PREDATORS
by Chimera Bloom
Part 8
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Zelsi eagerly fell back against the bed relieved to finally be getting what she wanted from the warrior. Kellis tried to lower her body onto the concubine's but found the motion to be hard and almost painful. She sat there rubbing her hand across the base of her skull hoping for the throbbing pain to cease or at least diminish.
The woman looked up at her with an open mouth, bored eyes and large swaying breasts. Kellis desperately tried to think of any way to postpone their union. She really did feel awful about leaving the woman in a rather unfulfilled state. And she felt ashamed of her earlier actions with Zelsi. And worse then that, Kellis knew the woman was perfectly justified in her anger. The warrior had used the concubine without any thought to the woman's station in the tribe.
But despite her feelings and her desire to some how earn forgiveness, she couldn't make her body obey her mental will. She had drunk far too much and was suffering for it now. The warrior closed her eyes trying once more to get her bearings. But the room just wouldn't stop spinning.
"What are you doing?" Zelsi hissed, annoyed that Kellis seemed to be stalling for time. The warrior looked up hearing the harsh tones and tried once again to appease the woman.
"What do you want?" Kellis asked in a soft defeated whisper.
"Surprise me." The woman answered widening the berth of her legs and revealing herself to the warrior.
Kellis leaned down onto her forearms, grateful to once more, be able to rest against the comforting mattress. She studied the folds of the wet sex open before her. There was nothing surprising, shocking, or even remotely intriguing about what she was looking at. Kellis couldn't think of one warrior in the tribe who hadn't seen every single inch of Zelsi's naked body.
And looking at the bored naked woman lying beneath her, she would give nearly anything to not be in the room with her. But she knew she had a task to perform. Wetting her lips she lowered her mouth to the woman's waiting sex. This was something that she was normally good at. It was something that Zelsi had spent many long nights teaching her how to perform with perfect passion. And if there was one thing that Zelsi loved, it was a thorough tongue bath.
But tonight, she just couldn't do it. She bravely reached out with her tongue only to find her stomach suddenly swimming in nausea. Her head was aching and at the moment, she felt that it was entirely possible that she just might throw up.
"I can't do this." Kellis uttered in a defeated whisper.
"Of course you can…you just won't do this. And trust me Kellis , you won't get a second chance at this. EVER!" Zelsi said storming away from the bed.
"And Kellis, don't ever come to me again. My services are no longer available to you." The concubine screamed before she stormed out into the Lodge proudly displaying all her naked glory.
Quickly, the warrior shut the door after her departure. She knew Zelsi had left like that to cause a scene. Although giving the early black hour of the morning, she seriously doubted that the woman had much of an audience to impress with her antics.
But with her newfound solitude, Kellis discovered that she could finally give into her nausea. Rushing to the bathroom she thoroughly emptied her stomach of its contents. And then she simply hovered there on the cold tile floor.
She couldn't help but feel that she was beginning to make a mess of her life. But it was a fleeting thought. And it was one she didn't want to give much time to. She preferred to think of herself as driven and intense. She didn't like to acknowledge the fact that her real focus was on pleasure. And she finally realized that her philandering ways were starting to catch up to her.
But these were thoughts for another time. Promising herself that she would spend some time reflecting during her next moment of sobriety, the warrior finally climbed up from the floor. Right now all Kellis could think about was the dire need to rinse all smells of the concubine from her body. For some reason it seemed to be adding to her sick stomach and pounding head.
Starting the shower, she fell under the spray of water immediately feeling her body respond to the warm caress. It felt relaxing, restoring, and just about the closest thing to wonderful she had ever known. The warrior languished under the spray allowing the water to rinse away her tension. And ever so slowly, her most recent sins with Zelsi slipped right down the drain.
By the time Kellis was down showering, she felt ten times better. Walking out into the steam-filled bathroom she swiped at the mirror wanting to see her image. And once she had, she wished that she hadn't even bothered to look at all.
Her skin was pale. Her eyes were blood-shot. And her mouth looked crooked and stained under the dim bathroom light. She looked like a drunk. And Kellis lurched in shame. She was her tribe's premier warrior. She had too much dignity and responsibility to behave like this. And looking at her own sallow appearance, she knew she had some major life changes to make.
She probably would have stood there for several lengthy minutes giving herself a thorough chastisement, but her thoughts were interrupted. She heard the quiet opening and closing of her hotel suite door. And knew that the heron had finally returned.
Immediately, she wanted to rush right out in the long living room of the suite. She didn't want Elila to walk into the bedroom. The heron would instantly know what had happened. The sheets were crumpled and lying in a twisted mess. The room reeked of the stale odor of failed sex. And she would take one look at the warrior's pallid appearance and know everything without ever having to hear a word.
Kellis wasn't a fool. She knew all too well that her choice of sexual partners had hurt the girl. Elila wore her heart on her sleeve. And the hardest thing was that Kellis truly did share her feelings. She just couldn't give the heron the type of relationship that she wanted, not yet anyways.
The warrior knew that in many ways this situation was unfair to the heron. She would spend long days with the girl exchanging thoughts and feelings. They formed intimate bonds of deep friendship. And the sexual tension was becoming so thick that Kellis worried she might never be able to penetrate it.
But at night, Kellis would leave the girl for a passionate night with a woman. She would seek out the company of anyone who wasn't Elila. And she would make love to them all the while wishing that it was the heron in her arms.
Remembering to grab her robe, she darted into the living room trying to stop the heron's movements. But it was too late. The wide eyes of the girl before her were far too open and revealing. She had seen the bedroom. And she easily recognized all the signs. The only saving grace for the golden warrior was that the girl standing before her wasn't Elila. It was her friend Yamina. And Kellis couldn't begin to understand what she was doing up and about at this rather late hour.
Even though she had slammed the bedroom door shut behind her, Kellis knew it had been far too late. She knew that Yamina had already mentally captured every crumpled sheet and every stale odor. And she knew Yamina. The girl had a duty to tell the heron everything she had seen.
Kellis tried not to appear like some sort of guilty child. But it was hard, because that was exactly how she felt. And Yamina wasn't making it any easier. She kept staring at her with this cold and distant gaze that was unsettling even the battle-weary warrior.
"I came to see if Elila was here." Yamina whispered in a soft voice. The statement seemed rather ridiculous now even to her naïve ears. From the looks of the warrior and the suite room it was quite obvious that the heron was still missing…
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For the first time Kellis really looked at the girl. Yamina was fully dressed, just like she had been earlier at the Gallion. Yamina hadn't even gone to bed yet. And Kellis was beginning to wonder why.
"She's not here. I uh, actually thought she might be with you." Kellis answered. Since she had obviously hoarded the room so that she could be alone with Zelsi, the warrior hadn't given much thought to Elila. She just assumed the girl would have decided to discreetly sleep down in Yamina's room.
"She's not. I haven't seen her since she left the Lodge. And that was nearly 7 hours ago. I'm worried. I've looked everywhere for her. She's not here." Yamina answered genuinely concerned for the whereabouts of her best friend.
She had dutifully sat-up in the near empty lobby of the tribe's hotel hoping to see the girl return. But after hours sweeped by and there was still no sign of Elila, she began to think that she had simply missed her. She had checked the hotel from top to bottom in search of the heron. But she had found nothing. And this was the last stop on her search.
After everything Elila had seen this evening, Yamina doubted that she would have returned to the warrior's room. But she had to try. She had simply searched everywhere else.
Yamina tried to stop her hands from shaking but she couldn't help it. She was too nervous. After everything she had been through with the Midali, things like this bothered her. She was too frightened to walk down a darkened hall by herself. But Elila had trudged off into the blackness of the night without a single backward glance. And Yamina just couldn't stop herself from fearing the worst.
"What do you mean she left the Lodge? Where did she go?" Kellis asked mildly confused by the information given to her.
Elila's parents had turned their daughter's care and protection over to the warrior when they had left for the Gallion village. She was supposed to be taking care of Elila. And that meant keeping track of the girl's whereabouts.
"I don't know where she went. She just left. I think she took the last transport." Yamina answered with a blank face and large eyes.
"She just left without a word? That doesn't make any sense. Did you two have a fight or something?" Kellis asked trying to hedge her words cautiously. She didn't want to offend Yamina but she couldn't think of any other reason why Elila would have just disappeared.
"No we didn't have a fight! But she was very upset." Yamina snapped at the warrior. She took a few steps back trying to distance herself from Kellis. She knew it was poor etiquette to speak to a changeling in the manner that she just had. But she couldn't help her harsh tones. She was tired. She was worried. And she was angry with the warrior for even suggesting such a thing.
She and Elila had known each other since they were nothing but toddlers. And not once in the lengthy decades of the friendship had they ever had a fight. Unlike the warrior, Yamina cared very deeply for the heron.
"What was she upset about Yamina?" Kellis asked in a low hiss. The warrior knew she shouldn't get angry with the girl for taking a short tone with her. But the jungle cat's ego was already suffering. Zelsi had knocked her down a few pegs and she was feeling rather defensive.
Yamina wanted to blurt out the truth in lurid angry details. But she knew she had to choose her words carefully. And deep down, she really didn't know if Elila would want the warrior to know what she walked in on.
"She saw you and Zelsi together." Yamina answered softly.
Immediately the warrior walked over to the nearest wall. She needed something to lean against. At the moment, she just wasn't sure that she could hold herself up.
The warrior's mind fell into a numbing pain when she thought of what all this really meant for her. Elila must have been the girl in the steam room. She must have seen her with Zelsi. And worst, the naïve heron must have witnessed the very act of indecency that had caused the concubine to loose all her patience for the warrior.
Kellis was already ashamed of her actions. She was embarrassed by her drunkenness. She was humiliated by her rude behavior. And she was deeply regretful of the things she had done with Zelsi in the heat of her intoxicated stupor. They were lewd, indecent, and perhaps even a bit cruel. And it was certainly something that Kellis had never wanted Elila to know of.
"What did she see?" Kellis asked from her slumped position against the wall.
"She didn't give me details." Yamina answered honestly. She was at least pleased to see the warrior was showing some remorse for her illicit behavior.
"And so she just took off?" Kellis asked wondering where the heron could have gone off too.
But Yamina only nodded her head. Even though she knew there was nothing that anyone could do to find Elila, she was glad that she had at least told Kellis of her friend's disappearance. The transport would start in a few short hours and if Elila hadn't returned by then. She knew the tribe would go looking for her.
"I'm sure she's fine." Kellis answered feeling fairly confident in her belief. Elila was from the swamp. And there wasn't much she hadn't seen or done. Even though the Gallion village was large and filled with the fiercest predators in the entire kingdom, she was certain the girl could take of herself.
"Well, if she isn't back with the first transport you will look for her won't you?" Yamina asked displeased with the warrior's lack of concern. The girl couldn't help how she felt about such things. She always preferred to be cautious.
"I can't. I have the awards ceremony in the morning. But if she's not back by the end of the banquet, I'll send someone to look for her." Kellis whispered hoping that it wouldn't come to that.
If it did, she would have a very displeased teammate on her hands. As the team's alpha she would be expected to be at the ceremony all day. She couldn't leave to go track down the missing heron. She would have to send someone. And nothing could make a jungle cat more displeased then having to miss a party.
"Yamina, don't worry. I'm sure that Elila is fine. You should get some sleep before the banquet." Kellis said quietly dismissing the girl from her presence.
And the girl complied turning to leave without another word said. But what her voice didn't communicate her body did. She was angry and worried and Kellis knew that she had done nothing to put the girl at ease.
Once she was alone again, she walked over to the windows staring out into the blinking lights of the city below. And now she knew that Elila was somewhere out there. And at the moment, all she could do was hope for the girl's safe return.
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"Do you mind if I join you?" Elila looked up to see a rather large shark towering over top of her. She shrugged her shoulders not sure what to make of her sudden guest.
Elila couldn't help but stare; she had never seen a hybrid quite so large. The shark was at least 7 ft. tall and had the massive body structure to go with it. Her hair was short, with the blonde mane cut right above her shoulders. Her hair was a dark shade of blonde, almost a light brown.
But her eyes were the same piercing blue that the heron had come to expect from the Midali. The shark was obviously dressed for comfort and not style in her pair of loose fitting pants and comfortably large t-shirt. Letting her eyes trail down the lines of the shark's body, the girl couldn't help but notice how smooth the surface of her skin appeared. Pedryn's body, with which Elila had an unfortunate familiarity, was covered in the gray lines and pronounced wedges of long expansive firm muscle. Looking at her new acquaintance Elila could only assume the shark either had a natural strength, or she never participated in the hunt. Since Elila had a hard time believing the latter she could only assume the shark's very height gave her the only added advantage that she needed.
"I'm Zeranna." She said introducing herself. She smiled trying to put the girl at ease.
But instead, the gesture only ended up revealing her rows of large jagged teeth. Elila's eyes widened in a natural born terror. And the shark clasped her hand over her mouth in apparent embarrassment.
"I'm Elila." The heron answered wondering if her new acquaintance was simply curious about her appearance.
"Well, I don't want to bother you or anything. It's just that I wanted to see if you were okay. I found you on the beach tonight." Zeranna explained still trying to put the small girl at ease.
"That was you? Oh, thank you…" Elila responded with genuine feeling. But the shark only shrugged her shoulders not wanting to take credit for an act of common decency.
"So, you're all better now?" Zeranna asked noticing the wrap on the girl's wrist.
"Well, aside from this, yeah…" Elila answered feeling embarrassed all over again.
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?" Zeranna asked truly interesting in the girl's evening.
"I was hunted by a cobra." Elila answered letting the words wash over both of them.
And for a second, Elila thought she saw something akin to sympathy in Zeranna's eyes. But she quickly let the thought pass. She knew deep down that sympathy, empathy, and sorrow just weren't things that sharks could ever feel. Despite her rather ardent wishes to the contrary.
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She listened to them without notice. She felt a slight amount of guilt for her eavesdropping. But she was so terribly curious.
It was an odd scene, one that she had never really expected to encounter. Here they were, a shark and heron sharing a meal like it was the most natural thing in the world. Zeranna was being kind, polite, and even a bit witty. Elila was being friendly, forthcoming, and even pleasant. And as she listened on, Pedryn couldn't be more stupefied.
Here they were, making friends with each other like there weren't hundreds of good reasons not too. Pedryn winced trying to stop the strange flow of her own feelings. She had to admit that she was feeling a bit jealous at the ease between them. And even she was unable to explain her own instinctual response.
The alpha shark didn't know how long she stood there. She wasn't too concerned about guarding her position from them. Her hearing could easily detect their vocal vibrations from miles away.
But somewhere in between their pleasantries she lost track of time. Her mind drifted off to the strange place of indecisiveness and doubt. She mulled over the issue of past and present. She wondered about all the black, white, and gray areas of honesty and deception. She thought of what she wanted, her needs and those of her tribe.
And then she thought of Elila, the only woman she had ever truly intentionally hurt. Pedryn found what she wanted somewhere between all the confusion of right and wrong. Somewhere in the very heart of her conflicting emotions held the very answer that she had known all along.
As much as she wanted to, Pedryn knew she couldn't tell Elila the truth. There were far too many reasons that her silence must take precedence. And besides all that, she knew honesty wouldn't really get her what she wanted. Telling the heron the entire truth wouldn't earn her forgiveness. Even though the thought of unburdening her soul to the gentle girl's ear did sound tempting, Pedryn knew she had to restrain herself. With honesty, there was too much for her and the Midali to lose.
So, she remained hidden as Elila walked back to her room. Pedryn listened to the pleasant goodbyes between the heron and the shark. And as she walked down to her quarters, she tried desperately not to think about all that she'd lost during that one night with Elila.
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The heron stood mutely in front of the long bay window. Her hair, though dirty and unkempt, framed her lithe body in a perfect fashion. She seemed unruly and wild. Like at any moment she would break free from the bonds of gravity and take off into the early air of dawn.
"Elila?" The heron stiffened hearing the intrusion of another's voice. And instantly she recognized the tones.
She turned keeping her back to the sunlit window. She couldn't help her nervous glances down the hall. She didn't see a way out. And it would appear that much to her horror, she was very much alone with Pedryn.
"I didn't mean to startle you." The shark said softly watching Elila's attempts to stay calm. Pedryn recognized a visible effort at ease when she saw it.
The girl had locked her arms tightly around the front of her body. Her body weight shifted uneasily from leg to leg. And her teeth had suddenly firmly embedded right into her thick bottom lip.
But Pedryn could swear that she could almost hear the girl's thoughts. She knew Elila was suppressing a dire need to scream, to run, and maybe even to cry. She could see that her ability to stand silent and face the shark was taking a great deal of effort. And it was an effort that Pedryn could deeply respect. The girl was trying to be brave, to move forward, and accept all the strange circumstances of her life.
"What are you doing out here?" Pedryn asked softly not attempting to move any closer to the girl.
She knew that Elila must feel trapped down at the narrow of the end of the hall. And in essence, the heron was very much her captive audience. But she had no intention of hurting the girl. At the moment, the heron was quite safe. Even so, Pedryn remained at a safe distance. She just didn't see any reason to unnecessarily frighten the girl.
"I couldn't sleep. I wanted to watch the sunrise. It's quite a view." Elila managed to say through a rather clear voice.
The heron glanced out the window feeling a bit of envy for the Midali tribe. From what she had seen, The Fluid had to be one of the premier establishments in the entire Gallion Village. The place was not only enormous but also equipped with all the amenities that anyone could possibly desire. And the view was simply spectacular. Even though Elila had a deep seeded fear of the water, even she couldn't deny the raw natural beauty of the Gallion Ocean.
"The transport will start running again soon. I came to see if you feel well enough to travel." Pedryn said trying to remain cautious with her words.
She was glad to see Elila's eyes squinting to make out her form. She knew that the blinding rays of dawn were probably hampering the heron's vision. They were doing the same to her own. And she was standing far enough away the Elila shouldn't be able to pick up the small details of her behavior.
Pedryn didn't want Elila to see her eyes travel the length of her body. She didn't want Elila to know that she was memorizing every single line, curve, and sweet feminine swell. And she really didn't want Elila to see her disappointment or guilt. Pedryn didn't want the girl to suspect her motives or her darker hidden secrets.
"I guess…" Elila mumbled shrugging her shoulders.
The shark studied her more closely and it didn't take her long to realize that Elila was hiding something. The young heron's heart had suddenly sped up in her chest. And her eyes rolled to the side, as if she were trying to decide on something.
"What is it?" Pedryn asked wondering if there was some injury that she had missed.
"It's nothing… I'm sure I can travel. I'm just a bit over-tired I guess. You know, my body's exhausted but I'm too wound up to sleep." Elila answered nervously crossing her arms over her nearly exposed chest.
Pedryn took another look at the girl's attire and wondered where she had acquired it. The shark knew that female jungle cats tended to dress more conservatively. But the shark didn't feel it was her place to comment. Besides, she rather enjoyed staring at the heron's fleshy display.
"You'll be fine, as long as you didn't come in contact with any venom." Pedryn said softly keeping her hands demurely at her side.
The girl seemed to be growing more comfortable in her presence. Her body seemed a bit less tense. And her heart rate had dropped nearly back to normal. And for the briefest of moments, Pedryn actually felt insulted. She was a very strong, lightning-fast shark hybrid. It was only natural for her to be feared. But yet, the small heron seemed to be adapting to the obvious threat of the shark's mere presence. And Pedryn was beginning to wonder why.
"This question might be a bit odd but I need to know if you kissed the snake." Pedryn said well aware that she was probably the last person that Elila wanted to have this conversation with.
"No, why?" Elila asked fully remembering all contact that she had engaged in with Licara.
"I just needed to know if you had had any exposure to her venom." Pedryn answered a bit relieved that the snake hadn't taken any romantic physical liberties with the heron.
"Well, I don't know. I mean…I was trying to get away from her and I bit her. It was pretty hard. I broke the skin and well… she bled a lot." Elila answered recalling her earlier escape antics.
Pedryn only stared at the heron for a few moments letting the information fully filter into her mind. And when she was finally able to conceive of a mental image, she had to bite back her laughter. She was deeply amused by the thought of Elila turning the tables on a proud cobra warrior.
"Well, snake hybrids can carry high levels of toxicity in their blood streams. You could have been exposed to a hemotoxin of some kind. But it wouldn't be lethal. You don't have any other symptoms do you?" Pedryn asked hoping that the girl hadn't contracted anything dangerous from the snake.
"I'm probably just getting a cold or something. But my throat really hurts. It feels like someone is shoving pins right down into my neck." Elila answered rubbing the front of her throat in emphasis.
Truthfully, over the last hour the pain had grown quite intolerable. The girl had drunk glass after glass of water without so much as alleviating a single ache. She had even tried letting a few ice cubes dissolve their freezing liquid right down into her throat, but still nothing. The worst was that the pain only seemed to be getting worse.
"Oh…" Pedryn muttered slowly walking towards the girl.
The girl stiffened when she saw the shark walking towards her. But she tried not to look nervous. She knew all too well how excited frightened prey could be to a shark.
"Can you roll your eyes to the side?" Pedryn asked softly standing very close the girl.
She could hear the beat of Elila's heart. She could see the slight tremble of her hands. And she could even feel the heron's cool breath against her chest.
Immediately, Pedryn visibly flinched when she felt her blood lust begin to rise. Pedryn didn't know how Elila did it, but the mere sound of her heart could literally drive her into a frenzy. Pedryn knew that somehow, she would have to control her boiling lust. Because after everything that had already passed, the Midali just couldn't afford another incident of violence…
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But obediently, Elila did as she requested. And instantly the shark could see the telltale signs of illness setting in. The girl's eyes were streaked with the faint yellow lines of poison. Pedryn could only assume that she had contracted it from a hemotoxin in the snake's blood.
"What is it?" Elila asked easily reading the lines of concern etching across the shark's normally stoic features.
"It's nothing serious. It seems that the snake's blood doesn't agree with you." Pedryn answered deciding that it would be prudent at this juncture to step away from the girl.
"The pain? Will it go away?" Elila asked, once more scratching at the bottom of her throat.
"If you like we can give you something here before you return to your tribe. It should alleviate the pain long enough for you to be treated by your own healers." Pedryn answered wrapping her arms across her body. She didn't know why but at the moment she felt particularly self-conscious.
"Yes, I would appreciate it." Elila answered suddenly realizing that she would be expected at yet another ceremony today. She really didn't know how she was going to make it through the day. She was exhausted. Every single inch of her body was aching. And her throat was so sore; it felt like she had swallowed molten lava.
"Stop and see Baysha on your way out. I'll make sure she gives you something." Pedryn said slowly dipping her head to face only the ground.
Elila stared for a moment wondering if she should say something. It seemed that Pedryn was wrestling with a thought or idea. The shark remained stoically silent refusing to meet her gaze. The heron could see the tension jumping off every line of the hybrid's body and she couldn't help but wonder what was vexing her so.
But then Pedryn looked up and stared into her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to tell her something of importance. Elila watched her brow furrow and her eyes wrinkle into tight lines of concentration. And then, apparently thinking better of it the shark simply turned and began to walk away.
Elila found the situation odd to say the least. She had been expecting a least a simple 'good-bye.' She felt that the very history of their relationship would rate common courtesy. And then she realized that somewhere between the silence and tension, Pedryn had said goodbye. She just hadn't used her voice.
"Pedryn?" Elila called out stopping the retreating form of her one time tribal enemy.
The shark stopped, turning to face her. She could see Pedryn's body bracing in tension. Like she was worried that Elila was finally going to say all the things she had been hoping to avoid. And she could see how very much the shark wanted desperately to avoid unpleasantness between them. She wanted to pretend to be strangers. And in this small respect, Elila would honor her wishes.
"Uhm about my wrist, tha…" Elila called out trying to expresses common gratitude for her rescue and subsequent health care. She was only doing what her tribal council born manners demanded. And she was also dutifully playing her part in their false show of friendliness.
But Pedryn wouldn't allow it. The shark held up her hand stopping the heron from speaking. She looked pained and nearly anguished. She looked away as if searching for the right words. And Elila finally realized that a crack had formed in their mutual illusion of niceties.
"Don't ever thank me…" Pedryn managed to whisper in a harsh tone filled with pain and regret.
The heron just stood there staring after her retreating form. She watched the sunlight dancing across the shark's back and Elila suddenly felt very tired. If Pedryn could slip and give voice to the history between, then she could falter as well. And this was the very last place Elila wanted to be found by fear.
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The soft knock on her door roused her from the few peaceful moments of sleep that she had actually enjoyed. At first, she was concerned that it was Zelsi coming back to further humiliate her. But the knock was too gentle and demure to belong to the angry concubine. Kellis stood with her hand on the knob for several seconds debating what action to take. She suspected that it was Yamina or Elila. And at the moment, she just didn't have the strength to deal with either girl.
Finally she felt so terribly ridiculous that Kellis forced herself to open the door. She was warrior. She couldn't be afraid of conflict, no matter what form it arrived in.
But when she opened the door, she was more then happy to see her best friend standing on the other side. Melaryn was handsomely dressed and obviously ready to attend the awards ceremony. And from the smirk she found lighting up her friend's face, she knew that Melaryn obviously knew everything.
"So, are you going to invite me in? Or do I have to strip down first?" Melaryn asked gently teasing her warrior friend.
"I don't need this." Kellis answered a bit more sternly then she normally would have. But she couldn't help her harsh tone or foul mood. She had just experienced one painfully long night.
"That's not very nice, especially since I went out of my way to bring you breakfast." Her fellow warrior said, playfully holding out a bag of freshly spiced meats.
Instantly, Kellis felt her stomach lurch in hunger. She hadn't eaten well. She had mostly just gorged herself on rollen juice. And now that the light of day and once again returned, she was beginning to feel the pangs of undernourishment.
"Sorry…" Kellis answered sheepishly. She stepped aside allowing the other warrior into the room.
Eagerly, she took the bag foraging for whatever meat wouldn't bother her still queasy stomach. Deciding on a piece of spiced chicken, she watched as Melaryn searched her shambled suite with her studious gaze. Her eyes seemed to focus on the bedroom interior and Kellis realized that she still hadn't bothered to clean up the evidence of her most recent encounter.
"So, you want to tell me what happened here last night?" Melaryn said perching on the couch next to her friend.
Kellis looked the other warrior over from her carefully braided hair to her spit-polished cream boots. Melaryn was always the very picture of detailed grooming, composure, and responsibility.
Today, she had expertly braided her medium length platinum locks into a braid that a hurricane wind couldn't even unravel. Her porcelain skin was pure and unblemished. Melaryn had the rather annoying feature of always looking like she had just stepped out of warm shower. Even in the heat of battle she was never sweaty or tired. She was always perfectly made-up with her large baby blue eyes and creamy milk smile.
Though she was a little shorter and smaller then Kellis, she was an excellent warrior nonetheless. Her skills lay more in the planning of the battle then the actual execution. She was devoted to her work, responsible, and deeply loyal to the tribe. And if it hadn't been for Kellis' rather exception physical abilities, Melaryn would easily have taken the role of team alpha.
Kellis stared at her friend's tanned leather halter and matching pants, and instantly winced in regret. She had forgotten to bring her formal attire for the ceremony. She had been much more concerned with the proper armor for the Gallion. Kellis threw down her food in a pique of anger when she realized that the tribe's premier warrior would show up rather underdressed.
"What is it?" Melaryn asked noticing the sudden fowlness that had settled into her friend's mood.
"I forgot to get my clothes." Kellis snapped pointing to her friend's perfectly cleaned outfit in emphasis.
"Boy, this certainly hasn't been your trip has it?" Melaryn teased as she got up to put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. She felt Kellis wince under her touch and wondered if maybe now was in an inopportune time to start discussing the mishap with the concubine.
"Don't worry. I have an extra outfit back in my suite. You can wear it." Melaryn said trying to placate her friend.
Kellis studied her friend's smaller form and knew she was about to look ridiculous. Not only was Melaryn smaller then her, but she also had one rather noticeable asset that was quite a bit larger. And then, Kellis looked down at her own long legs wondering how high the pants would ride up on her.
"The shirt is going to hang off me." Kellis whispered glancing from her chest to Melaryn's. Her friend didn't answer. She only laughed and gave her a gentle pat on the back in some sort of silent form of support. Kellis could only watch her go and wonder how in the world she would ever make it through this day.
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CONTINUED...