What grows in the Abyss [Chyril 22nd TT]

[Amber Kynterle]

Amber took comfort in the feel of Eivlys' hand in her own, and she held it tightly as they started off into the darkness. Despite the rocks and other sharp objects on the ground, she moved easily on her bare feet. Having grown up on a farm, she was used to sometimes having to go barefoot outside. She didn't particularly like it, especially since it was hard to make out anything more distinct than general shapes on the ground, but at least she wasn't in a lot of pain.

She glanced down at the wing that slid around her right shoulder and draped over her right breast. The feathers were soft, and they tickled a bit, but in a good way. She saw the other girl casting a sidelong glance at her, and she glanced back, her eyes lingering for a bit on her companion's body. After a long moment, she realized she was staring, and looked away quickly, glad it was too dark for her blush to be visible.

"Of course I don't mind," she said after a moment, trying hard not to stare again. "I'm from the island of Dort," she went on. "My parents own a farm there. It's where I grew up, and I lived there until a few months ago. It seems a lot longer than that, I've been doing so much. I'm glad to be away, but I hope I can go back at least to visit soon. I'm sure my mother in particular is worried sick about me."

[Eivlys]

She smiled and thought back to her own home. “I grew up on a farm as well. Well, not a big farm, my mother carved and may aunt wove cloth. My mothers carvings were very nice. Our kind, Swanmaids, we take well to arts.” She told her as if to clear up something. “It was not a big farm, but enough for us.” She moved a little closer as they walked across the cold stone ground. “They are both passed on. So I thought it was time to go out and see a bit of the world.”

“I was caught, and I have been away from home for a long time now. Since Samheen, but it feels like a lot longer.” The rocks under their feet were starting to get bigger and smoother, like broken paving stones.

In the distance the light was getting bigger and taking on the shape of a window. At least she thought it looked like a window. “Not too much father now.” She said hopefully. “Are you an only child?” She asked again.

[Amber Kynterle]

Not for the first time, Amber thought about how the closeness of the girl was comforting in the darkness. She let herself be pulled closer, and she slipped an arm around Eivlys' waist, their bare hips against each other's as they walked carefully over the changing stones. Her gaze was mostly fixed on the light ahead of them, but she continued to glance at their surroundings warily. And her eyes were drawn back to her friend more and more often, as more and more of Eivlys' features were revealed by the growing light.

She laughed a little at the question. "An only child? No. I have four brothers, all of them older, and they don't let me forget it either. They were always picking on me, but I can't really blame them. I didn't exactly make it easy for them to ignore me. Besides, it's helped make me more independent, growing up as the only daughter. And they always did look out for me, too, whenever I got into trouble." She laughed again. "Which was a lot."

[Eivlys]

She walked along, enjoying the feel of them together. Her hips were slim, more so then most women. She was not a busty or hippy woman, thin and willowy. She laughed lightly at the sound of her mentioning her family. “I am sure your brothers are all worried over you. They will be happy to see you.” She said turning her head to face Amber. The light was bright enough she could make out her face again. “You are pretty.” It was said because she was happy to see another face, but she also meant part of that.

She started to talk about her own family, the bond growing stronger between them. “I am an only child. We can only have one child, and it will be a daughter.” She spoke about how the curse is passed on, and how she was raised. She was always taught to fear the outside world, but here she was, in the middle of it. “That is why this is here. It is my fears, my creation. Perhaps yours as well. It feeds off those fears. It cannot stand hope, and love. Those things will keep you, even when you are in the darkest prison.”

As they drew closer to the light, they could see it was quartered. Getting closer still, one could start to make out colors on the other side. Blue and green, in her heart Eivlys wished it was the ocean.

It was freedom, she just knew it. They just needed to make it there. “Amber.” She stopped and turned to look at the other woman. Perhaps if they stepped from this freedom she would leave and not see her again. The rolled up clothing dropped from under her arm as they stood together in the half light coming from what she thought was a window. She put her hands on Amber’s hips and smiled at the other woman. “I will miss you if we have to part.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “So, forgive my boldness, but I have learned life is a fleeting thing, and a moment not taken can be a moment one regrets.”

With these words she moved closer, a hand lifting to touch Amber’s cheek, her wings wrapping to embrace the other woman. She wanted to hold her in her arms, to feel her close to her, to remember the closeness and the friendship, and even desire.

[Amber Kynterle]

As they continued to walk close together, and she listened to Eivlys talk of her family and her "curse", Amber gazed back at her, not embarrassed anymore. The swanmaiden was beautiful, she thought. Men might have thought a bigger chest would have been nice, or wider hips, but to Amber her slender form was graceful. Eivlys reminded her a ray of pure white sunlight, and to her, it was the most beautiful thing ever.

She stopped when Eivlys stopped, and found herself staring into the other girl's eyes, her face only inches away. She felt light fingers resting on her bare hips, and her own slid up to rest on Eivlys'. She was close to the swanmaiden, too close, her breasts against those of the other girl, but at that moment, she didn't mind. Instead, she needed the closeness, needed to feel the warmth against her skin. In this dark place, Eivlys was not only her new friend, she represented her hopes... the salvation from her greatest fear: of being alone in the dark.

"I'll miss you too," she whispered. As she felt those soft, but powerful wings wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her tighter, she returned the embrace, sliding her arms tightly around her friend. She hugged Eivlys as tight as she could without fear of hurting her. She pressed her lips against her friend's forehead in a gentle kiss. "I hope I see you again..."

Then, before she even realized what she was doing, she gave Eivlys another kiss, a very light one, on her soft, orange-tinted lips.

[Eivlys]

She did not pull away. It felt right to kiss Amber on the lips. When they stopped she only smiled, studying Amber in the half light of this dark place. “You will see me again, the bonds we are making now will bring us together, I am sure of it.” She kissed Amber on the lips this time. “You never know, I may be the next swan you see.”

She did not know how to handle the feeling her body was having. The sensation of the other body so close to her, the small bursts of delight when they touched. She did not know what to do with all these feeling and sensations, so for now she kept them in a little box in her mind. She would sort through them later.

What she did know was she felt close to this woman, and in that closeness there was a desire to do more then just kiss. This was not the place for that, and this was not the time.

She held hands with Amber, squeezing her hand tightly. “All the darkness and all the evil in the world can snuff out and kill all things but one.” She spoke the words her mother would tell her. “Hope is eternal, and as long as you keep that alive, you can never be crushed.”

She turned and walked closer to the light. Her foot falls slowing as she got closer. In the bottom of this dark oppressive place there was a window that looked out to a white shore with a deep green sea and blue skies. She stood basking in the warm sunlight coming through the glass.

[Amber Kynterle]

Amber gazed at Eivlys for a long moment, taking in her words, then smiled, the most sincere smile she'd given since finding herself in this place. She found comfort in her friend's words, and knew they were true. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for swans, then," she whispered, only half jokingly. She knew she'd never be able to look at a swan again without remembering this beautiful young woman.

As Eivlys moved toward the window, Amber went with her, keeping a tight hold on the other girl's hand. She blinked her eyes quickly, wincing a bit as the sudden bright light spilled in, and she sighed in relief as the warm sunlight chased the chill away from her naked skin. "It's so beautiful," she murmured.

[Eivlys]

She let out a laugh and covered her mouth blushing at just how loud it was. It filled the void around them, and she could not really contain it. She was so happy they had found the way out. Or what appeared to be the way out.

She reached her hand out and touched the glass. “It is warm.” She told Amber. “Lets get it open.” She looked for a latch to open it with, something to lift the window and she could not find any. Her fingers felt along the edge of the window, searching. “How does it open?”

She licked her lips and wondered if this was some trick, some game the abyss was playing on her. She paused in her searching and looked out the window and she remembered the feel of the sun and the smell of the sea. “Do you think we should break the glass?” Her silvery eyes turned to Amber.

[Amber Kynterle]

Amber reached out with slender fingers, resting them against the glass, feeling the warmth. They could break the glass, but... it somehow seemed wrong. This was a barrier, no matter how thin, between the darkness and the light. It shouldn't be destroyed. She studied it for a few moments, then shook her head.

"No, we don't need to break it," she said. She reached up and pushed at the top of the window. The bottom pivoted back, toward them, and then she grabbed the lower edge and lifted it the rest of the way open. "There," she said, smiling at Eivlys. "My bedroom back home has a window just like it."

She inhaled deeply, scenting the fresh air and salty smell of the ocean. "Do you want to go first, or should I?"

[Eivlys]

She did not wait to be asked twice and slipped her foot into the window. When she felt the warm sand on her toes she let out a laugh, then she ducked her head and slid her body out the window.

The roar of the waves and the feel of the sea breeze and the sun on her body all made her mind tingle with delight. She reached out her arms and let her wings stretch out as she waited for Amber to crawl out. “It feels so nice.” She said as she turned to offer her hand to Amber to help her out.

The window looked as if it hung in mid air, just suspended on the beach. It was out of place and the blackness did not seem so awful now she was outside it. That was the way of things, after the very bad points, once past them; they do not seem as bad on retrospect.

The sand ended at tall grass that sloped up a hill to a house that looked a lot like her own home. It was not her home, but there was a familiarness to it, as if she had seen it before.

[Amber Kynterle]

For a moment, Amber felt a brief sense of panic as Eivlys slipped out through the window. What if the Swanmaiden disappeared, and Amber herself couldn't follow her? But as she saw Eivlys smiling at her from the other side, she breathed a sigh of relief and wasted no time following. She slipped lithely through the narrow space, and stretched on the other side, glad at being free of the darkness. She paused, closing the window fast behind them.

"No sense in leaving it open... just in case," she muttered. "But enough about that." She took a deep breath of the fresh air, and the movement made her ample breasts heave for a brief moment, locks of her cinnamon hair floating across her face and over her bare shoulders as the wind caught it.

"It looks even more beautiful on this side." She followed Eivlys' gaze, and saw the house she was looking at. She had never seen one quite like it before, but it also seemed familiar to her, somehow. If asked, she probably could not have said how, exactly. She wondered if she had visited one like it when she was just a little girl. "Do you recognize it?" she asked her friend.

[Eivlys]

Once Amber was through her heart leapt. She was happy her friend and she flung her arms around her and embraced her when she was through. There was a moment of fear when she was on the other side and could not see her through the window. She did not want to leave Amber in the darkness; she wanted to bring her along with her. The truth was, she felt something, attraction, and need for her. After another kiss she let Amber go and turned to look at the house Amber was admiring. “Of course I recognize it.”

She turned and looked at Amber, the wind caught her hair blowing a strand a cross her face that she pushed back with a finger. “It is home.” She looked back at the house. “It may not always look like what you expect or even imagine, but it always feels right.” It did feel right, it was like coming home.

She took hold of Ambers and got closer. “Kind of like the feelings I am having for you.” She said softly, the waves crashing behind her. “I have never felt like this, about anyone, and I did not think it would be for another woman.” She tightened her grip on the hand. She knew she was taking a risk. “I… I hope this is not a bad thing.” She looked down, taking in the body of Amber, so lush and full, she felt the desire again. Amber was perfect, beautiful, strong, and had a body anyone would find arousing. They both needed a bath, the idea of bathing with her made Eivlys’s belly turn with excitement and nervousness.

The silvery eyes looked over at Amber. Eivlys licked her lips and shivered a bit as the wind caressed her naked form. “I do not know how I could say this. But you see me for what I am, not like anyone in the world has seen me. This…” She pointed to her wings. “.. it is something I have always been told to hide. I have never let anyone who is not my own blood see these. You are not... upset, or frightened by it?” She asked looking up with the bright eyes tinted with just a little green.

[Amber Kynterle]

Amber was a little surprised by the sudden hug, and the kiss, but she certainly understood Eivlys' reasons for doing so, and returned both with equal feeling. It was with reluctance that she once again let the Swanmaiden slip out of her arms. "Yes," she murmured, tearing her eyes from the beautiful girl in front of her and looking back up at the house. "You're right. It does feel like home. In a way I can't really describe." She hesitated. "Do you... do you think... maybe... maybe it's... our home... in the future?"

But her question was immediately forgotten as Eivlys took her hand tightly and pressed close again. She bit her lower lip as a thrill ran through her body, touched off by the sensation of the other girl's bare skin against her own. Her eyes travelled along the majestic curves of Eivlys' wings, and once again she marveled that such a creature would be her friend. Would be... perhaps... something more...

"No, of course not," she said quietly, but firmly. "I am not upset by it, or frightened. Amazed, maybe, but in a good way." Her own pale green eyes gazed straight into the other's. "I may not be as much to look at, or to talk about, but you haven't dismissed me as just another bored farmgirl out looking for something to do. And that's more than I can say of most people I have met. And..." She looked down at the sand, feeling her cheeks flushing bright red. "It can't be a bad thing. Because I feel the same about you. And like you said, it feels right..."

[Eivlys]

She smiled at Amber. “You are not just a farm girl looking for adventure. No more then I am.” Her slender arms went around Amber’s hips and pulled her close. She had longed to hold someone like this, like in the love songs she would sing. Hold her close and kiss her. The wings folded around Amber’s shoulders as she leaned in to kiss her, deep and lingering. Feeling her body pressed to her own, the full figure of Amber.

Her own body filled with delight, her breath deep and slow and yet hear heart raced in her chest. She felt the smooth strong back of Amber and tasted the soft lips of her. She did not want to let go, but wondered if being in the house would be better then out on the sand. She thought better of it and guessed getting cleaned up would be best. They still had some of the much and mire from the water in the Abyss.

She pulled back just a bit, looking into Amber’s eyes. “When we return to the world, I will look for you. I will try to remember you.” She looked up at the house, then back at them both and let out a soft laugh. “We really should get washed up.”

She started up the slope to the house, holding hands with Amber as they approached the house. The herbs that grew in the garden, rosemary bushes and dill, and sage all mixed to make a savory smell that would remind you of home made meals. She opened the door to a room that was not remarkable in any way, yet welcoming in everyway. A blanket was on the back of a chair that sat next to a hearth and little trinkets and nick-knacks held valued places on shelves and bookcases. Dishes were carefully put away and on the fire something was cooking alongside kettle that burped steam from time to time.

[Amber Kynterle]

Amber could not stiffle the soft sigh of pleasure that escaped her lips as Eivlys pulled her close, her smooth arms sliding around her bare hips, the soft, downy wings brushing against her shoulders, her perfect, naked breasts pressed against her own. She returned the kiss with just as much feeling as Eivlys did, and at that moment, all she wanted to do was share herself with her new friend. No matter what that meant.

She instinctively started to deepen the kiss, but paused with the Swanmaiden pulled back. "I will look for you, too," she promised, breathlessly. "No matter what happens, I'll remember you. I don't think I'd be able to forget someone like you."

She looked down at herself as Eivlys laughed, and smiled. She couldn't help but agree. She was not as clean as she would have liked. And a bath would feel very nice right now, especially with good company. "All right, let's go take a bath or something," she agreed. She let her fingers twine with the other girl's, and walked with her into the house.

Once inside, she looked around in a bit of surprise, but not as much as one might expect at finding such a comforting dwelling, all in order, with even a kettle already warming. After the blank darkness of the void they had just left behind, it felt out of place, but distinctly warming and very welcome indeed.

"Well," she remarked slowly as she reached out and ran a hand over the blanket on the chair. "Everything seems to be just the way we would like it... I wonder if there's already a steaming hot bath around here somewhere?" She grinned; she was only partially joking. She would not have been entirely surprised to find one. "There's some more rooms back here. Let's take a look."

[Eivlys]

She followed her new love down the small corridor to the rooms. She noted one of the doors went to a garden in the back, it was small and full of vegetable plants as well as a large pump and basin.

The other two rooms were a bedroom and a study, the study was full of scrolls and books. A large lounge sat by a window that was surrounded with ivy, and a desk sat quietly in a corner of the room, making itself as unpresumptuous as possible. The shelves that lined two of the four walls were stacked head to toe with books of all manner of biding and material. The titles were worn and old and they all stood strait as soldiers and presented themselves as if on parade, waiting to be inspected.

The bed room had a bed that stood tall with a wooden frame of dark wood. The blankets draped over it make it look like a big pot belly, soft and warm. A dresser stood as tall as her next to a wardrobe, both of a simple design, functional in every way, so simple it would be hard to mistake them for anything but a dresser and wardrobe. A pair of windows let the light flow into the room over the bed and one could look out to the shore stretching on.

“I do no think there is a bath.” She said looking back and wondering if they should just wash up at the pump. "Do you think we should just use the warm water and wash up outside at the basin?"

[Amber Kynterle]

As they proceeded deeper into the house, Amber found that she liked it more and more. While she was still sure she had never seen a house quite like it before, it felt more and more like home. She wondered what was causing the effect, but after the horrors of the darkness, she wasn't in a mood to question it right now.

She paused at the bedroom, especially impressed with the bed. She'd never seen one that looked so welcoming before. Strangely, she didn't feel tired after all the running and swimming they'd done, but she thought it might be a good place to curl up with Eivlys once they were clean.

She glanced over her shoulder to regard the Swanmaiden as she made the suggestion to bathe outside. Ordinarily, she would have balked at the idea, but now, it made perfect sense. The weather was wonderful, and there was no one else to see them while they bathed. "That sounds like a good idea to me," she said. "Go ahead outside; I'll get the water." She started back down the short hallway, her bare feet soundless on the floor.

[Eivlys]

The soap was wrapped up in a white cloth, the block was hand cut in a bar, hand made from lard and lye. It smelled of lemon grass and she wet it some as she pumped some of the cold water into the large basin that looked like it might have been used to hold the vegetables picked from the garden. The water came out clear and cold over her hand as she turned the soap in her fingers building a lather.

Soon Amber returned adding the hot water. Eivlys had started to wash with the soap by that time, setting the big bowl of water on a small rough table. She had started to clean her arms off, washing the dirt and grim from the water they were in off. It felt good, like slipping out of an old skin, or how it felt when she would molt.

She handed the soap to Amber without a word and kept washing her body, covering her waxen skin with the ashy colored suds. She washed over her shoulders and across her chest.

She could not help but watch Amber, however, watching her wash. She loved the color of her skin, and the smile she would let grace her face from time to time. She usually had no reservations about washing with another woman, but this was different somehow, more close.

She let the feelings guide her and she stepped over to Amber, taking the soap from her and letting the slick bar glide over Amber’s back. She washed up feeling the sharp angles of her shoulder blades under her skin, and the smooth slope of her neck as it went to the back of her head. She touched Amber, washed her back of the filth and grim, stopping to examine each mark, any scar or blemish that made her human. So wonderfully human, Eivlys envied that.

[Amber Kynterle]

Eivlys was not the only one who was enjoying the sight of her companion. As Amber brought the water out, she could not help but pause for a moment and admire the naked Swanmaiden as she bathed. She loved how gracefully she moved, she loved the color of her eyes and the gentle curve of her lips as she smiled back at her.

What she was feeling right now, she simply couldn't define it. She had felt some of the emotions she was now experiencing before, but not as deeply, and not all mixed together like this. And it hadn't been for another woman. She hadn't known it was possible to feel like this for another woman. She realized her heart was racing in her chest as she watched Eivlys, but it wasn't lust... well, not all lust.

She finally managed to snap herself out of her reverie, and stepped in to start bathing as well. As Eivlys took the soap from her and started washing her back, she turned her head slightly, smiling over her shoulder at the other girl, watching her as best she could out of the corner of her eye, unwilling to look away. She was no longer afraid or embarrased of watching her. She knew that Eivlys was returning the attentions, and didn't mind the fact that Amber was drinking in every detail of her body.

The Swanmaiden's hands felt heavenly on her skin, and the sensation made her breathe a bit more heavily as tingles ran through her body.

[Eivlys]

“Loneliness is a horrible thing, isn’t it?” Her voice was distant, and low. The dark place was no longer around them, the filth and the dank and the oppressive darkness was gone, but inside her it still lived. She knew what she had seen was what she felt, just the physical creation of it. “it is so horrible, and you think it will never go away. You feel trapped and hopeless, with no way to change it, powerless and at it’s mercy.”

She washed Amber a little more slowly, her hands moving down to caress the smooth curve of her bottom. She liked the look of it, it was cute, not like a babies, but just attractive. “So many people around me who I have loved have died; it was getting hard to make that connection again. Hard to try and feel for another, just in case they were to die. The war is over, but living in the Knot… well, the war is never over there.” She never liked thinking about these things, let alone saying them. She needed to; she needed to tell Amber about it.

She took the soap for herself now, washing her own body, the sensations that ran through her were a mix of excitement and fear. Her heart raced as she was exposed to the other woman, both body, and now soul. She knelt down and pumped some water over herself to wash out her hair. “I almost wish I would never wake from this dream. I know it will happen, but I wish it would not.” She looked at Amber, trying to memorize her face, trying to burn her into her mind.

She knelt down there, her body dripping with water. She shook her wings without even a thought, the water flicking off the white feathers. Her white hair clung to her body covering almost all of her as she crouched. “I…” She wanted to say something, to tell her to take her to the bedroom and touch her and kiss her, but her voice could not be found. She could not say these words. She already felt for the woman, this would make it all the worse.

[Amber Kynterle]

Amber was almost regretful as Eivlys finished washing her, but only for a moment. As the Swanmaiden started to bathe herself, Amber moved to help her, focusing on her back and wings. She was not as gentle as Eivlys was; how could she be? She had grown up working with animals and tending the earth, and she had been in a war as well. Her hands were not used to tending to something so delicate and beautiful. But she did her best, running her soapy hands along Eivlys' shoulders, and down her back, between her wings.

"Loneliness is terrible," she murmured in her ear as she let her hands wander around to Eivlys' smooth stomach and hips. "I don't think I have experienced it as fully as you, but there were times, when I was alone among enemies in a keep near Hafne, that I thought I would never see those I loved again. It's a feeling I don't ever want to experience." She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the side of Eivlys' neck. "It would break my heart to see you suffer that," she whispered. "I know that we must wake soon. But remember, I promise I'll look for you. I need to find my friends, but then I'll try to find you. And when we see each other in the waking world..." She took Eivlys' hand in her own, and held it up in front of the Swanmaiden's eyes. "This will be real."

She knelt behind her friend, and the water that her wings shed was like a cool rain on Amber's face. She pulled the Swanmaiden gently back against her, so she could rest her chin on her shoulder. As Eivlys struggled to find words, Amber gently turned her head with one hand, so that she could kiss her again on the lips. "I know," she murmured. And then she kissed her again, deeper, and her hands slid up from Eivlys' hips to gently, lovingly touch her breasts, while holding her close.

[Eivlys]

Feeling the other woman behind her took her breath away. She had never been this close with anyone, let alone a woman. She was happy it was Amber, she was happy Amber was doing what she could not. She kissed her softly, the tender kiss was wonderful, light and delicate, like the feel of summer rain, the kiss was so soft. The deepening of the kiss was nice, she followed her lead, parting her lips as they kissed, opening her mouth.

The feel of her hand on her skin was delightful. A soft shiver ran through her as she felt the fingers caressing her body. She folded her wings close, feeling the warmth of Amber’s body behind her. Her back arched involuntarily as she was touched to offer more of her body to the caressing hand.

She reached back with her own hands and touched Amber’s thighs, letting just the tips of her fingers glide slowly up the strong thighs of the other woman. Feeling her body, the strong and rugged body, and yet so soft and pleasurable to touch. Her fingers lifted to feel the start of the curve of her bottom. She felt the muscles that were flexed under the skin as she knelt behind her.

She did not know what to do, not exactly. The kissing she was getting down, but what she should touch, and what she was brave enough to touch was a question, and she waited, allowing Amber to show her, waiting to see where this woman would take things.

[Amber Kynterle]

For Amber, lust was an unfamiliar sensation. She had never experienced it before. Even for Gavin Tylvan, the big man that she had feelings for in the waking world, those feelings had never gone beyond a very strong affection. At the moment, she could not have even classified her feelings for Eivlys as lust. All she knew was that she wanted to touch the beautiful swanmaiden everywhere, kiss her everywhere, press her own naked body against hers. And she wanted to be touched in return, everywhere. It was felt like a natural progression from the love she had felt earlier. To her, this was still love, only deeper.

She started to kiss down along the beautifully smooth neck of the other girl, still caressing her breasts with her hands, loving the feel of those light finger tips on her own bare hips. Her nipples were tight and tingling against Eivlys' smooth back, and there was a thrill running through her body, starting between her inner thighs.

But even as she felt that she would surely cry out because of those feelings, she felt something else. Something cold. A flash of light burst across her vision. Voices, muttering and growling in the distance.

"Oh, gods, no..." she whispered, suddenly heartbroken. She looked into Eivlys' eyes, her own wide with fear and sorrow. "I'm waking up... the dream is ending..."

[Eivlys]

Her touch was like nothing she had felt before. Her body reacted to the fingertips in a way she had not even realized or even considered. As her hand alighted over her pale breast her nipples went firm and erect, like towers on the peak of a hill. She almost giggled at the thought of hit, and the pure pleasure of the sensation. Her lips on her neck and back made her melt inside, as if all she was made from was water and held together by the strength of Amber’s will alone. When her fingers touched her hips, then her thighs, it was as if energy lifted from her and traveled up her very core. What was once melted suddenly got very firm, and she felt a very clear desire for something more, though she could not say what.

When Amber stopped, she was just on the cusp of something, something powerful and wonderful. She hung as if by a finger over a great chasm, wanting to fall in, but unable to let go. Here eyes popped open with shock and horror when she said she was waking. “No… please stay.” She turned, the feeling in her shifting with blinding quickness from passion to fear.

She turned suddenly feeling very far away from her. As if she was being plucked up and out of herself. “Please Amber… I will look for you. Come to Dort, to the Knot.” She said hoping some of it would come through.

[Amber Kynterle]

"I don't want to go; I want to stay," Amber assured her. "I'm trying to stay..." But the sounds of the waking world were getting louder, and she could feel her body stirring on the hard ground on which she'd fallen asleep the night before. There was no stopping it now.

She couldn't feel Eivlys anymore. She leaned in to give her one last kiss on the lips, but she couldn't even feel that. "Dort... I know where it's at... I'm not far... I'm in Is-"

And then she was gone.

She woke up, eyes opening slowly, and around her was the countryside of Islay and the camp of the Clans...

"I'll come find you, Eivlys," she whispered. "One way or another... sooner or later... I'll come find you."