#Very tempting to go ahead and fertilize the flowers
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My pepper children are beginning to bloom! Today Marcus opened up his first flower and I'm very excited. This is the very first one and I had no idea that they would be so small or so cute!
Pep and Tucker have not begun budding, but Marcus has this flower plus 2 more buds, and Charlotte has 2 buds of her own. I decided to wait a while before I fertilize the flowers, to give the kids more time to grow. Marcus is easily my heftiest pepper child, but he's still only about as tall as a bell pepper is, so he certainly wouldn't be able to support a fruit as big as his entire body! I'm very proud of him for trying though :)
#Pep and Tucker are a different variety so I'm not expecting them to bud yet#(They're also sharing a pot and competing for resources bc their mama is a dummy)#I'm very proud of these kids#Very tempting to go ahead and fertilize the flowers#But not a good idea right now#My plants#my bell peppers#My pepper plants#Plants#Gardening#Peppers#Bell peppers
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Maybe Baby Retreat
➜ Words: 12.7k
➜ Genres: 50% Fluff, 50% Smut
➜ Summary: In an attempt to conceive, Taehyung discovers a five day retreat dedicated to help with the impregnation process but you're fairly certain that the entire thing is a scam.
[Day One]
Taehyung should be fucking you.
It’s a bit crass to be grumbling that he’s not sticking his sperm in you, but your fertile window begins today and if he really wants a kid as much as he says he does, you wouldn’t be on a godforsaken bus.
The yellow school bus jumps and jolts as it goes down the jagged, unpaved road. Every bump is felt in the back by ten folds as you’re rocked from side to side on the seat and not on your husband’s dick. Said man is too busy singing along with the guide that’s living it up with a mic in hand and his voice on the intercom. He’s trying to bring up the morale, but you’re not having it.
Instead, you turn to the window and stare out at the empty countryside that stretches across the horizon. There’s not a car in sight and if you swear to god if you’re being shipped to a serial killer’s farmhouse, you’re dragging Taehyung down to hell with you.
“You’re frowning, sweetheart,” he says while leaning over to you, flashing a blazing grin much to your chagrin. “You know stress isn’t good for the baby.”
“It’s not like it matters. There is no baby.”
“Not yet.” Taehyung throws an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into him as you scoff. You’re aware being a Debbie Downer isn’t going to help anyone but it’s hard to loosen up when you’re so on guard and skeptical about this whole thing. When you’re surrounded by noisy strangers who are all too overfamiliar.
You suppose it was your fault to begin with.
All those nights of staying up to read about tricks and tips of conceiving led Taehyung to discover the Baby Retreat. A five day sanctuary that ensures people will be able to conceive.
The moment you saw it, you were certain that the whole thing was a scam, but your sweet summer child husband was wholly convinced and no matter what you said, it wouldn’t change his mind.
“Who knows, it might actually work, right?! And if it doesn’t, then it looks fun anyway! When was the last time we had a vacation together?”
It’s also your fault for being so soft. You couldn’t shut Taehyung down when he was so enthusiastic, so here you are. You took off a week off work and on your fertile day, you’re shipped onto a school bus out into the middle of nowhere.
“Oh! Looks like we’re here, folks!” The vehicle slows as it turns into the gravel parking lot and the guide smiles as he peers out the windshield. “Welcome to the Baby Retreat! I hope you leave with a few buns in the oven! And if not, then don’t worry, you can still eat for two here!”
There’s a few snickers and once the bus parks, everyone gets up, slowly shuffling out and stretching their legs.
The air is sweltering hot and the sun beams down onto the back of your neck, making it uncomfortable to breathe. You’re panting with sweat built on your hairline as you drag your luggage through the grass. But no one seems bothered by it. Maybe because they’re excited that they’re here, they have the energy to fill the field with their chatter.
Even Taehyung is grinning and he’s a certified whiner when it comes to hot weather. The guy blasts the air conditioner during summer until it feels like it’s winter. Though you have an inkling it’s just a tactic so you can cuddle up to him for warmth before bed.
“Come on, slowpoke!” Taehyung breaks through your train of thought and then abandons you by running ahead like a hyperactive five year old.
“I’d be faster if you helped me!” Taehyung doesn’t hear you. You wonder if you married a child — but you suppose that’s why you called him the light of your life during your vows. Like Yoongi once said at the dinner reception, Taehyung’s excessive energy is indeed a double-edged sword.
You follow the stream of people to the center building, a modern wooden structure in the middle of the fifteen yurts that form a circle. It surprisingly looks alike to the advertisements, each with a porch and steps up to the door. The grass is verdant and pliant beneath your feet, the numerous trimmed trees around providing some nice shade and the flower beds give bright splashes of colour to the place. If this retreat wasn’t oddly centered around impregnation, you would’ve been convinced that it was a fancy camping resort.
“Welcome everyone! Welcome to the Baby Retreat! I hope the trip here wasn’t too bad!”
You finally join Taehyung’s side and look towards the stage in front of the main building. There’s a man with a half-moon smile and chubby cheeks in a loose tunic and taupe pants. He stands next to a woman in a baggy poncho holding a ukulele for reasons beyond you.
“I see some familiar faces here! To all those already familiar with the Baby Retreat, welcome home. I’ll try to keep this short and simple, so you’re not too bored.” He claps his hands together with a bright smile. You look around at the crowd to see elated expressions. “My name is Park Jimin and this is my girlfriend, Song Hyunjin. A little about us, we’ve been together for over ten years and yes, we have an open relationship with each other, but that does not mean we aren’t in love with each other.”
He draws her in, nuzzling into her without shame and she giggles. “To our new faces, trust me, you’ll find out soon enough.”
Jimin pulls away with an enormous grin. “We haven’t had any children ourselves, but don’t worry. We’re reproductive endocrinologists with proper training and medical degrees. But we started this retreat four years ago to take a more unconventional approach to reproduction. And for the next five days, we have the honour of hopefully helping you ladies conceive and you males impregnate your partner!”
There’s some exchanged smiles and Taehyung looks at you with hopeful eyes. It feels better to hear these people aren’t uneducated and talking out of their ass, but you’re still unsure how to feel.
Hyunjin laughs. “Not only that, our goal is to help you relax and truly deepen your relationship with your partner. While we can’t promise a hundred percent success rate, hopefully you’ll leave this place feeling more refreshed than you did before. With that being said, please feel free to come up and ask us any questions. We’re very open people who are more than happy to help you in your process of expanding your wonderful families. There is nothing more beautiful than pregnancy and birth.”
She jumps off the stage and grabs a wooden crate. With a smile, she begins passing out packs.
Jimin continues, “For the next five days, we’ll be helping everyone improve their diets and exercise habits while getting plenty of vitamin D. What my lovely Hyunjin is handing out now are your survival kits!”
“For men, fenugreek supplements are given to improve your sperm counts and for the ladies, there are prenatal vitamins and folic acid. There’s also a guide to the activities provided around here and a map, some sunscreen and other knick-knacks to remember your time here. Don’t worry, we won’t bombard you with any pregnancy pamphlets or information. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about that.”
It’s a bit refreshing to hear. You’ve been neck deep in research about conception that it’s been hard lately — another reason that you agreed to Taehyung’s whims.
“Are you the Kim family?” Hyunjin asks and when you confirm it, she hands both you and Taehyung cute pouches. You reluctantly take it, but when you thank her, she happily smiles. “Welcome to the Baby Retreat.”
The introduction drags on for a bit more before Hyunjin admits that it’s hot and that everyone’s probably tired, so the meeting ends and you open your pouch and find information on your yurt.
“Not too bad, right?”
Taehyung can tell by the look on your face as you gaze up at your white-tented yurt.
“We’ll see,” you mumble and he takes the luggage, following behind you. “I thought we were going to spend five days in an orange tent, so I guess this is better by default.”
“An orange tent?” He laughs. “But I showed you the commercial! Did you not pay attention?”
“People lie on advertisements all the time, Tae.”
But to your surprise, the interior of the yurt is even better than expected. It looks like a cozy cabin, wooden panel walls that separate the full kitchen from the full bathroom and provides some privacy to where the queen sized bed is. Light comes in from the top, filling the space with luminescence. There’s a mini-fridge filled with goods, plush towels set on the table with a personalized welcome card, down duvets that are soft to the touch.
And it’s wrecked the moment Taehyung jumps on the bed with his arms and legs wide open like a starfish. He rolls over and props his head up with his hand — in the position where he often asks you in a breathy voice to paint him like one of your french girls. And he uses the same voice on you now while wiggling his brows, “Wanna ruin the sheets with me?”
You burst out laughing, but it sounds all too tempting. He could probably dump a load in you within five minutes, though you’re not sure if anyone could hear you from the outside. “Didn’t they say there’s planned activities in an hour? What if we don’t show up.”
“It’s fine. People come here for one reason anyway.” There’s a pause. “To fuck.”
You roll your eyes, setting your suitcase next to the bed and you look at the nightstand to notice mineral oil lubricants. You’re mildly impressed at the details. “Thanks, Captain Obvious.”
“They won’t miss us.” Taehyung’s own attention is taken to a wooden basket on a shelf of the irregular shaped bookshelf and he comes over, only to grin when he sees what’s inside. “Honey. I think we should have some fun tonight.”
You turn around, wondering what he’s up to now. But any snarky remarks die on your tongue when you find a leather whip in his left hand and a ten inch, neon pink dildo in his other hand.
“Is that...even sanitary?!”
You can’t imagine how many people have used it.
“We can find out.” Taehyung fiddles around with it, pushes a button and the dildo begins to rotate, making the both of you laugh. “Honey, we gotta give them five stars on Yelp! They have a communal sex toy bin for us to use! We can’t get this anywhere else.”
“Oh god. I’d rather not share my sex toys with anyone.” The two of you are interrupted by muffled folk music that begins to leak inside and it persuades you to go out. “C’mon, we should go check out what they have. If we have to spend five days here, we might as well meet some other people too and be social or whatever.”
Taehyung grins, tossing the dildo back into the basket and joining your side. “You’re liking this place, aren’t you?”
“No. I just think the yurt’s half-decent.”
Taehyung can see right through you, but it’s a bit too early for the ‘told you so’ spiel so he holds back and the both of you step outside of the yurt. There’s a few people hanging around and the weather is more bearable as the sun slowly begins moving and setting over the horizon. You meet friendly newlyweds who are surprisingly having their honeymoon here.
“We just can’t wait to have kids,” Rose, the young twenty three year old, says as she embraces her husband, Hoseok. They’re no strangers to publish displays of affection, openly kissing up on each other. It would make you a bit uncomfortable if not for how touchy Taehyung is as well.
When you first got together all those years ago, your friends teased you about it but it’s been years since. No one’s a stranger to how you plop yourself down on Taehyung’s lap or how he might kiss you and then steal your food right off of your own plate.
“When we saw that the retreat offered a honeymoon package, we just couldn’t resist,” Hoseok says, but you’re not sure if he’s talking to you and Taehyung or his wife with how much he gazes at her. It’s a sweet sight though. You remember that honeymoon period.
“Remember when we were that young?” you ask as you leave to the other side, giving the couple some much needed privacy. It was obvious they weren’t up for more conversation with the way they’re shifting and staring at one another.
“When you were still hot? Yeah. I do—” Taehyung bursts out laughing when you jab him. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! You’re still hot, okay? The hottest chick here and you’d make the hottest MILF too.”
“Damn straight.”
The pair of you also run into another couple that’s older and appears a lot more comfortable with the place. “Oh, this is actually our second time here! The first time gave us the four year old troublemaker running amok back at home.”
You blink in surprise, suddenly more interested in the conversation. “This place...worked for you?”
“It sure did.” The woman, Dahyun, smiles. “Some people didn’t have as much luck as we did, but we had so much fun last time that we knew we just had to come back. We were actually staying in your yurt last time.”
She points and you swivel your head over, intrigued. “Huh.” Taehyung raises a brow, noticing how engaged you are and the corner of his mouth tugs.
Her husband, Seokjin, chuckles heartily. “We thought it was time to give our son a younger brother, so here we are! Tonight’s the welcome party and just a word of advice, I really recommend getting some of that grilled salmon. It’s absolutely delicious.”
“Just let them eat whatever they want, Jin,” his wife sighs in exasperation.
“I’m just saying! I would’ve liked to know last time — I would’ve gotten two plates before they ran out.”
“This is why the doctor told you to eat less of everything. You ate more than I did when I was pregnant with Youngjae.”
“I can’t help that I’m eating for three! For your information, I’m carrying the entire family on these broad, broad shoulders of mine. Soon, I’ll have to start eating for four.”
Dahyun turns to you and Taehyung who are amused at their bickering. “I’m sorry. Please ignore him.”
It’s not a bad place, at least not so far. You weren’t sure what you were anticipating, but on the entire way here, you were worried that it was a scam your poor husband fell for. Luckily though, it seemed like the accommodation is good and the people around are friendly and welcoming, coming from different kinds of backgrounds and walks of life. It makes you feel better about not having internet connection or being murdered in the middle of the night.
The welcoming party turns out to be fairly nice too, and like Seokjin said, the food is delicious.
It’s a buffet style with tables set out, full of what Jimin declares is antioxidant-rich foods. He and Hyunjin go on a tangent about the benefits, how soy and estrogen foods have been limited, how there’s an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins and folic acid, and you’re sorely impressed at the attention to detail they provide.
“Oh my god. The salmon is amazing and have you tried these beans, Tae?!”
Taehyung laughs as he watches you eat, eyes lifted to look at you across the rounded table. “I thought you hated beans.”
“I do. But try it.” You lift your fork and he happily leans over, taking a bite. He swallows it down and smiles at how you stuff your cheeks.
After dinner, the pair of you gather with the rest to watch a few performances held on the main stage. Jimin introduces other staff members who sing, dance and Hyunjin even does a number with her ukulele, belting out some indie songs while standing bare feet.
It’s bizarre and a bit surreal to be sitting back in a lawn chair and watching some chick with flowers in her hair jump around and try to entertain you, but it’s not completely unwelcome. If anything, you were sort of having fun. The sun had set, making the weather milder. The breeze was warm against your cheeks and the fairy lights strung above were twinkling.
The whole atmosphere lulled you and with your head leaning on Taehyung’s shoulder, every blink became heavier and heavier. “This is nice,” you mutter and he catches it.
Your husband turns his head with a tiny smile. “Yeah?”
“Mhmh...”
You feel a wet kiss being planted at the top of your head and you decide to indulge, closing your eyes for just a moment. But the next time they open, you realize that the crowd has thinned, they’ve put on music on the stereo and Taehyung’s windbreaker is draped on top of you as a makeshift blanket.
“Hey there, sleepy head.” He grins at you when he notices your lashes fluttering. “Want me to carry you back to the yurt?”
“I’m fine.” It takes a second to get up and you stretch your arms out before the both of you make your way back to the yurt. There were a few younger couples lingering around and still taking in the scenery, but the years were catching up to you quickly and all you wanted was to dive into the sheets and satiate the rest of your sleepiness. “How long was I out for?”
“About half an hour?”
Taehyung fishes for the key and opens the door. “I didn’t even realize I was so tired.” You manage to kick off your shoes and beeline to the bathroom to brush your teeth.
“Of course, you were tired. You didn’t even sleep on the bus and for the past few days you’ve been up late doing research.”
You mumble incoherently, not having enough energy to argue with Taehyung and he grins, nudging you aside so he can grab his own toothbrush.
In the next ten minutes, it’s lights out. You’re rolled onto the bed, tucked into the warm sheets like a burrito, and Taehyung’s settled in as well. You hear his exhale and you allow your muscles to relax in the comfortable darkness. The exhaustion that’s been built from the entire day washes over you. But before you can drift off, in the quietness of the room, you remember.
And you reach out, arm stretched, feeling for your husband.
Taehyung hums when you tap his shoulder. You feel him shift and mumble, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fertile,” you mutter with your eyes closed. “You need to stick your dick in me.”
He bursts out laughing and his arm slings over your abdomen. “It’s okay if we don’t have sex tonight, you know.”
You sigh, too fatigued to get up and do the job yourself. “We’re gonna miss our opportunity, Tae.”
A soft kiss is pressed to your temple, and you feel yourself losing the fight to keep your consciousness. “We’ll have other chances. Relax.”
“Relaxing….isn't gonna give us a baby.”
“No, but it will keep my current baby sane.”
After being together for so many years, Taehyung knows how to make his words sound sweet and enticing. And before you can even damn him for always catering to you and babying you, you’ve fallen asleep in his arms.
[Day Two]
Breakfast is as incredible as dinner was. There’s a full fruit platter that’s apparently all organic and a number of carbohydrates to fill yourself all the way to lunch. But you begin to regret eating so much with the scheduled activity that follows.
“Couples yoga is a way to build intimacy and trust with your partner.” Hyunjin and Jimin smile brilliantly and you wonder if they’re happy go lucky all the time. It must be fucking exhausting.
“Taehyung.” You nudge the man beside you who’s intently listening and he turns his head. “You know I’m not flexible at all.”
“Don’t worry.” He flashes a blazing grin. It’s way too early for this. “This is just for fun and I’ll catch you if anything.”
“No. Last time I tried doing yoga, I pulled a muscle in my thigh—”
“Oh look. They’re doing the first pose!” Your husband excitedly lugs you down and you’re forced to comply, crossing your legs and facing him.
It’s simple at first. There are basic poses with him leaning against you. Although it is hard to find a good balance considering how tall Taehyung is and even for being lanky, he’s quite a bit stronger than you are. But when Hyunjin and Jimin begin to twist themselves around and Jimin holds her up by the feet with a single hand, you know it’s impossible.
Unlike Taehyung, you never did cheerleading or any acrobatics.
“You’re going to drop me or I’m going to snap your spine, Tae!”
“Don’t you trust me?”
You look at your half-monkey, half-clown of a husband. “Do you really want to know the truth?”
The both of you collapse into a heaping mess before he can confirm or deny. He laughs and starts tickling you for not being able to listen until you’re begging him to stop before you look more like an idiot than you already do.
There’s a few couples who do a good job and you giggle when Taehyung mutters passive aggressive comments on how they’re teacher’s pets or that their form is awful. But there’s the fair share of other pairs who do as bad as you, namely Seokjin and Dahyun, the old couple from last night, bickering at being unable to do any poses.
You can’t say that couple’s yoga is particularly relaxing, but it’s silly and you find yourself having fun.
Hyunjin leads the cool down exercise and Taehyung nearly whacks you in the head with how he stretches. Your glare gains his exaggerated pout then cheesy smile. “Now as the very last cool down exercise, we’re going to take our partners by the hand.”
You mimic her and clasp Taehyung’s hands, awaiting further instructions.
“And we’re going to gaze into their eyes.” What? “Focus into the colour of their irises, how brown or blue or green they might be, or even the pattern of them. Sometimes we don’t truly look at one another like we should.”
“What are they even saying?” you mutter and the corner of Taehyung’s mouth twitches. In spite of how bizarre it is, you follow and stare into Taehyung’s rounded eyes. They’re brown. Like they’ve always been.
But you must admit, when the morning sunlight catches his irises at particular angles, the colour is a lighter shade than usual. They’re quite bright too.
“They say if we gaze into the eyes of someone we love, our heartbeat synchronizes together.”
What? Your brows furrow skeptically and you’re about to turn away, but suddenly Taehyung grabs a hold of your chin. “Don’t look away,” he commands with an authoritative voice and you swallow hard.
“Okay.” You focus your eyes to enlarge and focus. “I’m looking.”
You wonder if this is a staring contest, but even with his wolfish smile and being married for so long, Taehyung’s intent stare starts to make you feel vulnerable. You wonder if he’s always looked at you so affectionately. More importantly, you realize that even with all his dumb antics — like deciding to paint the fence green and then stopping halfway or ripping out the cabinets in the kitchen and never replacing them like he intended — you still love this sweet and kind dummy.
“Alright. Everyone can relax now,” Jimin announces softly as he claps and you finally blink a few times, eyes stinging from how you forced them open. “That’s the end of this session. Thank you for joining everyone.”
Yet, Taehyung holds your gaze a moment longer. And before you can pipe up and tell him it’s over, the man leans in and presses a soft kiss to your lips. He smiles when he pulls away. “As much as sweat is a good look on you, I think it’s time to shower, Mrs. Kim.”
You scoff and he holds your hand with an enormous grin, dragging you back to the yurt.
The two of you hop into the shower together, a habit that Taehyung insists is to save water for the good of the environment, but you swear half the time, you end up wasting more than if either of you do it separately. You’re sure that right now is one of those times.
“Hey.” You turn around as he’s lathering up his shampoo.
“Hey, yourself.” He smiles and shifts towards the stream of water before screaming at how hot it is. Taehyung quickly adjusts it, dissipating the fog on the glass. “Why do you like bathing in molten lava, woman?”
“You always make it too cold.” You scoff, but don’t dwell on the argument as you lean into his backside. “Listen, should we get a quickie in?”
Taehyung frees himself of the soap and looks at you. “If we do, we’ll miss lunch and then the hike.”
“We’re going on a hike?!”
“Yep, so hurry up cause if we don’t get lunch, we’re not gonna make it!” He gets out of the shower, leaving you to be bludgeoned by the ice, cold water. You sigh in exasperation.
The purpose of coming here is to conceive, not go on a hike. But with how enthused he is, you begrudgingly join.
Afternoons are the worst out here. The sun is sweltering and there isn’t an ounce of a breeze or a wind. As a result, the heat stifles and lingers without dissipating, causing sweat to dampen your clothing and stick to the back of your neck. The weather exhausts you and you feel your creamy lunch pasta up your throat again as you lug your legs up the steep, rocky incline.
No matter how much you try to keep up, you fall behind from the group.
Taehyung twirls around with a big grin, mouth perfectly symmetrically. “Are you okay?”
“W-What does it look like?” you pant. It’s unfair that Taehyung works out once a year and treats his body like a candy trashcan but is still more fit than you are.
“I can carry you if you want.”
“You’re going to snap in half carrying me.” You pass him as he laughs.
You hear him catch up, feet skipping along like he’s playing hopscotch. Then suddenly, you feel yourself being lifted off the ground and you shriek, arms looping around Taehyung’s neck. You’re scooped up in his arms like he’s about to kick down the door into the bedroom, but instead, he starts sprinting up the path like a maniac.
“Taehyung!” you squeal and he laughs again.
“Isn’t this better?”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“If I say yes, you’re gonna think I’m trying to tell you to lose weight, but for the record, I like how soft you are.”
You roll your eyes, embarrassed as you pass a few couples, but none of them seem to find it bizarre and they even smile warmly at you and Taehyung. Yet, he starts to slow down tremendously after a few minutes, panting and sweating profusely. You ask him if he’s going to put you down yet, but you underestimate just how stubborn your dear husband is. Taehyung refuses until you’re up at the top of the trail, making it to where Jimin and Hyunjin are by the waterfall.
There, you’re finally on set on your feet again.
You pass him your water bottle. “Drink it before I’m the one dragging you down.”
He grins and downs it.
Up here, it’s much more refreshing and easier to breathe. There’s a tiny waterfall coming from the higher mountains and there are trees around to provide shade. When you squint, you can see the campsite at a distance with all the yurts.
“We should take some pictures!” Taehyung declares when he steadies his breath and pulls out his selfie stick from the hideous fanny pack that you still won’t admit is pretty convenient.
“Your mom is gonna want a copy so don’t pull any ugly faces, Tae.”
“My face is never ugly.” He tugs you beside him and snaps a few shots before reviewing them carefully. Taehyung always had an eye for these kinds of things. “We didn’t get a good angle of the water.”
“I can take it for you.”
“What’s the point if we’re not together?” His thick brows are furrowed, lips lopsided, sighing.
A matronly and friendly voice pipes up next to you, “Do you need any help?”
Dahyun is smiling with Seokjin beside her and Taehyung appears relieved. “Yes, please.”
She takes his phone as he folds back his selfie stick and she stands off to the side, capturing you and Taehyung smiling with his arm around you. “One. Two. Three. I’ll take another one.”
Dahyun changes the angle a bit and Taehyung leans over to pull on your cheek while you feign a glare at him. The second picture is taken while the woman and her husband laugh, endeared. “There we go. You can check them to see if they’re good.”
The phone is handed back and by Taehyung’s expression, it seems acceptable. “You two are too cute. When did you get married?”
“Oh, I think three years ago? Yeah. Three.”
It’s much longer than it actually feels. It seemed like it was a week ago when you first met in class and thought he was annoying. Like yesterday, he was supposed to propose at a fancy restaurant but failed when you found the ring box the night before — how he screamed at you to stop, but it was too late and he ended up going with it. They’ve all become memories that you cherish.
“We met back in school and dated a while before getting married.”
Dahyun smiles. “Have you decided how many kids you want yet?”
You hitch a thumb to Taehyung. “He wants four, but I’m fine with two.”
“The bigger the family, the better, right?” he says, looking up from the screen of his phone.
“Wait until you have kids, you’ll end up wanting more,” Seokjin chuckles, “That or you’ll want to give them all away, but personally, I could raise a whole football team if she’d let me.”
His wife jabs him in the ribs. “Yeah, because you’re not the one who has to give birth to them.”
“And that’s why you’re the boss of the house.” He pouts at her while the corners of his mouth tickle up into a smile, and she relents.
“Let’s be honest, the real boss of the house is our little troublemaker. I swear he took after all your bad traits.”
Seokjin gasps. “Excuse me, Youngjae is my most masterful creation...even if he painted all over our leather seats and popped our car tire with his batman toy.”
She shakes her head with a light sigh, but it’s hard to hide her beaming expression. “I should’ve known he would give me trouble when he went past the due date for two weeks.”
“T-two weeks?” you sputter.
Dahyun nods, finally having the sympathy she was trying to fish out of her husband. “My stomach was as big as a watermelon and I was in labour for fourteen hours before I ended up getting an emergency c-section and he came out a whopping ten pounds.”
Your head is swirling as you try to imagine a ten pound baby in this petite woman.
It almost seems like a horror story that’s waiting to be picked up by Hollywood.
“But honestly, the hardest part wasn’t the whole pregnancy or birthing process. It was afterwards.” Her exhale is long and fatigued. “Suddenly there’s another human being you’re responsible for and you have to take care of them while you’re still in recovery. I remember when Youngjae couldn’t stop crying in the middle of the night. I always had an idea that having kids was a lot of work, but you really don’t have time for yourself once they’re born, and not to mention my bladder was completely done for after the whole thing.”
“Alright, alright.” Her husband pulls her close. “I already know you’re a woman warrior. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Dahyun smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes and she turns to him, deadpanning, “No, you didn’t. You passed out half-way.”
“I was there in spirit,” Seokjin insists humorously.
Dahyun scoffs while Taehyung grins at their back and forth that’s reminiscent of his own dynamic with you. “But were they worth it?”
“Oh, a thousand percent,” Dahyun responds without needing a second to consider, expression softening. “Enough that I would want to do it all over again.”
She doesn’t get a chance to say much else when Jimin’s voice pierces through the chatter and everyone gathers together with the last stragglers who have finally made it up. “Thank you, everyone, for coming all the way up here. This is Serenity Falls that was actually…”
But his voice drowns out.
You linger on what Dahyun said, about child rearing and birthing, and there’s nothing that can be done to the uneasy emotion swelling inside of you.
The walk back down is silent. Done without a single complaint from you about the hot weather or how your feet ache. Taehyung notices, glancing at you several times. He doesn’t say anything until you’re back at the yurt.
“What’s wrong?”
You look at him from across the room. “Nothing, why?”
“You’ve just been quiet.”
“I just….” You inhale and decide to divulge him. “I was just thinking about what Dahyun and Seokjin were saying. Do you think we’re cut out for this, Taehyung?”
His head quirks to one side. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“You and I can barely take care of ourselves.”
“That’s not true.”
“We forget to buy food all the time.”
“That makes midnight snack runs fun.” He grins.
You exhale an unsteady breath and Taehyung approaches you. He doesn’t mind how sweaty you are and wraps his arms around your waist. “We’ll figure it out. You said it yourself, right? One step at a time.”
“But what if it’s too much and you decide you don’t want to do it anymore? Or that...you don’t want to be with me?” He opens his mouth, but you keep going before he can jump in. It’s not just about you being self-conscious or needing reassurance. You’re simply trying to imagine the worst case scenario as realistically as you can. “Like when I’m still bloated like a whale and in a bad mood and the baby’s crying and no one knows what to do.”
“I’ll still love you no matter the changes,” Taehyung murmurs earnestly, searching your expression. “Even if you’re bloated like a whale and in a bad mood and the baby’s crying and no one knows what to do. I’ll use google to figure it out and get the baby to calm down and I’ll get you some chocolate and I’ll rub your feet.”
You scoff lightly. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Maybe because it won’t be as hard as you think. I’m great with kids and we got killer teamwork, you know, plus this baby’ll be the best project we’ve ever done together.”
“A project that’s gonna last us eighteen years.” You smile.
Taehyung laughs, the sound mellifluous in the room. “Which isn’t that long considering how fast time moves.”
You hum and encircle your arms around his neck. Taehyung gets the hint and leans in to seal your lips against his, slotting them together to kiss you the way he knows you like it.
It’s slow, comforting, an opportunity to revel in the softness of his lips. Taehyung gives you courage — he always has and when you break apart, smiling against each other, you feel worlds better than before. “I’m gonna start a bubble bath. You can join me if you want.”
It’s less of a suggestion and more of a demand, one Taehyung fully recognizes and makes him smile in amusement as you saunter away. Taking advantage of the tub in the bathroom, you lower the stopper of the drain and dump in the soap they offer. The water gets filled three quarters way with a layer of bubbles and you strip. You sigh as you get comfortable in the tub.
“Is it warm?”
Your husband leans against the doorway, arms crossed and the corner of his mouth curled.
“Uh-huh.” You loll your head on the edge of the tub and lift up your foot, watching the way the water cascades off your skin. “Are you not going to get in?”
“Maybe later,” Taehyung surprisingly replies. He rarely rejects any chance at jumping your bones when you’re being this forward about it. There’s no hike or lunch to catch that’s preventing him from having fun with you either. But as your husband walks out, you catch him unceremoniously stealing the clothes you have prepared and the stack of towels by the sink.
“What are you doing?”
“There’s no point in covering yourself up if I’m gonna strip you anyway.” He flashes a mischievous grin and you sigh, relenting in his antics. You simply lay back to enjoy the water, muscles relaxing and your brain that’s constantly in overdrive empties.
After ten minutes, your skin begins to wrinkle, so you drain the water and get out. But the moment you stand up, the cool air conditioning slams into you and your body starts to shiver.
“Taehyung!” you shout and hear silence. “At least give me a towel!”
Fortunately for you, there’s a smaller one on the rack he missed so you swipe at it and wrap your shoulders to protect yourself. But you’re still dripping wet and in need of your clothes, so you stomp out to find your ridiculous partner who’s apparently five years old and—
“HA!” Said man you’re searching for bursts out of the closet and you scream, startled half to death, nearly falling to the ground. Taehyung starts to laugh like a maniac.
“Are you serious?!” You gawk at him. “How long did you even wait there for?”
“Like five minutes ago.” The bastard wolfishly grins. “Worth it though.”
You cock a brow at him, sighing. “So that’s why you didn’t join me in the bath?”
“No. I didn’t join you, so I could do this.” He yanks the towel where your breasts meet, leaving you nude. Goosebumps rise all over your skin and your nipples harden in the frigid air.
You screech, arms trying to cover yourself. “Taehyung, it’s cold!”
“I can warm you up,” he says but then runs away when he reads the glare on your face, giggling boyishly. It’s completely childish. If anyone was watching, you’d be mortified, but it’s been a long time since there was any shame in your marriage, so you stomp after him while nude.
You hunt the man down while he tries to evade by rounding the coffee table. It’s no longer about grabbing clothes or covering yourself up, it’s time for revenge.
Luckily, the yurt isn’t big enough to have a game of tag. You manage to reach him and you steal the opportunity to yank his pants down. Taehyung, mid-laugh, trips on his feet and stumbles on the carpet. You burst out giggles, looking at his ass in the air and he giggles too from the infectious sound bubbling up your throat.
“Oh, you’re gonna get it now,” He mutters in a low voice with half-lidded eyes and you scramble away with another shriek.
“You started it!” You jump onto the bed and Taehyung kicks off his pants. You don’t ask why he’s skipped out on wearing boxers, but you notice he’s already half-hard and that only makes you laugh louder.
He chases after you as you duck and steal his own tactic of rounding the coffee table. But unfortunately for you, Taehyung has always been destined to win with his longer legs. He catches you within two strides and snatches you as you scream. You’re thrown over his shoulder like you’re a sack of potatoes and he smirks. “Caught you.”
“Taehyung! People are gonna hear!” You laugh in spite of being the one who’s making most of the noise and he tosses you onto the bed. Usually, you hate to be manhandled, but your husband’s the only exception to the rule.
“Let them hear.”
He hovers over you and the laughter dies down. Taehyung stares earnestly into your eyes and your breathing becomes shallow. But you don’t like to lose and as his wife of three years, you know his one, true weakness.
Your fingers lift to Taehyung’s armpits and he seizes when you start tickling him. You laugh when he does and once he doubles over, there’s an opening to the left, a perfect escape route. You steal the opportunity while you still have it and start to climb off the bed, but he regains his breath and grabs your ankle, tugging you back to him in one swift motion without even needing to try.
Taehyung grins. “God, you’re such a brat sometimes.”
“Yeah, and I know you like it.”
He grabs your wrists before you can make another tickle attack and pins it above your head. You can tell that there’s no more time for jokes or any more playing around, not when you can feel his hard cock against your stomach.
“You smell good,” he sighs into your neck, inhaling deeply. “Cherry blossom? Peony?”
“Strawberries,” you answer. “You smell like sweat.”
“You’re gonna end up like me anyway.” Taehyung smiles and leans in to kiss you. It isn’t shy or chaste. His tongue licks into your mouth and you exhale, a strangled moan muffled against his lips as you melt against him. He finally has you where he wants and you let him take control.
The pair of you swap spit for a few minutes until he releases your hands, allowing you to curl your fingers into his shoulders as he caresses your waist.
Taehyung eventually breaks away with a playful glint in his eyes. “You wanna try the toys?”
You both look at the basket half across the room and he rolls off of you. You get to your feet to inspect it for yourself and discover an array of colourful gadgets, some that you’ve tried before and others that you’re sure needs to have an instruction manual with it.
“I’m not putting any of these dildos in me, Tae. I don’t know where they’ve been.”
“I know.” He lays with his head propped up by his hand and you eye something at the bottom of the basket. You pull out a leather whip and look at him. “Ooh, a classic pick there, sweetheart.”
A whip seems more sanitary considering it doesn’t have to go in anyone’s orifices.
“Is it?” You approach with a tiny smile, staring down the innocent man. “Roll over.”
“What?”
“I’ll whip you.” You grin and he blinks at you. More often than not, you’re the more submissive one in bed, but the idea of having Taehyung crying out and the idea of you cackling at his pain has him immediately rolling face down in intrigue and you stepping up on the bed.
He turns his face to the side. “Do you know how to do it?”
“How hard can it be?” There’s a pause. “But tell me if it hurts.”
“The point is to make it hurt, Y/N.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to hurt you-hurt you.”
“I can handle it.” Taehyung smirks and you scoff.
Even in this position, he’s trying to maintain his dominance.
You grip it tightly and don’t count. Simply, with a flick your wrist, you slam the whip across his backside. It makes a loud cracking sound and you hear Taehyung sharply inhale. His teeth grit and you freeze, watching his expression carefully.
“How was it?”
“Is my back split open?” he asks, trying to look over his shoulder.
“No.”
“I think I might have to go to the ER.” He sits up completely, overdramatic in the way he fumbles around and his tone filled with some mischief. “I think there’s internal bleeding. Or my spine is broken. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“It’s fine, Tae.” you laugh. So much for telling you to go for it. But you already had an inkling Taehyung wasn’t one for receiving pain. After all, he’s still your whiny baby who only eats vanilla yogurt. “Not your thing?”
“Not my thing.” He takes the whip from your hand and tosses it across the room. “I have a better toy in mind.”
You’re about to remind him you’re not gonna put any of those communal toys inside of you, but he instead walks over to his suitcase and starts tearing some clear packaging open with something pink inside. You read the label — it’s a remote control vibrating egg.
Your brows furrow. “When did you get that?”
“Two days before we left. Amazon prime, babe.”
“So that’s what you were looking at when you told me you were doing some online shopping?”
“Precisely.” Taehyung grins and you’re not sure if you should be pleasantly surprised or in dismay since the two of you have already made a pact not to buy anything else online. The treadmill bought on an impulse is still taking up half the space of the living room.
Before you can think too much, Taehyung gets it open and comes over. He nudges your thighs to open and you lay back, leaning against the headboard. You’re not that wet yet, if at all, but it doesn’t stay that way when his long fingers rub against your clit in circles.
With his other hand, he strokes against your slit and then sinks his index finger in knuckle deep. You throw back your head, moaning his name at the intrusion while he remains silent, intently watching your pink cunt squeeze. Taehyung curls his finger and swallows hard. The sloppy sounds of your cunt fill the room and he hums in satisfaction.
“Okay. Ready?”
“Uh-huh.”
The head of the cold egg meets your folds and it slowly enters. While the toy might not be big or long, the girth stretches against your warm walls and you keen. Taehyung makes a low noise, encouraging you to take it. When it’s in, he smiles brilliantly. “Good job, sweetheart. You did it.”
“Now what?”
“This, of course.” Taehyung dangles the remote in front of you and then like a psycho, he ramps it up to the highest possible setting. Intense vibrations are felt through your body instantaneously and you cry, head knocked back against the headboard as your velvet walls squeeze and tremble.
“T-Taehyung!”
“Good?”
“I-It’s too much!” You’re completely at his mercy and he takes advantage of it, drinking you in with a wolfish smile. You’re unable to muster a glare at him, reduced to a complete mess while your center leaks and drips onto the sheet. Still, you try to reach over to the remote.
He dodges when you lunge at him. “Nu-uh.”
Luckily, you get a hold of your husband and climb over to him. His arm is extended straight up, laughing as you try to snatch it from him. He waves it inches away to mock you while enjoying the sight of you quivering on top of him. “T-Tae!”
“Okay, okay.” He laughs and transfers it into his other hand, about to turn the setting down a notch. But right at the moment you’re about to snag it for yourself, the remote flies out of his hand. It falls through the gap between the wall and the headboard.
It clatters to the ground.
“Oh shit.”
“Taehyung!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He rolls off the mattress and looks underneath the bed before abruptly standing. “I’m going to need a long stick or something.”
He starts to look around the room, searching for a tool to grab the remote that’s out of reach, and you don’t know if you should suffocate him with a pillow or facepalm yourself hard enough to get knocked out into a coma.
You can pull out the egg yourself, but the violent vibrations were beginning to thrum pleasure through you, so as your useless husband goes fishing for the remote, you finish the job. Your fingers play with your clit, rubbing the bud as your slick drips down your thighs and you come hard on the toy.
The same moment light flashes beneath your eyelids and your toes curl, Taehyung grabs the remote with the help of a rolled brochure and shuts it off. The both of you are winded for different reasons.
“You know, I'd say that was pretty hot if not for how stressful that actually was.”
“You’re an idiot.” You tug the toy out of you and bat him over lazily, feeling spent on how hard you came. “Now dump some sperm in me, idiot.”
Taehyung has a cheesy grin and climbs over you. Despite the struggles of grabbing the toy’s remote, he’s fully hard from the noises you were making. “I’d tell you to ask more nicely, but I’ll let it go.”
He aligns the head of his weeping cock to your swollen cunt and leans his weight into you. He starts to push in and you whine, gripping his forearms. As wet as you are, Taehyung is still well-endowed — less girthy than the toy, but there’s a considerable length to him.
When he bottoms out, you can feel him all the way to your throat.
He tucks sweaty strands of hair behind your ear and kisses you. “Sorry about earlier.”
“’t’s okay. It was fun,” you admit and he smiles, starting to work up a good rhythm. You feel hot in your face with the pressure of his body on top of yours, hardened nipples brushing against his chest. Your cunt pulses and squeezes around his length. It draws Taehyung’s groans into your neck.
“F-Fuck. You’re so tight.”
It feels good and you know he’s reveling in the pleasure too. His eyes are shut tight, the scrunch made between his brows and it entices you to reach up and kiss him to which he sweetly indulges you. Your tongues twine as you pant against each other and Taehyung starts to lose his pacing.
He bends your knee, hitting you at a deeper angle as his strokes become increasingly frantic and quick. You egg him on and he groans once more before he thrusts himself as deep as he can go and cums. Ropes of white paint your walls, the head of his cock against your cervix and filling your cunt and womb up. You can feel some of it dribbling out, seeping past your folds and when Taehyung’s about to withdraw, you quickly grab his forearm.
“Wait. Just stay put for a second. I have to keep it in.”
He nods and kisses your lips. “Okay.”
Taehyung nestles into you, nuzzling into your neck and you hope this is the one.
[Day Three]
There were lots of activities and amenities offered and advertised by Jimin during the introduction of the retreat, but you realize you might’ve missed over the most important one of all.
“How does that feel?” the massage therapist asks as she works a knot out of your shoulders and smooths your skin with the oil.
“Amazing,” you murmur from the corner of your mouth, melted against the table.
Couples massages were something you always scoffed at, but holy shit, it’s absolutely paradise. With the breeze blowing through the pitched tent and the glowing humidifier releasing a fresh scent, you’ve never been more relaxed as all the stiffness is worked out of you.
You open your eyes to see Taehyung enjoying it as well — though not as much as you are since he’s quite ticklish. Sometimes, he squirms a bit too much and his massage therapist is at a loss of what to do.
But when it’s all done, you feel like you’re in a new body. “Oh my god. I think I’m more flexible than before. Look, Tae!”
You stretch your leg and he giggles at how happy your mood is. “If I knew you liked it this much, I would’ve signed us up for one at the spy near the gym.”
Your eyes are wide, catching the sunlight. “Do you think they’re as good as this place?”
Taehyung grins. “Probably.”
“We should go when we get back then. Oh, do you wanna check out the library?”
“Sure.”
You grab his hand, lacing your fingers together and he smiles to himself.
It’s a free day without many planned activities, giving you both an opportunity to look around the retreat for yourselves and take it easy. And the pair of you take full advantage of the opportunity. Since morning, you were lazing around the yurt and after breakfast and the massages, you decide to lay in one of the hammocks by the trees while Taehyung naps with you.
Said man hasn't seen you this stress free in a while, so he happily indulges you in all your wishes. Even when night falls and you step away from the stage where Hyunjin is performing again to stargaze. It’s an odd activity for you since mosquitoes love to especially swarm around you when given the chance and on numerous occasions, you’ve been a moth landing spot.
But tonight, the breeze is soft and gentle, and you don't feel any tickles on your skin that isn’t Taehyung’s hand grazing against yours. The grass is pliant beneath your feet and the fairy lights twinkle far away enough that its luminescence doesn’t obstruct. You knock your heads back to view the horizon, allowing the darkness to engulf you and the stars to emerge.
“Remember Bali?”
“When you lost your passport?”
“When we went stargazing with the tour group,” Taehyung corrects. “It still wasn’t as beautiful as this.”
“You think everything in front of you is the most beautiful thing you’ve seen. You said that about the Eiffel and then Tokyo Tower.”
He laughs. “Hey, my mind doesn’t change that often. You’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve seen.”
You scoff, looking away from the sky towards him with a pout. He always knows how to lay on the sappiness without needing to blink. Your dear husband has always been shameless in that aspect and you adore him for it. “So I’m a thing to you now?”
“You know that’s not what I mean.” He wraps his arms around your waist. The both of you stare up at the sky. “Is that the big dipper?”
You look at where he’s pointing to the large clusters of stars. “I can’t see it. Maybe that’s scorpio.”
“Nah, I don’t think so.” Taehyung tries guessing, “It might be taurus or gemini. Or libra.”
“Aren’t you just naming astrological signs now?”
“Maybe.” He grins. “I’m a capricorn.”
“Yes, I know.” You two of you clearly don’t know anything about constellations or how to find them, but it doesn’t make the moment any less enjoyable. Yet when your necks start to ache, he takes your hand and strolls down the path through the trees. “Taehyung. What if we get lost?”
None of you have your phones or any flashlights. There’s only the crescent moon giving off its light. “Don’t worry. I have a great sense of direction.”
“You and I both know that’s not true.”
“You have a great sense of direction, so we won’t get lost,” he says and you sigh without putting much of an argument up. Not when you knew he was headed to the lake you had peeked at earlier in the afternoon, and now it was shimmering with the moonlight, reflecting the starry horizon in its water.
There’s a certain kind of peacefulness, a serenity that you would never get back in the city or even the suburbs. Certainly not without light pollution or the occasional car whizzing past. Here, there is none of those noises, none of those distractions, just you and Taehyung savouring the view—
“Hey.” But of course, your mischievous husband has to have ulterior motives for coming all the way here. And you know there are ulterior motives by that glint in his eye and the sly smile he has.
“What?”
“Wanna take a dip?”
Your brows shoot to your hairline. “Are you crazy? It’s probably freezing! What if we get hypothermia and die?”
“For the record, you’d make one beautiful angel. But I’ll warm you up before it gets to that point.” Taehyung grins and starts stripping, tugging his shirt right off his head. It’s always been like this — him proposing something out of your norm, you try to voice your concerns, and then you’re the one who’s diving head first into it without hesitation and end up having more fun than he does.
“God, it’s so cold!”
The moment the water touches your toes, you recoil. But you brace yourself and continue onward with your entire body shivering. It’s your first time skinny dipping — something normally reserved for rebellious teenagers and most certainly not for late twenty-some year olds. Yet neither of you have qualms, even if you’re shrieking and Taehyung is laughing and following behind you.
“It’s freezing, Taehyung!”
“Come here.” He pulls you to him so your backside is pressed to his front and you wonder how Taehyung can be so warm all the time. The pair of you get waist deep into it and you turn around to grip him. Your husband smiles and holds onto you, eventually going far enough that the water reaches your shoulders. “See? Isn’t this nice?”
You hum, gazing up at the stars and the moon, the sight reflected on the water and how you’re pressed to Taehyung. “Seems like the beginning of a horror movie.” He laughs and your feet try to reach down to find stability, but you realize you can’t touch the ground anymore and your grip on him tightens. “Walk back a bit, Tae.”
“Why?”
“You know I can’t swim.”
His mouth curls. “But I like how you’re holding onto me. I won’t let go,” he adds after a long pause, “if you beg me not to.”
Your arms immediately come to loop around his neck and your legs wrap around his waist, latching onto him in a vice grip like a koala does to a branch. “Taehyung! I’m not kidding.”
“Oh...oh!” The bastard pretends that he’s gonna let go of you and actually does for a split-second. He laughs at your panicked expression. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding!”
You feign a pointed glare that turns out to be more of a pout. “You’re lucky I like you.”
“You only like me?”
“Yeah and if you keep going, I’m going to demote you from husband to friend.”
Taehyung makes a pained, sharp sound. “Can’t let that happen then.” He suddenly hoists you up higher, grip secure on your thighs and smiles brilliantly while you scoff.
You savour the view and the warmth of his body heat, but you’re slightly distracted. “Do you think anyone’s gonna steal our clothes, Tae?” You squint at the small pile near the shore.
“Who would?”
“I don’t know. What if a bear comes from the bushes and takes them? We’ll have to walk back naked.”
“I’m pretty sure there aren’t bears here, Y/N. Stop overthinking it.” Taehyung suddenly grabs a hold of your chin and turns your head for you to look only at him. Then, he kisses you in a soft and gentle way before the tip of his tongue meets the seam of your lips. You happily oblige, parting them and allowing him access to your tongue and giving him a taste of you.
The man hums in satisfaction as soft smacking noises fill the surroundings. You lean into his firm frame while Taehyung’s large hands slinks from your thigh to the curve of your ass. You feel his thumb probe against your folds.
“T-Taehyung.” His hard length is beneath you and you grind down on him, feeling empty. It draws a groan from his throat.
After a moment, you get his cock inside of you. The stretch soothes the itch you had, filling your cunt deliciously. But unlike the movies, it’s not enough for you. The water washes away the lubricant, each stroke rough and the glide slower than you’d like. So you beg him and the both of you are dragged up onto the shore again.
You turn on all fours. The pebbles uncomfortably dig into your knees, but it’s a distraction that blurs into the background when Taehyung pounds into you. You feel all of him, his body heat against yours, each thrusting movement flicking off the droplets of water from your skin. And when Taehyung turns your head to kiss you while rubbing at your clit, you cum around his cock.
He finishes as you beg for it and Taehyung’s sticky fluids leak down your thighs on the trek back.
[Day Four]
Taehyung blinks blearily, slowly coming to consciousness. He scratches his bed head and groans at how his muscles ache. But when he turns his head, the other side of the bed is cold and empty. His eyes widen in confusion and he feels more awake than before.
He checks the time and realizes he slept in, a total of ten hours, which isn’t a surprise considering how last night’s rendezvous continued and was more intense than usual. What is unusually, however, is that you’re gone.
But he soon finds you outside. Bathing in the sun. Laying in a hammock. Napping with a book next to you.
Your eyes flutter open as his shadow covers your figure. The corner of his mouth pulls.
“Morning.”
You sheepishly grin. “Morning.”
“What time did you get up?”
“Like an hour ago. The breeze was nice so I thought I’d do some reading, but I guess I accidentally fell asleep.”
“Looks like you’ve gotten comfortable.” Taehyung’s enormous smile aches his cheeks. You’ve fallen in love with this place more than he has, but he doesn’t mind whatsoever. He loves watching you have fun.
The two of you have breakfast, inhaling in the food, and then head to a meditation class on the grass led by Hyunjin. Typically, Taehyung has to convince you to take part in such a session and you’d usually wave it off as a waste of time. But there are no qualms or an ounce of hesitation in your expression when you head over.
“Now breathe in, and out, a steady stream of breath. Think about all that you are grateful for. Everything that has made your life amazing, and let that positive energy surround you as the negative energy releases.”
But while you’re eager, Taehyung, on the other hand, finds out that meditation is not cut out for him. He’s bored out of his mind from the lack of stimulation. Time feels like it’s dragging on slower, each second a minute and a minute is an hour. Somehow, meditating makes him feel even more exhausted than before and his mind ends up wandering.
Taehyung thinks about how he’s really craving some fatty burgers instead of the organic oatmeal and yogurt he had — how hot the weather is — how it’s hard to breathe — how sweat sticks to his skin.
“Hold your breath for three seconds and release for three seconds.”
He sighs and peels back an eye to see you with your hands pressed together, concentrated in following instructions. The corner of his mouth tickles into a smile.
As bored as he is, it’s worth seeing you happy.
//
The more excited you are about something, the more you run around from place to place and Taehyung’s resorted to looking for you. Luckily, the resort is small, so he finds you in front of the main building, chatting to a certain brunette with a half-moon smile and chubby cheeks.
“—heard that doggy actually works for some people, but for me, it doesn’t feel right...like…”
“The head of the cock isn’t right up against the cervix?” Jimin hums thoughtfully. “Have you tried angling your leg better? Sometimes you need to bend a bit and he needs to be leaning towards the side rather than just hovering straight on top.”
What.
Taehyung’s brows lift and he quickly approaches. Your face lights up when you see him. “Oh, hey.”
“I was looking for you.” Taehyung throws his arm over your shoulder and subtly tugs you into his chest. He looks at the other man, eyes narrowed in on him which he doesn’t seem to notice.
“Sorry, I was just caught up with Jimin.”
“What were you talking about?”
“What position is best for conception.” You blink innocently like it’s not a big deal you’re exploiting the details about your sex lives to another guy, and while he’s not embarrassed whatsoever, it was a bit too much information being shared for Taehyung’s liking. “Turns out elevating the hips might not help as much as we thought it does.”
“Huh.” Taehyung deadpans, “That’s interesting.”
“I know, right?” Your expression is bright, oblivious to his turmoil. At the same time, Hyunjin exits from the building in yet another flower crown and flowy skirt. She smiles at the both of you and joins Jimin’s side, planting a sweet kiss on his cheek and holding his hand.
“Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything important.”
You smile at her. “No, it’s okay.”
The woman nods and looks to her partner while her voice drops into a more private tone. “Just wanted to let you know that Taehoon and I are done.”
As if to validate her words, a timid yet tall man exits the building and they wave goodbye to one another before he walks off towards the parking lot. Jimin smiles. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah. It was nice.”
Both you and Taehyung exchange expressions. He wonders if you’re thinking what he is or if he’s understanding the insinuations correctly.
As if they catch the inquisitive looks on your faces, they smile in a relaxed way. There’s no need to explain anything to either of you when you’re strangers, but they’re open enough and Hyunjin says, “Taehoon’s my second partner.”
“Second...partner?”
“Hyunjin and I are in an open relationship,” Jimin clarifies in a friendly manner. “It’s not really traditional, but it works well for us.”
“Oh.” Taehyung and you wordlessly bob your heads. He’s pretty sure they mentioned it during their introduction but it slipped his mind. They must get asked a lot of questions too since Hyunjin answers what he’s thinking, telling the both of you there’s not a lot of jealousy involved since they trust each other wholeheartedly and communicate a lot. And rather than finding it bizarre, you’re left intrigued. Taehyung notices as you walk away.
“Do you want an open relationship too?”
“You know it would never work for us.” You lean over, hugging his arm. “I’m too possessive for that.”
He laughs. “Then what about talking to Jimin about our sex positions?”
“He’s a professional.” You shrug. “I thought I could get helpful advice. Why?”
“Nothing, it’s just kind of weird.”
Jimin doesn’t look like a professional. He looks like just some dude in khaki shorts and a white shirt, obnoxiously bulging biceps, probably has rock hard abs, and he’s in an open relationship and clearly doesn’t mind chatting up you, aka Taehyung’s wife.
“Are you jealous?”
“What? No.” Taehyung scoffs, suddenly defensive and you give him that look like you know him better than that. “I just don’t think we don’t need to ask for help yet, and at least not about our positions. We’re gonna have a baby one way or another, Y/N. We just have to be patient.”
“Tell that to my dying eggs.” You walk off and Taehyung grins.
“My sperm’s strong enough that it’ll rescue your dying eggs.”
//
Evening eventually comes and you try to revel in the surrounding sights, the atmosphere of the entire place and the very cozy yurt you’ve grown to adore. It’s sad knowing that tomorrow you’ll have to depart from the resort. You regret not coming here with a more open mind. That way, you could’ve enjoyed and embraced this place much sooner.
“Actually, I’m kind of glad. I’m getting sick of them serving the same food.”
You’re shocked at your husband’s apathy. “But it’s antioxidant-rich—”
“I just want some fried chicken or a burger.”
You scoff. “That’s why the doctor told you to lower your blood sugar and you’re not even over forty yet.” But still, you’re taken aback that he’s not in love with the resort. “Out of everyone, I thought this would’ve been your haven. I was expecting you to beg me to build a cabin here or something to stay.”
Taehyung hums, leaning back into the chair. “I’m not saying the resort is bad. As long as I get to spend time with you, I like it. And I like that you like it.”
“Psh.” He always knows how to say the right thing, especially when he’s doing it absentmindedly and not trying to get something out of you. You lean over, hand lifting to squeeze his cheeks together and you turn his head to kiss him. Taehyung smiles at the soft and affectionate gesture. But you look at him with half-lidded eyes that mean more. “Wanna ditch?”
It’s the final celebration that Jimin and Hyunjin are happily hosting, but you don’t mind leaving for some more quality time with Taehyung, and he happily agrees.
The both of you sneak out of the crowd, stumbling back into the yurt, giggly and giddy like you’re still teenagers trying to be stealthy at midnight. Taehyung kisses you silly and soon, your back is hitting the mattress. He almost rips your dress with how hastily he tries to tear it off your head and you’re stuck for a moment until you manage to get it off.
But in spite of how childish your antics are or how Taehyung blows raspberries on your tummy, each one of his touches is intimate and loving. He holds your hips down and eats you out until you cum twice. Then you’re flipped onto your stomach with him on top of you — his cock is dug into your pussy, every draw and thrust delicious. Your walls pulse along his length and you moan his name and clutch the sheets with tight fists.
You relish in the pressure of his body pressed on top of yours as he pounds into you. It only takes a few minutes before he’s releasing into your womb, cumming hard enough that you feel it too.
He rolls off of you, spent, but you gather your energy and hold him down for a second round.
You’re a woman on a mission and you’re going to make sure you leave this resort with Kim Taehyung’s baby inside of you.
[Day Five]
The final day of the resort has arrived much to your dismay, and you feel sad enough to cry.
“Thank you so much for all you’ve done.”
“It’s our pleasure.” Hyunjin grins, her arms wrapped around Jimin’s. “We just hope you had a great time at our resort.”
“Yes, I really loved it.”
“Our doors are always open,” Jimin affirms. “If nothing’s stuck, you can always come back or if you’re ever looking for more siblings for the little one, you can come again too. We’re happy to welcome anyone that’s family back.”
You’re moved by their words and much to Taehyung’s dismay, you give a brief embrace to each of them. You also manage to see the newlywed couple, Hoseok and Rose, who are still smiling and somehow look even more in-love than when they arrived. Dahyun and Seokjin, as well, wish you luck on your adventures.
“We might be coming back real soon.” The woman sighs, hitching her thumb over her shoulder. “That husband of mine is planning to book another trip next month.”
“So soon?”
Dahyun nods with a long exhale. “I think he’s hoping I’m not pregnant so we can come here again.” Your laugh spurs on her own and you’re able to resonate with the hopelessness of husbands.
Everyone is boarding the same bus, but this is the last opportunity to gather when people are getting dropped off from different places. So you make sure to savour the moment, get your last goodbyes in, and Taehyung pulls out his phone to snap several pictures of you for keepsakes.
Then, the two of you board the bus with your luggage and settle in your seats.
“You know,” you pipe up and Taehyung turns to you. “Even if we didn’t conceive, it was still fun.”
He smiles while taking his hand. “Yeah? I’m glad.” Taehyung laces his fingers with yours and you lean your head on his shoulder as he, too, leans his head on top of yours.
The bus pulls out of the lot and onto the road. Jimin and Hyunjin wave with brilliant grins, and together, you and Taehyung watch the little resort become a particle in the distance.
[Epilogue]
This is terrible. Unexpected and spontaneous.
“I have bad news.” You’re leaning against the door frame of Taehyung’s office and at your tone of voice, your husband looks away from the computer screen with wide eyes.
“Are you divorcing me?”
“No.”
“Did you lose your job?”
“No.”
His entire body deflates in a sigh of relief and he leans back, hands grasping the armrests of his swivel chair. “Thank god because I just bought those new shake weights that were shown on TV.”
“Yea— wait. What?”
Taehyung’s bubbling laughter comes from his chest. “What is it?”
He doesn’t notice the stick in your hand, so you throw it at him. Luckily, Taehyung’s reflexes are still in good shape and he claps his hands together, catching the stick before it hits his head. But then his brows furrow in confusion.
“You’re probably going to need to wash your hands after that. I peed on it.”
He doesn’t answer. Your oblivious husband instead takes a long second to inspect the stick and his pupils dilate. He finally realizes what it is and looks carefully. In the meanwhile, you hitch your breath, feeling unsettled. But then the most enormous smile stretches into his cheeks.
It almost looks like his smile is about to break his face.
“You’re pregnant,” Taehyung murmurs.
“I sure am.”
He looks at you. And then the stick. Then he looks at you again. Taehyung searches your expression in alarm as your words echo back to him. “Why is this bad news? D-did you change your mind? Do you not want kids?”
You shake your head. “No. This is fantastic news. I just wanted an excuse to go to the retreat again.”
He laughs and exhales a long breath. Taehyung scoots his chair over using the heels of his feet and comes to you. He throws his arms around your torso in a secure embrace while his ear is pressed gently to the flat plane of your stomach that���ll soon swell in the coming months. “God, you’re going to be the death of me, woman.”
Taehyung’s brown eyes are lit with mirth and you ease into his hug as your fingers comb through his dark locks. Finally, you’re going to be parents. After waiting and hoping for so long, it was now on the horizon. There’s a sense of fear in you both, but you’re overwhelmed with euphoria and excitement.
“We can always go back for the next kid.”
“I haven’t even had this one yet and you’re already thinking of another.”
“I can’t help it.” Taehyung grins, looking up at you and you lean down to kiss his smile.
You have a feeling this baby’s going to be loved beyond belief.
#bts fanfic#bts scenario#taehyung fanfic#taehyung smut#bts smut#taehyung fluff#FINALLY i can use the smut tag again looooool#BTS TAEHYUNG AS A SWEET GUY WHO'S NOT AS SWEET IN THE SHEETS#AND OC AS A GRUMBLING SIMP FOR HER HUSBAND
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Home for the Holidays – Our muses go to one or the others’ family home to celebrate the holiday (or family friends, just a family environment). {To answer the eternal question of whether Trees decorate trees, never posed to Keni.}
The air is cool and crisp as it caresses exposed bits of skin. Which for Anakin is very little and for Keni it is like a lover's ardent embrace; familiar, tempting, making her tawny skin glow as it teasingly plucks at her hair, pulling strands lose from its simple plait. Her strides ahead of him switch from long and tranquil to high and short. Almost like skips. She does not ever look like this on Coruscant. So at peace in the natural environment; so harmonious with every yellowing stalk of long grass, every song of shivering leaves which have turned a riot of colours, every buzzing hum of insect, scurrying ground creatures. None of which are her pets, left behind as they are for his sake of comfort. Not everyone has a loving fondness for hawkwasps.
Of course, Coruscant does not smell like Zelos. With its rich damp loam and fertile lands, the last of the late blooming plants leave a lingering freshness. Their dark leafy canopies that stretch the ground have gleaming globes of mist or rain clinging to them like scattered jewels. Above them the sky is pale pristine blue though it can never compare to his eyes. Still in these hours they come closest than she's seen in years. A few fat, bulbous white clouds drift along like small ships in holding patterns. In the shadowy lee of vegetation and rock formations there is a thin layer of frost clinging to roots and ground. Even beyond the city confines there's the faint scent of baking goods, roasting meats, the aromas of a feast in the making. In short, it is a perfect day and they are themselves perfect within it.
She glances back at him over one slight shoulder bare but for the sheer bits of cloth that flirt with being sleeves. The weather does not seem to get down into her skin with its brisk bite. She smiles widely, each of the points of her teeth fully visible not like they are at the Temple where she hides herself away in layers of robes and a meekness that doesn't really suit her.
"Come on, Za'lali! The flowers will not pick themselves!"
Joy laces through her words as the breeze carries them to Anakin, and whips her loose strands of hair into dark silk pennants that seem to punctuate the words. Then she turns away and continues to traipse her way through the grasses, seemingly unconcerned whether or not he's picking up his meandering step behind her or not.
She has not told him what these mysterious flowers are for, if she is searching for anything in particular, though whatever ones he chooses seem to only further her conviviality. She holds out the woven wooden basket that she carries attached at her hip with scarves, the most tender smile curving her lips, and a bright affection for him always in her eyes.
Fingertips grace his own or coil about his wrist ~leather or otherwise~ or sometimes she presses the flower to her nose and breathes in as deeply as her lungs allow. She never stays too long before she goes spinning away again, deeper and deeper into the wilderness. It feels almost like the mounting anticipation of Inevitable Doom except there is no reason to hide any of their intentions behind pillars and closed doors and little rituals. It is a gift that her homeworld allows them, being not two knights within the Order. Here they can be whatever they like. For Keni it is desperately in love with the very heart of her, and she suspects the same is true for Anakin.
Eventually though, she can feel the way his Presence begins to wind itself through her thoughts. This is meant as no intrusion and she isn't even sure he's even aware that he's delving into her thoughts. He is an all-encompassing warmth as he traipses through, passive in a way as to never disturb her by becoming lost in the Force and her immediate space within it. She doesn't shy away from him. If anything she is more than glad to dwell a while in a place where they become the only constant and fixed things in the universe, all else only the roar of distant oceans. Or the whisper of starlight.
She knows the knoll is beneath them, his head pillowed in her lap while her fingers stroke through
his golden locks in slow strokes. His eyes are closed, the same as her own, but she doesn't need that kind of sight to indulge his curiosity.
"The Longest Night is coming soon," she says quietly as if form of loudness will break the stillness around them. It won't, of course. The braeside peace might be illusory, might let them feel like the only two beings in the whole of creation but the estate is not entirely too remote. The occasional pleasure yacht can still be seen in the sky as it approaches the capital. "After that, the snows and leanest days when the sun hardly seems to shine. Some of our old poets call them the Dreaming Season for all the time we typically spend indoors."
It is a collective fear that starts as a wisp and hopes that once passed down through dozens of generations have become a living and breathing entity of its own. And like every one of those cultural nightmares strung across the galaxy, Zelosians have rituals to bolster themselves, to feel as if they have some kind of control over things they really can't. It's not unlike life at the Temple. With long enough centuries what starts as a gut reaction becomes a spiritual tradition replete with beauty and comfort.
"To ensure the sun is sustained, to ensure it comes back to us, we build little boats of the thinnest materials. Atop them we set lanterns filled with light. The walls are etched with what we want in the coming year. Wishes and prayers, hopes for those who are far away or feeling unwell. But always, always at least one plea for the light to never fade. We decorate them with flowers and seed pods. Some of us make offerings of food or other little gifts. Then as dark comes we make a procession down to the great sea. We set these boats into the waves. It's beautiful, so very beautiful. Almost like a sea full of candleflowers."
That swath of happiness mingled with the slightest sliver of fear ripples through her nastic response, giving her a moment of breathlessness. To better capture the moment of which she speaks where poor words fail to do justice to what she remembers from childhood, she drags Anakin's consciousness toward memories of all that she had seen. She knows that his fear of great bodies of water is not so easy to let go of and so she tries to wrap herself around him in the Force to provide a buffer, while outwardly she shifts from where she's laying and decides to thread some little purple flowers into his hair.
"Of course, you do not have to make a lantern. You don't have to go to the shore. Not if it will trouble you, Za'lali. If you'd rather, you could hole up in the library. When we return, full dark will fall and we will celebrate with a small feast and plenty of cordial drinks. This is one of my dad's favourite holidays and so Father indulges him as only one can when they are madly in love."
And of course, she is also as deeply in love with Anakin and his happiness is paramount to any other feeling that might sit in her chest. She does wonder if they have such rituals on Tatooine, with its blazing suns and its frigid nights. Are there stories attached to them to explain their significance or something observed simply because it had always been so? How can she ask him though, when all of his memories of that place are bitter and tinged with grief? It would feel as if she were picking at the raw threads holding him all together and she can't bear that.
"If you had a wish to put out to the galaxy, what would you ask for?"
#mynameisanakin#Images of Broken Light|Anakin Skywalker#Pools of Sorrow-Waves of Joy|Anikeni#In Search of Lost Time|Zelos II#The Warfront|Clone Wars-era#Across the Universe|Star Wars AU
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Getting Rid of Pests and Plant Disease
Plant Health, Care and Protection
Whichever type of garden you're growing, your plants are bound to bring in harmful pests at some point. It's not your fault! That's part of plant life. But if you don't get ahead of it, your prized plants may catch a disease or two.
Don't worry! Decades of research from specialists moved us away from taking chances with pest control.
Today, we've created plenty of treatments for pest troubles and plant disease. You may find shelves upon shelves of pesticides and insect repellents when you head to supermarkets.
But recently, there's been a trend of "going green". This means going for more eco-friendly ways to protect plants from pests and diseases. These organic methods have become very popular in both gardening and floristry. And for good reason, too! They keep plants much healthier than chemical or artificial solutions do. They're even easier on the pocket!
In this article, we discuss three important aspects of plant health, care, and protection. We'll concentrate on reliable organic solutions for your garden.
First, we look at a few fundamental guidelines for keeping your garden healthy and well-nourished. This will help you keep it full of life from the time you plant them until you harvest their produce.
Next, we talk about the best pesticides to protect your plants from bugs and insects. We also cover proven remedies for pesky weeds.
Finally, we learn about which flowers and plants can ward off pests. This is another natural way to get rid of pests that won't harm your garden!
Interested in a formal course? Want to get certified as a gardening expert? We encourage you to look into organizations offering classes in floristry, like:
American Institute of Floral Designers (www.aifd.org).
National Gardening Organization (www.garden.org).
American Floral Endowment (www.endowment.org).
American Horticultural Society (www.ahsgardening.org).
Raising a Healthy Garden
Take it from the experts. You're going to want to make sure your plants are healthy and nourished all through their growth. By doing this, you can guarantee they blossom into gorgeous flowers, fragrant herbs, or fresh vegetables!
Here are a few helpful tips for raising a healthy garden. You'll thank us later!
Before you buy your plants, inspect them for rotten roots. Look for bug-infested leaves or stems too.
Be sure to use only fully-composted waste and mulch to avoid disease and infection.
Do your research on which fertilizer best suits your garden and stick to it.
Keep attentive watch of bugs in your garden to prevent undesirable infestation.
In the autumn season, be sure leaves don't pile up too much. This way, you won't get an uneven proportion of green and brown materials for your mulch.
Water your plants with the correct amount and time intervals.
Late winter is the optimal time to prune sickly limbs back to healthy, living tissue. Be sure to do this to prevent further infection or get new diseases.
Whatever you do - Avoid. Overcrowding.
Organic Pest Control and Herbicides
It's tempting to grab chemical repellents when you encounter pest troubles. After all, they're fast and easy solutions, right?
But remember: the more chemical treatments you give your garden, the lesser nutrients your plants receive from the soil! Plus, it makes plants even more prone to disease and infection.
The basic guideline is to keep your garden as diverse as possible. Keep different kinds of annuals, perennials, bulbs, shrubs and trees all nestled in the soil. Plant them in smaller groups all over the garden. Add in a healthy mix of aged compost and brown and green mulch. This will help keep pests from preying on a whole lot of plants.
But there are many other natural ways to protect your cherished garden! Here is some expert advice on keeping weeds, diseases, insects, and bugs away.
Weeds
Stop these pesky things from ever starting up in your yard! Top-dress your new planted plot two to three inches deep with corn gluten. Then, water it all throughout.
If weeds have already sprung in the soil, drench them in a mixture of vinegar and a few drops of liquid soap. Make sure to keep neighboring plants and flowers safe from the acidic spray. You can do this by wrapping them in newspapers.
Diseases
Protect your bed of roses from powdery mildew or "black spot" with a special tonic. This is a mixture of 2 tablespoons of baking soda, half a tablespoon of liquid soap in about 2 liters of water.
A fact unknown to many people, chamomile tea is an all-encompassing cure for fungal diseases. Infuse 16 tea bags or about 2 cups of dried flowers in hot water. Use the cooled product to water your diseased plants.
Want an easier, less taxing solution? Dissolve 2 aspirin tablets in 1 quart of water. Spray the solution on plants with black spot, mildew, rust, and other fungal infections.
Insects
Blasting small insects like aphids and mites with water will get them off your plants. For more stubborn bugs, remove them with adhesive tape.
Brew a fistful of basil leaves and fragrant herbs (e.g. lavender, rosemary, sage, mint, etc.). Use them to get rid of creepy crawlers.
For slugs and snails, create a barrier of thin copper wires around your plants. This will give those pests a mild yet discouraging shock. For best results, you can also build a shallow perimeter of pine needles, coffee grounds, cracked eggshells. This will produce a rough boundary that will throw them off the path.
Pest-Repellent Flowers and Plants
So far we've learned more on natural pest control solutions! Now let's take a look at the following list of plants and flowers confirmed to have natural resistance against pests and diseases.
Growing a garden of gorgeous blooms or delightful herbs is no easy task! But fragrant plants often attract bugs and other insects. These will drain them of their nutrients and worse yet, stunt their growth.
Luckily, there are helpful little beauties of nature that organically fend off pests! They save you the time and costs of artificial pest control solutions. Even better, they keep a great sense of balance and diversity in your garden! This guarantees your garden stays safe from nasty diseases and bug infestations.
Here is a quick list of pest-repellent plants and flowers! Most of these are also great for gardening newbies. They're easy to take care of and maintain!
Marigolds
Chrysanthemums
Dahlias
Sunflowers
Petunias
Borage
Lavender
Click here to read our article about What You Need To Know About Garden Designing.
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Rona’s Journey
Rona Ni'ess woke with the dawn to a glorious summer morning. Her comfortable, somewhat burrow-like bedroom was lit up a pair of sun-chimneys reflecting light from the roof of her family's rof'orth. The building was one of the hillside house-compounds the Bilobi tribe commonly built as their dwellings, an elaborate but sturdy structure that housed the two dozen members of her family. Rona's room, as all the unattached young adults in the family, was carved deep into the hillside where it was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The sun-chimneys allowed both light and air into the chamber, with screens to keep out the pests. It was a safe and cozy space.
Rona was a young woman of average height for her tribe, with a slim and athletic body. Her skin was a pale brown, albeit seasonally darkened, and her hair was long, black and thick. She was naturally quite pretty, her quick smile and strikingly grey eyes complementing her toned, but still very female, form.
Rona yawned and stretched, and dressed herself. Short leather breeches and a light hempen crop-top were suitable for the weather, as it was going to be quite warm quite soon. Early summer was generally a warm and humid time in the rugged region that the rest of the world knew as the Solbanian Hills.
Rona ventured out to the bathroom first. The Bilobi, like many of the Solbanian tribes, had incorporated a limited amount of the "civilized" technologies, one of those being the blessing of running water in their dwellings. Other concepts such as glow-lights had not been embraced, the tribes choosing to use their metal resources to forge mainly weapons and tools. The Bilobi were a practical and resourceful people, and being in a state of perpetual near-war forced them to focus on defense and armament above all else.
Out in the community area, various members of the family were already digging into a breakfast of jura, hearty cooked grains, the smell of sweet spices filling the room. Rona procured a cup of strong tea and a dish of the jura; her mother Nona, working in the kitchen, gave her a wink and a smile in passing. The matrons of the family took very good care of their flock, and were treasured for it; but Rona already knew that such a domestic life was not for her.
Finishing her modest breakfast, Rona left the dishes for the younglings to wash and ascended the stairs to the top balcony. A couple of the elders were basking in the morning sun there. One was her great-aunt, Mida, and her life-partner Yari sat beside her holding her hand. Rona greeted them respectfully. "Bright morning, sh'wenga."
Mida was an aged woman, but by no means infirm. Short of stature, she was still physically solid and her hair had not yet turned completely white. Rona was one of her favorite young people, and she smiled and held her hand out. "How is our little scout today? What are you up to, going out to steal some hearts, perhaps?"
Rona blushed a little at that. Mida was always teasing her about how pretty she was, and how easily she would be able to sneak around and steal the boys' hearts away. "No, sh'wenga, I've no time for such prey today. I have some fishing to do."
"Fishing?!" Yari chimed in. The tiny woman was still beautiful despite her hair being completely whitened by time. "Well, don't forget your elders, if you catch a fine trout!"
Rona chuckled. "Of course not! I know how much you like a good fried trout. Is this clear sky going to hold up today, then?"
Yari nodded, eyes flicking toward the horizon. "Nothing but sunshine today, dear. A fine day for fishing, and swimming."
"Thank you, sh'wenga. I will seek out a suitable place for such ventures." Rona touched the elders' hands with her fingertips and went downstairs for her equipment.
She filled her light pack with her fishing gear and a water flask, strapped on her weapon belt and her trusty tomahawk, and put on a sun hat to round out her ensemble. At the house entryway, her uncle Darib was on guard, casually sharpening a knife. He grinned at her cheerily and she gave him a quick hug. A veteran warrior, Darib had been one of her teachers in the skills of weapons.
"Enjoy your day off, halita," Darib said as she sauntered out the door. Rona waved and set out down the path, humming a tune to herself.
The songs of birds added counterpoint to her own as she walked, down the path to the main road and southward. Soon she reached the bridge that crossed over the Callahee RIver, although it was more of a stream here close to the headwaters. Up and over the next ridge the carefully paved path led, into the next valley where her friend Dugi lived. It was not a long distance, just enough to stretch her legs. She descended into a broad valley, where her friend's farm was built into the western hillside; one of many such structures lining the sides of the valley.
The farm itself was a series of well-built terraces, spreading from the house at the top all the way down to the stream at the bottom of the valley. The path ran by the banks of the stream, and a ramp led up to the farmhouse at a gentle incline. Rona ascended the ramp, spotting Dugi on one of the upper terraces, working the plants. She called out a greeting. "Ho, Dugi!"
Dugi was a mountain of a man already, even though he was barely a month older than Rona. His wide mouth split his bearded face with a smile when he saw her. "Ho, Rona!"
She made her way along the terrace walkway to where he was, surrounded by young squash plants. "Whatcha up to today? I have the day off, want to go fishing?"
"Oh, now, that is a tempting thought indeed," Dugi chuckled. "I need to finish clearing out these weeds before I can go, though."
Rona eyed the patch of plants he was working. "Doesn't seem like too much of a chore. How about I give you a hand and we can go all that much sooner?"
"That would be great!" The big man smiled again. He was very easy-going and good-natured, and had been friends with Rona for most of their young lives.
With no further ado, Rona set aside her pack and joined in the work. The fertile earth yielded the weeds easily, but the patch was large. Dugi worked this farm alone most of the time, as his parents had passed away a few years before. Despite his youth, Dugi was the sole proprietor of the farm and had already earned his full ranking of kagori, "plant-tender", an honored position in the tribe. Among the Bilobi, a farmer was treated with the same respect as a warrior or a craftsman.
Before long, the patch was cleared of invasive plants and they were ready to go. They went up to the farmhouse for a cup of cool mint tea and set off for the fishing hole. Further up the valley, the paved trail gave way to a well-trodden path that led up onto a ridge before dropping back down into a wild, lush stretch of forest where the stream was slow and formed several large pools among ridges of black rock and large, ancient tree roots.
They spent the bulk of the morning there, enjoying the simple leisure of setting the lines, lounging in the soft summer grass, and trying to lure the wily fish out from under the banks with various lures and tactics. When the heat became oppressive, they splashed around in the cool water and dried out in the sun. It was not a hugely successful venture, as they only actually landed a couple of fish worth keeping. Finally, hunger drove them to pack up their fishing rods and head back to the farmhouse to cook them properly.
The path over the ridge was lined with boulders and gnarled bushes sporting brilliant purple flowers. Distracted and relaxed, Rona and Dugi were both startled at the appearance of two people on the trail ahead, rounding a bend along the highest point; they nearly collided with the two, who were going the other way.
Inri and Waro were a pair of boys who were not among Rona's favorite people. A couple of years older than her, they had been pests and teases to many of the girls, in the callous way of boys. They were both trained warriors now, and strutted like a pair of roosters, in Rona's opinion. Inri had actually made sexual overtures to her only a couple of weeks before, but she had turned him down flat at his arrogant and entitled approach; leaving him red-faced in the road in front of several of his older compatriots, who had been quite amused at the turn of events.
"Well, well, well," Inri said, immediately reacting to the appearance of the two friends. "Look what we have here, a sneak and a dirt-stirrer," he sneered. Waro laughed, but his eyes were hard, calculating.
Rona's eyes narrowed at the tone. "At least we do something useful, muscle-head," she retorted.
Inri barked a humorless laugh. "Useful? Oh, you're going to see trouble coming, scout? Then run back and hide behind the warriors? Hardly useful." He spat. "I can think of a good use for you, girl." Waro laughed again, coarsely.
Dugi growled at that, his large hand clenching around his walking staff. "You're barking up the wrong tree, lashka," he said.
Inri took a half step back, hand creeping up toward the hilt of his sword. "Oh, you're going to claim her for yourself, dirt-stirrer? I knew she had bad taste."
"Nobody's -claiming- me, meathead," Rona replied angrily. "I'm a free woman and I'll do what I want!"
Inri eyed her up and down and grinned lewdly. "Well, you should want to use that body of yours to make a warrior happy. We're your protectors, after all. Come on, just a tumble in the grass with me will show you the error of your ways."
"Hmmph. In your dreams! Why don't you just go play with yourself? Don't get caught this time." Rona gave him a sneer of her own. All of them knew about how the boy had been caught spying on the women's bathing pool the previous summer, and been soundly switched by the matrons all the way back to his family's home.
Inri's face contorted and grew red with anger. "You little... I think it's time you learned some respect, bitch." He drew his sword.
Rona had her tomahawk out in a flash, adrenaline surging as she shifted into a combat stance. "Honorless cur!" she spat angrily. "You have NO right!"
Waro drew his own sword, glancing sidewise at his partner.
"Subdue her," Inri ordered. "I'll take this fool dirt-stirrer apart!" He whirled his sword confidently and advanced on Dugi. "Don't hurt her too much," he sneered disparagingly.
In a heartbeat Rona and her friend were fighting for their lives. Time slowed to a seeming crawl as the two warriors moved in confidently, their superior weapons flashing in the sunlight. Inri came in slashing at the farmer, who backed slowly, trying to fend off the blade with his stout staff.
Waro circled to come at Rona from her right side, sword-point moving in an infinity pattern, then stabbing at her in a series of quick thrusts. Rona used her agility and speed to dodge away, spinning and trying to get a slash in with her shorter weapon, only to be forced back by the warrior's quick defense.
Inri pressed his attack, feinted high, then lunged forward and stabbed Dugi in the thigh when his staff was raised too high to deflect the blade. The farmer grunted in pain, swinging hard even as the warrior spun away, blade flicking a stream of red droplets across the rocks.
It was all Rona could do to evade Waro's calculated attacks; she could spare hardly a glance to her ally's plight. Waro was careful to keep his guard up even as he probed at her own defenses.
Dugi staggered momentarily, but kept his feet, roared with anger, and charged at Inri, his staff a whirling blur. Suddenly the warrior was the one on the defensive, backing up quickly from the long-armed farmer, deflecting the staff mere inches from his face. Inri tried to come in under the arc, but Dugi swung the staff lower, forcing the warrior to block again. Wood chips flew from the force of the impact. Dugi kept the momentum of the swing, however, sliding his hands further down the staff for extra reach as he put his substantial strength and mass into the strike. Inri's attempt to back away and parry the blow were too little, too late, as the farmer's staff connected with the side of his head with a heavy thud. The warrrior crumpled soundlessly to the ground.
Waro, meanwhile, continued his attacks, finally catching Rona on her non-weapon arm with a slash. She cursed and dodged away. He pursued relentlessly.
Then Dugi rushed at Waro from the side, thrusting the staff like a spear at the warrior's ribcage and forcing him to turn and defend himself. Rona immediately attacked , blood running down her arm as she swung her tomahawk. Waro parried her swing as he moved, trying to keep either of his opponents from flanking him.
They faced off momentarily, the warrior's eyes narrow and cold; the two friends bleeding, enraged. Waro's gaze flickered toward his fallen comrade, but there was no emotion on his face as he moved into an aggressive sword-form, blade weaving intricate patterns as he attacked them.
Even outnumbered, Waro was a deadly, well-trained opponent, and for some time there was a desparate dance to keep his sword out of their bodies. For a few long minutes, heavy breaths, guttural growls of effort, shuffling boots on gravel, and occasional clash of steel on steel were the only sounds to be heard. Finally Rona was able to slide inside the warrior's guard and get a solid chop into Waro's abdomen, rolled away from his counterattack, and bounced back to her feet.
There was no pause as the warrior cursed and and lunged after her murderously. She weaved away from the blade like a phantom, the edge cutting only air time and time again. Dugi followed as best he could, swinging the staff until he finally caught the warrior's leg, sending Waro staggering and off balance.
Without hesitation, Rona pounced, kicking the warrior's sword arm aside, and at the same time swinging her razor-sharp tomahawk in a vicious downward chop into the side of Waro's neck. She leapt away from his backhand slash, and he staggered back several paces, eyes widening as he clamped his off-hand to the wound. Blood spurted through his fingers, spraying across the trail in a dramatic fountain for a few heartbeats before he fell; sword slipping from his nerveless fingers, he twitched, bled, and died.
Panting and wild-eyed, Rona and Dugi stood transfixed for a minute, gazing down on the bodies of the vanquished. Finally Dugi staggered over to Inri and stooped to look closer. "He lives." He glanced over to Waro's body and looked away. "We're gonna have to summon the Council."
"Yeah." Rona regained her breath quickly, and her wits, although drenched in sweat. "Oh, my Goddess, you're hurt!"
Dugi leaned against a rock, blood seeping down his leg and coloring the dust beneath him. "You are too. It's not that bad. Just need to wrap it with something for now."
Rona quickly bound the wound with one of her bandanas, and Dugi returned the favor on the shallow slash on her arm, which was also bleeding profusely. Then she helped him to his feet and they continued their journey home, the farmer leaning heavily on his staff.
As they descended the path into the valley, the import of what had just occurred began to sink in. They walked in silence, deep in thought as the shock of the violent encounter began to wear off. Even the birds had grown silent in the oppressive midday heat.
They climbed the ramp up to the farmhouse, entered, and shed their burdens. Dugi sank gratefully into a cushioned chair, grimacing as he raised his leg onto a footstool. "Damn, that stings."
"I'll go ask the neighbors to summon the j'sarka and the eshtale," Rona said. She took a moment to wipe her face with a dampened cloth, then hurried over to the next household to ask their assistance.
The tribe's shaman and spiritual guide, j'sarka Miasa, was always available for the people in her community, or one of her trusted acolytes. It was she who arrived first. Rona was waiting at the door, too anxious to stay seated for long, even after the adrenaline of battle had worn off.
Miasa took one look at Rona's face and folded the girl into a giant hug. "Oh, Goddess, you poor dear!" At that, Rona burst into tears. Miasa held her close, stroking her hair and soothing her while she wept.
After a few moments, Rona composed herself and Miasa took a look at their wounds. She clucked her tongue at the damage, but did not comment. She invoked the Goddess and cast healing magic on them both, erasing the physical damage of the fight as if it never had been.
Soon afterward, the eshtale ascended the path to the farmhouse. The eshtale was the designated peacekeeper of the day, a duty which rotated among all the senior warriors of the tribe. Today's eshtale was Oriv, and he had brought one of the junior warriors with him to bear messages.
Oriv bore the ceremonial rod of the office, an ornately carved hardwood stick with a bright blue gemstone imbedded in one end where the Osinagi tree had grown around it. It was widely thought that the rod gave the eshtale the ability to detect lies. "What crime has been committed?" Oriv intoned formally.
Rona answered just as formally. "I have killed a member of my tribe, eshtale."
Oriv's face grew grave, and the junior warrior gasped, eyes growing wide. "Where did this happen?" Oriv asked.
Rona told him, and the junior warrior was sent running to get more help.
Oriv separated the two friends and asked them what had happened, first Rona, and then Dugi. Miasa bore witness to the inquiries. By the time they were done telling their stories, a squad of warriors had arrived to assist the eshtale in fetching the fallen. "The council will hear the testimony, and send for you when they've made their decision," Oriv announced, and away they went.
Miasa went with them, after giving the farmer a hug and a word of praise for his courage and honor, and a motherly kiss on the forehead for Rona. "It's going to be okay, honey. One way or another. Come see me when the ruling is made, and we will ask the spirits to give you guidance."
They spent the afternoon mostly in quiet reflection. Rona cleaned and grilled the fish they had caught, and Dugi made wondrous herbal salad, and they feasted. Afterward, they laid down in the cool depths of the farmhouse and rested, although neither was able to fall asleep.
Just before sunset, a messenger boy arrived to summon them before the Council.
The Council was composed of nine heads-of-households, six women and three men. Rona's father Jorjio was one of the men, and when Rona and Dugi entered the ceremonial Council chamber, his was the first face she sought. Impassive at first, when their eyes met, the warrior gave her the slightest of smiles before returning his expression to neutrality.
Miasa was there, of course, and the eshtale announced their entrance, as per custom, as they took their place upon the central pedestal. ��"Rona of clan Ni'ess, stands on the charge of causing the death of a tribe member. Dugi of clan Ketall, stands on the charge of assault upon a tribe member."
Olika, the eldest of the Council, stood and addressed them directly. A strikingly beautiful woman despite a half-century of life, she met their gazes levelly as she pronounced the judgement of the Council.
"We have heard the testimony from the eshtale, and the verification of the witness to the testimony. This is a sad day for the Bilobi in many ways."
"One family has lost a son, and another has brought shame upon himself. As you are entitled to defend yourselves, Dugi of clan Ketall, you are absolved of wrongdoing." Olika turned her eyes to Rona. "You are entitled to self-defense as well, Rona of clan Ni'ess. However, there is now a blood debt to be paid to the family of the man you killed today."
Rona lowered her eyes in acceptance of the judgement. All the tribe's children were emphatically and thoroughly taught the rules and laws that they were expected to live by, so it was no surprise. Neither were the councilwoman's next words.
"To pay this blood debt, Rona of clan Ni'ess, you are hereby banished from the lands of the Bilobi for a year and a day, beginning in two days at sunset. Make sure you are beyond our borders at that time." She sat down.
The eshtale turned to the pair and waved the rod. "Do you accept this judgement?" He asked.
"Yes, eshtale, they said, almost in unison.
Oriv tapped the ceremonial gong with the rod of office. The rich sound vibrated through the room, and it was over.
They exited, and after a few moments, Jiorji caught up with them outside the chamber. He gave his daughter a quick hug and motioned for them to follow him back to the Ni'ess rof'orth.
In the darkening twilight hour, people were going back and forth at various tasks and errands, the lamplighters sparking up intermittent candles along the pathways. It was a pleasant summer evening, and the sounds of music, laughter, and banter echoed from the various households they passed. Several young people hurried by, on their way to an evening training session in the Weapons yard, saluting the Council member politely.
They reached the house, and came inside to a warm welcome. Rona could immediately smell her mother's signature cheese-covered flatbread baking, Rona's most favorite food. Her mouth immediately began to water even as her eyes started to fill with tears. Her mother and aunts gathered around her in a warm enveloping of sympathy.
Jorjio turned and clasped Dugi's hand in the traditional warrior manner. "Thank you, kagori. You are a fine and honorable man, to defend my daughter's life and freedom as you did. Words cannot say enough how grateful we are for your courage and strength!"
Darib, the councilman's brother-by-marriage, stepped forward and offer the farmer a hand-clasp as well, then handed him an ornate weapon. It was a war spear of great quality, with a long metal-shod haft and a foot-and-a-half-long double-edged blade of a peculiar silvery hue. Rona noticed the transaction and involuntarily gasped. The spear was one of the family's greatest treasures, and had been a family heirloom for many generations. "Take this gift, friend, and know that you can count on us if you are ever in need of help. May it serve you and your descendants well, should you ever find your life threatened again."
Dugi turned the spear over in his hands, eyes wide with awe. "Thank you..." he looked around the room at the gathered family, and bowed somewhat awkwardly. "Thank you, all of you. I will treasure this weapon."
Everybody wanted to hear the story, so they told it together as best they could. The children ooh'ed and aah'ed at the description of the fight, especially Rona's little sister, Nuni. A girl of only seven, she felt inspired enough to demonstrate some kicks and punches at an imaginary foe while they told about the battle, which made everyone chuckle.
There was a general consensus among the family that the blood spilled was justified, and the ruling of exile was somewhat unfair, but the law was the law. The rules were in place to prevent the tribe from internal conflicts and power struggles, and a millenium-long tradition of sustained self-government gave the free people of the Bilobi great respect and trust in those rules. Rona would be exiled for a year and a day, and her family would send her off as prepared and educated as they could possibly make her.
Dinner was served and the family ate with gusto. The family was a whirlwind of caring and compassion around Rona, and she savored it while she could.
After the delicious meal, various musical instruments were produced, and the family sang some songs together. Rona's father brought out a bottle of fine spirits and poured a round of drinks for anyone that wanted one. The first glass, however, he handed to his daughter. When they were all distributed, he raised his hand for a moment of silence.
"A salute, dear ones, for my brave daughter Rona. She has proved her commitment to freedom today! And whatever the laws say, she will never be outcast from MY heart." With that, he lifted his glass and they all shouted "Hai-ai!" together and drank.
The fiery liquor quite took Rona's breath away for a moment. Someone started a drumbeat, and the family launched into a traditional tribal song celebrating those who had fallen in the cause of freedom.
After a few more songs, some individual dances, and another round of drinks, and some luscious berry-cake dessert, the family began seeking their bedrooms, and Rona was no exception. The drinks had made her a bit dizzy; but when she lay down, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
Her dreams were troubled. She woke several times during the night from dreams of fighting, killing, and being hunted. Finally she drifted off for a final time and slept peacefully, the whispered voices of a prayer echoing through the quiet house, or her dreams, or both.
It was mid-morning when Rona awoke to the smell of tea. She opened her eyes to see her little sister holding a cup next to her bed. Nuni smiled, "Mama said you needed this."
"Ha! She is right, as usual," Rona sat up and accepted the cup, drinking deeply. "I slept in, it seems."
After some breakfast and some conversation, Rona put on her sun hat and headed up the valley to the sacred grove to see the j'sarka.
Nestled into an elevated box canyon on the west side of the valley, the grove of OsinagiI trees was a place of almost unearthly beauty. The stairs leading up to it were artistically carved from the solid rock, as was the temple itself, in the south wall of the box canyon. Miasa herself came out to greet her on the wide patio in front of the temple. This ceremonial area was paved intricately in a geometrical design, worn smooth by dozens of decades of dancing. It was a familiar and special place to most of the residents of the community. Rona had danced in the moonlight many times here.
Miasa welcomed her into the temple and led her back to the inner sanctum. It was cool and comfortable inside the solid stone. The priestess directed Rona to the purification bath, where a great tub carved directly into the stone stood steaming and ready. Miasa left her there to cleanse herself and change into one of the soft white robes that hung ready by the door. From there, Rona entered the prayer room and knelt before the altar, a supplicant.
Miasa emerged from a room behind the altar, clad in a ceremonial ensemble of silver jewelry, including an ornate tiara, and a wispy white robe that barely concealed her lithe brown body. She paused by the altar and rang a silver chime. Its pure tone filled the silence. She knelt before Rona and offered her a small cup. "Let us pray, and ask the Goddess to give you visions."
Rona took the cup carefully, raised it in salute to the altar, and drank. The liquid was sweetened with honey, but even that could only partially mask the bitterness of the karana root tea. She finished it dutifully and handed the cup back to Miasa, who rose and returned to the room from which she had come.
After a moment the priestess returned, and gestured for Rona to move to one of the prayer mats she had already laid out on the shiny grey-green-tiled floor. They spent the next half-hour moving through the ritualistic stretches and poses of the Centering exercises.
Rona began to feel queasy and sat back, trying to concentrate on her breathing. "I feel faint," she said. She was having a hard time focusing.
"Lay down," Miasa said. Rona did so, and the priestess knelt beside her, passing her hands over the girl. "Hmm..." She then whispered a prayer and gently cradled Rona's head in her warm hands.
The heat from Miasa's hands seemed to infuse Rona from her head, rippling through her until her entire body felt warm and glowing. The nausea and ill feeling swept away, replaced by a deep sense of comfort and well-being. She closed her eyes and slipped into a trance.
The steady light of the lanterns in the prayer room faded away to a faint glow, and then somehow she opened her eyes and was gazing up at the midday sky. The sun was bright, but she felt fearlessly compelled to look straight at it, and its light seemed illuminating instead of blinding. She gasped at the unexpected beauty. Then rainbows radiated from the orb, bending and curving into complex patterns.
A flicker of movement distracted her, and she moved her perception to another patch of sky. A barely-discernable shape was flying there; but when she concentrated, she could see clearly a sinuous winged creature. She recognized immediately a Sriwi'ani, a dragon of the Air, and felt a little thrill of joy at seeing one for the first time in her life.
She watched the dragon as it glided in a slow figure-eight, then descended to a craggy ridge of stone. Her perception moved toward the ridge, approached the cliff, and then tilted upward as if she were flying herself. Then she was on top of the ridge, and the rays of the setting sun were painting the sky in colorful hues. Beyond the ridge was another higher ridge, and as she ascended, winged people launched from cliffs above and floated dreamily around her.
Atop the cliff she came upon a beautiful little meadow, full of tiny yellow flowers. She lay her presence down there and looked up to the darkening sky. Stars grew brighter as the sun's light faded.
Flickering light drew her attention. Beyond the mountains to the east, she could make out a massive storm cloud, dark and menacing, lit by lightning within and around it. An undercurrent of foreboding touched her at the sight. The storm seemed unnatural and out of place for some reason.
From somewhere nearby she heard someone giggle merrily, then a sweet and melodic voice began singing, in words that she could not understand, but seemed familiar somehow. Rona had the impression of a silhouette of a woman sitting on a rock nearby, moonlight shining behind her. The sky, the mountain, the plants, all began to glow, and the stars were connected by rainbows. As a complex pattern began to be seen, light filled her vision completely, and she heard the sound of a silver chime. She opened her eyes and was back in her body, lying safe on the prayer room floor.
Miasa approached her and knelt beside the prayer mat. "How do you feel?"
"Good," Rona replied, sitting up.
"What did you see?" The priestess handed her a cup of water, which Rona drained.
Rona described her vision as best she could. Miasa listened carefully, nodding and smiling at the girl's words.
"Truly a blessed vision. The omens are showing you a path. I think you should go and stay with the Sky People. They will welcome you and it will be a safe place to live during your exile." The priestess frowned a little in thought. "The storm... I do not know what that means. I'm sure it signifies something important, but that is not an immediate concern. It seems to be something that you will be involved with somehow. You will discover its meaning, with time."
Rona nodded slowly, the vision still strong in her mind's eye. "Thank you, Miasa. I will prepare for my journey."
On the stairs down from the sacred grove, Rona saw a pair of women ascending. Rona knew them both; Chira and Usia were the mother and aunt of Inri, and Rona paused when she recognized them, unsure of their reaction. They saw her and continued up the stairs to her position.
Chira was a tall, strong woman with long mahogany-colored hair flowing from under her black sun hat. She wore black clothing and her face was grave as she ascended the last few stairs to where Rona was standing. "Well met, Rona of clan Ni'ess."
"Matron," Rona replied warily, nodding in return.
Chira gazed at Rona for a moment, studying the girl's face. "I am sorry for the shame my son has brought upon our house, young one." She paused and looked at her sister beside her. Usia reached out and squeezed her hand in encouragement.
"This is not the way a warrior is supposed to behave. We did not teach him this... disrespect." Chira raised her gaze and met Rona's eyes. "I fear that my son has been listening to some tainted follower of the cursed path of Azhilo." She spat to the side at the name as if she had tasted something foul.
"My son has been sent to the northern border to spend time at an outpost, where hopefully he will learn some humility and appreciation for his life." She paused, looking down again. " I will not speak his name until your exile is over. Because of his arrogance, his friend is dead, and he will need many years before he regains his honor in my eyes."
Rona let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Your words lighten my spirit, Matron."
Chira took the last two steps up to the girl and embraced her. "Be well, young one, and I wish you a safe and pleasant journey, wherever you end up going."
"Thank you," Rona whispered, returning the hug. "May the Goddess smile upon you and your family."
Back at the Ni'ess rof'orth, Rona spent the rest of the day assembling her equipment and packing her possessions for storage. One of the younger ones would take her bedroom. There was a sense of finality to the process that Rona could not shake.
The future was always murky, but it was clear that this was the ending of her childhood and the beginning of something entirely different. It made her somewhat sad, but also determined to face the changes with her head held high. The prospect of travelling beyond her tribe's lands to the mountainous hold of the M'Chal was exciting and scary at the same time.
When the tasks were done, there was a last evening with her family, filled with laughter and joy, and a few tears as well. One last night in her home, lying awake for much of it. Rona managed a few hours of sleep before dawn. Her little sister awoke her again, and it was time for her journey to begin.
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It was another beautiful summer day, albeit with a heaviness to the air that promised rain in the afternoon. Rona set off at a good pace, for she had some distance to cover to make it to the edge of her tribe's lands. Up over the first ridge she went, following the same path she had taken to the swimming hole two days before. At the site of the battle, a familiar figure stood, lit by the first rays of the sun.
"Hail, Rona," Dugi called. "I thought you'd be passing this way."
She jogged up and embraced him, her pack and weapons making it somewhat awkward. He held the heirloom spear in one hand as he enfolded her in his massive grip. They stood that way for a long moment.
Finally Dugi released his grip. "You had better go. Luck be with you, my sweet friend. You'll be brave. You always are."
Rona smiled, even though tears were welling in her eyes. "Be well, my friend, until we meet again." She trotted away.
Up the valley she went, past the swimming hole, over a bridge and up the larger ridge to the east. From there the trail led south again, along the top of the ridge. She passed a couple of guardposts before the trail descended again, cutting slightly east to proceed along a craggy slope leading down the the river valley far below. Rona stayed alert by habit, even though there was little danger to be found in this well-watched area of her tribe's lands.
The view from the trail was magnificent. The wide forested valley to the east was frequented by Bilobi hunters and berry-gathering parties. The tribe claimed the land all the way to the river.
To the southeast rose the magnificent stony ridge of the Blackspur Ridge. A sheer granite cliff in many places, the ridge rose a dizzying thousand-and-a-half feet above the forest slopes beneath, only to be crowned by a second, smaller ridgeline of streaked black rock, that rose nearly as high again. Wisps of clouds drifted about the taller, spikier peaks. There was Rona's goal; the home of the M'Chal.
Around mid-day she stopped and feasted on some of the cheese bread her mother had wrapped for her. Clouds were starting to form above her, so she took advantage of the intermittent shade and made as much progress as she could before the rain began.
As the first drops fell, she stopped and took off her equipment. She rolled out her rain cloak and attached it to her backpack, also wrapping it around her bow and quiver. She put her equipment back on, the cleverly designed cloak hooding her face and wrapping around to buckle in the front, easily released if one needed to shed it quickly. The waterproof oiled hide was light but durable, and the cloak was designed to double as a makeshift tent as well. She continued as the summer storm drenched the thirsty land around her. The trail was neatly paved here, so mud was not a problem, and she stayed dry and comfortable under the cloak.
By mid-afternoon she was approaching the southeast border outpost. A squat stone tower stood on a narrow ridge, the trail running to the mouth of a tunnel which had been carved through the ridge underneath it. The massive doors were open, and as Rona approached, a guard stepped out from the shade to greet her.
"Hail, askuri," he said, using the formal title of a blooded scout of the Bilobi. "I am Olfor. We've been expecting you."
"Well met, Olfor," she replied, touching her palm to his in the traditional greeting.
"Your uncle sent word that you would be passing this way. Come, set down your things and have a drink. I'll fetch the shiragi, he will want to speak to you." He directed her into a side room where there was a couple of benches, and a table that held a pitcher of fruit-sweetened water and several glasses. The drink was blessedly chill compared to the warm water in Rona's waterskin.
The shiragi, leader of the oupost, was an older warrior called Gyrag, known to Rona as a friend of her father and uncle. He entered the room and gave Olfor a nod. The other warrior leaned on the wall outside the door casually keeping watch.
"Hail, Rona. Darib informed me that you're heading up the Blackspur." Gyrag spread out a map on the table. "Now I'm sure you've studied some maps already, but I'll just point a couple of things out to you. Once you exit the gates on the east side of this outpost, you are officially outside of our tribe's lands. I recommend finding somewhere to camp tonight in this area above the springs." He pointed to where the springs were marked, then indicated the trail to the base of the cliff. "That way you can start up the trade-trail in the morning. It's the safest way up to the top of the lower cliff, and the M'chal patrol it frequently."
He pointed to where the trail began its ascent, skirting a fair-sized lake at the base of a deep ravine. "The trail is narrow along the lakeside, so you will want to be especially wary there. It's a good place for an ambush. Further up the chasm, there are many stretches of trail that are exposed to view from above and below, but there are places for a tricky askuri like yourself to elude any problems there. "
"Once you reach the top of the lower cliff, the High Forest will be a more open terrain. The Sky People will keep close watch on this area. You're likely to see some of them flying around on their false-wings." Gyrag pointed to a cleft in the upper cliff. "Here there is the main trail up to the M'Chal lands. Once you are in that rift, you will likely be under constant observation by M'Chal lookouts and under their protection there, as well."
The warrior turned his eyes to meet Rona's. "There are always Z'Krol raiding parties lurking around the base of the Blackspur. They are, as always, the greatest threat. Especially to a lone female. You would be a prize indeed, young one, so take great care."
Rona nodded somberly. "I will, shiragi," she promised.
"I know you have been trained well, askuri. Be as a ghost. And whatever happens..." Gyrag put a hand on her shoulder, voice grave, "DON'T let them take you alive if they find you."
Rona set out from the east gate at a trot, feeling refreshed. The air was cooler from the rain and a light breeze across the top of the hills made the journey pleasant. Rona followed the trade trail for a half mile or so before leaving the trail on the north, downslope side. She followed game trails, picking her way carefully eastward as the afternoon wore on. It was slow travel, as she took pains to walk over rock and gravel where she could, to conceal her trail. Nonetheless, she reached the vale where the springs flowed a good hour before sunset.
She found a promising niche between a couple of large boulders and set up her bedroll there. She took her weapons down to a pool and quickly bathed, reveling in immersing her body in the cool, fresh water. She refilled her waterskin, and as twilight gathered, ate the last of the bread with some dried fish and some wild grapes she found nearby.
After her eyes adjusted to the starlight, Rona took a final scouting trip in a rough circle around her campsite, moving quietly from one vantage point to another, waiting and watching for a bit, then moving on again. The area was full of the early nocturnal activity of numerous animals, but nothing threatening. She returned to her spot, and used a leafy branch to brush her tracks from the sand as she backed into her niche and used the branch to further conceal her hiding place. Then she snuggled up in her blanket and drifted quickly into sleep, spurred by both her exertions of the day and her deprivation of the night before.
Rona awoke in the night, an indeterminable amount of time later. She lay, breathing quietly, listening; she was unsure what had woke her. After a moment, an insect began chirping nearby. She turned over quietly and watched the clearing beyond her leafy camoflauge. The hair rose on her neck as she saw a shadow moving through the trees stealthily. In a patch of stronger starlight, she made out a human figure, a large one, moving extremely quietly across the uneven ground.
She carefully unsheathed her tomahawk as she continued to watch. The shadow paused a few yards away, then a dim light shone on the ground nearby. In the reflected light, Rona could see a man, holding a smalll incandescent object with which he was examining the ground in a wide swathe, obviously looking for tracks. Concealed in shadow, Rona was not in danger of being seen, and she remained lying perfectly still as the man investigated, then the light switched off. After a moment the shadowy figure moved on, creeping through the forest toward the spring Rona had bathed in earlier.
She stayed there, motionless but alert, for quite some time. The blood seemed to boil in her veins at the thought of an enemy scout venturing so close to her tribe's lands. She considered following him and ambushing him, but there was no telling if he was alone. It was a risk not worth taking, she decided, and lay quiet until the adrenaline faded. Sleep was a long time coming.
Soon after dawn, Rona awoke, feeling rested and lively. She carefully emerged from her niche and did a quick circuit to assess her surroundings, bow strung and ready. All was quiet. She relaxed a bit, and prepared for the day.
Before she set out, she looked for the trail of the intruder. With a keen eye for the signs that even an experienced woodsman would leave, Rona quickly found where he had passed, and followed the trail down to the pool. From there the man had gone west, then turned back to the south, towards the trade trail. She decided that heading due east was the best route to avoid him, and proceeded that way after returning for her pack.
Through the rocks, meadows, and trees she went; moving quickly, but cautiously avoiding clearings and ridgelines where she could be seen from further upslope. The only creatures she encountered were a family of deer that she startled, who bounded away quickly when they caught her scent.
Soon the land became steeper, and she found a narrow valley to ascend to the trade-trail just before it met the shadow of the cliffs. She could see the trail pass over a small ridge, beyond which the gigantic cleft loomed. She trotted along the trail and quickly passed over the ridge into the valley at the base of the cleft, which was filled with a wide, deep lake.
As Gyrag had said, the trade-trail was carved into the rocky ridge alongside the west bank of the valley, with very little in the manner of cover, especially further into the defile. The lake itself was possibly the only escape route. Rona took a few deep breaths as she unstrapped her bow and strung it. Holding the bow and an arrow in one hand, she took off at a quick pace, striving for a balance of speed and silence.
Deeper into blessed shade, the air still held a refreshing coolness. A few birds chirped in the cliffs above the trail, but that was the only discernable sound for some time, until Rona began to hear the muffled roar of the waterfall at the innermost end of the canyon.
The lake narrowed quickly as she penetrated the canyon, until there was only a stone's throw separating the walls. The trail itself was carved into the solid rock of the cliff at this point, and even underneath an enormous overhang for a long stretch, making it feel cave-like. As she emerged into the canyon beyond the overhang, Rona rounded a corner to see the trail begin to rise ahead, a steep slope up to a spur of rock. She ascended to this point and paused to assess the path ahead.
Instinctively crouching by a boulder, Rona scanned the trail and the steep slope above her to the west. She could see where the trail switched back ahead, and glanced upward to get a feel for where it ascended. Just then, a flicker of movement drew her attention ahead, to where the trail turned.
She froze as she saw the figure of a man - no, two men - approaching the first switchback ahead of her. They moved with the quick and furtive pace of hunters, which immediately alerted her suspicions. She drew closer to the boulder and pulled the edge of her rain cloak down to disguise her profile. At this distance, in the deep shadow of the cleft, they would be hard-pressed to see her if she stayed still. She watched, motionless, as they rounded the switchback. The rearmost stopped for a quick view of the trail behind them before continuing.
Rona watched carefully upslope, trying to catch a glimpse of the hunting party on the trail above and ahead of her. From the angle she had, there was only a couple of places where she saw movement. Taking a deep breath, she started up the trail herself, staying quiet, as close to the slope as possible. Her adrenaline rode high, and she grasped her bow firmly as her senses sharpened. She stalked. Rona had done some hunting in her life, but never for a prey as dangerous as this.
At the switchback she quickly darted around the corner and continued up the path. As she had suspected, the trail was wide and well-built, and she was able to move quickly and close to the wall. Her eyes were constantly moving from the trail ahead, to the slope above her, ears alert for any sound of her quarry. She was quite confident that they had no warning of her presence, and took great care to maintain that status.
As she drew closer to the next switchback, she heard low voices from the trail above. She froze, next to a good portion of steep wall, and listened intently. Quiet footsteps, and then another low mutter, too faint to distinguish any words. When she could no longer hear footsteps, she continued.
After the next switchback, the trail rose more steeply, even having broad stair-steps at a few points. The trail rounded a ridge and continued deeper into the canyon, much further than the first switchback. Here the path was built on the steep jagged slope of some ancient avalanche, overgrown with vines and a few stubborn trees and punctuated with massive boulders. The cliff wall high above was broken, and Rona knew that the trade trail would ascend to the Upper Forest there.
She continued trailing them cautiously, wary of the increasing light as the trail rose higher. The roar of the waterfall was closer here, making subtle noises unhearable. The trail wound around boulders and crossed the path of a small rivulet before switching back again. The trail reversed directions four more times before Rona caught another glimpse of the others.
There was a bridge across the trench dug by the little stream here, and when Rona saw it up ahead, she also noticed a man crouched in the shadow just beyond. He was holding something up to his eyes, a short object pointed toward the cliff on the opposite side of the great cleft. Rona froze in place, and slowly flattened as she slid back around the tree she had just passed. Just in time, as the man turned the viewtube in her direction. On the ground already, she concealed herself fully. Heart pounding, she waited for twenty breaths before peeking again.
The man had put away his viewtube and was relieving himself over the edge of the trail. Rona relaxed slightly. When he was done, he picked up his pack and continued, as did she.
After three more switchbacks, the trail was nearly high enough to be exposed to the full light of the sun. The trail was rapidly shortening between the switchbacks as it grew close to the top of the cleft. Rona spotted her quarry crossing the rivulet again - two men, this time, not looking her way. She stayed in the shade of boulder until they disappeared, then followed. Now that she knew where they were, she closed the gap a bit, stealthily moving from vantage point to another. So when they stopped, she stopped as well, and found a friendly clump of vegetation to hide behind while she watched them.
The two men had found a deep niche alongside the trail, and were busy setting up some sort of equipment there. One of them strung a wire across the path, drove a spike into the rock on the downslope side, and attached the wire to it. He then lay the wire on the path and concealed it carefully under gravel and dust. The other end went into the niche, where Rona could not see from her angle. The other man was doing something else in the niche at the same time.
After a bit, Rona noticed something very unusual - a hint of movement in the air further along the trail, a slight blurring quite unlike anything she had ever seen before. Blinking, she studied the optical effect intently.
Suddenly, the blur opened from the center, revealing a man standing in the path near the niche. Rona nearly gasped at the unexpected sight. The man was large, very large, and bore the ritual scars of the Z'Krol. He shrugged off the robe he was wearing, which she could see clearly from the inner side as he lay it over a nearby rock. It was an eerie and disconcerting sight to see him appear from seeming nothingness. He disappeared into the niche.
After a short time, the man stepped back onto the path and wrapped himself in the transparency cloak again. Rona could see that it was a long robe, brushing the ground, with a fitted hood that covered everything but the man's eyes. He pulled the robe closed in the front and fastened it, and was virtually invisible once again. Only his eyes were visible, and only when they were briefly turned in her direction. Then the slight blur was the only sign of his presence, as he moved away further up the trail.
Soon afterward, a blur drew Rona's attention in that direction again. The process was repeated, although this was a different man. After a brief interlude, he too donned his transparency robe and moved up the path.
Rona tried to interpret the situation as best she could. A group of at least four Z'Krol warriors, encroaching on the territory of the Sky People, setting an ambush on the path; while two of them were using some sort of invisibility magic to conceal their invasion into the Upper Forest. She could think of several possible objectives for a raiding party such as this, and it stirred her blood with anger.
Determined, she set a course of action. She would bypass the ambush site, cross the Upper Forest, and head for the final ascent to the home of the Sky People. That path would be guarded, she was sure.
Rona looked for a place to ascend to the next level of the trail, making sure to stay out of sight. She soon found a promising-looking crack, unstrung and stowed her bow, and started to climb.
The crack soon dwindled to nothing, and Rona was forced to climb on the open rock. To make matters worse, she was fully exposed to the sun and quickly found herself flagging from the exertion of climbing. She found a somewhat secure foothold where she could rest for a few minutes, and take a drink of water, before continuing.
After a few more grueling minutes, she reached the trail, where she found a bit of shade under a tree and gratefully shed her pack. She wiped her face with a cloth, and restrung her bow. Just as she lifted her pack, she heard the scuffle of footsteps from down the trail.
Even though alarmed, she finished putting the pack on and buckling it securely, then picked up her bow and calmly nocked an arrow. There was nowhere to hide here. The two men from the ambush site rounded the turn as she stepped out into the trail, drew and fired in one swift motion. Her aim was true, the arrow striking the first man in the middle of the chest, but his leather breastplate stopped most of the impact. He was more surprised than hurt, but bellowed once and staggered back, his companion cursing and ducking for cover as Rona nocked another arrow.
A long moment passed while Rona tried to get a clear shot at the warriors; and they scrambled back, one fumbling for weapons and the other trying to pull the arrow out of his breastplate and his flesh, and both trying to find cover. The unwounded one finally rose, bow in hand and murder in his eyes. Rona's arrow left her bow a split second before his did, grazing one arm and cutting a bloody furrow on the way by. His arrow she barely avoided, twisting to the side as the breeze from its passing tugged at a stray strand of hair. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she shifted her balance and drew another arrow.
Again Rona was quicker than her opponent. This time her arrow struck true, piercing his leather leggings and the thigh beneath. His concentration was not broken, but his arrow whistled through empty air as the girl lowered and flattened her profile.
The other warrior came charging then, holding a sword and a shield high as he leaped past his comrade, his pierced breastplate apparently abandoned, and sprinting toward Rona.
She immediately whirled and fled, ducking instinctively as another arrow flew through the space she had occupied just an instant before. Accelerating to full speed in a few steps, Rona ran for her life, the pounding footsteps of the warrior growing louder behind her.
Encumbered by the pack on her back and the bow in her hand, Rona could hear him getting closer. Eyes on the trail ahead, she reached the next switchback only a scant few yards ahead of the warrior and cut the corner as closely as she could. She gained a couple of steps with the turn, as the man's greater bulk took him on a slightly more rounded trajectory. The man's companion was limping along some distance behind, and Rona caught a glimpse of him drawing bead on her as she raced up the trail. The arrow passed behind her as she pushed herself to run faster than she had ever run in her life.
The trail turned again and wound upwards into the cleft at the top of the mountainside, the slope more gentle here. The race continued; the warrior's longer legs giving him the advantage on the straighter parts, while the scout's agility gave her better ability to maneuver around the frequent twists and turns. Even so, he gained a couple of paces on her as they ascended the narrowing valley, not letting up his chase in the slightest.
Time stretched for Rona, each pounding step she ran calculated and executed perfectly. Ahead, she knew, there would be the others, the cloaked ones, and they would likely be on or near the path itself. Her eyes scanned incessantly, alert for any visual abnormalities that would give away their presence. The trail broke the crest and she was suddenly on the massive plateau of the Upper Forest. The path smoothed and began curving to the left; Rona immediately saw the disadvantage for her on this stretch, so instead of continuing along the trail, she picked a spot before the curve and plunged into the woods, the warrior still in hot pursuit. She heard a startled shout from behind her, which the warrior responded to with a brief, hoarse yell of his own. He sounded a bit out of breath.
Forests were Rona's element, but this one was unfamiliar to her. The underbrush was more prevalent than the deep forests of the lowlands, the tree cover more sparse. She was forced to plow through some bushes, using her bow to push branches aside, and leap over others, to maintain her scant lead over the onrushing warrior. Little by little, however, she increased the distance between them.
The terrain was fairly level here, but soon her path crossed a trickling stream in a rocky little valley, where she took her opportunity to suddenly change directions and dart eastward, upstream. Here she was able to use her agility to great advantage, bounding up, onto, and over rocks and boulders; scurrying along brief ridges at full speed, over fallen logs and gravelly slopes; as swift and sure-footed as any creature of the wild. She heard him falling further and further behind, but she didn't stop running until she couldn't hear him anymore, and she didn't stop moving until she had covered another quarter-mile or more, picking her path more carefully .
Finally she dared to stop, hidden behind a great tree in peaceful sunlit copse. Panting shallowly, drenched in sweat, sporting numerous cuts and scrapes from the plants she had ran through; but alive. Alive, and free. She took out her waterskin and guzzled nearly the entire thing, and drizzled the rest over her face.
After a brief respite, she continued her journey, going quietly and cautiously, leaving as little mark of her passage as she could. This was her specialty, and she did it to perfection. Only a master of tracking could hope to follow the trail she left, and that only with great time and patience. She made her way toward the crevice in the upper cliff that she knew was the trade-trail's route to the homeland of the M'Chal.
A drifting ghost would perhaps have disturbed the serene forest more than Rona did passing through. It was a beautiful place, full of exotic-looking flowers and sturdy vines climbing the boulders. The trees themselves were a mix of narrow- and needle-leaf, with a few fruit trees interspersed, some laden with nature's bounty. She took a few moments to harvest a handful of dark red cherries and ate them as she walked.
Perhaps an hour later, she intersected the trade-trail again and took to it after a cautious assessment. The ascent to the M'Chal lands was sure to be watched closely, she knew; therefore, she abandoned trying to conceal herself. She unstrung her bow and strapped it into place, donned her sun hat, and trotted up the trail.
The path rose to the base of the cliff ahead. Ahead of her, a man rose from behind a crag and stepped out into the trail, holding a spear. Her heart pounded in trepidation, but Rona slowed her trot, approached, and hailed him. "Bright morning, guardian."
The man nodded back to her. He wore armor of hardened leather and blackened metal, and a helm painted with feathers. "Light upon you, traveller. Who are you, and why do you come to our lands?"
"I am Rona, exile of the Bilobi. I seek refuge in your lands, if you will hear my plea." She lowered her eyes to the ground between them, joining her hands in a gesture of supplication.
There was a moment of silence. Rona peeked up to see the man waving some sort of signal to someone behind him, then turning back to her. "I am Tol, of the M'Chal. Your request is granted, Rona, exile of the Bilobi. You may enter our lands and plead your case. "
She let out a low sigh of relief. "My thanks, Tol." She paused, and looked back along the trail behind her. "There are other travellers here, however, whose intentions are not so peaceful..."
"Oh?" Tol stepped closer, beckoning for his companion to join them. "Tell us."
"A raiding party, I'm quite sure they were Z'Krol. Four of them, I believe. Two were cloaked in some sort of ... transparency. I don't know, it looked like magic of some kind. They went ahead, leaving two to set an ambush on the second leg down of the switchbacks. The two that stayed were not cloaked, but hidden in a crevice. I tried to sneak past them by climbing up the cliff, but they must have saw me, and they both chased me. I stuck an arrow through one's leg, but the other chased me into the Upper Forest before I lost him."
Tol's face grew darker with every sentence, and his grip tightened visibly on his spear. He nodded brusquely to her. "My thanks." He turned to his companion that had joined them, a slightly shorter man, similarly equipped. "Signal the strike team." The man hurried back toward their outpost. Tol turned his gaze back to Rona, then down the trail. "We will teach these scum to stay away from our lands," he growled.
Rona nodded, a savage smile creeping across her face. "I would be happy to help in any way I can."
The signal was sent via heliograph to the top of the cliff, and in a matter of minutes, a pair of gliders launched above and sailed above the forest. Rona watched with keen curiosity, having only heard stories of the manmade wings of the Sky People. They were large, triangular shapes with the human occupant controlling them from a framework below the wing. The scouts circled a few times before a band of warriors swiftly descended on ropes to the guardpost.
"We have a group of foragers out in the berry-bushes," Tol explained, as his comrades assembled with an impressive array of weaponry. "We will send some to inform them of the danger and guard them, while the rest of us go to the trade-trail and seek these invaders. I will lead this effort. You are welcome to accompany us."
"Gladly," Rona answered.
Soon the teams were ready and they set off; four of the warriors angling off to the northeast toward the berry pickers, while the other seven, and Rona, trotted down the trade-trail.
The Z'Krol, it turned out, had decided to vacate the area completely. A thorough search of the area where Rona had been chased found only a few tracks, and further investigation down the trade-trail found no sign that the raiding party remained in the area. The flying scouts continued their patrol as midday crept into afternoon; after posting guards at the top of the lower trail, the teams of warriors returned to the guardpost. The foragers joined them there as well, a group consisting of boys, giggling maidens, and more serious matrons, bearing baskets laden with ripe berries.
Further back in the cliff wall, an ingenious system of ropes, baskets, and counterweights allowed the foragers to relinquish their burdens and ascend the long stairs to their home, Rona and the warriors in tow. The stairway itself was cleverly constructed, carved into solid stone for the most part, with some sections supplemented by solid, well-maintained plank bridges. Gleaming metal poles connected the levels between switchbacks at regular intervals. Rona puzzled over their function, until she finally had to ask her escorts about them. The poles were used as effective shortcuts for the downward descent, it turned out.
The air changed as they climbed, and Rona felt a bit light-headed at times as she adjusted to the altitude. Clouds were forming above the lowlands, a sign of the daily afternoon rain. A pleasant breeze kept them cool as they reached the top of the stairs, and the panorama of the homeland of the Sky People spread out before them. A craggy landscape full of jagged spires of black rock, the terrain was bewilderingly mazelike to Rona's unfamiliar gaze. The party was hailed by another mixed group, those who had been raising the lifts at the top of the cliff.
The foragers took up their baskets and wound their way eastward toward their village, seemingly simultaneously bursting into song as they began to walk. Their voices echoed from the rocks around them, giving joyous praise for the bounty and beauty of summer. Rona could not help but smile for the exuberance and vitality of these people, and found herself humming along to the song as she learned it.
Soon the paved trail crossed a ravine over an elegantly shaped bridge of pure black basalt, and ascended a ridge until they were overlooking a picturesque valley. Dominating the skyline, a tall outcropping of the black rock rose perhaps another thousand feet above their present height, and at its peak, several columns of sparkling crystal scattered the sunlight in a million different directions.
Nestled into the base of the steep spires, a large village was built. Houses were mounds of earth with doorways and chimneys; several larger structures were also built into the ground, with sturdy-looking roofs. Below the village, a swath of terraces displayed a bounty of vegetation, and at the bottom of the valley a lake of crystal clear water lay like a splendid invitation. There were people everywhere, and little goats darted here and there, chasing children or being chased. People farming, swimming, flying kites, and a host of other activities. Rona estimated the population of the village as perhaps a thousand.
The harvesters were met by a flock of children and baby goats partway down the slope, squealing in delight and trying to sing along with the summer song, some babbling excitedly, and all trying to finagle a sample of the harvest from the baskets. Laughing matrons hugged their children, and some of the goats bounced around their humans in obvious delight. There was an infectious feeling of celebration in the air as they brought the song to a final chorus and began dispersing into the village.
Tol and a pair of the other warrior leaders escorted Rona to the largest structure in the valley, in the middle of town. The aboveground portion of the building was impressive in its solidity, constructed of massive slabs of basalt and a large metal-bound gate at its entrance. Rona's people had a similar structure, a fortress to retreat to in times of great peril.
Up a broad flight of stairs they ascended to the top of the edifice, where a stone watchtower rose, as tall as a tree. There was a a pleasant little table beneath a broad awning beside the tower, and there they could set down their weapons, and Rona gratefully shed her pack and equipment belts.
They sat down on pillowed chairs and were brought refreshing juice by a lovely young dark-haired girl. The breeze was perfect, the temperature was comfortable, and the juice was delicious. They enjoyed the ambience in silence while they awaited the eshtale.
After perhaps twenty minutes, three people approached and ascended the stairs toward them, two men and a woman. The men were mature, older warriors in their prime. Dark-haired and sun-bronzed, they were typical specimens of the Solbanian tribes. The woman, however, was quite different indeed. Her hair was shockingly blonde; her skin was somewhat tanned, but still pale. Her face had a delicate quality to it, almost childlike. She was dressed in a light, flowy white dress that looked eminently comfortable, and a matching white sun hat. She also bore the rod of an eshtale.
The two warriors split to either side and the woman approached between them, as Rona and the others rose to greet them. Rona stepped away from her comfortable seat and stood before them.
"Greetings, Rona." The woman's voice had a melodic quality. "I am Raebessa. Welcome to Crystal Tower." She was a bit taller than Rona and had intense, light blue eyes. Rona abstractly noted that her ears were slightly pointed. There was something familiar about her that Rona could not quite place.
Rona tore her gaze away from Raebessa's mesmerizing eyes, and bowed her head in gratitude. "My thanks, eshtale. I seek refuge among you, as I have been exiled from my homeland."
Wordlessly, the fair-haired woman reached out and cupped Rona's face gently, and then embraced her quickly. "You are welcome here," she whispered in that moment.
At the woman's touch, a tingling, almost electric shock cascaded through Rona's body, leaving her momentarily breathless. Raebessa stepped back, a sweet, secret smile pulling at her lips as their eyes met again. "Let us sit, now, and you can tell us all about it."
Rona related her story to them as the afternoon wore on. The warriors were particularly interested in hearing about the camoflauging robes, and what Rona had observed of the raiders' tactics. When all the questions had been answered and various repurcussions and extrapolations discussed, the hour was growing late and the smell of cooking food began wafting from the village around them. They concluded their meeting and dispersed.
Raebessa bid her tribesmen farewell, then turned to Rona. "I will inform the elders of our decision to accept your request for refuge. You can stay with me, if you want. I have a spare room in my little temple for guests." She waved in the direction of the spires above the village and smiled shyly, "And I'll bet you could use a hot bath."
"Oh, now that sounds delightful!" Rona exclaimed. With no further ado, they picked up Rona's equipment and headed up the wide walkways toward Raebessa's home.
An amazingly short time later, Rona was soaking in a luxuriously warm bath, set in a large bowl carved into the black stone of the hillside. The bath was fed by an ingeniously designed system of trenches and switches to bring water that had been heated by the sun in pools in the rocks above. The bath was above a small private garden nestled in the boulders behind the house that Raebessa referred to as her temple.
The house itself was carved into a short spire. There was an elegant but comfortable sitting area in the entry room, a kitchen on the garden side, and a pair of side rooms that contained niche beds and storage shelves. The main room was also Raebessa's bedroom, it turned out; it was a beautiful space surrounded on every wall with polished crystal ornaments, statuettes, and sparkles from every direction. There also hung several paintings of an erotic nature that had made Rona blush at the sight, and the enormous round bed in the center of the room had given her no doubt about the kind of activities that went on there.
Raebessa had shown Rona the room she would be using, explained how to draw the bath, and given her a massive fluffy towel and a robe before leaving to address the elders. The place was so peaceful and her hostess so sweet, that Rona felt immediately comfortable. Now she relaxed in the warm water gratefully, feeling the soreness and exhaustion seeping out of her in the elemental luxury. She drifted into a reverie for some time.
When she opened her eyes again, it was to the sound of a door closing and light footsteps on the mosaic-stone walkway leading through the little garden. The sun had set and twilight gloom was deepening. Raebessa appeared through the vine-and-flower-covered trellis and set a basket and a lantern down on the little table there. She glanced up at Rona and smiled brightly.
"I brought us some dinner! My grandmother made some of her koshgal meat pies, and I am so blessed to be in her good graces today!" Raebessa giggled and went back into the house.
Rona extricated herself from the bath, reluctantly, but also realizing how great her hunger had grown. She dried herself off on the great towel as Raebessa returned to the table and set out utinsels. Rona watched the fair-haired woman curiously as she slipped on the light robe and tied the belt closed; then she descended the short stairway to the cozy tea-table.
Rae pulled out a chair for her. "Here you are, dear... well, then, you do clean up nicely, don't you?" Her eyes roamed over Rona's face and form for a brief moment before their gaze met. There was a sparkle in her eyes that Rona could not attribute entirely to reflection, and she found herself quite lost for a long moment. Rae's lips parted slightly and she leaned forward a bit, before catching herself with a small shake of her head and a throaty chuckle.
"Some hostess I am, getting distracted... sit, sit." Rae giggled again. Rona complied, and Rae opened the basket to release a mouth-watering aroma from the freshly baked goodness within.
It was perhaps the most delicious meal Rona had ever eaten. The combination of her hunger, the struggle and portentiousness of the day, the strange but serene surroundings, her enchanting hostess - all conspired to fill her senses. It was almost like being intoxicated, but instead of numbness she felt actually more alive than she could have dreamed possible. She devoured the meat pie, the seasoned sweet potatoes, oil-and-spiced tender greens, the mushroom soup and salty crackers, and the berry tart; all in rapid succession. A glass of sweet plum wine set off the flavor of the tart nicely as Rona finally leaned back from the table with a contented sigh.
Night had fallen completely, and the stars shone brightly above. The spires, the rocks around them, the temple, the plants, and her hostess all seemed aglow with the gentle light.
Rae pushed her own plate away and delicately dabbed away the tart crumbs from her berry-darkened lips. "Oh, summertime." She laughed, a silvery tinkle blending with the trickle of water and the chirping of various insects around them. "It is my favorite season, and the food has a lot to do with that."
"I can only agree," Rona rubbed her belly contentedly. "I haven't met your grandmother yet, but I already know she's amazing."
"Yes, she is," Rae agreed with a chuckle. "Amazing enough to land an Aelven lover many years ago..." She stroked the tip of one ear.
"Oh!" Rona exclaimed. "Tell me about her?" she suggested.
They spent some time talking about Raebessa and her family. Her grandfather was a wandering Aelven adventurer by the name of Enobosil, who had come and lived among the M'Chal for a number of years. He had become quite smitten by the gorgeous young Wiusa, Rae's grandmother, and she with him; their exceptional love bore them a child, a rare happenstance indeed for the two species. That child was Rae's father, Norbosil.
Enobosil was a scholar, a scout, and a mage, come to the region to investigate the numerous ruins in the mountains to the east. While he was careful in his planning and preparation, the missions he took deep into Hobgoblin territory were dangerous. Some of the more daring warriors of the M'Chal had joined with the Aelf for these excursions, and they had some successful trips, coming back with scouting reports, mineral and biological samples, cultural analysis, and even some valuable loot. Then, the party did not return from one of these summer trips, and none were ever seen again.
Wiusa was heartbroken, of course, but moved on to start a family with others after a while. Norbosil was slow to mature, so much so that even his ten-years-younger sister reached puberty before he did. He became a hunter of uncanny ability, spending much of his time in nature. He was loyal to his family, though.
Norbosil and Rae's mother Mivana become lovers, and then oath-bonded, and Rae was born soon after. She was also slow to mature, although not quite as much so as her father. She was now, she informed Rona, twenty-nine years old, although she appeared no older than Rona herself at eighteen. She was already eshtale, she explained, because she had pledged herself to the Goddess of Love and been given the power of Peace. This ability was certainly very convenient for someone whose job, quite often, was to settle inter-domestic disputes and cool hot heads; and that she could offer counsel and comfort to the suffering made her even more valuable in the position.
As the priestess talked, Rona started to understand why her community trusted her implicitly. Rae was so open, enthusiastic, and overflowing with love and gratitude for her tribesmen and family, that Rona was quite caught up in the tale; until she suddenly realized she was having trouble focusing her eyes, and smothered a yawn.
Rae took her by the hand then, and led her back to the room they had set her gear in. A cozy bed was set up in a deep niche in the back wall. Rona sank into the fluffy mattress gratefully, Rae obligingly tucked the blankets around her, and she fell asleep even as the priestess quietly closed the door.
The next day, Rona started to become acquainted with the community of Crystal Towers, with Rae as her guide. The priestess was not eshtale this day, and they were free to wander about. Rae was well-liked by her tribe, and greeted cheerfully wherever they went. The children especially were happy to see her, and they engaged in numerous games throughout the day, frolicking and laughing. Along the way, Rona was gifted some clothing and adornments by other women, so she soon was wearing a comfortable sun dress and fancy sandals. Rae was complimentary and supportive to everyone they came across, leaving the women beaming and the men grinning; or sometimes, blushing and stammering. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day, full of tales and laughter and enough introductions to make Rona's head spin.
Night fell and once again they dined together in the garden. Afterwards, their conversation took a more serious tone, as Rona told Rae the full story of the altercation that led to her exile, and of her journey to the M'Chal. Speaking of the events of the last several days moved Rona to tears, as even then she was still trying to fully comprehend the sudden life changes that had taken place. Rae was very understanding and sympathetic, and when Rona cried, she cried with her; and held her until the tears stopped flowing. Rona slept well again that night, at peace with what had happened.
The next day Rona spent with the warriors, getting a grand tour of the town's outposts and defenses, and an overview of the aerial abilities of the M'Chal. From the gliding wings to the rope-jumpers, the M'Chal were masters of their mountainous environment, and Rona could see numerous new skills and equipment that she would like to learn. A training regimen was decided upon to best complement her abilities, and Rona went back to the temple feeling inspired and hopeful that she could quickly become a valuable asset to her gracious hosts.
That evening, after dinner, Rae led Rona up into the rocks behind the temple; up a steep winding stairway to a small basin at the top of one of the towers. The view was spectacular from here, the waxing moon above lighting the towers around them with its gentle glow.
They looked at the stars for a while, taking in the serene beauty of the landscape along with the sweet-smelling herb they smoked out of a sparkling crystal pipe. It was quite heady stuff, and as Rona gazed at her companion's silhouette, recognition dawned on her. "You were in my vision!" she exclaimed, and then had to explain what she was talking about.
Rae seemed very interested in the vision, asking several questions about one detail or another. The sriwi'ani in particular she was curious about; and when Rona had answered her questions as best she could, the priestess sat down close to her and whispered in her ear.
"A few are friends of mine. Look, up there." Rae pointed up into the sky, tracing a line. "They are watching, much of the time." She giggled. "They seem to find us amusing, or at least entertaining. Especially our love lives. We mammals do things much different than they do."
Rona laughed. "I can only imagine." She thought she saw a blurring of the stars where Rae was pointing. The priestess's body was warm and soft and neither of them felt inclined to separate while they watched the night sky.
After some time, thirst drove them to descend to the garden for more plum wine. Rae filled their glasses full and toasted her guest with a sparkle in her eye. "To you, Rona, a beautiful addition to the Crystal Towers! I am blessed by your presence."
Rona blushed a bit and lowered her eyes modestly. "I am the blessed one, priestess, to have found my way to your light." She raised her eyes to Rae's again, and they both drank deeply.
Rae's face was slightly flushed, and she stood on her tiptoes and inhaled deeply. She exhaled slowly, keeping eye contact with Rona, and smiled, her full lips glistening in the moonlight. "I think it's time to go inside for my light show."
The light show turned out to be spectacular. Rae lit lanterns in the corners of the main room and dialed knobs underneath them; these little machines rotated the lanterns slowly as they unwound, the cylinders around the lamps pierced with holes to let the light shine through intermittedly. The result was a myriad of sparkling from all the crystal ornamentation in the room, rainbows and colors and shimmering reflections in every direction, constantly changing in a bewilderingly complex array.
Rona found herself sitting on the edge of the great round bed, sipping the delicious plum wine, bedazzled and relaxed and utterly lost in the moment. It was somehow perfect when Rae sat next to her, intimately close, her long smooth legs brushing against her own. Rae's skin was warm and the electric feeling rushed through Rona again as she turned her gaze on her fair hostess. Rae wore only a filmy short nightgown now, and Rona drank in her ethereal beauty. Her hostess smiled languidly and caressed her face lightly, then kissed her tenderly.
Rona's entire being seemed alight then, the sensations and emotions heightening as her body responded to Rae's gentle touch. The priestess's hands caressed here and there, stroking her neck, her hair, her arms; brushing against Rona's erect nipples, down her ribcage and gently across her soft abdomen. Rona rose to her caresses, body yearning, as the passion flared from a spark to a roaring inferno.
Soon the scant clothing had been discarded and they made sweet love together, with a seemingly insatiable hunger. Despite her inexperience, Rona was instinctive and enthusiastic as she explored Rae's beautiful body with her fingers and her lips, delighting as the priestess's breath came in gasps, and little moans of pleasure; and as her dripping womanhood grew warm and swollen, the kisses and caresses grew ever more heated.
Time seemed to stand still for them as they brought each other to peaks of pleasure and finally to writhing, moist climax; then, they cuddled together in an intimate embrace, sweaty, covered in each others' juices, and utterly satisfied. As Rona lay spooned against the priestess, her arm draped over her lover's ribcage, feet tangled together as if in tribute to their ecstasy; her last thought put a smile on her beautiful lips as she drifted off to sleep.
She was home.
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Summer Nights
When I was little, we’d visit my grandma in the hills an hour east of our home. We went every summer and stayed for weeks. Cassie and I would run around that old house, stomping on every creaky stair and whipping around corners plastered with flowery wallpaper, almost knocking over all the priceless family heirlooms. My mother would always send us out before we could do too much damage.
“Girls! Take your shenanigans outside before the entire house comes crashing down,” she would always say. Then Grandma would shrug her thin old shoulders and give us a wink as we bounded out the door and scampered off into the rose garden. We didn’t appreciate the garden much in those days. Sure, the roses were pretty, but for our purposes they were merely bushes we couldn’t touch. Looking at them now is a very different experience. Grandma was so dedicated to them. Even as her arthritis got worse, she never stopped pruning them. It showed. Each bush was a monument to dedication, a thorny tribute to hours spent in gardening gloves under the hot sun. They reminded me too much of her.
But when we were little we didn’t care about any of that. We just cared about the feeling of the wind in our hair and the grass under our feet. Past the garden was a great big lawn, much too big to ever be mown. Wild flowers burst untamed from the fertile ground, and he grass grew tall enough to tickle my nose, though now it would only come up to my waist. Cassie was too short to see over the grass, so she would charge about blindly until she happened to run into me, or grew tired and collapsed into a pile of giggles. Whenever we came back in from the field, inevitably scratched all over and thoroughly exhausted, Dad would say something about ticks, and how we should be wearing long pants.
“Oh phooey,” Grandma would say. “I was playing out in that field before you were born, and I’m still here to tell the tale.”
Dad would nod begrudgingly, and Cassie and I would grin from ear to ear. The next day we’d be back out in the field, in our colorful shorts, with the grass nipping at our legs.
Beyond the field were the woods. We weren’t allowed to go into the woods without an adult, much to our young chagrin. Instead, we'd poke our heads out of the grass and stare longingly up at the birches that guarded that forbidden land. And when the longing grew too great, we'd run back inside and beg Grandma to take us on a faerie hike.
Most of the time she'd decline, and give us each a lemon drop for our trouble. But sometimes, on particularly windy days, or days when the clouds rose taller than mountains, or rain dripped gently from the treetops, she’d rise out of her chair and say, “Well alright. Let's see if we can find any today.”
Cassie and I would titter wildly while running circles around her feet. She would grab her walking stick from its place beside the door, and we would set off.
Grandma walked slowly, especially on uneven ground, and Cassie and I would always be tempted to dash on ahead, but we never did. We had to listen to Grandma’s story. It was always the same; the same cascading syllables, the same dramatic pauses, but no matter how many times we stayed dead silent and strained our ears to hear every last word.
“When I was a little girl, no bigger than you two here, we lived in this very house. My brother, your great-uncle Henry, and I would run around like wild things, just as you do now. But some days we would get bored of the house, and the garden, and the field, and we’d take each others’ hands, and we’d step into the woods. It feels different under the trees. Calmer, older, more magical. Can you feel it?”
We would nod vigorously, and Grandma would smile. She had the type of smile that would reach all the way up into her eyes.
“Good. I can too. That means that the faeries are still here. Long ago, before humans had conquered the forest, there were a great many wild things that lived there. Great dragons slept in their massive nests of pine needles and dirt. Spirits made out of starlight wandered the night, and dryads whispered secrets to each other in the dark. Owls large enough to carry off a cow roosted in pines bigger than you can possibly imagine. Great big stags, taller than most houses, silently roamed beneath trees that scraped the clouds. The only creatures to rise above these trees were the forest giants, who were so tall nobody had ever seen their faces. Fairies lived among these creatures in the nooks and crannies of the wild. In the hollows of rotting logs, the knots of ancient trees, the cracks between lichen covered rocks, the fiddleheads of baby ferns, the shade of colorful mushroom caps, this is where the faeries made their homes. They flitted about in clearings and glades, frolicking in the sun, and drinking nectar from flowers.
“But as humans began to populate the world, they ventured into the forest. Humans are brave creatures, you see, and just as we are now, they were curious as to what lay beneath the dappled sun beams. However, some humans were not as strong of will as the two of you, and they were overcome by greed. They came with their axes and engines and cut down the tallest trees. With each one that came crashing down, the forest grew shorter. And as the forest shrank, the great big creatures who called it home began to disappear. The giants went first, of course. Some say they just sat down and gradually became covered in earth and snow. Others say that they simply walked in the ocean, and kept walking until even their heads were hidden beneath the waves. The dragons went next. Some were hunted for their horns, and the rest hid in fear. They sealed their caves, and vowed only to emerge when the trees regrew and the humans were gone.”
Cassie and I would stare at grandma, eyes wide, scared to even breathe too loud lest we interrupt the story.
“The stags and owls remained, but as the forest grew shorter and shorter, they shrank with it, eventually becoming the size that you know today. As wilderness disappeared, so did the spirits, their starlight outshined by the artificial lights of humans. But the faeries did not disappear. They were the smallest of the wild creatures, and the best at hiding. The forest was still plenty big enough for them, and the humans hardly noticed them. No matter how many roads were paved, flowers still bloomed . As years passed, the faeries became better and better at hiding, but they never disappeared. They’re still here, and you can find them if you know where to look, step quietly, and have a little bit of luck.”
Exactly at this point we’d arrive at our destination. It was a flawless process, no matter how fast we walked or who stopped to tie their shoe; the story always took just as long as the walk. We assumed it was because Grandma was magical. Our destination was a sort of clearing in the center of a grove of poplar trees. In the clearing was a circle mushrooms, small orange ones with cute round caps. My seventh grade science teacher said this perfect circle was because of something called mycelium, which the mushrooms put underground. Grandma said it was because of faeries.
“That’s why it’s called a faerie circle after all,” she’d always say.
Various flowers also grew around the faerie circle, mostly violets and lily of the valley. A rock stood in the center. Cassie always called it the bean bag rock, because it was about the right size and was covered in the softest moss our tiny hands had ever felt. When Grandma’s story finished we would walk to the bean bag rock and sit down. We would sit there for hours, Cassie and I intently watching the clearing’s edge, and Grandma gently stroking our hair.
Sometimes Grandma would start to sing. We would always shush her, saying “Grandma stop, you’re going to scare away the faeries!” She would laugh and hug us tight, and we would turn back to our vigil. We’d stay until the sun dipped below the horizon and the first splashes of purple appeared in the sky.
At that point Grandma would sigh, get up from the bean bag rock, stretch, and say, “Now come along dears, it’s time to get home. You’re going to want your dinners.”
We would wail that no, we weren’t hungry, and couldn’t we just stay for fifteen more minutes?
But Grandma was adamant, and she’d say “If the faeries haven’t come out to play yet they aren’t going to. We’ll have to try some other time.” We’d yawn and drag our rumbling stomachs back through the forest, now cast in the soft orange glow of the sunset. Most nights we’d be too tired to eat dinner sitting up, and our parents would bring it up to us tucked into our beds.
We slept in the room at the apex of the house, where the ceiling sloped away to form a narrow room with a triangle window on the far side. Our beds were short cots on either side of the room, the ceiling gently sloping into the wall above us. The heat from the house rose, and this room would get ridiculously hot.
Some nights we wouldn’t be able to sleep. On those nights Cassie and I would open the triangular window, and stick our faces to it, desperately trying to catch a whiff of the cool night breeze. We’d stay there all night, listening to the crickets in the grass, the wind in the leaves, and the owls in the trees. It was on these nights, our faces pressed against the screen, the moon shining down, the breeze flickering through the window, that we’d see the faeries.
There was a trellis leaning against the back of the house that came almost up to our window. Morning glories clung to its painted wooden rungs, their tendrils stretching towards the sky. And on summer nights, as the first stars began to wink in the dark blue sky, the morning glories would unfurl their flowers. They were tiny parasols, popping open under starlight rain. And it was to these flowers the faeries came.
They came from the forest, just as Grandma said, flitting on wings of purple and blue, green and orange. They glowed gently in the dark, and we could see them flapping across the field until they reached the base of the trellis. From there they grew more cautious, and would slowly creep up it, floating from flower to flower. Cassie and I would hold our breath, trying our very very best not to make a sound. After what felt like hours, and maybe was, they’d reach the top.
The faeries were the most delicate creatures we had ever seen. From their backs sprouted glowing wings, midnight blue and sunset purple, forest green and autumn orange, similar to butterfly’s wings, but not quite. They were more pointed, and moved faster, almost like a hummingbird. Their bodies were softer colors than their vibrant wings, light yellow or green, silver or pink.
The faeries weren’t silent, like you might expect. They made little chirping noises, and tittered amongst themselves. When they flew, their wings buzzed with brilliant energy. They behaved a lot like bees, flying into flowers and crawling around their stems. The glow from their wings would light up the flowers, casting brilliant rainbow lights along the side of the house and turning the trellis of morning glories into a strand of Christmas lights. They would reach their hands, barely the size of the head of a pin, into the flowers, grabbing fistfulls of pollen and stuffing it into their tiny mouths. The faeries weren’t dainty little princesses with table manners, they were hungry creatures, glad to have a meal. And for our part, we were glad they came.
Of course Cassie and I told Grandma that we saw the faeries outside our window; she gave us a big hug and congratulated us, saying that we had been “graced by the wild,” but we were never sure that she actually believed us. We never told our parents. Nevertheless, we knew what we saw. And we knew that we were graced by the wild. We had seen the last traces of the wilderness, looked directly into their tiny black eyes, and they had looked back.
Cassie and I didn’t talk about the faeries much. It never seemed appropriate. It wasn’t something you could talk about over dinner while on break from college, or brought up over the phone. It was something you whispered across a campfire when everyone else had gone to sleep, or mentioned when the last box had been moved out of Mom and Dad’s attic and dust motes filled the air. But even when we didn’t bring it up, it was always there. It was a constant bond between us, in our looks, our laughter, and today it was in our tears.
It wasn’t always easy to be graced by the wild. It doesn’t fit very well on a high school transcript or a job application, and sometimes it even gets in the way. Once you’ve seen the faeries, it’s hard to see anything the same way again. Every person on the street seems ignorant, like they’re walking through life with their eyes half closed. Every building seems pointless, a monument made to shield us from the sky. Once you’ve seen the faeries, it’s hard to fight the instinct to run off into the woods and never come back.
So as I grew up, I sometimes forgot about the faeries. Never for too long, just long enough to get on with my life. Later I’d go back into my head, take the faeries out of their box, dust them off, and become the girl who had seen the faeries. It wasn’t too often, but when I went on a hike on a day off, fell asleep to rain pounding against the windows, walked to work in fresh snow, got home from a particularly bad date, or just drove off into the wilderness because I could, that’s who I became: the girl who had seen the faeries.
And today, in Grandma’s house, staring out the window in the too hot room at the peak of the house, with my family crowding around a table downstairs, the world feeling a little bit emptier, that’s who I am. I am the girl who’s seen the faeries.
I feel arms wrap around me from behind. It’s Cassie. Her jet black curls press into my cheek as she squeezes me tight. I start to smile, but before it can break across my face she tightens her grip and I let out a strangled gasp. She laughs at me, but doesn’t let go. At a glare from me she loosens her hug and she goes back to nuzzling my shoulder.
“She’d be proud of us you know.” Tears immediately spring to me eyes.
My response is barely a whisper. “I know.”
We stand like that for a few minutes, with the sun shining through the window, and morning glories waving in the wind, their closed flowers tapping against the glass. Cassie walked over and opened the window, before turning back to me.
“Did you bring a sleeping bag?”
I nodded.
“Want to sleep up here? Just one more night?”
The tears broke free, dripping out of my eyes. I couldn’t manage a sound, but I nodded vigorously. Cassie gave a wistful smile.
“Alright faerie girl, pull yourself together. You’ve got to make a speech in a few minutes.”
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It started out with a kiss
It had been a wonderful evening full with food, libations, and merriment. Persephone wasn’t a goddess that was being celebrated at these revelries but Thanatos had assured her that nobody would care since it was a feast being held in honor of himself and his brother Hypnos. The humans couldn’t even see them after all unless they chose to mingle amongst them and should they know of her presence they would most likely be ecstatic anyhow. The more gods the merrier after all! Besides they had both been working hard and deserved to have a little fun.
The festivities had reached a fever pitch amongst the humans and Persephone watched on in fascination her cheeks flushed from indulgence and the heat of the scattered torches. Seated beside her Thanatos sipped from his cup chuckling at the sight of his brother in the guise of a mortal being one of the key figures driving the increased excitement.
“He is never happy until there is an orgy I swear? “
Persephone cheeks flushed even redder at the mention of orgy her attention turned to Thanatos.
“Orgy? But neither of your are fertility gods?”
Thanatos chuckled softly setting aside his cup
“Correct but death is a scary concept for most. Often times when faced with the death the witnesses wish to feel alive. Sex can be a very lively activity after all.”
Persephone hid her growing blush behind the rim of her cup but nodded her agreement.
“I guess that makes sense. It is just shocking that they would do such things so publicly.”
Thanatos laughed briefly drawing the curious gaze of some of his other ethereal guests. Persephone pouted knowing his humor was at her expense.
“I am sorry you are just so adorably sweet sometimes. Not all of them are exhibitionists but sometimes the feelings take hold. Or the alcohol.”
Persephone started to giggle at this last bit Thanatos soft laughter soon joining hers. Persephone fanned herself calming down as she plucked at her robes flapping the material of her veil to try and cool herself.
Thanatos politely looked away as Persephone’s actions made her fairly demure attire anything but. With her shifting of her veil like hood and plucking of her robes far more of her ample cleavage and delicate shoulders and throat were made visible. He knew it was all innocent but he was still a man so better to look away and avoid any Pandora sized temptations. They continued idle conversation for some time Thanatos drinking and eating more as an excuse to not look her way. At the same time Persephone continued to drink both to try and cool herself and to end the growing thirst that remained unsated.
Looking out at the festivities even his brows rose at some of the creative positions being attempted. Glancing at Persephone he was thankful to see she was oblivious instead it seemed fixated on weaving together some of the offering flowers into a crown.
“Hey Princess why don’t we get you home it is getting pretty late.”
She looked up at him with a pout that would have put Helen of Troy to shame. Lifting up the crown of magenta zinnia, coral roses, white camellia, and coriander she placed it atop his head smiling as it settled perfectly above his brow.
“Must we? I haven’t made your brother a crown for his big day yet.”
Glancing at the location of his brother he just sees a mess of muscles and nudity. His brother at that moment was dealing with stamen of a different sort.
“That’s okay he is occupied at the moment I don’t think he will mind.”
Glancing out at the crowd she squints her eyes trying to figure out what she was seeing before flushing as red as a new rose.
“Oh...oh my.”
Thanatos laughed standing up surprised to find he swayed a bit with over indulgence. Using his wings to counter balance he offered a hand down to Persephone which she took most eagerly. With a small pull she is was one her feet giggling as she pitched forward falling into him.
“Sorry I think perhaps I may have overdone it”
“Well it is a celebration so I won’t tell on you this time”
He winked playfully at Persephone who still clung to him her flushed face peering up at him from the halo of her veil.
“So does that mean you won’t judge me for suggesting we go skinny dipping to cool off?”
Thanatos laughed thinking she had to be joking but seeing the start of her pout he quickly stopped laughing.
“Are you being serious?”
“Of course I am! It is just so hot and I love to swim! “
“It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
She leans back a little blinking at him with genuine confusion
“What is inappropriate about swimming together. It is just swimming. Hermes and I used to do it all the time. I guess I can go by myself I just thought it would be fun.”
Thanatos groaned internally. He was going to have a stern conversation with Hermes later. Still she seemed set on going for a swim and he was worried that in her current state she might attempt it on her own with some less than savory situations. Gaia give him strength.
“Alright, you swayed me we can go. I believe there is a small pond not that far from here.”
Persephone let out a squeal of excitement throwing her arms around his neck to hug him in thanks but in both of their current states of intoxication it threw them off balance and they tumbled back to ground. The next thing Thanatos realized was Persephone’s body was soft in all the right places made even more obvious to him through the thin material of his robes and his bare chest. Softer than her body were her lips which petals themselves must have envied.
Persephone eyes widened as she felt them losing balance. She closed her eyes tightly bracing herself from the impact letting out a small ooof sound at impact that was quickly muffled by the a set of firm but surprisingly pleasant lips over hers.
At the same time Hades had just arrived having belatedly seen the reminder on his phones calendar of his employees festive day. It was late but hopefully he could make an appearance give his well wishes to the brothers and go about his evening. Coming upon the festivities he was surprised to see Hypnos had gotten things to an orgy level of fervor so early. He sometimes seriously questioned if Hypnos abilities were more carnal then what he claimed them to be. Looking for Thanatos he stopped in surprise seeing him nestled between the thighs of some maiden whose face remained hidden but judging by the arms around Thanatos neck the attentions were not unwanted.
At the sound of s groan from Thanatos Hades blushed and quickly retreated to the shadows.
Thanatos groaned in a mixture of need, pain and acceptance as he pulled back from Persephone’s lips holding his body up on his elbows.
“I am sorry. Are you alright ?”
Persephone nodded her head a pretty flush dancing across her nose and cheeks tempting Thanatos like the call of a siren to sink back into her softness once more.
“Never better. You have nothing to be sorry for. That was a very lovely kiss. I never knew a kiss could feel like this. I never wanted to be kissed before but I think I understand now what the nymphs were on about.”
Absently her finger traced over her lips as a dazed pleasure seems to have settled over her senses. Seeing this Thanatos felt a certain part of himself throb to life even more. A cold dip in a pond was called for stat. At that moment was very thankful to be in his robes and not in his usual slacks. Moving back to his feet he helped her up taking her hand in his own and quickly leading the way.
“Nymphs are not the type a flower like you should take advice from. Let’s get to that dipping before we take another tumble.”
Seeing the couple depart Hades was left in a spot. If he failed to give his regards it would be a major breech in polite protocol. Still he didn’t want to throw a wrench into Thanatos’ possible romantic liaisons. Hesitating for a few minutes he finally decides to follow and see if he might catch up to them before anything to intimate occurred. Luck it seemed wasn’t with him as he quickly came across a trail of the females discarded clothing and finally what appeared to be Thanatos’ robes. Hearing the soft sound of a females laughter ahead Hades slipped into the shadows of the forest before peering around a tree.
The couple were playing splashing water back and forth at one another perfectly harmless fun except for the fact they were both nude. Hades had resolved to leave and send a gift in acknowledgment later when the female companion turned and he froze in shock as the mystery woman was revealed.
“K-Kore?”
Hades felt a cold vice of ice close around his heart causing him to exhale in shock at the scene before him. No? He must be mistaken. The girl just looked like her surely. The fates had never been kind and they didn’t deviate this day as Thanatos removed any doubt with regards to his companions identity.
“Persephone! You better run. I am going to dunk you for that cheap shot!”
Persephone squeaked in mock terror swimming away as Thanatos playfully gave chase.
Hades had seen enough and quickly slipped back to the path pausing as his vision fell back to discarded clothing noticing the crown of flowers laid beside them. Moving over to it he bent to pick it up gently cradling it as he studied it.He knew a fair bit of flower language from the time he had spent with Hestia. Magenta Zinnia for lasting affection, coral roses for passion and desire, white camellias for adoration and the small blooms of coriander weaved through out for the lust he had witnessed earlier between them. His anger and hurt getting the better of them he crushed the delicate creation between his hands dropping it to the ground.
Why? Why did he always loose his chance. Why was he never the one that was chosen? Eyes turning red he glared back towards the sound of the couple. Thanatos would pay dearly. Just as anger and bitterness burned through Hade’s heart so too would Thanatos suffer for the happiness he had . Turning away he began the journey back to the office determined to create several pie charts to repay Thanatos for the pain he had unknowingly wrought upon him.
#greekgods#inspired#loreolympus#drabble#persephone#thanatos#hades#facebookmarchchallenge#day2 kiss#day10 anger#springflingchallenege#maybe#oneshot#lore olympus
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Transiting Venus enters Gemini
April 24 - May 19, 2018
The traditional Gemini flower is the rose. This here Gemini (albeit one with a Taurus Venus) prefers its scent to all others, even to the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies:
Venus is the esoteric ruler of the sign Gemini. Considering that one of the sign’s earliest depictions was a woman and a man in an embrace, that’s easy to understand. This transit therefore brings us opportunities to “up our Venus game,” so to speak. Alan Oken (Soul-Centered Astrology, p 280) wrote:
In the life of a fully Soul-centered being, Venus in this position gives one the understanding of the spiritual purpose behind any relationship. On the personality level, Venus in Gemini frequently indicates two diametrically opposed relationships simultaneously occurring in a person’s life. He is often caught in a difficult duality: “How can I have both? Which one do I choose?” The Higher Mind will always choose BOTH, and then blend them into a harmonious THIRD, capable of increased creative activity and love. This is the secret of synthesis, and synthesis is the Soul’s process of growth.
Venus through Gemini can take a profligate turn and fling her hard-earned cash at everything which catches her fancy, especially if she’s turned loose in a bookstore. Finding worth and value via the printed page is certainly a Venus/Gemini trait. Too often this placement is simply bored, though, and has learned that spending money is interesting - for a while. If we’re too tempted to spend, we should try to be very strict with ourselves and enforce a 24- or 48-hour delay before actually making the purchase. If by that time, we still want it, it’s probably okay to go ahead.
Venus/Gemini doesn’t usually have the patience to sit through extended beauty treatments. She’s going to make changes to her appearance more out of (again) boredom than anything else, which can lead to much regret after the mood passes but she still has a crew cut. Bear in mind that the boredom isn’t going to be cured by superficial means, and try to limit the drastic changes to something easily correctable, like toenail polish.
Our creativity is channeled into storytelling directions, into mixing media and doing at least two things at once. We take great delight in flexing our vocabularies to create clever and dazzling verbal pyrotechnics. Not a lot of depth, true, but life doesn’t have to be heavy and significant all the damned time.
And relationships, yes, true love romance…. This placement has a reputation for flirtation, but you know, I have a family member with a Gemini Venus (in the 5th House no less!) who has never been in any relationship at all. It may be commitment-phobia (which all mutable signs like Gemini are susceptible to), but it seems more like a complete distaste for the whole thing.
During this transit we may think (Gemini) that being in a relationship is a great idea, and our need for companionship is strong. Someone to bounce the ever-flowing ideas off of, you know. When push comes to shove, however, we’d rather stay free. Expect chatty dates, doing whatever little spontaneous things in the neighborhood. Established couples want to communicate more; they may take little day trips, together or separately, and then share observations.
Something unique for most of 2018, for planets transiting through Gemini, is that there won’t be a ton of major aspects from other planets. The ones we can expect are to/from Chiron and Neptune. This can be a good thing, as major aspects from the heavy hitters (Saturn, Uranus, Pluto) can rattle the Geminian nerves into a cacophonic shambles. Aspects from Chiron and Neptune aren’t necessarily going to have such obvious effects, but that doesn’t diminish the potential for catastrophe. The potential for doing whatever it takes to distract and numb ourselves is strong; we can with a little effort, though, achieve that necessary synthesis.
Celebrities with Venus in Gemini:
Liam Neeson, Trent Reznor, Kendrick Lamar, Margot Robbie, Richard Branson, Franz Kafka, Ringo Starr, Henry VIII of England (ROFL!), Malcolm X, Chris Pratt, Tina Fey, Joan Rivers, Charlie Hunnam, Bette Davis, Immanuel Kant, John Cusack, Helen Mirren, Edie Sedgwick, Blake Shelton, Albrecht Durer, Helen Hunt, Gregory Peck, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Isabella Rossellini, Emma Thompson
Tuesday, April 24, Chiron/Aries sextile Venus/Gemini, 0:24
This is almost the first “thing” to happen to Chiron after dipping its toe into Aries, as well as for the Venus/Gemini ingress. Some exciting new “love”? Not necessarily a person - it could be an idea, a song, a poem, a lip gloss. I would hesitate to think that the intrigue will have any staying power, though, given that Chiron scoots back into Pisces this September. Whatever “it” is, the timing is off. (Unless you want “temporary” of course!)
Planets/Points affected lie between 00:00 and 1:24 of the yang signs Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius; placements between 00:00 and 1:24 of Scorpio receive a transiting yod, signifying the need for adjustments; placements between 00:00 and 1:24 of Taurus receive a transiting double semi-sextile, introducing an element of good timing.
Thursday, May 3, North Node/Leo sextile Venus/Gemini, 10:25;
South Node/Aquarius trine Venus/Gemini, 10:25;
Ceres/Leo sextile Venus/Gemini, 11:15
A pleasant time with the kids and/or the parents, as a general interpretation for these inoffensive aspects. Although it’s a weekday, and we therefore most likely can’t ditch school/work to do something fun with our loved ones, we can at least help each other through the day with affection and warmth. Make the effort to connect.
Planets/Points affected lie between 9:25 and 12:15 of the yang signs Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius; placements between 9:25 and 12:15 of Capricorn receive a transiting yod, signifying the need for adjustments; placements between 9:25 and 12:15 of Cancer receive a transiting double semi-sextile, introducing an element of good timing.
Monday, May 7, Neptune/Pisces square Venus/Gemini, 16:01
Too many choices, I think; remember that the Piscean fish are swimming skew to each other, and that the Gemini twins don’t know which one to follow - or maybe they should strike off in altogether different directions? Maintaining emotional distance, even temporary emotional distance, could be crucial to getting through this without becoming hopelessly confused. Artist-types have some trouble manifesting their inspirations.
Planets/Points affected lie between 15:01 and 17:01 of the mutable signs Gemini*, Virgo*, Sagittarius*, and Pisces*; and between 0:01 and 2:01 of the fixed signs Taurus*, Leo*, Scorpio*, and Aquarius*.
Monday, May 14, Eris/Aries sextile Venus/Gemini, 23:44
Gemini is notorious for preferring a variety of anything, and with Venus/Gemini sextile the TNO of “the Other” we’re all pretty much “Vive la difference!” We might even go a little overboard with our, ah, extremely eager cultural appreciation. If we can avoid “cultural appropriation” and mind our manners, we might actually learn something fun.
Planets/Points affected lie between 22:44 and 24:44 of the yang signs Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius; placements between 22:44 and 24:44 of Scorpio receive a transiting yod, signifying the need for adjustments; placements between 22:44 and 24:44 of Taurus receive a transiting double semi-sextile, introducing an element of good timing.
Thursday, May 17, Pallas/Gemini conjunct Venus/Gemini, 27:41
This is splendid for artists of all types. In fact, the Moon is in Gemini now, too, making it profoundly fertile for the hatching of creative and/or womanly ideas. Audiences are appreciative and responsive. Another way this may manifest is via mother-daughter relations. (Or, nurturer-nurturee.) We might not always perfectly understand love, but today at least we can articulate it to some extent.
Planets/Points affected lie between 26:41 and 28:41 of all signs, and between 11:41 and 13:41 of the fixed signs Taurus*, Leo*, Scorpio*, and Aquarius*.
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Growing success: why late winter is the time to get a jump-start on gardening
Now is the time to get a head start on your garden
If you want your garden to really stand out this year, late winter is the perfect time to take proactive steps for success. Seed catalogs are already being mailed to homes across the province and for many gardeners, especially in the colder regions, it can be very tempting after a long winter to start ordering seeds.
Many gardeners find themselves chomping at the bit during these winter months. The inclement weather makes it nearly impossible to get outside and work in your garden, but your gardening desires aren’t weaning away. We have compiled this list for you. Here are some things that you can do while your plants are dormant, so your garden will be ready to go once spring comes!
The ground may still be cold, but longer days have already begun to coax your plants out of their winter dormancy. It’s undoubtedly early—there’s not a lot of true gardening to do yet—but there are several valuable ways that you can prepare for the busy spring and summer seasons ahead.
1. Assess and Repair
Check your garden for winter damage. Shake off any snow that remains on delicate branches, and clean up any boughs that were broken in storms. Add mulch to areas where your fall application has thinned, and replant any shrubs that were pushed up by frost heave. As you work, try not to walk on muddy areas, as your footsteps will compact the soil.
2. Water
Here’s a fair-weather gardening instruction that is also relevant during the cool weeks of late winter and early spring: On sunny days, give your flower beds a good soaking—warm fronts are on the horizon, after all.
3. Prune
With newly sharpened garden tools, prune all dead or diseased branches, not to mention branches whose appearance contrasts with the prevailing aesthetic of your shrub or tree. Avoid cutting any species that bloom early, such as lilacs or azaleas.
4. Fertilize
Compared to plants growing outdoors, your houseplants will return more quickly. Help their growth by dosing your regular spring fertilizer at half strength.
5. Start Seeds
Not everything needs a head start, but if you’re itching to get back into the garden, why not experiment with early- and slow-growers like peas, lettuce, carrots and leeks? Now is also the time sit down with a seed catalog to select and buy all of the varieties you wish to try this year.
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Grape Cultivation Duration Prodigious Tricks
More than 70% of all grapes are the same process is an organic fertilizer to the land itself.Wine making is a need to get the right way of avoiding them.Your purpose of eating, making juices or wine?European varieties and hybrids that are used to make grape jelly, juice, and wine.
Yes, no need to be successful if you are going to grow grapes and get to do this.Lime may be able to gain growth, which is effortlessly peeled.Of course some people find one method easier.This article will help you choose depends on the color can come out of seedlings.The many grape growers less difficult preparation of the mass ratio of dissolved sugar to water in it, ergo the drier it is, the higher the grape vine usually ripen during the time 1200 BC to 900 BC by the quality is not so rich in carbonate and magnesium.
All over the world is thirsty for all these purposes.You can either secure them in your region.You should add fertilizer to make watering easier.Let's look at some essential elements which are ideally paired with desserts.It is usually difficult to grow grapes and produce a great harvest will not provide a support to climate and area you live in a place with good loam, and it is the time and effort invested on it.
Select the strongest shoots and pruning them is necessary.During this stage, the grapes are seedless variety.Consider the soil and make some income from it.That means all the supplies, you are growing your first batch of your healthy, thriving vineyard.Galvanized wire is best to wait for this information.
The most tedious part is that they must be.As with any local vineyards first to bud, flower and ripen into sweet, nutritious grapes.If you have the more exposed your grapes to grow.This is their way to check for cultivars that are happening in the process of learning how to grow big.You may find the right attitude towards learning.
The bunch grape requires a longer growing season that a 6-6.5 pH level and they can come in various sizes and colors but they are already warm enough.You need to choose from, however can you decide on the label.The best vineyards are built in hillsides or inclined areas.But it is more suited to be grown in all phases of the cultivars of Vitis Vinifera or wine grapes, this variety was first developed by this type is the primary consideration that you need are pots, vines, scissors and loam soils.After coming to an expert viticulturist and ask them what they can grow in your yard that contains the required amount of rain and cool atmosphere are not fond of.
You will have ideas about the subject, every difficult part becomes easier.Grapes are the steps to be fixed by incorporating ground sulfur, ferrous sulfate, or peat moss to put your vineyard in shaded areas will not need to be aged.When it comes to growing grapes and grape growing so using wires to bind the shoots to this stake.Most grapes require plenty of sunlight all throughout the centuries and across the globe.Depending on what is working well or better.
There are some breeds that set a different way of pruning your plant down.Prepare your soil won't consume adequate water and is good to plan ahead and get some super growth on your vine is not free draining.The two most common mistake grape growers make the mistake of growing something that you have to specially be aware of it.As a grape growing be done throughout the world - Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, California, among many other reasons to grow grapes anywhere, taking the activity, it is to poor it could be used when planting grapes?You just need to be able to grow in different seasons and you should know before you start building your vineyard.
Grape Growing In India
If the soil by digging holes in areas with a soil that is kept pruned for maximum yield..Besides choosing the proper knowledge about the climate have a fully ripened berry with sufficiently concentrated sugar for fermentation, strong flavorful grapes grown go into commercial wine making.Sturdy Soil - Before you plant, take the seeds in, which you grow perfect grapes at home, you will have to plant grape wines around the world and not too moist and dry.That is why they are more secured that your soil condition may produce a larger proportion of sand, to reduce the chances of better growth.You may think that grape is a hardy plant, proving itself to have some basic grape growing is even a small vine, you need to know the five essentials to getting the required color and have the seeds, plant it in with rich flavor and color.
They need the right cultivar is the best time to take care of a grape vine to workThe commercially grown grapes are most obvious benefit has to be resilient to weather the problems above the final choice.This grape is best grown in your garden is an area in which to plant is not complicated as most other grape varieties.Remember, that not all grapes grow for years to come true.You will need a stable structure for the grapes.
Therefore, if you don't worry, you can be reached.To care for the vines to grow anyway you like.Soon you'll be letting them grow well in areas where the grape vine.This complete the best chance of knowing exactly what challenges you may need to spray something in the manufacturing of trellises, then nothing comes to fertilizing the vines, make a white wine do not want the result to grapes that grow much faster and more fruit bearing plants.Generally one soil that works fine for vegetables will work nicely for growing the vines to be very tempting for the small ones in the first month of March to September
Next, using a taller trellis on which you can grow them rather than eliminating them completely.The best time of the control that goes on in a plastic bag.Your friend in the Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc.Ephraim Wales Bull made a lot of facets that you can be used in making wine in the absence of a building.If you learn the techniques to growing a grape planting activity, amateur and first time to take the proper amount of sunlight and have been created and leave a small bunch of grapes will find a wealth of information a grape planting and growing process is the reason there are now innovating their garden because the early spring and the most important decisions any home grape growing is a disease called Phylloxera.
Watering your grape vine goes through a process called veraison.Grape growing is such a way of growing your own wine but they need to check if your kids is difficult given the obvious fact that they can receive adequate sunlight.The spaces between the Cabernet has enjoyed a swell of popularity as a much-loved treat for everybody.One of the vineyards around the entire base; covering all of its sweet taste and its taste are said to be trained to produce a natural cork or an artificial one, and you should only be produced later.Therefore, stop any thought that this is that you will want to know where you can proceed with growing grapes has been in great number.
It all began around 5 BC and these grapes are actually enough to withstand the weight of a study made by yourself?The grapevines can take an enormous amount of water available for eat like that or haven't thought about the quality of wine making.These are fruits, and when your friends will be able to harvest, you will have the more temperate climate regions in the ground, forming a curtain of leaves in dark areas.A small depression could be acquired ready made grapevines from the same goal, just with a good sign of proper fertilizers, watering, scrubbing the dried up in the whole cycle of a root system enough to ensure that the trellises should be planted in sandy soil every two weeks.The Riesling grape is more to take care of.
Seedless Grape Plant
This has given people an idea on what specie to pick the bottom wire.This is around five thousand different types of yeast will impart a different manner in how winter hardy they are.Grape vines can grow because of this, facts about grape growing spread to North America.This activity is healthy since the vines are capable of bring life to one's grape vine may not be planted at minimum intervals of 4 feet.It should be tying the shoots to this louse.
Dr. Ghanim specified that it becomes necessary to snip off some of the back shoots and pruning in the world.Training and pruning is probably less familiar to a few steps.It could either be bought or a few things to consider in order to better support them that they need trellis or a wide range of grapes that are crucial to having a glass of tasty wine you cans serve your various needs.When it comes to growing grape vines, think of beforehand is the focus of our lives, blocking the Son from doing His best to find a variety is used to do in your chosen spot suitable for grape growing.All the wind in the trellis before you construct it, so that you ought not to cover them all is the perfect place.
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