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       #Post#: 1461--------------------------------------------------
       Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 2:50 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Thesia had waited two days for a private meeting with Queen Nile
       and then waited another day to get approval to leave her duties
       as a royal sentry. At least for how long it would take to help
       Khali with his duties in guarding his charge. No one save the
       queen knew that Khali had been sent to find Prince Adan and
       Thesia had been sworn to secrecy.
       She was in the middle of picking up supplies when she heard a
       soft voice calling for her. Thesia stuffed the food packages and
       med kit into her pack and headed to the front of the room she
       shared to call out.
       "I'm here, can I help you with something?"
       She paused a bit surprised to see one of the Queen's gifted
       cultivators waiting at her door.
       "You can help me, take me with you. I heard you were going to
       the desert, I've been having dreams of the desert and one that
       needs me being there. Please..help me get to him,"
       Thesia was quite surprised, but wasn't about to deny the young
       elf's request. She knew quite well that such dreams shouldn't be
       ignored.
       "I will take you with me. Be ready at first light and we'll set
       out. Sion is strong enough to carry the both of us,"
       Coran was quite relieved that the sentry agreed and gave a
       polite bow to her. "Shall we meet at the east gates in the
       morning then? I don't want to delay you any further,"
       Thesia nodded and gave him strict instructions on what he'd need
       to pack and then got back to her packing. It seemed there might
       be a great deal more to this adventure than she'd originally
       thought.
       ➠➠➠➠➠➠
       Snips was laid out in his lizard form sunbathing in the late
       morning sun when the sound of voices caught his attention.
       He stretched and turned over on his back, slowly making his way
       down the branch of his tree to peer down at the odd trio of
       travelers. a very large jungle cat was slowly padding through
       the jungle path below, with two hooded figures on its be back.
       His curiosity now piqued, he hurried scampered down the tree to
       wait for them to draw closer and then dropped into the pack of
       the younger smaller one.
       "We'll take a break in a few hours and rest. It's better to
       travel through the desert at night. It gets far too hot to
       travel during the peak hot hours," Thesia was explaining to
       Coran.
       The young elf nodded, his hands holding onto the belt she wore
       around her curvy hips.
       "All right Sion, it's clearing out ahead, you want to let loose
       for a run?"
       The huge panther gave a growled response and once Coran had a
       tight hold: took off again speeding over the ground
       effortlessly.
       Snips let out a small squeak as he tumbled into the elf's pack
       and burrowed deeper to a safer spot.
       *Well looks like I'm leaving the jungle.* Snips mused, his
       thoughts going back to his last adventure a good hundred years
       ago. *Might as well nap until they stop* he thought and then
       curled up among the soft clothes inside the pack and yawned
       before dozing off.
       ➝ ➝ ➝ ➝ ➝ ➝
       Lilaeth made her way quickly through the dark sands, her eyes
       adjusting to the low light offered by the stars and crescent
       moon overhead. It didn't take the night elf long to find the
       prey she sought. she went still, her ears twitching at the sound
       of the fox paws on the sand to her left. Damnit! The fox family
       had picked up on the fast moving antelope she'd been hunting
       since dusk.
       "I can still beat them to it, and leave them the carcass to
       feast on," she reasoned out loud as she hurried to intercept the
       swift footed antelope.
       She came to an abrupt halt when she spied the huge black panther
       pouncing on her prey and killing it instantly.
       "Well shit. What's a jungle mount doing this far out?" She
       sighed, and drew back to hide near some tall grass to wait and
       watch.
       It wasn't long before two figures arrived, one obviously the
       mount's rider and the second a young elf with little experience
       in the desert.
       "Good job Sion," Thesia praised the panther and started
       butchering the good sized antelope. She left a haunch quarter
       and the head for Sion to feast on as she skinned the rest for
       her and Coran's dinner.
       "Shouldn't we bury the bones and guts?" Coran asked looking a
       little sick.
       "There are lots of scavengers  in the desert , they'll take care
       of that," Thesia replied then stilled hearing Sion let out a
       warning growl.
       *We are being watched*
       Thesia glanced around, a wary look on her face. "If you don't
       want my mount attacking and dragging you out, come out now,"
       Lilaeth froze rather startled to have been called out so
       quickly. With a flushed face she slowly approached, her pink red
       eyes taking in the companions.
       "Greetings gentle travelers, I mean you no harm. Though...you
       did steal my hunt from me,"
       Thesia regarded the purple skinned elf a but curiously then
       offered up half of the antelope to the other. "I thought the
       creature might be running from a predator, but not another
       hunter. If needed, we can help you track another,"
       --++--
       It had been three years now since Buck had lost everything. His
       whole herd, captured or slaughtered in the hundreds to be
       parceled out among different slavers. The gray deer centaur had
       quickly become a pack mule for the slavers who had purchased
       him, he had grown used to this even if he wasn't exactly built
       to carry thing or pull wagons, he sucked it up or risk being
       beaten.
       Today, it seemed, Buck was getting a new master. The man a
       massively overweight noble who intended him a steed. It
       practically made Buck's eyes bug out of his head when he
       realized this.
       He was tristed up in New harnesses that restrained his arms and
       a bridal that forced a harsh bit into his mouth like one might
       put on a true horse. Fighting against the man was useless and
       only got him punished in the worst way as the man considered
       sodemy a proper punishment.
       That was over two days ago, and the man had been forcing Buck to
       carry him on his back. The thin deer legs on his body quaked
       with every step as he struggled to stay up.
       A stumble in the sand had Buck crying out in pain as he was
       crushed under the man, one of his legs badly broken.
       ----
       The tall celestial tugged his cloak over his head, fighting back
       the growing worry over Lilaeth's going off on her own yet again.
       Ever since finding her as a young child abandoned in the desert
       sands, he'd been her protector. He had been trying to pull that
       side back lately, She was growing up and needed more
       independence. Still he couldn't help but worry that she might
       run into something dangerous.
       After another half an hour, he headed out to do his patrol sweep
       around the well hidden caves where he and the mixed tribe
       resided.
       He'd gone several miles when he heard a pained cry and some
       rather colorful cursing. He carefully moved to get a better look
       and not reveal himself.
       The sight of the trussed up deer centaur crumpled, a leg bent at
       the wrong angle had his eyes flash with concern. The fat man
       that had tumbled to the sand seemed unable to get up due to his
       girth, looking like a turtle stuck upside down.
       "Ye worthless shit! Get over here and help me up!" The man
       raged, as he tried to roll over so he could try using his arms
       to push up.
       It took all of five seconds for Orion to make up his mind to be
       slowly make his way over to the pair, leaving his hood over his
       head.
       "He's not going to be able to help you, his leg is broken,"
       Orion said in a cool tone, moving to the deer centaur to look
       the leg over closely.
       "Were you riding him? May the gods bring you a slow painful
       death," he muttered and pulled a knife out to cut the ropes from
       the deer centaur's arms and removed the bridle from his mouth.
       "I'm not a healer, but I can take you to one." Orion told the
       creature kindly. "I should split this leg before I try and move
       you though,"
       The fat man was spitting and raging at Orion, still struggling
       to get up. The celestial ignored him as he carefully worked on
       getting the other's leg set.
       Then he lifted the centaur up in his strong arms and carried him
       back to his camp. He felt it fitting for the fat man to die a
       slow agonizing death in the desert.
       ----
       All Buck could do was cry and hang his head as his master raged
       at not being help up. The deer centaur unable to aid the man
       anyway, he couldn't even help himself with the way he was tied
       up. They were both going to die of exposure.
       The sound of someone aproching had Buck looking around and
       spotting the tall white haired back. A look of fear in his eyes
       until he heard the man speak and move to examine the centaur's
       leg. The man's comment on the fatass riding him had him
       blinking.
       Then came the knife that had Buck trying to move away at first
       until he felt the ties start to give and the bit and bridal
       pulled from his mouth and face. A look of awe came to Buck's
       eyes at the promise to bring him to a healer. "Okay..." He said
       in a soft timid voice, the only other sounds he made were in
       pain as his leg was set before a new sound of surprise escaped
       the deer as he was so easily picked up.
       It caused Buck to cling to his rescuer. "Oh my!" He squeaked
       out, not used to being off the ground in any fashion.
       -----
       Orion felt a surge of protectiveness go through him at hearing
       the young centaur's reply.  He hated that he'd had to make the
       youngling hurt so much.
       A slightly amused look filled his face at the other's reaction
       to being picked up. "Sorry to startle you so. Even with a splint
       it's be hard for you to walk anywhere. Try and relax a little.
       My name is Orion, what's yours?" He asked gently not saying
       anything about the young deer centaur's clinging to him.
       The walk back to the hidden entrance didn't take all that long,
       but it was enough for Orion to explain to the young centaur
       about the mixed tribe and how they helped those in need. "You
       can stay as long as you need or wish to. If you want to return
       to your own kind once you've recovered a bit, we can help you
       find them,"
       -+-+
       "It-it's O-okay... I'm.... called Buck...." the timid deer
       stammered out. "My... herd was killed... there.... there is
       nothing.... to... to go back to.... or... or find..." the scared
       deer admitted, slowly relaxingly as the strong man carried him
       to safety.
       "T-thank you for... for you help..." He said once he had calmed
       down a bit more and fully relaxed against the white haired man.
       ----
       Orion's eyes softened more as he listened to the centaur deer's
       stammered reply. He felt a great deal of empathy for what the
       other had gone through.
       "That's a lot of grief and loss to have gone through, Buck. You
       are welcome to stay with my tribe if you wish. I'm just glad I
       found you before worse could happen,"
       Orion held Buck securely against him as he made his way down the
       cavern trail and inside where the kitsune and celestials had set
       up rooms in various cave spaces. It was much like a cave
       apartment complex, with common areas in the middle where
       everyone gathered for meals and gatherings.
       Further in the cave was an ancient temple that two of the older
       kitsune had built and ran together. It was where Orion carried
       Buck. If anyone could help Buck recover, it would be the
       siblings.
       "Tōa, Senphonie, I have a wounded deer centaur that could
       use your assistance," he called out after having rung the bell
       at the door of the temple.
       -+---
       "Thank you..." Buck said softly as he took in his new
       surroundings. When they entered the temple, Senphonie was the
       one to pop her head into the enterance hall with a look of worry
       in her eyes. "Oh no, come, come, bring him into the back room.
       I'll go fetch Tóa, he is meditating at the moment." She said a
       bit on the hyperactive side as she led the pair to a room with a
       bed to lay Buck down on before shifting into her fox form and
       rushing out to find her brother where she had left him.
       The ancient fox deep in meditation when his sister jumped up
       onto his shoulder to draw him out of meditation. "We have a new
       comer, looks pretty roughed up. Orian hauled him in." She
       explained when she saw an ear twitch and he slowly opened his
       eyes.
       "Yes yes, go gather supplies while I examine the youngling." He
       mused before his sister hurried off to gather herbs and other
       medical equipment as Tóa gracefully glided into the room as if
       he walked on the air itself.
       The timid Buck recoiling back from the healer, getting a soft,
       sad expression out of the man. "It will take time, but he can be
       healed." Mused the kitsune as his sister returned. He took a
       cloth from a closed box and handed it over carefully to Buck.
       "Smell that." He instructed. When the centaur did, he passed out
       instantly from the chloroform on the rag.
       With his patient knocked out, Tóa was able to easily tent to the
       deer's injuries before using his tuneing on the fawn, and used
       the opertunity to teach his young sister.
       "He will wake soon, bring him somewhere comfortable, and don't
       let him walk on that leg. He will need at least one more healing
       session." He explained to the celestial.
       ----
       Tempest had managed to hit the edge of what looked like a forest
       line. He had been fighting for his life to manage to flee.
       The dark skinned demon who was flying-feeling his eyes blur from
       the adrenaline finally fading to feel the pain.. he began to
       descend to only end up dropping the rest of the way, hitting the
       few tree branches to thud on the ground. His chest rose and fell
       as he felt the blood pour from him, he didn’t realize just how
       wounded he was to take a few shaky breaths- he wasn’t sure what
       else he could do anymore.. but wait for death- he wasn’t aware
       of where he was.. nor if there was kind people or not. His eyes
       closed a bit as a tear slid back.
       ----
       Orion nodded at Buck's soft thank you and entered the temple,
       knowing the siblings were likely busy with other tasks.
       Sometimes they had to be tracked down in the temple.
       He let out a sigh of relief when Senphonie appeared in the hall.
       "Thank you Sen, I'll do that,"
       He followed her to the room and was careful to lay Buck on the
       side that didn't have a broken leg and moved to sit near him.
       "You'll feel much better very soon," he said gently and brushed
       Buck's hair out of his eyes. He stayed with him, holding Buck's
       hand while the ancient kitsune worked on healing the deer
       centaur.
       Orion nodded, moving to lift Buck in his arms again. "I'll keep
       a close eye on him. Let me know when you want to see him again
       and I'll bring him back," he promised.
       Orion carried the passed out Buck to his own cave home and put
       the deer centaur in his own bed and made him comfortable. Then
       he went rummaging for a salve to rub into the rope burns and
       settled near the bed to wait for Buck to wake.
       He wasn't sure why, but he felt more than just protective of the
       young Buck. It had been awhile since he'd considered having a
       relationship or anything even a remotely romantic encounter in
       the past century.
       ✵  ✵ ✵ ✵
       The breaking branches and the loud thud to the ground, had the
       lone water elf freeze in the riverbank he'd been lounging on.
       His bright eyes darted around, his ears pricking to try and pick
       up other sounds before he slowly tugged his dagger out and
       slowly headed to the forest line he'd heard the commotion from.
       The smell of blood filled his nostrils before he spied the
       collapsed giant body. He inched closer, his eyes widening a bit
       when he realized the creature was at least partially an ogre.
       He could hear voices in the distance talking of catching a freak
       of nature and skinning it.
       Taking in the marks on the creatures body, had him believe that
       the poor thing had been subjected to torture and a great deal of
       abuse.
       Anarian slide his dagger away and moved to get closer. "Hey,
       I'll help you, but you're going to have to help me. I can't
       really pick you up...or drag such a big guy. Kind of on the
       short side here," Anarian whispered and bite into his bottom
       lip. "If we get to the river, I can heal you there and use a
       spell to hide us from those...people chasing you,"
       ✵✵✵✵✵✵
       Thesia was quite pleased by the prey that she and Lilaetha had
       managed to get during their hunt. Coran had done pretty well,
       though it was obvious he didn't care for the act all that much.
       once they'd gathered up their kills, they followed Lilaetha over
       the sands towards her home.
       It rather intrigued Thesia that the night elf had been raised in
       a tribe of mixed races. It wasn't something she'd heard of
       before.
       They hadn't gone far when a thunderous roar shook the sand
       beneath their feet and Lilaeth's arrow tattoos began to glow
       brightly in warning.
       "Well shit, we've got a Kasilion on our trail," Lilaeth said
       with a wary look on her face.
       "K-kasilion?" Coran stammered, looking quite freaked out.
       "They aren't all that common...and not well known. They'll stalk
       you to death. It's likely Sion caught it's attention. They're
       sort of a mix between dragons and lions," she explained. "Worst
       is, their claws and teeth are poisonous. I should have worn my
       armor," Lilaeth muttered.
       Thesia was growing more and more alarmed by what the night elf
       was saying. "So we should face it then?"
       "Yeah, and pray we're fast enough to wound it to get away. If
       they are hurt badly enough, they'll go off to lick their wounds.
       But we'll pick up an enemy for life, until we or it dies,"
       ------fin-----
       "Good," Tóa mused as he watched the celestial carry the deer
       centaur out so gently.
       "Sen," he called out.
       "Yes brother?" The young woman questioned.
       "Prepare to take in a trauma patient today...." He answered as
       he went to go about his temple duties.
       "Trauma?? Why do you think that?" She questioned incredulously.
       "Good," Tóa mused as he watched the celestial carry the deer
       centaur out so gently.
       "Sen," he called out.
       "Yes brother?" The young woman questioned.
       "Prepare to take in a trauma patient today...." He answered as
       he went to go about his temple duties.
       "Trauma?? Why do you think that?" She questioned incredulously.
       "Because my dear sister, things love to come in multiples,
       usually threes. It is better to be prepared that blindsided..."
       the kitsune said wisely getting a sigh out of Senphonie as she
       went about getting everything they would need for grave
       injuries.
       ---
       It was another hour before Buck would wake, quickly sitting up
       as he looked around in a panic until his eyes landed on Orian,
       calming him. "What... what happened?" He questioned, not
       understanding how he had been knocked out as he tried to get to
       his feet.
       --fin--
       The half ogre flinched at the sound of someone wanting to help.
       His eye giving an uncertain look.. but the sound of voices
       nearing and not wanting to be in pain..
       Came to a decision. He shifted painfully to his more human
       form.”help..” he said as he let the guy help him up to rush off.
       The run would continue till the half ogre slipped his body
       feeling sluggish.”can’t.. go on…” he said through the pained
       gasps. His body shook with the pain as animals scurried in
       places.. as a fox dove in its burrow.
       ++++
       Orion moved in closer to Buck, stroking his hand gently to calm
       him down a bit
       "Tōa used some vapors to put you out while he worked on
       healing your leg. Otherwise it would have been a very painful
       experience for you."
       He moved to gently ease Buck back onto the bed and moved to sit
       next to him. "Your leg isn't quite finished healing. Toa still
       needs one more session to finish. Try to rest a bit more. Can I
       get you some water and something to eat? I have some salve I was
       going to put on the rope burns on your body, would you like me
       tomato that now?" Orion asked gently.
       --------->
       Anarian's eyes widened at the ogre's shifting into a human form.
       He quickly moved to pull the other up, slinging one arm over his
       shoulders and his own arm going to grab the others waist.
       The water elf moved as fast as he could with the other's still
       heavier body.
       "Well fuck this," he swore hearing the ogre/human's gasp of not
       being able to go on any further.
       He glanced around for a spot to hide and pulled the other into
       his back and with a great deal of determination managed to get
       them into a muddy patch of ground. He smeared mud all over the
       other's back and rolled in the mud, making sure his white hair
       was completely covered, then pulled the ogre human into the hole
       and laid over him. "No moving..no sounds," he whispered, hoping
       they'd be camouflaged enough against those looking for the ogre.
       ----fin----
       #Post#: 1462--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 4:14 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       A blush came to Buck's cheeks when Orion stroked his hand and
       tried to ease the centaur back onto the bed while explaining
       what had happened. From the way the white haired God of a man
       spoke, it seemed he intended on caring for him.
       "I... um.... yeah.... something... to eat and drink would... he
       great... you... you can do the ointment first though..." Buck
       answered softly.
       ---
       A little white fox ran through the underbrush with a basket of
       herbs clutched in her sharp teeth. Senphonie had just finished
       gathering what she needed to stock up on when whe heard the
       sound of hunters in pursuit. She sniffed the air and realized it
       was tainted with blood.
       The little fox dashed to the source of the smell to find an elf
       laying over what appeared to be some other kind of creature she
       couldn't quite place the smell of but definitely the one in
       need.
       She put the basket down next to the puddle of mud and sat down,
       shaking her three white tails to cast an illusion to make the
       pair invisible moments before the hunters could arrive.
       "Look at that! Find the dead orge later, catch that thing! Met
       it will fetch a high price!" One of the hunters claimed before
       Sen took off deep into the underbrush, leading the hunters far
       away.
       She returned soon after, leaving an illusion for them the chase.
       She then shifted into her human like form. "He is hurt, I can
       try and heal him a little here but we should get him to my
       brother. He predicted we would find another today...." She said
       with a sigh begrudgingly getting into the mud to help the men
       up.
       ---fin---
       Orion smiled gently at Buck's nervous reply, the blush spreading
       over the deer centaur's face making him look younger and more
       vulnerable.
       "If that's what you wish," Orion replied and opened the jarm he
       got a bit on his fingertips and gentle spread it over the
       abrasions, bruises and cuts on the other's tender skin. "It's
       not supposed to sting, but there will be a slight warm feeling
       as it starts healing these," he said gently.
       Then he got a bit more and gently put some on The sides of
       Buck's mouth. He was soon leaning over to put more on his back
       and areas of the deer body that had more wounds.
       "You...have anymore wounds that I didn't see?" He asked gently.
       <--------->
       Anarian heard a rather boisterous voice speaking and turned his
       head, his eyes widening at the sight of the three tailed white
       fox a moment before it was dashing off to lead the hunters away.
       He stayed still, waiting to move until the hunters were far
       away. He about had a heart attack at the sudden gorgeous woman
       that appeared moments later. Her sweet voice and offer to heal
       the ogre and then move him somewhere else had his nerves
       settling a bit.
       "I'm a healer too, just didn't have time to do any when those
       hunters showed up," Anarian replied.
       With the woman's help they managed to get the ogre human out of
       the mud. "There's a river not too far. I can clean us all off
       and use it to help heal him. I'm a water elf," he explained.
       He had the feeling the woman was more than she appeared, but
       figured if she wanted him to know she's say her name. "You
       mean...another after this one? Hmm." He said thoughtfully as
       they made their way to the river.
       Once there, it took him a few moments to manipulate the water to
       wash them all off before he pulled the ogre into the water and
       used his stone to focus the water to heal a great deal of the
       wounds littering the ogre's body.
       "All right, let's get the hell out of here, before those hunters
       show," he said hurrying to grab his things from nearby.
       He then moved to pull the ogre human over one shoulder and
       looked to the woman. "Lead the way darling," he said with a
       wink.
       -----
       At first, Buck flinched slightly at each touch, as if expecting
       it all the hurt. He was surprised when they didn't and even felt
       a warming sensation like the man had said. The more Orion's
       gentle hands worked over his body like this had his relaxing.
       The next question Orion had, made the centaur blush very dark as
       he nodded his head slowly before he fully rolled onto his back
       to expose the injuries to more intimate areas.
       ---
       "No, another as this is the second injured to be found today.
       I'm Senphonie, brother worries there may be more today..." Sen
       said as she helped the elf get the orge to the river before
       waiting on the shore for them.
       Once the man had the orge stabilized, Senphonie shifted back
       into her fox fork and picked his basket up, squeaking at the elf
       to follow her, leading him all the way to the cavern that held
       the temple and her waiting brother.
       ---fin---
       Tempest was about to tell the elf to just leave him to his fate
       only to be surprised at how the man hid him. He tried to make no
       sound.. though the pain was making it hard.
       He heard a woman’s voice waft out.. gentle and like a bell as he
       looked at the elf rather stressed.. it seemed more people just
       popping in- he sure want them hurt.
       He saw the small female help get him to his feet as he tried to
       keep himself on his feet.
       As they made it to the river he was laid in the water where it
       felt cool.. somehow the pain lessened greatly- before they would
       move to the fox’s temple where he would be able to rest without
       worrying of hunters.
       “Thank.. you…” he said with a tired sigh.
       -----
       Orion didn't say anything about the other flinching, knowing it
       was likely the other had gone through more traumatic things that
       Buck didn't want to talk about. He was pleased when Buck finally
       managed to relax under his gentle touch.
       Seeing the dark blush fill Bucks face and neck, told Orion where
       the centaur was going to indicate. He was as gentle as he could
       applying the salve to Buck's rear and genitals.
       "No moving on your own, okay? I'll be right back," Orion said
       softly and moved a blanket over the young centaur deer.
       He headed out of his cave home to get water and vegetarian food
       for Buck. He was back after a few minutes and helped Buck get a
       drink of water and got him settled back on the bed.
       "Try and sleep some so you can recover. I'll be here when you
       wake," he said and settled himself on the other side of the bed
       with a book to read.
       <-------->
       If Anarian wasn't so concerned about the ogre, he might have
       checked Senphonie out a bit more. There would always be time for
       that later on though.
       He was out of the river, he was rather shocked to see the
       gorgeous woman shift into a three tailed fox only moments later.
       Well, she was a great deal more than she'd appeared.
       "Lead the way foxy lady," he replied to her adorable squeak.
       The trio were soon at the fox woman's temple home, which was
       quite amazing for Anarian to see.
       "It's amazing here," he murmured before hearing the ogre's tired
       thank you.
       "You're welcome , just no dying on us, okay?" He said with a
       cheeky grin.
       ----fin----
       Soft noises of pain escaped Buck when Orion touched particularly
       sensitive areas. He relaxed back on the bed when his savior was
       done and nodded his head in obedience.
       He waited quietly for the white haired man to return. The man
       was only gone a few minutes but the centaur   was eager for the
       man's company. He gladly took the water and drank it down
       greedily before the man was laying him back again.
       "I... can eat when I wake up?" He questioned, snuggling closer
       to Orion. Soon, he was fast asleep.
       ---
       When the trio reached the temple, Tóa was in the process of
       tending to a wounded bird. He set the creature down in the
       freshly set up cage when he heard the footsteps and greeted his
       sister and the men with her.
       "The room is ready Sen, bring them in and get started, I'll be
       along shortly. Remember, clean and disinfect the wounds." He
       instructed his sister who led the elf and orge into the waiting
       room before she shifted into her human form and began to take
       vital signs of the injured man before cleaning up his wounds
       before the ancient kistune walked in.
       Once he had the man sedated, Tóa began his work, using a mix of
       mundane and magical medical practices along with tuneing. It
       took hours but soon he finished for the evening.
       "Senphonie, find them a place to stay. I will regain my energy
       and resume healing in the morning after breakfast." He told her
       getting a nod from her.
       "When your friend wakes up, I'll take you to a place you can
       stay until my brother is able to do another healing session."
       She explained, brushing hair out of Tempest's face before her
       eyes went to the water elf.
       ---fin---
       Orion kept his features smooth, though inwardly he felt
       like.going back to torture the man that hurt Buck.
       "Rest first, food later," he replied softly, and wrapped an arm
       around Buck letting the centaur rest his head on his chest.
       He watched Buck sleep for a little while, before he got into
       reading his book. His fingers gently caressed Buck's side
       lightly.
       Orion wasn't normally the handsy type, but he found he liked
       having Buck close. There was something about the young innocent
       centaur that he was just drawn to.
       -----
       Anarian followed after Senphonie, taking in the temple around
       him. He helped where he could, then waited and watched as the
       older kitsune worked on healing the ogre.
       Anarian was yawning and feeling overspent by the time the
       kitsune had finished his work. "I Wouldn't mind a corner to
       sleep in, it doesn't have to be fancy or anything." He said
       stretching a bit.
       "I don't mean to stick around too long. Got places to go and
       things to do. Just wanted to make sure this one was safe first,"
       he added watching as Senphonie brushed the hair out of the
       other's eyes.
       "So you and your brother, are healers then?" He asked curiously.
       ----fin----
       The dreams of the Centaur were riddled with recent memories of
       the past. He woke several hours later with a start and looked
       around frantically before finding himself snuggled up against
       Orion. The man still there.
       A breath of relief left him as he nuzzled the man. "Can... Can
       I... I eat now?" He questioned in a stutter, still quite shy but
       deeply enjoying the affection.
       ---
       "If you are in a rush to leave this place, I can offer you a bed
       for the night and you can leave your friend in my care."
       Senphonie suggested as she got a rolling bed and moved the orge
       onto it and wheeled him down several halls to where her own
       bedroom laid.
       "Well, my brother is a healer, I'm still in training. I've got
       another 6000 years at least before I'm anywhere close to his
       skill. This is my room, you can rest here for the night!" She
       suggested as she worked to get the injured man out of the
       wheeled bed and into the massive one she used when she slept. "I
       usually sleep in my vixen form when I sleep so there is plenty
       of room," she added.
       ---fin---
       Orion closed his book when he felt Buck awake with a start and
       hugged the centaur for a moment. He didn't mind the other
       nuzzling him. "You'll have to let go of you want me to grab the
       fruit I brought earlier. Are there any certain foods you might
       like?" He asked gently.
       After a few more moments, he slowly pulled away to get up and
       get the bowl of fruit and handed it over to Buck.
       He eyed the messed dirty hair and then went about getting
       together supplies to give Buck a bath. "When you're done eating,
       I'll get you cleaned up a bit more. Looks like you could use a
       bath,"
       ------
       "Well," Anarian flushed a bit. "I just met him today. He was
       hurt and asked me to help." He explained as he helped her move
       the sleeping ogre and then followed her through the temple
       halls.
       Anarian's eyes widened when Senphonie explained that she was
       still in training it would take 6000 yrs before she was as good
       as her brother. Her offer of staying in her room hag Anarian
       flush again.
       He moved to help transfer ogre into the bed and then eyed the
       bed and her, scratching his neck before asking her.
       "You sure your older brother's not going to skin me alive for
       being in your bed? If not, I don't mind. I just don't want to
       cause any drama or fighting,"
       -----
       The fight against the Kasilion was one of the more intense ones
       that Thesia and Sion had been in together. Coran had tried
       helping, but had been shoved out of the way by the scaled tail
       and gotten nearly knocked out when his head has hit the ground.
       Lilaetha let out a battle cry, launching herself up and I to the
       creatures back, getting a good hit in on the kasilion's  skull
       before it took off with her clinging to it's back and cursing.
       "Hold on Lilaetha!" Thesia yelled, pulling out her bow and
       arrows and getting the monster it's underbelly.
       A loud roar of pain came from the creature as it thrashed and
       knocked the night elf free. Sion raced after to catch the
       falling night elf before she could get hurt worse.
       "fucking hell," Thesia swore, pulling her blade out when the
       beast turned to attack again, letting out a bellow of rage.
       And then she was gasping as another dragon, three times the size
       of the beast appeared out of thin air and blocked the attack.
       *Back off beastie, unless you want to die,* a deep voice
       resonated, making the earth shake underneath them.
       Snips had been watching the others fighting, admiring their
       skills until he realized they might actually need his
       assistance.
       The Kasilion backed off, growling a bit before turning and
       fleeing from the huge earth dragon.
       Thesia and Lilaetha were gaping up at the huge dragon, unsure of
       what to do. They froze as the dragon turned to gently nudge
       Coran with his tail.
       *Relax, I mean you no harm. The elf boy will need help though.
       His head was hurt,*
       Thesia sheathed her blade and moved to gather Coran up in her
       arms. Sion moved to stand protectively next to her, his tail
       swishing agitatedly.
       "Thank you for your assistance ancient one," Lilaeth addressed
       the dragon, realizing the fact that it could speak meant it was
       one of the first dragons born.
       *Best get moving, the light is nearly gone,* Snips advised and
       then with a bit of difficulty shifted to his human form.
       Lilaetha couldn't help but gasp at the striking form he'd taken.
       "Right, I forget most don't have night vision like I do."
       ----fin----
       "I'm-I'm not too picky.... I... I really like sweet berries...."
       Buck answered as he reluctantly let go of the man as Orion
       pulled away and went to get the bowl of fruit for the centaur to
       eat before gathering other things.
       The young deer watched as he slowly ate the offered food before
       tilting his head at the idea of a bath. "A bath? I... don't
       think I've had one of those before..." He admitted, stuffing
       more fruit into his mouth. Soon it all being gone, prompting the
       centaur to attempt to get up again. It was almost as if he had
       forgotten about his broken leg until he managed to fully stand
       up and flinched to lift the offending leg, his other three
       keeping him upright.
       ---
       "You have a kind heart to help a stranger in distress. My
       brother isn't often one to turn to violence so I think your skin
       will be safe. " She said with a giggle before she sat on her bed
       to face the elf she was speaking with.
       "If you change your mind about staying, I can see about getting
       you your own dwelling here. This alcove is a pretty safe place."
       She added, finally getting a proper look at the strikingly
       handsome elf.
       -----
       Orion was sure to pick the tastiest berries from the tribes
       stores and brought them back to Buck.
       "Really? Well I'm sure you will enjoy having one. Probably best
       to have warm water and some soothing scents as well," he said
       more to himself.
       He was pulling out one of his shorter robes to put on buck after
       his bath and gathering a few items and turned around to see Buck
       attempting to stand up.
       "Careful, your leg isn't quite healed yet," he said gently and
       moved to lift Buck up in his arms again. "Best to keep your leg
       from moving right now,"
       Orion carried Buck and the supplies he'd gathered to the small
       cave that served as a bathhouse and started getting things
       ready.
       "Might be best to get in with you," he said and stripped off his
       clothes and then picked Buck back up and slowly walked down the
       steps into the slightly cool water.
       He reached out with one hand and let a surge of power from his
       core to heat up the water gradually. This caused the white lines
       of his constellation to appear on his chest and arms briefly.
       His eyes shone white for a moment before fading back to their
       normal blue.
       "Warm enough?" He asked, settling and keeping Buck across his
       lap and began to wash over the other's dirty body as gently as
       he could.
       Then he was working water and sandalwood scented soap into the
       other's hair to get it clean.
       ---------
       Anarian's face heated again at Senphonie's compliment. "It's
       what I was taught, kind of hard to not help those in need,* he
       explained.
       Her assurance and giggle at the thought of her brother being
       violent was a relief to the water elf. There had been a few
       close calls in the past with love interests' families. It was
       good to know he wasn't going to get skinned alive.
       Her offer of finding him a place to stay was quite tempting. He
       glanced at the ogre, wondering how long it might take the big
       guy to recover. "I could stay for a bit. The temple is quite
       old, and I'd love to see more of it. And well, I'd like to get
       to know you better too,"
       -----
       #Post#: 1463--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 4:17 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The blush returned to Buck's cheeks when the man hurried over to
       him before Orion's strong arms were picking the centaur up
       again. He didn't protest, but clung to Orion as if worried he
       was going to be dropped.
       His hooves didn't hit the ground again until Orion had brought
       him to the bathing area. His eyes went wide seeing the white
       haired God of a man strip out of his clothes. Too in shock to
       even made a sound at being picked up.
       The centaur shivered a little when they slowly got into the cool
       water. Then he saw something incredible. He watched in awe as
       Orion's eyes changed and his tattoos glowed like that, causing
       the water to heat up.
       "Plenty warm... how... how did you do... do that?" He
       questioned, the blush never leaving him and only growing darker
       as he was held in the man's lap as he washed Buck and even began
       to fuss with his hair. The centaur had never been so doted over.
       It made him feel all kinds of strange.
       ---
       "Well, seems you had a good teacher." Senphonie mused as she
       watched the water elf. A smile growing on her lips at the man's
       mention of potentially staying a bit to see the temple and get
       to know *her*. It got a blush to cross her cheeks at such a
       notion. "I wouldn't mind getting to know such a good hearted man
       better," she said as her grin grew. "Dinner should be soon, do
       you have anything you won't eat?" She asked as she stood,
       convinced the orge wouldn't keel over on them.
       ---fin---
       Orion caught the awed look on Buck's face and smiled at the
       question. "It's one of my abilities. I'm a celestial. A being
       that came from the stars. There are a handful of us scattered
       around this earth, some on others. I focused my internal heat to
       heat up the water. I'm good at being a hear source in the winter
       too," he joked.
       It took a bit of work to get Buck's hair and fur back to pure
       white. "There you look white as snow now," Orion said and then
       cleaned himself a bit before lifting Buck out of the water and
       dried him off gently before putting the robe on the centaur.
       He grabbed his own clothes back on and then carried Buck back to
       his room. "Would you like to talk a bit? If not I could read you
       something to pass the time." Orion offered.
       ------
       "My parents were excellent teachers," Anarian replied with a bit
       of a sad look. "They died awhile ago though. Kind of been on my
       own for over ten years now," he explained.
       Seeing the blush on Senphonie's fair skin gave him a bit of hope
       that she might actually be interested in him as well.
       When her words confirmed it, he smiled back at her. "Excellent,
       I'm happy to hear that. You're very kind hearted yourself."
       Her question about his specific diet had him rubbing his chin a
       bit, his bright eyes twinkling a bit. "Well I'm on a see food
       diet," he said. Then added quickly. "I see food and I eat it!"
       He grinned a bit at the joke. "No seriously, I will eat anything
       that's offered. I'm not picky in the slightest. Though I do have
       a bit of a sweet tooth," he admitted.
       "I should probably stay and keep an eye on the big fellow in
       case he wakes up. Then he'll have a familiar and friendly face
       to see," he said thoughtfully looking over the slumbering ogre.
       ---->
       With the darkness swiftly descending on them, Lilaeth led the
       group as quickly as she could through the sandy hills back to
       the caves where her mixed tribe lived.
       They were a few miles away when she motioned for the others to
       pause and moved to peer down at a group of wild dogs ripping
       into a body. Her nose wrinkled and she backed away when she
       realized it was a human body. A rather large one at that.
       "We're nearly there now," she told the others, eyeing Thesia who
       was worrying over Coran.
       "Our healer Toa will be able to help him." She reassured the
       jungle sentry.
       "I hope so," Thesia replied and climbed into Sion's back. At
       this point she knew she had to trust her mount's night vision
       over her limited vision.
       The party was met a few moments later by cloaked figures that
       were patrolling the area. Lilaeth  spoke with them, motioning to
       the others.
       The sentries let them pass, giving Lilaeth a slight nod. The
       night elf waved off the tribe members that started towards them
       once they got into the inhabitated part of the cave.
       "One need to get to Toa first, then you can meet them," she said
       simply before leading them to the temple.
       "Toa, Senphonie? I have a wounded elf that needs your
       assistance!" She called out as she pushed her way into the
       temple.
       Snips was eying the temple closely, taking in the columns,
       decorations and ruins that had been carved into the stone work.
       It was quite an old place, but not quite as old as the temple
       he'd resided in once.
       "They are here..aren't they?" Thesia asked as she slipped off of
       Sion's back, holding Coran to her chest.
       ----fin----
       Hearing Orion was from the stars, all he could think was he was
       in the arms of a God. He could only stare at the man while his
       savior worked rather hard to get all the dirt, grime, blood, and
       whatever else was trapped in his fur and hair. When the man was
       done, the centaur had never felt so clean.
       He couldn't help but look over his fur when he was dried off. He
       was quite distracted by that and Orion redressing himself that
       Buck made a surprised sound when he was picked up again. He had
       a feeling he was going to have to get used to such things.
       "I... would... like to... to know more... about you... m-maybe
       you could... tell me? I... I'm not... not very good... at... at
       talking..." the centaur stammered out.
       ---
       "I'm sorry to hear that... I lost my mother recently, thankfully
       I have Tóa to teach me now... maybe it would be good for you to
       stay around longer than a bit? It's hard being on your own." She
       said before her blush darkened a little at the man's happy
       response to her agreeing to get to know him better.
       Her head tilted curiously when Anarian said he was on a sea food
       diet before finishing his joke a moment later getting a proper
       laugh out of Senphonie. "Noted, I will see if I can't track down
       some sweets for you. Yes you stay here with your friend, I'll
       get food for the both of you." She told the man before she
       shifted before scurrying off.
       She would return about a half hour later with a basket stuffed
       with all kinds of foods, but cookies sitting right on top. "Miss
       Merryweather gave me cookies for you!" She announced as she
       shifted to her human form and put the large basket onto a table
       in the room. "Help yourself," She added.
       ---fin---
       Orion felt a little badly about having to lug Buck around so
       much. Maybe he should start earning the adorable centaur before
       picking him up? It was possible he was startling poor Buck when
       he just grabbed him like that.
       The centaur's request and and stammered words had him wonder if
       it had been a learned habit or if Buck had been born with the
       speech pattern.
       "Then I will tell you whatever it is you'd like to know. As for
       the way you talk, I might be able to help you with that. Have
       you always talked this way? Or did you start talking this way
       after your capture?"
       Orion settled back on his bed, arranging Bucks legs gently so
       his broken one was elevated.
       "You are quite... adorable Buck. Have you ever been kissed
       before?" He questioned curiously.
       ++++
       Anarian gave the kitsune an empathetic look when she told him
       about having recently lost her own mother. Her suggestion of
       staying longer had him wonder if she herself might feel a bit
       lonely. It if she just really wanted him to stay around longer.
       Either way, he couldn't just reject her idea outright.
       "I may just stay around for awhile. It does get lonely being on
       my own,"
       Her laugh at his joke had Anarian's grin widening a bit. It was
       good to know she had a sense of humor. Especially with how much
       he liked to crack jokes.
       "Thank you very much for your kindness and generosity
       Senphonie," he told her gratefully.
       Her quick shifting was a bit mesmerizing to watch, even if it
       happened in a blink of an eye.
       Once he was left alone with the recovering ogre, Anarian moved
       to peer down at the very masculine creature. "I hope you recover
       big guy, would be a shame if you didn't,"
       Anarian moved to sit close to the ogre on the bed, playing with
       the long strands of the other's hair while he waited for
       Senphonie to return.
       He perked up quite a bit when she returned with a huge basket
       and mentioned there being cookies as well. "Ooh they smell
       amazing!" He exclaimed and moved slowly to get up and began to
       feast on the food she'd brought. Three cookies, and many other
       delectable foods later he was quite full and feeling ready for a
       long nap.
       Anarian stretched out and then pulled off his boots before
       moving to lay out on the massive bed with a happy sigh. "Keep
       spoiling me like this and I'll never leave Senphonie," he
       murmured with a happy smile.
       ------
       Though there wasn't an answer, Lilaeth pressed further into the
       temple with the group following silently behind her. She paused
       to peer into different rooms before she came to the meditation
       room and found Toa inside.
       "Toa as much as I dislike to disturb you, I brought a young elf
       with a head injury that needs your healing touch," Lilaeth said
       in a rather urgent tone.
       Snips could sense the power in the kitsune, but made no comment
       as he glanced around the room. It felt far more relaxing than
       any space he'd found since he'd left his own temple.
       "We would be very appreciative if your assistance," he spoke in
       a faint whisper, not wanting to make the ground beneath the
       temple quake.
       Even in his human form, his voice held the power of moving the
       earth.
       Thesia was now growing tired from carrying and holding Coran and
       her arms shook a bit from holding him aloft. "Might...might I
       get a hand? I can't hold Coran much longer,"
       ----fin----
       The ogre tempest began to slowly come out of the asthesia. His
       eyes that was blurred focused on the cavern ceiling a bit before
       smelling food and hearing voices. He got up a bit to fast to
       feel the dizziness, his head turning to see an elf.. the one
       that saved him initially.. to a woman. His hand slowly went off
       his head as he blushed a bit realizing he was safe.. just by
       seeing her.
       He fell back where he laid to cover his eyes with an arm.
       The reason he ran before was because of a woman.. she seemed so
       innocent.. and he craved the connection he never had.
       He was seen as a freak of nature all his life.. with only a face
       a mother would love.. or so he felt. But at least- these two
       didn’t want to give him harm.
       He could smell the cookies as his stomach grumbled in a way as
       he blushed a bit at how loud that was.
       He peeked from under his arm at the small woman uncertain what
       to go with… than just saying.”thank you.. both for saving me.”
       He said.
       -----
       A smile came to Buck's lips when Orion said he would tell the
       centaur anything he wanted to know. The question that followed
       got a confused look for a moment, having to give the question
       some thought.
       It wasn't until the man had him settled on the bed that he
       finally answered. "It... it... it was.... after.... I... I was
       captured...." He managed to explain.
       The deer was relaxing against Orion, considering what the man
       had said about helping him to be caught off guard by the next
       question the God had.
       His cheeks turned a bright red at being called adorable before
       the question came getting him to behave quite shyly.
       "I um... well... no... I... I.... I don't think... I've... ever
       been kissed..." He admitted.
       ----
       "Don't they? I love her cookies, the best in the cavern. Also,
       noted, I will be sure to spoil you to the point you never
       leave," she teased before she saw a fast movement on the bed to
       realize the orge was waking.
       She rushed over at first but seeing he laid back down didn't
       feel the need to make him do anything. "How you feeling big guy?
       You are most welcome on the saving assist. I'm Senphonie, this
       is my room. Once you aren't in critical condition we can look at
       moving you to your own room if you like," she told the man, her
       friendly bubbly personality showing itself.
       ---
       The sound of the chamber door to the meditation area opening had
       Tóa sigh. He knew there would be a third. He had hoped the bird
       counted to the universe but clearly it didn't.
       "Calm my child, bring me the boy." The ancient kitsune
       instructed, taking the teen into his arms and brought him to a
       medical room to begin using a *lot* of magic to heal the elf
       child. Depleting himself enough that he needing to take a seat
       when he was done to catch his breath.
       "He should be okay. I can do another session on him in the
       morning and he will be fine," he told the worried that gathered.
       "He will be safe in the temple, I cab show you where you can
       stay for the night," he suggested.
       ---fin---
       #Post#: 1464--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 4:21 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The water elf grinned Senphonie when she promised to spoil him.
       "I won't argue about being spoiled, especially if it's you," he
       flirted back with a wink.
       Feeling the bed shift and seeing the kitsune rush over to check
       on the ogre brought a wave of relief. "You're quite welcome big
       lug," he replied once Senphonie was done fussing over the guy.
       "Why were those hunters after you? They seemed kind of pissed,"
       he commented and then got up to grab the basket of food and
       moved to sit down next to the ogre and offered one of the
       cookies to the ogre.
       "I'm Anarian, but feel free to call me Rian if you want,"
       ------>
       Buck's answer led Orion to believe that the stammering was a
       learned nervous tic. It was quite possible he could help Buck
       learn how to get free of it. It'd take a lot of patience, but
       that was one of his strong suites.
       "I may be able to help you get over it, if you're open to a bit
       of work,"
       Seeing Buck's reaction and the red filling his cheeks had Orion
       smile a bit. While he knew he was probably taking things too
       fast, he had the feeling that the sooner Buck relaxed and
       trusted him the centaur's stammer would disappear. That and
       those adorable lips were quite tempting.
       "May I kiss you then?" He asked.
       -------
       With some help from Lillaeth, Thesia carried Coran over to the
       very tall white haired man. She finally breathed a sigh of
       relief following the statuesque calm man into another room and
       watched as he worked tirelessly to heal Coran.
       "Thank you so much for your help," Thesia said moving to sit
       next to the now slumbering young elf. "If you don't mind, Sion
       and I will stay with Coran tonight." She insisted.
       The huge panther moved to sit down near her feet and nudged her
       leg with his head.
       Snips took in how exhausted the kitsune looked and moved in
       closer to steady him with a gentle hand.
       "You look like you may need some attending to next if you're not
       more careful," he whispered. "I'd talk louder, but I fear my
       voice may damage your beautiful temple,"
       Lillaeth eyed the others, realizing they weren't planning on
       going anywhere. "I'll be by in the morning to check on everyone.
       I should go find My brother Orion and let him know I'm okay,"
       she said and then slipped away.
       ------fin-----
       “Still hurting..” said the half ogre. “But okay..” he finished.
       His head turned to the elf and looked away.”thought someone
       wanted to be with me- turns out it was a trap..there been people
       vanishing near where I lived.. and they assumed it was me. “ he
       sighed.
       He slowly reached out with reluctance. To take it and nibble.
       “Why.. did you help me?” He asked.
       ---
       "Hopefully my brother can get more progress on your healing in
       the morning. I'm, so sorry someone tricked you in such a
       manner... playing with the heart is so low..." the vixen huffed,
       though her smile returned seeing the man eat.
       "Helping others is kind of what my brother and I do, I'm a
       priestess in training at the moment. I can probably give you
       something for the pain if you want it," Senphonie said sweetly,
       worry in her eyes over the ogre.
       ---
       "R..really? You... you think it... it can get better?" Buck
       questioned before his eyes widened at the celestial's next
       question. "Y...you... you... you want... to... kiss me?" He
       questioned going quite red in the face. "I um.... I... I
       think... I... I would...like that..." the centaur stammered out,
       the idea of being kissed by a God making him quite nervous,
       though he couldn't think of anything he wanted more in that
       moment.
       ---
       "No need to thank me, you are welcome to stay with the child. I
       am the high priest Tóa, have you had dinner yet?" The kitsune
       questioned with a kind smile before his attention was drawn to
       the dragon who steaded him.
       It had been a *very* long time since he Tóa had met a being
       older than himself. The dragon seeped of power.
       "You concern is quite kind, thank you, I try and keep the temple
       up as best I can. Still... show shows the aches of time... I
       shall fetch my sister to attend to dinner, if that will ease
       your mind." He mused before looking at Lillaeth. "Your brother
       may have company, I believe he has taken in a centaur of sorts."
       He warned before moving to go find his sister, in her room, with
       the two men from before. A frown settled on his lips of
       disapproval, but said nothing of it.
       "Senphonie, we have guests who need attending, I believe dinner
       is in order." He told the young kitsune who was quickly on her
       feet and giving her brother a bow. "Of course, I'll be right
       back guys. She told the pair before hurrying off to follow her
       brother's orders.
       With this task taken care of, Tóa finally headed back towards
       his room with the aid of the nameless dragon.
       ----
       Anarian couldn't help shake his head at Tempest being so
       misjudged. There were far too many prejudiced against others
       because of their race.
       "That sucks," he murmured giving the ogre a sympathetic look.
       He waited for Senphonie to finish talking and looked a bit
       impressed when she mentioned being a priestess in training.
       "As for me, it's kind of just in my nature. It's what my parents
       taught me, how they raised me. I choose to not judge others on
       what race they happen to be, but the character they have,"
       When Tempest had finished the cookie, he offered the ogre more
       food.
       Anarian nearly jumped out of his skin when the Toa's voice came
       out of nowhere. He turned, gulping a bit seeing the look on the
       man's face.
       "S-see you later Senphonie," he called after her as she hurried
       off.
       ------
       Orion smiled at Buck's surprised look. "I do think it's
       possible. I think it's something that happened because you were
       captured and treated the way you were."
       He smiled gently at Buck's shocked look an question about him
       wanting to kiss him before saying he would like it.
       Orion moved to cup Buck's face in his large hands and leaned in
       to kiss the centaur softly and sweetly.  The tender lips under
       his were far sweeter than he'd imagined.
       "You taste so good," he murmured and leaned in to kiss Buck
       again.
       ------
       Thesia shook her head at the question. "We had a deer we caught,
       but think we lost that in the fight with the Kasilion," she
       sighed. "We do have supplies too. No need to fuss over us," she
       insisted and scratched Sion behind his ears.
       Snips gave a knowing nod at Toa, knowing that keeping a temple
       intact over a long lifetime was a rather arduous chore. He
       paused, a look of interest filling his eyes at the talk of a
       centaur having been found.
       Lillaeth's eyebrows shot up at the news. "Well it's a good thing
       I have my own cave now. I'll wait to big him until morning
       then.Thanks for heads up Toa," she said before heading off to
       get cleaned up.
       Snips followed a few steps behind Toa, waiting until the kitsune
       had passed on the news of other guests and dinner needing to be
       made to his younger sister.
       Though he didn't see the other two in the room, he could feel
       the bit if magic the two possessed. He moved in closer to help
       the worn out Toa get to his quarters.
       "My name is long and quite hard to pronounce for most, so feel
       free to call me Snips," he leaned in to whisper into the other's
       ear.
       "Would you like a hand getting cleaned up a bit? And I think a
       rest would do you some good. I'll wake you for dinner,"
       -----
       #Post#: 1465--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 4:30 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The ogre gave a soft smile hearing the bell of a voice. “I
       wouldn’t mind that..” he said he listened to the elf speak.”If
       there would be others more like you.. I wouldn’t have to run.”
       He said as he took whatever he needed for pain.. till he saw the
       brother and the disapproving face.
       His own fell a little as he nibbled at the food. the soft bell
       of a voice now gone, while he did feel comfort with the elf.
       There was something gentle about the woman.
       He gave a deep sigh as he looked at the elf a little.
       ----
       It didn't take Senphonie very long to locate their new guests
       and figure out what they could eat. She secured a fresh kill
       that had been butchered and even cooked some of the meat for the
       woman along with fruits and veggies from her garden.
       "I hope this is satisfactory for your dinner. If you need
       anything else, I will be just down the hall in my room." She
       told the woman who was staying with the injured elf.
       Once that task was completed, she went to check on her brother
       to find the door not only closed, but locked, making her puzzled
       but figured he didn't want to be disturbed so she left his meal
       at the door before she headed back to her own room with some of
       the cooked meat.
       "Iiiim back, annnnnd I brought some fresh meat I just cooked.
       Hope you two didn't miss me too much," she chimed as she sat on
       her bed and put the plate of meat within reach as she took a
       fruit from the previous basket to much on.
       "You two should get some rest." She added as she munched.
       ---
       It seemed Buck's question was answered by Orion gently taking
       the centaur's face into his hands getting the blush on his
       cheeks to darken even more. Then the god's lips were on his own
       and Buck practically melted into the sweet kiss.
       With the praise from Orion before the man went in for a second
       kiss, Buck was wrapping his arms around the man's neck as his
       whole body reacted to the first positive attention he had gotten
       in as long as he could remember. Soft noises escaping the deer
       as the kiss got deeper.
       ---
       It was on the way to the kitsune's bedroom that the dragon moved
       back close to aid Tóa in getting back to his room, the door
       closing behind them when they entered. The way Snips whispered
       in his ear had the ancient Kitsune shivering with desire, though
       he kept such thoughts to himself.
       "I suppose it would be rude to reject such a generous offer from
       such a gorgeous man..." Tóa said with a tinge of a blush on his
       cheeks as he led the man to the private bathing area he had for
       himself.
       The space was a small inclosed waterfall with a small pool to
       soak in. A discovery the kistune had made millenia ago. He
       pulled away from the dragon and untied his belts and other
       ornaments he wore before finally letting his kimono drop before
       slowly entering the water and letting out a pleased sigh when he
       sunk into the magically warmed waters.
       His gaze went to the dragon once he was settled, half wondering
       if the man would actually join him.
       -+--
       Anarian shifted a bit on the bed once Senphonie left, inching a
       bit closer to Tempest and laid in his side to look over at the
       bigger orc.
       "What are you, like 7 feet tall? Does it get cold up there?" He
       joked a bit, trying to lighten the other's mood a bit.
       "All joking aside, I always did have a thing for handsome, dark
       haired and tall guys," he said, deciding he might as well flirt
       a little bit.
       He winked at the orc and smiled at him. "Of course if you're not
       into guys let me know now and I'll lay off the flirting. I'll
       flirt all day long if you let me,"
       It seemed their time alone flew by rather quickly and Senphonie
       was back sounding quite adorable as she spoiled them both even
       more, handing over fresh cooked meat and
       then insisted they get some rest.
       Anarian sat up to help himself to the meat, letting out a very
       pleased moan at the taste. "This is soo good! Thank you Seni. I
       missed you, though I did get some quality time flirting with
       Tempest. Ahh,  I suppose you should both know, I flirt with
       equally with both genders. I find both of you quite attractive,"
       he said winking at them.
       "I'll sleep after eating. But tomorrow, let me help you cook
       breakfast. I insist on that,"
       ------->
       Thesia glanced up at the entry of the young faced female. She
       relaxed immediately at the kind tone the other spoke with
       "Thank you very much for your generosity and hosting us. This
       looks great," Thesia replied with a tired smile. "We should be
       fine for the evening. Thank you again,"
       Once the other left, Thesia feasted on the food, sharing parts
       of the meat with Sion.
       Coran slept through the meal, though managed to take down a bit
       of water when Thesia out a cup to his lips.
       Once she'd finished eating, Thesia cleaned up and moved to lay
       across the end of the bed. Sion moved to lay by the he doorway,
       his gold eyes glowing as he kept guard of his partner and the
       young elf.
       ----->
       Snips felt the kitsune shiver in reaction to his whispering, and
       grinned slightly in amusement.
       It was quite likely the priest had made a vow of celibacy when
       he'd built the temple. Not that he was about to ask about it
       though.
       There had been a time that Snips had thought he could live a
       celebrate life, several thousands of years before. That had been
       a rather short lived pact.
       He chuckled lightly, careful to not be too loud. The ground
       rumbled a bit in response and Snips closed his mouth tightly
       until his amusement died down.
       "Oh I'm gorgeous?" He whispered back. "I guess that makes you
       the beauty,"
       Snips was soon admiring the waterfall and its soothing sound. He
       slowly inhaled the sweet scented water, watching as Toa slowly
       stripped down.
       "I was right, you are a beautiful man," he purred in a low
       whisper.
       Once he had Toa's golden gaze on him, Snips began undressing out
       of his short hansu top and green pants, setting them carefully
       down. He slowly pulled off his flower and leaf crown to set on
       top and then moved to slip into the water just as slowly as Toa
       had.
       His human body had various scars from the battles, and
       skirmishes he'd been in over his long life. Plus there were a
       few runes that marked his legs and arms.
       "Well Toa, shall I help you with your back first?" He asked in a
       soft whisper, brushing his fingertips over the other's shoulder
       and chest as he circled around the kitsune.
       ----->
       Orion was quite pleased with Buck's response and moved his hands
       to trail gently down the centaur's sides before he slide them
       over the other's human back. Their lips continued moving
       together, kissing and making out more passionately the longer
       they went at it.
       Orion finally pulled away just enough to let them both catch
       their breath, and panted for a moment.
       "I think I could kiss you all night if we kept this up," he
       murmured, his eyes lighting up, showing the desire he was
       feeling towards Buck.
       "Am I coming on too strong?" He asked, suddenly wondering if he
       might be taking advantage of the young centaur. He gently cupped
       the others face, looking at him rather intently. "I don't want
       you to feel as though you have to do anything you don't want
       to."
       ----fin----
       The orc listened to the elf talk and flirt to blush. Course it
       seemed this elf was upfront and abrasive- not that he minded in
       the least- someone that spoke their mind without much care- felt
       safe,
       “I don’t mind..” he said as he chattered a little of where he
       lived- his parents and their tragic end by some small minded
       people.
       Their relaxing conversation was interrupted by the bell like
       voice as he smelled the food.
       He smiled and took the meat to sniff it some before tasting it.
       Out of caution he waited for a small time.. and when he didn’t
       feel funny- did he begin to really eat. “Really good.” He said
       simply. “I’ll rest… if you stay.” Said the orc with a
       face.”just.. you feel safe.” He admitted. His speech only broken
       due to the lack of really communicating- he blushed a bit hoping
       he did sound too funny in how he spoke.It wasn't like he was
       raised by beasts.. he had his parents till he was roughly a
       preteen.
       His thoughts were brought  out by the elf being upfront and cut
       and dry that made him smile. This attitude - felt refreshing.
       He heard about the elf wanting to help with breakfast and he
       said again.”I want to repay.” He said and made a serious
       face.”when recovered.” He added. His eyes fastened on the
       kitsune face.. observing her delicate features forming an
       expression.
       “Beautiful..” he said his eyes softening till he realized he
       said it out loud and blushed to look down.”sorry!”
       ——
       Sounds of the brush bristling was more than apparent before a
       man would fly out. The white haired man was on the run yet
       again. In his robe a baby bird he had taken. It couldn’t be
       helped..he felt as much of a caged bird as the small one. His
       feet slid on the dirt as he almost wiped out. He cursed the
       robes he wore, as he stripped off the outer wear. He kept the
       one he wore inside often that had the sleeves cut off. He
       checked on the baby bird that laid inside a makeshift pocket to
       sigh with relief.
       “Good thing your okay gale…” he said to pet the thing before
       sliding further down the hiding place to roll back into a
       hole..or what seemed like it. He stayed quiet as he heard them
       talking.
       “Damn! He got away..” Said one as he covered his mouth…afraid
       his breathing would betray him…the sounds of the jungle clear
       and apparent with the birds chirping.
       “Wait…what’s this?…guess our prince is stripping..” he heard the
       vile tone of one as another chuckled.”Could give him a little
       fun if he’s willing to strip… course…punishment for running..”
       said another.
       He heard the footsteps fade…and it sounded as if they left. His
       senses were on full alert as he just waited. His breath shook
       out as he moved slowly to peek from his hiding place..realizing
       the bush was placed so well..was why they didn’t think to look
       that direction. He saw no one in the direction he heard them go.
       His mouth made a fine line of stress before he’d take off again
       rushing.
       Who would of thought his attempt to leave the caravan for his
       own life…turn into this? He could hear his older sister
       chastising him…and the younger one worrying or fussing over him.
       He closed his eyes tightly…almost wishing he hadn’t decided to
       go off like this…it was against his nature nonetheless.
       The cautious prince…he was called. A coward that would run at
       the very sight of danger. His tears started to well up in a way
       he didn’t expect.
       Was it so bad to be scared? He wondered. Why was he born into a
       life he just wasn’t equipped for? His heart hurt for the family
       he left behind..his two sisters were the only ones that
       understood…On top of it he was hiding the fact he was gay. He
       just couldn’t ever bring himself to the idea of laying with a
       woman even if it was for a child. He wiped his eyes as he rushed
       off…his dream of traveling and adventure having a sour start….He
       hoped one day he’d truly be able. to be free…free as the wind
       ..and the animals that scurried about.
       ——-
       Nilan woke up from her slumber.. the morning brought on by the
       noises of someone rushing by. The girl who slept in the small
       cave put her hand on her brothers mouth. They waited silently..
       till feet had passed to relax. The two had been careful on their
       travels since they left the sea.. their aim?  To make their way
       back to the fabled oasis of Eden.. she still didn’t quite
       understand the book Azhar had left in her care. To know such a
       place in the desert. Of course his note told her to find someone
       that bore the namesake of the hidden place- a refuge for those
       that needed rest.. supposedly was also a resting place for their
       kind.
       On their person they bore their parents masks. nilan’s fathers
       on her arm.. and ishan hold their mothers on his right.
       They intended to bury them on the large apple tree- was said to
       bore any sort of apple.. not just one. It was known as the tree
       of knowledge for terranian kind.
       A gentle huff came as she blew her hair out of her face as the
       two gathered their things in their packs, her brother slinging
       his on.. while hers fastened on her back with her belt. She ran
       her fingers over her green and blue stones as she spaced some
       before her brother gave a soft nudge drawing her out.
       The two took off, their feet flying some till they made it to
       the top of a tree. The soft breeze wafted by the two as Ishan
       sighed.”we really going in that dry land?” He asked as he didn’t
       believe what they were looking for existed anymore.. it was
       believed it was just a shadow of its former self.
       Nilan moved her head to the side.”of course we are.. and Azhar
       did say we were suppose to meet someone with the hair color of
       an apple.. and our own kind.. “ said the taller woman.
       Ishan sighed deeply again.”can we at *least* get a few bananas
       for breakfast?” He asked almost whining as her head shifted to
       the side, her masked eyes taking in her brother that had
       squatted on his legs practically pouting.
       >>>>
       ^^^^
       “Sure sure.. we can get some- once we hit the desert line it’ll
       be dried food and rationing water.. it will be different from
       tuning at the sea.” Said Nilan with a sigh. “I did take time to
       take some nuts too along the way so we should be okay food
       wise..” said the woman contemplating on what else she could have
       missed before their big travel.
       She rubbed her neck reflexively as Ishan turned his own head,
       his messy golden hair a stark contrast to his sisters.. the two
       were like night and day.. “stop stressing- your gonna give
       yourself a headache!” Said the man with a huff before he went to
       fall forward- his body righting itself on the drop down to land.
       Nilan shook her head to peer around to notice a tree and a good
       bushel of bananas.”hey over there!” She called out.. before
       doing the same movements as her brother.
       Once they got there did she check it found the few ripe ones
       before the two began their walk toward where the desert would
       meet the jungle.
       The sounds of the beasts hunting.. and birds chirping filling
       their ears. They knew soon enough it would be a difference in
       the desert.
       Nilan took a banana with her brother making a small face to let
       it go. Ishan peeled another as they stopped for a little as his
       sister took out her note to read a bit of it.”think it says we
       need to find a cave- some big caravan of people being there I
       guess?…” mused the terranian woman.”let’s see how accurate he is
       this time.” She said with a tilt of her head.
       Ishan chuckled.”remember when he predicted about Mina? That
       she’d end up pregnant by the fall?”
       His sister chuckled.”yeah it ended up being just a really windy
       spring.” Said the girl with a chuckle of her own as the two went
       along.
       -----
       A look of surprise came to Senphonie's eyes as she listened to
       the two men. Blushing at the praise of her food. She noted the
       caution the orge still had but smiled wide when he really dug
       in.
       She was blushing even more at the elf so openly announcing his
       attraction to them *both* the Orge seeming to smile in agreement
       before calling her beautiful and apologizing.
       "Of course I will stay. I um... don't mind the flirting..." She
       said as he cheeks darkened so much she could barely stand how
       flustered she was.
       "Eat, then rest," she told the two before she shifted into her
       fox form and jumped onto the bed and sat to watch the two, her
       white fur hiding her blushing cheeks.
       ---
       The kissing continued to get more passionate and intimate as
       Orion's hand's roamed Buck's human half the longer they made
       out. When the kiss eventually broke, the centaur was panting and
       feeling *quite* needy. The blush returning to his cheeks when
       Orion claimed he could keep this up all night.
       Then it seemed the man of the stars got concerned. Worrying over
       if he was moving to fast it seemed. The blush on Buck's cheeks
       intensified at the man once again cupping his cheeks to reassure
       the deer he could say no.
       "I... I don't think you... you are coming on too strong...
       you.... make.... me... me feel... safe... and... and wanted...."
       Buck admitted shyly.
       ---
       It felt like Snips had cast a spell over Tóa, from the sheer
       display of power just from the dragon's laugh to the scars
       marking his body. The man was the picture of grace as he watched
       the dragon undress and tease his way into the water.
       Then, the dragon's fingers grazed over his shoulder as Snips
       moved to be behind him. "Y...." He started but realize his
       response would be stammered and incomposed. He took a moment to
       still his flaming cheeks before trying again. "Yes, I would
       appreciate the help...." He said as he let his eyes close
       feeling the dragon's hands on his body. His mind going to places
       he had long forgotten about.
       -------
       Anarian rather liked seeing the orc's reactions to his flirting.
       In fact it made him admire Tempest even more when he flushed so
       brightly.
       Getting to know more about Tempest, and sharing some of his own
       life showed him that that their lives weren't all that
       different.
       Anarian hid a smile behind the food he was eating at Tempest
       telling Senphonie that she made him feel safe. "Quite true, she
       does have a very soothing presence," he agreed. "And you are
       beautiful," he agreed with Tempest.
       Anarian had the feeling his flirting might be a bit strong for
       Tempest and Senphonie. "Will do!" He agreed with her urging them
       to eat and then rest.
       She was then suddenly in her fox form which he couldn't help but
       admire. "I have to say, you make a very cute fox. I'll stop with
       the flirting once I fall asleep," he assured with a light laugh.
       Once he and Tempest finished eating, he moved the dish off the
       bed and removed his boots before laying out on the bed with a
       happy sigh.
       "It's been so long since I've slept in a proper bed. Tempest,
       I'll apologize now if you wake up to me cuddling with you. Kind
       of a habit of mine," Anarian said with a loud yawn and moved to
       lay on his side.
       ------>
       Buck's soft panting and the dark blushing cheeks made Orion a
       bit worried he had pushed the other too far. Until Buck replied,
       insisted that wasn't the case.
       "I should let you rest and recover a bit more. If you want to
       try things more after your leg is healed, we can do that," he
       replied and gently caressed Buck's neck and leaned in to kiss
       him once more on the lips. "Can I get you anything or help you
       with anything before we turn in for bed?"
       -----
       
       Snips' eyes darkened a bit at the kitsune's unwavering look, his
       mouth rising into a grin. It wasn't too surprising that he'd
       made the kitsune a bit flustered. He'd had ages to perfect the
       art of flirting.
       Not that he'd force Toa into doing something he didn't want.
       "Then allow me to get you relaxed and super clean," he purred in
       his whispery voice.
       He moved closer to reach around Toa to grab the handmade soap to
       start cleaning the other up.
       "You have such a gorgeous body," he murmured, leaning in to
       place his lips on the other's neck.
       His hands reached around slowly and slide up Toa's abdomen and
       chest and pulled the kitsune closer. Their bodies fit together
       as if made for one another. "What a perfect fit," Snips
       whispered and angled Toa's neck to nibble on it. "Care to find
       out just how well we'd fit together?" He asked in a lustful
       whisper and bit Toa's ear a bit more roughly.
       +-----
       Blue's eyes swept the forest looking for signs of the runaway
       prince. He'd just arrived to pay the traffickers for his boss,
       the captain of a pirate ship. He's heard of the young man via
       their contact with the group and wanted the young prince for
       some political game or something of that sort.
       Blue rolled his eyes at the traffickers crude comments of using
       the prince for a bit of fun. "You touch one hair on his head and
       I'll take your hands and then gut you," he threatened in a low
       growl. "The captain won't like his prize being sullied by the
       likes of you,"
       Blue's companions, two very bulky Viking like men shot glares at
       the traffickers, their hands on their cutlasses as if daring
       then to try anything.
       Blue motioned the men to head in one direction and then waited,
       hiding himself silently. He was certain that the prince was
       hiding quite close.
       He didn't have to wait long for the white haired prince to pop
       up and rush off through the forest. Blue grimaced, wishing there
       was another way to get in favor with the blackhearted Captain.
       He hated having to drag the young prince to the shapeshifter,
       but there wasn't any other option. Those he worked for had
       insisted he do whatever it took.
       Blue caught up with the fleeing Prince when the other's hair got
       caught in some branches.
       "Don't move," he ordered, grabbing the other's arm and then cut
       the caught hair off. Before Shu could try anything, he had bound
       his arms and feet together and tossed him over his shoulder.
       "Did you really think you were going to get away?" He asked,
       holding the others waist a but tightly.
       ----
       Katsu has been aware of the traffickers and the pirates working
       together for awhile now. Though he was quite stunned to see a
       rather recognizable white haired man fleeing..well attempting to
       flee from the mixed group of traffickers and pirates.
       "What is he doing here?" He mused, his eyes flashing with worry
       as he waited a moment to follow.
       It was a good thing he waited too. A pirate came from behind a
       shadowed tree to slowly stalk after the lost Prince.
       Katsu cursed internally and slowly stalked, shaking his head. It
       seemed the man hadn't considered that an oriol might overtake
       the preying  mantis.
       Katsu readied himself, waiting until the pirate thought he'd
       safely recaptured Shu, and then slipped out to confront the man,
       his blade silently sliding out as he barred the path in front of
       him.
       "Unhand the Prince, or die," Katsu said coldly his eyes now
       small slits as cold fury filled him.
       Blue froze at the sight of the Japanese warrior standing in
       front of him. The threat had him pause for a moment. "Fine, I'll
       unhand him," he replied easily and swung Shu off his shoulder
       and shoved him at the man.
       Then he pulled his own blade and went in to attack. Katsu swore,
       completely surprised by the quick thinking of the pirate, and
       managed to cut Shu's tied ankles apart before catching the
       other's blade with his own.
       "Quick your majesty, run! Get as far away as you can! I'll take
       care of this one!" He called to Shu urgently.
       Blue laughed and shoved the warrior back using his full weight
       against him. "You can certainly try, but you'll fail," he
       taunted.
       The two were soon immersed in a head on attack, using every bit
       of their skills. When Katsu realized just how evenly they were
       matched, he finally drew on his tuning abilities and hit the
       pirate with a lightning strike in his left eye.
       Blue let out a cry of pain and clutched his face at the sudden
       flash of white and blue that had half blinded him.
       "What the fuck? You one of those weird magic tuner people?"
       Katsu paused his attack, a stunned look on his face that the
       pirate had survived a direct lightning strike from him. Normal
       people died from such a strike.
       "You might consider that you're one of those weird magic
       people," Katsu replied, eyeing the man a bit closely.
       Blue glanced up, the struck eye glowing a rather bright blue and
       then blinked. "What's with all the colors drowning you? What the
       hell did you do to me?"
       "Could be you're seeing my aura. I really don't know, most
       people to die when I hit them with lightning," Katsu said dryly.
       The sound of lumbering feet racing towards them had Katsu
       cursing and using his meager wind tuning to get away quickly and
       start searching for Shu as best as he could.
       Blue sighed and gently touched the scar that had formed through
       his eyelid. "It still fucking hurts,"  he complained  and then
       ordered the others to keep looking for Shu and that he was fine.
       ----fin----
       #Post#: 1466--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 4:35 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Tempest gave a chuckle.”Just remember I’m healing.” He told the
       elf before he felt drowsy. First time he ever felt safe.. and
       closed his eyes.
       ———
       Shu ran for his life.. or felt like it. A flag waving ever
       harder when his hair got caught. A voice made him freeze as he
       felt his arm grabbed.”lemme go!” He said as he felt his hair cut
       free falling about his face messily. After behind bound he
       panicked when he saw the shoulder.”no wait!” Flew out as he
       managed to keep himself from going over. He was worried more
       about the baby bird in his pocket- than his capture. He was
       about to ask to be let down and he’d listen till a voice came
       out.
       Katsu seemed to bring relief. But before he could think, he was
       shoved back to be caught he stumbled once his legs were free and
       checking inside his shirt.
       He heard the man tell him to run, and run he did. His feet
       flying as he checked on Gale to let a breath out.
       As he went he almost ran into a blonde teen, that had finished
       doing business and pulled his pants.. only to be greeted by a
       pair of men .”NILAN!” Screamed the teen to be snatched with the
       man. Being gagged to be roughly handled as he witnessed the one
       that found blue’s warnings unfounded to see a man getting
       violated in a way  to hear him choke a little.
       as he was told.”scream again that will be you.”
       Nilan who was a bit of a ways away heard her name screamed to
       take off, only to see Ishan, and a white haired disheveled man
       behind.”no..” Nilan said softly as she saw the man turning
       back.”I’ll find the last one- has to be another- get those two
       back.” He said to shift back.
       Nilan felt herself being to stress as she sunk back to think.
       She didn’t have long as the man showed his face.”well well..”
       she heard.”a woman too.” Her hands brought her daggers up.
       Seeing how the vile man lick his lips as he seemed to drink in
       her form.
       She didn’t hesitate to attack intending to knock out the man and
       get information. Once she did she would figure out how to save
       her brother. >>
       ^^^
       “Hold on for me.. Ishan..” she said as blade clashed blade. The
       location felt primed for what she needed to do as her tuning
       kicked in.. using vines to string up the man. Struggling to try
       to bring him down.
       --+---
       The young Kitsune watched over the two men as they fell asleep.
       Their sweet words to her floating around in her mind. When one
       of the men went to grab her in his sleep, she instctivly leapt
       away and landed silently on the floor.
       She watched the pair from there for a long while before she
       yawned, tired from a busy day. When she was sure they were
       asleep, Senphonie snuck off the check on everything and make
       sure there were no late night visitors, returning to curl up on
       the rug on the floor and easily fell asleep.
       ---
       "Okay.... I... I don't.... mind... w... waiting...." Buck
       stammered out, his eyes closing in that sweet kiss. "I... I
       don't need...Need anything.... You... You....you have fussed
       over... over me enough...." Buck answered, snuggling against his
       rescuer before slowly falling asleep in his arms.
       ---
       The whispered words of the dragon had Tòa about come undone
       right there. The hands on his body and even the way they were
       pressed together had the Kitsune incurably hard. In that moment
       he cursed his vow of celibacy. Especially when Snips teased his
       neck and ear like that. A shiver of want running through him at
       the lust filled suggestion of seeing how well they fit together.
       Gods did he want that.
       It was hard to maintain resolve with such temptation. Tóa took
       in a shaky breath. "Gods know I want that... but... I've... I've
       taken a vow of... of celibacy...." the holy man admitted as
       another shiver of want ran through him. His body and mouth
       saying two *very* different things as he couldn't help but press
       into the affection.
       ---
       It had been the longest Tariq had been away from home. He had
       been right that he could elude his parents for longer, he was
       wrong about being able to handle it. He was almost instantly
       captured. That was several months ago and Tariq had just been
       captured after his 11th escape attempt in a week.
       The moment they have everyone strung up and shackled to the back
       wall. Tariq was relieved of his pants. "Ganna enjoy punishing
       you"
       The trafficker growled. "11, escapes, I recon that means ya need
       11 good dickings and then maybe a proper beating. Then maybe you
       will learn your lesson." The man said darkly before he got the
       man's legs pinned back before he started fucking the jungle man
       without any preparation. When he finished, he got another
       trafficker to take over. By the 4th one, his body started acting
       like it liked what was happening as he was filled again and
       again.
       When he had taken several of the men and took and untold amount
       of loads, he was then redressed, and beaten to a pulp, being
       left to lay on the floor as a warning to the other slaves.
       --fin--
       Anarian gave Tempest a sleepy smile. "I know, I'll be gentle,"
       he murmured. He was soon sleeping quite soundly. Though much
       like he had warned, he moved to try and cuddle with Senphonie.
       When she moved, his sleeping body moved to curl into Tempest and
       then stayed there the entire night.
       ------
       Orion relaxed giving Buck a gentle smile. "I like taking care of
       you Buck. That's not going to change,"
       Orion carefully and slowly moved the sleepy centaur around so he
       could lay back. He watched Buck slumber for a little while
       before his own eyes finally shut as sleep found him.
       The sound of footsteps has him stirring a little while later.
       His eyes opened to spy Lillaeth had finally returned and was
       looking in on him.
       "Good to see you're in one piece." He murmured softly so not to
       wake Buck.
       "Yeah, met some interesting new people, and a dragon, fought a
       Kasilion too. I see you found a cutie for yourself," Lillaeth
       teased a little.
       Orion looked quite intrigued by her adventures. "We can talk
       more in the morning and I'll introduce you two then,"
       -------
       Snip's hands wandered back down, feeling just how hard his
       attention and words had made Toa. "Mm already so hard for me,"
       The shiver that ran through the other's body had him licking and
       nibbling on the kitsune's ear.
       Snips listened to the kitsune's shaky words and clicked his
       tongue.
       "What a travesty to force this perfect body to never get such
       pleasure. You're so hard, so close, perhaps I could at *least*
       help you find some release?"
       Snips hands began to slowly move over Toa's length and he
       pressed in even closer. "I've been looking and searching for
       more lifetimes than most have seen to find one that fits me so
       perfectly," he whispered. "let me erase celibacy from your
       vocabulary, you won't regret it,"
       -----
       It was the youthful scream that had Blue moving quickly to the
       source cursing under his breath. He got there just in time to
       see Shu's clothes in disarray and his eyes flashed dangerously.
       "Who fucked him?" He demanded shoving the man holding him into a
       tree, jamming his dagger into the other's ribs and twisted it.
       The man let out a pained cry and gave the name of the man that
       had gone off after yet another potential victim.
       "Jorge, keep Shu away from these assholes," he ordered one of
       the Viking pirates. He finished off the traffickers he'd
       attacked and turned to hunt down Shu's rapist.
       Katsu arrived at the scene of the fight between the other timer
       and the huge trafficker.
       "Need a hand questioning him?" He asked, small jolts of
       lightning forming in his hand.
       Before he could get close however, the pirate from before came
       out of nowhere, punching the guy so hard that the vines snapped
       and the man went flying a good fifty feet and hit a tree with a
       resounding thwack.
       "What the hell? What did you do to me? I didn't want him dead
       that fast!" blue swore, his eye flashing again. He stepped back
       seeing the woman covered in a deeper colored aura.
       Katsu moved to step between the woman and Blue, eyeing the man
       warily. Why had this pirate come after an associate and attack
       him?
       "Never mind, he deserved to die. The traffickers took another,
       I'm assuming related to her?"
       Blue only had a few moments to consider what he could or
       couldn't do. "follow me to their hideout, I'll do what I can to
       help you get the boy. I promise you, I'll try and keep Shu safe,
       but I need him in play. If the traffickers or the pirate captain
       suspect me...the last five years undercover I've spent are
       fucking wasted," he said quickly.
       Katsu's lightning bolts died down, his eyes widening at what the
       "pirate" had said. He shot a look at the woman next to him. "Can
       you read people at all? What do you think? Should we trust him?
       It's your brother's life that's at stake,"
       --+++
       Xyric was muttering to himself as he flicked and spun his short
       blade around his hand and through his fingers as he glanced
       through the traffickers cages. He was not pleased in the
       slightest to have been hired and sent to this place by the
       shifter pirate captain, but a job was a job.
       He came to an abrupt halt when he came across the beaten and
       maimed body of the young desert dweller sprawled on the floor.
       "Such monsters," he hissed and moved to gently pick the man up
       and put him over one shoulder.
       All it took was a dark predatory look from him if any of the
       traffickers tried to stop him as he made his way to the private
       room provided for him.
       Once alone, he gently worked on cleaning and caring for the
       young broken man. When he wanted to be, he could be quite kind.
       "Relax, no need to worry young one. I'm not going to hurt you,"
       he assured in a rather gentle tone.
       He retrieved one of his healing balms and very carefully applied
       it over the young man's body.
       ----fin----
       Ishan in a great sense of pettiness pointed back. He wasn’t
       about to let his sister get caught as long as that guys rage was
       pointed that way he hoped it would work.  Ishan looked at the
       man that looked dead inside his mouth forming a line as he
       sighed on what to do.
       Nilan’s head turned a bit at the man that asked about
       questioning him- her head looking over his form told her he was
       looking for the white haired one that looked like a mess.”fine..
       “ she started to tell him what she wanted.. least till another
       force came out.
       The pirate complained and Nilan thinking this was some trap was
       holding her dagger up.. unsure how to feel about complete
       stranger protecting her and the fact Katsu was talking so
       relaxed to blue set her senses to being cautious. “Try and keep
       safe?…” he mumbled. His explanation wasn’t good enough for her
       as her head looked at the man as she heard Katsu.
       “honestly the fact you are talking to this guy like we having a
       tea party is concerning.” She said her tone clearly icy and
       angry.
       “Play, huh? Try to Keep safe? -! He was assaulted you know! Does
       he even know you’re using him that way? I don’t think so- “ she
       said as she stalked and grabbed blue by the collar. While
       normally she was one to avoid conflicts- her stress and the idea
       of losing Ishan was ruling her actions.
       “I don’t care if your one of them or the law- if there’s even a
       sign my brother went through what I just witnessed for the other
       one? Your whole ‘investigation ‘ your claiming to have- will be
       shot- whether you like it or not.“ she seethed.”you ask to be
       trusted but don’t even give your name..” she hissed. Her
       mistrust clearly showing for them both. Her true eye going over
       katsu.. seeing how his aura flowed.. the static apparent around
       him quelled almost as if she knew he wasn’t a threat-
       >>>>
       ^^^^
       Blue however- after witnessing a beast of an aura before it
       shrank from smacking the guy - to what she assumed was clear to
       the other side of the vast jungle- was one to keep her distance.
       Meanwhile, her brother was brought to the camp with Shu.. the
       man being looked after the Viking as they heard noises for the
       masked teen to witness a man being  raped and what looked like
       dressed and beaten to pale. His weapons were taken as he
       panicked a little to be by Shu shackled by his legs to a pole
       that had been fashioned..  He saw how he opened his coat and
       looked damn near to tears as he didn’t hear chirping. Ishan
       chanced it to see a bird and said.”ohh.. that’s the Ventus
       parrot!” He said with a bit of pep. “I can help it if you let
       me..” said the teen as Shu.. reluctantly let the boy touch the
       bird. He heard the chirp and flutter to ask how he did that in a
       hushed tone.”shhh.. just did cause you looked upset..” he
       mumbled to see the poor man that was beat being shifted to a
       tent. His mouth softened a bit at the nightmares.. “this
       sucks..” he mumbled as he touched his mother’s eye mask that
       still was on his arm for comfort.
       —fin—
       #Post#: 1467--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 4:42 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The blush on Tóa's cheeks got much worse as a moan escaped him
       feeling Snips touching his erect member. The nibbling and
       licking to his ear driving him wild. It seemed claiming celibacy
       wasn't much of a deterant to the dragon but all it got him was
       an almost scolding click before the dragon insisted on getting
       him off at least before the man began to stroke the hardened
       shaft.
       The next words the green haired man spoke had the ancient
       kistune entirely caving to his desires and wants, *especially*
       the promise to erase the word from his vernacular. His body
       finally started to relax against the dragon as more moans
       escaped him at the attention.
       "I... suppose I... could let you try... and... see if... I'm
       really this perfect fit for you... just... be gentle..." He
       relented, unable to resist the charms of the ancient dragon
       touching and holding him like this.
       ---
       The world around Tariq was almost muffled from how out of it the
       man was. The hissed words of a man close by had him opening his
       eyes and looking at the man who collected him up off the ground
       and brought into another area. He had seen the man who had been
       the primary cause of Tariq's current injuries had gone to
       protest but shrunk back for reasons Tariq didn't understand.
       The young runaway had expected the man to use him like the
       others, so it was shocking when the guy cleaned him up and began
       to tend to his wounds.
       "Why? I'm... not trying to be ungrateful... but the moment I'm
       better they will... just do this all over again..." He
       questioned, though made no resistance to the aid.
       ---fin---
       Snips just couldn't seem to help himself, those few nibbles and
       licks of Toa were intoxicating. Just those little tastes has him
       wanting more of the kitsune.
       And those hot moans and feeling Toa melt into him had Snips' own
       body grow harder with desire and want.
       "I'll be very gentle," Snips whispered in a lower purr.
       He knew that he'd probably have to erect a silencing charm on
       himself  just to be on the safe side. If his voice got any
       louder, it'd cause a great deal of damage to Toa's remarkable
       temple and the cave.
       He was soon turning Toa around to face him and began kissing and
       feasting on the kitsune's mouth hungrily. His hands moved slowly
       around to knead and massage the others back and ass gently.
       After a little while longer, he lifted Toa and carried him out
       of the water. "We should go to your room, use that bed of yours.
       Don't want to bruise this perfect body of yours,"
       He eyed their discarded clothing and then concentrated for a
       moment to let his tail form on his human body. With a flick of
       the long appendage, he lifted their clothes up and then headed
       back to the kitsune's room.
       Once there he moved to lay Toa out on the bed and flung their
       clothes onto Toa's chair and then used his tail to close and
       lock the door. Snips' eyes glittered as he moved slowly onto the
       bed, devouring the gorgeous sight Toa made on the bed.
       "Shall I put up a silencing charm so your cries won't be heard?"
       He asked with a grin.
       -----
       Katsu had rather mixed feelings about the pirate acting so
       strangely, and part of him agreed with the woman tuner he'd just
       met. "Yeah I know, just...there's more to him than meets the
       eye," he mumbled and noticed how Blue's eye glowed when looking
       at them.
       Blue was already damning himself for what Shu had gone through.
       The woman's words stung, but he didn't argue with her or even
       attempt to fight her when she grabbed his collar. His hands went
       up in a sign of surrender, much to the surprise of Katsu. After
       having fought the man to a draw earlier, he knew just how
       capable of a fighter the pirate was.
       "My name is Uriah, I hail from the floating lands Audora. You
       probably haven't heard of it. I lost my own family to these evil
       people long ago. I endured the same tortures, and gained some
       freedoms a five years ago. I'll tell you whatever you need to
       know, but can we do it while we walk? I only have two men that
       work with me to keep them safe. If you want your brother to
       avoid the horrors the captured go through, we need to move,"
       Katsu sheathed his blade after hearing Uriah's explanation and
       moved in to look the pirate in the eyes. "I've heard of Audora
       and the people who come from there. They are known as righteous
       and fair minded people. I think we can trust him. I'm Katsu, we
       can talk while we walk. I get the feeling you may be more than
       Audorian."
       -----
       Xyric considered the young blonde man's question for a long
       moment. It was more than likely that the traffickers would do
       exactly the same thing to the pretty one the moment he was gone.
       A thought suddenly came to him, making his mouth twitch slightly
       upwards.
       "It doesn't have to be that way. Not if I make you mine. These
       people know better than to mess with Xyric Joros and in
       extension, anyone or anything I claim as mine," he said with a
       proud look in his eyes.
       There were times he spoke in third person which sometimes
       weirded people out. It was an eccentricity that most learned to
       accept in time.
       "What do you think, do you want to be mine?" He asked, leaning
       in closer, his long hair creating a curtain around their faces.
       He was now only a few inches from the others face and reached up
       to gently caress Tariq's face. His eyes looked quite intense and
       solemn at the same time.
       ----fin----
       “I am aware - I saw what he’s capable of.” Said Nilan.”from how
       he spoke he said it was your doing..tell me what happened.” She
       said as she began to walk rather briskly. Her mouth a firm line
       hopping her brother wouldn’t see the worst of things.
       “Nilan.. from the sea.. “ she simply said.”we lost our parents
       long ago. So we started a pilgrimage at the behest of our
       master.” She said, “so have I but we will see if he’s that type
       of person.” Said the woman.
       ——-
       As predicted they saw some men already heading their way as Shu
       got a worried look. While told they couldn’t touch him, the teen
       was another matter- he realized what would happen and shifted
       his bird to the teen.
       He tugged  the Viking’s sleeve. “Best be I than the boy.” He
       said quietly. He helped his bird he could at least protect him
       this way.  It would lead to a fight that would later sound
       through the camp as it came to trying to keep Shu  untouched to
       the man arguing about protecting the teen boy as he was cowering
       in the area unable to run.
       ----
       The purred promise that the man would be gentle sent another
       shiver through Tóa before he was turned around in Snips arms to
       have his lips captured by the dragon's. The more he got into the
       kiss, the less he stressed about his goddess and her rules. He
       had desired a mate for longer than he could remember. The memory
       of the disappointment he felt when he found out about the vow he
       would have to take.
       The hands on his body and lips on his own quickly melted away
       the stress. Soon, the Kitsune found himself effortlessly picked
       up by the dragon. He could help but watch in awe as the dragon
       brought out his tail and used it to gather their clothes.
       "My room is a grand idea," Tóa agreed, finding himself laid out
       on it shortly after. The dragon had their clothes draped over
       the chair and the door locked in a single swift motion before
       slowly crawling onto the bed looking ready to devour the fox.
       "A silencing charm isn't a bad idea..." He agreed, his heart
       pounding in his chest as he looked over his new bedfellow.
       ---
       The response Xyric gave had Tariq staring at him with wide eyes,
       a dark blush crossing his cheeks and steadily got darker at the
       notion. Was it better to be used and abused freely? Or be bound
       to someone who didn't exactly seem all that stable.
       His heart was racing in his chest when the man caressed his
       cheek like that. Maybe the man would be a gentle lover?  The
       curtain of black hair making the world around them seemingly
       disappear.
       "... y... yes... I... I will be yours..." He found himself
       agreeing, leaning up to close the distance between their lips to
       give him a soft kiss as if to seal his commitment.
       ---fin---
       Katsu's forehead wrinkled a bit before he spoke.
       "I hit him with my lightning tuning intending on killing him,
       only it didn't kill him. I'm beginning to think he has latent
       tuning abilities of some kind and I woke them. He's been talking
       of seeing auras. And from how he made that one flying from one
       punch, I figure he can absorb kinetic energy. Which isn't
       something I've ever seen but read about."
       Uriah blinked feeling more than a little overwhelmed by hearing
       he suddenly had these strange abilities. Ones that had only come
       out after the tuner had hit him.
       "So the lightning stuff triggered it. But can't tuners kill one
       another? I'm aware there are tuners that aren't like the two of
       you and misuse their abilities. There's a secret passage into
       the caves this way," he said leading them to another entrance to
       the caves the traffickers used to hold their captives.
       It took them a good fifteen minutes to get to the hidden
       entrance and head into the winding narrow pathway.
       They'd only gone a short way into the more private area when
       Blue heard voices speaking and paused to glance in and froze
       seeing it was Xyric. He backed away cautiously, and must have
       made some sort of sound because the assassin's head jerked up to
       glower at them.
       -----
       Seeing the younger man's blushing brought a grin to Xyric's
       face. Tariq was quite handsome and the blood rushing to his face
       only enhanced that.
       His lips twitched upwards at Tariq agreeing to be his, and then
       kissing him. The gentle contact was a bit surprising and Xyric
       responded in kind, leaning in with tender pressure to the soft
       lips.
       The sound of a pebble shifting has him suddenly pulling back to
       shoot an intense glare at the intruders.
       Seeing the familiar face of the pirate Captain's man Blue and
       the two unknowns had his eyes narrowing slightly. Then he got a
       thoughtful look on his face and glanced back at Tariq.
       "I could expose you three, but I think it might be handier to
       use you as a distraction. So, do whatever it is you have planned
       and in return, take this one with you to safety when you leave."
       Xyric proposed as he got up in a quick fluid motion and grabbed
       the magical device he'd been given and unleashed the spirit
       inside it. "Kill only the trafficker guards, leave the others
       untouched," he hissed at the vengeful spirit. "That should give
       you a bit of help," he said and grabbed up his coat filled with
       daggers and poisoned throwing darts.
       "No need to worry Tariq, I will find you when my work is
       through," he promised the young man.
       Knowing Xyric Joros' reputation had Blue nodding in silent
       agreement, his face quite pale until the assassin slipped off to
       deal with his mark.
       "I'm thinking of you stick close to Nilan you'll be the safest,"
       Blue suggested looking Tariq over closely seeing his torn
       clothes.
       -----
       Vito glanced down at the prince, frowning at Shu saying it'd be
       better him than the young boy being used. "not happening. I
       promised you wouldn't be touched and you won't be," he insisted.
       The traffickers tried to get at the cowering boy, only for Eric
       the other Viking to show up and kill one with one blow. "Hands
       off both of them!" He yelled, the blood spraying around the
       room. "Ye are spineless cowards targeting young ones this way,"
       No one expected the sudden carnage that errupted as the vengeful
       spirit began ripping the traffickers and guards into pieces,
       howling out its rage as vengeance was enacted on them.
       Vito and Eric pulled Shu and the young boy behind them, watching
       with growing shock at what was happening.
       A few moments later, Blue was letting out a signal whistle and
       they grabbed the two they were protecting, threw them over their
       shoulders, and rushed to follow the whistle.
       ----Snips----
       Snips was quite pleased by Toa's agreeing a bed was the better
       place to explore one another properly. It took him but a moment
       to unleash a silencing charm to cover the room.
       Now even if he did slip and make a sound only the things in the
       room would be harmed.  "Done, now then, my gorgeous one, where
       shall I start?" He mused as he slide up next to Toa and slide
       his hands up the  kitsune's legs a before parting them and
       kneeling between them.
       "Thinking, I'll start kissing and work my way slowly down," he
       purred, lifting Toa's hair and moving it over one shoulder. Then
       he descended down, claiming Toa's lips in a gentle and intense
       kiss. It took awhile to cover the other's neck, chest and body
       with kisses and nips before making it to the other's very hard
       erection.
       "Such a perfect gift," snips praised before he began pleasuring
       Toa using his tongue and mouth, moaning happily as he moved
       slowly taking it into his mouth.
       -++
       The tuner put a hand to her chin.”It sounds like he caught an
       affect that’s pretty rare for non-terranians. While we have a
       true eye- if an attack is on your target can cause sort of a
       mimic eye. He can identify things with their auras.. but not as
       intensely as us thank god..” she mumbled. “The kinetic energy
       punch though may of been the result of the lightning- it takes
       friction for it to produce between heat and cold.. somehow it
       manifested to a punch.” She said as she walked.
       “Yes we can kill one another- but honestly those who use their
       tuning for the worse can be taken from this world by a master
       tuner.. if they are found.” She said as she walked.
       Nilan paused at the assassin she saw before her, her body
       showing composure- or one would think it due to her eyes being
       covered.
       Nilan gripped her stone at the ready to attack if they were- the
       man didn’t know her that well to assume it would be easy to
       bring them all down. Her head cocked a bit to see tariq. A soft
       sigh came as she walked over to the shorter man. A small blush
       occurred at seeing his face.
       Meanwhile Shu who was trying to protect Ishan was met with a
       scene of men being slaughtered before he and Ishan were lifted.
       Nilan bent and got Tariq on her shoulder when she noticed the
       two about to be hit.
       “Ishan! Secrets out!” Was all he was told as he moved to slide
       and tuned his stone of wind and flame, having put the bird
       safely in his pack pocket. It pushed the group back as they
       would rush off and out of the camp not thinking twice of those
       that pleaded for their lives as they freed any other victims.
       After a while of rushing did the group finally find a place to
       rest. Nilan putting tariq on his feet.”are you okay?” She asked
       rather softly.
       —fin—
       "That sounds like an excellent plan..." Tóa murmered as his body
       reacted to his soon to be lover. Every kiss and nip bringing a
       deep ache to the kitsunes loins. It felt like a century of
       delicious torture before Snips was praising his manhood before
       the ancient dragon began to pleasure him.
       The kitsunes fingers quickly dug into Snips' hair as louder and
       louder moans escaped him, his hips bucking up until the dragon
       was close to driving him over the edge.
       ---
       The rather tender moment didn't last very long as Xyric was soon
       quite tense and glaring into the shadows before a group showed
       themselves.
       The blonde was in shock when Xyric seemed to bargain with the
       people, keeping their presents a secret if they took Tariq with
       them. A sinisterly sweet promise later and he was left with the
       strangers.
       He slowly got up from the bed, flinching from what injuries
       still remained. "Right..." was all he could get out, still
       blushing over Xyric.
       The blush only got worse when the gorgeous woman walked over.
       Before he could even say anything, she was throwing him over her
       shoulder and hauling him out as they fled with the other slaves.
       It felt like ages before Tariq's feet finally hit the ground to
       have the beauty fussing over him. "I'll survive, you... don't
       need to worry over me... Thank you... for taking me along..." He
       said softly, his eyes trying to look at anything but the woman
       in that moment. Having been manhandled and rescued by the woman,
       he was feeling all kinds of funny around her.
       ---fin---
       #Post#: 1468--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 4:52 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Katsu's body was shaking a bit as the malevolent spirit
       continued wrecking havoc on the traffickers and caught sight of
       the assassin slipping through the shadows. He used his tuning
       where it was needed during the groups escape back down the
       tunnel they'd come down momentarily before.
       The newly activated Uriah was at his side, very openly killing
       any that tried to stop them. If the pirate's words before had
       left doubts, his actions left  none as the man took a blow from
       a giant minotaur. Uriah felt his jaw  break from the blow and
       then unleashed his own kinetic charged hit to take the beast
       down.
       The odd rescue party was soon out of danger, along with the
       large group of former captives they'd managed to get out.
       Eric and Vito glanced curiously at the tuners as Uriah slumped
       on a rock to gingerly touch his broken jaw, wincing at the pain
       and groaning.
       Katsu sheathed his blades and moved among the rescued, using his
       healing stone to help where he could. He frowned slightly seeing
       how the Vikings kept Prince Shu sandwiched between them away
       from everyone else.
       "Are you hurt young one?" He asked approaching Shu, not wanting
       to give away that he knew who he was. "Will you allow me to heal
       him?" He asked the taller Vito, who was eying him with a dark
       look.
       "Vito, move," Uriah mumbled out trying to not move his mouth too
       much.
       The Viking was not happy, but moved to allow Katsu to get closer
       to check Shu over closely. "He's fine Blue, I  didn't let those
       fuckers touch him. Eric even stood up for the other one when
       they tried taking him. Doesn't sit right with either of us this
       whole sex slave shit. Should just off the damned shifter captain
       already," he grumbled.
       Katsu raised an eyebrow at this and moved to help Blue and
       healed the others broken jaw as much as he could.
       "Do You trust these two?" He asked quietly, wondering if he
       might convince the pirate to let him take Shu to safety. He
       couldn't help but notice the looks Uriah had snuck at Shu.
       -----
       Uriah winced and relaxed as the tuner healed his jaw and the
       deep ache was eased away. "It's best they don't know everything.
       The captain is a cruel depraved monster. He's not the biggest
       fish we are after." He added with a sigh and ran a hand through
       his hair. "I will talk with Shu. I won't force him into helping
       me if he doesn't want to." He sighed softly. "Will you and
       Nilan see to finding the others somewhere safe to go?"
       Katsu was slightly surprised by Uriah deciding to give Shu the
       option of choosing and then nodded. "We will make sure they find
       new homes,"
       Both men shot looks at Nilan and the man she'd carried to
       safety. "I'll go tell her of our new task," Katsu spoke softly.
       Blue nodded and moved towards Shu and the Vikings. "you two stay
       here, Shu and I need to talk alone,"
       He led the shorter man off a short distance away before he began
       explaining that he was only a pirate to get revenge for the
       family that had been murdered by the monster captain. He told
       Shu of the things he'd survived and gone through to be able to
       take the man down.
       "I don't know why he's so fascinated and taken with you, but
       he's not going to stop trying to get you back. I'm aware of how
       dangerous it will be, and if you'd rather take a chance of
       running again, I don't blame you. I wouldn't be able to protect
       you every minute of the day either. But the closer I can get to
       him and have his trust, I can figure out how to destroy him. You
       are aware he can possess others bodies as well? He's got a magic
       stone or something that helps him do it. Once that's destroyed
       he can be killed."
       Uriah paused and let out a long sigh. "I like you Shu. The last
       thing I want is you involved in this mess. I want to kill the
       bastard Everytime he touches you," he confessed.
       ----
       The assassin grinned at the slaughtered bodies of the dhampires
       close servants, pleased with his work. The spirit had been the
       perfect distraction to keep them from realizing why he was
       there.
       "the conclave will be very pleased," he murmured and got to
       extracting the fangs of the lesser vampires and ears and eyes of
       the others, stashing them carefully into his pouch.
       He then cleaned off his blade and pulled out the fire talismans
       to burn the bodies into piles of ash. One could never take the
       chance they could be brought back or be summoned by a soul
       speaker to testify about what had happened.
       His mind flitted back to Tariq and he hoped that those he'd
       asked to get the man away had succeeded. Given two of them had
       been terranian tuners, he was fairly confident they had.
       "Best report to the conclave then you can find your new
       plaything Xyric," he murmured to himself.
       The assassin pulled out a travel stone the vampire warlock has
       given him and vanished in a puff of blue smoke.
       -----
       Snips made pleased sounds as he slowly moved and sucked on Toa.
       He took a great deal of time preparing the kitsune. After he'd
       eased Toa's release and swallowed it down, Snips pulled off and
       lowered himself a bit more to work his wet tongue gently inside
       Toa. After a great deal of time and gentle care, he worked
       several fingers into the kitsune.
       "Tell me if it's too much or if you need more before we move
       on," Snips murmured, admiring the expressions of pleasure on
       Toa's face.
       ----fin----
       Shu was in the middle of the odd party, feeling like a true
       sandwhich between the two Vikings, course his danger meter went
       off as he simply started running faster, to trip and be scooped
       up.
       Once they were relaxing did he take back gale. He was gently
       playing as Nilan who set the man down began to heal him. “Don’t
       talk like that- I’ll take care of and heal whatever I feel
       like.” She said with a smile.”and you’re welcome.”
       She blushed a bit seeing how he was avoiding her face.”you know
       my kind quite finds it rude when you don’t make eye contact..”
       she said softly shoving part of her mask up. Her true eye
       glowing a little to catch his gaze.
       “Just let me know if I’m being too invasive.. some do require
       physical touch.” She said as her hand ran down his chest.
       “Sorry for carrying you like that- we had to move pretty quick.”
       Said Nilan. He certainly was her type.. part of her wanted to
       touch his chin and make him look up at her.  She blushed harder
       at her own thoughts.”my name is Nilan.. what’s your name cutie?”
       She said reflexively to go quiet at what she just did.
       ——
       Shu who had been drawn away was with Uriah as he began to spill
       things and came clean about needing to get close and using him.
       Shu’s mouth was held in such a way of trying to think as he let
       him talk. He sighed.”look- I ran cause well- he wanted to have
       his way with me on top of my abilities- I can see the currents
       where they lead be it sky or sea.” Said Shu. “And it’s a brand
       that he uses the spell speaker for.. “
       He seemed indignant before he heard the confession to blush.
       “Well for someone that likes me - you’re awfully rough with the
       tossing over the shoulder and almost hurt Gale yanno- I was more
       pissed that you coulda hurt her!” Said Shu with a glare. “I’ll
       help you- but you better make sure my gale is safe. She is my
       baby after all.” He grumbled at the man. “And also for a man
       that likes me- you went and put a knife to my hair… now you’re
       gonna cut it and make it look good!” He exclaimed.
       ----
       The dragon was relentless and soon had Tóa unraveling further
       and further until he spilled. Then, Snip went *lower*. A gasp
       left the kitsune as his hands found a perch in the dragon's
       green locks. The slow progression of increasing intensity had
       Tóa rock hard again by the time Snips pressed his fingers
       inside.
       The slow, teasing preparation had Tóa needier than he had ever
       felt in his life. "I don't need more preparation, I need *you*
       inside of me... I need to know how well we fit," he moaned out,
       desperately in need of his dragon inside of him.
       ---
       The blush on Tariq's cheeks darkened when he was told he was
       being rude before a glow caught his attention causing him to
       reluctantly start looking at her before a shiver ran through him
       at the hand running down his chest. Blushing even harder when
       she called him a cutie.
       "It's-it's fine I understand. My name is Tariq...." He said as
       his heart raced as he finally fully looked at her.
       ---fin---
       Uriah's eyes flashed when Shu explained why he had run. Given
       he'd gone through so something similar he should have realized
       there was more to the younger man's running.
       "I should have known he'd do that. " He murmured and fidgeted a
       bit adjusting the collar of his shirt.
       Uriah gave Shu an apologetic look when the man brought up how
       rough he's been. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't know where you
       had Gale stashed. I would have taken more care about carrying
       you. I was actually pretty sad about having to cut your hair, I
       like it a great deal," he replied and reached out to run his
       fingers through Shu's soft hair.
       "I promise I'll do my best to fix it. I can even it out a bit
       now if you'd like," Uriah offered, moving in closer.
       His hands moved to arrange Shu's hair so it would lay evenly and
       tried to not react to the huge chunk that was missing.
       "Geeze, I didn't realize how much I had cut off." He sighed. "I
       was hoping to play with it more,"
       ----
       Katsu waited a few moments before approaching Nilan, checking
       over the rescued captives first.
       "Hey Nilan, looks like we'll be bringing the rest of the rescued
       ones with us. We should probably get going here in a little bit.
       They should be okay to travel, though we may need to take breaks
       for them,"
       -----
       Hearing Toa's sounds of pleasure and desperate demand brought a
       low grumbling growl from Snips. The floor shook a bit as Snips
       moved up and pressed closer, slowly filling Toa as he eased into
       the kitsune.
       "Feels like a perfect fit to me," Snips whispered and kissed Toa
       deeply.
       He made out hotly with Toa, waiting for the other's body to
       adjust before he began to thrust slowly into  the kitsune.
       ----fin----
       Shu sighed a bit. He blushed hotly at how the man mentioned his
       hair to hear his promise to fix it.
       “P..play with it?” Said Shu to blush more.”well.. after all your
       revenge I can always grow it out again.” He said.
       “And you better make me the happiest man to make this whole
       thing worth it.” Said Shu with a look.”better promise it.” He
       said as he cuddled Gale that was now in his pocket again.
       ——-
       Nilan smiled.”Tariq.. such a nice name- fae right?.. do you have
       wings? I know some don’t but.. just curious.” She said softly.
       Something about the guy made her want to get to know him to feel
       her brother gently nudge her.  She flushed a bit, before seeing
       Katsu. “That’s fine.” She said honestly.”we are headed to a
       shrine that has people there we are suppose to meet, it’s not
       terribly far and I hear the priest is actually pretty well
       renowned for his healing.. he’s also a kitsune.. do make sure to
       show respect.” She said with a firm tone. “Also Tariq.. are you
       in any pain?” She asked her hand had rested on his chest the
       whole time…
       —fin—
       The way that low growl shook the room had Tóa shiver from just
       how hot the dragon was. Then, the Kitsune felt Snips slowly
       pressing inside of him getting a wide eyed expression before his
       eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head hearing the man
       claim it felt like a perfect fit.
       He gladly made out with his new love as his body adjusted to the
       monstrous member inside of him, gasping when the man began to
       move. The way the dragon slowly claimed him and made love to him
       had Tóa's heart racing as he started to become completely
       unraveled, a moaning mess of need.
       ---
       "I um thanks ... yeah I'm fae... I um... do have wings." Tariq
       answered, his heart beat rising in intensity as she kept her
       hand on his chest as she spoke to the others before her intense
       attention was back on him.
       "I um... I'm fine, I'll be okay, I um... it's more... personal
       areas that are hurting...." He admitted diverting his gaze again
       feeling quite shy over the idea of her touching him in *places*
       to heal him, especially after claiming she needed skin contact.
       ---fin---
       Seeing how the handsome prince reacted to his promises made
       Uriah smirk just a little. His fingers brushed through Shu's
       hair gently, enjoying the feel of it. "That would work," he
       murmured, moving in even closer, and let his fingers slide down
       Shu's neck.
       "I promise to make you very happy," he purred and tilted Shu's
       face up and kissed him gently before pulling back.
       Seeing the small baby bird he smiled and reached down to caress
       the tiny bird's head. "I have wanted to kiss you for a very long
       time now. I'll do everything in my power to keep you and Gale
       safe," he promised.
       -----
       Katsu was relieved to hear that Nilan had a place they could
       take the rescued captives. "I've met kitsune before, I know how
       traditional they can be, it's not me you need to worry about,"
       he replied.
       Katsu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at how physical she was
       being with Tariq. He started to move away until he heard Tariq
       say he was hurting in personal areas.
       "I can show you how to focus your healing to target areas
       without touching them Nilan. Or I could heal Tariq if he's more
       comfortable with me  doing it,"
       ----
       Snips kept a rather slow steady pace, only moving a little
       faster when Toa begged for more. His hands slide over Toa in
       gentle exploration of the kitsune's body, teasing more moans out
       of him.
       "Come with me Toa," he murmured slipping a hand down to slowly
       slide over his lover's member when he felt himself nearing the
       edge of release. "I want to feel you cover my hand and my chest
       when I fill you up,"
       His hips moved a bit quicker, his member going in even deeper
       than before, a deep groan escaping him before he leaned in to
       kiss Toa harder and slide his tongue into the kitsune's mouth.
       ----fin----
       Nilan blushed a bit hearing that he was hurting in places, after
       giving a nod to Katsu. She was brought out of her thoughts a
       little to look at Tariq.”I could use a bit of help on focus.. I
       am sorry Tariq.. if you want it done a little faster and am not
       comfortable with me, Katsu can help. I don’t mind doing it- my
       main focus is tuning water and the earth- mostly healing
       though.” She said softly,
       She moved her hand a bit feeling bad about putting him on the
       spot- same time though she felt a roll of anger of what Tariq
       was subjected to- and what could have been her brother.
       ——-
       Shu blushed at the man messing with his hair.. before feeling
       the slight  caressing of his neck. The feel of his face being
       tilted up would feel the softest kiss to blush hotly.
       Shu didn’t know what to say about the kiss but to the
       latter.”.gale over me.. if there’s a choice- I can handle what’s
       given just want her safe- and then *we* can kill the bastard..”
       he said to slowly look at Katsu.”but that one will be a mild
       issue.. he’s trying to act like he doesn’t know me.. “ he
       sighed.”maybe I can talk some reason to him.. “ he mused a bit.
       ——-fin—-
       #Post#: 1469--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Adventure for Love
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 17, 2026, 5:13 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The way Snips claimed his body while those hands explored his
       body felt incredible. It was as if his body had only been made
       for the purpose of being claimed by the dragon.
       The command to c.um with him, wanting to be covered in Tóa's
       seed had a fresh shiver run through him, spilling hard as a loud
       moan escaped him into the kiss as he felt Snips fill him up so
       perfectly. The Kitsune feverishly making out with the dragon
       that had just bred him. "I could easily become addicted to you,"
       he murmered softly, entirely exhausted.
       ---
       A weary glance was given to Katsu, given he had been assaulted
       by several different men, he wasn't too keen on being touched by
       yet another.
       "No... it... it's okay.... I... trust you...." Tariq said softly
       as his eyes found the ground out of shyness.
       ---fin---
       Katsu felt a bit badly for having misread Tariq's reaction. He
       took a moment talking Nilan through how to focus her healing to
       go to the younger man's hurting areas. "Try to slowly ease the
       healing to the areas, just maintain touch to his arm or back
       until he says it's not bothering him." He advised and then
       headed to over to the other rescuees to see if they were ready
       to move. Pretty soon the sun would be going down, and they
       needed to go a bit further before making camp for the night.
       ----
       Uriah couldn't help but admire the blush that filled Shu's face.
       He frowned slightly hearing Shu insisting on keeping the bird
       safe over himself.
       "If you insist then I promise to do so," Uriah sighed. "I am
       hoping it won't take too much longer."
       His gaze went to Katsu and frowned slightly. "Do you think your
       family might have sent him to take you back?" He asked. "Might
       be the only way to deal with him. He's a pretty powerful tuner,
       he tried to electrocute me earlier. Thankfully it didn't kill
       me. Just woke up some abilities inside me," he muttered shaking
       his head.
       "If the captain doesn't find out about them, it could help take
       him out faster." He added thoughtfully.
       ----
       Snips erupted a few seconds after he felt Toa's release hit his
       chest and cover his hand. He thrust a few more times before he
       stopped and slowly pulled free of Toa once their fevered kisses
       ended. He gently stroked his clean hand over the kitsune's
       elegant neck.
       "Oh, I am already addicted to you," he whispered back then moved
       down to clean off his new lovers body. Once he'd cleaned them
       both up as well as he could, Snips moved to lay on his side and
       caressed the other's body with light and teasing touches. "Rest
       my handsome Toa. We can have more fun later,"
       Snips hands finally stilled once he pulled Toa up against his
       flushed body and held him close.
       ----fin----
       Nilan nodded softly, her hand  shifting around to his back, it
       almost looked as if she was hugging him.  “Just let me know when
       you start feeling better..” she told Tariq. “If this doesn’t
       help- we can try me getting closer to the issue if you want me
       to- “ she said to let her fingers dance down his spine as she
       tried to focus on taking the pain in places off.
       ——
       Shu made a sigh of relief. “I hope it doesn’t either- I know I’m
       hoping the bastard gets his just desserts.” He said softly. His
       eye traveled to Katsu.”most likely- but they frown on gay men
       being together- even if I got free like hell I’m going back." he
       said flatly.
       He heard the rest to pale and got blue to look at him. “Latent
       abilities? What can you do?” He asked curiously.
       —fin—
       It all felt like a dream he never wanted to wake from, noises
       escaping him at the attention his body got as he was cleaned up
       by his lover, shivering at the man's teasing touch as he was
       pulled closer for them to sleep.
       Falling asleep had been easy, he didn't realize, the disaster
       that waited for him in the morning.
       ---
       The blush on Tariq's cheeks didn't get any better but, he
       relaxed to Nilan's touch as she tried to heal him. After several
       long moments without feeling much of a difference, the blush on
       the fae's cheeks darkened.
       "I... think you may have to touch... close to the hurt areas..."
       He admitted shyly.
       ---fin---
       Blue nodded in agreement with Shu, praying inwardly to the gods
       for favor to take down the pirate captain and then everyone else
       involved in the trafficking ring. "We'll just have to make sure
       he does ourselves," Blue said with a great deal of resolve.
       "Well I'll just have to kidnap you for myself then," he replied
       with a wink. "There are places we can go that are more accepting
       than your homeland,"
       Seeing Shu go pale at hearing about the incident with Katsu had
       Blue move in a bit closer.
       "Apparently I can see people's auras now and store up kinetic
       energy. So I can take a hit and then return it like...five times
       harder. Kind of cool really. That and my one eye keeps bugging
       me now," he added rubbing around his eye. "Hopefully the ache
       goes away,"
       He eyed Katsu and the others and made a sign to his two fellows
       to prepare to leave.
       "You should talk with Katsu and then we need to head out," he
       added, knowing the sooner they split off and headed back to
       their ship the better.
       ^^^^
       After having checked over the rescued captives, Katsu had the
       feeling that even if they did get moving, they wouldn't get very
       far. He glanced over at Nilan and Tariq and then moved towards
       Prince Shu and Blue.
       "So what's your plan then? You all heading off? I don't suppose
       I can convince you to go with us, Shu?" Katsu asked in a low
       tone.
       He didn't want to draw Nilan's attention to them, knowing she'd
       not be happy if Shu was taken back into a dangerous situation.
       Even if Shu insisted on it.
       -----
       Shu nodded and smiled slightly, a blush creeping onto his cheeks
       as he contemplated Blue's suggestion of leaving his homeland. It
       felt like a fantasy.
       With a sympathetic look, he added, "Take your time. I'm sure
       you'll either adjust to the sensation or it'll stop. An eye
       patch might help," he suggested.
       "I suppose I should," Shu mused, "just to avoid being 'rescued'
       or you getting accidentally harmed," he sighed, beginning to
       move.
       He approached Katsu, murmuring about assisting the pirate,
       noticing Nilan blushing as he spoke quietly to the young man
       before leading him to a secluded spot.
       "Thanks for coming after me," Shu said to Katsu. "I think this
       is for the best. I won't have to return home, and I can truly be
       myself."
       ----
       Nilan blushed more deeply, feeling a bit shy at the idea of
       healing a man she found herself attracted to. "It's okay—let's
       go somewhere a bit more private, hm?" she suggested with a shy
       smile. She gently took his hand, leading him to a secluded spot
       where they would be less likely to be seen.
       "Alright... I'll try and be gentle. Just let me know if I do
       something you're not comfortable with," she said, her head
       tilting slightly. Her hands delicately moved to where the man
       was hurting. She sighed softly as she examined the abrasions,
       angered by the intrusion that had caused his suffering.
       Despite her usual caution, she felt unusually vulnerable seeing
       him so openly, yet she remained focused on her methods to heal
       him.
       —fin—
       *****************************************************
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