Chapter 26: Chosen, Chapter 28: Anxious Heart

Aidan

The Realms

Unknown Date

Late Afternoon

Starchaser village, Mistvale Highlands

CLANG clang

Aidan's consciousness gradually swam up out of the black sea of dreamless sleep. Softness surrounded him, and he was pleasantly warm and comfortable for what felt like the first time in months.

CLANG clang

He opened his eyes. He was inside a stone building with a high ceiling. A linen blanket fell into his lap when he sat up; he looked down and saw that he was sitting in the middle of a large, plush, rectangular cushion. A centaur bed?

CLANG clang clang

The blanket was dyed a vibrant forest green and skillfully embroidered with intricate patterns that looped and crossed over themselves repeatedly. He was naked under the blanket, but that didn't bother him. He was almost sure of where he was, and Brighid had already seen everything he had.

CLANG clang

Aidan stood, letting the blanket drop to the bed, although he had to disentangle it from his tail. He looked around, examining the room in which he found himself. That's what it was—a single-story, spacious room, with no divisions between purpose-areas like in an Earth house. The corner he was standing in contained the bed as well as a wooden chest of drawers, presumably holding Brighid's clothing. Next to that were racks covered in a familiar set of Sunsteel armor.

clang CLANG clang

Along the wall to his left lay a fireplace, a series of counters and cabinets lined with hooks, from which dangle various cooking implements, as well as a primitive sink. Barrels, crates, and sacks were lined up against the wall opposite him, near the door. Aidan presumed that those contained food and other vital supplies. A round wooden table took up most of the space near the remaining wall; padded cushions surrounded it. Aidan gave it a critical look and decided that he would need a tall chair to sit at the table comfortably, but that he would probably be OK standing.

CLANG clang

Brighid herself was nowhere to be seen, but given the rhythmic pounding of metal on metal coming from outside, it wasn't hard to guess where she was. Aidan picked up the blanket and wrapped it around himself like a toga. Starchasers may not have a nudity taboo, but I still don't feel comfortable walking around outside naked, Aidan thought. He headed out the door, interested to see Brighid work.

CLANG CLANG

Aidan turned the corner into the open-air forge and leaned against the wall. Brighid was facing partially away from him, so he had a chance to watch her work without her knowing he was there. She was wearing a long leather shirt with a tail dangling down between her forelegs to cover her front and a thick leather blanket over her equine body and legs. She also had a stiff leather apron and gloves on for further protection from sparks and other mishaps that might come from hitting heated metal with large, heavy objects.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

She was holding a bar of metal, glowing whitish-yellow, on the anvil with one hand; the heated portion of the bar was attached to a thinner, non-heated rod of metal to let her hold it safely. Her other hand hefted a smith's hammer, simple in its design with a narrow flat-tipped head, which nonetheless likely weighed at least five pounds. Her arm raised and fell in a smooth rhythm, striking the metal bar in a series of precise blows along its length. Sparks flew with each strike, and the hue of the bar's glow shifted slowly but noticeably from yellow to orange to red.

CLANG CLANG

When the metal cooled to a dim, dark red, Brighid set her hammer down on the anvil then turned entirely away from him. She carried the metal bar to the furnace, placing it into the narrow mouth, then casting a spell to heat the interior. There were a pair of bellows beside the furnace to stoke the flames, but either Brighid wasn't a traditionalist or wasn't in the mood to bother with them. Aidan took a moment to admire the firm roundness of her rump and the coppery sheen of her fur.

After a short while, the metal was back to glowing brightly, and Brighid withdrew it from the heat, turning to place it back on the anvil. Her face lit up with happiness when she saw him leaning against the wall, but she said, "Stay over there for just a moment, Aidan. I just heated this up, and there is no sense wasting the effort." She gave him a warm smile, then turned back to her work.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Her hammer rose and fell, and a sense of peace washed over Aidan as he watched the woman he loved work. Her movements were smooth and sure, mesmerizing to watch.

CLANG CLANG

CLANG CLANG CLANG

CLANG

Brighid beat the metal until it was only barely glowing, then stepped back and wiped her brow. She carefully lifted the still incredibly hot metal bar and pushed it into a barrel full of what looked like sand. Then, she hung her hammer on the wall, removed her gloves, apron, and blanket, then strode over to Aidan. She pulled him into a tight hug, which, due to their height difference, placed his face in the valley between her breasts. He nuzzled into her softness through the leather shirt, and she laughed, pushing him back away from her by the shoulders and smiling down at him.

"You look better. Well-rested, at least. Are you feeling any better?" She asked, genuine concern evident in her voice.

Aidan nodded and responded, "A little. I don't hurt everywhere anymore, at least. When I woke up after ... after what happened—" He tried to tell her about his trip back to the village, but she just pressed a soft finger to his lips and shook her head at him.

"It is alright, I understand. I could tell that you pushed yourself to your limits to come back as quickly as you could, and that is all I need to know." She eyed him critically, then followed up with, "And I would bet you did not stop to eat anything, or even have anything with you to eat, did you?" At Aidan's sheepish expression and the shake of his head, Brighid snorted. "Men! You are all the same, regardless of species, I swear. Come, I will make us some food and then we can go down to the river to wash. I worked up a sweat in the forge, and I would rather not face the Council smelling of it."

"I could—" He started to say, but Brighid cut him off, a warning edge in her voice.

"I know you were not about to say you could face them alone, correct? Do not ever dare think you will face anything alone again. I am your Companion."

Aidan wisely chose not to continue his statement as he followed Brighid back into her home. He briefly thought of giving her a, "Yes, dear," but wasn't sure that would send the correct message. Instead, he walked over to the bed and settled down onto the thick padding.

Brighid busied herself in the 'kitchen', taking packages of food from the crates near the door and lining them up on the counters. She selected a broad pan and unhooked it, placing it on the counter, then grabbed a knife and started chopping up a slab of meat and putting the resultant chunks into the pan. When she finished with the meat, Brighid started to repeat the process with some spiky-looking tubers.

Aidan felt uncomfortable watching Brighid do all the work and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, I have it all in hand. Just sit and rest."

A flash of anger filled Aidan. He snapped, "I'm not an invalid, Brighid. I can help you cook or set the table or something."

She looked at him with surprise, then dismay. She stopped chopping vegetables and walked over to him, settling down behind him on the cushion and wrapping her arms around him. He sat stiffly, stubbornly refusing to lean back into her embrace as he usually would. Brighid rested her chin on the top of his head and started to talk.

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"When I left you at Ceallach Macht, I never thought I would see you alive again. I know you swore an oath, but I did not believe you could complete it. I thought it was a final sacrifice, giving me an excuse to leave you and do what was right for the tribe. I cried through the entire run back to the village, Aidan. I doubt you realize, but an unfulfilled oath like that could bind your soul to the Realms and prevent you from passing on. All I could think about was how you were sacrificing everything that you could to save my people and me even though we are the ones who sent you to your death."

She let out a shuddering breath and continued, "I told my mother exactly what I thought of her machinations when I returned, then came home and cried myself to sleep. Then, the next morning, Lail pounded on my door and told me that you were outside the village again and that I needed to come quickly before one of the guards killed you. I almost did not believe her, but she has never been one to play cruel tricks. When I saw you..." Aidan could feel Brighid's tears dripping into his hair.

"You were naked and covered in mud like an animal, kneeling... broken. Aidan, my love, please forgive me." The tears fell more steadily, and her arms tightened around him. "You told me you would come back, and I did not believe you. I said I would protect you, and I could not. You died, and I ran away." Then she broke down, burying her face in his hair and sobbing.

The sudden anger fled Aidan, washed away by the tears of the woman he loved. He wriggled around in her grasp until he was facing her, then reached up and stroked her scarlet hair. "There is nothing to forgive, love. You only did what I asked you to do. Death awaited us both in that city, and you would not have come back after. I would not be able to live with myself if that had happened." He drew her face to his, and her lips sought his hungrily. Her sorrow seemed to transmute to passion in a flash, her hands roaming over his body, touching, stroking, tugging the blanket off his shoulder and tossing it away.

"Touch me," she begged, "please, Aidan, I need to know this is real." His tightened his grip on her hair in response, drawing a moan from deep in her throat.

Aidan pressed his tongue to her lips, then inside her mouth as she opened herself to him. He wound her long hair around his wrist with one hand while the other slid under her soft leather shirt and lightly stroked her abs and lower ribcage. He broke the kiss, leaving her panting, and demanded, "Tell me, Brighid. Tell me what you want me to do to you."

"I want you to touch me all over. I want your hands in my hair, on my breasts, my rump. I want you to pull my tail aside and mount me, take me, make me yours. I want to be your mare, Aidan, want to feel your big human dick breaking in my virgin centaur pussy, molding me for your pleasure. Please? Please, my love? I need you." The words tumbled from her throat, desperate, needy.

Releasing his grip on her hair, Aidan grasped the bottom of Brighid's shirt and tugged it off over her raised arms, then returned his hand to its previous position. He pulled on her hair, tilting her head back without resistance, baring her neck to him. His lips pressed against the base of her neck and kissed her, then sucked on her skin; Brighid groaned and hissed in pleasure.

Aidan kept one hand in Brighid's hair, forcing her to arch her back as he trailed kisses down, along her collarbone to her sternum, then onto the inner slopes of her breasts. Her hands reached for his head, but he commanded, "No! I will touch you as I please. Put your arms behind your back and keep them there." That drew another deep-seated groan from her, but she quickly obeyed, the posture requiring her to thrust her chest out even more prominently.

Aidan's kisses continued down his lover's chest and onto her belly. He traced the muscles of her abdomen with the tip of his tongue, noting idly that she lacked a belly button, then reversed course. He hefted a breast in his free hand, lifting it to give his tongue access to the sweaty underside. The sweat was salty, but there was just a hint of sweetness as well; he eagerly lapped it up, then sat back to examine her.

Brighid knelt before him, neck tilted back, arms behind her, chest thrust out towards him. A bright red blush covered her cheeks, throat, shoulders, and even the tops of her breasts. Her nipples were hard and thick, practically begging to be rubbed and sucked. He stroked his thumb across the nipple of the breast he was holding, and Brighid moaned loudly, wriggling in pleasure and causing her breasts to jiggle.

He couldn't resist the sight and leaned back down to wrap his lips around her other nipple. "Aidan..." she whimpered, tossing her head from side to side as he began to flick his tongue across one nipple and twist the other between his fingers. "Aidan, please..."

"Please what?" He mumbled against her skin, then sucked on the nipple in his mouth.

Brighid moaned, then panted, "Please, love, please, I need you, please I need you." Indeed, a thick, musky scent filled the air, and Aidan could hear the centaur's tail swishing back and forth behind her. He stood up and let the blanket fall, revealing his nakedness. His grip on her hair eased, and he allowed her head to rock back upright. Her eyes immediately locked onto his manhood as it bobbed mere inches from her face.

"Kiss it. Get me nice and slick, Brighid, to make it easier for me to take you." She licked her lips nervously, then leaned forward, tentatively kissing the tip. He pressed on the back of her head, and her lips parted around him as he sank into her mouth. She moaned, then he felt her tongue lick at the underside of his shaft. His legs almost buckled in pleasure, but he kept himself upright by shifting his free hand to her shoulder and leaning over her. Then it was Aidan's turn to moan as Brighid gained confidence, eagerly bobbing her head up and down, her tongue playing all along his length. He could only stand the pleasure for a short time before he pulled back; he had to tug Brighid's head backward to keep her from chasing his cock, and her eyes were clouded with lust as she gazed up at him.

"Turn around. It's time I take what is mine." Brighid shuddered at his words, and her flush deepened to crimson, but she stood and turned in place, then knelt back down on the bed. Aidan reached out and stroked her quivering rump, then wrapped the fingers of his right hand around the base of her tail. Brighid sucked in a breath and froze for a moment, then relaxed, swaying back towards him. He lifted her tail out of the way, revealing her to him for the first time in good lighting.

Her nether lips were thick and tightly closed, but drooling with oily wetness that dripped down her thighs. Her clit was prominent, peeking out from the folds of her sex, and Aidan reached out to press his thumb to it. Brighid cried out in pleasure, pressing backward, seeking more pressure, but he pulled his hand back after one quick rub. She whimpered at the loss, then moaned loudly when he stepped forward to press his manhood to her opening. He teased her by rubbing the tip up and down between her lips, prompting her to start begging again. "Please, Aidan, please?"

"What is it that you want? What are you asking me in that beautiful tone of voice?"

"Oh, Birgitte, Brigantia, and Braihan, please, please fuck meeeeeeee!" Her plea transitioned into a shriek of pleasure as Aidan thrust into her. She was scorching hot and remarkably tight inside, and it was only the quick blowjob and her overflowing wetness that allowed him to make any progress at all. He gripped her rump tightly and leaned over her for leverage, pressing forward against her eagerly bucking hips.

"Gods," Aidan hissed, "how can you be this tight?" Her inner muscles clenched and rippled around him; he swore he could feel every ridge in her vaginal passage molding themselves to him as they reluctantly gave way. He pulled back until only his tip remained inside of her, then pressed in again. His progress was barely any swifter the second time.

"Yours, I am yours," Brighid babbled, "made for you, for you to take, to mold, your mare, your mate, oh, fuck me!" She thrust back against him fiercely, desperately, wantonly. Unfortunately, she was only making it harder for Aidan, so he raised his hand and brought it down hard on the thick muscles of her rump. She jerked and froze, trembling in arousal.

"I love how eager you are, my heart, but you're not helping. Let me do the work for now. You need to get used to having me inside you before we can go at it that hard. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Brighid moaned and tilted her hips to offer him the best angle, then stilled. Her hands rose to her chest, squeezing and pulling on her breasts as he resumed his motions behind her. He could hardly believe what was happening. Brighid was a fierce warrior and mighty blacksmith who could break him easily with her bare hands, but she was willingly, eagerly submissive towards him. He clearly remembered her telling him that everything that happened between them could only happen because he had her consent. Yet, here she was, reacting with pleasure and enthusiastic passion when he pulled her hair, spanked her rear, and gave her explicit sexual commands.

He didn't know why Brighid would give herself to him like that. Surely, she could have had her pick of the men of her own species; there was no need for her to settle for a human. There was nothing he could give her that she couldn't find elsewhere, in higher quality. What Aidan did know, however, was that he needed her. She was the only bright spot he had left, and he was determined to give her everything that she wanted. He braced himself, pulled back, then pressed as hard as he could until, at last, his groin rested against her rump. He flexed inside her and Brighid threw her head back with a gasp. Aidan leaned forward, reaching out to grasp at the ends of her long hair, collecting them together, then pulled back as if pulling on a horse's reins.

"This is what you want?" He growled at her, "To be my mare, my mate, my love, until the end of time?"

"Yours!" She agreed, voice full of lust and love. "Your mare, your mate, your love, always and forever."

"And you want to serve my pleasure? To let me slake my lust on you however I wish?" The answer was obvious already, but he needed to hear her say it.

"Yesss," Brighid hissed out, "I am yours any way, anywhere, anytime you want me." Seemingly sensing his inner conflict, she continued, "I want you to use my body any way you like, because I crave your touch, your hands, your mouth, your cock. I want you to train me to please you in every way, so that you are never unsatisfied. I want to find other worthy women to bring to your bed, for you deserve more love than I could possibly give you, and I cannot bear your children."

Letting her words wash over him, and filing away her mentions of children and other women to confront in the future, Aidan picked up the pace. He pulled out of her, gritting his teeth as her inner walls clutched tightly at him, then plunged forward. His groin met her rump with a wet smack, and he withdrew only to thrust again.

"Then you are mine!" Aidan told Brighid. "I claim you and no other man can have you!"

"Yes!" She cried out in joy. Immediately she resumed pushing back against him, but now her movements synchronized with his instead of working against him. "Oh, gods, I am so close!"

"Me too!" Aidan grunted, "Come for me, Brighid!" She convulsed, her voice raised in a wordless shout as her inner muscles clamped down on his manhood, then spasmed and rippled around him. Aidan let out a roar and thrust in as hard as he could, pushing through her clenching tunnel as he launched over the peak, burying himself deeply inside Brighid while his balls emptied themselves.

When his thoughts returned to him, Aidan realized that he was gripping Brighid's rear so tightly that his fingers hurt, and swiftly let her go. She murmured breathily in protest, drawing his gaze to her upper body. Brighid was bent forward, one hand clutching her breasts, the other clutching tightly at the bed-cushion. She was breathing heavily, as was he, but she straightened her back and looked over her shoulder at him. Her face was sweaty and flushed, but she looked radiantly happy as she beamed at him.

"Please, come over here so that I can hold you?" Brighid asked with a trace of meekness in her voice that made Aidan frown internally. Nonetheless, he made his way to her front, kneeling and wrapping his arms around her waist as she did the same to his. Their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss, then Brighid rested her head on Aidan's shoulder and let out a happy little sigh. "I do love you, Aidan, and I meant all those things I said. It was not only the lust talking." She murmured, then giggled, adding, "Though you know just how to stoke my fire." Her hand trailed lightly up and down his back.

"I love you too, Brighid." He said and kissed her shoulder, drawing another pleased noise from her. "I will hold you those words, but please know that I loved you even before them. You never have to beg me for a hug or a kiss."

She hummed, then said lightly, "We can talk about that while we bathe down at the river. Loathe as I am to wash away your scent so soon after earning it, it would be best not to approach the Council smelling of sex." A shiver went up Aidan's spine as Brighid's hand found the base of his tail.

Aidan chuckled. "Somehow, my love, I don't think you'll have any problem 'earning' it again later tonight. You're right, though; we both need to wash, and I haven't eaten in more than a day." Brighid nodded and kissed his shoulder, then stood up on shaky legs. She walked over to the food she started preparing, then looked back at him with a teasing smile.

"Well, are you just going to lay there looking smug and satisfied, or are you going to cover up my boobs so that I do not get hot grease all over them as the meat cooks?"

Aidan laughed and shook his head, then stood up to 'help' her cook.

Zurai

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