Forever Captive

Chapter [ERROR_0]

I groan slightly as I finally move from being Aska's pillow. His recent obsession has been falling asleep draped over me while I run my fingers through his hair. His explanation? None given. I don't truly mind it, he's just heavy enough that it makes my legs numb.

"Aska, love." I whisper gently as he stirs, "It's about time to get up."

It's well past nightfall, actually, but he came back from his recent excursion exhausted and I don't believe we have anything to do today. I have enough fruit for myself to last for a day, as well as enough water in the flasks I collected from the soldiers that both of us could drink to our hearts' content.

Aska's eyelids flutter open as he lifts himself off of me, his tongue lazily flicking to my cheek while I watch his light blue eyes darken considerably. He slithers away from me when grey spreads from the pupils and I frown, tilting my head slightly.

He was gone for a little longer than normal. I reach forward and watch him flinch back, "Aska, did something happen? Are you alright?"

"It is..." He starts, faltering as he looks away with a hint of hesitance, "I went to visit the communal home that I told you about. It is the season for many of us to gather to... begin the mating ritual. It is also courtesy to say that you are no longer available when it first begins. I have done that, however... I do not wish to force my primal desire onto you. It is becoming increasingly difficult, so I might appear slightly distant."

Oh, fuck. He's in season.

I can already feel my cheeks flush like a child as I look down with a sharp breath. Would I mind that? No. Do I have any idea how it would work? No. I feel like that's an issue.

"I wouldn't mind." I whisper weakly, "I just don't know... how. I don't know how even between me and my own kind."

It's kind enough that he's willing to wait as long as it takes, but I thought my original answer would have already told him that I don't mind at all. Even as he said nagas mated for life, I had already expected that this would happen much sooner than just now.

His eyes seem to darken, though they remain grey. He tilts his head as his tongue very slowly flicks along my neck, warm from his slumber against me. He hisses softly when he pulls his tongue back into his mouth, "Your scent remains the same. You are not... If you are in season now, then you have been for much longer than nagas do."

"Ah, humans..." I pause slightly, trying to explain something I haven't thought of before, "I don't have a breeding season, Aska. I don't need to wait for a certain time, I just..."

I just need to be turned on, which I get the feeling won't be hard for him to do. How to translate that to words I would be willing to say, though, is a virtually impossible question.

"I just need to be... I need it to be initiated." I finally finish the sentence after a long moment of silence, though I frown at the word I used, "Or enticed is the better word, I think."

"You can..." His eyes darken considerably before he hisses, "If you are capable of mating whenever you desire, then I am as well. Females are the only one that must... reach a ripe scent. It is simply uncommon for a male to desire another as much as I... have, even when the time is not appropriate."

So, this isn't a new thing? He's just been hiding it until now, when it got to be the time when nagas typically feel a sexual urge?

I bite my lip as I look away from him again, "It's less about a desire for me. To be frank, I... just don't know how it feels. All of this is incredibly new to me."

He freezes for a second before his nostrils flare, "Turn around, please."

I do as he asks quietly, nervous from just the possessive yet hesitant note in his voice. In the entire time I've known him, he's only just started to seem to show any facial expressions. They're fleeting and small, but they're there. I rely so heavily on his voice and eyes to tell me his emotions that it's impossible not to notice exactly where his mind went from my very hesitant explanation.