Until death shall us part?

[Munachi]

OOC: I need one guy to play the son of the family of Kalograst, please PM me first though, so we can somewhat agree about the direction this thread is to go into...


IC: The prophesy was as old as time itself, and just as old was the war between Illariy and Le Bengesa. No one could count the number of people's lifes the war had cost sofar, and while both villages did lie in a rich valley, they remained poor, as all recourses were used to produce new weapons, and as most young men died in this fighting the beginning of which no one could remember.

The prophesy was everyone's only hope, and while no one had ever seen it in its original written form, its approximate meaning was passed on from mother to child. Everyone knew, that in the year of the eclipse of the sun, 500 generations after the valley had first been settled, and 100 years after the third great earthquake, both in the house of Lalea in Illariy and in the house of Kalograsta in Le Bengesa a child would be born - and that those two children would bring an end to all fight. The day they turned 21 they would have to fight each other, and this fight would last a long time it was said. But when finally one of them won, and killed the other, his village would rule the valley forever. There was however another addition to the prophesy: The victory could only happen at daytime. Should one of them die at night, the prophesy spoke of fires and earthquakes that would bring an end to both villages.

And really, just in the moment the sun darkened, 500 generations into the existence of the villages, a girl was born to the family of Lalea, and a boy to the family of Kalograst. From then on things were calmer in the valley: Instead of investing into battles with the others, the villages started to concentrate on training the two children. From earliest age they knew to ride horses, to fight with the sword, with their fists, to set up traps, and even more. Thus they grew up, knowing that one day they would decide over their village's future. Thus, 21 years went by...

______________________


Raluca let her mare's reigns loose. She let the horse decide what direction to take, as long as it was away from other people. She wanted to be alone. It was the eve of her 21st birthday, a day most young women in her village looked forward to, but for her this day meant that she had to fulfill something she had been prepared for all her life. Was she nervous? No, she was sure she would win, she could beat anyone of her village she had trained with within a few minutes - but then again, her opponent surely had been trained well as well.

What made her nervous was her life after the fight. She had grown up with rigid training, never had she enjoyed the joys of other girls her age. And never had she had a boyfriend. The boys of her village approached her with a careful distance, she wasn't one they felt they could flirt with, they were even scared of her. And apart, they all seemed like little children to her. None had grown with the idea that their fate was either to die or to kill, there lifes consisted of worries she found pointless. And already at the age of ten she had been able to beat any of them in any type of fight. Sometimes she dreamt of how the man she once married would be like, and none of them fit the image. They seemed too weak to her to take them seriously. She dreamt of someone stronger than her, and she knew that no one like that existed in her village, none of them had had her training.

The last days had been strange, everyone constantly wanted to wish her luck for the fight, told her how important it was... She had been more surrounded by people than she had ever been used to, and had had no minute to think. But now, that she had escaped them and took a little ride on her horse through the evening forest, she realized that the moment she had always waited for was close, and that she never before had wasted a thought to what would be afterwards.

The trees looked almost in flames as the sun set in a red light, and then, as it was getting dark already, she saw that there was someone else, not far from her. A young man on a black horse, seemingly also lost in thought, staring into the sunset. For a moment Raluca considered taking up her horses reign as she wanted to be alone, but her white mare seemed to want to greet the other horse, and Raluca decided to let her do that - maybe it was better to have a little chat with that stranger, it might take her mind off things.

He had not seen her yet, he was still looking in another direction, so she called out "Good evening. I hope my presence does not disturb you..."

 

[ACursedDreamer]

Traian watched the sun setting and the night approaching as his mind reflected on the passing day. His day, like the rest of his life, was composed of fighting. He fought for everything. He fought for new clothing, food, water, the right to clean himself properly, everything. He'd learned a whole hell of a lot in his 21 years. The girls mostly all stayed away from him, they thought he was a savage and a beastial boy. Their parents having all told them he was a doomed man, and that they should not try and befriend him. The boys though.. they all took the sight of him as a challenge. He had fought almost everyday since the day he first learned how to throw a punch...

Which made the past week really, really stange. He had everyone patting him on the back, telling him he could take anything, and that he would make them all proud and that when he came back he would have his choice of wives and never have to fight again if that's how he wanted it. He felt caged. Trapped. The only times he was use to having this many people around him was when he had fallen during a fight. They had all kicked him and punched him until he found the rage, strength, and purity of his hatred to stand and continue the fight.

He stared out into the approaching night. Welcoming it. Hoping that maybe tomorrow he would find his death. He was tired of this. This lifestyle. He saw the other children playing all the time, he watched as they all changed and grew. While he was forced into the same routine every day. But tomorrow. Tomorrow would be different. Or so he hoped. He didn't really yearn for death... he just really wanted the same life as the others, but he'd known a long time ago that the only way to have that was to either die or win...

His hair fell into his face, covering his pale eyes. His body was very well muscled from the constant training. He heard the speaking behind him and turned slightly, expecting to find someone from his town, come to reclaim him and found himself staring at the strange girl on the white horse. His own, turning slightly also. "Good Evening..." He nodded slightly to her and then continued speaking, "... Of course not. I was just dwelling on something, something better to be put out of my mind."

He put out of his mind the prophesy. The training. The anger. He felt himself relax slightly and welcomed the company...

 

[Munachi]

"... Of course not. I was just dwelling on something, something better to be put out of my mind." Raluca smiled at the strange young man. What he said just described how she felt that evening - she wanted to think of anything but the prophesy and the forthcoming fight. She decided not to tell him anything about who she was and what was waiting for her the next day. This boy obviously was not from her village, and maybe he did not know anything about the war, the prophesy, all that, and could see her just as some normal girl. And oh, how often she had wished to be just that.

Now that he had turned towards her, she could look closer at him. He looked different from the guys in her village - while he was young - she estimated him of her own age - he looked more grown up, like someone who in a short time already had seen a lot of the bad sides of life. His hair was falling into his face, but behind it she could see his light eyes in which she could recognize a sadness similar to the one she felt a lot of the time.

Her horse leant forward to the other horse to greet it, and she was about to take the reigns up a bit, expecting her mare to start quarreling with his horse in a second, like she'd always do with horses she didn't know well. But strangely, this time the horse's ears staid friendly leaning forward, and it almost seemed as if the mare did quite like his horse. Raluca took this as a sign that she stood stay for a while. She looked up at the last bits of red sunlight that were disappearing behind the horizon. A fresh breeze was coming up, and played with her hair, which in this light seemed almost as red as the setting sun.

Both remained quiet for a while, but there was nothing uncomfortable about it - even though they didn't know each other, Raluca felt like looking at the sunrise with him was something she had longed to do all her life. When it finally was completely dark she said "Do you know the little lake near here? It is one of my favourite places in the forest, especially at night. Let's go there? The horses would probably like some water too..."

 

[ACursedDreamer]

He watched her. Curiously. She didn't know him, for that he was sure. Cause if she did then she probably would have said something about tomorrow. He watched as their horses became friendly and smiled a little. Maybe he could finally forget about the coming of the battle... maybe he could enjoy this night. For it might be his last...

"Yes I do... I could really use that lake right now. I think relaxing by the water would be good for the four of us." He then pulled back on the reigns and headed towards the lake, casting a longing glance back at her hoping she would come with...

...After they reached the lake, he hopped down from his horse, and brushed some hair back behind his ear. Taking a hold of her reigns and running his hand along her horses face. Smiling all the while. He then offered his hand to her, knowing full well that she could get down with ease, but that it was the right, polite thing to do.

He studied her a moment, her face, her body. Her eyes. Everything about her he tried to absorb as quickly as possible...

 

[Munachi]

The moment she asked her heart started beating wildly - what if he said no? What if he said why go to the lake with you? The feeling was most strange to her - she didn't know this kind of nervousness, as she had never wanted to spend time with anyone as much as she wanted to now.

But he agreed and took up his horse's reigns to go to the lake. Gladly she did the same and followed him. She loved this little lake, and she wished to share it with this stranger who was the first person that didn't tell her she should rather train for her fight than waste time riding in the forest.

When he held her horse's reigns and gave her his hand to help her get down, her heartbeat got even stronger - no one ever had done this before. All the guys had been a bit scared of her, and knowing she was stronger, could ride better and fight better than them, they would never have dared to offer her help. She accepted the help, and enjoyed the short moment of touching his hand this allowed her, looking into his eyes at the same time.

But the next second she again felt this nervousness - was it right of her to look directly into his eyes? And she blushed and turned her eyes to the ground, quickly letting go of his hand.

As if trying to find something to do so he would not notice her nervousness, Raluca started to take off the horse's saddle and took off its bridle. She knew her mare well and knew it wouldn't run away - and this way the animal could relax a bit.

When she was done she turned to him again.

"So... let's go swim a bit?"

 

[ACursedDreamer]

As they exhanged stares into eachothers eyes he felt his heart. Pounding. He could hear his own heart echoing in his ears and thought that it's thundering would be obvious to her. Seeing her unburdoning her horse, he chose to do the same, knowing he didn't need worry about his, especially since her's seemed to get along with his rather well.

He walked down to the shore of the lake and smiled, looking up at the moon and giving a bit of a sight. "It is a ... beautiful night, No?" He turned and looked at her, his eyes searching. Looking at her, wondering. He sighed and stretched a little. He pulled his shirt off... reveiling a host of scars. Some ritualistic, but most from fights. His muscles were pretty well definied, and there was much strenght built into his body, much power...

He shed his boots and pants as well, not really wanting to get his clothes soaked. He then turned and looked at her, hoping his actions weren't causing her to be repullsed or to run off...

 

[Munachi]

"It is a ... beautiful night, No?"

She nodded. The night was beautiful indeed, with a full moon, and only an ever so slight breeze moving the leaves of the trees surrounding the lake. Nothing of the peacefulness of this night seemed to tell of the long awaited fight that was going to start tomorrow... she brushed the thought aside. This was the one night she wanted to be happy, enjoy the company of someone who didn't look at her as someone who would decide the fate of the village but rather just as someone whose company he enjoyed... hopefully...

When he took of his shirt she could see his muscles in the moon light, and she could see his scars. This stranger was someone who must know fight and war, she thought, but she decided not to ask him about it. She knew too well herself that it is sometimes nicer to forget things than to have to tell them again and again.

And suddenly she realized that she was wondering just how strong and how good a fighter he might be. All the guys she had known before had seemed weak to her, and this had bored her. And fighting, well it always had been an obligation. They had attacked her in groups of four or five, because else they didn't stand any chance, and she had to fight them off because that was her fate. She had never known any playful struggle or competition. But suddenly the idea of measuring her strength or speed or agility with him not because she wanted to win but just for the fun of it, had awoken in her.

Quickly she took her shirt and pants off as well - she did always wear something to go swim with under her clothes, as she loved the water and especially this little lake, her refuge. Smiling she turned to him, and touched his shoulder just for a second - "Let's see who gets first to the other side," she laughed, and jumped into the water and started swimming.

 

[ACursedDreamer]

He smiled as she jumped in and started swimming. He on the other hand, didn't have anything to swim in, so after she jumped in he lost his final article of clothing and dove in, starting to swim as soon as he hit the water. He didn't know if he would beat her or not, but the compition would sure be fun.

He focused himself a bit on the swimming, getting distracted every once in a while by watching her, finally refinding his focus he began to catch up...

 

[Munachi]

She hadn't noticed that he had lost his last part of clothing - for a while she just concentrated on swimming, on the feeling of the water around her, of how she moved quickly through it...

Then, when she was almost at the other side, she got slower and turned around a bit, seeing him swimm right behind her. Suddenly she didn't concentrate on getting first to the other side anymore, but rather without a warning went under the water. Under water she turned around, opening her eyes under water she could just make out were his legs were, and approached them... She planned to get her head back up above the water just in front of him, but just a second longer she would wait under water...

 

[ACursedDreamer]

He noticed her dive under but didn't let it break his concentration he kept moving, his body almost gliding across the water, he was determined, maybe not determined to win, but at least determined to catch her....

 

[Munachi]

Having her eyes open under water she could see he kept swimming - it was dark already but she could still make out his outline and admired the determination and strength with which he moved through the water. Finally though she couldn't hold her breath any longer, and just as planned suddenly appeared right next to him above the water - a bit too close maybe, for a second she could feel their bodies touch, and it was as if this sent electric shocks through her - her heart started beating wildly. However she first had to catch up some breath.

 

[ACursedDreamer]

He gasped mostly out of shock as she rose up next to him. Something in him stirred as she brushed her body against his inadvertently. He stopped and just stared at her. Stared deep into her eyes. His body shaking a bit, some of the adrenaline slowly starting to burn off from him...

... he tredded the water and slipped his arms around her, holding her close to him. "You are an amazing girl..." He said softly and then released her and continued swimming, after all. He had a race to win.

 

[Munachi]

Tredding the water as well she saw him looking into her eyes. For a second she wondered what he thought - maybe scaring him like this was childish, maybe he was annoyed?

Then she felt him move his arms around her. His skin felt soft, despite the water she could feel it clearly, and as he pulled her closer to him, she thought for a second she could almost feel his heartbeat, quite similar to hers. You are an amazing girl... she heard him say but before he could reply anything he let go of her and started to swim again. She thus turned to swim after him as quickly as she could.

He was now in front of her, but she decided to show him she could catch up easily. It wasn't quite as easy as she had thought though, he clearly was a good swimmer... Finally she managed to swim right next to him again, and in front of them there was the other shore of the lake. On that side there was no slow descent into the water though, but rather the land started quite abruptly with a stony coast. She had to grab one of the stones to pull herself up and sit down on it, her feet still hanging into the water. He had reached the shore at the same moment as her, but was still in the water, she looked down waiting for him to climb up the stone as well.

 

[ACursedDreamer]

He climbed up onto the stone and smiled at her; "Your good." He nodded, not even really noticing that he himself was naked, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to him. He stared at her a moment and then leaned back onto the rock, relaxing and looking up into the sky.

His heart was still pounding in his chest, the adrenaline slowly dying. His breathing ever so gently returning to normal...

 

[Munachi]

You're good! she heard him say and she grinned proudly - it was strange, she always had known she was a good swimmer, but for the first time it mattered to her that someone else thought so too. People in her village had always tried to encourage her, but she had felt their compliments were empty, as she just couldn't take those people seriously. But this guy swam at least as well as her - and looking at his muscles and his well trained body he probably was a great fighter as well - but that was not the only reason that to her he seemed the first person whose compliments actually mattered to her.

She heard how his breath was slowly calming down, just as hers was. She did realize now that he was naked, and couldn't help taking just a little look at him - she had never seen a naked man before and had no means of comparism, but what she saw did make her heartbeat go faster again... At the same time she blushed. How really did one act next to a strange, and moreso naked guy, in the middle of the night, while the silvery moon was reflecting on a quiet forest lake?

She felt she wanted to be closer to him. So many things came into her mind that she thought she should tell him about, but she remained quiet, and just carefully moved her hand a tiny bit closer to his, not daring to touch it though...

 

[ACursedDreamer]

He put his hand ontop of hers and squeezed gently. Laying, relaxing. Enjoying the night air. He rolled on his side and looked up at her with a small smile. "If it bothers you... I'll put some clothing back on."

He was hoping she didn't ask him too, he was actually hoping she'd take some of hers off. He started to harden at the thought of seeing her naked. His body reacting to the thought. His heart beating a bit faster, his breathing increasing as well. He looked to the water and depated jumping in before she could hopefully really notice the effects...

 

[Munachi]

If it bothers you... I'll put some clothing back on. She thought that she really didn't want him to put them back on but how should she say that? She felt his hand on hers, and the wish that he would touch more than her hand appeared in her mind... Carefully she glanced at him, seeing his naked body in the moonlight... How would it feel to touch this body? And how would it feel if he took her swimming suit off? Then suddenly she thought of the next day and said to herself "this might be very well the very last night of your life, this is definitely not the time to be so shy."

She turned to him, moving yet a little bit closer, so their legs almost touched each other - "Well if it bothers you to be the only one without clothing, maybe I should take off mine too?"

 

[ACursedDreamer]

((Your going to have to excuse me. There's a lot going on in my life right now and I'm going to have to gracefully bow out. Permanantly. I'm sorry. -Dreamer))

 

[Munachi]

OOC: Sorry to hear that... well I hope things in your life work out good... ç

I guess this means I am looking for someone else to continue this thread with... anyone interested please PM me!

 

[LongshanksSierra]

OOC: Taking up the role...

IC: The mysterious girl's swim clothes hung to her body, leaving little to the imagination but enough to form the tease of beyond. Traian had never spent a whole lot of time around other people, especially the girls in his village, but something told him this was an unusal set of circumstances. Things didn't seem to happen this way, which seemed oddly appropriate. Not knowing exactly what that meant, he decided to proceed amyway.

"Well, in the name of comfort, maybe you should," he answered, noticing how close her body was to his. Her legs were nearly touching his own, and they seemd so strong and well formed. No wonder she was such an excellent swimmer.

"Don't worry," he said with a slight smile, "I won't look." Her hands stopped in their motion to her clinging attire, then she smiled and continued the motion.

 

[Munachi]

Well, in the name of comfort, maybe you should she heard him say, and she moved her hands up to the upper part of her swim clothes. "I should remove them slowly", she thought, even though she knew little about men, she suspected that he would like that better than if she just undressed as she would when by herself.

Don't worry, I won't look she suddenly heard him say, and surprised she stopped in what he was doing and looked at his face. She could see though that he in fact was looking at her quite attentively, and could see his smile. She smiled back. Then, she continued moving her hands up her body, slowly, as if searching for the part to open the swim suit, and using this as an excuse to touch the still somewhat wet skin of her own body softly with her fingers.

Finally she took the top of her swim suit off, turning at first a little bit away while she did so - the fact that he now could see her breasts made her blush, but then she turned at him, smiled again, and remembered that there ws still the under part of her swim suit to take off.

 

[LongshanksSierra]

When she turned away from him for a moment, her form was outlined in the soft evening light. He could see the profile of her form perfectly and it made his blood run a little faster. Her body held all the promise that the swimming attire had teased him with, and stray beads of water still dotted her skin. Her beasts were soft and inviting, seeming to call to him to reach out and caress them.

She turned back towards him, her eyes bright and a warm smile on her lips, almost as if waiting for his reaction. In truth, he did not know what the appropriate reaction should be. What he knew was that he wanted to explore her body, with not only his eyes but his hands as well. He wasn't used to physical contact with other people, especially females, but was curious to see where all this was going. What was normal under these circumstances? The mysterious girl still had the lower part of her swim suit to remove, if she was going that far. Was she waiting for him to voice his approval? Was she waiting for him to assist her? Would she let him if he offered? All he was sure of was his reaction to her unclothed body and its nearness to him.

His legs shifted unconciously, bringing thier calves in contact. He quickly looked down to see her muscular leg brushed up against his and couldn't resist the urge the stroke a few light fingers over her knee, collecting some of the moisture that clung there.

 

[Munachi]

She felt his look and while blushing she also felt he liked what he saw and it gave her a feeling of happiness she hadn't known before. Then, she felt his hand on her leg, his fingers stroking her knee softly - and then he moved it away again. She wanted him to put it back there, wanted to feel more of his touch. She wished he'd remove the other part of her swimming suit, just so he would touch her more, so she would be nearer to him. She looked directly at his face now, with an almost pleading expression in her eyes. At the same time she moved her hand a bit, to touch his hand that was moving away from her leg already, to carefully guide it back to her.

 

[LongshanksSierra]

He hadn't thought he flinched when she placed her hand on his, but he hadn't expected it. She slowly moved their hands back, placing his back on her leg and keeping her fingers lightly on it. Her eyes held a look of warmth and... almost a mixture of request and acceptance. She shifted slightly, and her body posture seemed to indicate a welcome of a closer presence. He slid slightly closer, moving slowly and awaitng whatever, if any, response she offered. When she didn't move, except to breath in deeply and slowly exhale, he began to move his hands.

From the position on her knee, his hand slowly slid up along her leg, his fingertips and palm exploring the new sensation of her thigh. She let her own hand follow on top of his, her fingertips pulsing into the back of his hand. His hand traveled over the thin strip of moist fabric the ran over her hip. Her fingers pressed slightly into his hand. A request? A demand?

His other found came to rest on her opposite hip and his fingers worked in between the clean fabric and her smooth skin. Her weight shifted. He pulled the second half of her swim clothes down from her waist. His eyes found hers as he guided the last bit of her clothes away from her legs.

 

[Munachi]

The feeling of his fingers back on her skin made her heart beat faster and and she breathed in deeply without hardly realising so. In a way it was as if the light touch of his hand almost burned on her skin she felt it so intense, and at the same time it felt wonderful. His fingers traveled up and finally reached her swim suit which seemed like something that was completely in the way to her, something he should remove and free her from - it seemed to her that without it she might be nearer to him somehow.

She felt the piece of fabric taken off her and while shifting a bit to make it easier for him to remove it she raised her eyes (that had followed their hands before) back to his face on which she found an expression of concentration. Then he looked at her again and their eyes met - and at the same time she smiled. Their faces were so close now, she could almost feel his breath, and almost without noticing she did, she moved even closer to him - it seemed the world around her had disappeared, only he was there...