Closed The Gift of Thought [Vanator]

[Sybel]

They both stood and beheld the other, the last of their secrets cast to the wind. Sybel’s eyes trailed unabashedly, fingertips gliding down his roped torso toward his intimate cache of golden hair. He was glorious indeed, something she’d expected and yet not - imagination was no substitute, not even close. A hiss escaped from between her lips as she caressed the velvety flesh of his need. There was no restraint to be had and his own personal explorations were only making matters worse. Sybel crossed the intervening space with hooded eyes, beginning her ministrations in earnest with the hand lingering below.

Her naked body held many surprises, the first of which being a scar. It was unlike all the other, innumerable cuts that adorned her skin, simple wounds from run-ins with a hostile blade. His hand caressed the raised flesh, running from the bottom of her ribcage to the start of her hip. From the pattern in which it healed, one could infer it’d been a hooked weapon of some kind, clearly unsharpened. Once upon a time someone had tried to gut her and very nearly did.

The other of which was a tattoo, just below her heart. It was a border of knotwork, barely visible beneath the curve of her breast, intricate in both design and execution. The patterning was unmistakably Drykas; whoever had done it knew the culture well. She smiled enigmatically as his wandering hand hovered near.

Pressing flush against him, her other hand cupped boldly from below, exploring his other assets. Sybel was a worldy woman, though she’d not engaged in lovemaking in quite some time. Vanator allowed her to move naturally, to act on her desires without shame. It’d always been him she’d wanted. To know who and what she held now was liberating.

Sybel sank to her knees with a wanton smile, draping shallow kisses where her hand had once been. She teased a bit here and there before finally indulging, eyes never leaving his, fingernails leaving tiny crescents into the flesh of his thighs. She enveloped him, nearly choking on her own eagerness. He was sweet and bitter, warm and ready and a reckless shiver ran down her spine.

[Vanator]

Untested lovers, Vanator and Sybel explored one another unashamed, indulging in shared caresses and teasing touches. Vanator's hands now brushed over the landmarks of Sybel's feminine form, fingers trailing along the ragged scar at her side. The wound must have been grievous, nearly lethal. There was certainly a tale that accompanied the harsh mark.

As the Benshiran's insistent hand laid hold of his attention again, a soft sigh of passion slipped from his lips. Vanator's calloused fingers slid across the flat of Sybel's stomach, over the shallow of her navel, to the ink etched into her torso, brushing against the globe of the breast above the tattoo. The design was elaborate and gorgeous, certainly inspired by Drykas culture. A darting smile indicated Vanator's approval. Another story he will insist upon hearing. Then the Drykas' hands continued to ride the swells and valleys of the Benshiran's sleek golden physique.

Smile widened, eyelids lowering, Vanator felt the press of Sybel's warm flesh against him, her slim but firm hands taking in all that was hers and hers alone. Her brazen possession of his revealed masculinity invoked a hot tightness that twisted at the man's core,the seat of his desire for the woman. But Vanator knew nothing of the maddening fire she was about to ignite as Sybel knelt upon the lion's skin before her man, consuming his fullness, seering blue eyes fixed on his as they struggled to focus in his ecstasy, drawing on the sting of the nails in his thighs to keep from collapsing from the sensation she offered.

A strong hand rested on the back of her head, fingers entwining in her raven locks. Gentle encouragement was given with slight pressure as deeper, throaty moans rumbled in Vanator's chest. The world shrunk around Vanator, not even the stone walls of the new suite existed. At that moment, his universe consisted of Sybel, himself, and the lion skin.

Knees weakened as Sybel ministered to him so intimately, boldly yet guided into great skill by her own daring and natural talent. Eventually, her ardent attention drew him closer to a close than he wanted, for there was much more of each other to explore. Firmly but gently, Vanator drew back on Sybel's head, releasing her hold on him. A smile wrapt with hunger greeted her, and strong hands laid upon her smooth shoulders as the Drykas eased her back onto the soft fur of the rug.

Himself not a shy lover, Vanator insisted on returning the favor, Gold-flecked dark gaze twinkling at they disappeared from view. He was experienced, and Sybel's passionate devouring urged the man to apply equal fervor to his own amorous affections, unrushed and detailed its focus as one hand wrapped around his darling's silken firm thigh, the other alternately aiding in his efforts and stretching across the plane of her tummy to attend to her other assests. The vibrations of his satisfied humming rippled across Sybel's flesh, assuring the woman her man was enjoying it every bit as much as she.

[Sybel]

Her form eased back, allowing him to seize control. All she wanted was to ease some of his burden. Vanator had led for so long; he was the head of his family, his clan, his destiny and the Sanctuary. It was too much for one person alone. This intimacy wasn’t solely for their pleasure. It was also to establish a true connection. He would never have to suffer alone again.

A single note rang out, rhythmic and resonating, like a symphonic crescendo on the rise. And again, beginning a fervent and torturous cadence. Sybel slipped her fingers in his hair, grasping, staking claim as well as he. Her knees began to buckle as the pace quickened and before long, her hips squirmed in his grasp. Soft moans slipped from between parted lips, bearing his name, bearing she didn’t know what. He was driving her mad.

”Please,” she moaned, attempting to seize him from her thighs. It was truly too much. Before long he’d drive her over the precipice, into some dark descent. This was simply the prelude to something much deeper. ”Please, Van.” Her voice was quavering. She tugged gently on the fistful of locks. ”I want you.”

Her breath began to quicken, toes curling at the tops of her feet. The squirming became more insistent, the note ringing loud with such clarity that her eyelids began to tremble. She would beg no more. Her fate was squarely in his hands and relinquishing the hold on his scalp, she surrendered. To the Aperture with it all, anyway. He was her man. He had every right in the world to send her to spiraling into the abyss.

And Gods, it was. She felt weightless, sensation pinging from nerve to nerve through a latticework of pleasure, numbing her every other faculty to the world. Sybel could barely express the feeling. It was too great. And the emotions: riding high on the crest of the wave were adoration, triumph and love.

Something. She said something, something that might have been a word, a phrase or an incoherent utterance. But it was the last warning he’d get before she was pushed over the line.

:(Late Kate is late. Sorry for the lull! I'm picking it back up.

[Vanator]

Vanator lost himself between Sybel's golden thighs, tasting of what he has wanted for so long, and believing he would never have. The Drykas' enthusiasm was fevered, fed by the plaintive sounds of his lover as she squirmed under his ministrations. Finally, just as he had forced her to cease her efforts upon him, Sybel tried to pry Vanator's mouth from her, begging for him to stop. But the grassland hunter pursued what he wanted with tenacity, thrilled as he ushered his long-lost lover to the edge, then relentlessly drove her over, claiming Sybel as his as her cries echoed off the stone walls, unintelligible words spilling from trembling lips and her lithe body quaked beneath his strong hands. Before plummeting into her ecstasy, Sybel had uttered three words that sealed their fate, ushered in the true union they had toyed with all those years ago, yet never had the pleasure of enjoying. I want you. And he wanted her...desperately.

Sybel, still panting and squirming on the lion skin rug, felt the cool of air fill the warm place where Vanator had been, only to quickly feel the press of his revived excitement hot against her. Powerful arms held him up and he climbed atop the Benshiran beauty, determined to consummate fully their resurrected love. Both intense pleasure, and throbbing ache, forced a low groan from the Drykas' throat as he press in, head leaning down to lay open kisses to the slender column of Sybel's neck and across her collar bone.

Steady and solid was the Denusk's efforts, consumed by Sybel both in heart, body and soul as they joined fully in the most intimate way. Long and passionately they writhed together, building slowly again after their former releases, every chime passing by adding to the sheen of sweat upon their bronze skin, to the sharpness of hissed breaths, to the volume of their lovemaking. Vanator muttered husky words into Sybel's ears, whispers of endearments and bawdy expressions of his carnal wants as they rode the moments towards another culmination.

Finally, in a chorus of male and female voices, wordless in their loud, euphoric sounds, echoed again within the suite, aching muscles driving furiously, breaths panted in grunts, bodies flailing against one another, the grip of needy hands anchoring them as Sybel and Vanator shared an explosion.

Once they both were spent, the Drykas practically collapsed next to Sybel, freeing himself from the coupling but not from the tangle of arms and legs. For a few ticks, he simply laid there, staring at the ceiling as he caught his breath. Then, a smile slipping across his tingling lips, Vanator turned to look at Sybel. She had brought many gifts to him that day, the golden torc still encircling his neck. "You...are...moving in...right?" The Denusk panted. "Because that's what people do when then get married. Sybel, will you marry me?"

[Sybel]

Ecstasy bloomed out through her chest, chills ran along her spine. Sybel was momentarily in the thick of a hurricane, overcome by sensation, lost in him. And for a moment, he was gone, the warm presence of his lips suddenly missing. Body still in spasms, her fingers groped feebly where his lion's mane had once been, blindly seeking any contact she could muster. Until he was there again, this time with renewed vigor both below and above. She wrapped him in the circle of her arms, eyes ripe with pure, unadulterated affection. Nothing had ever felt more perfect, more right than this.

Their hips locked and gently she took him in, granting that secret precious few had ever known. Her secret. This was all she had to give. And how it was glorious - the pleasure before just couldn't compare. Words came and went like the tides, carried along on gusts of breath, messengers of desire riding along the wind. Sybel became lost, uncaring for where she ended and he began. All she knew was his scent, the sleek sheen of his sweat as they moved against one another, the deep mahogany of his voice as he whispered her his forbidden prayer.

She felt it rising too, the feeling giant and beyond compare. This would be unlike before. It was where fault lines would collide. Their sense of urgency grew between panting breaths, gasping through the suddenly humid air. And all it once it struck, like a titan hammer blow, sending to her rapture. Tears dewed at the corners of her eyes. As feeling rippled through her body, her muscles engaged to keep from coming apart. Everything was for a brief moment, absolutely perfect. Sybel was blissful and then, content.

He withdrew but not entirely, still content to hold her close. She curled up against his chest, drinking in the music of his heart. For a moment, his questions fell softly in the background, until her mind was able to form a proper reply. "Vanator," she said gently, looking up at him. Her expression was vulnerable, childlike. "Of course."

She never thought he'd ask again. His love was so sincere, it caused her pain. "Yes. Today, tomorrow, whenever you like. I am ready to dedicate this life to you." And she meant it, with all of her being.

And suddenly she added: "Kavala will be pleased," unable to contain the thought properly. A tiny giggle passed her lips.

[Vanator]

Heaving chests, rising and falling, laboring in the wake of the couple's ardent union, began to settle. Sybel lay in his arms, or she in his, the entanglement of their embrace such that one could not easily discern where the sculpted man ended and the statuesque woman began. All the Drykas man knew was the deep joy of having Sybel pressed against him, her head on his chest, the silky raven mane beneath his caressing hand. Vanator's proposal hung in the think air, saturated with the musky aroma of their lovemaking. For a moment, the only sound was the wisp of their deep breaths, and Vanator wondered for a split tick if he had read all the signals wrong. He had before.

She uttered his name with her Shiber lilt, and he felt Sybel's head shift against him, turning up. Van twisted his own to look down into the glistening azure gaze. Everything about her response this time was different. Vanator heard the conviction in the woman's voice, saw the truth of her heart in the soft vulnerability of her countenance. Sybel's answer brought a smile to the Denusk's masculine mouth, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her even closer to him. Van exhale a deep, satisfied sigh.

His chest buckled slightly as he laughed at Sybel's reference to Kavala. "Yes, I would not be surprised to learn that her ear is pressed to the door right now! My dear sister can now stop worrying about me. She will turn that job over to you!" Van shifted until he could press his lips against the soft pillows of Sybel's mouth. "You have made me very happy. We will be a strong, loving family, Sybel. I swear my heart and loyalty to you, my love." Van was not a fool, there would be difficulties. Sybel had yet to learn everything that had happened to Van during his enslavement, the cruel conditioning that haunted him still. Though fate had dealt with each of them harshly, it had only made them stronger. Together, Vanator knew they could persevere.

[Sybel]

Sybel traced the lines of Vanator’s jaw, basking in the glow of their lovemaking. ”I will always worry about you,” she replied lightly, ”and I think Kavala will, too.” Her eyes smiled just as well as her lips. ”Though I suspect she spends more time thinking of Riaris, these days.” She rolled at her eyes at the mention of the hulking purple Akalak. He wasn’t exactly Sybel’s favorite person, at that.

A thought crossed her mind unbidden. After she’d first arrived in the city, Riaris informed her that raiding parties of Drykas had been kidnapping women to bolster their numbers. Sybel knew it was in part, a means to put tension between her and Vanator. But whether or not it was even true still remained to be seen. It seemed so irrelevant, in a way; Vanator was not in the least, accountable for the actions of his Drykas brethren. But still, it mattered, on some fundamental level. Sybel felt like a Drykas in so many ways.

”I have something to ask you…” She trailed, uncertain. ”When I first got here, I ran into Riaris at the Blue Bull. I’d already heard of him from Kavala and he knew of me vaguely, in the same way. I think it was Recoomas actually, who said it but…” She bit her lip. It was terrible, to spoil the moment like she was. ”Is it true that Drykas are stealing women?” She released a gust of breath. ”Taking them from just outside the settlements and spiriting them away?”

She sighed and resumed tracing, this time upon his chest. It was an uncomfortable topic, but one that needed to be discussed. Attempting to bring levity back into the situation, she decided to discuss the wedding. Perhaps it’d let him know that regardless of whatever would be said, her opinion of him would not – could not change. ”So, what do you think of being married in Winter? Does that suit you, or would you rather wait until the Spring?”

She leaned in a pressed a soft kiss upon his chest.

[Vanator]

Vanator was savoring the intimacy with Sybel, muscles that had been taut during lovemaking now soothed by the euphoria afterwards. He would have been content to linger there indefinitely, just the two of them, skin on skin, the only adornment on either of them the gold torc around Van's neck. The Drykas had long wondered what that moment would be like, laying with Sybel after their first time. He had imagined it in the grass, or beneath the canvas cover of a pavilion, not the ornate stone walls of the Within, in a real bed. But he would not have changed a moment.

The fantasy of a world in which only they existed faded as Sybel posed her question. It was an odd course after such a momentous event, but one Vanator could sense troubled Sybel. But Van understood, these people, his people, were going to be her people too.

Vanator sighed, it was not a subject he wished to think about. "It is true. Many of the pavilions have conducted raids into Sylira, though those they take are not restricted to just women. They were not enslaved, but integrated into families. But you are right, it was against their will. The Drykas are desperate, Bel. So many were lost in the djed storm, and the famine and disease that followed killed more. Many believed the survival of the horseclans was at risk." He paused, his chest rising with a deep breath that was slowly exhaled.

"I didn't take part in the raids, and I didn't condone them. Endrykas did what they believed they had to do, I am not part of the politics there anymore." He spoke with some shortness. The decision to conduct the raids had plagued Vanator, tearing at his loyalties. He was devoutly Drykas, even if he had himself not returned to Endrykas after Kavala bought his freedom. But he, his sister and his children all knew what it meant to have their freedom stolen away. So the raids left a bad taste in Van's mouth.

"Riaris is a friend, Racoomas...well, watch him." Vanator admonished. He respected both sides of the Akalak, though he was not surprised Raccomas goaded Sybel once he learned of her affiliation with Vanator. Once again, Van started to stroke the woman's silky raven mane.

"Anyway, we are not constrained by any actions or decrees of the other pavilions, until the time that I decide, if I decide, to ever leave and take the family back out into the grass. There is much for us to do here." Vanator did not elaborate further. In time, Sybel too would learn about the Cytali.

[Sybel]

She studied him intently. Of course, he didn’t condone it, but he did nothing to condemn it, either. Yet those days of indignation at social injustice were behind her. Sybel had seen too much of the world to be so naïve. She sighed, soaking in the new information, considering all that he said. ”I understand,” she replied after a time, fingers resuming their previous exploration. ”I don’t agree with the practice, but still, I understand. It’s…” She grinned, pretending to search for the words. ”Typical. Of the Drykas, I mean. After all, who wouldn’t want to live with only the stars for a ceiling, free as a newborn child? It’s well intentioned. But then again, most mistakes usually are.”

But then, there were other matters. ”As for Riaris, I agree. Recoomas, on the other hand…” She furrowed her brow, each crease a telltale mark of disapproval. ”He’s troubling. I can’t say that I trust him.” Which was putting it very mildly. It was obvious she did not. ”I know Kavala can handle herself, but… He’s a shameless womanizer. Still, she will always understand the Akalak better than I ever could.” It was odd, confiding in Vanator, yet it felt right. They were partners, after all. It was just new, being able to speak so candidly, with no fear of being rebuffed.

In the interim, she found herself transfixed by his molten eyes. Gods, she loved this man. The years had yielded him wisdom, sensibility. Sybel knew that these were the people they were meant to be. ”You know, it’s funny. Painful, too, but I’ve been thinking. I feel like life had to break us, so we’d heal together. You know, like when you’ve broken an arm? Sometimes, it takes a doctor to set the injury. And like scar tissue, it’ll sometimes heal stronger than ever before.” Was it a silly analogy? She couldn’t be sure. Sybel leaned in to kiss just below his ear.

”You are the wind that guides me, now.” Her breath danced across the exposed flesh of his earlobe. She caught the sensitive skin between her teeth, no longer concerned with raiding Drykas or unsavory Akalak. She wanted nothing but her man; the prize she had so rightly won. ”Perhaps it’s time I get swept up.” Again. Maybe she’d request a hurricane, this go around.

Didn’t she once say he was marked with Ranuri?

So!At this point, we can fade to black or not - it's really up to you. I shall be contacting you through PM to plot the Winter away!

[Translucent]

Congratulations On Your Hard Work!

[/center]

Sybel:
XP: +1 planning, +3 socialization, +2 flirting, +5 seduction, +1 dancing, +4 observation
Lores: Cadra: Easier to bond with then brother Larik, Vanator’s proposal, Vanator: Not part of Drykas Raids

Sybel Extras :

-50 GM’s for Gold Torc,

Player: Vanator
XP:+5 seduction, +3 socialization, +1 flirtation
Lores: Sybel’s Tattoo , Sybel’s Answer to Marriage Proposal: Yes,

Vanator Extras :

+1 Gold torc

Notes: Nifty little thread. Don’t forget to Edit your grade request

As always PM me if you have issues.

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