By popular demand, and after long delay, the story of Mara continues. Thank you to the people who wrote advice and encouragement—I read every comment and they inspire me to keep writing amid a very full life.
May you have every desire fulfilled...
Clutched Under the Waves
Light shimmered down through shifting waves, painting patterns on the skin-tight contours of Mara's suit. The light curved across her body as she inhaled through her breathing device. Her eyes went wide with awe.
For as far as she could see, row upon row of willowy fronds like translucent glass waved in the water. Bunches of lush gold spheres glittered on tendrils. Herds of smooth-skinned creatures flitted between the branches, reaching out with soft mouths to suck in the ripe fruit.
"It is a thing of glory, is it not, friend?"
A shadow fell upon Mara. Glancing up, she saw a massive collection of tentacles, flesh, and suckers floating towards her. The water shifted with his weight.
"It is a wonder beyond words, Taxlaq," Mara murmured into her underwater transmission device. The vibrations in her throat flowed out to meet Taxlaq's mysterious rumbles.
Contented shades of pastel and earthy brown played on Taxlaq's skin. An enormous tentacle flowed out to wrap itself around Mara's waist. She shivered as she felt the strength of his embrace.
The tentacle, as thick as her thigh, held her for a long moment. Suction cups pulled impatiently at thin fabric over her breasts. The tip of the tentacle ran down her leg. The tentacle flashed with subtle shades of pink, squeezing tightly. Mara's heart began to pound.
Taxlaq's luminous golden eyes glanced down at her. The tentacle reluctantly unwound from her body. Mara let out a long breath of bubbles into the water.
Wordlessly, they swam together through the fields. In the silence, Mara brooded. It had been over a week since her
encounter
with Taxlaq. Her face filled with heat as she remembered the feel of Taxlaq's tentacles tasting her skin, filling her body, slowly and patiently bringing her to--
Mara shook her head, sending her long hair into a drifting halo. She glanced over at Taxlaq's graceful form as it pulsed rhythmically through the water. Intricate patterns of bright blue and silver flitted down his body. She could only guess what he was thinking. Neither of them had spoken of what had happened last week. All she knew was that Taxlaq--already a supremely tactile creature--had taken to touching her at every opportunity. And, with the delicate sensors in his suction cups, that meant he was tasting her. Smelling her. Taking in every sense of her body.
Unconsciously, Mara reached out to stroke her hand against Taxlaq's billowing softness. Her hand made a gentle imprint. Strands of bright yellow began to run out in rays around her fingers. A blue-silver tentacle extended, caressing her face. All the shades of a sunrise bloomed along its length.
"We have arrived, friend."
Mara could feel the vibrations of Taxlaq's voice in every part of her. She took a deep breath in through her device, then let out a stream of evanescence into the warm water.
"Your estates are astounding, Taxlaq! How long have your people cultivated these lands?"
Swirls of fragmented pixels swirled on the skin around Taxlaq's golden eyes.
"I am afraid I do not understand what...
estates
may be, friend. If you mean our relationship with the living beings here, our writings show we shared this place for more than a thousand times a thousand years."
Mara turned her head in surprise. She reached out a glove to a translucent branch. The tendrils slowly bent towards her, brushing her with airy grace, before flowing back up towards the wavering circle of the sun. The scientist inside her rushed up and demanded answers to dozens of multi-part questions.
"A million years? Absolutely incredible! How is that possible, Taxlaq? A hundred thousand years ago, my people--human beings--were not even growing our own food. It only took a few thousand years more for us to begin traveling across the stars. Yet I see no complex machines or sophisticated technology here. How could your people
possibly
endure as a pre-industrial agricultural society for a million years?"
Complex shades of blue settled across Taxlaq.
"I will contemplate on this, dear friend. We are an ancient people, and it appears that you are... new. There are many things I do not understand about you, and the... words that you are using."
Taxlaq turned even deeper shades of blue. A tentacle absently wound itself around a golden strand of spheres.
"But there is much you do not understand, either. There are dark tides that rise and fall in our history. Even now, I fear for what may become of my own people and these... fields that we tend. I will try to find the words to explain how we--"
As Taxlaq was speaking, what looked like a sandy boulder swiftly uncurled itself. In a fraction of a second, Mara glimpsed sharp obsidian blades grasped in curled tentacles. Sandy skin flashed into strobe-like patterns of red and orange. Then, in a cloud of stirred-up dust, the octopus-like creature was upon her.
Mara felt sharp tugs on her suit. Tentacles flailed at her. Something heavy struck her on the head and her vision blurred. A line of pain flared across her chest. Breath rushed out of her in a rush of bubbles. A high-pitched screech vibrated through the water. Clouds of dirt and darkness swirled all around. Something hard and sharp was biting down on her hip.
A sound so powerful it vibrated in her gut roared out. Taxlaq flowed all around her. His skin turned as black as the blades slashing at her body. A tangle of black and red limbs wrestled between clouds of silt and inky shadows. A lashing tentacle threw her to the side.
Gasping through her breathing device, Mara reached for the stun weapon at her hip. With swift motions she removed the safety locks and began to aim. Then she froze, panting. Taxlaq's huge black figure was tangled together with what looked like another one of his kind. It was impossible to aim at the churning mass barely glimpsed through the murky swirls.
A roaring call like a cannon shot vibrated through the water. Taxlaq rose up high, then smashed down, squeezing his smaller opponent. A huge, beak-like maw opened wide in the middle of Taxlaq's tentacles and suckers. With a sound like scissors cutting through meat, it bore down between the red-flashing creature's eyes.
Within moments, all color faded away from its body. The clouds of silt swirled away in a gentle current. The sunlight through the waves touched down on pale tentacles and white flesh that floated lifelessly in the tropical sea. Black tentacles slowly uncurled and released the colorless corpse.
Taxlaq's inscrutable gold eyes stared out of the blackness.
Mara lowered her weapon. Her whole body shook. She put her hand to her chest and found that her suit was in tatters. A thin red scratch ran across one breast, now bare. A bruise stung her naked hip. A large swath of her suit drifted in the water. Otherwise, she was unharmed. Mara released a long, shuddering breath she had not realized she had been holding.
"This cannot be!" Taxlaq roared and lashed his limbs. He flowed violently towards Mara. His rumble shook the ocean floor. The tips of his tentacles were bright red. "I will hunt down every last being that even thinks of bringing you harm! I will--"
Instinctively, Mara flinched away, kicking her feet until she backed up against a collection of giant crystalline stems. With one hand she grasped the weapon at her hip. She thrust the other hand out, fingers wide, as if to ward off the monstrous shadow roiling in front of her.
Taxlaq's thorny black skin flashed with threads of violet. Little bumps appeared and disappeared. He slowed his approach, gently unrolling a pair of tentacles. Cautiously, they reached out to caress Mara's outstretched hand.
For a moment, Mara froze trembling, wide-eyed, staring at the stretching, curling tentacles. Ever-so-gently, they reached out, calmly stroking. She felt suckers play with the shape of her palm. Then a sob burst out of her. She released her grip on her weapon, and hid her face in her hands, trying to swallow the tears mixing into the salty water, but the cries tore their way out of her gut.
Taxlaq's tentacles curled around Mara. They pulled her into his huge, soft body. She wept uncontrollably, burying herself in his comforting darkness.
For long moments, Mara drifted in his embrace. Taxlaq rumbled words she had no energy to understand, until they drifted off into silence. The shaking sobs slowly faded away. She became lost in the feel of Taxlaq expanding and contracting gently.
As time passed, and the shock receded, Mara became acutely aware of the suckers draped tightly across her breast. Taxlaq gripped her firmly. Possessively. The red tip of a tentacle wrapped around her hip had pushed its way into the jagged hole in her suit. She lifted her head, and saw Taxlaq staring off into the distance, complex patterns of cyan, like ancient runes, shifting across his distracted form.
"Not again..." Mara whispered. "Taxlaq, I know you are in meditation, but we must--" she cut off when she felt a tentacle move deeper into the hole at her hip. She saw the tentacle turning a pastel pink whenever it touched her. Slowly, it slid down her belly, moving down between her legs.
Mara closed her eyes. She cleared her throat. Taxlaq's eyes were still unfocused, staring off into the distance. Occasionally red lines flashed like lightning across the bright blue patterns across his skin. Clearly, as was common with his people, he was in deep contemplation after a powerful experience. His soft flesh surrounded her. His tentacles held her firmly in his embrace. The suckers of the descending tentacle pulled at her belly.
"Taxlaq," Mara began again. "Are you--" Mara's question cut off in a groan as the tentacle surged forward, sliding its curled tip past her clit and deep into her body. Involuntarily, she clenched tightly around it, welcoming it in.
Mara shivered. She shook her head, trying to think clearly in the onslaught of sensations and emotions. Just when she had formed the words to sternly tell Taxlaq to pay attention, and control his wayward limbs, she felt a sharp sting from the tip of the tentacle deep inside her. Incredible warmth and relaxation flowed out with every beat of her heart. Muscles she did not even know she possessed began to relax.
Moaning, Mara collapsed into the sensation. Liquid contentment flowed up from between her legs and into her chest. Her fingers clenched hard, sinking into Taxlaq's formless body.
Taxlaq stirred. The bright runes faded away. A flash of violet ran through his skin until it met the pink and red of his tentacles.
"Mara, friend, I did not--"
"Don't stop." Mara gasped as the tentacle inside her began gently pulling out.
"Are you certain, Mara?" The tentacle paused. Each sucker moved independently. Pulling. Exploring. Tasting.
"Go on, do it," Mara growled. A sucker pulled hungrily at her clit. The relaxation and pleasure were moving up towards her head. "You couldn't stop even if you wanted to, could you, Taxlaq?"
Mara's moan of pleasure became bubbles floating up towards the tropical waves. The tentacle pushed fully into her, filling her completely. A pair of small suckers began rhythmically stroking her clit. The tip of the tentacle rapidly hardened. It pushed urgently, almost painfully, slamming into her.
"I... friend... you need to tell me--" Taxlaq's rumble broke off as Mara squeezed her nails brutally into his skin. She ground herself onto the shaft inside her.
Mara groaned as she felt sensations building. She was almost completely surrounded by Taxlaq's body. Her muscles failed her as warmth from the sting spread out through her limbs. She floated gently in the water, moved only by the rhythmic thrusts up towards her belly. Taxlaq's gentle yellow eyes watched her intently. His massive tentacles held her close.
