Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 The Solitary Arrow by Mack the Knife

   Part Three

   The next morning found Hyandai awake before Harlen again.  She laid
there a moment, enjoying herself being held.  She smiled to herself,
thinking that she would not mind waking this way many, many more times. 
His strong arms were wrapped around her from beneath and above, and she was
pulled tight to him.  She knew that they had not been thus all night, but
were certainly in this very position for much of it.  Her hand stroked the
forearm nearest her face, and she watched the tiny hairs bounce back after
her fingers' passage.

   Harlen moved slightly with the touch and was suddenly cupping her left
breast.  Her golden eyes grew large at the jolt this delivered to her body.
He simply held it and did not squeeze, yet it was causing her breath to
come up short.  Soon, however, she had become used to the touch and rather
enjoyed the feeling of his strong fingers.  The nipple on that breast was
stiffening under the contact, and the nipple of it's partner was stiffening
in sympathy.  She moved slightly to cause some movement of her breast under
that hand, and the hand reacted by grasping gently, this actually did cause
her to moan very softly, her eyes squeezed shut.  The buttons on the front
of the shirt were large and widely spaced.  In a fit of uncharacteristic
naughtiness, she unbuttoned the top one and pushed the shirt down from
under the hand.  The cloth slowly slid between her breast and his rough
hand.  After a moment she had the soft flesh of her chest completely
uncovered and her nipple was pressed into his worn palm.  Again she moved
it slightly, and he responded again by squeezing.  She had to gulp to
prevent herself from moaning loudly at the feelings the pressure excited in
her.

   Deciding that the game had gone on long enough, she gently pulled the
cloth back up, and covered her breast again.  She longed for when she could
let him touch them openly, or when he would want to.  She was far from
certain that he fully wanted her, his reactions to her were somewhat
confusing from time to time, but she did have the general idea that he was
favorable.  She was still afraid to try, though, his rejection would
shatter her, especially now.

   She stroked his arm a bit more and pressed gently back into him.  He
pulled on her, forcing her tighter against him and she actually had to put
effort into breathing for a few moments before his arms relaxed a little.

   Perhaps half an hour passed of her just lying there, and being held. 
Then she heard Harlen's breathing change pattern as he regained
consciousness.  As he made the transition, she gently moved his hand from
her breast, not wanting him to be alarmed that he might have taken
`privileges' again.  Then he was awake.  "Good morrow." He said into her
ear, very gently, in a whisper.

   She squirmed a bit pushing into him.  "And to you, pillow." Hyandai
said.

   Harlen chuckled at that, and loosened his arms.  He brought the upper
arm back and scratched his neck, yawning.  "That was a wonderful sleep." He
said.  "I've not slept that well for many long days." She felt him fumbling
with the leather pouch and suddenly light filled the small cave.  She moved
away from him a little and rolled over to face him.  "You're so beautiful
in the morning, even, Hyandai." He said, giving her a sleepy smile.  "I
actually cannot believe my fortune to see that face as my first sight of a
morning."

   Hyandai blushed at this very touching compliment.  She had heard elven
lords deliver clumsier and cruder lines.  "Thank you, my pillow." She said,
nodding gently, and closing her eyes for a moment.  When she reopened them
she locked them onto his.  "Waking with your arms about me is my fortune. I
wish I could express how secure and warm it makes me feel." The elven way
is to give a compliment for one given to you, and she liked the rule.

   Rolling out of the bed, Harlen stood and turned again.  "Bread and
cheese?" He asked.

   She shook her head, sitting up.  "No.  I want my new clothes to break
fast, after I bathe."

   "You wish to bathe this morn?" Said Harlen.  "Then I will go outside to
check a trap or two of mine, perhaps we will eat meat today."

   She smiled at his exuberance.  Then nodded.  "Very well, Quesset." She
said.  "It means pillow.  And be very careful." She added when he tilted
his head and raised one eyebrow.  Harlen put on a shirt and boots and
grabbed his bow and sword, and slipped out of the cave.

   For the first time in days, Hyandai was alone.  She was not at all sure
she liked the feeling, and suddenly moved slower and did no longer smile.
"Hurry back, Quesset." She murmured to the empty cave.  She rolled out of
the bed and walked gingerly to the little pool.  Sliding his shirt over her
head, she sat on the edge, then slipped in.  She had stopped bleeding
yesterday, and she wanted to make sure any clots were gone now.  She bathed
for a long while, just soaking and enjoying the feeling of buoyancy.  She
still longed for the company of the man who had saved her life, twice now.

   She finally tired of the bath, and did not scrub her skin, if Harlen
liked the cinnamon scent she gave off, she would wear it for him.  Besides,
the lye soap burned, and she did not want to use it more than she had to.
She lifted herself out of the pool and dried with the blanket.  Her head
turned to look at the folded leather on the shelf.  The doeskin clothes. 
She rose and walked to them.  He had said she could wear them today, so she
put them on.  They fitted almost perfectly, though he had overestimated her
breast size a little, it was not enough that pulling the drawstrings
between her breasts a little snugger would not repair.

   She wished she had a mirror, so that she could appraise herself.  She
looked over Harlen's goods on the shelves, and saw a rather shiny helmet
among the items.  She took it down and sat it on the bed, then stepped back
to regard her reflection.  Distorted as it was, she thought she looked
quite presentable.  She plaited her hair into two tails to the back of her
head and bound them with some rawhide strips she found on another shelf. 
"Almost presentable" She said to herself.  Then heard sounds of movement
near the entrance.  She snatched up her rapier and looked toward the
doorway.

   Harlen's head peeked in.  "Decent?" He asked with his eyes squeezed
shut.

   "Yes, Harlen." She said, giggling.  "I am clad." She quickly put down
the rapier and stood back up, sliding her hands over the front of the
skirt, smoothing it.

   He opened his eyes and looked toward her.  They went wide with surprise,
as did his mouth, in a smile.  "You are beautiful." He said.  Then he
stepped in with two rabbits, already gutted and skinned.  "And these will
be tasty."

   She grinned as his non-sequitur, and walked toward him.  "Thank you for
these." She said, looking down at herself.  "They are very finely made, and
I am honored to wear them."

   He looked her up and down, then did it again.  Then he looked into her
golden eyes.  "You made my white shirt look good, so these were bound to
look great."

   She smiled at his return compliment, and took the rabbits from him.  "I
can move about today, I think, so long as I do not do anything strenuous."
She explained.  "So, I will earn my keep today." She walked toward the
small fire-pit near the entrance.

   "The fire must be kept small, and use only the dry wood." He said. 
"Else the smoke will fill the chamber or the smoke will be seen outside."

   Hyandai nodded.  "I understand." She said, and bent over to stack some
of the wood.

   Harlen did a rapid turn to face away from the view he had just been
blessed with.  When she stood, she looked back and realized her error. 
"Oh, by the spirits.  I am sorry, Harlen." She said.  "I did not mean to
offend."

   He chuckled.  "Offend isn't the word I would choose, m'lady." He said.
"Shock, perhaps, or maybe stun, or even possibly amaze."

   She giggled.  "I shall fix it at once." She said.  "May I borrow your
sharp knife?"

   He held the requested implement out to her and she cut a cloth from the
ever-dwindling blanket.  He turned about while she placed it, folding the
ends over the front and back of her skirt and the middle running between
her legs.  "There." She said.  "I am now presentable again." She was
blushing profusely.  "I cannot believe I did that."

   Harlen smiled to her.  "I can honestly say I can't believe it either."
He said.  "But now, I'll have fodder for dreams for years."

   Her blush deepened to near crimson.  "It cannot have been that special,
Harlen." She said, avoiding his eyes.

   He looked at her, enjoying her minor discomfiture.  "While the view may
not have been that special in and of itself, the setting it was in made it
all the more." He said, wondering if he had said that the way he wanted to.

   She grinned.  "You flatter me." She said.  "But now, I wish to cook."
She went to the small pile of wood and got it lit.  Checking behind her
every so often and only catching Harlen staring at her backside about half
the time.  She had to admit she enjoyed the attention.

   Harlen could not believe what he had just seen, and was still trying to
calm down his pounding heart.  Hyandai was exquisite beyond any other woman
he had ever seen, and to have seen her thus had made him hard enough to
have driven nails with his organ.  He spent several minutes trying to get
his body under control, but kept looking back at her half-exposed rump. 
She even saw him a couple of times, which made him even more skittish, as
she seemed to not mind him looking.

   The smell of cooking rabbit meat soon started filling the little cave,
and Harlen's mouth started to water a second time.

   She rose from her rather exposing position with a half a rabbit impaled
on his small skinning knife.  "This portion is done." She announced, then
took a healthy bite from its leg.

   Harlen took the rabbit half from her and said.  "It's missing a bit,
just here." He said, pointing at the small missing half-circle.

   Hyandai looked at it carefully, and then asked.  "You want it back?" She
opened her mouth, revealing the masticated meat.

   He looked at her with mock horror.  "No, you can keep that bit, then."
Which caused her to giggle profusely and almost loose the morsel anyway. 
She returned to the small fire and turned the other half.

   "I shall let you take a bit of my thigh." She said, pulling the rabbit
from the spit, standing, then turning to see Harlen's face trying, and
miserably failing, to be completely blank.  She smiled and held up the half
rabbit.  "My RABBIT'S thigh, you scoundrel."

   Harlen burst out with laughter.  She let it wash over her.  He did not
seem the sort to laugh often, so she felt she had achieved something of
worth when she caused him to.  Finally, he stopped and asked.  "Are elven
men so crude?" The little crinkles at the corners of his eyes were still
there, and his smile was wide.

   She shook her head.  "No, they tend to be cruder, and many of the boys I
knew at home would have said something, rather than just look stunned." She
held up her rabbit to let him take a bite, and he took one, a huge one. 
"Hey!" She exclaimed.  "That was a larger portion than I took." She smiled
at him watching him try to chew the huge mouthful.  She looked at her
maimed half-rabbit.  "Anyway, I am glad it was not MY thigh."

   Harlen's eyes started to water and she feared he might choke.  Then he
swallowed with great difficulty.  He nodded his head and made a ring of his
index finger and thumb.  "Excellent timing, m'lady." He said.  "Almost got
me to blow rabbit meat out of my nose."

   She forced her face into complete blandness.  "Something to strive for,
I am sure." She said, and then could not help but smile a little.

   They finished their rabbit in quiet, only occasionally saying something
to one another, mainly him complimenting her cooking.  The rabbit was done
without being burnt, but with just the right singing on the surface, he
told her.

   They extinguished the fire, and sat facing one another.  "Well, what
now?" Harlen asked.

   She looked at him.  "You do not have something you need to do?" She
asked him.  "You seem to always have a project or two."

   "I do." He said.  "But most of my `projects' are at home, in Morrovale."

   She nodded.  "I see.  You are wanting to go home." She said, her face
growing slightly unhappy.

   He looked on with alarm.  "I wish it were otherwise, m'lady." He said.
"But I only have a little more provision and people in town will be
wondering at my absence before long." He looked almost panic-stricken.  "I
hadn't thought of this.  But what are your plans m'lady?"

   Hyandai had not thought of it, either.  "I do not know." She said,
suddenly worried.  If she went back to Windir, she would likely never see
Harlen again.  If she stayed with Harlen, she may never see Windir again.
She was suddenly torn between her people and the possibility that she was
falling in love.  "Harlen, please, sit with me." She said, sitting on the
little cot.

   Harlen looked worried, but sat.  "What is it?" He asked.

   "I was sent out from Windir for a reason." She said.  "My family sent
myself and Eleean to regain a lost heirloom of my clan." Her voice grew
quiet.  "According to the seer, Salanae.  I am the one who must go recover
it."

   Harlen looked blankly.  "Was that why you were with Eleean?" He asked.

   She nodded.  "My betrothal to Eleean was an arranged thing.  He was
training to become a blade dancer, and he was to earn the rights to the
blade we sought.  "But the seer said that only my betrothed would wield
it." She shrugged.  "I suppose we paid now the price of our folly in trying
to force ourselves into a foretelling, rather than letting it happen
naturally." She sighed.  "Now, I should probably return to Windir, and let
my clan know what has happened.

   His voice had a slight quaver in it when he said.  "Can I come with
you?" When she looked, there were tears in his eyes, ready to fall.

   Hers fell first.  "No." She said.  "They would never allow you to enter
the wood." Her tears rolled freely now.  "The few they allow are people
they already know and trust."

   Harlen sniffed a little.  "Then we will go to my village until you are
fully healed, then we will go to the border of your land and, there, say
goodbye."

   "It will probably happen so, then." She said, standing.  "We can travel
to your village on the morrow, then." She looked at him.  "Unless it is
very far."

   "Only about ten miles." Harlen said.  "It will only take us about four
hours to walk there."

   She nodded.  "Very well."

   They spoke little the remainder of that day, Hyandai was saddened at the
thought of leaving this man she was just now beginning to know.  Harlen was
saddened because he felt he was losing the only woman he wanted to know. 
The evening was spent making ready to leave the cave.  She looked around
and it felt like home, as homely as it was.  She really wished they could
stay in the little cave, just the two of them, forever.  She knew that
would not happen, and eventually, she would have to give in to the needs of
her clan.

   She crawled into the cot that night and waited for Harlen to join her.
He did not.  Finally, she sat up.  "Harlen?  Are you going to sleep?"

   He was sitting on one of the chests.  "I will sleep alone tonight, on
the floor, m'lady." He said.

   Her eyes fell, along with her heart.  "If you wish it so." And she laid
back down.

   She heard, very faintly, and would not have, had she been human, his
whisper.  "If my wishes were granted, you wouldn't be leaving me." She
turned toward the wall, and wept silently.  A few moments later, He pouched
the light stone and the room was cast into darkness.  She turned over and
watched him.  He sat on a blanket on the floor, and took off his boots. 
Tears were rolling down his face.  She saw his sadness, and felt the
clutching in her chest told her what he might be feeling.  He did not lay
down, he simply sat there and cried, for over an hour.  Every tear she saw
fall past his chin was matched by her own.

   Finally, she said.  "Harlen, please come to me." Her voice quavered and
she hated the sound of it.

   "Why?" He asked, and there was some venom in his tone.  "So I can love
you more before you leave?" His voice was a mix of anger and sadness.  "So
I can feel your body, and your touch, and your soul, then loose all contact
with them?" The hostility in his voice frightened her.  "No, thank you,
m'lady, but I think I shall spare myself those kind gifts."

   Her first reaction was to return the volley he had just delivered unto
her.  But then she realized that his anger was just.  She had known her own
course, and he had not.  He truly was innocent, and she had toyed with his
emotions.  She rolled over again, and wept until sleep took her.

   In the morning she heard Harlen moving about in the cave.  The light
stone was out again, and the room was full of harsh shadows.  She turned to
see him packing pelts and such into a backpack frame.  He noticed her
wakefulness.  "We leave in half an hour." He said, his voice was cold and
empty.

   She sat up.  "I will be ready, Harlen." She said, almost ready to begin
crying again.  She slipped out of the cot and began picking up the few
items that were now `hers.' It was a paltry assortment of goods, but she
clutched them to her chest and looked about, lost.

   A small leather sack flopped down on the cot beside her.  "You can put
your stuff in that." He said, his voice was also becoming uncouth.  She
wondered when he would begin cursing.  She could feel the hostility
emanating from him.  It was almost solid, like a shield.  She looked up at
him, her eyes almost leaking tears.  When he turned to regard her, the
anger and hurt in his eyes terrified her.  Were he not a good man, he would
hurt me, she thought.

   She packed her goods away, then belted on her rapier and slung her
quiver.  Holding her bow in one hand and her sack in the other.  "I am
ready." She said.

   He picked up the heavy backpack frame.  "Good, then we leave now." Said
Harlen.  He crouched and held the pack before him as he left the cave,
grabbing the light stone and waiting for her.  "Keep up."

   She followed him closely and he exited the narrow entrance.  He stooped
and slung the pack on his back.  Then put the stone in it's pouch.  She was
just standing.  He turned, and without even looking at her, set off north.

   He set a rapid pace, but not too fast.  She kept up easily, and only had
a few small cramps.  His eyes watched all about them as they moved, and he
stopped them short as a handful of orcs crossed a ravine a few hundred
yards away.  Soon, they were under the dappled canopy of the forest, and
she felt slightly better.

   He spoke little, other than to point out possible obstacles or pitfalls.
There were clouds gathering overhead, and the possibility of rain became
very likely.

   Lightning flashed overhead a few times, then the sky fell on them. 
Harlen did not stop.  The rain fell in heavy sheets, soaking the ground
almost instantly, then running over it.  Within a quarter hour, they were
dragging their feet through mud up to their ankles.  "Harlen, we should
stop." She said quietly.

   She stumbled in the mud, falling onto her hands and knees.  Harlen
stopped and watched her impassively, rain running down his face.  He stood
there a long moment, as she gathered herself up and stood again.  She
trudged through the mud toward him.  Her face was burning from her tears
now, but the rain hid them, and she cared not anymore if he saw.

   Onward they plodded, and she fell again.  When Harlen turned he saw thin
blood running down one thigh.  His eyes instantly lost their hardness, and
his bland expression changed into one of immense concern.  "By the One,
You're bleeding!" He said, running to her and dropping his bow.

   Hyandai tried to wave him back.  "No, I will mend." She said, looking up
at him.  "We should get to your village before resting."

   His hands were on her sides, lifting her from the mud, and they kept
lifting until she was cradled in his arms, almost as a child.  "No,
Hyandai." He said.  "We will find shelter now." He was weeping as well now.
He stooped and she picked up his bow from the mud.  She had the two weapons
clutched to her chest, along with her bag of possessions.  He walked
through the mud sinking almost to his knees with her added weight, and he
pressed on.  Finally, they came to a tree with very heavy leaves, and a
dense canopy.  It was also on a slight rise, and was reasonably dry
underneath.  He sat her on the ground at its base, with her back against
it. "I am sorry, Rapier." He said.  "I don't know what to do or say about
your leaving." His face was sad and worried.  He fished out a cloth from
his pack.  "Here, for your hurt." He said.  He rose and walked around the
tree.  She heard him take off his pack as she put the cloth into place.

   "I do not know what to do either, Harlen." She said around the tree. 
"You think I wish to leave you?" Her voice was breaking, all the crying was
taking a toll on her.  "My desire is to stay, you know." She answered her
own question.  He walked back around and sat before her.  "Very much." She
said to him.  Her golden eyes were full of desire, and of hurt, and of
love. "If I could, I would stay with you, right here, under this tree."

   He said.  "I know that you have a duty to your people.  I would feel the
same, I think." He smiled half-heartedly.  "Given all your other good
traits, I should have expected loyalty to be among them."

   She returned the smile.  "My loyalty is divided now." She said.  "And
the division is a very close one." Her smile soured.  "But the needs of my
people outweigh my own happiness, and sadly, yours, which is more dear to
me than my own."

   He nodded.  "When the time comes, I will try to not to be bitter again."
Harlen said, taking her hand and kissing it gently.  "I want to enjoy what
time with you that I am blessed with." His smile took on a sad beauty.  "If
you left me now, I would still have been luckier than most men."

   She leaned forward and clung to his neck, and kissed it.  "I am the
lucky one.  To have stumbled through the woods and run into, quite
literally, a hero." She said into his hair.  He grabbed her to him, and
lifted her onto his lap.  She nestled into his arms and onto his legs, then
felt his lips on her neck, and tilted her head back to allow him freedom
with it.  He kissed and nibbled on her throat and under her ear.  Her
breath became short, and the sensations from her neck were traveling all
over her body.  He worked up to her slim, pointed ear, then began to gently
lick it, and kiss the lobe.  She moaned at that touch, and felt the sparks
of pleasure fire down her spine this time, and come to rest at the root of
her spine.

   She pushed gently from his lips.  "Harlen, much more of that, and I may
do something injurious to myself." She giggled.  "But, here, let me do
something." She said and leaned over to his neck and began to plant tiny
kisses and bites over its thick surface.  He reveled in her kisses, and
thrilled to her little bites.  She smiled inwardly as he became fully erect
under her leg, he was quite easy to arouse, she thought.  But then again,
her own arousal had been no chore, either.  One of her hands was in his
hair, knotting itself into the strands, an the other hand was on his chest,
sliding downward.  Occasional little drops of water would strike them, but
they heeded them not.  Her hand came to rest over his heart, and she could
feel his raw power through it.  His heart was pounding like a signal drum,
pulsing with enough force to feel even with her own chest were she to press
against him.  She pulled her legs up to her chest and turned in his lap,
facing him directly, and unfolded her legs around his waist.  His powerful
arms pulled her to him, pressing her against him from groin to chin.  The
heartbeat felt massive against her own chest, and her heart beat more
stoutly in sympathy.  He was so much taller than she, that even sitting he
had almost half a head of height on her.  She clung to him, as well,
kissing his neck and collar, and loving the feel of the huge, powerful
hands on her back.

   She leaned up and pulled his head down with the hand still in his hair.
"Harlen," She whispered into his ear.  "Were I not injured, I would ask you
now to take me." She felt his manhood now pressed against her womanhood and
up to her navel.  He was hard now, like that part of him was carven of
wood.

   He whispered a reply into her ear.  "I may hold you to that before we
take you home."

   One of his hands left her back and slid downward, and folded itself over
her well-shaped bottom.  The fingers pressed inward, and under her
loincloth.  She gasped at is slid into the cleavage of her rear.  She had
never thought of passionate sparks coming from there before.  It was
surprisingly agreeable, though, and she let herself open to his touch.  The
fingers moved forward until they slid gently over her labia, then up to the
knob at her opening's top, again she gasped, but louder.  "Harlen, I am not
sure that is a..." He rubbed her clitoris, gently, and she stopped talking.
Instead, she only moaned as the sensation turned her whole body into a
wound spring.  As his finger began to trace out little circles, the spring
wound tighter, and she clung to him harder, untangling her fingers from his
hair and putting both arms around his neck.  She started to lift herself up
slightly.  Unconsciously, she was giving him better access to her most
intimate place.  The finger speeded up, and she groaned somewhere deep
inside her throat.  Biting into his shoulder with her tiny, sharp teeth.

   Faster and faster the finger moved, and her body wound up tighter and
tighter.  Soon, her head was level with his as she had drawn her arms up
completely.  He turned as she groaned loudly, and he kissed her, deeply. 
She felt his tongue slide into her mouth, and fill it.  She sucked on that
tongue, greedily as the tension in the spring that was her suddenly let
loose, unwinding in a explosion of pleasure that promised to leave her
drained, and completely unwound.  Her arms and legs locked in place, her
head tilted back, breaking the kiss, and her breathing stopped, until it
left her in the form of a soft scream.  He heard his name in it, mixed with
words in the elven tongue.  It sounded almost like a part of a song.

   Her arms and legs relaxed all at once, once the tension had expended
itself.  Then she slumped against him, kissing his chest.  "Harlen." She
whispered.  "Harlen." She said again, breathing in then saying his name
several more times with each exhalation.  She finally slowed her breathing
to a reasonable pace, then said.  "Please, do hold me to it." She said,
smiling broadly.  He turned, keeping her wrapped about him, until he could
lean back to the tree, she laid on his chest and sighed.  "That was the
most amazing sensation I have ever felt, my pillow." She said.  Harlen just
laid there and stroked her back.  They stayed like that a long while,
ignoring the wet and rain.  It eventually let up, but they were not
conscious to notice it.

   They awoke when the sun was casting the last beams of the day under the
retreating clouds.  The ground was still soft, but the rain was gone and
the air drying quickly.  A vivid rainbow seemed to arc over their heads and
she looked up at it.  She murmured something in elven then kissed Harlen's
cheek.

   "What was that about?" He asked.

   Hyandai said.  "When one sees a rainbow, you can make a wish, and then
kiss the other person before they kiss you and you get the wish." She said,
smiling widely, then giggling.

   Harlen said.  "What did you wish for?"

   "I cannot tell you, or I will not get it, silly man." She said, flirting
with him with her eyes.

   He gave her his lop-sided grin.  "I know what I would have wished for."
He said.

   She looked at him haughtily and said.  "What would that be, since you
did not get it anyway?"

   "I wished for you to get off my lap and chest." He grinned fully.  "But
since I lost the game, I suppose you have to stay put." He put his arms
around her again, and kissed her on the lips.

   "That was a terrible wish." She said, laughing.  "For that, no kiss for
you." She said and bit her lips between her teeth, hiding them.

   He laughed at that, and kissed her absent lips.  "You're so adorable."
He said.  And then got lost in her sparkling eyes.  From where he lay, the
sun was lighting up her auburn hair and creating a red nimbus of the loose
strands that had come out in their thrashings.  "You have a halo, my
angel." He said, staring.

   "Angel?" She asked.  "Now I am divine?" Her face took on a pious look.
"Then perhaps we should no longer think lecherous thoughts at one another."
She put her hands in front of her palms together, as if in Oneian prayer.
Harlen was a practicing Oneian, but was no fanatic, it was quite funny, and
he laughed at her.  In the Oneian faith, angels were above such things as
lust, greed, and hate.

   Harlen put his hands on her waist and said.  "Oops, my mistake, that was
the devil's fire I saw behind you, you must be a demonette instead, perhaps
a succubus." He said with a look of hopefulness in his eyes.

   She leaned forward and bared her teeth.  "Should I drain," She paused a
long second, suddenly he felt her small hand on his manhood, gripping it
through his trousers.  "Your soul then?" She said, huskily.  He gasped at
the touch and his organ swelled to full arousal.  She had never fully held
a man's handle before and liked the way it throbbed in her grip.  Even his
organ felt powerful was her thought.  She had played games with young elven
boys and even a few grown elves.  They had nothing like this man had.  She
could barely encircle it with her fingers, and if theirs throbbed, it was
too small a throb to detect.  Her own breathing was now fast again, and she
felt herself desiring it inside her.

   Harlen's eyes were wide, and he was amazed.  Her hand felt cool and soft
on his pole, even through his trousers.  He felt himself twitch at the
touch, and he was already near to spending.  "I'd happily sell it to you."
He said, his voice tremulous.

   She moved her hand down to the base and pulled upward, in a long, smooth
stroke.  "Then I shall." She said, then laughed as demonically as she
could, which was not very, with her voice quavering with excitement. 
Hyandai looked down with wide eyes at his manhood fully shaped against his
pants.  He was huge, she thought, not so monstrous as the orc that had
forced his way into her, but compared to an elven lad, his was a somewhat
frightening proposition in and of itself.  Her hand moved back down, and he
groaned again.  She used her other small hand to unfasten his belt, and
push his breeches down and away.  She released her grip on him and took a
fresh hold, skin-on-skin.  He gasped as her cool, slim fingers found his
girth.

   "I'm not going to last long against a demon, I can tell you that,
emphatically." He said, his eyes half-lidded.  She reversed direction and
began stroking a bit faster.  Soon, she felt his legs tense under her and
his hips bucked upward a little.  His orgasm caused him to lift them up as
he straightened his back between his shoulders against the tree and his
heels.  His ejaculate flew up into the air several inches before coming
back down on her hand and over his exposed skin.  Only a little got onto
his garments, which had been her intent.  No need for this to be messy, she
thought.  She watched as the thick white fluid dripped over her fingers and
down his shaft to the little forest of hairs at its base.  She thought
about what she had said about humans having hair down there and giggled.

   Harlen looked at her.  "I am so lacking I rate a giggle?" He asked, with
mock hurt on his face.

   She used her cloth, which was only a little bloody on one side to clean
his spend.  She did it gently, and with reverence, and used the opportunity
to give his manhood a good looking-over.  She finally released it and
refolded the cloth so that no blood or semen was visible, then she put it
in her bag.

   "Hardly, my Quesset." She said.  "I believe that I need two hands to
properly wield it." She said, miming holding a two-handed weapon. 
"Actually, your size gives me some pause, Harlen." She said, with a serious
face.  "We will need patience for me to accommodate you."

   He looked into the distance.  "I never thought I would wish for a
smaller handle." He said, with a face blank of thought.

   She laughed.  "Do not wish for that.  For having seen it, I now have
expectations." She said, and laid back onto his chest and kissed him,
sliding her little tongue into his mouth and tickling his.  "Were I to
reach down now, and find smaller, I would be greatly disappointed." She her
smile was wide and lustful.

   "Well, right now, you likely would, but give me a bit." He said.

   She snuggled to his chest.  "Of course, but only a bit." She said, and
they held each other for a while.

   Finally he said.  "We should get a blanket.  The light fails us, and we
might as well rest to arrive in town fresh." The night insects were
buzzing, and the birds would alert them of anyone approaching.  She stood
up from him and watched as he used his shoulders to climb the tree with his
back.  They went to the big pack and he took out two blankets.  "You will
not make me sleep alone again will you?" She asked looking at the two
blankets.

   "No." He said, a flash of displeasure crossing his face.  "And I regret
my behavior last night.  I missed a night with you in my arms, and those
have become dear to me." Then he looked at the blankets and said.  "I just
wanted one for under and one for over." He cast the first blanket onto the
ground.

   She smiled and said.  "Many good things come together as one over and
one under." She said, nodding.  And laid upon the blanket.  He also sat,
and flung the second blanket over the two of them.

   He looked at her in the failing light, watching her eyes gather the
light and shine forth.  "Do they?" Asked Harlen.  His mind was spinning
with the thought of this wondrous elven creature, who had all but promised
to take him into herself.  The thought alone was enough to make him dizzy
with anticipation.

   She nodded and looked at him.  "You shall see." She said, smiling
menacingly.

   She snuggled up to him on his side, and grabbed his arm for her pillow.
He willingly formed to her and held her until she dozed off.  The night in
the forest always made him feel happy.  The sounds of the animals, and the
trees whistling gently, the dripping water from the leaves was an added
bonus tonight, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.  With the entire forest
whispering him to sleep, he drifted off.