Nordlys: The Northern Lights Orgy Club

52

Barren, rocky walls hem in the narrow pathway, always curving, left, right, up, down, in hairpin, switchback turns. Uneven terrain causes frequent stumbling, and the cold that seeps from these rocks is unnatural, burning to the touch.

Stahri's right arm is bound against his chest for protection, to prevent further injury, and his shoulder aches abominably. He contemplates healing himself for the 15th time, weighing the pros and cons again. His powerful body is capable of accelerated healing, but it takes calories, and he has not eaten in a few days. He has enough fat reserves to heal himself, but he will not be able to Shift to wolf form again if he does so, because Shifting also takes calories. His nostrils flare as he scents the air hopefully, but he doesn't smell anything remotely edible. He must decide if it is better to walk this maze healed and starving, OR clumsy and in pain, but with a possible wolf form up his sleeve.

"If I find that Beast, I'm gonna eat the fucking thing" Stahri mutters to himself.

"You won't find it... it will find you..." the voice of King Cryptid unexpectedly mocks him.

Stahri freezes, lowers to a crouch, head on a swivel. He doesn't see anything, nor does he hear any movement, and there are no new scents. The means by which King Cryptid is able to communicate with him is still a mystery. He steps forward again, and cautiously peers around the corner of the next abrupt hairpin turn, revealing five feet of tunnel before it curves again. This movement triggers a forgotten memory, amazingly vivid and clear, of JFK airport.

'DETOUR' read the large orange sign on a concrete baffle in front of him, with an arrow pointing to the right. There was construction going on in half the airport, and baffles had been set up to detour travelers through the affected terminals. Stahri rolls his eyes, cursing his father for making him fly commercial, and follows the long winding pathway made by temporary walls to reach the AirTran, an electric train system that connects all terminals.
As soon as he steps onto the train, he is flooded with sensory input by the scent of every passenger that has ridden in that car for the last 24 hours. He holds his nose, and ducks his head, moving to the extreme end of the car, holding his breath for as long as possible. The train lurches forward, jostling him, and forcing him to take a breath. A new scent greets him, as delectable as a cool breeze on a hot summer day, which he traces to a long strand of hair left on the seat beside him.

Stahri shakes his head roughly, telling himself to focus, and cautiously creeps through the length of tunnel, pausing at the end to look around the next corner, triggering another wave of vivid memory.

Leaning against a temp wall, his hunt almost concluded, the trail of scent in front of him so strong it was practically visible. Mouth-watering, enticing, getting him bricked up, and there could be no mistaking who it emanated from. The young woman lounging all by herself, in the waiting area of the Airline Gate for Iceland Air, a hoodie pulled low over her face, staring intently at a cell phone, which trailed a power cord to an outlet close by.

"You've GOT to be kidding me" Stahri murmurs aloud, remembering his thoughts at the time, which echo his sentiments right now.

Annoyed with himself, and the partial erection which had sprung up from memory, Stahri presses on, following the tunnel down seven feet, and pausing at the next turn, hesitating to look around the corner in case it triggers yet another wave of memory. He frowns down at the bulge at the front of his pants, and then vividly relives his memory of doing just that at the airport long ago.

"You have had many women, of all different flavors and nationalities. Our baby mama is a Countess. Yet THIS girl is the one you must have? No Mames!" he had scolded his dick in Spanish at the time.