Desperately Searching (part 8 of 9)

a Sailor Moon fanfiction by kazeko

Back to Part 7
Makoto ran her hands over Haruka's wings, shrugging at the Faeri and 
Flame Walker. She felt a connection to the other two princesses, 
something beyond their rebellious natures, something older and stronger. 
She pushed the feeling away as she had Rei help her turn the sleeping 
Skyling over. "I can find nothing wrong . . . her feathers are dry and 
the teeth seem unable to hold onto each other. I imagine that's why she 
can't fly. I've seen this drying-out in sea birds, but never land 
creatures. I wonder what stimulates her oil glands. She can't fly again 
without that stimulation. Other than that . . . I found what I think is 
a puncture wound, but it's very small." Makoto pulled Haruka's wrist 
into the light, pointing to a small dark spot on the inside. "It looks 
like a pygmy scorpion. She may have fallen on a nest. This would have 
been from the big male; the little females almost never leave a mark. 
I'm not sure how much poison was injected into her system, but I have 
never seen anyone killed by a scorpion sting. I have the herbs to treat 
it, but all we can do is wait until she naturally flushes the poison."

"How can we help?"

"Sky People come from the coldest heights of the mountains. They are 
immune to the low temperatures that would kill us. But they have not 
lived in warm areas for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. The heat is 
her worst enemy right now. If she was healthy, it would not bother her . 
. ."

"Can you move her to the bay you mentioned? It's cooler there."

"Rei-san, will you help me? Minako-san is a little too small."

The Faeri growled at the comment as Rei laughed and pulled her shirt 
off, stretching out the fabric to its full length, unconcerned with her 
bare breasts. Among her own kind, a female Flame Walker rarely wore a 
shirt and sometimes didn't bother with a skirt. When they did wear 
clothes, they were skintight to show off the body's natural beauty and 
allow free range of motion in the harsh sands. Makoto, well versed in 
Flame Walker traditions, didn't notice Rei's action, though Minako 
stared eagerly at her girlfriend with undisguised lust in her blue eyes. 
Rei took the cloth and bound Haruka's wings, knowing that they would be 
injured if left free. Rei slipped her arm under Haruka's torso, letting 
the Elf catch her legs as they headed for the sea.

----------

Minako waited until she could no longer hear Makoto's silent footfalls 
departing into the forest before returning to the spacious sea cave. Rei 
was slipping a soft pillow under Haruka's head, reaching for the potion 
Makoto had left. Minako watched as Rei gently poured the liquid down 
Haruka's throat, massaging her neck to make her swallow. As soon as the 
bottle was empty, Rei checked the bindings on Haruka's wings and reached 
for the mortar and pestle Makoto had left, dropping leaves from two 
herbs and an open flower from the third. She began to crush the herbs 
into dust as the Elf had shown her to, dumping the powder into the empty 
bottle, filling it with water. With the touch of her hand, she heated 
it, shaking the vial to dissolve the herbs. She placed it on the shelf 
beside Haruka's bed, wondering briefly if she should mix another.

She suddenly found herself on her back on the cave floor, pinned by a 
slender Faeri. Minako grinned and ran her fingers lightly across Rei's 
cheek, tracing the fine golden patterns. She leaned down and kissed the 
Flame Walker gently, the warmth from her lover's lips shooting down her 
spine and filling her body. Her wings trembled. "I like this new look," 
Minako whispered. She let her fingers trail down Rei's neck, running 
along the bulge of her breasts, deliberately avoiding her nipples as she 
traced the filigree patterns of gold on Rei's stomach. "You know, in all 
the confusion of Haruka falling from the sky, we never got to finish our 
. . . conversation. You never told me that you would attend the 
Gathering topless."

"It's tradition," Rei breathed, arching towards Minako's teasing, 
butterfly caresses. "I considered losing the skirt, but I was named 
Hostess and had to wear it."

"Probably a good idea," Minako purred, leaning down to nip at Rei's 
exposed neck, smiling when she gasped. "If you hadn't been wearing any 
clothes, I doubt I could have restrained myself as I did."

"You call that restraint? Ohh . . . Mina . . . we can't, not in here. 
We'll wake her . . ."

Minako grinned and pulled Rei to her feet, slipping deeper into the cave 
system. "Then we had better find a private room, lover."

----------

Rei followed Minako into the caves, watching as Minako waved a hand, 
turning the veins of opal in the walls into glowing light sources, blue 
light filling the room. With a smile, she changed the color to red and 
gold, then to white flecked with a rainbow of hues. Rei grinned, 
choosing that color combination as her favorite, and the Faeri turned 
all of her attention to her lover. Her butterfly wings opened, 
shimmering in the light as she turned around, pulling her hair up. "I 
can't ever seem to untie the damn knot," she whispered, her voice soft 
and seductive. Rei swore she heard her purr. Unable to deny her lover, 
the Flame Walker moved forward, clawed fingers gentle as she untied the 
knot holding the Faeri's dress up, reaching lower and removing Minako's 
belt. She watched as her lover's dress fell to the floor, Minako slowly 
lowering her wings as Rei ran her claws across the smooth skin between 
them, watching pale red welts rise. Minako shivered as she turned 
around, catching Rei's hands in hers.

"Rei, let's see that power of yours. The floor is a little too cold and 
hard for me."

Rei snorted and waved her hand, warming the cave and melting a portion 
of the floor into a shallow bed, raising one eyebrow. "What can you do?"

With an amused wave, Minako created a pile of soft pillows, filling the 
depression, blankets following an instant later. They were from the 
dozens of extras she kept in her room for guests to use. "What do you 
think about that?"

"Simple transportation," Rei snorted, crossing her arms over her bare 
chest. Minako flapped her wings irritably, glaring over her shoulder at 
the Flame Walker. Rei managed one gasp before the Faeri pounced, 
throwing her backwards into the nest of pillows, face inches away, bare 
breasts caressing.

"What were you saying?"

"Nothing," Rei breathed, arching her back as Minako untied her skirt and 
threw it to the side, leaving both naked. Her eyes widened, purple 
crowding out the white, as the gold patterns on her skin began to glow.

Minako grinned and ran her finger over Rei's lips. "I don't know . . . 
I'm sure I heard something. It probably wasn't very nice." Minako 
reached down and lightly caressed Rei's breasts, being careful not to 
touch her extra-sensitive nipples, placing feathery kisses on her cheek. 
Rei moaned and twisted, trying to get closer to Minako's hand, to get 
what she really needed, but the Faeri pulled away playfully. "I don't 
think so," she purred, nibbling at Rei's red skin. The Fire Walker 
writhed, her whimpers filling the cave, and Minako smiled. "I know what 
you want, koishii. I always know what you want." With that, she ran her 
fingers up Rei's side, turning her hand to cup the older woman's breast.

----------

Makoto stared into the entrance to the cave system and grinned, knowing 
full well what the Faeri and Fire Walker were up to. She had left when 
she noticed the lust burning in Minako's blue eyes, returning when she 
was sure that the pair was gone. Ami glanced up at the sound, a pale 
blush coloring her blue-tinted cheeks. "Oh. I see. They are busy," she 
whispered. "Mako . . . where is this Skyling you found? I'd like to meet 
her, if I can. I've never seen one before."

"She's not awake, Ami, but you can look. I might need some help taking 
care of her if a certain pair of princesses doesn't emerge from that 
hole soon." She glared at the cave, her emerald eyes promising pain to 
the lovers.

Ami laughed and splashed Makoto playfully. "It's not like we haven't 
lost track of time once or twice," the mermaid pointed out. "Anyway, how 
much trouble can one Skyling be?"

"The problem isn't that she's any trouble, Ami love. She's sound asleep 
and sick. The problem is her wings. They weigh her down and she is very 
hard to move. I was going to try to give her a bath when it cools down 
later and see if that helps her temperature at all."

"I can help you, Mako. Do you want me to try to find Michiru to help 
us?"

Makoto glanced into the cave, smiling just a little. "I suppose it would 
be nicer than interrupting those two. Why don't you come see her now?" 
Ami nodded and glanced at the stream that ran into the sea-side caves, 
following her lover as the Elf returned to the enclosed space, popping 
her head out of the water and staring at the strange creature sprawled 
across the stone ledge Makoto had converted into a bed. Her wings were 
tied to keep her from hurting herself, but Ami could see that she would 
have a great wingspan when she was well again.

"We certainly need help to bathe her," the mermaid muttered, raising 
herself out of the water, letting Makoto help her sit on one of the 
sea-smoothed rock shelves beside the small inlet inside the large cave. 
Scooting closer, she stared at the golden-winged blonde, hesitant to 
touch her. "Maybe . . . maybe I should go get Michiru."

"You don't want to touch her?" Makoto smiled, having picked up on her 
lover's nervousness. "It's okay. Go get your cousin."

Ami smiled and pulled herself up, rubbing her cheek against Makoto's. 
"Thank you for understanding, koibito. Help me back into the water, 
please."

----------

(Where have you been, Ami-chan? Certainly Makoto-san's duties keep her 
busy.)

The younger mermaid nodded as she gathered the colorful oysters and 
tickled their chins to make them open and surrender their pearl. (I 
don't go to see Mako-chan. Her friends found a Skyling fallen in the 
desert and I'm helping them take care of her. She's in the sea caves 
near the bay.)

(It's pretty cold in there for Landlings. Are you sure this Skyling will 
be okay?)

(Sure. She comes from the Mountains. Mako-chan says the Skyling is 
overheating in these warm climates. We were able to bathe her once, and 
it seemed to help, but not for long.I was looking for you to see if you 
could help, but you were in a meeting with your father. The cool sea 
caves should help her. Minako-san says that she seemed very nice when 
they talked, and she's been asleep for a week now. She's losing weight, 
but it seems like her people are used to going without food because 
she's in a hibernation state that keeps her from losing too much energy. 
Hopefully she will wake up soon.)

(Is she pretty, Ami-chan?)

Ami laughed, spinning in circles around her cousin. (She has short 
blonde hair and huge golden wings and cloudy emerald eyes. I think if 
she was healthy they would be very clear and piercing, like a hawk's. I 
didn't hear her speak, but Minako-san says her voice is deeper and . . . 
huskier than an average Landling female's.)

(And?)

Ami grinned, breaching the surface in her playful exploits, hovering in 
front of her cousin, fins splayed to keep her steady. (I think she has a 
gorgeous body for a Landling, though her breasts aren't as large as 
Mako-chan's. You might like them, though.) Michiru stilled, eyes wide as 
her hair swirled around her. Her? Like breasts? Attracted to women? Yet, 
the more she thought about it, the more Michiru realized that her cousin 
knew her better than she knew herself. (Ami, how long have I been 
attracted to women?)

(Since you met Mako-chan, at least,) Ami grinned. (I saw your fins perk 
up when you saw my girlfriend naked. Not only are you attracted to 
women, you are curious about making love to a Landling.)

(Hey! They could have perked up at something else.) Michiru blushed at 
her cousin's words, wondering at this sudden reversal of roles. Usually 
she was the one making Ami blush, not the other way around. The pale 
pink contrasted with her blue and green scales.

(I don't believe you.) Ami stopped her oyster hunt and dumped her pearls 
into Michiru's webbed hands. Smiling, she ran her claws gently along the 
princess's chin. (Look, Michiru-chan, I don't care if you get curious. I 
did. Just don't let your father catch you.)

Michiru smiled as she dumped the pearls into her bag. (Can you show me 
where the Skyling is?)

Onwards to Part 9


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