Demonic Embrace

Author's Note: Yeah, I really, really meant to put this up earlier. My sincerest apologies to those who have been kept waiting. The next chapter should be up much sooner. Sorry again ^^;

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“Ceos, what did we do?” Orran felt strangely warm, experiencing a comforting afterglow from his release. The human was next to him, breathing just as heavily as the elf was. They’d finished only moments ago and were now resting, giving Orran time for the higher functions of his mind catch up. “Ceos?”

“Do…do I really have to explain that?” Ceos voiced his reply weakly, but playful as ever. The human rolled onto his side to face Orran, lifting a hand as he did so. With his index finger, Ceos traced through the smooth lines of muscles that decorated Orran’s chest and abdomen, dragging his finger through cooling semen of indeterminate owner. Orran shuddered at the touch.

“Really, stop it. Please.”

“You don’t mean that, Orran. Didn’t it feel good?” The pirate lifted his finger to his mouth, dragging a drop of the white stickiness with it. He licked the liquid off his digit, recognizing the taste as his own. The finger went back to Orran’s body, trying to find some of the elf to take back to Ceos’ tongue.

“Y…yes, it felt good. But that doesn’t mean it’s what I wanted.”

“No, I’m pretty sure you decided you wanted it.” Another taste, another failure. Ceos put his finger back on Orran. Orran grabbed Ceos’ wrist and knocked his hand away.

“Would you stop playing and pay attention? I’m trying to tell you-“

“That you’re not gay and you don’t like me ‘like that’. Yeah, I know.” Ceos grinned and put his hand on Orran’s chest despite the elf’s protests. The hand moved to under Orran’s far arm and Ceos turned himself, lowering his face to Orran’s body. His tongue ran over purple skin, lapping up what remained of semen. Ceos swallowed once and looked towards Orran’s face. “It’s a pretty poor lie, Orran.”

The pirate suddenly found himself on the wood floor, wind knocked out of him and pain where he hit his back. Orran had virtually thrown him from the bed at that little remark, kicking him in the stomach as he did so. Ceos wheezed and stared at the ceiling. Orran got off the bed and landed on Ceos, straddling him and holding the man down. Ceos made no attempt to struggle.

“I’m not gay and I don’t like you like that. And don’t you ever suggest that I’m lying about it again.” Orran’s yellow eyes narrowed. “Let me assure you that I most certainly am not.”

“Uh huh. Orran, do you think you could get your naked ass off of me? Even if you’re not gay, that doesn’t mean some of us aren’t, and you’re getting me a little ‘flustered’, if you will.” Ceos nodded his head towards his nether regions, prompting Orran to turn to look. Sure enough, Ceos was beginning to get hard merely by having Orran sit on top of him. But that wasn’t the point of having Orran look. In the elf’s moment of distraction, Ceos reared up and pushed Orran aside, effectively reversing the situation. Ceos didn’t sit, though. He held Orran down by the shoulders and kneeled above him. “Oops.”

“Get off of me, Ceos. I just told you I’m not interested.”

“Fine, but let me tell you this. Even if you’re not interested, I’m the captain of this ship. That means you don’t threaten me. Ever. Got it?” Ceos looked down at Orran with a smile, in perfect contrast to Orran’s snarl. Kneeling over Orran was doing little to help his arousal situation, but at least it showed the druid that Ceos was still the boss as long as Orran remained aboard his ship.

“It won’t happen again, captain.” The title was spoken like an insult, dripping with acid and venom. Ceos dipped his head low to Orran’s, keeping their eyes mere inches from each other. Their noses practically met.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, it won’t happen again. Captain.” The same tone, perhaps even more malicious. The pirate was at a loss for words. On one hand, it was probably a good idea to let Orran go and give the elf a chance to calm down before trying to smooth things over and apologize. On the other, Orran’s attitude and position were making Ceos hot again. His id urged him to fuck Orran senseless until he was moaning ‘captain’, but the ego eventually won out. Ceos rose off of Orran, grabbed his clothes, and left the elf’s quarters. The door slammed shut behind him.

Orran was left alone, dazed at the recent events. He was intensely angry with Ceos, partially because he felt like he’d been taken advantage of, but mostly because now Orran was questioning himself. First the episode with Dareum and now this? Orran’s self-identity was in serious doubt because two humans couldn’t keep their sex drives to themselves. When Ceos had gotten closer to him, Orran could practically taste the lust emanating from the pirate. Even if Orran didn’t want Ceos, Ceos wanted Orran, and he wanted the elf bad. Despite his confusion and a myriad of other conflicting emotions, Orran stood and set to work putting his clothes back on.

Once he was fully clothed, Orran sat on the edge of his bed to think. Things had gotten very tangled very quickly, and he needed to sort them out. While he dreaded the thought of talking to Ceos, it was clear that he’d have to, sooner or later. Later was an alluring option, but time would make things difficult as the gap between them widened. Sooner had to be taken and pushed up to ‘now’. Steeling himself, Orran left his room and set about wandering the ship to find its captain.

Ceos had sequestered himself in his quarters, half-hoping that Orran would find him while the other half hoped that the elf would leave him be. He was attempting to determine why, exactly, he had moved on Orran when he’d originally just wanted to be supportive. Deiha’s advice had been bad at best, but he’d taken it just the same. He wanted to shift the blame to her somehow, to remove himself from guilt for his actions. And there was plenty of guilt. If Orran hadn’t wanted it…did Ceos rape him? The pirate felt sick at the thought. A light tapping at the door caused him to jump in surprise.

“…Ceos? You in there?” It was Orran’s voice, muffled to a minor degree by the door. Ceos ordered his body to cease its panic, taking control of his vocal cords. He would not hide.

“Yes, I’m here.” His voice shook in the beginning, evening out as confidence began to trickle back to him. They were only going to talk; nothing difficult or frightening about that. Ceos would suffer through this and make it out alive and well. “You can come in, if you’d like.”

There was a pause before the door creaked open, Orran peering through the crack. Ceos caught his eye and found himself unable to look away. The door opened all the way, allowing Orran to pass through. The elf hesitated to close it again, but finally did so. He took the chair in front of Ceos’ desk and sat.

Silence.

At last, Orran spoke. “Ceos, we should talk, about us and…what just happened…” He trailed off as the surge of bravery dried up. Neither of them wanted to do this, that was clear. Even if they knew it had to be done, it was difficult.

“Alright, let’s talk.” Ceos drew a breath, seeking to quell his fidgeting stomach. He felt anxious and nervous, and he needed to rid himself of the feelings, lest they ruin things. When he felt mildly settled, he forced words to spill forth.

“I…I think I love you.” What had he just done?! Ceos felt his tension rushing back. Orran was staring at him with curious eyes, wondering if what the pirate had said was accurate. “That is…I mean…”

“It’s okay, Ceos. I don’t mind if you think you love me. But, I don’t think I could love you back. You need to find someone else.” Ceos was breaking as he listened to Orran. He knew whatever he felt for the elf was misplaced, but his mind had still held onto the glimmer of hope that he could make Orran love him back. The hope was let down; Ceos imagined that he was drowning. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have done those things to you. I just wanted you so badly, my judgment was overwhelmed. Please forgive me.” Ceos looked about to cry; Orran found it hard to watch the blue eyes begin to shimmer. There was no gentle way to break his heart, but Orran was regretting his words already. Something disquieting stirred inside the druid, urging him to reach out and touch the pirate, to soothe him.

“Of course I forgive you.” Orran tried to be control his voice, which started to feel as shaky as Ceos’. Things were spiraling; he couldn’t look at Ceos anymore without remembering how much he’d enjoyed the man’s touch. His body moved on its own, having him reach across the desk until his lips pressed into the pirate’s. Ceos blinked his eyes open, not understanding what Orran could possibly be thinking. Orran didn’t understand either. He pulled away slowly, warmth lingering. “…forget I said anything. I want to try this, for awhile anyway.”

“Really?” Ceos smiled hopefully, overjoyed that Orran might reconsider. The druid nodded slowly and didn’t resist when Ceos reached out a hand to pull him close again. Their mouths met and Orran let Ceos tease him open. The human smiled, tasting the elf furiously. He’d show Orran his love again until the elf accepted his affection. Orran’s own hand started weaving through Ceos’ hair, playing with the silky gold.

“Captain, you may want to come to the deck.” The kiss broke instantly when Deiha’s voice wafted through the closed door. Orran sat back quickly, face flushing. Ceos smiled at him, and then ruffled his own hair until it lay flat again. The doorknob opened and the female walked it. She eyed the two men momentarily, making them both nervous. How long had she been outside? “An Argent Dawn captain I just had the pleasure of talking to has taken over the hunt for the undead ship. You need to issue some orders on where to go next…and Orran, someone wants to talk to you.”

“Me? Alright, take me to them.” Orran stood and followed Deiha from the room. He knew Ceos was watching him go, but felt forced to ignore him. Deiha seemed to have her suspicions; no reason to add to them. She led Orran to the deck, where a man in shiny golden armor was waiting. The sun reflected off the massive plates until Orran got closer, where the glare was less intense.

He was a tall, well-proportioned human. Ceos had wider shoulders, but the newcomer seemed to have his strength better spread out. His hair, matted by a helm he was removing, was auburn, kept short in the back but allowed to grow a bit further everywhere else. Jade eyes looked down at Orran, sizing him up. Orran felt strangely uneasy, intimidated by the human and his hard gaze. When the man spoke, Orran was surprised by how kind his voice sounded.

“You’re the survivor from the undead attack, correct?”

“Yes, that’s me. I’ve already explained everything to Deiha if that’s what you need.”

“Well, that would be part of it. Deiha was kind enough to tell me that you were traveling with a warlock. Would you happen to know what happened to him?”

“Dareum?” Orran saw the man’s eyes light up at the name. He nodded, pressuring Orran to continue. “He was with me when we jumped ship, but I didn’t see him after that. I have no idea where he is. Sorry…”

“Ah, I see. No need to apologize, it is not as if you’ve killed him. There’s reason to suspect he’s still alive; it will simply require a broader search to locate him.” The man paused when Orran stared at him inquisitively. After a moment’s realization, he smiled. “We keep tracks of everyone among our ranks, especially those as gifted as Dareum. He’s not dead, or the Argent Dawn would know. He’s simply not with either of us.” Another pause, where the human quickly glanced over the night elf subtly, attempting to uncover why Dareum might have been traveling with him. “Lieutenant Colonel Luenmos the Bright. Who might you be?”

“Simply Orran. I have no title to attach to my name, lieutenant c-“

“You may call me Luenmos. The rest of my name is for show, I admit.” Luenmos cut him carefully, at the earliest hint of the druid’s sarcasm. He began to place the helm he had removed back onto his head. Before Orran could speak again, Luenmos had started. “Unfortunately, I cannot afford to delay here any longer. We must not let that Scourge ship escape any more than it already has. May the Light be with you on your voyage home, Orran.” Luenmos turned to go, crossing the deck to board his own ship. He gave a curt nod to Deiha, who returned the gesture, and a more respectful farewell to Ceos. “Ceos, I’m entrusting you with getting Orran safely back to shore. Oh, and your supplies have been delivered to Ratchet, as per request. I’m off, then.”

“Safe travels.” Ceos replied, watching as Luenmos crossed to the larger ship pulled up alongside the pirate’s. The paladin was back on his on boat and had started to move away when Ceos glanced at Orran. “I guess we’ll be taking you to Ratchet. It won’t be too long of a voyage from our current position. And Luenmos thinks your friend is alive, too. Good news all around.”

“Yes…” Orran trailed off, eyeing the door back to the innards of the ship with interest. He wanted to be alone, to sort things out, but some unspoken obligation was keeping him from leaving. It wasn’t until Ceos nodded his head in the direction the druid wanted to go did Orran move. Just before he ducked back below deck, Orran smiled at Ceos. “I’ll find you later, alright? I have questions that need answers.” With that, Orran was gone, submerged in darkness.