Alpine Lake crystalline

for @Ar-Khalba

water's thrumming crash reverberated against the rocks framing the great waterfalls; eshamun's eyes quietly beheld the majesty of them as she blinked against the spray and tightened her footing against the slick stone. the sound of the rushing white cascades filled her senses, drowning out even the voice of her grief.

it had lessened these past few days, for she had placed her faith in molech and the will of the eight-armed one. surely by her great sacrifice would the malkaria be strengthened. the broken expression of her lover came to mind, and with it a hot wave of shame to clench her throat. ar-khalba. she had not called for him since they had come together for the illidu-dam. 

eshamun breathed out, banishing his face from her mind. here was a place of peace; she must cling to that truth.

Ar-Khalba processed grief in his own way -- silence. He spoke nary a word since the ritual, interacting verbally only when called upon. However, despite his newfound silence, Ar-Khalba remained ever attentive to the demands of the sisters, as even in grief, he was not relinquished from his duty to the sisters and Molech. He carried on to the best of his abilities, knowing the pain would fade in time and that Molech's piercing eye would be averted by his sacrifice.

Finding himself unable to look upon Eshuman's face without feeling the keen sting of loss renewed, Ar-Khalba had not sought to take comfort in his lover. He waited for her to call for him, yet she never did. His gentle soul however could hardly bear this continued separation, and so, after some personal time, Ar-Khalba followed the Ekar-Aji's scent north to the nearby lake.

It was a tranquil place. One of much needed peace and solace. It was only fitting that he would find Eshuman here, resting along its stoney bank, as her soul was not spared from the sharp knife of loss as well. He made his approach, keeping his head low until he stood a few meters away. At-Khalba made no sound, but his gaze was questioning -- hopeful that she's allow him to approach.

he came, and eshamun turned, and looked upon him with love and desperation. she crooned his name beneath the crash of the falls; she drew near, her body aching with grief and with the strain of a fruitless childbirth, and pressed herself into his arms. a sob rose to choke her; eshamun forced it away, but it was followed by another, and another, its fellows forcing itself from her throat until she gave a strangled cry, her shoulders shaking as she sought to fill herself with ar-khalba's scent and mourn the emptiness of her womb.

Surprisngly, she did not beckon him forward. Instead, the Ekar-Aji bridged the gap between she and him herself, pressing herself into Ar-Khalba's neck as she began to sob. It was such a profound sadness, one Ar-Khalba too felt lingering heavy in his chest. He, however, did not cry as she did. His expression remained downcast and stony, and his eyes remained sufficiently dry. After the ritual, he had cried himelf empty in private.

Ar-Khalba pressed in close, running his muzzle along the juncture between Eshuman's neck and shoulder before finally breaking his silent spell. "I'm sorry," he muttered plaintively. "I should have come to you sooner."

she sniffled, breathing his warm scent once more before drawing aside to wipe her eyes. "how could you come to me when i did not call for you?" she asked gently, chiding herself again for hurting the gentle man before her. with a sudden hot fervency, eshamun wanted to feel his arms around her, his thrusts distracting her for an interlude of time, but knew it was unwise. and so, despite her standing as their leader, she curled against ar-khalba again and lay upon the ground, gesturing for him to join her.

As she spoke, Eshuman's comforting touch was briefly wrenched away. Mindlessly, Ar-Khalba took a single, shallow step toward her before halting in a subtle attempt to beg her to return. Nevertheless, she had a point in her question. It was not Ar-Khalba's place to seek his Ekar-Aji. He was only to attend her when she called upon him, yet he could not stay away. His heart ached for her in her absence.

"I could have made myself more available," he offered, watching as Eshuman sank to the ground against where Ar-Khalba stood -- yet there was no point in dwelling on the hypothetical. He was here now, and ready to be whatever she needed him to be. She beckoned for him to join her. The Katimir needed no further prompting. With a fond heart, Khalba took her side along the ground.

He draped his head along her shoulder and fell still, but the stillness was brief before he instinctually began to groom the fur on Eshuman's back.

she sighed beneath his knowing touch; despite the coupling of their bodies, and the fact she loved ar-khalba, she had grown fond of the man as a companion. each was there to slake the need of their carnal forms, but the man provided an outlet for eshamun that no other wolf did. she was not so foolish as to think she was his only lover; asherah would come into season soon surely, followed by the priestess and perhaps ragna, though that was up to the shieldmaiden.

"what are your plans for our home, khalba?" the canaanite murmured suddenly. "let us say you were not in the role of service you are now; that you were alone and therefore completely free. what would you do?"

At-Khalba's ears perked with subtle interest. He had given little thought to the notion of being free from his place of service. Of course, he felt himself free in an individual sense; that he was only bound by his choice alone. He was not a slave, but a servant -- an important role to play In the eyes of both the sisterhood and the God he worshipped. Ar-Khalba would have no other way.

His grooming came to a hault as he spoke. "Plans?" Ar-Khakba asked warily. "I plan to serve my God." From now until the bitter end. "My service has always been my choice -- and it is one I would readily make again." After all, there was no life to be had among the heathan population. He then fell silent and returned to his gentle preening.

However, after a moment of thought, Ar-Khalba stopped and mused aloud, "Perhaps I'd tend to a garden." The thought brought him a slight smile. Thankfully, his service to the Malkaria and the prospect of working the earth were not mutually exclusive.

she felt her lover pause as he considered her words, and shifted until she could face him again. her gaze was soft, beckoning the man to speak his heart, and her lips curved into a pleased expression as he revealed his desire. "then it shall be so," eshamun murmured. "so you till the bodies of the malkaria, so shall you till the earth," she joked crassly, her eyes dancing. 

"i need a kurvat," she said unto him, rising to circle the man in a slow whorl of red and nip his nape. "and we need a glen where the malkaria might bring their lovers. find me such a place, ar-khalba; you shall have full dominion over its location and its ongoings."

After the illidu-dam, laughter or any joyful sound was a rarity for Ar-Khalba. Yet when his lover spoke in jest, Khalba couldn't help but smile and chuckle softly. Till the soil he would -- just as he would do his duty to the sisterhood as was ordained by Molech. When the winter came and went, he would begin his work.

As Eshamun pulled away, Ar-Khalba's gaze remained fixed upon her in curiosity. His eyes widened as soon as the word Kurvat passed her lips. There was no greater honor for a male among the sisterhood. For a moment, Ar-Khalba remained silent as he assessed his own readiness to take on such a mantle. His internal dileberation did not take long. With a nod, he gave Eshamun her answer.

"It will be done."

so. he would be her kurvat, the first in this land. she smiled, and lifted her lips unto his cheek, drawing back only to seek his eyes with her own deepening look of encouragement. she had waited long enough for her body to mend and all but forget her babes -- she wanted to lie with a man again. but it was not any man she sought. it was ar-khalba. 

inwardly eshamun wondered if the god would look down upon her for such things, but was not molech a just deity? surely the eight-armed one would not deny her this delectation, not if she promised to go out into the world and seek another man as soon as she was able. eshamun drew the fur of ar-khalba's nape though her teeth, pressing herself against him with a low purr of want.

When her eyes met his, Ar-Khalba knew that he loved her. This woman, his queen, held a place in his heart that had room for no other. While his fondness for Asherah was evident, it paled in comparison to the woman who had carried his young to term, only to offer them back to God. Ar-Khalba knew the necessity of this, yet he hoped someday that he would give her a surviving litter and that she would be the mother of his children.

While she was near, raking her teeth through the fur of his neck, Ar-Khalba celebrated her closeness. He could hear the desire hidden in the rumble of her chest, and it was mirrored in Ar-Khalba's own silent wanting. The Kurvat rose to his feet and returned the Ekar-aji's affections. Allowing his eyes to shut, Ar-Khalba trailed his muzzle across the curves of his lover's body, leaving nothing to the imagination.

She would he his, and he, hers in due time.