The TwiceBorn

Weightless And Slow

"You're teaching me patience and I'm teaching you fast...we are gravity's definition."--Melissa Ferrick

She quietly watched as Alora started to shake her head and open her mouth to argue but Islinn stopped that quickly enough by reaching her hand out and resting it against the woman's face.  There was an odd overtone of warmth to the fading bruises on Alora's cheek but Islinn could feel the steady chill of the skin underneath.

Later on, she knew she'd wonder why she did what she was about to do but even amongst the fear and horror of what had just occurred, she knew there was something else.  Something gentle. Needed.  And she also knew that if she embraced the first two, she would never know the last. 

She was dimly aware that she was trembling as she looked into Alora's black eyes and read the confusion and hesitancy in their dark depths.  For a moment, she though the other woman was going to bolt. Leaning in, Islinn closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Alora's.

 Of course, part of her wondered if she was doing it right.  She honestly didn't know. It was simply something she'd never done, not this slow easy rippling water sense of knowing someone, of trying to connect  through such a delicate show and she felt overwhelmed by the moment. She was aware of everything. The scent of Alora's skin and the taste of her lips.The quick light breath against her cheek. 

Islinn started to pull back, unsure, and then stopped as she felt Alora's teeth lightly catch her bottom lip and the quick glide of her tongue across it caused her to jump.  She hesitated then felt Alora's hands on either side of her face as the woman pulled her closer and the lips beneath her own became more insistent. More demanding.

Not like this. 

Sudden panic over rode any rational thought.   Her throat began to close up and whatever this was she had started was no longer a good idea. Her heart pounded.  She wanted to get away, far away, and if she could just get to her feet,she could...

"Ssshhh..." Alora whispered.  "I won't hurt you Islinn. Just...please...let me..."

Islinn froze and felt herself nod even though she knew it wasn't a question of "letting" Alora do anything.  When she'd called Alora an animal, she knew she hadn't been very far off the mark.  In all things, whether killing or kissing, Alora's intensity raged.  Islinn closed her eyes and simply hoped things wouldn't pick up where they'd left off.

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Alora slowly sat down by Islinn, her eyes never leaving the girl's face. She was on unfamiliar ground.  She didn't understand what she had just promised; she only knew she would do whatever it took to keep her word.

Alora slipped her arm around Islinn's shoulder and carefully pulled the girl to her.  She cradled the girl, feeling the warmth of her against her chest.  It was more a protective gesture than anything else but at the moment it was all Alora had to offer.  Her heart was racing, spurred on simply by what she was and what she held at the moment. 

Oddly enough, she thought of Loki.   How the cold bite of crisp Fall mornings would cause him to strain and snort against the bit, his eyes wild, and  how the only thing that controlled all that power was a bridle and two thin strips of leather. All that knotted muscle she could feel as she gripped his sides with her legs,as he waited for the moment when she loosened the rein and his head was free so he could run down whatever crossed his path, just run and run like he had all the devils in the world on his heels. 

Untamed.

  That was the word she was looking for. It described her dark stallion's ways and the soil of her own heart.