Aftermath
#5 of Strange Happennings
It's been about five weeks since I met Raneth waiting at my cave, and it's only recently occurred to me that I had never tld her where my cave was. I wonder how she found out... Oh well, it hardly matters now. It's just as much her cave as mine now. She made herself at home fairly quickly. I can hardly remember what it was like living there on my own anymore, but then a lot has changed in those five weeks. Where should I start...? Perhaps I should start with myself?
Let me see... The day after I found Raneth at my cave, nothing seemed all that different. My life went on as usual. Danalin came by briefly, wondering where my sister was. Now that I think about it, that was a bit unusual. No one usually comes to me wondering where my sister is. Usually it's them going to my sister wondering where I am. Or, rather, it used to be. I've settled somewhat since I met Raneth. I used to wander around a lot, but now you'd rarely find me further away from my cave than the lake I swim at. Anyway, to get back to what I was talking about. I don't keep tabs on my sister, so I didn't know where she was, and I told Danalin so. I also asked him why he was wondering, and he didn't give me a straight answer. He just mentioned something about wanting to check something or other... I can't really remember. It was too vague. Either way... Raneth moved in a few days later, and I slowly got used to the idea of having her around. That was when I began wandering less and sticking around more. Life in the cave didn't change all that much, mind you. Although, how could it have changed all that much anyway, when all I really ever used to do there was sleep, and on some occasions keep out of bad weather, bored and wishing the weather would clear up. Raneth's living with me doesn't change that much, other than that I have someone to come home to and someone to keep me warm during the night. I should probably change that before Raneth sees it, or she might complain... I love her a lot, and she does more for me than just keep me warm at night. She listens to me, not that many people don't, but she really listens to me. She doen't ask a lot of questions, not that I mind answering questions or anything... sometimes I wish she would ask me something once in a while, just to prove she can or something... I don't know. I shouldn't complain. After all, she is my mate, and I love her a lot. Wow, I'm getting a little off topic. I was trying to talk about how I've changed. I guess I can sum that up in a few short points: I wander less, which I've already said; I don't feel as lonely as I used to... I've never mentioned anything about that before, have I? I suppose I might... I'm not sure how long ago it was that I began to feel lonely, but I can tell you that it had lasted for a few years at least. At first only it was slight, but for the last year or so it was strong enough to make me cry myself to sleep some nights. I had never told anyone about it, not wanting to have people fussing over me about it. I didn't even tell Danalin, and he's my best friend. We tell eachother almost everything, much of which we should very well keep to ourselves. But that's beside the point. In any case, after my first encounter with Raneth, that changed. I didn't feel lonely anymore, which was quite a change from what I had felt. Rather, I felt... I don't really know what to call it. I suppose I might call it a sense of companionship. I was happy. What can I say? The third point: I've discovered my affectionate side. Of course, not having any need to be affectionate previously, not having found any interest in females in that manner before, I didn't even know I could be affectionate. I can probably say rather safely that I didn't even know anything about affection. Of course, my mother was very affectionate toward me when I was a young hatchling, but you can hardly expect me to remember what it was like now. However, now I have a need to be affectionate, having a mate who, like most females, likes to be shown once in a while that she's loved, not that she thinks she's not if I don't show her. In fact, she had to help me learn how to be affectionate in the first place. I figured it out quickly. After all, it's not hard to hug her once in a while, or nuzzle, cuddle, or whatever. She still teases me about it once in a while, more so if I haven't given her some show of affection for a while. One day I could say she had me hugging her almost every ten minutes or so. At least, it seemed like it to me. I finally gave up and wandered off somewhere else to give myself some time to breathe. Of course, when I got back, Raneth immediately demanded that I comfort her, because she claimed my walking out on her like I had hurt her feelings. I did so, hugging her close and appologizing for running off. Then after a few minutes of just holding her close, I asked her to please not be so demanding of me. She burst into laughter at my seriousness, then told me she was just toying with me, and that I could have ignored her several times if I wished. Knowing that, I had ignored any sort of plea for attention for the rest of the day just to get back at her... until we curled up together for the night, of course. She never did that again.
Since I'm out of stuff to say about myself, and since I'm talking about Raneth anyway, I might as well continue. I'm not sure I could tell you much about how she's changed since that day, mostly because I had hardly known her until afterward. I suppose I might tell you what I've learned about her since then. Raneth's not what I would call very talkative. I've already mentioned that she rarely asks me questions, but I hadn't mentioned that she also rarely says much to me at all. She does tell me how she's feeling, and when she wants something, and on occasion she asks how I'm doing or what I'm up to. She rarely starts a conversation, and rarely volunteers the little bit she does say when asked. Sometimes I nearly have to pry it out of her. This all sounds very negative, I'm sure, but I don't mean it that way. I don't mind her silence, and she has ways of telling me things without words that are more effective than speech could ever be... However, on the few times I've managed to get her to speak, I found it difficult to get her to stop again. I learned a bit from her about her, what her life was like when she was younger, stuff like that. I'm not going to get into detail; that kind of stuff is, well, private. It'd be her choice whether or not to tell you, not mine. I will say this, however. She, like me, had never found members or the opposite gender all that attractive until she met me. And, like me, our first mating was her first ever as well. However, most of her early life differed from mine. Where I was a wanderer, she preferred to stay in the familiar territory or her home. In any case, it doesn't really matter how different our lives were before we met. After all, what matters is how well we get along, how well we live together, and how strong our love for eachother is. Very well, very well, and very strong. Nothing is going to tear us apart from eachother, not for a very long time. Raneth would probably argue for absolutely never, but things could change just as quickly to the opposite of how they are now as they did to how they are now. At least, that's what I think. It's unlikely that they will, though, and I'm not worried. Anyway, back to what I was saying. We may have grown up differently, but now we are together, and any more growing that we do will be together. We'll shape eachother's lives with our own. It'll be a new experience for both of us, as it already has been so far. And I'm sure we'll both enjoy it very much. ...Perhaps I might get back to the point I was trying to talk about? What I've learned about Raneth since she's lived with me... She's quiet, but she expresses her feelings very well in other ways. What else have I learned? She isn't as fond of swimming as I am, and prefers to sun herself on the beach when I'm swimming. She's learned not to lay close enough to the water that I can splash her, because it's very likely that I will if she does. Of course, sometime she teases me by moving close enough, then running back out of range when I'm not quite close enough to hit her. I've only managed twice to hit her when she's done that, and I dragged her into the water while she was trying to shake the water off of herself after the second time. She ignored me until I finished my swim. It was worth it just to see the look on her face. I've never seen anyone scowl so deeply as she did. It was hilarious. I've also learned that she prefers to keep to herself more than keep company with others. I'm an exception, however, being her mate, and she prefers to be with me, or rather for me to be with her (it's not the same thing to a female no matter how much the same it is to males), than to be alone. I don't mind. Why would I, after all? She's great company. She's warm, snuggly, cuddly... Maybe I should just leave the rest to your imagination. She's very affectionate, and knows no limits when it comes to showing it. However, she does restrain herself, almost visibly, in public. Which in this case does not include Larenth and Danalin. They got quite a laugh from one of her more recent displays. She had pinned me on my back and was tickling and licking me all over my belly, and I was wriggling a lot trying to get enough space between me and her tongue so I could push her away without my arms giving out in another fit of giggles. I don't think it was all that funny. However, I was the one being tickled, and therefore my opinion is heavily biased. I'll let you judge that one on your own. That one nearly ended with her licking my member, which had begun to peek out of my sheath, and I had to bite Raneth's nose rather hard for the pain to overcome her excitement long enough for her conscience to register what she was about to do. I appologized afterward, of course, and she told me that it didn't matter, that she should have been more careful. The looks on my sister and Danalin's faces were a mix between shock, and, strangely, disappointment, although, why they would want to see Raneth taking full advantage of my helpless position, I would not know. I would have pounced on them both had I seen either of them smile, but they schooled their expressions, rather well I'd admit if I hadn't heard a short snicker from one of them when I turned my back to them. I didn't bother to turn on them. I don't hold grudges.
Larenth and Danalin haven't changed much. They're both very much the same as they always have been. Well, perhaps they have changed a little. They're both a little more mellow than they used to be. Strangely, Danalin hasn't done any strange and somewhat dirty daydreaming for a while now. My sister doesn't seem near as excited as she used to all the time either. On top of that, they're both always together. I've asked Raneth what she thinks about it, but she doesn't answer me. She just smiles and shakes her head. I wonder what those two are up to. I wonder if Raneth knows. I suspect something's up, and I'm being left out of it. Or maybe I'm just not seeing it. Maybe I should ask Danalin the next time he comes to visit. Better yet, I'll go find him later and ask him. It's beginning to bug me now. But, for now, I'll wait and finish this first. Danalin comes over once in a while, along with my sister, and they talk with me for a while, asking me how I'm doing and how I'm keeping myself busy, then they talk to Raneth for a while, and I couldn't tell you what the three of them talk about. Any time I try to join them, they always tell me, kindly, to go find something to do. Rather, Raneth does, and I have to leave, of course. She must know something I don't. I'm sure of it. Why don't they tell me anything? I wonder what they're up to... Maybe I should just ignore it? No, that won't do any good. I could speculate, but I don't know enough to make any conclusions, and there're too many possibilities. Actually, I do know something. I know that Raneth has left with the two of them a few times. However, that doesn't help me any, because I have no Idea where they go or what they do. For all the good any of what I do know does me, I might as well know nothing. Maybe I just need to think harder... I do enough thinking as it is, so it shouldn't be a problem. Let me see... My sister smiles at me a lot, but she's always done that. However, there seem to be a twinkle in her eye that's never been there before. And the way she looks at Danalin and he at her... I wonder... No, it couldn't be possible. Are they mated? If so, It's a good match. They'd be good for eachother, no doubt. Now that I think about it, that would explain why they've mellowed. Although, they both used to be almost equally energetic, so why the change? Wait... never mind. I mellowed as well, from the wanderer I used to be. I suppose being mated does that. I suppose I might subtly hint at it and see what they're reaction is. Maybe I should see how Raneth reacts first? Now, the only problem is being subtle. I'm not very good at it. Maybe Raneth might help me with that, same as she helped me to be affectionate. Of course, she'd ask why. I'll have to tell her. Maybe she'll answer that one for me if I ask her directly. I won't know until I do. I think that would be great, Danalin and I being mated to eachother's sisters. Did I mention that Raneth is Danalin's sister? I found out from Raneth one night when I asked her about her family. Turns out she and Danalin are bother and sister, and she's one year younger than he is, just like my sister's one year younger than I am. Danalin being the same age as me, that would make Raneth and Larenth the same age. Stranger still, it would seem that Danalin and Raneth's mother was sister to mine and Lareth's father. Apparently we're related to eachother, in more ways than one. That would make us cousins, I believe. I wonder why I never remembered that. Raneth told me that. Soething else she also told me is that she remembers a time a long while back when the four of us--her, Danalin, Larenth, and myself--spent the day together with both sets of parents, at the beach. Strangely, none of the three of us can remember such an incident ever occuring. But, back to the subject or Danalin and Larenth. I suppose there's not much left to say. I hope the two of them are as happy together as Raneth and I are, and I hope their love for eachother is as strong as the love Raneth and I have for eachother.
I have a few final things to share with you all. Raneth is with egg, and expects to be laying within the week. I'm almost as excited about it as she is. After all, I'm going to be father to my own hatchlings soon. It'll be another new experience, being a father on top of being a mate, but if I'm as good a father as I am a mate, our hatchlings will have a great dad. At least, that's judging from what Raneth's said to me about me as a mate. Another thing I have to say is I've led an interesting enough life, but nothing was quite like the events I've described in these stories. Although I've had many unusual circumstances during my life, nothing tops those happenings. The last thing I have to say is I hope you've enjoyed reading these stories as much as I've had writing them. It's been a great pleasure reliving those days, in a sense--although the pleasure I get from that doesn't compare with the pleasure I get with Raneth--and I hope you get a sense of pleasure from reading about them. That's my wish for you.
Please note: Although I speak in the present tense in this story, and although I speak of the events of the other stories and this as if they actually happened to me, none of these events have occurred; these stories are entirely fictional. All the characters in them are fictional, save for myself of course (although the way I portray myself in the stories is not quite the same as the way I actually am), and any semblance to anyone real is entirely coincidental. I decided to write this story this way, rather than the same as the others, for a change, and to make it seem more like an entry in a journal than just a story. I suppose I wanted it to seem these events actually happened. However, like I said, they did not. I hope his one is as good as the others seem to have been.