The Quest of Words

In life, one often runs across situations unprepared for. Questions unasked. Answers unquestioned.

One of those is the query: Is it possible to have sex in a river?

The answer to that is, yes. It is. Technically. However, when said river is cold enough to be physically painful, anyone with anything close to common sense would abort the attempt before they even really began.

Unfortunately, due to several contributing factors, Arx was no longer in possession of such wisdoms. For one, she was either immune or highly resistant to the temperature, but mainly, she was simply too damned horny to care anymore. Meanwhile, I had just born witness to the small miracle of Arx’s breasts literally growing in my hands. So when she leapt clear of the water to wrap her legs around my waist, I was not exactly prepared to think about the consequences.

Now, had I done, I might have considered some of the potential pitfalls to kissing someone with my eyes closed and standing shin-deep in a frigid, rushing stream. And all of that while trying to hold someone whom—though recently having lost a great deal of muscle mass—was still slightly taller than me and every bit as strong and heavy as an Olympic-level weight lifter. Unsurprisingly, moments later, we went crashing into the river.

Shocking as that development was, it did not slow Arx down in the slightest. Even submerged as we were, she was fervently exploring my every nook and cranny, deliciously vibrating her pleasure onto my tongue all the while. Within moments, her roving hands found my manhood. Presently, it was a little on the fence about the whole situation. To be sure, there was a certain level of sexual excitement in the air—or water in this case—but cold on that scale tends to make a man’s equipment pack it up and head for warmer climes in a hurry. I was simply not expecting said warmth to be quite so delightful.

When she pressed me between her legs, the sudden contrasting heat was astonishing, and my length roared back to life—heavy, hard, and ready for action. I felt her pleased grin through our joined lips, and when she joined herself to me in truth, that grin became a deep, shuddering sigh. Even as I marveled at the sensation of sliding into her undulating, molten core, I almost appreciated that little sigh even more.

I needed air, dammit!

Frantically, I began to ineffectually slap at the hands pinning me to the riverbed, but she was far too busy working her hips, grinding her much improved and ever-writhing sex against my root. Admittedly, it felt amazing, so holding out against my natural instinct to grunt and moan while enduring such fantastic pleasures was an ordeal all its own. Finally, she changed angles and leaned back far enough for me to struggle to the surface. Gasping, I only managed to suck in half a handful of breaths before her lips found me again. As we plunged underwater once more, I exasperatedly screamed into her mouth.

That got her attention.

Pulling me up with a look of concern, she asked, “What is it?”

“Air,” I wheezed, sputtering. “Need air!”

“Oh, is that all?” she teased, and down we went again.

However, this time, as we submerged, she breathed into my mouth, pushing much needed, if uncomfortably warm, air into my lungs. Under other circumstances, I probably would have balked at that. But I was cold as shit and oxygen starved. And it was kind of sexy, I had to admit.

So, I decided to go with it. At the very least, it would be a story to tell… you know, if we managed to ever find a pub again.

That somewhat sorted, I found a couple of rocks to brace against, grabbed her by the hips and started trying to be an active participant in this thing. That lasted for about a minute, me awkwardly thrusting up into her and her periodically diving down to share another breath of increasingly necessary air. However, things got a little complicated when the Lady of Power decided that I needed to be informed of a developing problem.

Oh. Oh, shit!

I could feel myself begin to shiver uncontrollably even as I blinked away the message, and the deep, bone-chilling cold quickly sapped my ability to reliably control my movements. The result of which was that my attempts at thrusting up into my companion had devolved into some sort of arrhythmic spasming. I do not know how, but from her reaction, it must have improved my technique, because I could hear her cries of ecstasy even from underwater. I was driving her absolutely wild!

And that was neat and all, but I had other things on my mind!

Mistaking my panicked slapping for a signal for more air, she came down once more and moaned her appreciation into my mouth, “Mmmya! More~!”

Chebs and snails and toilets and everything! For fuck’s sake, Arx! I’m freezing!

She was far too caught up in her own world of pleasure to understand me, however, and I was too weak from the cold to do much about it. Grimacing, I tried to bear with it, hoping that once one of us was finished, she would finally let me free. Then, perhaps we could get a fire going and all of us have a nice long chat about Arx’s exceedingly apparent lack of practice with her newfound empathic abilities.

Unfortunately for me, Hypothermia has more than one stage. And before long, the Lady was happy to tell me all about it.

I felt my eyes beginning to glaze over even as I read the message, but on the plus side, I was not shivering anymore. Which was nice.

More importantly, however… I had just had a brilliant idea! I had an ability for just such an occasion which could cure me of any status effect with the simple flick of a mental switch. Of course, the drawback to that was that I would then begin to suffer from the Lust Emotional Ailment. But I was already having sex, so I was really having a hard time seeing a down side.

It was only after I began the conversion process that I realized that Arx did not yet have a way of dealing with any Lust that I pushed on her. So I was going to be stuck with it for a while…

Ah… hell. Well, I guess it’s better than freezing while my own lilim rides me into the grave.

Now, you might wonder—if you are the type to wonder about such things—how it is that a magical effect could convert a lack of heat in my body into an excess of lust in my brain. Of course, you might, in the very same breath, wonder how it is that plants manage to feed themselves by just sitting in the sun all day. And of course, some of you might think a little bit and remember words like photosynthesis or even chlorophyll, while others could go on about carbon dioxide and water being converted into chemical energy and oxygen. Then more specialized individuals could probably regale us with fantastical tales of ATP and NADPH enzymes and draw complicated chemical equations on a white board while the rest of us nodded along intelligently as we pretended to understand.

All of which is fantastic! However, if you were wanting an answer as to how the underlying mechanics of the magic were supposed to work, the most I could tell you is that it worked splendidly.

Moments after the conversion began, I lost any interest in such questions. I no longer cared about the pervasive and continued drain the cold water running along my body was causing. Nor did I even care over much about the lack of ready access to air.

All I cared about was ramming my cock into this pussy with all the might I could muster.

Taking a firm grip on Arx’s hips, I jackhammered up into her, over and over, grunting away my precious oxygen with each thrust. I reveled in the pure ecstasy of churning that living hole to froth and in the surprised yet appreciative delight my partner was taking in my renewed fervor. However, though my aura struggled valiantly to contain my need for air and heat, it was only level seven, and the burning in my lungs soon demanded action.

Annoyed at the distraction, I twisted, and Arx’s pinning weight toppled away into the water. Surging upward, I breached into the comparatively sweltering atmosphere, sucking in great lungfuls of air. But I took no solace in that. Standing there with tracers of vapor swirling off of my rapidly reheating body, I cast about like some kind of wild animal, my eyes swiveling crazily in their sockets as I searched for my lilim.

Soon enough, I caught sight of her a little downstream. She was getting unsteadily to her feet, coughing wretchedly. “Oh, Donum, that was amazing,” she cackled unsteadily, once she had found her voice once more. “I think that was some of the best sex I’ve ever had.”

I narrowed my eyes at that. Marching forward, I hastily swiped away some annoying message the Lady tried to intercede between us—something about Conditions and Critical Levels and the like, but I did not care about that in the slightest. If anything, it only made me more horny. Almost angrily, I jerked my legs through the frigid water swirling about my ankles, arriving before my lilim in a matter of seconds.

I stared up at her briefly. Arx had quirked an eyebrow upward, appreciatively drinking in my body… and the rather provocative things that my shivering was doing to my turgid manhood. Finally out of patience, I reached up and grasped her by the nape of the neck.

Surprised, her eyes finally met my own, “Dearest?”

“Who said we were done?” I growled out from between my chattering teeth. Ignoring her shocked gasp, I grabbed up one of her legs, hooking it with my elbow, and quickly stabbed upward, piercing her womanhood with my ready spear. I paused there for a beat, simply enjoying the suckling sensation of her appreciation upon my cock. Looking up again, I lifted my own eyebrow, “Best sex? I wasn’t even trying before…”

And as I began to move my hips once more, this time I added a little spice. I had another skill, you see—this one chosen specifically at the behest of my two ladies—which had the rather interesting ability to guide the emotions of anyone I touched along certain useful pathways. However, right now, the only one that I cared about was pleasure. Raw, unadulterated, and primal.

I wanted her to scream. And with the Hammer of Glory, so she did.

---

When Jax found us, Arx was barely conscious.

At some point, we had managed to find our way to the riverbank. Arx had collapsed there, her face in the mud, while I frantically worked at her, pumping ceaselessly. I do not know how many orgasms had come and gone. I had lost count of my own some time ago, a feat I had not thought physically possible. Meanwhile, Arx started in on hers the moment I began to channel and had yet to cease. I would have been rather impressed by the whole thing if my capacity for reason had not well and truly gone by then. Otherwise, I would have thought to get out of the water.

I was not even aware that Jax was there, at first. Nor did I understand her shouted words. What care did I have have for such things? I was simply an animal, content to continue my rutting until my heart exploded.

It was only when she began to drag me out of the river that I acknowledged her. And that only to struggle. She was taking me away from the object of my conquest, after all.

My lilim reached for me as I was pulled away, weakly mewling a cry of protest, but she had no strength left to do more than that. Seeing that pathetic scene filled my heart with fury, and I bucked out of my captor’s grasp. Turning to attack whomever it was, I was taken aback by her naked beauty and quickly forgot why I should be angry. This one would do just fine.

Ignoring whatever it was that she kept shouting at me, I rushed forward, tackling her to the ground. We landed in a heap, her on her back and me fortuitously between her legs. She tried to push me away at first, but I had tools for that. Summoning what endurance remained to me, I channeled raw pleasure into her.

That shut her up. Grinning as I took in her helplessly arched back, I buried my face into the cleft between her legs. Lapping at her like a lion at a cub’s head, it was not long before her flower bloomed for me, and I tasted her honey. The flavor was deep and rich, rather like a fine whiskey, but tempered with a hint of sweetness and the alluring aroma of citrus. I loved it. Though, right then, I would have loved anything, as long as it came from her.

Turning my head this way and that, so as to come at her from every possible angle, I continued to attack that lovely fruit, delving deeper and deeper with each lap of my tongue. And each time I did, I pushed more pleasure into her. Before long, she had her hands in my hair, practically howling as she pressed me even harder into her sex. I gleefully complied, wriggling into her as completely as I could even as something in there tried to suck me even further down, but there was only so much tongue to give.

She needed more? Fine.

Getting my knees underneath me, I altered my angle of attack so as to concentrate on that hooded nub at the top of her cleft. Her hands came away then, and as she arched her back once more, crying out all the while something about Masters and Goddesses, I roughly pressed the first two digits of my hand into her gaping, quivering hole. The incredible, velvety warmth that I found there sucked at me so strongly that I could barely pull my hand away, so changing tactics, I simply began to undulate my fingers. She loved that—especially once I turned my fingers upward and found a spot somewhere around where my nose was.

She came within moments of my finding it, and her legs clamped hard around my head, trapping me within her spasming core. I grinned cruelly within my fleshy prison. I had her now.

Tensing for the very second she relaxed, I prepared for the next stage, but before I could pounce, I was tackled from the side.

“Mine!” the gray-skinned one shouted, pinning me to the ground. Hissing at the other one, she growled over me, claiming me like a hyena over the bloated corpse of a zebra.

But I was not going to be having any of that. Reaching up, I grasped her by throat and pulled her to me.

Narrowing my eyes in challenge, I corrected her, rumbling in a low beastly voice, “Mine.”

She gasped at the word, and curling up around my hand, she tearfully began to quiver and shake in a violent orgasm of her own. Her reaction struck me as so odd that it actually managed to cut through some of the fog clouding my mind, and I blinked uncertainly.

The fuck?

But before I could think much about it, the other one kicked her off of me. Standing over me imperiously, she smiled, exposing one of her long canines, “We ain’t done yet.”

My expression mirrored her own, and I beckoned her down, crooning, “Yes… come to me, my sweet.”

She resisted at first, preferring to tease me by running her hands over her body. Languidly trailing her fingers through the river flowing down her legs to paint little circles of it over her breasts, she swayed from side to side in a simple little dance that was no less erotic for it. I quietly watched, bemused. It was not as if I could get more in the mood, after all. My cock was hard enough to put an eye out, but anything she did in service to my Lust was okay with me.

“Give me yer Lust,” she sang in a breathy voice. Giggling slightly, she taunted me, “Come on then~ Make me helpless before ye.”

I glared at her. This wench thought to tease me, did she? Well…

Rising up onto my elbows, I was about to show her just how helpless she really was. However, something distracted me. Smirking up at her, I gestured downward, gloating, “What for? I’ve got all I need right here.”

The redhead followed my gaze to find her competitor firmly latched to my instrument, desperately worshiping its every millimeter. Her mouth gaped open at the sight, and she sucked in a few steadying breaths before letting out a huff of frustration. Gritting her teeth, she muttered, “Damned lust-drunk fool.”

My confidence grew at her reaction. She was wavering. She just needed a little push. Running my hands through my conquered woman’s hair lovingly, I slowly rocked my hips, luxuriating in the sensation of her mouth and tongue. And all the while, I just grinned smugly up at her.

She bit her lower lip, almost whimpering in her need to join us. But for some reason, she continued to hold out, and I could not fathom why. Subtly, she brushed her ankle against my own, and I quickly took the opportunity to send another jolt of pleasure through her. Gasping, she moaned loudly and almost collapsed, only just managing to stand firm. Quivering now, her body practically writhing despite her best efforts, she spoke again, “I be more to yer taste than that one, ain’t I? Cast her off and come for me. Give me yer Lust. Make me yers.”

I scoffed derisively, and I almost dismissed her out of hand. Why should I pursue someone else when I had someone perfectly willing and fiercely wanton already firmly attached to me. However, suddenly, I realized that there was some truth to her words. There was a certain… womanly quality that this one lacked. A maturity. And before I knew it, I became obsessed by the idea. I needed this other one. I had to have her. In fact, she was already mine!

She just did not know it yet. Well… I would fix that.

Roughly pushing the gray one off of me, I stood, ignoring her pathetic cry of protest. I did not need her anymore.

Swift as an adder, I struck. Grabbing the redhead by the hair, I jerked her forward, crushing her to my chest. Looking down at my new conquest, I growled in threat. She wanted Lust? Well, then. So be it.

I pushed then. Pushed with all that I had. I would make her beg! Break her! Make her my slave. Lust would be her all. It would brand her. Mark her. She would be Lust. She would…

Suddenly, my world rocked, and I staggered dizzily. But before I could orient myself, her lips found my own. Her kiss was fiery. Hot and greedy. I met her, passion for passion, eagerly exploring her body, roving my hands over her soft curves, the lines of her back, the pillow-like, yet firm mounds of her backside. Joyfully, I kneaded them, compressing and spreading them in turns while she whimpered into my mouth. However, just as I was about to insert my cock between her thighs, she pulled away.

Before I could react, she was on her knees, lightly teasing and tickling me. “More,” she begged. “Give me more. I need yer Lust. Give it all to me? Make me call ye Master?”

I shivered at the word. The sordid temptation of it. Yes… Yes, that would do nicely. “As you wish,” I breathed before taking her by the horn and driving my manhood between her lips. And as I thrust, I pushed more and more Lust into her. Soon, she began to pant and twitch in ecstasy around my cock, unable to contain so much, and I chuckled, gloating in my victory.

But then another wave of dizziness overcame me. Quickly taking advantage, the wench swept my legs out from under me before straddling my waist. And as she held me down, I suddenly felt a different sort of wave. This one was electric and tingly. I felt… alive with it. It was like being doused with cold, refreshing water.

Blinking in confusion, I looked up to find her eyes on me. They were swimming in Lust… but there was something familiar about them. I recognized her, I realized.

“Jax?” I whispered.

“Master!” she exclaimed tearfully.

---

It took quite some time to finally burn through the last of the debilitating Emotional Ailment that had accumulated in my system. Jax’s skill to convert it was still quite low, after all, and her Intelligence was not high enough to push those numbers very quickly. Even so, she had maxed them out for the day. Easily.

And so had I. The incident had pushed my skill with Lust Transfer, the Hammer of Glory, and That Only Makes Us Horny to their limits, and the latter two had even climbed into the double digits in a stroke. Not that I was particularly proud of that feat. It was just fortunate that Jax was able to create so much Life Energy for us through the ordeal. By the time we were done, my testicles felt like raisins they were so used, and I had needed to heal myself more than once—both to keep going and because of the damage standing so long in that river had done to my feet.

In any case, that evening was a quiet one. Once the Lust had drained to the point of being manageable, I had again realized just how cold I was, and when Jax built a fire for us, I had attached myself to it with every intention of never leaving it again. It had been hours, and I was still there, shivering.

None of us spoke. Or at least, not anymore. Jax had spent quite a while yelling at Arx, not that it was all that necessary. Once she had realized what had happened, she had been… more than a little upset, and she was now weeping despondently off to one side. I had already forgiven her, naturally. She was so very new to this, only having become this alien thing that very morning, and she had always been a little unthinking and impetuous. So, it was no wonder that something like this might happen.

“Arx, come sit next to me,” I murmured quietly.

She shook her head, sobbing, “No! I don’t deserve your pity.”

I sighed, “Arx, I’m cold. Please.”

She jerked guiltily before turning to stare at me. Tears were streaked sloppily all down her cheeks, but the heavy concern I saw in her eyes was such a contrast that I almost laughed. Hastily, she scurried over, roughly scrubbing away her snot and tears before hugging me tightly. “Like this?” she whispered hopefully.

I shook my head slightly, staring back into the fire, “No. My back, if you wouldn’t mind. The heat from the fire doesn’t reach.”

Nodding in understanding, she shifted positions, draping her front across my back and hugging me about my neck. “H-how is th-th… mmm~!” she trailed off in a squeak.

I struggled not to smirk. While I certainly enjoyed the feeling of her somewhat enlarged breasts pressed against my back—and the much needed warmth they provided—the lingering ‘side-effect’ she seemed to be struggling with was an amusing distraction to my woes.

Jax snorted from the other side of the fire, “Surprised ye can still walk after the pounding ye took.”

I did not look at her. From her tone, she was clearly still pissed, but everything that needed to be said had been. None of this had been anyone’s fault, exactly. I mean, sure, Arx bore the brunt of it, but as I said, she was new. And enthusiastic. And horny. This sort of thing was to be expected. Maybe not this specific thing, but…

Well, anyway…

We had learned some things. For one, Emotional Ailments were not to be trifled with. In point of fact, they were fucking scary as hell. While I had been in the depths of it, I had been little more than a rabid animal. It was a condition that I would not wish on my worst enemies. Or not for long, anyway. On the other hand, it had kept me from freezing to death, so that was something.

More than something. It was actually quite promising. In the long run, anyway. We still had a ways to go before using it to our advantage was particularly viable. Arx absolutely needed a few skill picks first, and we all needed several weeks of practice—not that deliberately giving myself Hypothermia sounded particularly appealing. But there had to be alternatives.

“Barely,” Arx admitted, trying to make light of the situation. “I’m just g-glad that I still have a ten in T-Toughness, or you would have needed to drag me out of the river.”

Jax spat to one side, “As if. I’d’ve left ye. Drowning once might drive some sense into ye.”

She winced at Jax’s admonishment. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled contritely.

“It’s alright, Arx,” I said softly, stroking her arm.

She squeezed me tightly in response. Although, that did bring out another little squeak and a trembling aftershock.

“It ain’t alright,” Jax argued sourly. “She can’t even tell the difference between panic and excitement. Could nay even tell yer knob were like to freeze off!”

“It was not!” Arx growled, defending herself finally. “That, at least, I had covered!”

“True,” I allowed, chuckling slightly. “And the underwater breathing thing was kind of sexy.”

“Really?” she sighed hopefully before succumbing to the trembles again.

“Underwater breathing?” Jax asked, not having heard about that part. And when we explained, she mumbled, “That do sound kind of braw. Wished I could’ve seen that.”

I cleared my throat to change the subject. Sex was about the last thing I wanted to think about right then. “You are right, though, Jax. We all need some time to adjust and to practice, preferably somewhere with ready access to food, clothes, and blankets. And Arx is definitely going to need some more skills. You can’t be the only one who can alleviate that kind of problem, especially if you end up dying again. Plus, she needs a way to discharge my aura build-up, or else we may have a repeat incident as early as tomorrow morning.”

They both nodded soberly. If today’s adventure taught us anything, it was that my skills could not be neglected. They absolutely needed an outlet, or serious issues would soon be on the horizon.

“I think,” Arx began, “that the aura might be more important. I’ve been having trouble thinking about anything except… e-except…” Softly, I felt her fingers begin to stray downward, but she paused just above my now quite spent shaft. Instead, she slowly began to trace her claws through the patch there, as if she were petting me. Her nipples, still pressed against my back, hardened precipitously, and she sucked in a shaky breath before trying again, “Anyway, I think that might explain some things.”

“Are you really still horny?” I asked curiously. “After all that, I find it hard to believe.”

“Yes,” Arx admitted quietly before Jax elaborated.

“It ain’t the same fer us as ye,” she began. “As a man… or when y’ain’t affected like, anyway… the coming be the goal. The end. Yer satisfied and done. Fer her and me now, it ain’t. Be just a peak. A high hill. Enjoyable, mind, but… Actually, that be a good description. For a man, sex be like climbing a cliff and jumping off at the end. Fer us, it be more like mountains and valleys. There be the climb up, aye, but we gotta climb down again.”

“And I seem to be stuck on a ledge,” Arx added, extending the metaphor.

I frowned, “Well, I’m pretty tired, but… I guess I could… I don’t know. Finger you a little? Maybe some oral?”

At the suggestion, she squeaked and clutched me tightly for several long seconds before finally shaking her head, “No. Please no. I’m so sore right now…”

“Do you need me to heal you?” I offered instead, concerned.

“It ain’t that kind of sore,” Jax explained for her, smiling softly. “Be more… of a content sort of thing.”

Arx nodded along at the explanation, “Right. Happy soreness.”

I grunted, kind of sympathizing. Frankly, the idea of getting it up again was… well, anyway there was a sort of pride to the whole thing. It was similar to the sense of a job well done, though hearing that Arx was still riding a little high made me feel as if I had left something unfinished. Then again, she was quite literally still coming, so I had to suppose that was understandable. Hard to imagine, but understandable.

“Well… we do still need to get you to the next Layer,” I said, deciding to move the topic of conversation along.

“Oh, ‘snails!” she moaned, practically choking me as she was overcome yet again.