Ukko woke up at sunrise. A few muscles in his back protested as he shifted,
reminding him of the night before. He became aware of the warm body next to him.
He opened his eyes and saw Abigail resting on her side, looking at him. "Hi," she
said. "Hey you," he replied. Ukko let his eyes wander over her smooth curves. The
first sunrays of the days caressed her thigh and shoulder, adding an angelic
quality to her beauty. If Shilohin would ever walk among mortal men, he thought,
this is what she would look like. She stared back, as she had done for a while.
She ached in places long forgotten. But it felt good, a testament to their
labors. She felt better than she had for an unhealtily long period of time.
"Penny for your thoughts?" he said after a while. "I wondered what you were
thinking," she smiled. "If you had..." "...regrets? No." That came out a bit too
quickly, he realized, so he added: "No, really, I don't. I feel great."  He
immediately felt guilty. It was as if he'd said: you were a great lay, thank you.
See you around. The sex had been fantastic, for sure, but hadn't it been more
than that? "How about you? Was this what you were pining about for the past
days?" She bit her lower lip and nodded. "Wondering how to get my attention?" he
teased. Abigail rolled her eyes.  "I practically had to throw myself at you,
before you noticed me!" she complained. "Hey, I noticed alright. I'm just a guy
who needs a bit more reassurance than Dlanor. I don't have all that much
experience with women. They don't usually throw themselves at me, you know."
"Their loss," she quipped and gave him a quick peck. She got up and took her grey
shirt. Stretching her arms above her head she let the shirt slide down over her
shoulder and breasts. She donned her clothes and armor in methodical, practiced
movements, covering more and more parts of her body. This was, strangely enough,
as exciting as her stripping, Ukko thought. But he put a lid on that train of
thoughts. Time to cut the strings connecting to last night, he decided. He might
wish it had been more than just sex, but it wasn't up to him to decide that it
had been. After eating the last of the berries they gathered yesterday it was
time for training. Abigail had made a wreath of twigs and leaves and hung it up
on the old willow. They took turns in shooting arrows with Abigail's crossbow.
First with the gem-sight mounted, then without. A few times she had to correct
his stance. Ukko felt himself distracted by the feel of her hands on his wrists
and arms. He forcibly emptied his mind and tried to capture the moment of
release. The arrow hit the target alright, but not anywhere near the middle. If
she had noticed, she didn't let on. Then they duelled. He with his two longswords
and she with her longsword and her silver dagger. Dancing around eachother, parry
and strike, block and thrust. They worked up a good sweat, but the nagging
feeling Ukko had had for a while remained. They took a refreshing swim
afterwards, but neither one of them tried to strike up a conversation. They
avoided looking at eachother. As they got out of the water Ukko wanted to tell
her how much he had enjoyed the closeness between them. He stared at her bare
back while she stripped the water off her arms. And he just couldn't find the
right words. They dressed and packed their gear without a spoken word. This is
ridiculous, he thought, as they mounted their horses and rode off eastwards. The
entire day they drove on, only stopping at midday to let their mounts drinks. At
about four in the afternoon Abigail spotted a wild boar. She managed to kill it
with only two arrows. "Hey, there's a farm up ahead. I'll check the place out and
see if I can buy some bread, ok?" Ukko announced. "Ask them if they got fruit!"
she called as he rode off. She took the harnas and saddle off her mare and
started looking for the brush in the saddlebags.


"Afternoon," Ukko greeted the elderly couple which was sitting on a wooden bench
in front of their house. The farmer got up and raised gnarled hand.  "Afternoon,
stranger." "My companion and I are a bit short on food and I wondered if I could
buy some bread. And some fruit if you have some," he explained. "Maybe..." the
farmer replied. He eyed the warrior suspiciously. "Are you going to pay for it as
well?" Ukko grinned and shook his purse. "My sovereigns are as good as the next
man's, farmer." "And your swords as sharp as the next man's," the old man added
grimly. "Let's see those shiny coins, stranger." Ukko dismounted and walked
towards him, keeping his hands away from his swords. The farmer relaxed somewhat
and they bargained. A little later Ukko rode off with fresh supplies. He'd paid a
bigger amount than was reasonable, but these people were farmers. Working from
sunrise to sunset just to keep the bread on the table. Adventurers on the other
hand, like themselves, could just try and hijack another goblin patrol and earn
some quick sovereigns. Riding back to where he'd left Abigail, he noticed a trail
of broken off twigs and flattened grass joining his old trail. He wasn't sure
what the signs told him; she had taken time to tell him about tracking and some
telltale signs and now he wished he'd paid more attention. Coming close to where
she'd shot the boar he heard voices. From right behind that group of trees. He
saw some faint movement and he recognized her voice - she seemed agitated. Riding
around the copse of trees Ukko saw four horses tied to a couple of birches.
Abigail stood with her back to Cloud, the brush still in her hand. Surrounding
her were four young men. One of whom had grabbed hold of her wrist. Abigail
yelled something and the men looked at him, distracted for a moment. Ukko felt
the blood rush to his head. His Abby! They were trying to... the thought was
blotted out by a wave of anger. He jumped from his horse and bellowed: "Get away
from her!!"  He didn't even bother to draw his sword. A rage had taken control of
him and demanded that only his bare hands were good enough for revenge. Two of
the men hesitated. The one holding Abigail shouted something and the fourth one
stepped towards him. His fist struck the man in the middle of his chest. Ukko
didn't wait for the reaction but added two more punches, one left and one right.
When the big guy sagged through his knees Ukko made a run for the one holding
Abigail. The man let go of her and reached into his shirt. Ukko grabbed him by
the scruff of his neck and drove him straight into one of the trees. Planting his
knee in the other man's crotch, he screamed: "Why don't you try me on for a size,
huh!?"  Stepping back for a moment he drove his head into the man's stomach.
Ignoring the muffled screams he grabbed a handful of hair and slammed the other
man's head against the bark. "Like touching women, eh!?" Ukko yelled into his
ear. Gasping for air the man produced a dagger. Ukko simply ignored the weapon.
He formed Stone Fist, designed to break an opponent's nose, and punched as hard
as he could. The man dropped the dagger and tried to scramble away from this
madman. A trickle of blood ran from his nose to his lip. Ukko took another swing
at his stomach. And another. "Ukko, that's enough!" He looked up and saw the
other three men quickly mounting their horses and riding away if chased by
demons. Abigail stood next to him and covered his fist with her hand. "That's
enough," she repeated. Ukko took a deep breath and let go of his opponent. The
man madly scrambled away from him and ran towards his horse. "Farmhands I think.
Thought they could have some fun with me," she said.  "They surprised me," she
added softly. "Are you alright? Did they..." Ukko swallowed. "...do anything?"
She smiled. Her hand moved to his heaving chest, a feathery light touch that send
shivers through him. "I'm alright, my love." Hearing her call him that send
another wave of excitement through him. She looked so lovely and beautiful. He
nodded curtly, picked up the assailant's dagger and turned to examine it in the
sunlight. He was afraid that in her gratitude she'd hug or kiss him - he was
convinced he'd lose it then for sure. He whistled for King and walked away from
her. Abigail looked at the ground. The moment had passed. He hadn't even given
her a chance to thank him. She resumed brushing Cloud with slow strokes, feeling
disappointed and relieved at the same time. Relieved that he hadn't asked why a
couple of farmboys had caught her off-guard. Disappointed that she missed the
opportunity to hold him and and kiss him and... seduce him again, she confessed
to herself. Oh Shilohin, that would've been disastrous, she thought. Look what
one night of love had done to their friendship. No, she corrected herself. A
night of sex. It had been sex. A very relaxing and very much needed physical
exercise. And the most tender and passionate sex she had ever had. She gritted
her teeth and closed her eyes. This is getting me nowhere, she thought. I just
have to act normal and pick up our friendship, just like he does. Cloud looked
round why her mistress had stopped brushing. Abigail smiled a wry smile and ran
her hand over the mare's nose. Cloud winked at her as if she understood. After
unsaddling his horse, Ukko started to skin the boar. He had done skinning many
times and knew how to get every ounce of meat out of the animal and keep the skin
intact at the same time. Relying on his experience he tried to calm down the
torrent of thought that still raged inside him. After a while he discovered he'd
ruined a perfectly good boarskin. The cooking went better. Abigail squatted
beside him. "Smells good!" she commented. Ukko grumbled something and added a few
herbs. Half an hour later they ate pork stew. They talked about different recipes
for stew and shared a few jokes about some of Ukko's failed culinary experiments.
Ukko was put more at ease and was no longer distracted by her long, searching
looks. They were two flexible, well-adjusted adults, comfortable with themselves
and around one another. Ukko pulled out his waterskin and offered it to her.
"Want some applewine?" Abigail's eyes lit up. "Applewine? What's the ocassion?!"
she teased. She put the waterskin to her mouth and took a swig. She felt the
liquid warm her chest as it went down. She took another swig and gave the
waterskin back to him. She stretched luxuriously and sighed in utter contentment.
Trying to ignore her pose, Ukko asked: "Don't you wish it could be like this
forever?" "Almost," she agreed. Then she added: "Well, no. Not in the long run."
Ukko sipped his applewine and studied the way her hair cascaded down her
shoulders and how her long, slender fingers fidgeted with her necklace. "What do
you want then, in the long run, I mean." "You mean, what would I wish for?" Ukko
nodded. She wrapped her necklace around her index finger. He remembered how good
those fingers had felt on him. "Do you remember that time we stayed in Katar and
one of the rooms in the inn had been broken into?" "The juggler." "Yes. One of
the guests had seen him skulking around the rooms that night. They searched him
head to toe and they couldn't find anything. But that didn't stop them from
flailing him and driving him out of town. Do you remember what they called him as
they threw stones at him?" Ukko remembered. Shouldn't we do something? he had
asked Revelc. The mage had slowly shaken his head. The crowd will turn against us
or the militia will throw us in jail, he had answered. But isn't anyone going to
help that poor kid? he had protested. Revelc had gripped his wrist and told him:
attacking people's beliefs is very dangerous. They cannot be changed with gold or
power. You can only pity how these simpletons think of people of mixed race. And
so they had done nothing. "They didn't even bother to ask him if it was true,"
Abigail continued. "Because he was halfelf. A half-breed." She propped herself up
and sought his eyes. She said: "I want to be accepted as I am. Accepted as a
daughter of mixed blood. I want to be proud of my double heritage. I want those
people apologizing to that juggler. I want the father to tell his son that he
made a great match, not a great match /for a half-elf/." Ukko looked at her. It
was hardly a wish any mortal man, no matter how powerful or wealthy, could
fulfill. But she dared to dream. And he loved her for it. He doubted that she
ever would see it come true, but if anyone could make a difference, it would be
her. Life seemed to happen around her. "You don't think it will happen," she
said. He sighed. "People are stubborn, Abby. And most of them don't like
admitting they're wrong. Not to themselves and certainly not to others." Looking
into the flames, he added: "But if anyone can make them change their mind, I
think you can. And if it makes any difference, I accept you as you are." For a
while only the crackling of twigs in the fire could be heard. Abigail smiled to
herself. It was the first time she had ever mentioned this dream to anyone and he
hadn't dismissed it as idle fancy. And even when he was serious, he managed to
give her a compliment. In only two days they would arrive in Carlin, Ukko
reflected. Just two more days to decide if there was there was more between them
than just friends. If there was anything at all. If he wanted to tell her how he
felt, he had to tell her before they joined the others. He knew himself. He
didn't have the gall to breach the subject with anyone else present, let alone
the rest of the group. It was ridiculous really, that he was afraid of being
laughed at by the same people who had saved his life and whose lives he had
helped save. He had laughed in the face of troll warriors, insulted a storm giant
and he just didn't have it in him to approach Abigail and tell her the truth.
Maybe I can stretch it to three days, he thought. Abigail moved over to him and
took his hand. "I know you do, and it does make a difference. Thank you." The
inviting smile she gave him melted away any control he had built up in the past
hours. She wouldn't mind that he stole one kiss, he reasoned. After all, what
would one kiss be after last night. He grabbed her wrists and pushed her
backwards, putting his weight on his arms to force her onto her back. He kissed
her forcefully. "Ukko... mmmhh... leggo! Wha... mmhh... stop it!!" She struggled
wildly to get her hands free, trying to get away, but he held her down with
considerable ease. When he relaxed his grip somewhat she bit his nose. He
screamed in pain and seemed to realize what he was doing. He let go of her wrists
and his face went ashen. Koriel, take me away, he thought. What have I done? How
can I apologize for this? I ruined it. "Not so," Abigail said breathlessly. "Not
this way."  She sat up and rubbed her wrists. "Please forgive me," he started. He
wouldn't lie to her. He would just have to tell her. There was no other way now.
"I just had to... I, I can't get you out of my mind, I kept thinking of last
night and I... I never meant to harm you and I know we're just partners and,
and... Gods, you drive me crazy, Abby..." His voice faltered. Abigail was
stunned. /She/ drove /him/ crazy? The blood rushed to her face and she put her
hands on the ground to stop them from trembling. She whispered hoarsely: "Go on."
Ukko cleared his throat. Maybe there was a way out of this. Maybe she would
understand.  "I desire you, Abby. I want you so much it hurts. I want to hear and
feel you again, I want to make you scream and..." Abigail put her hand over his
mouth and whispered: "Go on." His eyes widened when he realized what she meant.
For a moment he was dumbfounded, unable to move. Then he took her hand and slowly
licked her palm. Abigail swallowed visibly as he sucked her index finger in his
mouth and slowly circled it with his tongue. Her wildly beating heart sped up her
breathing. She felt herself growing warm and fuzzy. Without letting go of her
finger, Ukko reached for her and stroked her cheek. She closed her eyes and
tilted her head give him access to her neck. Ukko felt incredibly alive. He had
taken the only chance there was and told her the whole truth. And she had
accepted it. Accepted him. The woman he knew so well as friend and comrade in
arms was here with him, for him, warm and pliable, smelling of blossoms in the
spring. He shifted weight to give his erection more room. She excited him to no
end and judging from her face and heavy breathing, the feeling was mutual. He
gently bit her earlobe and kissed a trail down to her throat. Abigail shivered
under his touch. They stood up and kissed again, hungrily, almost devouring each
other. His tongue came out to lick her lips and she tried to suck it in. Her
hands were frantically untying the straps of his jerkin and loosening the shirt
underneath. He ripped her shoulder piece off and bit her gently in the nape of
her shoulder. Impatiently, Abigail drew her dagger, cut the unyielding straps in
a swift move and yanked the jerkin off his shoulders. She pulled up his shirt and
licked his chest, inhaling his masculine scent. Ukko slid a hand inside her linen
shirt and cupped a breast, twisting and pulling her stiff nipple. A gasp escaped
from her lips. One of her hands slipped inside his pants and started stroking his
rigid member. He moved his hands down her back, down to her buttocks and in
between. Her knees buckled as she felt him at her wetness, rubbing her pleasure
bead. Her world shrank to that spot between her legs. If he would just come
inside her, she wanted him so badly... With his pants at the ankles Ukko suddenly
turned her around and lifted her shirt. A wave of excitement coursed through her.
Mare and Stallion! Shilohin, don't let me fall down, she prayed. Then all
coherent thought left her as felt his head against her entrance and his warm
hands on her hips pulling her back to him, onto him. She felt him sliding deep in
her garden and sighed. They fit so well and it was so fine. Ukko felt her warm
wetness caress him, the clenching of her inner muscles and her warm ass on his
hips and feared he might go without her. He started a rhythm of short, hard
thrusts. Abigail sighed in relief as she felt her pleasure mounting towards the
stars. Shifting her feet for better balance she started to buck her hips back at
him, each move producing more fiery jolts inside her, stretching her as if she
were a bow string and he was so hard inside her and speeding up with every move
and stroking her legs, now trembling with the effort to remain standing and the
heat grew bigger and threatened to swallow her and then fireworks started to go
off inside her head. Ukko felt her muscles contract around him and could no
longer contain himself.  "Abby..." he groaned as he ejected in her tightening
sheath. Abigail moaned blissfully and kept moving against his hardness, not
feeling anything except the wonderful pounding in her loins and the incredible
heat where her body joined his. She was floating among the stars. As the pleasure
faded they realized how closely they were pressed together. She leaning her back
against his chest and stomach, loins and legs almost one and her hands over his.
His ragged breathing and hers. The soft liquid sounds of their joining. "Abby...
let's sit down," he whispered. "Great idea." She sat in his lap and looked up at
him. For a while they just stared at each other, enjoying the closeness. Thank
you for her, Shilohin, Ukko thought. He felt awkward addressing the Lady of Love
who had never before smiled upon him. "Why didn't you say anything?" she said
softly. "I thought you wanted to be friends." "You fool," she smiled. "I've been
thinking about you all day, what to say to you and how to say it." Ukko ran his
finger over her upper arm and shoulder.  "When you got out of the water this
morning... I tried. But I just didn't know how to tell you." "Tell me what?" she
asked, her eyes unsure. Ukko looked at her and wondered if she felt as vulnerable
as he did. Just say it, he thought. Just tell her. "That I'm in love with you,"
he said softly. "Madly in love." She hugged him fiercely, burying her head in his
shoulder, mumbling: "So am I, Zhaly'en. So am I." Ukko recognized the Elvish word
for 'soulmate' and knew he had vastly underestimated her feelings for him. In
only two nights they would arrive in Carlin. Not a lot of time to be alone,
Abigail thought. Maybe I can stretch it to three days.