Path of Radiance Reborn

Hello good readers. Another update here for you. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, it is much appreciated. As you asked, here is the next installment for this fic. The pairing in this is once again not one you usually see. However, I thought I'd give it a try. Thoughts and positive criticisms are welcome.

I am considering an Ilyana/Gatrie fic, as well as several others, I'm just not sure I could pull it off, as Gatrie would run the risk of shattering our poor thin lightning mage :) But I am always thinking, so this may come to light sooner or later. I will likely update during the Christmas break. I might get the Wii :D if Future Shop brings in a shipments. FUCK.

Chapter contains M/F and Oral. Read at your own risk. As always, please read and leave coveted reviews :)

Disclaimer: somewhere back there. I don't know. Have fun with that. Narnia!!

The rising sun bathed the surrounding wood in dappled shadows, sending patterns of them crossing his bare chest. The grass underneath him was pleasantly warm from his body heat. Birds chirped in the forest, serenading him with their singsong cries. The sound of the stream flowed by ceaselessly, splashing noisily.

Soren sat up, carefully dislodging himself from underneath a sleeping Marcia’s arm. He slid out from underneath her and placed her arm back on the grass, trying to be quiet. The girl didn’t awaken.

Soren quickly donned his robes and went to drink from the stream, feeling quite content. He was certainly glad he had decided to go after Marcia. Sighing, he raised his hands to suck the water down.

Schick…

Without thinking, Soren hurled himself sideways, just as a small throwing knife nicked the side of his hood. Another half inch and his neck would have been pierced. Turning in mid-dive, Soren saw a hooded figure slouched in the trees, a silver gleam in his raised hand. Raising his own arm, Soren pointed it at the figure.

A second later, a loud thump split the calm atmosphere of the clearing as the figure was sent crashing into the tree. Something snapped. Not the tree.

Marcia bolted upright, eyes wide. She saw the cloaked figure writhing and groaning on the ground, and let out a gasp. She scurried towards her clothes, arms crossed tightly across her breasts to cover them.

Soren strode purposefully towards the downed figure, keeling down beside it and starting to throw the hood back. To his surprise, a searing wave of heat blasted his hand when he moved it close to the figure’s face, and he withdrew in alarm. No doubt it was a charmed cloak, cast with a spell to prevent people from taking it off. The figure, he guessed, was another Daien soldier, most likely a scout.

Which meant there could be others nearby.

“Who are you?” Soren snapped, grabbing the man by the cloak’s neck and, ignoring the searing heat, slammed the man’s head into the ground. The man grunted in pain and tried to feebly break away, but Soren held fast. “Who are you?” he repeated, his voice sharp, slamming the man’s head into the ground again. The man did not utter a word.

Soren was about to interrogate him further when the man suddenly started convulsing on the ground. His breath became stitched, and he choked for air, his back arching and his head jerking from side to side. Surprised, Soren could only look on as the man gave one final thrash and stopped moving, rigid and still.

“What –”

“Little trick we learned from our master,” a voice hissed, and Soren whirled from the corpse to see three other cloaked figures standing by the stream. Two of them had long, elegantly carved blades protruding from their dark sleeves. The third, he saw with a sharp burst of fear, was holding Marcia to him, a knife at her throat.

“Soren –” she started to whisper, and the man slapped her across the face. Soren snarled in anger and moved forwards, when the man growled and pressed the blade harder into Marcia’s neck. A tiny droplet of red formed at her throat.

“Quiet, girl,” the man hissed, his voice unnatural and snakelike. “Don’t move and you may live to see the next sunrise.” The two cloaked figures next to him stood impassively, their faces hidden by their dark hoods. The one holding Marcia wore a similar hood, his face shrouded in shadow.

Soren watched, aghast. Something was wrong about these people. They were unnaturally tall, and not a shred of their skin was visible beneath their clothes. The handles of their weapons were hidden in the folds of their sleeves, and the dangerous, ridged bronze metal of their blades gleamed in the morning light. These were not ordinary soldiers.

“Good,” the lead figure said as Marcia stopped talking, her face red from the harsh strike. Soren glared at the cloaked figure, feeling remarkable hatred for this being who was threatening an unarmed woman.

“I have no argument with you, soldier, but if you don’t release her, you’ll never see home again,” Soren said evenly, trying to keep his emotions under control. He could kill all three of them, but he would have to move to call on his magic. As soon as he did, the figure would kill Marcia. “Decide!”

“I think otherwise,” the figure snickered. The sound was like rustling leaves. Soren felt his hair stand on end. “Perhaps it is you who should be concerned about seeing home again.”

Soren was only half-listening, more concerned with finding a way out of his predicament. He looked left and right, up and down, but could see no way to act fast enough to prevent the leader from killing Marcia. He took another step forward, and the man pressed the blade harder against her throat. The tip of the blade was slowly growing scarlet. “Ah ah ah,” the man hissed. His two henchmen took two steps forward.

“What do you want?” Soren said, not moving. The fgure laughed, an unnaturally shrill sound. “Listening, are we? Good. We want nothing from you yourself, but from the whelp who leads this army. By the name of Ike.”

“What do you want with him?”

“That should hardly be your chief concern, especially considering the fact that you will be dead in minutes,” the man hissed. “Kill him.”

The two guards flourished their curved blades and leaped forwards, covering twenty feet in seconds. Soren started to raise his hand, when a rush of air blew past his neck from behind him. An arrow sailed past his head, embedding itself in the centre of one of the henchman’s hoods. The man fell without a sound. Before his body hit the ground, two more arrows shot out from the trees, striking the remaining two figures directly in their hooded faces. They fell as well, dead.

Marcia stumbled away from the heap of black robes next to her, running towards Soren. He turned around, and to his surprise saw Shinon emerge from the trees, his bow pointed at the downed figures with an angry look on his face. Ignoring him for the moment, Soren ran to get to Marcia.

“Are you all right?” Soren asked frantically, checking the wound on her neck. She seemed shaken, but otherwise fine. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing. Rhys can fix it when we get back.” Soren hugged her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t fast enough.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marcia whispered, when Shinon laughed from behind them.

“How touching. How about a “thank you, Shinon” for saving your sorry lives? Not only do I have to wake up early to lead that group of pathetic soldiers who call themselves archers to Fort Pinell, I am also ordered by Ike to find out where you two are.”

“How did you know we were here?” Soren asked, somewhat embarrassed. The archer shrugged. “I didn’t. Lethe was told to search another section of the woods. We knew you were nearby the healer’s tent when you went missing. What were you doing here, anyways?”

Marcia was blushing furiously, tugging her clothes back on. Shinon smirked in a very infuriating fashion. “Ah, of course. Well done. I must say, I didn’t think you had it in you, Soren.”

Soren wanted to kill him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the position to be fighting with Shinon, particularly since he had just saved their lives. Grunting a response, he turned his back on the snide archer, looking back at the dead figures in the clearing. “Who are those people, anyways?”

“A better question would be what are they,” Shinon said, stepping over to one. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. They’re –” he stopped in mid-sentence, frowning. “What is it?” Soren asked. Shinon pointed. “The bodies. They’re gone.”

Soren looked down in surprise, only to discover that Shinon was right. The only trace that there had been a confrontation was the piles of robes fluttering in the breeze, and the elaborately designed blades beside them.

“How did they just disappear?” Marcia wondered, hovering curiously over Soren’s shoulder as he prodded the cloaks. Shinon shrugged, examining one of the swords. “I’ve never seen weaponry as fine as this before, either. I wonder what –” he stopped again, his face transforming with shock. Soren looked at him, and then did a double take.

The sword was dissolving, right before their eyes. As Soren and Shinon looked on, the metal began to crack and shatter, before exploding into millions of tiny fragments which disintegrated in the air. The two stared at the grass for a while, before Soren spoke. “I need to tell Ike about this.”

“Then let’s go,” Shinon said, and they turned around, heading with Marcia back to the camp.

* * * * *

Shinon trudged through the forest, inwardly cursing Soren for his bad timing and lapse of concentration. If he hadn’t come along when he did, the girl would have died, and Soren along with him. Not that he cared much, but he would have to deal with a lot of shouting from Ike, which he had no intention of listening to whatsoever.

The sounds of the camp preparing for battle reached his ears soon later, as he led Marcia and Soren through the tree line and back into the valley. It was full of activity. Soldiers were suiting up and armouring themselves, while Titania and Geoffrey swept through on their horses, monitoring the soldiers’ progress. Turning away from the activity, he saw someone sprinting towards him from across the valley. It was Lethe; he recognized her powerful, quick strides. The tail was also a dead giveaway.

Shinon watched coolly as the laguz warrior ran closer. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but it was quite pleasing to watch her run. Her breasts weren’t the biggest around, but nature had been fair to her. They were quite firm, but still jiggled when she ran. Shinon enjoyed the sight for another second before Lethe closed the distance and stopped in front of him.

“I searched… the whole side of the woods,” she choked out. “I didn’t find them. Their tents are still empty. They must be –”

“Here,” Shinon said. “Old news to everyone except you, cat woman. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to take care of.” He walked off, ignoring the look of indignant fury that crossed Lethe’s face. He heard Marcia say something to Lethe as he walked away.

Several minutes later, he had reached his tent. It was in an isolated corner of the valley, so that he wouldn’t be disturbed. Ducking inside, he lay his armour out beside his bow and quiver. I could make a couple more before the fight, he thought. Reaching below his bed, he pulled out a sharp knife. Sitting down, he began to craft more arrows. After a while, he inadvertently let his mind wander back to the sight of Lethe’s breasts bouncing as she ran.

* * * * *

“Imbecile!” Lethe spat. “How dare he speak to me with such disrespect? I should go back and teach the fool a thing or two. I don’t know why Ike keeps him around anyways; he’s more trouble than he’s worth. If he says –”

She continued to rant, her tail flicking about in her agitation. Ranulf watched her, trying to keep a straight face. Shinon constantly got on the nerves of anyone unfortunate enough to spend more than five minutes with him, but it was still entertaining watching Lethe get all riled up about it. He knew better than to try to calm her. Better to let her vent than interfere.

After several minutes, Lethe paused for a breath, and Ranulf spoke quickly. “You should go and talk to him, end this pointless feud. The last thing we need is grudges dividing our forces, particularly at such a crucial stage in the war. I’m surprised you’re not thinking about the greater scheme of things, Lethe.”

“I am,” she growled, hands on her hips. “Don’t try to guilt trip me.”

“I’m not. I’m just trying to make you see reason. So he’s a jackass, big deal. After the war you won’t have to deal with him. Just make sure you resolve this now, before we go to fight.”

Lethe seethed inwardly. She loathed the idea of having to swallow her pride, particularly for such an arrogant and despicable human. However, Ranulf was right. She had other duties.

“Fine. I’ll do it. Better get it out of the way now, then. Tell Ike I’ll speak to him shortly.” Lethe started to leave the tent. “He’s meeting with Soren right now,” Ranulf said. “Nobody can speak to him. Talk to him after. We’re not moving out for another two hours at least.”

“Okay,” Lethe agreed, and she walked out of the tent.

* * * * *

“Scouts, you say?”

Ike paced back and forth before Soren and Marcia in the council’s tent, running his hand through his blue hair. Soren stood with his arms crossed over his chest, eyes cast downward. “I believe so. There were only four of them. When I was in the clearing, one of them tried to assassinate me. I subdued him, but before I could interrogate him, he provoked the sui caedere magic and killed himself.”

Ike frowned. “Precious few are experienced enough in the art of magic to know how to pull that off. I know, I’ve read books on it. Are you sure it was a mage?”

“No,” Soren admitted. “But I believe he was. The others seemed to be very experienced with blades. Their weapons were crafted with remarkable skill. There was one other thing… after they died, their bodies disappeared. Only the cloaks were left.”

Ike stopped pacing, eyebrows furrowed in thought. “I’ve never heard of anything like that. Have you, Soren, Marcia?” The pink-haired Pegasus Knight shrugged. “In the Royal Guard we never came across anything like that. But… I don’t think they were human. They seemed to be very afraid of sunlight.”

“Wait…” Soren muttered, and the two turned to him. “I remember my old master telling me something about this. There are supposedly creatures that can inhabit the bodies of others, causing them to wither and slowly die. They become complete puppets, slaves to the creatures within them. Nobody knows where those creatures come from, but from time to time infected humans have been discovered. This must have been another case.”

“Why do they disappear after death?” Ike asked. Soren shook his head. “Some ancient magic. No normal magic user can perfect the art of body disintegration; it’s impossible. The only known creatures to have this ability are the ones we just saw.”

“What are they?” Ike asked quietly. “Nobody knows what the creatures themselves are,” Soren replied. “For a lack of a better term, they are simply called Wraiths.”

“Interesting…” Ike murmured. “If Ashnard is using these creatures against us, we must be extra careful. Very well, Soren, you are dismissed. Marcia, I hope you’re all right. Get prepared; we leave for battle in two hours.” Soren and Marcia nodded, and left the tent. After they were gone, Ike sat down at the table, stared at the wall, and began to think.

* * * * *

Lethe found Shinon in his tent, crafting more arrows. Gritting her teeth, she stepped through the flap and into the tent.

Shinon looked up for a second, and then returned to his work. “You. Beorc.” Lethe said flatly. “We have to talk.”

“If you’re expecting some sort of apology from me, you can forget it,” Shinon said lazily, running his knife across an arrow and shaving a sliver of wood from its cylindrical shape. “You insulted my people,” Lethe growled. “Do not think you can get away without consequence.”

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Shinon said, dropping the arrow and sitting up straight. He continued, his voice low and menacing. “Listen, girl, I don’t take orders from you. I only listen to your idiotic general because I don’t want Rolf to get hurt because of his stupidity. And I want to make it clear that I don’t trust the whole lot of you shape shifters. Too uptight, all of you.”

Lethe snarled, baring her teeth. “Your insolence has no bounds,” she snapped. “Careful, human. My mercy has limits.”

“Really? Does it?” Shinon said, his voice going from angry to bland. “I don’t fear you, or your kind, the way the rest of the cowards in this army do. As soon as this war is over, I’ll be glad to see the back of you.”

“Insolent fool!” Lethe spat. “You believe that this army cares what you think? The whole company hates you!”

“You’re acting as though I care about this,” Shinon smirked. “Their opinions don’t matter to me.” Lethe gave a sound that was a mix between a sigh and a growl. She had never met a more infuriating human. “You might want to be careful of the way you talk to me.”

“Really.”

“I could have you killed on the spot.”

“You could try.”

Lethe stared at him, growing more disconcerted. Shinon looked up and met her gaze, his jade eyes meeting her violet ones. The moment stretched on. She found she could not look away.

Shinon finally relented and broke the eye contact. “You think I’m being rude.”

“Yes,” Lethe said, watching him. He put his arrows aside and slowly got up from the bed. “You think I’m a jerk.”

“Yes,” Lethe repeated, her chest rising and falling quickly as he took a step towards her. “Somehow,” Shinon said as he walked towards her, “I don’t entirely think you mind it that much.”

“Have you not been listening to anything I just said?” Lethe said, exasperated. Shinon smirked at her. “You don’t like nice guys. You’re more of a wild card.”

“You don’t know me,” Lethe growled. “You shouldn’t assume.” He was much too close. He was less than a foot away. “It’s not an assumption. It’s true.”

“What do you want from me?” Lethe murmured quietly, as Shinon stopped right in front of her. Before she knew what was happening, his hands slid behind her back. “You know what I want,” he whispered into her ear. “But what do you want?” Before she could move, he leaned downwards and captured her lips with his own. Lethe’s eyes widened and she made a choked sigh, trying to pull away from the kiss. Shinon, however, didn’t let go, merely started kissing her harder.

After a few seconds, Lethe gave in, her heart pounding in her ears. Shinon seemed to know what he was doing, his tongue flittering around in her mouth, battling and sliding all over hers to gain dominance in her mouth. Meanwhile, his hands roamed across her back and ran across her hips, sending shivers through her skin.

After what seemed like an eternity, Shinon broke the kiss. “What do you really want?” he asked. “I… I want to leave,” Lethe breathed, although she made no move to. Shinon motioned to the door. “I will not stop you.” They stood staring at each other for two seconds, before Lethe turned around and went to the door. However, instead of leaving, she carefully closed the tent flaps. Inwardly, she was shocked with her own conduct. She despised this beorc, more than any in the army. Yet here she was, desperately wanting to be touched by him. Maybe she was crazy.

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I like you, because I don’t,” Lethe said, moving back towards him. Shinon gave his trademark infuriating smile. “It’s been too long since I’ve… done something…”

Shinon grabbed Lethe’s back and pulled her towards him, cutting her off in mid-sentence. He roughly seized her mouth with his own, his tongue deep in her mouth. Lethe kissed back as hard as she could, refusing to let the beorc dominate her. The two kissed fiercely in the light of the tent, each struggling for control. Shinon moved his hands from her back and ran each of them up Lethe’s long, bare legs. She let out a gasp as he entered the slit in her miniskirt, squeezing her ass.

Squirming, Lethe broke away and pushed Shinon onto the bed. He fell noisily, his breathing quick and harsh. Wasting no time, Lethe swung her legs over him and began to straddle him, her hips gyrating against his pelvis. She felt great satisfaction when she felt something stiffening beneath her touch.

Shinon tore away at his shirt, quickly removing it from his body and hurling it into a corner of the tent. His pants soon followed, and the archer was naked before her, his wickedly large manhood standing at attention.

Lethe exhaled sharply when she saw his length. Feeling an undeniable heat between her legs, she moved in and kissed Shinon, her breath ragged as well. His hands roamed across her chest as he did so, rubbing her breasts over her shirt. Lethe gasped in pleasure as her nipples hardened beneath his touch.

“Off,” Shinon grunted into her mouth. “Take it off.” Lethe complied, pulling her emerald and leather shirt upwards. Shinon’s hands slid across her stomach, making her utter another sigh. Soon, Lethe had succeeded, and her topless form grinned down at him from above.

Lethe’s breasts were pale and supple, resting firmly against her chest. Large pink nipples, erect with anticipation, stood out on her pale, generous orbs. She jostled them slightly with both hands, moaning softly as she pinched her own nipples. Shinon’s cock throbbed, and he quickly brought his hands up, sliding across the soft skin of her tits.

“Oh!” Lethe gasped as Shinon’s hands danced across her breasts, kneading them and tweaking her nipples. Lethe’s head rolled on her neck as he continued to cup her tits, and she thrust her chest forward to allow him better access. Shinon palmed her breasts ceaselessly, his hands continually flicking her nipples, making Lethe gasp and squeal with pleasure as the heat between her legs grew insatiable.

Shinon sat up, bringing his face to Lethe’s chest, and attaching his lips to her right breast. Lethe purred in ecstasy, her breasts jiggling as she squirmed above Shinon. The archer continued to suck and lick at her breast, every so often lightly biting at her nipple. Whenever he did so, Lethe would give a throaty moan, loving the expert feel of his fingers and tongue.

Shinon pulled away, and Lethe felt an immediate sense of regret. “Lie down,” he ordered. Lethe hesitated. She was used to being the dominant one during sex. She didn’t want to bend this tradition now, particularly for Shinon.

Before she had decided, Shinon lost patience. He grabbed her legs and expertly flipped her over, sending her back crashing into the bed. Before she could protest, Shinon spread her legs, lifted her soaked green miniskirt, and slid his tongue inside her.

Lethe let out a long moan, her breasts heaving. Shinon began to dance within her, prodding her most sensitive areas with its deftness. Lethe growled and moaned with pleasure, struggling not to orgasm. Unwillingly, she began to thrust her hips into Shinon’s face, trying to force his tongue in even deeper. Deciding to throw a curve ball to the woman, Shinon withdrew slightly and flicked her clitoris with his tongue.

“Ahhh!” Lethe let out her loudest moan yet as Shinon sent waves of pleasure crashing through her body. She jerked her head from side to side, her light orange hair whipping around in her ecstasy. Lethe began to grope at her own breasts, purring at the delicious feel of Shinon’s tongue between her legs. She kneaded her own breasts and pulled on her nipples as Shinon worked, pushing her tits together. She began to feel waves of heat rising within her as orgasms rocked her petit frame. Shinon licked her clit again, and she exploded, crying out into the morning, releasing a flood of juices from her burning slit. Shinon took them in without hesitation. Lethe sagged back on the bed, covered with sweat, her breasts slick with perspiration.

“I bet we beorc aren’t so useless now, huh?” Shinon goaded, straightening up. Lethe purred noisily as some of her strength returned. Grinning, she sat up, taking hold of Shinon’s shoulders and turning him. She pushed him back down onto the bed, before lying down on top of him, her slick breasts sliding across his wiry pectorals.

“We’re not useless either,” Lethe countered, sliding downward until her she was level with his cock. She grabbed it without warning, causing Shinon to groan from above her. Without waiting for him to get used to the sensation, she began to pump his sizeable shaft, encircling his hot member with her slim, cool fingers.

“Uh…” Shinon bit back a groan as Lethe picked up speed, pumping his manhood without pause. With her other hand, she began to massage his balls, causing Shinon to almost lose it right there. Gasping, sweat forming on his face, he struggled with all his might to hold his release. Lethe growled as she pumped him faster, causing Shinon to grunt hoarsely as he thrust into her hand.

Shinon couldn’t hold himself. Much to his surprise, the second before he came, Lethe removed her hand from his dick. Shinon choked in air, feeling a deep sense of loss. His throbbing penis slowly subsided, and he looked at Lethe angrily, only to feel his frustration dissipate when he saw what she had in mind.

Lethe slowly draped her breasts around Shinon’s member, squeezing them together with her hands. He let out a loud sigh as her tits pressed into his rock hard erection, enveloping it with her cleavage. Scores of pleasure rippled through Shinon’s body as he slowly began to thrust upwards into the soft mass of flesh. Lethe continued to cup and bounce her tits around on his cock, causing Shinon to let out a groan. His member grew undeniably hot as he moved faster and faster into her cleavage.

“I’m… I’m…” Shinon choked out, but that was as far as he got before Lethe squeezed the soft glory of her breasts together one more time, and Shinon’s member exploded, sending streams of cum all over Lethe’s tits. She smirked as Shinon bucked one last time and fell back, breathing hard. Taking a nightshirt from beside the bed, she carefully wiped Shinon’s contributions off her chest.

“Shit,” Shinon muttered, and Lethe growled in satisfaction. “Had enough yet?”

Shinon’s eyes narrowed at the prospect of a challenge. “I haven’t even started yet.” He grabbed Lethe’s arms and turned her over, so that she lay on her back. He then slid his leg up so that he was straddling her, and shoved his eager manhood into her tight slit.

Lethe let out a scream as Shinon buried himself inside her, the pleasure almost causing her to pass out. Shinon began to pump steadily inside her, causing Lethe to give her satisfied purrs and moans as Shinon thrust deeply into her womanhood.

Lethe began to thrust back at Shinon, causing him to groan and falter slightly as he pounded into her. She squeezed his ass as she did so, and he shut his eyes against the sensation. Not ceasing, she continued to rock into him, encircling his rod and thrusting up and into him. Lethe’s tits bounced around on her chest as she jostled upward, jiggling in a delightful manner. Shinon began to clutch at her subble orbs again, cupping them and continually pinching her erect nipples as he did so. Lethe began to moan unintelligibly, struggling to push into him even faster. Although neither of them said it, it had become a sort of contest between them, to see who could make the other come first.

Lethe continued to grip as Shinon’s ass, trying to bury his manhood further within herself. Shinon rocked into her in a blur, sweat dripping down his neck and chest as he increased his speed. Lethe let out a passionate growl and did the same, her tits bouncing up and down in Shinon’s squeezing palms. Orgasms rocked through her frame, and soon Shinon’s hard member was covered in juices, shining in the light. Both of them refused to stop, however, and their cries and moans mixed and melted into one.

Shinon bent down and began to suck on Lethe’s nipples as he hammered her, alternating between his hands and his mouth. Lethe gripped Shinon tightly, guiding him into her with a fervent passion, growling as she neared her climax. She redoubled her efforts to make the archer come, her eyebrows knit in concentration. Shinon’s activity on her tits caused Lethe to whimper with the excruciating pleasure running through her body. He was close, as was she.

With one final thrust, Shinon suddenly lost it, throwing back his head and yelling his elation into the air as he burst, emptying his seed into Lethe. She giggled in triumph, savoring her victory, before she lost it as well and sent waves of her juices cascading onto Shinon’s member. The two bucked one more time, emptying themselves utterly, before Shinon lost strength and collapsed on top of Lethe, his member softening and slowly withdrawing from her pussy.

For several minutes, the only sound was the laboured breathing of the two. Lethe couldn’t suppress a grin. She had won. Shinon let out a long sigh. “We should probably get ready for battle,” he said quietly, making no movement to get up. “Yes,” Lethe agreed, likewise not moving. The two stared at each other. After an eternity, Shinon finally raised himself from above Lethe, relishing the feeling of her breasts as they slid across his chest, even as it was lost. Lethe got up several seconds later, finding her shirt and tugging it on.

“I think I’m going to want a rematch,” Shinon said, tugging a pair of pants on and fastening shin guards to it. “That is, if we both live through this battle.” Lethe smirked and went to the door, her tail wrapped around her waist. “If we make it through,” she said, “I’ll be waiting.” The tent flap opened, sunlight poured in, and she was gone. Shinon smirked, picked up his bow, and exited after her. There was work to be done.