The Wedding

The planning went more quickly than it had any right to, due entirely to his fiance's experience, as Tibas would readily admit. He happily left the bulk of the decision-making to her, a little afraid of both the price-tags that came with certain items and what seeing those waved off as a trivial cost would do to his psyche. Nellie's concept of "expensive" was rather more relaxed than his, needless to say...

She made certain he had his share of input on the planning, though Tibas almost failed to realize it. His favorite colors, taste in confection, preferences in alcohol...he was pretty sure she'd finished planning the decorations and menu before he caught on to the fact that she wasn't just getting to know him better. It did take more than her initial estimate of two days, but that was largely because Tibas had to go back to work the following morning, and Nellie respectfully avoided contacting him there. By Tuesday everything except the destination for the honeymoon had been decided. On Wednesday she asked for his guest-list, and by Friday each and every one had been delivered by private courier (i.e. one of her small army of servants). The longest part of the entire process would be the wait until the big day...a whopping two weeks from the day the invitations were delivered.

"Are you sure this will be enough notice for your guests?" Nellie asked when he'd suggested keeping the wait short.

Tibas chuckled, but nodded confidently. "Dad's semi-retired already, and Mom's always been a housewife. Flynn and Hartley are already approved for the day off," he winked, naming two of his coworkers-turned-employees. As for his best-man... "Declan is the only one it might be tight on, but that guy would drop his job to be here for this. He'll show, even if I have to hire him on after the ceremony. Thanks for offering to pay everyone's air-fare, by the way," the Cougar added sincerely, "That's the one thing that might have stopped him." To that, Nellie only nodded absently, reviewing her nightly stack of note-cards while he answered. "Taking that smaller venue over in Three-Peaks helped, too," he chuckled, "Though I'm a little surprised that's what you proposed. I half-expected you'd host it here...if you didn't rent out an entire hotel, instead."

His fiance shrugged, setting her note-cards back on the tray and waving the butler away. "That was on the table, too, if you wanted it. But you were sound in your reasoning: the guest-list is small, the level of opulence I could bring to bear would be rather overwhelming for yours, and a large hotel is likely to be booked much further out. The river-side chapel was the better idea, and I also appreciate an outdoor venue for just about any event. Thank you for thinking of that."

It was the Cougar's turn to shrug, though there was a blush over his smile as he did. "Thank long-held childhood fantasies. I couldn't even tell you where I got the idea, but somehow I've always imagined a view of the river in the background of my wedding." Laying his napkin on top of his empty dinner-plate, Tibas offered her a hand to her feet. On her suggestion, they had made a regular habit these last few days of spending at least the hour after dinner together in the living-room, before she went to...do whatever she did at night, after leaving him. Tibas was under the firm impression that she worked by night as often as by day, and wondered when she actually slept. He'd avoided asking about it so far, with the idea he would learn the answer pretty clearly in another two weeks. "What about you? Who are you bringing to witness?"

"My staff will fill the rest of the venue for the day," Nellie answered off-handedly, "There is only one who might come from out-of-town, if she deigns."

That gave Tibas pause. "I know you've said you don't often have friends...but none? Not even some family? Or is this one you're referring to your mother?" Behind the illusion, she was a Unicorn, after all. Her parents had to be as well, and just as immortal. They should still be around to see their daughter, at least at her wedding...

"My mother did not survive the Age of Persecution," the Mare explained casually, "And I lost touch with my father toward the end of that period. I keep an ear out for him, so to speak, but I don't hold out much hope of reconnecting after this many centuries. It is likely he's already with mother."

A knot formed in his stomach. "Erf...uh, sorry to bring that up," he apologized quietly, scratching the back of his neck like he tended to when he was embarrassed, "I...guess I was expecting to meet them, sooner or later."

"A reasonable expectation," Nellie nodded, taking a seat at one end of the couch and pulling him down onto the cushion next to her. The Mare looked him hard in the eyes for a long minute, and he very nearly forgot himself in those wide sapphires before she pulled him back with his own name: "Tibas, it's been centuries gone. I won't deny those days linger with me in many ways, but that particular grief is well finished. I will tell you all about them, if you really wish to know, and I do remember them both well and fondly. But first there is a small problem between you and I that needs addressing," she warned, though her look was more curious than stern as she asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

The Cougar blinked several times, and very nearly started laughing. "There's a pretty long list of words for how I feel about you. I think 'awed' tops the list. 'Overwhelmed', by both your wealth and your beauty, is a strong second. And I say that knowing this isn't even your prettiest face I'm looking at," he chuckled, running his eyes once over the shapely Arabian figure in front of him, with her chocolate-brown fur and onyx-black mane, all elegantly enhanced by a tailored dress that seemed to only reflect the light around her contours, like an artist creating line-art of his subject. "'Humbled' that you'd give me the time of day, and 'embarrassed' that I don't deserve it at least a little more, are also pretty high up there. But afraid? No. I ran out of paper way too early for that to even make it onto the list."

Nellie rocked her head thoughtfully, as if considering that very list herself. "I think your argument for 'embarrassed' was more a counter-point than you realize. It needs to be stricken from the list, if you really want to deny me."

Her fiance blushed, and nodded in submission. "I'll work on that, just as soon as I find an eraser. What made you ask, though?"

"You haven't kissed me," she answered almost too matter-of-factly, leaning back against the arm of the couch and letting her cheek rest on the back of her hand, "Not once, outside that brief peck on my nose the day you arrived, have you even tried. I know very well that you aren't that easy to embarrass, else the day we met would have gone very differently...though now that I think back on it, I'm not sure we kissed at all on that day," she admitted, tapping her cheek with one finger, "So I thought it must be fear. Fear of being too familiar, too indulgent, too informal, too forward...too something. So I ask again, for clarity: are you afraid of me?"

He blinked at her again, though he wasn't even tempted to laugh this time, and glanced down at himself as if checking to see if he'd left his fly open before meeting her eyes again. "I'm...kind of terrified at how transparent you find me, to tell the truth. I don't know any guy that isn't afraid to disappoint someone they admire, much less their girlfriend, and especially their soon-to-be wife." His shock quickly transformed into a sheepish smile, though, and he continued, "So I guess the answer is 'yes', in that sense, but something as simple as that wouldn't have held me back for this long."

Nellie looked surprised by that answer, but pleasantly so. "Oh? That's good to hear. So what is holding you back, and what can I do to relieve it?"

"Pick your words more carefully, for starters!" Tibas did laugh that time, and reminded her, "You gave me some very clear conditions for living here until the honeymoon. I'll just sum them up as 'keep it in my pants' and 'my hands out of them'," the Cougar grinned, "You do know you make that hard, right? A kiss...would be tough."

Nellie stared at him for a second, then gifted him with a treasure: a genuine blush on her own cheeks, as she turned her face aside and smothered a giggle in her hand. "Oh, you sweet, unfortunate man," she sighed, turning to face him once more with that rare, wholehearted smile he'd only seen about twice so far, "Yes...I suppose I am very thoughtlessly cruel in some ways, even to myself. Very well..." Sitting upright and folding her hands over her knees, the mare leaned toward him with her head low. "We'll maintain your sense of restraint through formality, then, by making it an explicit rule: you do not have to kiss me before the wedding, but you may. Once per night, before we go to our respective wings. A good-night kiss," she smiled warmly, "I forswear my right to refuse it. And after the ceremony," she added, "You must never restrain that impulse again. It should go without saying that is the least imposing right shared by both husbands and wives. "

"...Forgotten gods, you make contracts sound sexy," Tibas chuckled, leaning forward with her, until their noses barely touched. "Sworn, signed, and sealed," he whispered, then touched his lips to hers for the very first time.

Her breath tasted like the lemon meringue they'd had with dinner. Her lips were full and soft and comfortable against his. She tilted her head just a fraction, to let his nose past hers so they could settle firmly together, and that subtle slide fanned a hungry fire low in his body, making everything below his belt feel tight. He knew he'd kissed a woman before. He knew, explicitly, undeniably, irrefutably, that he has shared long, deep, nearly painful kisses with Lydia. But this soft, tentative, unhurried touch carried all the fire and fear of a first kiss, as exciting as if he'd never felt such a thing before.

Just as carefully as they'd leaned in together, Nellie leaned back, gently breaking the brief contact far sooner than Tibas would have wished. "...Gods forgotten, I was right," the Cougar groaned, likewise leaning back and rubbing one hand across his face. The other was clinging tightly to the cushion underneath his leg, fighting the urge to move somewhere she had forbidden. "That was a terrible mistake, and I still have to live another two weeks with it. Two and a half, more like!"

Nellie chuckled with an amused look, lightly touching her own lips as if to confirm they still rested on her face. "I suppose that will be the last before the vows, then. But if you can stand another some night sooner than that...I would welcome it," the Mare smiled. Patting his knee, she got to her hooves then. "Patience, dear. It will be worth it when the time comes. Now, I have potions to brew. You should distract yourself. Appropriately," she added with a sympathetic look, "I'll dress more humbly tomorrow, if that will help."

Her fiance shook his head, never taking his eyes out from behind his hand, as if nursing a headache. "I can imagine you in jeans and a tee-shirt easily enough, and it's no less enticing that your dresses. If anything, you'd look more approachable, and I'd be even more eager to make a move."

"Hmhm...I'll be sure to wear some on our honey-moon, then. I should definitely be 'approachable' for that," the Mare nodded, already striding off down the hall on near-silent hooves...

The day of the wedding came more swiftly than he expected (thank all the forgotten gods!). The weather cooperated beautifully, with the river reflecting the warm sun in a ribbon of sparkles behind the pair as they spoke their vows. A handful of comfortably padded folding chairs supported his parents and co-workers through the half-hour ceremony...surrounded by about a dozen times as many servants in suits, silently watching and softly clapping at appropriate times. And that wasn't even counting the ones distributing the refreshments and welcome-favors, as expected. Despite the awkwardly uniform appearance of their audience, Tibas thought it turned out to be a beautiful (and mercifully short) ceremony.

There was exactly one guest who was neither a servant nor one of his friends or family. She stood at the back of the crowd for the entire duration. Tibas actually mistook her for some sort of statuary until the hierophant invited the witnesses forward to congratulate the newlyweds, and what he'd taken for a tall, marble-esque statue moved to join the line. Her first, silent step seemed to mute the area. Everyone stopped, staring quietly as she approached, like some sacred figure had just entered the ceremony. She towered above them, making them all look like children...and her bearing made them feel like children, too. Even Nellie's servants bowed in respect and withdrew as she approached, as though she outranked their employer. Perhaps most significantly, she was openly and obviously a Unicorn.

She had to stoop almost embarrassingly low to whisper her congratulatory words in Nellie's ear, and the Arabian-looking Mare nodded somberly in reply. Then she stepped in front of Tibas, and stooped again. "...Have no patience with her," the Unicorn whispered softly. Between straining to hear the words and keeping his eyes politely averted from the view of her breasts that her posture forced on him, Tibas couldn't even say what answer he made to that cryptic remark. But she nodded politely to whatever it was, and left just as quietly as she'd arrived. The birds resumed chirping as soon as she got into her car.

His family and friends gathered around, shaking Nellie and Tibas' hands and complimenting her dress and asking how he'd hooked this looker! The cake was carried out for them to cut, and the small orchestra stationed beside the chapel wall warmed up for the dance. The short ceremony swiftly became a short whirlwind, and Tibas didn't even have a chance to ask his newly-vowed wife who their guest had been...

He pulled the cord to raise the blinds over the little windows on either side of the carriage the following day, and let out a low, appreciative whistle as the pastoral countryside rolled by outside. "It's like something out of a painting...from, you know, a couple hundred years ago."

On the bench across from him, Nellie nodded absently, turning the pages of a book in front of her nose. "It's grown up quite well since I was last here. Back then it was more impoverished and dirty, but full of honest folk living honest lives. I hope that much, at least, has remained."

Her husband chuckled, gradually becoming more used to the idea that she had lived to see a great deal of change in the world, even to places that looked still antiquated to him. "I did ask you to bring me somewhere you haven't been in a while, with the hope there might be some novelty we could actually share. What made you choose this spot? Forigna's not much different from Heartherra, and we're kind of close to Amunet's border, which I remember you very specifically refusing before I made any suggestions."

His wife repeated her exact words from that discussion, and with just as much finality: "I will not set hoof in that country. Ever. Just as Heartherra became synonymous with 'safe haven' for my kind toward the end of that era, Amunet became a byword for 'death'...and frankly remains so, to the best of my knowledge. We're closer than I'd like, even now," she sighed, setting aside her book to look out the window with him, finally. "But this little corner of the world has meaning to me, and I ought to visit more often. This seemed like a good time, and for happy reasons, which I rarely have. It's convenient that Timbridge has committed itself to keeping the feel of old ways, while being welcome to visitors. I'm glad it's worked out well for them." She could see the several questions burning in his eyes the moment she turned to meet them, and gave him a reassuring nod. "I have plans to tell you all about it...tomorrow. Have patience that much longer, and enjoy the night."

Tibas planned to. Technically, the this was their second night as a married couple, but even he had been too tired to try making out in any way on the plane during the long flight over. They'd gotten into a car as soon as they landed...and from there transferred to this carriage from a previous century, to carry them the rest of the way into a tiny town known as an "artisanal village", a place where modernity had been held at bay by people who loved the culture, craft, and lifestyles now nearly forgotten by the modern world. In respect of that spirit, Nellie had arranged not to have their car drive into the area.

The Cougar leaned back in his seat again with a chuckle. "I will, on both counts. Though you should know I was warned not to, so don't think you're going to get to night three without showing me some lingerie," he winked.

Nellie tilted her head in surprise. "Warned? How so, and by whom?"

"The tall one," Tibas admitted, scratching his head in embarrassment. Simple as the description was, it should be enough. "Who was she, anyway? I assume she was that one guest you said might come..."

The shapely Arabian Mare nodded her head slowly in confirmation, though seemed to be thinking about something as they rode. "Grandmother. Not literally, but that's what all we Unicorns call her. She is not the first, nor even among the first ten, but the very oldest of our kind that still survives. Formally, we call her 'Lady Amalthea', and you might compare her to a queen specifically to our Kinship."

Tibas' chin fell slack. "...I had no idea I was talking to someone that important. I really hope I wasn't disrespectful."

Something about that earned an amused smirk from his wife. "She is older than the Age of Persecution, older even than the so-called 'Reign of Immortals' that came before it. She has seen far, far too much of life to be offended by anything an infant such as you or I could have said. That being said, her words are brimming with wisdom and never shared lightly. May I ask what else she told you, if you were not bidden to keep it secret?"

Her husband could only shake his head. "That was literally all of it. 'Have no patience with her,' were her exact words. I've been too busy to even try figuring out what she was implying with it. What did she say to you?" he asked in return, remember that their guest had whispered to Nellie before approaching Tibas.

"'Do not waste him'," Nellie answered easily, "Which I'm sure I will come to understand in due time...but for now, like you, it makes no real sense to me. We will have to think carefully on them, but not constantly. It is likely something she means to impact our entire future lives with."

The carriage pulled to a stop, interrupting their talk by announcing their arrival. Her servants opened the door and Tibas stepped out first, politely offering Nellie a steadying hand down...despite his own shock at their surroundings. "You got us a castle? An actual castle?!"

They were in the courtyard, flanked on either side by stout, clean buildings for housing animals and grain and other basic necessities of an older life, and one tall, towered and banner-bedecked building of stone and stained glass. It was obviously a castle, overlooking the town he'd been too distracted to pay attention to as they rode through it, stretching out down the road behind them among many smaller houses and shops crowding the narrow street.

"Don't be silly," Nellie shook her head as her hooves alighted on the dirt, hand still supported by his, "I've only rented it for the week. We're not moving here, so it's pointless to buy real-estate, but there also aren't many rental properties near here. And I need rooms for the servants as well as us, so it was either oust every other guest at the inn, back at the edge of town, or this...which had rather fewer reservations to begin with. I did book every room, though. We will be the only guests for the entirety of the week."

Tibas chuckled and repeated, "You got us a castle...," just as the manager came out to greet his most generous guests, and introduce the staff.

By the time they'd met everyone, divvied up the duties between the staff and her servants, and been shown to their room for the week (the royal suite) it was already late. They enjoyed dinner in the great hall, consisting entirely of iconic local recipes, then finally retired to their room. The stars twinkled outside the wide window dominating the western wall, and hardly a lamp still shone in the town below, except in the windows of the inn. "Man," Tibas rubbed his head and stretched his back, "It feels like we've been constantly on the move for two whole days, at least. Heh...I kind of need a vacation from my wedding," he chuckled.

"You should have seen some of the weddings that took place back when actual nobility lived here," Nellie answered, gesturing the handful of servants following them where to put the two armoirs and pair of large braziers they were carrying, "The ceremony alone could take as much as three days, and the celebration to follow might last a week. They were quite exhausting to the peasantry."

Her husband nodded quietly, feeling some sympathy with the bygone generations just from hearing that, and gave curious looks to the furniture newly added to either side of the antique couch between the bed and the fireplace. "So...what's this? I thought the luggage was already brought in."

Nellie smirked as she accepted the night-gown one of the servants offered to her: the exact same one she'd worn that first morning he'd woken up in her house. "Amusements, if we want them." The Mare stepped behind a changing-screen set up in the corner by the fire, while her servants doused every candle in the room and closed the heavy curtains over the window. "Wait right there a moment," his wife requested from behind the screen while her servants vacated the room entirely, closing the door behind them.

The Cougar sat on the edge of the bed, watching her silhouette with a patient purr as she stripped off her clothes and pulled the gown around her shoulders, making sure the front was pulled closed around her shapely figure before stepping out from behind the screen...though of course the thin fabric did nothing to actually hide anything underneath. Tibas gave an appreciative whistle as she very deliberately sat herself on the couch between the armoirs and braziers, just a little in front of him. "Hehe...now that does bring back memories," he winked as she made herself comfortable, and stood up to approach her...but stopped when she held up a finger before he could actually take a step. Tibas quirked a curious brow.

She answered his look with a smug smile, turning just a little sideways to him and lifting both hands lightly in the air above her head. Her fingers poised to snap, and held there for a long moment, as Nellie closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. Tibas could feel the tension rising in those elegant fingers, and the room as a whole, as they pressed together...

The sharp crack nearly knocked him onto the bed. It snuffed the fire. It opened the wings of her robes, draping just wide enough for the hems to barely conceal her nipples, baring a wide lane down her center that revealed all of her cleavage, her belly, inner thighs and what lay between and below. Before his eyes had even adjusted, a new light flowed into the room, radiating from Nellie herself, as she reclined casually on the couch in all her glory as a Unicorn.

Tibas' heart nearly stopped in his chest. There wasn't the faintest breeze in this room, and yet her sparkling mane seemed to flow and drift around her fair face, teasing him with glimpses of her smile before wafting between it and his eyes again. She looked less like a newly wed about to share her first night with her husband, and more like a queen amused by his efforts to woo her. It took a full three seconds for him to realize his mouth was hanging open, and close it politely.

Nellie favored him with a sincere smile, turning up the corners of her eyes as well as her mouth, and inclined her horned head to the space on the couch beside her, though her husband still didn't move. "This, dear husband, is our wedding night. There will be no masks," she promised quietly, "No illusions, no facades...and no forbearance. I will wear my prettiest face for you -- my real face -- and let the stardust linger in your eyes for as long as you can stand to stare through it." So saying, she held out her arms to him.

His heart did its absolute best to leap into those arms without waiting for the rest of his body to follow. He wasn't entirely certain it didn't crack a rib. "Forgotten gods, you could kill a man with an invitation like that," Tibas whispered.

His wife continued to smile, inclining her head as if accepting a compliment, then lifted one hand to make a second, somewhat softer snap. The braziers on either end of the couch lit, casting their warm glow around the room to compete with the cooler light Nellie was still shedding. It took a little of the edge off the intensity of her appearance. Just a little. Enough for Tibas to realize he was still staring like some teenager watching an erotic film instead of moving to embrace his real, warm, welcoming wife.

"...I knew there was magic in those snaps," he chuckled, rising from the bed and taking the two steps he needed to cross the space to the couch. Leaning down between her arms, he rested his hands on the couch's back to either side of her head, and asked with a bemused smile, "What else have you been hiding from me?"

She rested her arms lightly around his neck, her smile turning a little smug as she answered, "A great many things. Far too many to discover in a single night, or a week or two...but I'm sure you'll sniff out most of them in due time." Any retort he might have wanted to make to that was cut off by the touch of her lips to his. This was their third kiss, and the first she had initiated. She tasted like the snow he'd caught fresh from the mountain sky as a child, when his family took vacations to Three-Peaks. She smelled like the grass by the riverbank where they'd been married yesterday. She felt softer than...his brain gave up trying to make comparisons, and simply melted into the sensation that was her.

It wasn't until they broke for air that Tibas realized he'd moved. Nellie was stretched along the full length of the couch now, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders, while he knelt astride her hips as if to pin her down. "Forgotten gods," he whispered again, "If I blink, I'll miss my own wedding night..."

Nellie smirked, running her fingers through the fur on top of his head, down the back of his neck, and just into the collar of the shirt he still wore. "Then we'll just have to repeat it tomorrow," she promised reassuringly, "Take your time. Do as you like. This is hardly the last time you'll have me with my face bare, so to speak. I only have one request for this, our wedding night," the Mare promised, sliding her hand around the collar of his shirt to the buttons on the front.

Her glossy-eyed husband quirked a brow when she didn't immediately continue, but instead began deftly undoing the buttons one by one with just one hand. "You'd better finish that thought fast, then," the Cougar purred, "While I can still resist this trance you're pulling me into..."

She kissed his cheek as his shirt fell open, and ran one slender-fingered hand down his bare chest. "Take me once, as a husband ought to take his bride, before you indulge yourself with the belts. I'd like to enjoy this first coupling without a sore bottom."

Quite unintentionally, she'd managed to break the spell of her own beauty, if only for a moment. Tibas pushed back from her with a genuinely perplexed look. "...Belts? What..are you even talking about?"

Nellie gently snapped her fingers, and the doors of the armoirs swung quietly open and the drawers slid forward on their rails. Inside where a collection of risque clothing, the sensible stack of condoms and lubricant, and an assortment of what Tibas would politely describe as "antique toys". Several rods of lacquered wood were obviously dildos. There was an articulated metal pipe resembling an elephant's trunk, decorated with various gems. There were a handful of restraints in various forms, including silk-smooth ropes and cuffs. And there were a few things Tibas would have described generically as "sadistic". This last group included an actual bull-whip, a riding crop, a paddle, and a trio of belts of varying thickness.

"Last time, when I asked you to do something you did not dare do with your girlfriend, you opted to spank me," the Unicorn beneath him mused while he stared wide-eyed, "I thought it might be a secret fetish of yours. So I came prepared to indulge and endure, as a token of the sincerity of my vows." Nellie tucked her chin just slightly, resting her luminous horn lightly on his forehead. "'Till death do us part' does not mean the same thing to me as it does to you. It is not a vow Unicorns make, because it cannot be fulfilled outside of tragedy or terror. But I did not swear or accept it carelessly. Until you have fulfilled that oath, I will remain by your side and keep you by mine, regardless of the hardship. Letting you inflict a little pain as part of your pleasure seemed a good first example."

Tibas slid his brow down her horn until their faces met, sighing with a voiceless chuckle. "Nellie...I appreciate the gesture, but you've misread me entirely," he assured her, "I only wanted an excuse to feel up those sweet cheeks, and maybe see them jiggle a little. Not hurt you. I'll handle them about the same way I handle your breasts." As if to demonstrate, he slid one hand beneath the hem of her gown, gently cupping it over her bare breast to give it a soft, appreciative squeeze. His dick strained against the confines of the pants he was still wearing, inspired by the warm feel of her.

With a knowing smile, Nellie reached down to deftly undo his belt next (still working entirely with one hand, to his amazement), followed by the button of his britches. "I'll admit that's a relief," she answered, lifting her head to kiss his cheek, "But my request stands. Please." His zipper hissed softly as she drew it down, freeing him about as much as was possible from their current position.

The shiver that crept down his spine has nothing to do with the cool night air slowly filling the room. His purr was involuntary, and embarrassingly loud, as Tibas put both feet on the ground and scooped his wife up in his arms to move her to the bed. Nellie lay there with a soft smile, idly caressing her own breasts while he finished shrugging off his shirt and squirming out of both his pants and his boxers. "That's a lovely sound," she complimented as he crawled over her once more, "It's a pity I have no sweet sounds to make for you."

"You know, I might have to consider a spanking after all, if you insist on telling lies to my face," Tibas warned as he took her wrists in his hands and moved them from her breasts to the bed beside her cheeks, leaning down low for a quick kiss, "I'm betting you've got at least two or three 'sweet sounds' to share before you hit your climax."

His wife chuckled, lying submissively in his hold, and nuzzled his cheek with her nostrils. "I'll do my best to make some nice ones for you, then," she promised, spreading her knees around his hips and crossing her dainty ankles above his tail, "And if you ever discover me lying to you, I expect to be punished. Just be aware I will not hesitate to do the same to you."

Tibas didn't doubt her for a second, but also did not fear that particular consequence in the least. What he had to be wary of was being self-conscious, and apologizing for something she'd already permitted. The Cougar expected he'd feel that sting pretty regularly for a while, until he broke the habit. As if to make his first effort at doing precisely that, Tibas offered neither warning nor apology when the tip of his spear found her entrance and sank comfortably inside. Nellie just smiled, clenching her walls around him briefly in welcome, and continued to nuzzle and kiss his cheek until his pelvis pressed onto the warm pillow of her thick vulva.

He ground against her experimentally, and Nellie nickered softly in his ear. "Never been with this kind before? It's a bit of a different experience, isn't it?" she asked, suspecting what he was testing, "They are wonderfully sensitive, but not at all delicate. Think of it as padding, and feel free to land hard on it."

"...Everything about you is different from anything I've ever experienced," her husband whispered back, "I might as well be a virgin again, for all I know what I'm doing. You're so calm." He could feel his own heart pounding in his chest, excited by the feel of her soft body and warm depths. Bowing his head beside hers and resting his weight on her, he could feel her heartbeat through her chest, too...slow and patient, as if still warming up for the night ahead.

Nellie just nodded, using her ankles to gently coax him into continuing. If his expectations were guided at all by the television and movies of recent decades, he was sure to find her quite passive by comparison. She wasn't striving to make it quick, or explosive. It might not be the best orgasm of her life, and she might not even get to her own at all. That seemed to be something this new generation outright dreaded, but she was not afraid to take the time they needed to perfect the art. He would learn the needs of her body eventually, and she would discover the quirks of his. Tonight would just be the first step toward that...and she would enjoy that well enough.

As he began slowly sliding in and out of her, the Unicorn rubbed her cheek against her new husband's encouragingly. "If you want me to move, just tell me. If something needs to change, say so. But if it already feels good, just savor that. The rest will come in due time," she promised.

Tibas let go of her wrists, sliding his arms underneath her shoulders and hugging her to him. Nellie put her arms around his neck, sharing short kisses in between his thrusts. She liked those. He was a very good kisser, and the feel of his raspy, feline tongue across the smoother surface of hers was a novelty she drank in appreciatively. Very soon (at least by her estimate), Tibas was throbbing inside her, the pressure building in his balls and threatening to release any second. Nellie ran her fingers down his back, and hugged his hips with her thighs, and reminded him, "I'm a pure-blood Kinship. It's safe for you to leave it in, always. Just let yourself go, and enjoy."

He kissed her neck, then her cheek, and then her brow below her horn. Then he growled, low and soft, and quietly emptied himself into her. The relief was tremendous, and made all the stronger by knowing he did not have to act like it was the best of his life. His new wife did not demand theatrics to support her self-esteem. Ironically...it might actually have been the best he'd had to date, if only for that lack of worry.

Nellie sighed contentedly beneath him, holding him tight within her walls as well as her arms, until he finally ceased twitching inside her. "Mmm...that was a wonderful first," she promised, kissing his ear softly, "Thank you for indulging me, dear husband. Now, please show me what technique excites you most."

Tibas laughed breathlessly, struggling a little to keep the brunt of his weight off her. "Hey...don't be...lazy now," he grinned, relaxing onto her gently for a breather. He could still hear her calm, steady heartbeat through her body. "That didn't...do it for you...at all. Heh...so tell me...what will...before I go again."

She rubbed his back with a chuckle, holding her to him while he caught his breath. "It's not a competition, dear. Don't try to do everything all at once. And it is very, very difficult for me climax without touching my clitoris," she confessed, "You'll have to learn where my g-spot is, and probably have to use the sleeve to stimulate it properly, before you'll be able to make me orgasm during intercourse. With that said," she added, running fingers down his back warmly as his breath began to steady out and his strength return, "What gets me worked up best might surprise you. Can you let me move yet?"

He kissed her gratefully on the lips, then gently withdrew, sitting on his knees beside her thighs to give her room. Nellie simply rolled onto her belly where she was, crossing her arms under her cheek and smiling at him over her shoulder with a subtle hike of her hips. "Give that a jiggle, like you enjoy."

Tibas did so with a chuckle, though it was more of a squeeze than a shake. She bucked her rump against his hand, and he ran his hands across both cheeks appreciatively, then moved to kneel between her knees and began kneading her soft bottom like fresh dough. "Forgotten gods, you're so soft," he whispered, smiling back as she watched him play with her, "But there's no way this is going to do all that much for you, even if you enjoy it. Unless..." Quirking one brow, he hazarded a guess: "Anal? You were a little disappointed I didn't go further than spanking that one time..."

Nellie flashed a sly smile, her horn glittering as she nodded her head toward the armoirs behind him. "Something like that. In the top shelf is a blue bottle full of a kind of oil. Please bring it here." Crawling off the bed, he fetched the bottle she'd asked for, popping the tiny stopper out of the neck and taking a whiff. It reminded him of olive oil, vaguely.

While he was fetching it, Nellie pulled her knees a little further under her hips, and reached back to pull her wavy, snow-white tail to one side. "I'm not enamored of penetration, to be honest, but this was still a taboo act back when I first discovered I quite like for the surface to be touched. What you did for me in the shower that day was quite pleasant. It will be even better with that stimulating oil. One set of fingers there, and the other on my pearl, will go quite a long way in pleasuring me."

Tibas chuckled as he returned to his position between her hooves, lightly pulling one cheek aside to expose her thick, pronounced rim, and drizzled the contents of the bottle lightly around the edges. He pooled the last few drops in the bowl of her sphincter, then stoppered the bottle before applying his fingers gently to smoothing out the coat around every crease and wrinkle. "Heh...can't exactly say I'm eager to offer this...but would a tongue be even better?" the Cougar asked sincerely, if not enthusiastically.

Nellie gave him a dubious look over her shoulder. "...No. Not yours, at least. The texture is delightful in its way, but I don't think that will extend to more sensitive regions."

He was tempted to argue, remembering the praises his last girlfriend had sung for the tingle of his tongue between her labia. But that brief thought was the last time Lydia ever intruded into his head. Nellie was an utterly different person. She was patient, careful, subtle. If it took all night to please her, she would wait all night. If anything, what she needed most from him was ... endurance.

Tibas reached under her hips and gently coaxed her onto her side, snuggling up behind her spoon-in-spoon. While the one hand continued to gently tease her beneath her tail, his other slipped under her and between her thighs. His wife tipped her head back with a a contented smile, and closed her eyes to wallow in the delightful sensations he brought to her body. He rubbed her labia between his fingers, and she nickered approval. He carefully searched out her pearl and began to polish it for her. He gently caressed the soft, wet lining of her cup, trailing a little of her own honey up to gloss her clit with. He matched his touches around her vulva to the ones on her rim, teasing her from both sides at once. And, nearly a full hour later, he was rewarded with a quiet whiny and telling flare at the tip of her horn.

The Cougar blinked at the momentary burst of light. "Wow...I hope that means it was good?"

The Unicorn rolled over to face him, and sealed her lips warmly with his, humming in pleasure. "You picked up on that quickly," she smiled when they parted again, "I haven't had a moment that intense since...well, the last time I was married, to be honest."

Tibas whistled. "I'll take that as high praise." He yawned then, having cooled down considerably while he stimulated her, and the late hour began to catch up with him.

Nellie smiled in understanding, and curled up against his chest with both arms around him after pulling the blanket up over their legs. "Sweet dreams, Tibas. We will do more tomorrow, and in the many, many nights to come."

"...Forgotten gods, I do love you," her new husband chuckled, kissing her brow, and then the tip of her horn, "Good night, dear."