What Shadows May Lie

[Lion]

That was all he needed and he leaned her back, both of them wrapped in the softness of that fur blanket that trapped in the heat of their bodies.   He leaned over her and slipped off her trousers.  He hovered over her for just a moment before he locked with her and breathed heavily as his heart wanted to jump out of his chest.  His head swirled and swarmed in a haze, but it was a haze that made him hold her tighter to him, linger his lips over hers before taking her mouth.  He was gentle, but didn't hold back, and let himself get caught up in the way she made him shiver, hitch his breath, say her name in whispered moans, lose his mind all over again.

[Anonymous]

Lana allowed him to take the reigns.  He read her body so well, so artfully well, making her react in ways, on so many levels, that she never knew she could.  She took one of his hands and slid it beneath her back, just over the dark crystal above her tailbone.  Relief swam over her in the moment of their interlocking.  She had wanted him, always wanted him, for so long.  She savored each little sound he made, each revving her own moans in return against his ear.  Intimate.  Appetizing.  Feverishly suffocating.  Rhythmic.  Comforting.  Lana let herself succumb to his decisions, wanting only to know that she pleased him.  At times it seemed that she might not survive how painfully wonderful he was, he was indescribably intense.  In a moment of rapture she held to him, her face buried in his hair.  And then, an unsettling anxiety slowly crept from her chest into her throat and her abdomen, and she thought she heard the echo of an indistinguishable voice.  It made her feel suddenly shy, as if others were watching them in their most intimate moments, exploiting the privacy of their closed quarters.  She almost felt embarrassed, something she had never often been accustomed to.  She said his name again, this time with a tone of awareness.

"Ghanon..."

[Lion]

Ghanon was absorbed completely in her, body, mind and soul.  He felt an energy surge through him, almost severing himself from that siphon of power called Azaghal.  Ghanon felt freer now than he could remember being so since the moment he was cast into the void.  He knew all things would come together, one moment to the next and things would fall into place in the way they should, in regards to the courses take, the decisions made.  He could not always account for his own decisions, some things could not always be easily justified or explained.  But he never acted without reason, never in what seemed like the randomness of existence.  What reason did he have to lie with Lana other than that he cared for her?  There was still much confusion in that aspect.  But perhaps he didn't have to know right away, and for now that was enough.

Ghanon heard his name and his attention became alerted when he recognized the tone by which she spoke it.  He paused mid-stroke and listened, having though he heard it too, but it disappeared before he could know.  "What...what's wrong?" he said softly.  "What did you hear?"  He looked around the room, eyes searching for something, for a sign of the Fallen Prince...

[Anonymous]

In Ghanon's arms she felt safe, and so she wrapped her own around his neck, pressing her cheek to his as her eyes stared wildly at the shadows against the cabin walls.  

"Someone... I heard someone." She clenched one of her small hands behind his neck, "I felt someone."

How had Ghanon known that she had heard something?  The only logical reason would be that he had heard it, too.  

"Didn't you hear that?  That voice...  I feel as if we're being peered at."

[Lion]

He paused, and listened, but the voice had ceased.  "I did," he muttered, feeling a growing anxiety that Arcan might be so near to them.  But he waited a long moment, listening, looking around, where he might see eyes peering back at them.

"But it's gone now it seems...  You're not frightened are you?" he smirked a little but it was a half-honest grin.  "You don't have to be if you are.  You're safe as long as you're with me."  Still, his ears strained, but he disguised it well, and pressed his cheek against hers.

Go away, Arcan.  I've got the girl...can't you at least give us this moment...  Hell knows there might not be much left of her when you're done, Ghanon thought fiercely, knowing, feeling that he might still be listening.  He didn't liking having to say that, the thought of there being nothing left of her, it sent a cold stone down into his guts and he held onto her tighter than before.

The voice didn't answer him, only silence remained.

[Anonymous]

How could he be certain it was gone?  He himself wasn't even sure what it was, or why it occurred.  Why wasn't he more alarmed?

Lana kept her cheek pressed firmly against his, eyes carefully scanning the cabin.

"Your sentiments are wholly felt, but you should be more concerned than this."  She now shifted herself to look at him, "An unknown voice enters our chambers and you are so quick to dismiss it."

She looked at him hard, feeling their chests expand and depress with their matched breathing.  

"Why are you so confident?"

[Lion]

Ghanon was alarmed, but he didn't want her to know that he as.  He looked away for a moment to the ground and paused.  Even as he tried to spare her, she was too smart for that.  She wised up and quickly.

When he found it himself to look at her without illusion or an attempt to distract her.  "It's not that I'm confident.  But I know who that voice was.  It was Arcan again.  But I know deviant bastards like him.  They like to mock to taunt.  And because he's wounded me, he knows I'm at his mercy.

"He spoke because he wants to frighten me.  You too.  But I won't let that happen.  I'll get him to return my power one way or another."

[Anonymous]

"What good would it do to frighten me?"  She seemed concerned now, her hand cradling his neck, "And why go through all of this trouble?  He's wounded you severely.  What more could he want?  To destroy you?"

It wasn't that she fretted so much as that she didn't understand.  She herself had had enemies before.  Innumerable forces had taken their stab at demolishing her.  Yet, all had a purpose, a goal, and Ghanon seemed to lack an explanation for what was now obviously an incredibly serious conflict.

"You have nothing, Ghanon, that he could want... Save for the satisfaction of obliterating you."

[Lion]

"He knows we've been traveling together...and he knows...that I'm relying on you a great deal for my very survival.  To sever me from something that would ultimately restore me," he said solemnly.

Ghanon loosened his grip on her, if she wanted to walk away then, he'd let her go if he had to.  "I told you before, that he wants my power.  To absorb the powers of a god, would surely make him unstoppable.  He is a threat to more than just me, Lana.  But to you as well.  If he knows what kind of power you possess, you'd be in danger too.

"Arcan is a siphon, continuous consumption until there is nothing left.  I don't want to see yourself drained of what you possess.  I don't want to see you end up stuck like me."

[Anonymous]

Lana ran her fingers through his pale blonde hair, her lips pursed from her pondering.  She stared at him for a long moment, trying to gain some sense of understanding, but there was something about Ghanon that she couldn't place, something unfamiliar that she had not seen in him before.  

Perhaps it was fear.

She lifted her face to his and pressed her lips against his, the smell of his skin filling her senses.

"He will disappear." She breathed, "Like all of the rest who have ever tried to take you over, like all of those who have attempted to weaken me."

She took his cheek into her palm and sweetly smiled, "The difference in this is that we have known each other now, and I will protect you faithfully."

She paused to run her hands over his glistening chest, then unexpectedly pressed him into her with a small cry of pleasure, "Now, you must demonstrate to him how really powerful you are...."

A smirk played upon her mouth.

[Lion]

If she could see through to his thoughts, she would see the globs of perspiration that were coming down from his mind.  She was close with the words she'd chose, close enough that he nearly spewed the words of his ultimate truth.  But he knew how to weave language, play upon it, and told as much as he could without technically lying.  But he was a liar and he had to be for the sake of his own survival, and for the survival of his mission.  He didn't think of it before, playing Lana like a pawn, but now he knew that suddenly it wasn't playing anymore, and he certainly didn't like having to use her like this.  But it was the only way...and maybe, she might when it was all over...she might find it in her to forgive him....

He was lost in thought and the throbbing of his guilt only doubled over when she kissed him softly for a brief moment.  He words brought a chill down his spine, but it didn't stop his heart from speeding up again.  Was it just because of her body?  Or was it because there was so much more at stake here?  He couldn't tell and he didn't want to think about it.

He smiled at her, glad that she let it go for the moment and his grin widened.  He answered only with the deepened pressure of his mouth on hers and thrusted again, intending to finish what they started together.  Moaning her name, breathing it like it was the very essence of his existence.  The only reason to be.

[Anonymous]

She trembled beneath him, fully craving the breadth of his prowess.  She let him handle her as he would like, even hoping that he might grasp her just a little too tightly, or plunge into her with unexpected force.  She felt destructive, but at the same time delicate, always turning from one feeling to the next.  But it was when she realized that he could no longer satiate her appetite that she pushed him on to his back and took over the motion herself.  She sprang to life and leaned forward to make love to his neck with her mouth, all the while drifting away into a sea of overwhelming ecstasy.  This time, she wanted the knowledge that she was in control, and that his satisfaction would be her doing, and only hers.

[Lion]

He always worked to ensure his lovers were satisfied, even beyond that if need be.  He needed Lana to do more than trust him, to give herself to him in a way that might transcend all logical thought.  He might've thought he was doing what was necessary, only to be suddenly thrown on his back and taken over, conquered like a land in rebellion.  He might have fought her for control, but he gasp in pleasure and breathed hard to the dance their bodies made.  "Lana!" he moaned loudly, his nails dug into the flesh of her hips and he felt like he couldn't breathe.  "Oh Lana," he let out with a shudder, and his voice cracked in another moan.  He never knew this side of her, and apart of him wanted to fight her for power, but he only let out another cry when he tried to overthrow her.

[Anonymous]

She held fast to him with a tightness that ensured her dominance.  He was set against the speckled fur of the blanket, a beautiful contrast of dark against his complexion.  She marveled at having such a generous view of his physique, and it made her even more ravenous.  Every movement was a fluid response to his body, a sixth sense guiding her rhythm to compliment his own.  She knew by his reactions how to push him to his limits, and every second was a learning experience to compound the next.  There was a burning desire in her, incapable of being thwarted, to push him over the edge without his permission.  Her own hands gripped his in return where they clung to her hips, her ample bosom heaving with the effort.  She had to show him, had to know she had control...

[Lion]

He continued to fight her, but every movement she made, made him groan, low in his throat, and he felt his resistance grow weaker and weaker, until he didn't know how much longer he could hold on.  He moaned loudly, finally letting her do as she pleased with him and only rose his hips enough to drown in the waves of divine rapture.  She was divine and for once in his existence, could find no place to mock her because of it.  It drove him insane, and his nails dug into her flesh as if that would hold him to some sense of sanity as he felt himself slipping over a cliff.  He cried her name hoarsely, his breath ragged, body drenched with sweat and throat dry.  But he held on just a little longer, as long as he could.  He had to, for the sake of himself.  Nobody broke him, nobody...

[Anonymous]

He was stubborn, and she smiled knowingly down at him.  It really wasn't necessary for him to try to prove his endurance.  She found it more attractive to see that he was so effected by her.  Lana leaned down, allowing her breasts to rest on his chest, and took his bottom lip between her teeth gently.  She laughed a little, kissing him softly and speaking against his lips,  "Let go, Ghanon.  If I stopped now, you'd be so frustrated.  I want to know how much your body likes me."

[Lion]

He tried to hold on...tried and couldn't, his fingers slipped on that cliff's edge.  He plunged down, and yelled out hoarsely, his body quivering and shuddering as he finally let go.  He threw his arms back, letting her go and he lay there, tired, spent.  His labored for breath, heart just about ready to pop through his chest and he turned his head weakly to look at her.  "What the hell's gotten into you?" he asked, a sly grin on his face.  "You're crazy, woman.  Crazy...but so incredible..."

[Anonymous]

Lana felt her face grow hot and she suddenly appeared withdrawn and coy, though her body was flushed with feelings of contentment,
her heart fluttering in response to her small triumph.  She blushed and leaned forward to cuddle into him, their bodies
remaining joined, and rested her chin on her arms.  Her hair fell in curly q's over her arms and shoulders.

"What can I say....  You bring out the best and worst in me.  I won't apologize for taking what was mine, anyhow."

She winked and walked her fingers up his chin to his mouth where they played with the outline of his lips.

[Lion]

She broke him, fine, fine.  He could accept that.  It hadn't been done before.  Or it had and the memory had been misplaced.  Ghanon just wanted to be content with this moment, for though he was tired with an aching groin, they were good aches and he wrapped his arms around her.  Afterward, propped himself up on his elbows, crunching his physique, and leaned back, letting her lay on him.

"You know, I like this darker side of you," he commented with a sly smile.  "And I will never ask for an apology...  I kinda liked it.  Well, not kinda.  I really liked it.  And you know I'm always yours for the taking."  He chuckled and grinned.  But it was a grin that slowly faded away as his thoughts drifted back to what he had to do.

The time was drawing near and he wanted to savor every second of this for as long as he could.  He was torn in a way he'd never been before.  Between what he wanted more...what he needed more.  The shard or Lana.  He'd worked so hard, come this far.  And though guilt never had much stock in his mind, he felt heavy with the weight of what he knew he had to do bearing down on him.  But he had to, he just had to!  He only hoped she could understand, that she could forgive him for what he had to do.  But perhaps even that was asking too much.

Ghanon pecked her fingertips where they lingered on his lips, and he stretched his neck up to kiss her on the lips.  "Lana..." he began slowly, "Do you love me?"

[Anonymous]

The question was entirely unexpected, entirely out of character for him.  She held her expression, despite her surprise, but was careful to consider her response.  Her fingertips ran slowly through a section of his soft hair as she gazed at him gently.

Love him?

It felt right, the word rolling off of his tongue, the feelings that stirred inside of her at the prospect of such a thing.  She had loved before, but having known love only once, and for such a short period of time, and now, grieving the absence of one who had held her heart captive, she couldn't fathom if she even knew what it was anymore.  Perhaps love was different for each new lover, but it wasn't familiar to her.  It wasn't that she didn't suspect the existence of it between herself and Ghanon, but she was just too afraid to touch it.

A part of her ached with the knowledge that she couldn't give him an answer, in spite of her desire race toward the conclusion they both wanted to hear.

"I... I don't know, Ghanon.  I..." her eyes became lost and she closed her mouth to keep her emotions from overflowing, "I know I... want to."

She swallowed the lump forming at the back of her throat and met his eyes, "I know I couldn't imagine moving forward without you..."

She could say everything else except to answer the question with that one heavy word.