They still had a couple of weeks before they were expected to show up in Carlin
and meet the others. They could make the journey in seven days time, but they
were in no hurry. Avoiding towns and main roads, they were more concerned with
keeping a low profile. On the fourth night they camped at the edge of a lake not
far from a village called Oak's Grove. As usual, Abigail fed and took care of the
horses and Ukko prepared the evening meal. He roasted the two rabbits they'd
caught in their snares two days ago and filled their waterskins with fresh water
from the lake. Making sure that their fire was not visible from across the lake -
Oak's Grove lay on the other side - he wondered why his companion had been so
lost in thoughts the past couple of days. She wasn't much of a talker to begin
with, but she seemed unusually quiet off late. He didn't mind though. She was
very refreshing after experiencing the ladies of the big city who seemed so full
of themselves and talked the entire evening and, if they could, after that. 
"Hey, what's eating you, Ears?" Ukko said, trying to get a rise out of her.
Abigail turned in irritation. "Don't call me that."  She led her mare down to the
waterside where she could drink. Ukko shook his head and dug out his salt pouch
from the saddlebags. "Dinner's ready," he announced after a while. They ate for
the most part in silence. Sitting opposite her and having the advantage of added
height Ukko watched Abigail eat. Her eyes focussing on the task at hand she
gently tore off small pieces of meat with her mouth. From time to time she licked
the dripping off her long, slender fingers. There was an unstudied elegance about
her eating, the same unconscious grace applying to most other things she did.
"You told me you cut your hair out of rebelliousness. So that they couldn't miss
seeing your ears," Ukko said. The fire's flames gave her face and hands a fiery
glow. "Uhuh," she replied, concentrating on the meat and spitting a piece of bone
into the fire. "Are you letting it grow back now?" he asked. She nodded.  "I grow
tired of the hood. I want to feel the sun on my face again without having to give
away that I'm..."  Her voice faded and she followed a couple of sparks that had
leapt up from the fire.  "That, and the fact that I'm around someone with whom I
can be myself again."  Her eyes caught his. Ukko couldn't find a proper response
to the sudden praise and nodded instead. After dinner he carved a large splinter
of wood out of a branch and started picking his teeth with it, one of his
favorite after-dinner activities. Abigail took a dirty rag and started cleaning
the mechanism of her crossbow. Ukko let out a modest burp. An owl hooted nearby.
A few crickets launched into a new recital. He felt at peace, sitting here beside
the fire and listening to the sounds around them. The lake's surface was smooth,
reflecting the lights of Oak's Grove at the farside. Cloud and King stood next to
the old willow near the water, nuzzling. Two hills between them and the nearest
path. If there was more to life than killing, looting and pillaging, this, he
thought, could very well be it. His eyes drifted back to Abigail and he smiled.
She hooked her feet behind the wood of the bow, took the bowstring in her hands.
Ukko looked at the play of her muscles of her arms as she started to draw the
string back. Only the pursing of her lips betrayed the effort. She caught him
staring and frowned. "What?" "You're so quiet, Ears," he chuckled. With great
speed Abigail nocked an arrow, aimed the bow at him and fired. The arrow hit
something next to his shoulder. The warrior just sat there, the blood drawn from
his face and his mouth hanging open.  "G-gotcha. I won't call you that again," he
said in a hoarse voice. She smiled at that. When she lowered the bow Ukko glanced
beside him to see what she had hit. Next to his shoulder lay a snake, its head
pierced with an arrow. He released his breath in a long, slow sigh.  "Koriel
guard me! I thought you were going to shoot me!"  He tried to clear his throat.
"There was no time to warn you," she apologized. "Are you alright?" "I think
so... Do you think it was poisonous?" Abigail shrugged.  "Don't know. But it was
about to give you a lovebite. Would've given a nasty wound in the neck from any
kind of snake." Ukko pushed the arrow through the snake's head and gave it back
to her. "Thanks, Abby." "Hey, next time you save my skin again."  After a short
inspection of the sight she put the bow and the cleaning rag away. She got up and
walked down to the edge of the water. In the light of the rising moon she
unfastened the buckles of her chainmail shirt. Ukko stared as she took the shirt
off and put it on a large boulder near the water. Her beltpouch and sheathed
dagger were put on top of it. She managed to take her boots off without
unceremoniously limping around on one foot. Then she slowly stripped her legs of
the padded armor. She was now only dressed in a long shirt that used to be white
but which had now reverted to a more neutral grey. From not more than ten feet
away Ukko admired her. From her long legs, muscled yet graceful, and the curve of
her hips to the swell of her breasts and the outlines of her nipples, clearly
visible through the shirt. She was breathtaking. He could hardly believe this was
the same person who had drunk him under the table two weeks ago in Woolfson
Bridge. Normally, he decided, any woman looking like she did now, combined with
her sense of humor and the ability to keep up interesting conversation would be
near to impossible to resist. How come he hadn't noticed her before? Abigail took
off her jewelry, two rings and a necklace and dropped it in one of her boots. She
turned her back to him and slowly lifted her shirt. For his mind's eye he
envisioned them together, his hands at the small of her back while he... Ukko
blinked his eyes to get rid of that train of thought. But he wondered why he'd
never even considered trying to get her into bed with him. A small voice inside
him answered, because friends are too valuable to take advantage of. And you're
not like Dlanor. Abigail folded her shirt and bend down to put it on top of her
armor, giving him a broad view of her butt, hips and the treasure, that lay
between them. If she were putting on a show for him, it was definitely working.
He had a raging hardon which started to become painful. She stepped into the
water and slowly waded towards the deeper parts of the lake, her hips and ass
swaying. She looked over her shoulder.  "Come on in, the water's great!" she
called. Ukko raised his hand in response. He gathered some branches and threw
them on the fire. He unfastened his leather belt and thought about the dangers
they had faced together. The encounter with the Death Knight still brought him
shivers. For a while he was distracted by loosening the straps of his jerkin and
by the time he dropped his pants his erection had withered enough for him not to
embarrass himself in case he was imagining things. The water was cold enough to
be refreshing and still warm enough for comfort. "Did you never do this when you
were younger?" Abigail asked, treading water as he swam towards her. "Nope."
"Come on, a farmboy like you?" She giggled. "Swim naked at night?" "They worked
me too hard," he admitted.  "I was too tired to do anything at night."  He found
out he could just touch the stones on the bottom with his toes. He found an
elevated rock with a smooth surface and stood on it. They were just grinning
stupidly at eachother for a moment.  "You standing on a rock? Maybe I can too." 
She nearly tripped on his toes, lost her balance and regained it when he put his
arms around her. Her arms slipped around his neck and her groin slowly rubbed
against his, leaving little doubt about what she wanted. The warm, smooth skin of
her back felt great under his wandering hands. His member hardened again and
nuzzled her left thigh. There appeared something unsaid, still, so he stopped
momentarily to face her. He was surprised to see a tear running down her cheek. 
"Do you need a reason?" she said softly. Ukko thought about that.  "To be honest,
no. I eat when I'm hungry, drink when I'm thirsty and sleep with someone when I'm
lonely. A night of passion for the sake of passion is fine by me. But I wondered
what /you/ wanted out of this." Abigail blinked away another tear. "My life's
mostly been dark. There's so much blood and death in it. So many friends lost.
For every foe slain we lose something of ourselves. I wanted to add some
brightness and..."  She gulped and added: "Like you said, no strings attached."
Ukko realized he could as easily fall in love with this woman as he could slip
off the rock they were standing on. He wasn't about to confuse the issue by
saying so. He knew he wanted to possess this sensual being, to know what she
would sound like in the heat of passion and to see the movements of her slender
form and sleek feminine muscles, striving towards perfection in a rather
different art than unarmed combat. He also didn't want to think about the next
morning. "Don't you desire me, Ukko?" she asked, mistaking his hesitation.
"Absolutely," he said. He moved his face towards hers and licked the underside of
her nose. Then he grabbed her buttocks, lifted her out of the water and flipped
her over backwards. She surfaced gasping for air. In a low voice she growled:
"You're going to pay for that!" "I'm soo scared!" Ukko cooed. He started a quick
crawl to get some distance between them. She grabbed a foot and yanked him
underwater. They both surfaced seconds later, facing each other. Abigail splashed
water in his face and laughed. Ukko liked to see that she enjoyed herself and was
determined to keep her spirits up. She'd never smiled much, at least not as much
as he would like. He splashed back and dove underwater. He encountered a smooth
leg and pulled on it. They wrestled and tried to push the other down. When they
hit the bottom, which was littered with pebbles, Abigail pulled him close. Ukko
felt her soft lips caress his, reminding him of their intentions. It was some
time before they got tired of chasing each other and got out of the water. They
shared a blanket and lay down next to the fire to dry. When by mutual consent the
course of events for this night had been clearly outlined, neither one of them
was in a great hurry to consummate their desire. They both wanted to draw out the
experience. For a while they were content to hold eachother and stare into the
flames of the fire. Abigail smiled at him. He smiled back. It was infectious and
she found she couldn't stop grinning. She stuck out her tongue at him and shook
her head, spraying his face with drops of water. Ukko tickled her and she
giggled. They kissed, softly. He stroked her face with surprising tenderness,
slowly licking her right ear. "Ahh, praise Shilohin," Abigail moaned. She had
only suspected that her ears were so sensitive. It was as if her ears were
directly connected to her nipples and what she liked to call her private garden.
Suddenly eager to be joined, she slipped her hand down and grasped his shaft, now
more rigid than ever. Ukko grunted in appreciation but continued licking her,
following her jawline and neck. Slowly massaging his rod Abigail asked
breathlessly: "Am I going too fast for you?"  Ukko groaned: "Uhh... do as you...
ahh..  please. I'm yours..."  With satisfaction she noticed that his head was as
slippery as she was. Sitting up briefly she leaned back and slowly let his shaft
enter her garden, all the while watching his face. They both sighed deeply as she
slid down. After a few moments she rested her buttocks against his hips, his
penis firmly lodged inside her. They slowly moved against against eachother,
trying to find the rhythm. Her hard nipples dragged across his, adding fuel to
their passion. Ukko admitted to himself that during combat practice he /had/
wondered how the young female, at the time performing a complicated figure, would
look and feel in this position. Now he knew: it felt great. She looked great,
smiling and making purring noises from the back of her throat. Her hair, which
looked pearly white in the moonlight, was still partially wet and tousled. He was
staring at her small breasts, which hardly swayed despite the long and deliberate
thrusts of her hips. He wanted to know what the dark, hardened nipples would
taste like, but there was time enough; for the time being he satisfied himself by
pulling and twisting those two heated points of pleasure. Abigail felt as if she
slipped into a hot bath. Heat flowed from different parts of her body towards her
loins, where it accumulated. She looked down to where their bodies were joined,
her matted hairs mingling with his darker hair. Where his penis entered and
filled her private garden, which seemed to be burning with need. Soon Abigail
felt the tying of a knot in her stomach, the familiar knot that kept expanding.
Her nipples were tingling in time with her heartbeat, which was going faster and
faster. He reached out and sharply pinched her right nipple. That send her over
the edge. With a loud scream that silenced the cricket orchestra she exploded
into orgasm. She tried to keep up her movements while the hot waves coursed
through her frame. His hands supported her hips, helping her along. She felt
herself gripping him with great force, felt her heart match that delicious
pounding she felt throughout her loins. Ukko tried to keep up the rhythm without
giving in to the stars himself. Trying to counter the feeling of her warm, wet
sheath moving around him and the sound of her continuous moaning in his ears, he
thought of tax-collectors and death knights. She helped by trying to dig her
nails into his shoulders. Abigail ground her pubic bone into his, drawing out her
pleasure. The moment passed and their movements slowed. When the last waves had
passed she opened her eyes again. She still felt the blood run through her
nipples and fingertips. With a blush on her cheeks she sighed: "Oh, Shilohin!
Wow..." "You are beautiful when you reach the stars," he told her. Catching her
breath she felt that he was still hard. Recalling an intensive three-hour
battle-practice she wondered how long their stamina would last. Neither of them
had broken a sweat yet. It would be a lot of fun to find out, she thought and
smiled wickedly. "I'm curious what you will look like," she replied. Eager to
join the stars again she started to move again. After she had had three more
orgasms they tried out other positions, the Autumn Crane, the Faceless Unicorn.
When they switched to Butterfly they were both panting from exertion. Ukko leaned
on his arms and licked the sweat of her forehead. She tasted salty. "Can you give
me one more?" she asked hopefully. Shilohin, I'm getting greedy, she thought.
I've joined the stars eight times in one night and I want more! Ukko chuckled. 
"I'll try hon, but I'm almost ready to go. Can't you feel it?" Embarrassed by her
selfishness she nodded.  "I'll let you go. Don't worry about me."  She fondled
his jewels and her hips started a gentle rhythm. Ukko groaned. Whether he moved
or not, his pleasure kept mounting. It wouldn't be long before his companion, now
writhing under and around him, would send him on his journey.  "Are you..." he
started to ask. "Safe? Yes, I'm in the middle of my... unngh... safe period." 
Abigail flung her arms around him and sped up her movements.  "You can leave
inside of me... nnghh..."  Her private garden, which by now felt like a mountain
river in spring, had covered his rod with copious amounts of her juices. Soft
liquid noises joined the other sounds of their lovemaking.  "Ahh... actually I
insist..." she panted. Putting her hands on his hips she tried to coax him to
greater speed. She felt his member expand inside her and realized he was almost
gone. To her excitement the warmth inside her concentrated once again into a
fiery ball which was growing rapidly. If they timed it right they might leave
together! She pulled him close and whispered: "Almost going, dear friend? So am
I... If we're not careful we might go together..." Her sultry comments and her
soft, sweaty body sliding beneath him almost send him away. Ukko gritted his
teeth and tried to slow down, but Abigail would have none of it. "Did you ever
make a Lover's Journey with a friend?" she continued. "I'll wager you didn't." 
The words added fuel to the fire they both felt building inside them. Amazingly,
neither one of them had left yet. It was almost a contest of strengths, the
muscles in their arms and legs strained and their minds set to launch the other
into paradise. "Ladies first," he groaned.  "No, go with me," she whispered.
"Leave with me... please!!"  Ukko drove his member all the way inside her and let
himself go. Abigail gasped when she felt his hot streaks up inside her, releasing
in time with the tightening of her own inner muscles. Then the fireball exploded
in her and she was consumed by the flames. Ukko growled as her release fuelled
his. He gripped her shoulders and thrust again, and again. She retaliated by
locking her ankles behind his back and drawing that delicious member inside her
burning garden, quenching and fueling her fire at the same time. They looked at
each other, smiling and panting, their eyes trying to catch as much detail as
possible. Finally the sensations dulled and their movements slowed. By unspoken
agreement he stayed inside her. She traced the contours of his shoulder blades,
enjoying the closeness. Every small movement still caused some muscles to
contract, which in turn still caused warm, gentle waves for both of them. Abigail
tested all her muscles and found herself satisfied. The bruises on her shoulders
told her she truly had made him lose control. She smiled quietly. Not bad for a
first time, she thought.