The Autumn Wood, A flight into danger

Story by Antarian_Knight on SoFurry

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#2 of The Autumn Wood


Part two of three

A little bit of everything this time around. I am sorry if it is kinda long, but I got very involved when writing it and I didn't notice until it was finished. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. *Edited: Fixed a couple typos that people found, but otherwise, it is unchanged.*


Continued from "When two spirits meet"...

The day dawned crystal clear far above the orange canopy of leaves that cast its long shadow over us. Shae and I were still running, ducking under the hanging branches as we ran on, the sounds of the crowd getting quieter. The angry mob did not want any part of the deep woods and that meant that we were relatively safe, at least for the moment. When quiet at last returned to the woods, we paused to catch our breath in a grove of trees that nearly matched the colors of my companion's fur and Shae looked back at me, smiling broadly.

"I can never repay you for what you have done." She said, and put her hand on my shoulder. "You saved my life."

"You saved mine first." I answered, looking around. "I owed you a debt for that, and I still do in fact."

"No," she said. "You gave up your home, your very life, to save me. That is a debt that I cannot pay."

"I wasn't happy there." I told her and listened. Several sets of foot prints had not faded away and instead came right after us, following our trail in the earth. I gave Shae a meaningful look and she leapt up into the trees, her fur camouflaging her perfectly. I grabbed a branch and swung myself into the tree beside her and we waited side by side for those who tracked us to come into view. We didn't have to wait long. The hunter who had captured Shae stalked forward with a naked steel sword in his grasp. But more disturbing to me was that my father and brothers were with him, each clutching a makeshift weapon and torch. They paused in the clearing and I nocked an arrow onto the string of my bow quietly, ready to fight if needed

"How could your son do such a thing?" The hunter asked, looking at my father.

"He is no son of mine." The smith replied, looking about the clearing carefully. "I took him in out of the goodness of my heart when he was found on our doorstep." My blood began to boil with the pronouncement of this lie. My mother had told me a year ago that it had been her, not him, that had wanted to keep me. "Ungrateful little bastard. If I get my hands on him, I'll skin him alive."

"I get him first." Said the hunter and I bent my bowstring a little, the arrowhead pointed right at his heart. Shae put a hand on my forearm, and I looked at her. She gave a slight shake of her head and I nodded, not drawing the bow back any further. "That spirit is worth a king's ransom to me and I will take the cost out of him if I ever find him."

"Be my guest." My former father stated and the hunting party continued on in another direction. I relaxed the tension on the bow as they stepped out of the clearing and sat back against the trunk of the tree with my eyes closed, breathing out a long slow breath. Any closer and they might have spotted my deer skin clothing in the tree branches.

"Like I said, not happy at all." I stated and Shae giggled. I opened my eyes and found her crawling over agilely, laying flat on her back on a thin branch a half foot below where I was sitting. It took a lot of effort to keep my eyes centered on Shae's gaze, for she had an incredible exotic beauty and I knew that I might do something stupid if I looked at her still nude body. To keep my mind off of the immoral fantasies that were starting to brew within me, I changed the subject. "So, how did he catch you anyway?"

"Well, it was sort of because of you." She said and I raised my eyebrows.

"Me?!" I repeated and she nodded. "What did I do?"

"It wasn't something you did. You see, when that hunter was wondering around in the deep woods, looking for a trail to track, he wore a cloak a lot like yours. For a while I thought he was you." She said and rolled onto her side, lounging on the branch with superb balance. "So I started to watch him from a distance, as my people are want to do. But he must have noticed me, for he planted a snare in a tree. I started to go in for a closer look at him, for he did not act like you do and I was caught." She looked back at the forest floor below us as she said this and I nodded. I stared up at the brilliant blue sky through the red leaves and something suddenly occurred to me.

"Shae?" I said and she looked up at me once more. "Why have you been watching over me?"

"Well," She said and looked down, her fur looking far redder than before. "My people have been forbidden by our elders from going to near to travelers in the wood; to keep us safe. I disobeyed this order and helped you because, for spirits, there is only one person in the world that is like us. Like, one person separated into two bodies. What's the word that your people use...Soulmate..?" She said and I realized that her fur was red because she was blushing fiercely. "And, when we see this person for the first time, we become forever linked. We cannot have children with anyone save our soulmate and, well, I believe I have found mine."

"Wait just a minute here." I said, holding up my hands in caution and almost falling off the branch with the motion.

"From the moment I saw you, I knew that you were my soulmate." She said. "That is why I have helped you. I cannot understand it; you are a human, and yet I know we were meant to be together."

"I don't know what to say." I stated and thought about it. How could it be true that a human boy like me could be the destined mate of this spirit? And yet, as absurd a notion it was, I knew that it was the truth. My heart knew it when I looked at her. I had known it in my heart since our eyes had met the first time. I had always looked for her eyes among the trees in the years since she had saved me and I had known comfort when I sensed her presence in the trees. At last, after considering for a moment longer, I spoke, my heart soaring strangely with the knowledge of the truth of what I was about to say. "I don't understand it either, Shae, but I have felt the same since I first saw your eyes."

She smiled sweetly at me and then sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the branch. I carefully unstrung my bow and followed her when she dropped back down to the ground. She looked in the direction that the hunter had gone for a moment and then turned back to me as I landed beside the tree.

"Well, we should get going." She said and I nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking, but going where?" I asked as she slipped off into the shadows beneath the trees.

"Well, you gave up your home for me," She began, turning back to look at me as I followed her, slipping my bow into a doe skin roll as I walked. "It is only fair that I share mine."

"Where do you live exactly?" I inquired, slinging the wrapped bow and keeping an eye out for the hunter and his accomplices.

"We live in the heart of the wood, two days journey from here." She said with a smile. "There actually aren't that many of us. A few hundred at the best of times."

"Whoa, hold it." I said, stopping short beside a tall aspen tree. Shae stopped and turned back towards me. "A few hundred?" She nodded and I took off my cloak, holding it out to her. "That is a few hundred that will get the exact wrong idea if you show up naked."

"True." She said, taking the cloak and to my relief, swirling it about her shoulders, covering her perfectly. "But I wouldn't worry. You will find that we place much less emphasis on that than you seem to." With her now covered in my cloak, we continued our journey together. As we walked on beneath the dappled sunlight, I thought about what had happened that day. I had given up one home among humans for a new one among the spirits. I didn't know what that choice would bring, but I knew that whatever it brought, I was entering a world I had never seen before...

***

The carved wooden spears hung from the tree branch, camouflaged with a curtain of leaves. Their blades had been cunningly shaped and edged with chunks of sharp stone. Ropes twisted about the tree trunk like vines held them in place, all linked to the thin trip line hidden a bare inch above the forest floor, among piles of fallen leaves. The blade of my dagger gleamed in the pale sunlight as I sliced through one of the cords, neatly catching the small steel bell attached to the hunter's trap with my hand. I turned to Shae and offered the bell to her. She took it in hand and shook her head, gazing around for the hunter. Using the same dagger, I cut my way through the trip line. The spears launched themselves straight down, driving a half foot into the ground with a dull series of thuds. I nodded to Shae and we continued our slow journey towards her home. It was late into our second day of travel away from my old village and we had not gone more than fifteen miles into the woods.

"That makes how many traps we have dealt with?" Shae asked as we continued on our way.

"Fifteen? Sixteen?" I said, looking around with an arrow on my bowstring once more. "I've lost count. At this rate, the hunter will catch us before we get to safety."

"What can be done?" Shae asked, exhausted by the constant need for watchfulness.

"There is only one choice as I see it." I said, picking at the point of the arrow in my grasp. "Kill the hunter before he finds us."

"I cannot do that, nor can I allow you to kill for me." Shae said, looking at me with a strange expression on her face. "We are forbidden to kill humans. That is the one and only rule that all of us must follow."

"Then we must hurry and hope that he does not find us before we get to your home." I stated, looking down at the earth. "How far now?"

"Some miles I think." She said looking about her for a landmark. "Yes, a few more miles to the east."

"Good, we should be able to get there soon then." I said and then suddenly looked back behind me. Footsteps were coming from that direction and Shae and I retreated to the treetops once more. A few moments later, the hunting party came into the clearing at a run and the hunter spoke.

"Damn." He said upon spying the spent trap. "We are too late again."

"I am starting to doubt your ability, hunter." My father said, angrily snapping a branch in half in rage with a solid swing of the huge sledgehammer he carried. "I think that even I would have caught them by now."

"Is that so blacksmith?" The hunter asked and whirled around, facing the man I had called father for most of my life. "Tell me something, have you ever hunted a predator?" The smith shook his head. "It is the most difficult thing I have ever done. Predators have different senses than most prey. One moment, you can be hunting them and the next, you are the prey. Your boy is cunning and an excellent hunter, even bringing down wolves, the greatest predators in this wood. He is as much a predator as I am and all the more dangerous because of it. You cannot begin to know the danger we are in right now."

"Danger? Ha." My father scoffed, "Don't forget hunter, I raised the boy and he as harmless as the deer he hunts. I do not fear him."

"Then you are a bloody fool." The hunter said and looked back at the tree line. "For all I know he could be watching us right now." With that, the hunters left the clearing, their weapons up and ready.

"That was too close." I said, watching them go. "Is there a way we can go without leaving a trail?"

"If we go along the tree tops, we will leave little trail that they can follow, but it will take more time." She said and I nodded.

"Then lets go." I stated and Shae led the way along the tree branches, leaping between them with ease. I followed her and found that my balance was actually improving with every leap. Soon, I was as agile as she was, if not quite as graceful. But, despite this change, it was slow going. By nightfall, we were only just nearing the haven that was her home. At the base of a ridge a mile away from her home, we slid to the ground in an open clearing to rest once more. I sat down on a boulder and slipped my left boot off my foot.

"Feels like I have a stowaway." I commented and upended the boot, letting a small stone fall onto the ground. Shae smiled and looked at me with amusement.

"That is one of the reasons we don't wear shoes." She said, looking around the clearing. "Do you think they are gone?"

"Hard to say." I answered, returning my boot to my foot. "With most hunters I would say that we lost them, but this one is very good..." I trailed off when I heard footsteps coming from behind us, to the west.

"Here he comes now, lets get out of here." I stated, rising to my feet. But, before we could take a single step, my father and brothers stepped out of the eastern edge of the clearing.

"I am afraid that it is much too late for that, son." He said and the hunter appeared behind us. "We have had enough of this chase."

"You little bastard, I am going to skin you alive." The hunter said, sheathing his sword and drawing a knife from his belt before looking at Shae. "And you are going right back into the cage, my little spirit friend."

"I think not." I stated, moving between the hunter and Shae. My father seemed surprised at this move and moved forward with my brothers, their hands on their weapons.

"Son, think about what you are doing." He said and I turned to face him. He was only a few steps away and I knew he would be on me before I could draw a weapon, but I would not move, not now.

"Stop calling me son." I stated with finality, slowly shifting my hands on the bow. "You are not my father."

"You are right, of course." He stated and raised the heavy metallic sledgehammer in both hands to strike me down. Everything slowed down as the hammer descended. The last rays of the setting sun caught the hammerhead as it fell from on high towards us. Its huge head looked like an unavoidable doom as it sank through the air towards me. It looked pointless to try and avoid it and for an instant, I did not move. But then, I felt something welling up within me, a kind of desperate strength that came only when I was faced with danger. I had felt it only a few times before, and ever had I been glad of its presence. But this time, it was a much stronger than ever before. And with the strength that filled every muscle and fiber of my body, an instinct rose within, an instinct to fight, to defy fate. To kill or be killed.

With a swift motion, I shoved Shae out of the way of the hammer stroke and dove forward, rolling past my father and onto my feet again before he could react. I swung the bow fast enough to make the string whistle and cracked my father on the side of his head.

He fell to the earth senseless, following his hammer into the grass. The second oldest brother lunged at me with a metal-headed pitchfork that my father had recently made, but he was painfully slow in that moment. I twisted my torso to the side, allowing the tines to pass by me. Then, I lashed out with the bow once more, the yew haft catching him on the bridge of his nose, knocking him back. When he was still stunned, I brought an arm up and yanked the fork out of his hands with a jerk. Then, I lashed out with a kick, catching him square on the chest and driving the wind from his lungs. As he fell, I turned to confront the other two brothers.

The youngest of them slashed at me with a sword as I advanced on the pair and I crouched under the clumsy blow, watching the slow-moving blur that was the blade pass over me. I rose back to my feet a moment later, using the added momentum to drive my fist into his chin with the force of a hammer blow. His jaw clicked together and his eyes rolled up into his head before he toppled backward. Before he had even reached the ground, I had engaged the third brother, who was armed with an oak pole that had been destined to be the shaft of a spear. I knew that his pole would easily break my bow, so I let it fall and stomped forward a step before retreating once more. The brother took the bait and swung at me with the whole pole, his hands wrapped around only the last six inches of the seven foot piece of wood. The pole swiped at the air a bare inch in front of my nose and I stepped back to give myself some more room. Too late, I noticed that the top few inches of the shaft had been hastily sharpened into a point and the man grinned before jabbing at me with the weapon.

He was very quick and the move caught me by surprise. I felt a brief shock of pain as the point jabbed into my side. I leapt back, carrying me out of range once more. But then, something very amazing happened. The brief shock of pain ran like lightning through my whole body and the world around me seemed to stop in place. With a motion as swift as lightning, I leapt up, landing gracefully on the shaft of his spear and running along it as if it were a tree branch. Before the startled man could react, my foot connected with his forehead, snapping his head back. I leapt clear as he fell to the earth and whirled around to face the hunter, time returning to its natural flow as I turned. The hunter was standing over Shae, who was laying on her back on the ground, one hand raised to fend off his blow. In one of the hunter's hands glimmered the knife, poised to strike down the woman who shared my soul. I didn't think; instinct driving one hand to my belt.

My dagger flashed red with reflected sunlight as I drew it, holding it by the point as I cocked back. The dagger blade whistled slightly as it cut the air on its way past. The weapon gleamed bright as it spun once, twice and a third time before connecting with its target. The hunter looked down at his chest for a moment and then back at me with a shocked expression on his face. He exhaled a final gasp before toppling to the side and the fight was finished. I stared at the fallen hunter for a few moments, then I looked down at my arms and gasped. Sticking out from the tunic were not human hands, but hands covered in the fiery fur of the spirits. I reached with a trembling paw up to my face and found that my face was now that of one of the spirits of the wood. I looked up again to find Shae on her feet, looking at me with amazement and surprise.

"So it is true then." She said and I cocked an eyebrow.

"What is true?" I asked and got another surprise. My voice had changed as well. Where before it had been the voice of human boy just into manhood, now it was the deeper tone of a fully grown man.

"I had hoped it wasn't true, but it seems that fate has dealt me the cruelest twist." Shae continued, stopping just within reach and touching my face with her hand. Her touch sent shivers through my whole body and I shuddered. "Why did this have to happen to us?"

"Shae what are you talking about?" I asked and she looked like she was about to answer, but a groan from one of the prostrate men I had knocked out silenced her. "We should be going before they wake up."

Shae nodded and I retrieved my bow before leaping into the trees once more with Shae at my side, leaving the dagger behind in the hunter. When we were on top of the ridge we paused in a tree and sat against the tree trunk once more, its cool bark producing another new sensation as its rough surface tickled my pelt. Shae was sitting and staring up at the newly risen moon and I did not speak for a time, staring at my hands and remembering how I had suddenly understood how to fight. It had come to me as easily as breathing and I still felt the instinct just beneath the surface, ready to rise to the fore when needed. I kept reliving the moment in my head. That had been the first time I had ever killed a human being and I remembered it with a kind of strange, unreal detachment.

The cold steel of my dagger's blade in my hand, the brush of a breeze as my arm sent it spinning on its way. The horrid scarlet glint as it reflected the dying sunlight. The terrible wet sound as it struck, penetrating the murderous hunter's chest. And worst of all, the look in the hunter's eye as he felt the steel hit him. The look had been filled with the knowledge that he was doomed. I tried to imagine what it must have felt like when the steel hit him and it was too much. A wave of nausea swelled in my gut and I retched over the side of the branch, the remains of my dinner leaving me. I spat a few times and remained hunched over, breathing the cool air of night until a soft hand touched my back. I turned and saw Shae looking at me with pity in her eyes.

"Now you see why we are forbidden to kill." She said and I nodded. "It costs us much to take a human life, and I am amazed that you are handling it as well as you are. It has been said that if a spirit takes a human life, then the spirit too shall die."

"Shae, what were you talking about earlier?" I asked, sitting back at last and digging into my pack for my water skin. When I found it I took a mouthful and swished it about in my mouth, washing the bitter taste from it. Then I swallowed and listened as Shae spoke.

"The elders of my people tell of a prophecy made in the ancient times." She said, accepting the skin from me and taking a drink of the cool water. "The prophecy stated that one day, a warrior would be born of two worlds and he would defy the ancient law that prevented us from killing. This warrior would live alone, taking on the lonely duty of guardian of our woodland home. This warrior would be called the Sentinel of the Wood and would bring peace. I wanted to believe that you were not the legend come to life, for I know that we are two halves of the same soul. But, it would seem that I am destined to live my life alone."

With that, she turned away from me, starting to slide off her branch to the forest floor. But I caught her hand before she could drop and she turned back to me. I didn't know what I intended to do, but a different instinct was driving me now. Before she could protest, I pulled her to me and kissed her. For a moment, she was surprised enough to try and pull away, but I wouldn't let her, for my heart was burning with an all consuming desire. All at once, her eyes closed and she returned the kiss fiercely, her heart lit with the same fire.

When I ceased my kiss and released her, it was my turn to be pulled into her embrace. She kissed me again with a passion I had only dreamed about sharing and we clung to each other on the tree branch, the world and our flight from danger forgotten in the wonder of that moment. When we finally let go of each other, she shook her head as if to clear it and spoke.

"But what about the prophecy?" She asked, her eyes glimmering with a mixture of sadness, love and fear. "It says you must be alone."

"It is only a story." I said and kissed her again lightly. She smiled at me and shivered for a moment in the night breeze.

"Come on, we have tarried here too long." She said and led me along the branches of the trees once more. About a half hour later, we dropped from the trees and landed on soft grass before the borders of her village's home. The moment we stepped beneath the low hanging branches of the huge trees that the spirits lived in, we were instantly greeted by the other spirits. Shae swiftly explained all about me and the elders began to shout that I was the Sentinel, the prophecy coming true at last. The rest of the spirits were elated by this news and I was welcomed with open arms.

All through the night and into the next day, I was told and instructed about the spirits and the abilities that I would possess as the warrior of legend. I learned it as best I could, but my heart was not in it; my only desire at that moment was to be with Shae. I said nothing about this to the elders because they would like as not try and forbid us from being together. Before I had been pulled away for training, she had shown me which of the trees was her home and ever my thoughts drifted to that spot. Finally, as the sun set on the third day of my journey, I was at last allowed to rest. I had been given my own tree home and I spent a few minutes exploring its branches and the rooms formed by hanging cloths before lying down in my bedroom to sleep.

I lay beneath the blankets of my hammock for an hour, staring up at the sky. I knew I should have been exhausted by our trek through the woods, but I found myself wide awake and, even as I lay, trying to nod off, I knew what my soul longed for. As true night came on, I gave in and swung my legs out of the hammock, setting my feet on the tree branch below me. Then, I reached out in the darkness and found the clothes that I had left out near the bed. My deer skins had been taken from me and I had been given a whole new wardrobe of finely woven clothing made from a strange material like silk and yet different. It was all the colors of the wood I now lived in and the colors shifted as the fabric moved, flowing like the leaves in the wind. I smiled and slipped a robe on, tying the sash closed before slipping along the tree branch and sliding down the gently sloping trunk of the tree. When my paws touched earth once more, I walked along in total silence, nothing more than a part of the tree shadows.

I walked quickly, skirting the tree trunks and avoiding the moonlight beneath the trees. The night was cool and still and I felt all my senses come to life as never before. I knew the location of every twig and dry leaf on the earth and I avoided them with ease, stepping around them swiftly. After a few moments, I found the tree I had been looking for and I climbed into its branches. And there, suspended between two hanging branches, was the hammock in which Shae lay. I slipped along the branches until I was above her and there I crouched, my well honed eyesight picking out my woman's form as she lay. Then, a whisper rose out of the hammock, sweeter than the purest honey to my longing ears.

"I have been waiting for you." She said and I smiled. "Couldn't sleep, Sentinel?"

"No." I said and I sensed her smile in return. I carefully slid from the branch into the hammock beside her. Her warm hand touched my robe and then passed beneath it to caress my chest. Her touch was electrifying and I found my body coming alive with energy once more. I could feel that the blankets had been piled at the foot of the hammock and I reached out a hand, gently stroking the fur I found, caressing the body of the woman I loved.

"You're naked." I whispered, making the statement into one of surprise, though I had wished fervently for it.

"The night is warm, or at least it will be." She answered and I felt the sash of my robe untie and my love's hands sliding the smooth fabric off me. Then, when my robe was gone, we pressed our nude bodies together, wrapping each other tightly with our arms. I was extremely aroused and all thoughts of hesitation were sent out of my body as she kissed me. I returned her kiss hungrily and I felt her hands slid down my back, running through my fur. I shuddered with the sensation and let her explore, her fingers lightly stroking my tale and rear. Her hands then slipped around my body, brushing my ribcage and hips, but torturously avoiding my privates. I could not see her in the shadows, but I could feel her and sense her so I was surprised to feel her lips on my neck, then her teeth gently nibbling on my shoulder. This drove my body to shudder and I let out a quiet gasp. But that was nothing compared to the sensation of her tongue on my throat, trailing down and along my solar plexes. Then, for a brief moment, her tongue left my flesh and then reappeared as she gave my left nipple a lick. I gasped and then shuddered almost violently when she teased it to erectness with gentle kisses and nibbles. She then repeated this with the right nipple. My whole body was on fire now and I could feel my breath speeding up in excitement.

Then, the hammock swung as she shifted her position. I held still, not used to the disconcerting motion and I did not see what she was doing. All of a sudden, I felt her tongue trail gently up my shaft, eliciting an involuntary moan from my throat. She licked it again and then I felt her breath a little lower and I barely managed to refrain from gasping as her mouth enclosed my balls, her tongue swirling around them as she sucked. My back arched with the pleasure of it and then she released them and moved back up to my shaft, her tongue trailing along it with an incredible delicateness that made my body almost go into convulsions, so strong was the feeling. But, I managed to retain enough control over my limbs to begin to reply, stroking her legs and chest and deliberately avoiding the crux of her legs. She stopped playing with her mouth while I did this and I continued to tease her, my fingers drawing ever closer to her crevice. Then, matching her delicate, torturous pressure, I suddenly licked at her slit. She gasped and shuddered, her body instinctively pushing her hips towards my tongue. I obliged and licked deeper into her, causing her to gasp and moan with each pass. After a few moments, I sucked in a breath filled with the pungent scent of her sex and then, we both returned our attention to pleasuring each other.

I felt Shae's lips enclose my shaft and her tongue begin to make little swirling motions along it. In response, I eagerly pressed into the top of her privates, teasing the nub of flesh I found there with my tongue and teeth. She gasped loudly, a sound muffled by my flesh in her mouth and she began to suck, bobbing her head back and forth and I could feel a sensation I had never felt before building within me. I wanted it, whatever it was, but I also wanted her to experience the same thing. Struck with sudden inspiration, I sucked in, taking the nub and the flesh around it into my mouth and sucking gently. Her hips gave a buck of pleasure and I could feel her breath surging within her as a similar feeling to the one inside me built to the breaking point. Satisfied that I was doing well, I released her from my jaws and gently licked with the tip of my tongue, the sudden change in pressure driving her over the edge. She gasped deeply and her legs seized up around my head, holding me in place as a gush of fluid coated my muzzle. Her mouth tightened up around my shaft with an especially hard pull and I felt an explosion of pleasure greater than all the feelings before surge through me. My dick left my control and I could feel warm seed gushing from my cock and the odd sensation of her throat moving as she swallowed. Though I tried my hardest to suppress it, I couldn't stop a moan of pleasure that was subsequently drowned out by the hot flesh that pressed against my mouth.

We shuddered through our climax in near silence and as swiftly as it had come, it was over. Her legs released my head and her mouth allowed my still rigid penis to go free. I pulled back from her and she turned back over so our faces were near each other once more. Then, we held each other tightly as the last vestiges of our first climax washed over us. She was right; the night was now very warm. We clung to each other once more as we had the night before, gently kissing in the moonlight and I found that now I could see her clearly. My nightsight seemed to have suddenly gotten excellent and I could see the longing look in her eyes. I knew what she wanted and my body echoed her desire. I rose up on my arm and allowed her to take the center of the hammock beneath me. When she was settled, I lowered myself down so that the tip of my shaft was touching the wet warmth of her vagina. She nodded to me and my body needed no more encouragement than that; nor indeed any instructions from me.

I pressed forward into her with my hips and she sucked in a breath, a gasp threatening to loose from her throat as my shaft pressed at her opening. I kissed her passionately as my shaft penetrated her and her gasp was lost in my throat as our tongues mingled. I kept up my slow pressure until, with a final joint bucking of the hips, I was fully inside her. I pulled out as gently as I had pushed in and then thrust hard into her, but one thrust was all I got. The hammock swayed violently with that first thrust and we held perfectly still, terrified of falling out. Gradually, the rocking subsided and I smiled at her. Our instincts took over and instead of wildly thrusting like I had at first, I pulled out slow and pushed in as gently as I had the first time. She arched her back and her breaths came quickly with each new thrust. The hammock stayed still and we soon built up a steady rhythm, all the sounds of lust and pleasure we made absorbed by our kisses. I wanted so badly to thrust hard and let out the world hear the sounds we were making, but we knew we must keep it secret, at least for now.

As the pleasure built to a peak once more, the sounds could no longer be contained by kissing. We both let out a sudden gasp and I felt her jaws close on my shoulder, drowning out the other sounds. I clamped down with my jaws, gritting my teeth and refused to allow the sounds that built in my throat out. Then without warning, the breaking point was upon us. But, this time, I clamped down on it and resisted it. I held off as long as I could, and I could sense Shae doing the same. But, then, by mutual consent, we let go. I could feel her muscles tense up with her climax and that added pressure was enough. My cock twitched within her and I felt more creamy seed leaving me. We shuddered in silence until the waves of insane pleasure subsided enough for us to stop holding the sounds in. Finally, the waves faded away and I pulled out of her, slumping over onto my back, heedless of the fact that the hammock's edge was only inches away. But, I needn't have worried, for Shae scooted over and we shared the center of the hanging bed. I still lay on my back and Shae lay beside me, her head pillowed on my shoulder and one leg thrown over mine. I grinned at her and she returned the grin with a contented smile. We pulled the blankets up to our chins and our eyes closed. From now on, the split soul would be whole and we would be together, no matter what the elders thought. With that comforting notion in my mind, I drifted off to contented sleep...