594 - To Honour My Friends

I was so happy, sitting on this beautiful horse.  She was so smoothly paced it was almost like flying.  And Minis had probably driven the poor stable staff to distraction that she'd be perfect for me. He was so wonderful… such a silly serin, thinking he was just being himself.

I looked at Minis and Gannara and Farasha, sideways under my lashes.  Fara waved at me, even as she talked to Gan and her finger talk said *cute*.

I could let go one of my reins to brush a hair off my forehead and sign back *yes both*. She smiled and Gan chuckled as if at something Fara said. *not fair* he signed. *teach*

Fara and I both signed back *yes*

I was so glad I’d seized hold of my fear when we were in Yeola-e.  Fara and I had talked about it privately before we left, before I’d even known we were going to be going to Yeola-e again, so soon.  It was just a talk about “Well, if you have the opportunity, and you aren’t in Arko… perhaps you can leave the bits of Arko at the border… and do what you really, truly want.”

Next thing I know we’re flying off.  I had not intended to insist on going, but what else was I learning relay and long-distance flying if not for such state visits?  Sneaking into Minis’s room had been… well, even if I were scared, I was less nervous than trying to do so in the Marble Palace… after all, there are no late night servants everywhere.

In the Hearthstone everyone truly went to bed, except the animals and the guards on the outer doors.  Not like the Marble Palace with the night staff everywhere, in every corridor and at every inside door practically.

I’d worried a little that the red parrot that had adopted Minis would shout an alarm, and had a treat for it if it got noisy, but it just flipped its head up from sleep, blinked at me, and ruffled its feathers.

I’d left my sleeping gloves back in my room.  It was as if I could feel the whole room against my hands, every breath of air, every breath that I took, or every sleeping breath from Minis.  He was lying on top of the feather beds and the quilts and pillows.  It was almost Arko warm in the room, moon and snowlight shining in, across the bed.  He wasn’t wearing sleeping gloves either, his head flung back, completely vulnerable, and I spent a bit of time standing and looking at the tender spot at the source of his neck, where his pulse pounded.  He whispered in his sleep and I didn’t hear what he said, but he smiled the way he’d smile at me.

He smiled in his sleep and sighed, and I was warm all over.  I did bite my lip but I wanted to encourage him.  He and Fara and Gan and I… we’d agreed… really.  He was just being so slow!

I put my memory aside for a moment, pulling the mare up so we could walk around the gigantic statue of an ancient wood-god, carved out of a lightning struck oak.  “That’s beautiful,” Gan said as we stopped to stare up into the ancient, riven face.  There were even some green leaves far above, like a blessing to a tree-god who looked dead.

Since we were stopped for a moment I let my memory go back to Yeola-e, like a dream.  It was in a foreign country, in the middle of the night, so it was somehow easier to imagine.  I slid into the bed as lightly as I could and put my head on his shoulder.  His arm, very naturally, fell around my shoulder and he turned toward me, gathered me in, both arms around me.  He kissed the top of my head and groaned in his sleep.

Just thinking about it… so dreamlike, his hand drawing mine up to kiss and nuzzle and actually suck on my fingers… all without waking up.  His eyes were open enough to make me wonder if he saw me, but I could only see the whites under his lashes, he was open and not speaking and his hands were a little clumsy wandering over my body.  I thought I should try and wake him, as if I were somehow taking advantage of him while sleeping, but when I called his name he didn’t wake.

I let my own hands run over his nightshirt, his chest and back.  If he did not wake at that… his one hand settled softly on my breast and I almost cried out, let out a gasp that seemed to inflame him as much as I was inflamed.  We burned… quietly.  I felt… his other hand on my hip, my own nightdress hiked up so it was on bare skin.  Oh, I was on fire.

He touched me between my legs and if he could touch me there… so could I.  I’d seen what he looked like… the night Farasha had showed me that pleasure for me was still possible…and when he'd kissed me... there.  As Akminchaer had said.  I shook and he…reacted to my touching him there… oh it was a wonderful dream… he did come on my hand and I looked at it and smelled it and it wasn’t dreadful.  It wasn’t waste.  It was seed.  Then his fingers moved again and I danced for him.  Even if I could not sing… I could dance.  Oh, oh, I was wet between my legs all over again just thinking about it.

Fara moved Miffed over to smile at me.  *remembering, question*

“I’m just having such a pleasant ride, Fara.”  She giggled and we set out once more, this time the two boys riding just in front.

“It is pleasant,” she said.  *nice views*

She meant the boys' backs and backsides.  I know she did.  I blushed.  We swapped riding partners once more, at the Secret Waterfall, and Minis got us all to stop at the Stone Garden.  I thought I could hear a rumble of some kind that wasn’t water.  Had Minis had another sculpture put up in the greensward?

“I borrowed Mil Torii Itzan’s mamoka for our picnic.  I thought it would be fun.”

“And very private,” Farasha said.

Gannara just laughed at Min who looked at him, nervous and annoyed.  “What are you laughing at, you wool-knot?”

“Nothing, you thin stick of straw.”

Minis sniffed and didn’t tease back as he usually did.  “Let’s leave the horses here, shall we?”  There were people to walk them back to the Marble Palace, and even rugs placed for us to step down on.

“Minis you really like to do things… grandly, don’t you?” Fara said as we walked around the thicket of thyme.

“I like to do things right,” he said and cast a glance at me and her and Gan.  “Especially if I want to honour my friends.”