Ripples in the Water
One last note - despite my depiction of
Mylandah and Lahrri in this story, I don't
really see them as lovers. I just couldn't
find a decent lemon with them, so I wrote one.
;-)
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The water was cold. It was always cold. She
wouldn't bother with hot water, there wasn't
any need. She had always sneered at the girls
who lowered themselves into the bath with
groans of agony and relief. They were all
weak. Pain was part of training ? an important
part.
The water poured over her head, and she ran
her fingers into her hair, flattening it out
under the frigid stream. Shaking her head with
a low noise, she switched the water off and
took the soap in her hands. The lather was
harsh on her skin, just the way she liked it.
She watched her hands move over her body,
enjoying the feeling of taut muscles and tight
skin. It would be ridiculous to say that she
did not enjoy her own body ? its shape, its
strength, its endurance, these were things she
had worked hard for, worked hard to maintain
and they made her feel powerful. And power was
good.
Her eyes narrowed. Power. Something she had
known right from the start when she came to
that place to train. The weak little girls
around her had never been any challenge, not
until she had met...her. Lahrri...Mylandah
ground out the name, even in her thoughts.
Lahrri Feldnut, former teammate, former rival.
Mylandah couldn't very well call her a friend,
could she? Compatriot, maybe. Her hands paused
in their motions. Role model, possibly.
Mylandah's eyes closed. In her inner eye, she
saw Lahrri at practice, the perfect
machine-like motions in her running, the play
of muscles under her skin...Mylandah ground
her teeth at the soft noise that she made at
the thought. Object of desire? Ridiculous. She
continued to wash. Hands filled hair with
shampoo, scrubbing hard at her scalp. Her eyes
opened, heedless of the sting of soap, as she
reached for the showerhead.
Cold water poured over her, washing away the
lather, the sweat, leaving her body gleaming
and shiny. Mylandah looked down at her chest,
her lips pulling back in a feral grin. In that
year of captivity, she had learned exactly
what power she really held over people. She
knew, with a ferocious certainty, that never
once in her life would her reputation as an
outstanding and dangerous athlete hold as much
power as one small glimpse of her breasts. The
pathetic guards that, one after another, grew
to lust after and hate her, had taught her
that. She trained half-naked just to taunt
them with the knowledge that, even if they
dared approach her, she'd have just as easily
killed them as done another push-up. Idiots,
one and all.
The soap was long gone, but Mylandah let the
water continue to flow. It wasn't, she thought
with some amusement, that she didn't *know*
desire...there was that one guard she had let
come so close...but then the fool had to go
and ruin the moment by speaking. She shrugged.
His injuries weren't permanent ? except for
that one scar.
Her mind turned to desire. The feel of her own
skin, wet after a shower, always turned her on
slightly. It must be something about human
nature that a bath brings on these feelings,
she mused. It irked her that she felt this
way, that she couldn't stop herself from
reacting to the water streaming down her body,
puckering her nipples, running off her
breasts, dripping from her groin...it was
tedious, this need for release. She wondered
idly if Lahrri felt the same way.
In some confusion, Mylandah lowered the
handheld showerhead. Now why on earth did she
think that? The water pushed up at her from
where she held it, next to her leg. The stream
just brushed by the junction of leg and groin
and Mylandah looked down at the water, puzzled
at her own thoughts. Here she was, annoyingly
horny and thinking of, all people...
"Lahrri." She said the name out loud.
"What?" The voice from behind her made
Mylandah spin around on her stool.
Framed just inside the bathroom doorway stood
the subject of her wandering thoughts, Lahrri
Feldnut. Supremely confident, completely
unconscious of her nakedness, with the same
calm, inhuman look she habitually wore.
Mylandah stared, feeling a range of unusual
emotions scroll through her brain. Lahrri gave
her a second glance, then stepped in to the
room.
As she set her things on a bench, Lahrri asked
quietly. "What did you want?"
Mylandah shook her head. "Nothing. I was
thinking out loud. A vulgar habit." She
reached forward and turned off the water,
hanging the showerhead back in its cradle. But
for some reason, she didn't move from where
she sat.
"Thinking about what?" Lahrri asked, turning
on her own shower. Cold, Mylandah noticed
approvingly. The water washed through Lahrri's
hair, relaxing that unique hairdo until her
blonde tresses laid flat against her head.
Despite herself, Mylandah chuckled softly.
"That hairstyle suits you."
Lahrri turned to gaze at her evenly, no smile
on her lips. "And that one suits you."
Mylandah put her hand up to her own head,
where her wavy tresses hung lankly. "I
suppose," she answered quietly.
Lahrri turned away and took her soap in her
hand. She ran her hand along one arm while
Mylandah watched, fascinated despite herself,
as lather covered first one arm, then the
other, then legs, and at last, torso.
As Lahrri ran a hand along her abdomen,
raising it slowly to wash her chest, she
turned slightly, giving Mylandah a better
view. "Is that what you were thinking about?"
she asked mildly.
Mylandah met the other woman's eyes boldly.
"Yes."
"Mmm." Lahrri grunted. "Get my back, will
you?"
Mylandah took the soap from the other woman's
hands and slapped it up against her broad
back. When her hand touched the other woman's
skin, she found her lips pulling back from her
teeth. It was all she could do to contain the
sound that threatened to emerge from her
mouth...a low growl of pleasure.
"What do you do about it?" Lahrri asked
suddenly.
Mylandah stopped midstroke. "About it?"
Lahrri gave her a glance over her shoulder.
"Doesn't working out make you..."
"Ah." Mylandah said in acknowledgement. "Yes.
You?"
"Mmm." Lahrri confirmed.
Mylandah washed Lahrri's back in silence, then
handed the soap back. She reached past the
other woman and took the showerhead in her
hand. Lahrri turned on the water and the water
blasted out in a chill waterfall. Mylandah
stroked a hand through the blonde hair,
rinsing shampoo and soap off every surface she
could easily reach. Lahrri took the showerhead
back and completed her ablutions. She cradled
the appliance and stood. Mylandah stood up as
well, braiding her hair and pinning it onto
the top of her head.
They entered the bath together. Mylandah sat
facing Lahrri, her gaze openly taking in the
other woman's body. Mylandah had, of course,
seen Lahrri in many stages of dress, and had
frequently been in physical contact with the
other woman, but never had there been so
much...tension...between them. No, the tension
had been there since the day they had met. It
was just that today, they were both
acknowledging it.
"So," Mylandah said with a sarcastic smile,
"what do you do about it?"
Lahrri shrugged eloquently, her arms extended
along the top of the bath. Mylandah noticed
how the motion made her breasts move in the
water. "Whatever I have to."
Silence fell. Mylandah leaned her head
backwards, knowing that it would push her own
breasts higher in the water. She opened her
eyes a fraction, to see if Lahrri was looking,
if there was hunger in that look. She was
mildly disappointed to see Lahrri's eyes were
closed.
"You never answered me." Lahrri's tone hadn't
changed. Mylandah wondered that she could
remain so calm in the face of what was
happening.
"Whatever I have to," she echoed. She took a
deep breath and let it out slowly. "It would
be nice if once in a while..." she let the
sentence end unfinished.
"If?" Lahrri took the bait.
Mylandah opened her eyes and locked them onto
Lahrri's. She was sure she could see a flash
in those cool depths.
"If ...once in a while I could have something
more real." Mylandah said, allowing the
minutest emotion into her voice.
Lahrri held Mylandah's eyes. "More real?"
Mylandah shrugged, and, closing her eyes,
leaned her head back once again. "More real
than a quickie with some guy, more real than
my own hand. Something meaningful. With an
equal."
Lahrri grunted.
Mylandah kept her eyes closed, but let a sneer
cross her lips. "Any suggestions?"
"Hmm?" Lahrri asked.
"Where I can find an equal," Mylandah said.
She watched from half-closed eyes with
amusement, as Lahrri's cool façade cracked and
fell like ice falling from a glacier.
Lahrri glared for a single moment, then a
small smile crossed her own lips. "Yes, I'm
sure Kanzaki-kun will be perfectly happy to
accommodate you."
Mylandah's eyes whipped open and she glared at
Lahrri, who appeared to be shaking slightly
where she sat. It took a moment before
Mylandah realized that the other woman was
laughing. At her. A blinding wave of emotion
surged through her body, leaving her almost
weak in its wake. She could feel her own body
beginning to shake, and she strove to keep it
contained, but after a bravely fought battle,
failed. Her own laughter was loud in the
small, tiled room.
Mylandah wiped the back of a hand across her
face, feeling its warmth, from the bath, from
the laughter, from the whatever it was that
was growing between her and Lahrri. She rose
from the tub, and stepped away to retrieve a
towel. She unbound her hair and shook it out.
Lifting the towel from her pile of effects,
Mylandah felt the object pulled from her hand.
She spun around and found herself face to face
with Lahrri. The other woman stood so close
that Mylandah could feel Lahrri's breath
against her own skin.
Lahrri leaned forward until her lips nearly
touched Mylandah's cheek. She reached her arms
around the smaller woman and wrapped her in
the towel she had taken from her. Smiling,
Lahrri pulled away, and reached out for her
own towel. Handing it to Mylandah, Lahrri
lifted her arms, awaiting the other woman.
Something broke inside Mylandah. She dropped
the towel she held, and ran her hands over
Lahrri's arms, feeling every inch of those
magnificently muscled limbs. Many people would
consider Lahrri grotesque, over masculine, but
at that moment Mylandah had never seen
anything so beautiful in her life.
As she lowered Lahrri's arms, Mylandah thought
about her own life, how she had gotten here,
to this place, this moment ? about her
reputation for intensity that had changed to a
reputation for viciousness. Her focus, so long
on being the best, had altered when this woman
had entered her life. Something important had
changed within her ? all her energy, all her
concentration had been focused not on a goal,
but on a person. On Lahrri Feldnut.
Mylandah ran her hands along Lahrri's
collarbone, then down onto her sternum. Laying
her hands flat she stepped away, picked up the
towel from the floor and returned to wrap it
around Lahrri's body.
"When was it, I wonder," Mylandah said
quietly. "When was it that you took over my
thoughts?"
Lahrri looked into Mylandah's eyes with that
same calm she always radiated. Mylandah
resented her that calm. Her own body flamed
with extremes of anger, of hatred, of
loneliness, of desire....
Desire. With that thought, Mylandah was sure
this time she could see the flames burning in
the depths of Lahrri's eyes, see the passion
that rarely, if ever, reached the surface.
"Lahrri." Mylandah said, her body clenched
with need. If she could just reach out...touch
her once more, surely she would see those
flames come to the surface.
Lahrri's grip was strong. Mylandah knew that,
of course. They had arm wrestled, wrestled,
competed in many and varied games. But it was
different this time. Her grip was firm and
insistent in a way that Mylandah had never
known. She grinned, thinking that in a
conventional movie, now was the time for her
to melt willingly into Lahrri's arms. Well,
she would never melt, not for anyone ?
especially not for Lahrri.
Mylandah moved into Lahrri's embrace fiercely,
with determination. Lahrri's lips were hard
against hers, and Mylandah couldn't help but
laugh. Not even for this would they give up
the competition, not even for a brief moment
of warmth. She placed her hand on the back of
Lahrri's neck and moved her mouth against
Lahrri's, probing, looking for a way in. She
could hear Lahrri speak against her, but
couldn't make out the words. Mylandah pulled
her mouth away from Lahrri's.
"What did you just say?" she grated, panting
from the adrenaline coursing through her body.
Lahrri looked at her, her eyes dark with
obvious need, and Mylandah felt her heart soar
with victory. "I said, 'Good. Harder.'" Lahrri
rasped.
Mylandah's head exploded. She reached out both
hands and pulled Lahrri into her, ripping at
their towels, scraping her teeth against
Lahrri's neck, seeking out the one thing she
needed to confirm her domination. Pressing
against Lahrri's mouth, she entered it with
her tongue. She took Larrhi's hand in her own,
placing it against her body, just under her
breast. Lahrri pulled her head away with the
smallest intake of breath.
Lahrri looked at Mylandah for a moment, then
placed her mouth over Mylandah's nipple.
Mylandah choked back the cry that forced
itself out of her throat. Goddammit, she would
*not* be the one to give in first. She pushed
Lahrri off her and with the quickest of
motions, swept the other woman's feet from
underneath her. She watched amusement flicker
over Lahrri's face as the blonde allowed
herself to be taken to the ground. Mylandah
held Lahrri's hands over her head, and Lahrri,
graciously, allowed them to be held. Mylandah
growled at Lahrri's competence and she whipped
her hair across Lahrri's chest. She took
Lahrri's breast in one hand and laid her mouth
over her nipple, pulling at it, biting,
stretching her hand out for a victory that
would not be denied to her. She looked up at
Lahrri, whose head was back, her mouth
slightly open, her chest heaving as she sucked
in breath after breath, trying to cool the
heat that filled her. Mylandah pushed her hair
out of her eyes and filled Lahrri's mouth with
her tongue. Immediately, the other woman began
to suck at her. Mylandah gripped Lahrri's arm,
digging into the firm muscles with her nails.
Lahrri pulled back, her half lidded eyes
boring into Mylandah's. "Harder," she
whispered, her voice no longer cool at all,
but almost, not quite, pleading.
Mylandah growled once again, and removed her
hand from Lahrri's wrists. The blonde took a
grip on the shelves behind her, stretching out
her body beneath Mylandah's. With a harsh,
almost angry motion, Mylandah pulled Lahrri's
legs apart and entered her without warning.
Her back arcing, body taut with need, Lahrri
moaned loudly and Mylandah laughed, raising
her voice in her moment of victory, at last,
over the other woman...even as she knew that
she was still, after all this time, two steps
behind her. And even as she came to this
realization, she found that, after all this
time, and pain, and effort, she simply didn't
care. Mylandah lowered her head once again to
Lahrri's mouth and they kissed, hard, as
Mylandah filled Lahrri and felt her come,
hard. Lahrri moaned into Mylandah's mouth,
driving her wild as the muscular body whipped
back and forth beneath her in a frenzy of
unleashed, unrepentant ecstasy.
Mylandah lay there, her head on Lahrri's
chest, hair splayed across the powerful torso.
She knew that Lahrri wouldn't be too long
regaining her breath ? after all, hadn't they
trained harder than this for years? Still, it
took Mylandah by surprise when Lahrri slipped
from underneath her and pinned her to the
floor with amazingly strong arms.
"Well?" Lahrri asked, her voice remarkably
cool, but a smile on her lips.
Mylandah's lips pulled back. "What do you
think?"
Lahrri's smiled disappeared and that was the
last rational thing Mylandah remembered. Pain
and pleasure mingled so thoroughly, as it
always had, muscles crying out for release,
body tense with need, all driven by an urgent
longing - this was all Mylandah had ever
known. Lahrri's mouth was everywhere, her
hands pinching, and pulling, and oh god,
inside her, Mylandah thought she would never
stop feeling that, even long after Lahrri was
gone. The rhythm in between her legs was
insistent, and her body's need so great, that
a single kiss, the softest possible touch, as
Lahrri's lips merely brushed, barely more than
a breath over Mylandah's clit set her off into
a screaming wave of orgasm after orgasm that
left her helpless. All the passion in her
nature, all of her intent on this one woman
was made manifest in a single word, called
endlessly as Mylandah came. "Lahrri!"
At last it faded. Mylandah, coated in sweat,
relaxed back and breathed deeply as she had
never breathed before. Lahrri lay there,
watching her, her face, for one brief moment,
completely open, unguarded. Mylandah felt
something grip her chest at this. This is what
Lahrri must have looked like as a child, when
her dreams were just that, dreams to be
realized.
"Goddamn you, Lahrri Feldnut." Mylandah said,
sitting up and moving away. "You have no right
to make me feel this way." She brushed angrily
at tears that unaccountably sprang to her
eyes.
Lahrri said nothing, but moved close enough to
take Mylandah's hand in her own. Mylandah
waited for the insistent grip, but instead
received only a soft caress, the calloused
hand passing above her own gently, as if
afraid to break her.
"Mylandah Arkar Walder." Lahrri said quietly.
She looked as if she was searching for the
right words and failing. Lahrri had never been
known as an orator ? her power was in her
body, not her speech. Her brows drawn
together, she said, "That was some workout."
Mylandah watched the blonde as she gathered
her thoughts. "A good workout always makes me
feel..." she let the rest of the sentence
fade.
Mylandah watched her for a moment, then
laughed. "Yeah, me too." Still holding
Lahrri's hand, she stood. The two women
released each other and took up their
respective belongings.
Tightening towels around themselves, they
scanned the bathroom for anything left awry.
As they paused in the doorway, Mylandah said
casually, "My room?"
Lahrri grunted. "Mine."
And in perfect and complete silence, they
walked away from the bathroom, together.
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