Aliah and the Aawule (Closed to AngelofDeath)

[AngelofDeath]

Jendrak Lifted Aliah into the air as he kissed her. Even amidst the carnage and fallen bodies the two of them shared their growing feelings with each other. He quickly set her down at the sound of clapping. Turning he and the others watched a tall Aawule woman, a bow slung across her bare chest, walking out of the bushes and clapping. "Only you Jendrak would go off on a ride and ride a woman and a pack of Jun all at once." She was as tall as he was, though not as muscled. The two warriors embraced and it was then the woman turned her head and looked Aliah over, her eyes stopping at the pedant at her neck. "You didn't."

"I did," Jendrak simply answered her as she looked back at him. "I was not sure how this night would end and intended to be responsible for my actions. What else would you have me do cousin?"

"Not a think Jendrak. Well other than getting your arm looked at, while I go round up the horses if you intended to get your woman's friend's back to their home in a timely fashion." She clapped him on the shoulder before she headed off to her task. A few of the men from Aliah's village went to help her.

looking down at Aliah, he tried to think of what he could or should say to her. Neither had made the other any promises and they had done what they had set out to do. Rescue the survivors and slaughter the Jun. Their paths had crossed and intertwined, but would they say that way or would the two of them go their separate ways? He could never imagine himself living anywhere but amongst his people and while she readily accepted him, Jendrak felt he had no right to simply expect her to follow him.

Looking at the slash on his arm he asked, "So what will they do? Where will they go, considering their village is all but ash and dust now."

 

[SweetPeril]

Aliah felt both exhilarated and relieved as Jendrak thrusted her into the air, kissing her passionately. True, she felt strangely childlike as he did so but the feeling of release overcame all else. Her people had been vindicated, the evil Jun annihilated. As she gazed at their twisted, maimed bodies; she felt no remorse, no pang of guilt; no angst at their demise.

She was left mainly with the haunting images of the bodies and the smoke and the abject desolation that had once been home for her and for her people. Now, as she looked about at the bedraggled and cruelly mistreated members of her village she was struck anew with compassion and filial feelings towards them. She knew that she would be charged with assisting them in building a new life.

And then, there was Jendrak. She looked up into his warm, empathetic eyes. What of Jendrak? She had watched in amazement as his cousin had marched triumphantly into the expended battlefield having killed many Jun with her unerring aim and her facility with the longbow. She marveled at the tall, imposing female as she strode so confidently, bare-breasted, wearing only the briefest leather loincloth and her battle boots.

As well, she marveled at the woman's sense of presence, even entitlement as she hugged her equally bare-chested cousin so tightly. Aliah witnessed the light banter the two shared before she settled into her routine of gathering the horses. She admired the woman's incredibly defined back sweating in the noon sun as she walked away.

At last, she turned again to Jendrak knowing full well what was going through his mind. She put her finger to his lips beckoning him to listen and not speak. "You owe me nothing Jendrak. It is I who owe you everything," she said with deep emotion. "Were it not for you, this end would never have been achieved.

"So what will they do? Where will they go, considering their village is all but ash and dust now?" asked Jendrak gestureing to Aliah's countrymen and women.

Aliah smiled. "They are my responsibility now Jendrak. They are strong. We shall return to the embers of our village and they will rebuild." She looked down at her feet. "My people are strong."

She looked up again. "For now, I must thank your cousin...she saved my life with her arrows."

With that, she walked over to the preoccupied woman tapping her on the shoulder. The proud warrioress turned and looked down at her. Aliah eyes rose to meet hers. "Thank you. I am Aliah. The outcome would likely have been different were it not for you."

Jendrak's cousin regarded her cautiously. "I am Moontani. And it was my pleasure to aid such a valiant fighter as yourself. You are certainly no stranger to the warlike arts."

"Thank you Moontani." Aliah extended her hand in greeting. The Aawule looked at it whimsically and in an instant, casting it aside, embraced her warmly almost crushing her in her expansive gesture. Aliah felt her massive breasts ground deeply into her own chest and felt more than a tinge of arousal. 'The Aawulet are certainly a sensual people,' she thought as their hug broke...

 

[AngelofDeath]

As they pulled back Moontani looked Aliah over and reached up to touch her cousin' pendant around the woman's neck. Her eyes strayed beyond them to where Jendrak was stacking the bodies of the dead.p They would burn the camp to the ground along with its dead once they had taken any supplies they could use. She could see why the smaller woman had caught Jendrak's eyes. She was his type, small, curvy, and she could fight. There was also a softness there as well. Considering the two of them had come to face the Jun with just the two of them and knowing how Jendrak was there was no doubt as to why he'd given it too her. Aliah seemed to truly care for Jendrak and Moontani wanted him to be happy, but she was also fiercely protective of him.

She would hate to have him fall for some outside woman, simply to have his heart crushed because the woman wished for someone more civilized. "I see Jendrak gave you his pendant. He must care for you very much." Of course even if Jendrak hadn't cared for her, if she had survived the battle and he had not, Jendrak would have wanted her and any possible child cared for and protected. Moontani had seen the look in his eyes though. He was so lost on this woman, but he had too much pride to ask her to be with him. No he would wait for some sign from her. Then again knowing her cousin he would make sure she knew his arms were always open to her.

"Aawule do never take them off, even in death. For him to have done that shows his feelings for you. I wonder though do you honestly return them or if he is just some passing fancy, outside women seem to have with our men. At least your men are willing to be committed to us. No you women have your fun and then send your children to us, to hide them away from others. To prevent them from finding out you had found a lover outside of proper society." Moontani said this all rather calmly, but with just a hint of disdain. It was a test and from the way Aliah's hands were curling and uncurling she had struck a nerve. She continued to gather the reins of the horses. "You are a good warrior, but if you are playing with his heart and have no intention of following that path, break his heart now rather than later. Because later you will have to deal with me."

 

[SweetPeril]

She continued to gather the reins of the horses. "You are a good warrior, but if you are playing with his heart and have no intention of following that path, break his heart now rather than later. Because later you will have to deal with me."

Aliah bristled at these words. " Moontani, I hold you in high regard because of you kinship with Jendrak and because of your prowess with the longbow." She had responded with a sure and confident voice. "But don't think that you know me nor my feelings. I'm no child and I assure you that you trifle with me at your peril."

She continued as the Aawule, surprised at her brazenness, listened attentively. "Your cousin is likewise not a child but a man. As such, I hardly think that he requires your defense in protection of his delicate sensibilities. Jendrak can take care of himself."

"Well spoken," Moontani replied somewhat chagrined. "I apologize for my disrespect although trust me, my words were not intended to be meant as such." She smiled with a warmth and radiance that Aliah recognized as sincerity. "I think that you can understand how the Aawulat are very suspicious, not to mention protective, of each other. Our people are often marginalized and we have historically not been treated well by many. Our warlike ways are often misunderstood for naked savagery. I have to emphasize, our heritage has alas often required reaffirmation of our honor."

Aliah smiled back detecting a hint of mutual friendship with this woman warrior and in fact, a sense of collegiality. "No more need be said and your apology is accepted."

"Thank you Aliah. I must say, as I watched your skillful swordsmanship, your agility, and your determination in battle; i understood the appeal you hold for Jendrak." She smiled wryly. "He's always had a thing for women not shy of killing when killing is what is required...and you have certainly demonstrated no such shyness. Your ferocity, shall we say, will be spoken of in whispers as the years pass." Moontani was thinking of the terrible damage rendered to the miscreants who raped Aliah's countrymen. In particular, she thought of the body in the tent that she'd encountered. Moontani had witnessed when in life, he had dragged the young girl inside before Aliah's defense of her.

Almost as an aside, she added: "He also likes women of your...shape."

Aliah blushed at this reference.

"So tell me. You and Jendrak are now lovers?"

Aliah blinked at the brazenness of the question. "You really are quite upfront aren't you?"

Moontani smiled. "In our culture dearest, such things are not shameful. It is only other peoples that find these intimacies not appropriate for discussion. Such squeamishness is really quite parochial I'd say." She paused. "But you're not the first my friend. Jendrak has quite a...reputation shall we say? He's never wanted for feminine company nor has he been shy about sharing his most impressive endowments."

Aliah's eyes widened.

Moontani grinned at the recognition that she'd struck a nerve. Noting Aliah's smaller physical stature compared to that of the typical Aawule woman, she giggled: "In fact, knowing Jendrak as I myself know him, I'm rather surprised you were even able to walk into this morning's battle."

"Oh really?"

The warrioress continued, laughing dismissively. "Don't be so surprised. Consanguinity doesn't hold the same taboo for the Aawulat as it does for other societies. Even Jendrak's two older sisters are directly appraised of his gifts as a cocksman." She paused as though to estimate the effect of her words. "You just focus on the sensitivity that you yourself direct towards my cousin."

Warmly, as though to subsume Aliah into her culture and even more so, into her family, she approached the smaller woman. She took hold of the mysterious amulet that hung about her neck and reverently caressed the incalculably precious stone with her fingers. "He trusts you. Our people trust you. I know that he has not made a mistake."

With that, she took her strongly into her arms again embracing her. It was as though she would never release her. She whispered into her ear: "As I watched you wring havoc to these swine, I prayed that the gods would protect so exquisite a woman, so formidable a warrioress. How my prayers were answered!"

It was at just that moment that Jendrak, sweaty and bloodied, but nonetheless smiling and exhilarated approached the woman with whom his half-naked cousin was presently intertwined...