and rugged, well worn and tempered for the elements. Out she went to meet him, eager to see just what sort of party he had to offer her.

When she emerged into the clearing her tent was in, Revau offered her an arm to latch onto, which she reluctantly took as they both walked to the other half of the island, leaving Tavi confused about the whole situation.

"Kila, tell me, what do you like to drink?" He asked as the two of them made it through the now-empty Arena Glade. "I'm a fan of ales and hard liquor myself, but a lot of the saurossin hens like fruity drinks like wine or rum mixed with a juice of some sort. Not sure if that would appeal to you."

She squinted a bit and faked a gag. "Ale? Really? I thought that tasted like horse piss. Blech, no thanks. Wine for me. What flavors have you got?"

"Nothing too strong, just your basic grape and orange wines. Uriel wine as well, that one's a bit stronger. Wanna try that? There's a lot to enjoy, but I have to ask, do you like meats other than fish? We do roasts a lot on open flames."

After thinking for a second, she nodded. "Yeah, I love all sorts of meat. Fish is my favourite, but I'm sure your roast will be good, too." She was nervous, of course, but the more Revau had been explaining the celebration feast to her, the more eager she was to join in on it, if for no reason other than the free wine and meat. There was also music and singing and howling and dancing, all things she just didn't do at home.

When they got to the clearing that she had first been taken to with Revau, she was greeted by a scene of about a dozen massive ciennic warriors all sitting on logs around a crackling fire with a spit roast elevated above it. When Kila and Revau emerged, each one of them turned and cheered for their returning victor, clapping and howling in his honour.

Revau smiled and lightly bowed, barely hiding the smirk of pride from the corner of his lips. "Thank you, thank you all! Now, I'm sure you all know this young hen here, this is Kila." He introduced her.

A wash of anxiety ran over her in the brief moment between her introduction and their reaction, only to have it completely melt away when they all started casually waving and repeating some variation of 'hi Kila'. Every new interaction with his pack mates reinforced his assertion that they didn't hold a grudge, and that was a relief.

"So, everyone knows you, so I'm going to introduce you to the crew. This fluffy guy, that's Saido." He explained, pointing to one of the canines that she'd fought with a week prior in the group battle. "And that's Elaria." He pointed to the black and gray one that was the third in his team from the three-on-three. "Otangi." A lithe brown coyote-like cien. "Pedonne." A female hybrid feline-canine that Kila actually knew as a messenger; she often would convey message and match-ups to the elders of both teams. "Kanjei, Andyr, and of course Kayden!"

Everyone waved to her one at a time, a show of respect. There were more, but they were mostly keeping to themselves, on the other side of the fire. Clearly not part of Revau's pack.

It was Andyr who stood to offer Kila a gentle shake of her paw. It wasn't until he bowed and kissed the back of her hand - as Revau had often done - that she realized this was the same Andyr that had secured the territory for the Cien for months!

"Wait, are you THE Andyr?" She demanded, even though she knew the answer.

He nodded. "The one and only, far as I know. Come on, have some fun, would ya?"

Almost instantly, the first glass of uriel wine was shoved into her hand, urging her to have a drink despite the glass being ciennic sized; therefore about three times the size of a wine glass for a jysar or oairan. Revau slid his hand down her back to rest just above the base of her tail, gently guiding her to one of the nearby logs for a seat. Kila couldn't help but blush a bit to have his warmth pressed so close to hers again, but she went along with it. Easier to give in than to resist, in this situation.

She sat down and sipped at her wine, listening to the group of cien all boasting about their victories and histories with one another. Andyr trained with Revau, Revau trained others, all had fought back at their homeland, and all had grown up together aside from Pedonne, who was always in and out. They were tightly knit with one another, bonded by years together in a pack that was tighter than any blood related family.

Yet Kila felt like an outsider. She was a jysar from Endra, and had nothing to pitch in when the discussion came around to her. A smile and and nod followed by another sip of wine was how she passed her turn to others. Revau kept looking over and lightly nudging her to make sure everything was alright, to which she simply smiled, nodded, and took another sip while they waited for the roast to be cooked enough to eat. It was clear to her that Revau acted differently with his pack than when he was alone with her, his behaviour a bit more playful and laid back. That meant that she got to look forward to peeling back another layer to his personality.

As the evening went on, the cien kept telling stories, playing games, and wrestling in the dirt, intermittently cut up by a howling session that could have started anywhere. Once a howl was heard, every cien on the Isle of Ashoor joined in, and it would last for minutes before their lungs expired and they returned to what they were doing. The sound of drums and guitars could be heard in the distance as another group nearby started singing and dancing.

Soon thereafter, Saidu hopped into the cottage and came out with a couple of drums of his own and a three string guitar, which he gave to Otangi. The two of them started singing and playing a song, which everyone other than Kila joined in on singing. After hearing a verse or two, she tried to joinin as well, but it became quickly clear that her singing voice was not what they wanted to hear. When they were done with that, they returned to their logs, drinking mugs of ale and chewing on bits of bread as the roast continued to rotate and sizzle, Elaria cranking it to keep it moving.

The sun set quickly, leaving the clearing the rippling glow of the bonfire with a dozen canines and Kila all staring into it. Once the meat was properly cooked, Revau got up and used his blade to slice off a chunk of flank and slam it on a plate before reaching over to a small metal bucket next to the fire that Kila hadn't noticed before. In it, a wide paint brush covered in a thick sauce that got slathered onto the sliced meat.

Her mouth watered as she leaned forward, eager to taste some of this succulent looking treat, but was disappointed as he tossed it onto the grill under the roast. An aggressive sizzle came from the skin as black bars burned their way into the skin. A few seconds later, Revau used his blade to flip the meat, then toss it back on the plate before giving it to Kila. "For you, my dear! Tell me how you like it! THIS is more my sort of cooking." He winked his orange eye and served it to her as though he were a servant or butler in a castle.

"O-okay then." She accepted, cradling the plate in her free hand. The wine in her other paw was mostly gone, but she wasn't feeling its effects yet. She sloshed it about in the bottom before gulping it down, that way she could place the glass at her feet and focus both her hands on the meat.

Revau sat next to her and pressed his side right up to hers, lightly resting his hand on her thigh. "Having fun yet?" He looked her in the eye with a soft smile on his lips, those gorgeous orange and green irises glimmering in the reflection of the bonfire.

Kila tried to respond, but instead swallowed her words and tore a strip of meat off the flank of the ulokar slab she'd been given, eagerly ripping some of it off with her teeth. Though her bite was intended as a distraction, the succulent meat melted in her mouth and she nearly moaned at the flavors. "Oh man, this is so good! I mean, it's no bolt fish, but I have to say, skies above this is wonderful!" She grabbed at it with her other hand and shoved it up to her mouth, the smokey sauce making a huge mess of her cheek fur and whiskers. Too bad, she didn't care with meat this good.

"I'll take that as a yes!" He said as he leaned in, cradling her cheek and using a towel to clean off the sauce from her lips.

She pulled away. "Hey, I was gonna eat that! Saving it for later!" She winked and bit off another large chunk of meat from the flank, chewing loudly as the other cien took their turns carving off their own bits and grilling them in the sauce. Kila could have felt undignified in the whole endeavour, but the booze must have begun wrapping its tendrils about her mind, for she was losing any shame pretty quick.

Once she was done her meal, she loudly belched and demanded another refill of the wine, which Elaria happily provided her. After giving it a light sniff of the flavors, she tried to get everyone's attention as she loudly deciphered the subtle accents in the brew. Turns out, it didn't have the 'nuttiness' or 'earthiness' that she foolishly assumed, but it still tasted great so she downed a second glass and demanded a third as she flopped sideways onto Revau's lap, holding the glass up for when Elaria would come back with the barrel.

At this point she was at what would be her sixth jysar-sized drink - easily - but that didn't slow her down. This was a party! Her inhibitions had departed after the first full glass and now it was all downhill. She didn't have the lucidity or wherewithal to ask herself any questions about motives or desires or tricky Arena Glade politics. To her, the night had devolved into three things. Her, Wine, and a bunch of others who were just having a good time.

She laid on Revau's lap, looking up at him as he gulped down a pitcher of ale, the deep orange glow of the bonfire highlighting every tiny strand of fur on his huge, muscular chest. Though she was careful to hold her wine glass up, she couldn't help but press her palm to his abs and chest muscles. "You know, Revau, you're pretty strong. I bet you could uproot a tree with those muscles." Her fingers trailed past his chest, over his shoulder, then onto the bicep on the arm that was tipping his mug back to get a drink.

"Well I don't know about that." He said as he flexed his arm and tensed his abs.

Kila rolled onto her side and hopped up onto his lap, straddling his hips with her knees on either side of the log he was sitting on and her feet curled up on his thighs behind her. She flicked her tail between his ankles and wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging off him while she still held the empty glass in hand. As she stared him in the eyes, she shuffled forward until both of her thighs were pressed tight to his belly; beneath her, she could feel a distinct bulge pressing up against her. "And I'm sure you could find a few other ways to lift my spirits, if you were willing."

The others were still there, but none seemed to be paying attention to Revau and Kila. Even in the dim twilight, it was like everyone else faded away leaving only Kila and Revau cuddling by the fire.

Clearly, the wine had taken a hold of her, with a tighter grip than she'd anticipated.

Revau finished his ale and gently put down the mug on the log next to him before cradling her hips in his hands. "Really, now? And tell me, what exactly did you have in mind?" He asked, leaning in to whisper in her ear. He kept his eyes on the others, making sure none were paying too much attention to them; when he was sure they weren't, he slid his hands down her rump to squeeze either side of her tail base. "But I can tell you're more than a little drunk right now; Do you want to regret this in the morning?"

"Oh who cares about the morning. Future me can deal with that. Come on, lemme see what's behind the curtain." She whispered back, staring down between them. Kila may have been a showoff in the arena, but she wasn't usually the exhibitionist type. Still, in her wine-addled mind, her internal logic dictated that nobody could see what she was doing so she reached down and grabbed the fabric of his loin cloth, peeling up up between them to rest on his lower belly.

Before her emerged a thick, meaty sheath with the bunched up loincloth resting around the tip of it. A pointed mauve bit was poking out the end, with a dark flesh rim around the edge of it. Curious, she poked at it with her claw tip, which made Revau wince. "Oh come on, it can't be that sensitive." She giggled at him.

He flopped an ear down and shook his head. "Well it certainly can. Look, I really don't think this is the best of ideas right now. Come on, just enjoy the celebration." He said as he shifted his loin cloth again, covering himself.

"Nonsense. More wine! Who's got the wine?" She asked, then hopped off him and went around the fire and logs to get to the table where the wine barrel lay. She filled her glass again and came back over to Revau, sitting on his lap as she leaned into his powerful arm, urging him to wrap it around her and cradle her. She was testing him, seeing how he responded to her forward actions in much the same way she tested his resolve in the Arena Glade.

Luckily, he was happy to hold her close. Their huge difference in size meant that her sitting on his leg didn't seem out of place, and she was free to cross her legs while her tail snaked its way around his waist to hold him tight. Though she rarely used her tail, it was prehensile and able to grab certain things or anchor her.

After downing her second glass of wine, she took it a bit slower with her third one, returning to her reserved sipping as she nestled into Revau's embrace. He was so warm compared to her, and his thick fur was like a blanket in the cool night air. She caught herself nodding off every few minutes before catching herself and taking another sip; not the smartest thing to do when the wine was having such an effect, but such were the results of drinking and partying.

Slowly, over the course of the night, the cien retired to their respective clearings and cabins. Some came in from other parties and bonfires to sleep at the cabin in her clearing, while others left to go back wherever they were supposed to sleep. Kila did get up to get a drink of water and relieve herself well after midnight, disappearing into the woods for much longer than she intended. She might have passed out when leaning against a tree. When she finally returned it was just her and Revau alone in the clearing.

"Where's everyone else?" She asked, her buzz lightening up a bit as her lucidity returned to her. Even when drunk, she had impeccable balance.

Revau stayed on the log, a smile on his face as the diminishing crackle of ember snapped before him. "They went to bed. You want me to take you back to your camp?"

She shook her head and rubbed her cheek a bit as she walked around the fire. "No, I don't think so. Not ready to go back just yet." Again, she turned around and sat her rump down on his lap, her tail curled around his waist to anchor her as she leaned into his arm. "You trying to get rid of me?"

"I am certainly not, but I can tell the wine had a bit more of an effect on you than I bet you were expecting. You really let loose when you've had a few drinks!" He held her close and nuzzled his cheek against her head. "It was like I was dealing with a wholly different person than the one I fought today."

In her mind she noted that he was also vastly different when with friends, but she didn't say that.

Kila may not have been much of a drinker, and the glasses she was enjoying were much larger with drinks much more powerful than she was used to, but she had a good constitution and quick metabolism. Because of that, she was getting her wits about her enough to be embarrassed about the things she did during the party. She had thrown her hands around, danced, and sang until someone told her to shut up, making a fool of herself.

Turns out cien do not appreciate the musical stylings of feline vocals.

Still, she was sobering up pretty quickly so she was able to talk with some clarity, and she needed some answers. "Revau, why did you not show up before the fight? I wasn't going to let you win, you know. I was going to beat you, since you couldn't be bothered to tell me the details of your plan or let me have any input."

He laughed. "Yeah, I could definitely tell. You really wanted to kill me, didn't you?"

"Not kill, just horribly maim and mutilate. I'm sure the healers would have put you back together." She was making slashing motions with her hand, as though she were using her claws to carve some meat. "But I couldn't do it. You were right, you know? Totally right. The story is too juicy to pass up on. So why didn't you just come tell me that?"

"Honestly? I spent all week moping back home to make everyone think I was ashamed of my loss. It was like I let my pack down, and I let them tease me all week; by the time the weekend came around I felt that if I sought you out, it would ruin the illusion. I'm thinking if we have to talk about any future plans, we should find a place we can meet in without having to go to each others' camp. Sound good?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but...wouldn't inviting me to the celebration here ruin that image?"

"Probably, if I didn't tell everyone that I regained my honour, and that you were welcome now that we were even." He paused to give her shoulder a rub, holding her close to his chest. "But let's leave talk of that for when we're both not drinking, mmkay?"

"Agreed." Kila concurred. She paused for a second as the two of them glanced up into the sky, a nearly full moon surrounded by stars staring back at them. His actions faking a howl clear he wanted to start one, but he held back for her, knowing that it would wake the other sleeping cien in their cabins. Though her mind was nearly clear of the influence of alcohol, Kila's carnal instincts were in full motion, stirring her nethers and her curiosity deep within her. In her mind, she was planning on using her drunk state of mind to excuse her next act.

She reached out and laid her palm on his other thigh, gently caressing upwards until she was at his loin cloth. Her touch coaxed a tensing in his muscles as he curled his toes and placed his hand on hers, yet she didn't let this stop her from grabbing at the edges of his garment to peel it away.

"Are you sure about that, Kila?" He cautioned as he cradled her cheek and made her look him in the eyes. His beautiful orange and green eyes.

"Of course! I'm not a child, Revau, I know what I wan-"

"But you've been drinking a lot, haven't you? I don't wan-"

"Trust me, I'm fine!" She hissed at him. In one fluid motion, she slid down off his knee to crouch down before him and part his legs. His loincloth dangled between his thighs, completely covering his crotch. "See? Totally fine."

His ears flopped down as he narrowed his eyes, confounded at her actions and sudden change of attitude. Miss Kila, I must protest this brash behaviour." He had regained his more posh and noble demeanour.

She shuffled in closer, a soft smile revealing only the tips of her long fangs. Her feline curiosity had taken over and at this point she wasn't going to back down. "Protest all you want, I don't see you stopping me." As she spoke, she leaned in close and slid her hand up his inner thigh, cupping one of his large furry balls. After giving them a very gentle squeeze, she looked up to gauge his reaction.

Revau had an expression of both frustration and amusement, his fists balled up to the side as he leaned back. "You really are a wily one, aren't you? I knew I was right to seek you out." Though somewhat reluctant, he found himself spreading his legs a bit farther to give her better access as his sheath swelled. "But please don't do anything that you might regret come morning. I would be utterly devastated if you woke up resenting me. I've come to enjoy your company entirely too much."

Kila rolled her eyes and leaned in close, her chest pressed right up next to his crotch as she reached around his hips and untied his loin cloth. "I told you, I'm fine." She cooed as she pulled back the leather straps to reveal his swollen sheath and the mauve tip that was poking out the end of it. A thick musky aroma billowed up from between his legs, which unfortunately did little for her since she was no cien. Had he been jysar, she'd have gone wild at the musk.

"I only want to be sure because just few hours ago, you were very reluctant to spend time with me and even seemed intent on killing me. I'm not sure if it's the wine talking or if you're just-"

Again, she cut him off mid sentence. This time she stood up straight and pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhhh. Don't you worry about your honor. All I know for certain is that you've interrupted my attempt to sate my heat once, and I really, really need a release right now. Wine or not, I'm in season; you can either take advantage of that, or leave me to my own fantasies; either way, you will be there fuelling my desires...I mean, either way I'm ... going to ...uh..." She blushed and looked away, having accidentally revealed her idle thoughts about him that had been manifesting while she was trying to pleasure herself.

"What was that?" He asked, holding her by the shoulders with a soft smile on his face.

Wine or not, that was a slip she wasn't quite prepared to deal with. She didn't mind coming onto him with the cover of alcohol to mask her intentions, but his constant questions and assurances made her resent her decision to proceed with flirtation. The wine helped her realize that she did want him - he was an utter gentleman, a skilled fighter, and apparently a good cook - but she wasn't ready to let him know that. At this point, she was mostly just fooling around to test him and see if he was as gentle a lover as he was in his daily life.

She was horny and that was it, on the surface. On a deeper level, she was slowly accepting that he was right for her. His constant inquiries and demanded assurances of her desire made it clear he was as much a gentleman as she'd hoped.

"Nothing, nevermind." She assured him as she reached down to grab at his member. The moisture of the tip smeared against her palm as she peeled the sheath back, exposing every bit of his length in one gooey thrust.

Revau smirked, revealing his fangs as he bucked up into her hand. "I have to say, Kila, you're an enigma. I'd be honoured to be the one to unravel that mind of yours." Before she could respond, he grabbed her by the cheeks and leaned into her, planting his lips on hers in a deep kiss.

She froze in place, eyes wide and hand still resting gently around his cock. At first she didn't know if she should react or just enjoy it, as a storm of emotions were raging inside her. After a brief moment of stiff resistance, she relaxed and leaned back into him, her free hand scratching him behind the ears as she closed yer eyes. She opened her maw just a bit, to allow his tongue to meet hers.

Kila found herself weak at the knees as she leaned into him; her heart was racing and her hand stayed at his exposed member, gently stroking it as she embraced him. Her paw grabbed a tuft of the fur at the back of his head and pulled him away as she licked her lips and stared into his eyes. "Last chance to back out if you're not into it." She offered.

"Not a chance." He responded before leaning back into her, nuzzling up cheek to cheek as he bucked his hips, his member squished between them and lightly caressing their bellies.

After a brief bit of grinding in the moonlight, she tackled him and forced him onto his back, straddling him on the log with his mauve cock resting on his abdomen. She crawled up his body until her hips were hovering over his, then she tore her skirt off to reveal her naked form from the waist down followed by her top, exposing her breasts. "Might as well go all the way!" She said to him before attacking him with a series of deep, passionate kisses, her breasts pressed against his muscled chest.

He pushed his muzzle back into her, his tongue darting in and out to dance with hers as his hands alternately gripped at her rump and cradled her neck. Her entire body was gyrating in waves as she pressed her body tight to his, her tail flicking wildly in the air behind her.

To her surprise, she didn't feel a hint of regret or remorse as she revelled in the power and passion of Revau's offerings. The tension had been broken and she was enjoying it too much to worry about the potential backlash of what others might think. What mattered to her was her needs being satisfied, and this warrior alpha wolf was certainly what she needed. Furthermore, it was what she wanted.

Problem was, they weren't exactly compatible, physically. A truth she came to terms with really quickly as she reached back over her haunches to guide his member into her, only to have the tapered tip barely part her lips and just stop. She leaned back and waggled her hips a bit, trying to force him in, but the girth of his member was more than her tight little lips would allow. "Well this...isn't something I'd planned for before jumping into this decision." She mumbled to herself.

"You need some warming up?" He offered, grabbing her by the hips as he got up off the log, gently placing her down on it and getting down onto his knee while licking his lips.

She got the message, and hoisted her legs up to rest her knees against her own shoulders.

Without hesitation he dove in, nuzzling into her inner thigh as his soft, wet tongue lapped over her folds. He used his thumbs to part the fur around there, allowing him to get in deeper as he stared up over her body. His orange eye seemed to glow in the faint embers of the remaining bonfire as he smiled up at her, his hands cradling her rump cheeks to hold her in place.

Kila found herself transfixed on his eye, so she couldn't look away even as she reached down to grab the fur around the nape of his neck, tugging on it to keep him buried between her legs. Her body was excitedly grinding against his muzzle as her own maw hung open, a series of gentle pants escaping her lips. She had been licked by other jysar before, but never a cien. His tongue was so soft, so supple! Nothing like the abrasive surface of her own kind's tongue! "D-don't stop that!" She whimpered as a purr billowed in her heaving chest.

He grinned and flicked his ear at her before continuing, his tongue expertly parting her lips while the very tip prodded into her. After a few minutes of that, when her excitement started to wane, he crawled over her to cover her body as he nibbled her neck, deeply growling into her as he nuzzled, his warm breath tickling her ears.

She gasped as her eyes fluttered, her hand wrapping around his neck to hold him in place while her legs wrapped around his hips, talons locking together. "Mate with me. Please" She purred into his ear, before nipping gently on it.

His form pressed down heavy against hers as he clamped his teeth down on her neck, his hand guiding his member to her sex while he gave one powerful thrust. The bulge of his shaft plunged into her, sliding through her lips and filling her deep as his sheath kissed her loins.

Kila had to bite down hard on his neck while squeezing him tight to keep from crying out in a combination of pleasure and pain. His endowment was just so much more than she was used to and the sensation was quite intense compared to other jysar. He wasn't barbed like her kind, but she could feel his slick and warm flesh throbbing against her, his size stretching her so taut she could actually feel his heartbeat in the veins that lined it. Her talons flailed and clenched around his back, and she could feel his lower back muscles twitching to wag his tail back and forth in canine pleasure.

But he wasn't moving. He could have been bucking into her like a pup, but he was staying still; it was like he knew she needed a moment to adjust to his equipment. Slowly, he let go of the fold of skin from her neck to gingerly lick at the matted fur, kissing her better.

"Wh-whoa...you're much bigger than I expected!" She gasped in between ragged breaths.

"You going to be okay?" He asked, moving his hips gently to test her reaction. "I can hold off if it's too much."

She grabbed at his neck fur and forced him to look her in the eyes. "Please don't stop." She demanded as she squeezed her legs around his waist, forcing him to slide a bit deeper into her. Had she not been in heat, there would have been no way a gentlemen of his girth would have managed to fit, but between her body eagerly wanting to be mated and her own arousal from his tongue, she somehow managed to accommodate him. Luckily he wasn't covered in barbs or anything like that, his smooth fleshed length slid in and out of her with ease, making her sore and satisfied at the same time.

"Like this?" He asked as he picked up the pace a bit, the bulge in his member's shaft gliding with ease in and out of her lips.

All she could do was bite down on him and nod, the purring intensifying as his body pressed down against hers. "Don't stop, please, harder?" She wrapped her arms around him, clawing at his back as she pushed up into him. When he plunged himself deep into her, she felt a thick bulge pressing against her loins, urging her to push him away so she could look and see what it was.

"Something wrong?" He asked, propping himself up so he was hovering over Kila, his member still throbbing inside her.

She glanced down and saw the massive bulge of his knot, which had just finally slid out of his sheath; each of its lobes were bigger than her fist. "What is that?" She gasped, wrapping her fingers around its neck.

"That's my knot..." He explained, somewhat baffled at her question.

"I know it's a knot, I didn't know they got that big! Are you mad? There's no way that would ever, ever fit in me!" She used a paw to squeeze around the base of it, giving it a gentle tug that seemed to milk some fluid into her. The warmth of his pre-seed tickled her loins so she did it a few more times before he bucked into her again, scraping her lower back against the log.

He grabbed her by the waist and flipped over with her so that he was on his back and she was once again straddling him, his member still swollen inside her. "Don't worry, it doesn't have to be in you for me to finish, just...keep a hold of it, use me to pleasure yourself and I'll finish with you." He advised, smiling up at her. Revau was being so considerate of her needs!

Kila seemed hesitant at first, but was happy to use him in that way as long as she had his blessing. She shifted her body so that her talons were on the log on either side of him and she was squatting down on his member, the knot squeezed between her lips and his sheath opening. After a few brisk moments of self-adjustment, she found her groove and started bouncing on him, tugging on his knot with one hand every time while her other hand leaned against his raised knee for balance.

Revau let loose a gentle growl as he wrapped his massive, powerful hands around her waist, his hips bucking in time with her bouncing to have the bulges of his knot slapping against her flesh, the sounds accented by the light crackle of the embers nearby. His powerful chest and abdomen tensed up as another series of thick ejaculations pumped into her.

She could feel his arousal filling her as his pre-seed lubricated her walls and tickled her flesh. The thickness of his endowment was cumbersome at first but her body quickly adapted to its invasive nature quite quickly, allowing her to bounce and grind against him in a sensual rhythm. Before long, she felt the warmth of his seed erupt into her depths, the heat of his essence triggering her own orgasmic bliss by making her body shudder in delight. Her talons dug into the bark of the log and her movements grew erratic as she clenched her pelvic muscles down onto him, squeezing as much seed as she could coax from him.

Moments passed as she fell back onto his raised thigh, one hand on her forehead and the other still gripping his knot while he pumped shot after shot into her. Her lower jaw quivered in delight and her body heaved as her deep purring rumbled through the both of them. She was done, but he kept at it, his member squirting again and again for as many minutes as she held onto him.

"And when does this stop?" She whimpered through her chattering lower jaw, curious and able to speak with a mostly clear mind despite the tremors of bliss shooting through her body.

In response, he grunted and bucked his hips into her, grinding knot to her lips. "Until you let go." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Do you want me to let go?" She offered, bringing her other hand down to gently tickle at the web of throbbing veins around his knot's bulbs.

"That's up to you, my dear." He answered, still smiling up at her as he stoked her cheek.

She laid down flat on his chest, leaving his cock deep inside her but letting go of the knot to cross her arms on his chest, serving as a pillow. "I'm good. That's real good." She murmured to him, lightly kneading at his pecs, fatigue quickly catching up now that she'd climaxed. The throb of his member massaged her, even as it softened a bit, slowly pulling from her depths. She was content, satisfied, and ready to let her dreams pick up where Revau left off.

He stroked her hair a bit and let her fall asleep on top of him as his member deflated and sucked itself back into his sheath, leaving her drooling mess all over his belly. She was still technically awake, but so close to sleep that he figured it was about time to take her to a proper cot for a good night's slumber. He held her tight and got to his feet with her against his chest as he picked up her skirt and top, eventually carrying her back to the cottage that was nestled in the edge of the clearing.

Other cien were bundled up and shifting in the large beds, but they wouldn't stir from sleep, not after a victory.

Inside, he laid her down on the floor level cot and was about to crawl into bed next to her when he noticed that his seed was leaking from her depths, so he did what Kila hoped he would by cleaning it up with his tongue, pleasuring her one last time while also keeping the bed clean. She lightly moaned and gyrated her hips against his muzzle, biting her lips to keep herself from making too much noise.

When he was sure the mess was fixed, he crawled up behind her and laid on his side, arm over the much smaller Kila.

She moaned a bit and grabbed his arm, using it as leverage to snuggle in deeper and closer to his chest. Before she fell asleep, she turned around in his embrace and cradled his cheek. "Kiss me, pup." She demanded, rubbing her lips to his. When his tongue slipped from his maw and into hers, she gave it a caress and a suckle before nuzzling his cheek and resting her head on his upper arm, ready to let the dreams take over.