Hungry Heart - Book #2 - Ch. 2 (Patreon)
Content
Chapter Two – Our Bond
Duril fidgeted before attempting to explain to them what was required for the pearl to work as an all-seeing eye. He was the most troubled, without a doubt, about how Toru would react to that. As any orphan, feeling left out from that bond wouldn’t sit well with him, so Duril was now struggling to find the right words so that his fragile heart wouldn’t feel wounded.
He held the pearl, looking at it for any sign of the magic inside it, maybe something that could advise him how to go about this troublesome task. In the end, he drew a long breath and began talking. “When we were in that labyrinth,” he said as he turned toward Toru and looked into his eyes, “Varg and I extracted the pearl from Claw’s belly wound.”
Toru nodded and smiled. “So you helped him get rid of it? It was like a curse from those merchants, right?”
“Pearls are symbols of wisdom and purity,” Duril said, “and even if the way they were brought into this world on land was through ill means, their nature doesn’t change. However, to be able to make use of the magical power of this pearl, Elidias told me that between those involved a strong bond must develop. The ritual requires that all those linked by the bond must let a drop of blood fall on the pearl on a night with a full moon.”
“A bond?” Toru asked. “Between you and Varg and Claw?”
Duril nodded.
“What kind of bond?” the next question came.
“That was something Elidias couldn’t tell me,” Duril admitted in all honesty.
“So like him to leave the most important things out,” Varg commented.
Claw was following their conversation with keen eyes. “You have an artefact that appears to be of doubtful use. I like you and puppy here, but I intend to go home, not travel the world with you.”
Duril nodded thoughtfully. “Still, it is an item of significant importance, and we cannot leave it behind. Maybe during our long road toward The Quiet Woods, we will be able to unravel its secrets. After that, of course, we will leave you at your home and see about our journey, wherever that may take us.”
Claw shifted his weight from one foot to another. It appeared that something was bothering him.
Varg was the one to nudge him playfully in the ribs. “Something on your mind, flea bag?”
Claw scratched his head. “Call me a silly bear, but I don’t like talking of goodbyes just yet. Good thing the road to my home is, indeed, a long one. We can figure out what the bond requires of us while we’re heading there. And it might be a boon for you to figure out where you are supposed to travel from The Quiet Woods if the pearl proves of any use.”
“It could light our path. So far, we’ve walked through a fog, although Toru’s nose has not faltered on us,” Varg admitted.
“It did a good job at getting us into trouble,” Toru said.
Duril let out a small laugh. “I hope you’re not upset about being excluded from this bond required by the pearl,” he said, relieved that Toru didn’t appear to care.
The tigershifter shrugged. “Why would I be? I have my bond with all of you.”
That was true, and it could be that even without knowing it consciously, Toru had said a wise thing. Their bond was already formed, and not even the one needed for bringing a magical artefact to life could rival it.
“Well, we’ll have plenty of time to figure out what all this is about,” Duril concluded. “It’s getting late and since there’s a long road ahead of us starting tomorrow, I suppose that you all agree with me that it’s time for us to catch some sleep.”
The others murmured in agreement. Everyone must be already thinking of what waited for them and what the next day would bring, and maybe went to sleep wishing to dream of new adventures.
***
Toru caressed Duril’s elbow, waking him up slowly. The healer shifted in his sleep, so Toru embraced him from behind and kissed his neck, dabbing his nape with his tongue. That appeared to have the desired effect because Duril finally stirred to wakefulness.
“What is it?” Duril whispered. “Can’t sleep?”
“Varg woke up a while ago. I think he went for a little walk under the moon.” He pointed at the sky above. The dark canvas was peppered with stars and the moon hung off the roof of the world, not yet at its fullest, but getting there.
“We haven’t told him,” Duril said quietly so that they didn’t wake up Claw with their chatter. “About us.”
“We didn’t quite have the time, but I think we should,” Toru replied. “And, if you agree,” he leaned in so that he could whisper, “we should seal our bond tonight.”
He hoped that Duril understood what he meant without the need for additional details. His heart was ready, and so was his body. For a while now, he had been waiting for an opportunity and wanted to go for it without doubting himself for a moment. He stood and offered Duril his hand, and the healer took it. Under the light of the stars, they could see each other well, so all he needed to know was written in those kind eyes staring back at him like no one had ever done before.
***
Varg sat on a mossy mound and tilted his head back. The moon was not yet full, but his heart, once more, was filled with longing. He had traveled a lot in his lifetime so far, but it didn’t mean that he never missed his home. He had missed it, more often than not, and the sensation that his roots were left farther and farther behind came upon him strongly in moments like this. Tomorrow they would leave again, and he wouldn’t have any more time to spare to think such thoughts.
His keen hearing caught the sound of footsteps carefully treading in his direction. “Who’s there?” he asked in an authoritative voice, although he had an inkling who it was sneaking close at this hour.
From the forest behind him, Toru and Duril emerged, walking hand in hand.
“You two young lads should sleep,” he said, pretending to speak in a fatherly tone now.
“Who are you calling young?” Duril asked, to his surprise. The healer had a small secretive smile on his face as he moved nearer.
“You are much younger than me,” Varg pointed out, and made room for his two late-night visitors on his mossy mound.
“Shapeshifters live such long lives, indeed,” the healer admitted.
Duril sat by his right, and Toru by his left. First, he was surprised by how Toru suddenly dashed his head right into his shoulder. It didn’t hurt, and there was something playful in how he did that. Duril, on the other hand, caressed his thigh gently but firmly.
“What are you two up to?” Varg asked, his voice going husky and low.
Toru rubbed his head against him a couple of times as if he was able, in human form, to imprint his particular scent on Varg. When he snuck one hand along Varg’s thigh, it lacked the surety of how Duril moved his, but made up for it with enthusiasm.
“Now, wait a minute,” Varg barely had the time to say thickly before he was pushed down on his back, and his legs were claimed by strong ones, entangling themselves around his. “Are you two trying to pick up a fight?” he asked in a playful tone.
Whatever those two miscreants had in mind, it clearly didn’t even come close to anything resembling a fight. Their hands were now on his chest, tugging at his shirt and rubbing the hard muscle beneath it. Varg let out a small laugh, but Toru bit him, delicately but still, on the neck, turning his laughter into a short gasp. “Kitty,” he whispered breathlessly, “what are you doing?”
Toru thought it wise to move and straddle him, while Duril moved closer to his side and began to pepper his cheek and the side of his neck with small kisses, his hand moving up to caress his shoulder and then down his arm.
“You two are in quite the naughty mood tonight, aren’t you?” he asked, although it was getting harder and harder to talk while being attacked so sweetly.
“We thought,” Duril whispered in his ear, “that it was about time we sealed our bond. It was Toru’s idea. But I like it, too.”
Varg didn’t doubt that the tigershifter was the naughtiest of the two of them. He was now kneading his chest like he was trying to make dough out of it. Clearly, he was getting a bit frustrated with having the shirt in the way. Toru grabbed the hem of his shirt and began pulling it up until it went over his face. Varg laughed. “Toru, I can’t breathe!”
“Then you should undress already,” Toru replied in his usual prickly voice which he used when something wasn’t quite to his liking.
A kitten through and through. It had to be his way, or else, he would make it his way. Varg struggled to get out of his shirt, which he eventually succeeded in removing with Duril’s dutiful help. “So, you thought of making me part of your little pact?” he asked. “I noticed you two sneaking about, like two lovebirds.”
“We’re not birds, and we’re three,” Toru argued.
“Far from me to believe us to be owners of beaks and feathers, then,” Varg acquiesced. “We’re all fur, and claws, and growls, right?”
Toru roared, but in his human form. He wasn’t quite as impressive as he was when he was a tiger. But, at this point, Varg didn’t want to draw his attention to that.
“And we are also gentle and kind,” he added, as he turned his head to look at Duril.
Toru was much pleased with having Varg with his chest bared so he could lean in and rub his face against it, beginning to purr. The kitty was marking him in all possible ways, it seemed, and it didn’t bother him in the least.
Or, better said, he was a bit bothered, but that kind of bother was of the sweetest kind. Toru was rubbing his entire body against him now and it was turning his skin hot and his body taut. Varg pulled Duril in for a kiss and let it linger until Toru growled, interrupting his purr, to be paid attention, too. “Are you sure this is what both of you want?” he asked unsteadily.
“It is,” Duril confirmed and his eyelashes fluttered.
It was so like the gentle healer to admit to such things while being embarrassed. There was something more powerful than his embarrassment, it seemed, as he didn’t move away and, instead, placed another tentative kiss on Varg’s lips.
“Of course it is,” Toru gave his reply, too, and the next thing Varg knew, his trousers were removed from his legs and the tigershifter began rubbing his body against other areas that were much more bound to show their satisfaction in being treated like that.
“And do you think it’s fair, you naughty ones, to remain clothed while you lay me bare and at your mercy?”
Toru snickered at that with the naughtiness of youth that was on his side. Varg knew at that moment that his regrets from before were slowly starting to fade and melt away. Who said that home needed to be a place? Just as easily, it could be two other people, those who held him dear, and who he held dear, as well.
He didn’t have time to reflect too long on that. Toru undressed hastily and Duril moved away from him just enough to discard his clothes. Now, they were three naked bodies, enjoying themselves and drinking from one another to slake the thirst in their souls.
It was Toru who took matters, as they say, into his own hands. Varg hummed appreciatively as those loving, calloused hands moved over his manhood and grabbed it, teasing it roughly, but not with less than complete adoration. He knew a devoted lover when he saw one, and he knew that Toru must have been waiting for that moment just as much as he had.
All this time, Duril didn’t sit idly by, and he started to caress Varg’s chest, running his fingers through the coarse hair with timid desire. “I won’t break if you’re a little rough,” he whispered into the healer’s ear.
“Good to know,” Toru replied in Duril’s stead.
Varg was just about to protest that it hadn’t been meant for him, but the words died in his throat when a hot mouth descended over his manhood and swallowed half of it in one go. “Should I worry?” he asked no one in particular.
“No,” Duril hurried to assure him. “Toru is amazing at…” he stopped and swallowed his words.
Varg chuckled as his desire soared. Toru spared nothing to make his manhood and entire body tremble with newfound passion. When Duril began doing the same thing to his nipples, he groaned in disbelief. There he had been, only moments ago, feeling sorry for himself, for leaving a world he knew behind, and now he was made whole by lips and fingers that uncovered him and his longing slowly but surely.
Duril left a small trail of kisses as he moved lower, and Varg could tell that his two companions were using his manhood as the ground for a fierce battle of tongues. “Kitty, I hope you know what you’re doing,” he mumbled as he threw one arm over his eyes and moaned in unbridled ecstasy. “You too, Duril.”
“We know,” Toru replied as if it was some kind of impudence even to imply that he would be bad or unknowledgeable of such a thing.
“Then go a little slower if you don’t want me spent so quickly.”
“The night is young, and we believe that someone like you should have no trouble finding more passion in himself,” Duril said breathlessly.
Toru’s love must have awakened a new man inside the healer’s body. Never before could Varg remember having imagined the silent shy half-orc ordering his potions down at the market to be such a passionate being. He was a better self, someone new, with all the qualities of the one he had been before, but also with more to show for only a lucky few to see.
Varg was grateful for being among those few. And he was even more grateful now for the hot lips indulging in his release as neither Toru nor Duril shied away as his manhood reached its point of no return.
He was given kisses as he struggled to have his breath return to a normal pace. The night was young, indeed, he thought as he looked at the moon above. And it was one for firsts, even in his long and adventurous life.
As his two naughty companions moved to each side, he wrapped his arms around them and gave each a loud kiss. “How come you thought of making me part of this?” he addressed the question to Toru, who was clearly in charge of the sweet attack tonight.
“You were part of it already, I mean, a part of us,” Toru replied and nuzzled his cheek with unhidden affection.
“Does it mean that you’re going to stop teasing me from now on? No longer calling me ‘mutt’ and all that?”
As expected, a small snort was the answer. He grinned and Toru kissed him fiercely.
“I will call you ‘mutt’. And I will tease you,” the tigershifter promised.
“So, bad of me to think I could get a little more out of this deal. Then I should take advantage of tonight while you’re still so mellow toward me and you let me do things to you.”
He turned the tables on Toru and rolled, catching him underneath. At the same time, he pulled Duril near and let his hand wander down to a plump behind. He kissed the healer and then asked him, “Did Toru make love to you like this?” His hand became more daring, pushing apart the cheeks and seeking something.
“He did,” Duril admitted in a short whisper.
“Do you want Duril first?” Toru asked but wrapped his long legs around him, letting him know he wanted everything and he wanted it right at that moment.
It was the healer’s turn to laugh. “I think I will let you have that pleasure first. You two,” he added, his voice a bit hitched as Varg continued to explore him with his fingers, “are already like this. And I… I’d love to watch you together.”
“From up close, I hope,” Varg joked while holding Duril in a grip that glued him to his body.
He continued to play with the healer’s firm behind as Toru altered his position to better align their bodies so that they could fuse into one.
“I must be dreaming,” he murmured breathlessly, as a myriad of sensations blossomed throughout his entire body, at any place he was in contact with another warm person.
There was no other place in the world he would rather be, he realized, as Toru’s warmth engulfed him. They moved so slowly at first, and he was lucky to have Duril to hold him because otherwise, he might have made a fool of himself by toppling over Toru and finishing too soon.
Like this, he was held between two people who also embodied his two most important certainties in life. He was there because it was a choice he had made with his heart, and he was also there because a twist of fate had made it so. Nonetheless, there was nothing for him left to regret. The wound of his heart was slowly closing. It would turn into a scar, and he would never forget why it was there and who put it there, but he wouldn’t have to tend to it all the time, picking at the scabs.
Toru’s body was warm, firm, and quickly pulling him in. And he was purring loudly now. That was enough to drive him mad with so much want. He breathed deeply and began increasing his rhythm, all the while Duril was kissing him and allowing him to use his body to heighten his arousal.
Later on, when he was again on his back looking at the stars, with both of them by his side, he was as happy as he could ever recall being. Of course, due to the mischievous nature of his bond sharers, he was barely allowed a breather, and Toru was helping Duril climb on top of him and use him.
“Toru, I’m afraid I’m too heavy,” Duril expressed his worry.
“The mutt can take it,” Toru replied to his protests in the same matter-of-fact manner.
He could, indeed, and to prove that without talking anymore, he took hold of Duril’s hips and pulled him close so that their bodies could become one just as he had done before with Toru. Duril’s breathing deepened, and it appeared to be in synch with his own. They were not different souls and different bodies tonight.
Toru didn’t appear keen on sitting idly by while he and Duril made love. He naughtily pushed his member close to Varg’s face, and he accepted it gladly.
“You two are so beautiful,” Duril whispered as he moved to the same rhythm as Varg.
“We are all beautiful together,” Toru decided and pulled Duril to him by the back of the neck so that they could kiss.
Between the taste on his lips and the pressure on his manhood, Varg could not say if one sensation was stronger than the other. It was a constant battle, and neither appeared to be the victor. Not that he minded, seeing how he could easily draw pleasure and be held at its peak by both people who were loving him right now, in the most physical sense.
It was the fusing of their hearts that mattered more. It was because of them that he could be happy once more, free of the pain from before. To walk forward, one needed to close each room of his heart and seal it, not to forget about it, but to be able to live and honor the living.
He could feel warm droplets pouring over his chest and belly, and he increased the intensity with which he lavished Toru’s member with the movements of his mouth and tongue. He was aware of Toru and Duril kissing above him, and he was certain it had been the tigershifter’s skilled hand that had helped the healer release his passion all over him.
Toru followed close behind, and then, there was no longer room for him, or stamina, to postpone his own. They lay together in a sweaty heap, struggling to find their breaths.
“I said it before,” he began in a kind voice, as kind as he could muster given the circumstances, “you two are my pack, but I want to say it once again. Know this, Toru and Duril, you are my tribe now.”
“We are honored to have this responsibility,” Duril whispered and kissed his cheek.
“You’re not the leader, though,” Toru took care to remind him right away. “We’re equals.”
Varg laughed, his breath still having some trouble getting back to normal. “I will let you have it, kitty, if it’s so important to you.”
“It is,” Toru confirmed and pinched his side just to stop his chuckling.
“You two taught me that, too,” Varg admitted. “That it doesn’t matter how big and strong you are. It is sometimes wits and kindness,” he said as he caressed Duril’s head, “and other times, impetuosity and rashness, that can get the job done.”
“You’re more than big and strong.” To his surprise, those were Toru’s words, not Duril’s. “You have wits and kindness, too. And, I don’t know, you came with us on this trip. I think you must be rash, too, even though you might not care to admit it.”
“For your sake, I will admit it,” Varg replied. “You two are something else, teaching me so many things. I’m eager to learn and to move forward like never before in my life. And here I was, thinking that I might have lived enough.”
“You’re not old, mutt,” Toru said with a snort. “Yes, yes, I know, older than me, but that doesn’t mean much since I’m a shifter, too.”
“If you say so. I must have this silver in my hair for nothing then,” Varg said and laughed.
“It is not for nothing, and Toru is right. You have wisdom, too, and it has helped us through thick and thin,” Duril said.
“I can only hope that it will continue to do the same,” Varg said. “What do you say about the road ahead of us?” He looked at the stars above and they blinked back at him in complicity. It was the most beautiful night of his life.
“No matter what dangers, we will face them all head on,” Toru promised.
“We will prevail, I’m sure,” Duril said with the same certainty. “As long as we’re together, we will do so.”
“I’m glad to have such strong people by my side,” Varg said as he pulled them close so that he could kiss them on the cheeks.
“You’re still the strongest.” Toru poked him in the ribs with playful viciousness. “Ah, wait, as long as Claw is with us --”
Varg stopped him from talking more by biting him gently on the cheek. “Say one more word,” he growled, “and I might do something.”
“Like what?” Toru asked, completely unfazed by such toothless threats.
“I might have to brawl with Claw, just to see who the toughest of us is.”
“Psh, he’s stronger,” Toru argued right away. “I’m sure he can play with you as I would play with a thread ball.”
Duril laughed, and Varg grinned. “Did you just admit to liking to play with yarn, kitty?”
No wonder there, Toru bristled right away. “It is just a way of saying. I’m a tiger, I don’t play with yarn.”
“I’ll have Duril find some for you, and then we’ll see whether that’s true or not.”
“I’m telling you,” Toru began, but then he stopped and pointed at the sky. “What’s that? Is it a shooting star?”
“Quick, make a wish,” Duril said, as they all stared at the thread of light unfurling on the night sky.
He knew exactly what his wish was. To be together with Duril and Toru all his life, from here on out to all eternity.
***
“What do you know of the road to The Quiet Woods, Claw?” Toru asked first thing in the morning.
All his life, he had welcomed the unknown, and he wasn’t afraid of it. But now, he was curious. It was early morning, and they were gathered around the extinguished fire, preparing to say their last goodbyes and be on their way. Varg and Duril were already inside the city to gather supplies, as much as they could carry, as the people of Shroudharbor had promised them. Varg had said something about needing to be with Duril so that the gentle healer didn’t end up accepting everything, only to discover that they couldn’t carry as much as the people were willing to saddle them with.
That was also the reason why he had stayed behind, too. If the people saw him, they were bound to try to get him to accept all sorts of gifts, and while he enjoyed the attention, he was inclined to agree with Varg’s more practical nature in this regard.
“It is a long road. The Quiet Woods are far, far to the east,” Claw explained.
“What is it like between here and there? Are there many human settlements?”
“Not so many,” Claw continued. “The weather changes and so does the land. Enjoy the look and smell of these forests and the sea, as we won’t see much of them again for a long time. In one week, at most, we will notice the first signs of the great desert.”
“The great desert?” Toru felt his ears perking up at that. “Does it have a name?”
“Some call it the Badlands. Some only refer to it as the Great Barren. But its true name, the one given by the only beings that can live in there is --”
For some reason, Claw stopped, his eyes scouting the horizon like he could see the great desert already.
“Well, what is it?” Toru asked.
Claw threw him a curious look. “It’s Zukh Kalegh.”
Toru murmured the name, turning it in his mouth like it was a morsel of food he couldn’t decide whether it was worth eating or not. “That’s a strange name,” he eventually concluded.
“Strange doesn’t cover it. For many people, it drives the fear of gods and hells eternal into their very bones. You see, young tiger, Zukh Kalegh is not just a place. It’s a moving city; it’s the creatures that move with it.”
“A moving city?” The concept intrigued Toru more and more. “What kind of creatures are you talking about?”
“They move on two legs, but they’re not human. So much less so, even in their hearts that are tainted by bloodlust and hunger to plunder and kill. No, nothing is good inside their black hearts.”
“But what are they?” Toru insisted.
Claw gave him another long, hard look. “They’re orc, my friend, and we do better for ourselves if we stayed clear of their horde and malicious ways.”
Toru now understood the meaning of that look. “So, they’re like Duril.”
“Ha!” Claw didn’t appear in the least amused as he let out that exclamation. “Duril is only half if I’m correct, and for the good of everyone who has ever come to know him, his blood seems to have forgotten the origins of his sire.”
“He is kind and gentle.”
“Indeed,” Claw agreed, “even more so than humans and other races I have come to meet in my travels. He’s unique in his own right. And his mother must have been a beauty in her time.”
Toru nodded. “Yes, his eyes are very beautiful. I never asked him, but he must have gotten them from his mother.”
“That is the saving grace,” Claw said meditatively. “While his appearance at first sight might be enough to scare some unaware children, his soul is nothing but kind. For him, the challenge of meeting his kin on his father’s side, might be quite great.”
“Why?” Toru asked, more and more curious about what Claw was trying to tell him.
Claw reclined on his back and looked ahead, like before. He was probably thinking of things of his own, but he didn’t speak of them. “When we see our kin, they are a mirror held in front of us. What we see may not always be what we want to see.”
“But Duril is not an orc. He’s more human.”
“He shares their blood. He might not be glad to face their evil ways.”
“You say that he’ll be sad to see what horrible monsters they are?”
Claw nodded solemnly.
“Then we’ll make sure to stay away from them. I bet they’re stinky, just as they’re big and ugly. We’ll be able to smell them from miles and miles away.” His knowledge of orcs was very sparse, and he didn’t know what needed to be done to stay away from them. “And I bet that you can hear them from miles away, too.”
“Don’t underestimate their cunning nature,” Claw warned. “The desert is their home. They’re honed in battle, they don’t mind pain, and they can march for nights without feeling thirsty or hungry.”
“For nights? Not days?”
“They seldom move in daylight. Some say that it’s because their skin can get too hot and their blood boils in their veins. But I don’t believe any of it. I’d say they like the night because they use its darkness as their veil of terror as they descend on their prey.”
Toru shuddered at that. Claw patted him on the back.
“In all truth, I haven’t been there for the last three hundred years, and the people here don’t appear to live under the orcish threat. So, who knows? Maybe they’ve become extinct.”
Toru had many other questions, but seeing Varg and Duril coming, he decided to keep his mouth shut.
TBC