Mainlander Woods

“But that wouldn’t be that terrible, right?” You look down towards his pride again. Everything about this is strange and foreign, but Herb’s been doing things to you. They told you that boys would say things they didn’t mean. They said it doubly about mainlanders. But Herb isn’t like that. He just looks and smells good. Even if he’s a bit barbarian in appearance, there’s something exotic about it. “I am pretty enough to do that sort of thing, right?” You scoot closer.

He gulps. You grin. It’s fun to get reactions out of people.

“Of course you are.” He looks away. “But...”

“But what?” You move closer. “If I’m not pretty, you can tell me.”

He keeps looking away. “It feels really sudden. And I’ve been doing a lot of new...stuff lately.”

“Oh.” Probably for the best. You’ve never done anything like this, except for that night you feel guilty about. “I understand.” You give him a hug. It was intended to be a friendly gesture, but you just feel his body pressed against yours and can’t seem to pull away.

“Keira?” He mutters.

You keep holding him. You like hugs. A naked hug like this against a boy that smells good is something else, though. Something’s poking you.

Oh. How barbaric!

No, not barbaric. Herb can read and write and he seems pretty smart. Smart when it comes to things like cooking and technology, anyway. He’s like a helpless baby when it comes to reading the sea or understanding what people say beneath their words. You guess that’s what the barbarism really is, then. So it’s not a conflict against what you’ve been taught and what you see, it’s just that you assumed he’d be a an angry and aggressive barbarian, instead of a noble, skilled-in-his-own way one. It feels nice to resolve that nagging feeling you get when you can’t make sense of two different things.

“Sorry!” He turns away, but in doing so he slaps you on the stomach with it.

“Oh!” You react. “Sorry for hugging you.”

You can see a tinge of something on his face. Sadness? Pity? Did saying that make him feel bad? “Don’t be sorry for that. It’s okay to hug. Just not-”

You give him another big one!

“Naked hugs.”

“Oh.” You slide off of him, narrowly missing getting slapped in the face. Then check your face paint just to be careful.

The two of you stand there, naked and awkward in the stream. You’re not used to being awkward. You’re not used to being so close to a living, breathing teenage boy. Especially a naked mainlander.

He adjusts his weight, and it bounces. You giggle. He tries to cover it up in his bashfulness and becomes more flustered.

“How does it feel when you touch it?” You look down at it.

He’s turning really red now. “I’m not touching it! I mean, I am, but not like that.”

“I know.” You’re failing to contain your laughter now. Your cheeks hurt from the struggle. It’s like that time during silent reflection period at the temple when one of the sisters farted. “But how does it feel when you do?”

“Stop laughing!” He splashes water at you.

You splash back. He has to fully uncover it again to react with his arms up.

“How does it feel when you do it?” He laughs and splashes you again.

You stop splashing. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t kn- You’ve never done it?”

“I have, but...”

“But what?”

“But only a few times, and not for long.”

“Oh. Are you not allowed to, or...”

“It’s not strictly forbidden, but it’s not easy to do. There’s not a lot of privacy in the dorms, and if your mind gets clouded, you’re supposed to do a purifying ritual. Everyone knows when someone else did it. It’s more of an open secret. And we pretend not to notice at night. The sister I was next to would do it all the time!” That’s weird, he’s getting harder again.

“But not you?”

“Never all the way.” You rub your thighs together. The gap you have between them feels especially empty. “What’s it like, to finish?”

He’s beat red again. It’s cute. It’s also distracting you from looking at his pride, though. You turn your eyes back down while he answers your question. “I heard it’s different for girls. But for me, umm,  it’s like you build up this really nice feeling, and uhh, then it explodes.”

“Can you show me?”

He freezes. “That’s really personal...”

“You let other girls see though, right? Is it because I’m a priestess?” You’re not trying to make him feel guilty. You just want to know. It’s like there’s this whole world of good feelings and body exploration that you’ve never seen because of your station in life. You don’t regret it, but you are curious. Your body aching right now is just a coincidence.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Is it because my body isn’t pleasing?” You try to strike a mating pose. You bend over and arch your back. Again, you just want to know. The idea that he’d lose control and suddenly penetrate you is just an intrusive thought. You don’t actually want to be seeded like that and changed forever. Even if being an oracle is out of your reach, it’d still be so sudden and too much, and even you’re scared of exploring that deeply and quickly. You just need to tell that to your body.

He doesn’t seem to be able to answer for a moment. Somehow, that makes your body hotter. “I..uhhh...”

You turn back around to face him. “You don’t trust me or feel close enough. It’s okay. I understand.” You really do. You felt like you were coming closer after aura mixing, but it doesn’t always work like that. And he didn’t open up entirely, either. It still hurts a little, but you don’t begrudge him for it. You try not to show it.

“Keira.” He says. You look up. He’s stroking it!

“Really?” You rush over to watch closely.

“This is so embarrassing.”

He’s right! He’s really exposed right now. Even after what you did together, this takes a lot of courage. You grab his free hand and hold it. “You’re not alone! We’ll do it together!” With your other, you touch yourself. “Mm!” Oh that feels way better than other attempts.

“Keira!” He stops.

“I don’t want you to feel alone.”

He starts again. “Then I can’t stop, either.”

“Together!” You nod with determination.

You share a look into each other’s eyes. At least, you both try. Your heads are moving slightly with the motion of your bodies. Your shared vow of determination turns to showing each other your strange facial expressions unintentionally. You look over his body, he looks over yours.

You bite your lip. You’re feeling lightheaded and hazy. Somehow that makes him go faster and harder.

“This is too intense.” You turn around. “Don’t look!”

“Are you...embarrassed?” You see a slight grin on his face. That uncharacteristic lechery just pushes you further. You end up bending over again as you keep fingering yourself. You’re really losing control now.

Your face is on fire! Thank goodness for your facepaint. “Herb!”

“Sorry! Sorry” His face returns to normal and he turns around too.

Your legs are getting weak and you keep squirming. “Let’s sit down.”

“Okay.” You keep holding hands and working yourselves, but you end up stumbling and he breaks his grip to steady you. He puts a hand on the small of your back and helps you down. His touch drives you wild. They told you you’d be tempted. What if this is how it’s done? What if he doesn’t consciously do it, but it’s a part of his nature that he hid that he’s just going to claim you like he did whoever else he’s been doing things with? Oh gosh!

“Don’t look!” You press against his back. “Keep going. Please.”

“Okay.” He gasps. “But didn’t you want to watch?”

You’re just barely aware of what a moment of weakness this is. This isn’t like you at all. You’ve never been so sexual, or conscious of your body. But things are suddenly changing.

Oh no. What if things change between you and Herb after this? A few moments ago you thought this was just another thing to explore, but now it seems like a bigger deal. “Herb?”

“Yeah?” You both keep going.

“Noth...ing is going to, hmmng! Change after this, right?” Your voice isn’t working right.

“Of course not!” His voice is a bit cracked too, but not nearly as off as yours. “I mean, you don’t want them to change, right?” You understand why he hesitated before. It seems so clear now.

“Right.” You squirm your whole body in physical and mental relief. If his back wasn’t there to lean against, you’d be falling over. “I’m,” you try to right yourself but fail, “I’m hnng! Glad. You’re. My. Friend.”

“Me too.” He gasps.

Hearing him like that, smelling him, feeling his naked back against yours. It’s all too much. “I think it’s going to happen.”

He grabs your free hand. “Together?”

“I can’t...” sparkles invade the side of your vision, “controllllll it.”

“I can.” His back is shaking.

You pour over the edge just like the water in your aura before. It’s a tsunami of pleasure. You slide completely onto your back and arch it. You can hear yourself squeal and feel grass and mud somewhere in the distance, but it’s all in another world. What consumes you is the feeling of bliss in your body and holding onto Herb. You flop like a fish and don’t care. Everything is too wonderful. In time, the needy warmth between your legs fades and is replace with a different, calmer type of warmth in your heart and mind. When you’re done, you lazily open your eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asks, laughing a little.

You lay back down on your back. You loosen your grab on his hand a little, but don’t let go. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” He lays back.

You both look up at the sky. You occasionally glance over and smile. He smiles back.

“Thank you.” You tell him.

“For what?”

“Being you. I lost control there for a bit. I’m not ready to go that far either. But if you wanted to, you could have had your way with me. I’m glad I have my senses again.”

He smiles. He’s not disappointed. He’s happy for you.

“Did you...?”

“Ohhhh yeah.” He gives a weak laugh. He seems just as relaxed as you.

You lean up. You’re feeling heavier than ever, but you want to see. It’s softer now, but still got some hardness to it. You reach over and take his seed from the tip.

“What are you-?”

You pop it into your mouth. “Tastes like tokal root.”

He looks Mareepish. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Hmmm, nah.” You decide. You reach down and wet your fingers, then put them into his mouth. “How’s that?”

He almost falls over in surprise. “Umm. Good?”

“Come on!” You protest. “Tell me for real.”

“Tastes a little like kiwi, I guess.”

“Oh neat!” You try some yourself, then spring up. He’s got that look people get when you’re doing something they think is silly. You don’t mind though. His look for that is unique, and you like the way his eyebrow moves when he does it.

You feel tired, heavy, but also somehow light. Like you’ve lost a heavy weight you didn’t know you were carrying. Is this just how people feel after? It’s nice!

“Come on.” You gesture him over. “We need to clean ourselves again.”

He looks back at his mud covered back. “Oh yeah. Look at that.”

The two of you clean up, feeling surprisingly comfortable. Nothing changed. You’re so relieved. At the same time though, you can’t help but look at him just a little differently. Closer. Less worried about doing or saying the wrong thing. After you both get dressed and walk back to the camp, you hold onto his arm. You break it after awhile, not wanting to be too strange.

You wonder if Herb could be selected for the fertility ritual. Would you want to take the honor? You could, with your position. Would he want to be chosen? What would it be like?

Oh gosh. You’re becoming attached, aren’t you?

You hold onto his arm again. Just a little longer. Until you reach Laki. It's comfy. And this is a strange, foreign wood. It smells nice, though.