Editor's note: this story contains scenes of rough, reluctant, dubiously consensual, or non-consensual sex.
*****
The soft whooshing sound of Vale moth wings awoke me. The large and beautiful insects always fanned their wings to shake off the morning dew just before dawn. After stealing a moment for myself to stretch my own limbs under my warm blankets, I drew myself out from under them to get ready for the long day ahead. I'd been looking forward to this hike all week. I was going to return to my secret fishing spot and planned to get there early so I wouldn't waste a second basking in its beauty.
I decided on a simple black top that I'd gotten from the city. It's fabric was so soft it was almost cool to the touch and I loved the way it felt against my skin. I slid my arms in first then navigated my horns through and let the fabric settle in place against my body. I grabbed a pair of shorts to wear for the hike up the mountain and sat at the edge of my bed to get them on. I held them in front of me and stepped in; first my left hoof, then my right and stood to pull them up the rest of the way. My tail poked at the back of them until it found it's opening then I tied them securely at the front.
I'd packed a hiking bag last night in preparation for my trip. Some cheeses to eat and bottled spring water to drink, my fishing rod and baubles, a bag to contain my catches and a rope tie the bag in the water until I was ready to head back home, and a spare set of dry clothes. I strapped the bag to my back, draped my cloak around me, pinned it at my shoulder to secure it, and locked the cottage door behind me to set off on my way.
Dranei had been on these lands for many years, though some elders still looked down on this place purely because it wasn't our true home. I never understood how you could look down on a place as beautiful as this. Most Dranei stayed close to the city, Exodar, because it was built with the remains of an old dimensional ship and looked more like "home." Exodar was a port for travelers native to this world who were looking to trade or train or fight. The city was beautiful in its own right, there were vast open spaces filled with gleaming lights and crystals, music echoing in the vast ceilings, travelers wandering, talking and yelling, arrows and flashes of electricity striking straw dummies and setting them ablaze as the adventurers trained, and the smell of cooking meats and poured wines invaded your nostrils and made your mouth water. Though as beautiful as it was, I much preferred to be secluded in the woods, surrounded by the natural world of which I loved being a part.
I looked up to see rays of daylight peeking over the horizon as I was nearing the steepest ascent of my hike. The mountain was carved-in toward the southeast. Tucked into that corner of the mountain was large, shimmering lake that was teeming with wildlife and surrounded by trees. The lake was fed by a tall, slender waterfall a couple of stories high and that is where I was headed. There was a steep route around the rock face behind the waterfall that led to my hidden fishing spot. I held on to the cracks in the side of the mountain next to me as I climbed higher along the narrow rocky path.
The sweat on my chest glistened in the light of the morning as I reached the last steps of my climb. As I turned left along the wall of rock and reached the level grassy walking plane, the wall disappeared into the small secluded knoll. I made it. My secret hideaway was made up of a small meadow of grass and flowers, a small pond and a short, stout tree, all of which was gently kissed by the light of this morning. I made my way to the tree just beside the small lake. It had strong trunk that I could lean against to read, broad limbs covered in burgundy leaves that offered welcome shade and low branches on which I could hang my things. I hanged my cloak and satchel on the lowest branch, got my fishing rod and tackle from my bag, and moved to settle into a shaded spot along the pond. This pond was quite small, only a couple meters across, but deceptively deep and though it looked peaceful and still as glass, it continuously drained over slowly to the waterfall that fed the larger lake below. I sat at the shore, attached my lore and set out my first catch.
[ Time Passes ]
I bagged the last fish of the day and tied one end of my rope to a large rock along the shore and the other to my secured bag of fish and left them in the water until I was ready to head out. With the light now reaching the far end of the trees and feeling the dampness of shirt sticking to my skin, I decided it was time to take a dip in the cool, calm water. I pulled my shift up over my horns, untied my shorts and left them both in a pile at the base of the tree. I made my way to the water and dipped my hooves in one at a time. The water was a bit cold but the heat of my skin craved the cool touch. I eased my way deeper, feeling the steep decline of the sand under each step until there was nothing left to stand upon. I waded for a moment, savoring the feeling of the cool water on every inch of my bare skin. Then I laid back, felt my hair and tendrils fall back into the cool water and floated at the surface of the water. I loved floating here, it felt like I belonged, like I was a part of the water. I loved as the evening breeze brushed past my breasts, chilling the water droplets on them and puckering my nipple and I loved feeling the water delicately lapping between my legs. And as daylight faded, the water came alive and would glow when agitated. I felt each of my breaths feed a ripple on the surface of the water that echoed slowly toward the shore and the little waves glowed as blue as my eyes when they kissed the shore. Even swaying my arms along the surface of the water highlighted my every movement.
*scream*
I jolted upright at the sound, no longer mesmerized by the bioluminescent glow. I moved as slowly as I could toward the source of the scream. I climbed just out of the water, bending over onto the rocks on the far side of the small waterfall and peeked over the edge. I saw two Dranei, it was strange to see anyone else out here. The first was a woman. Her hair was long and swooped to one side between her horns, her eyes were an intense glowing blue and she was wearing thin, haltered golden robes that complemented the light violet color of her skin. The second was a tall, brawny man with a long, jeweled chin tendril, thick robes and armored shoulders that reflected the starlight. They were both obviously adventurers and at first, I'd thought, from the scream, that they were dueling. But as my eyes adjusted to the sight of them, I realized that the man had her arms pinned above her horns against a tree; I'd never seen that in the duels that took place in Exodar. She looked up at him with desperate eyes while he moved his head down toward her neck. He kissed the base of her neck at the inside edge of her haltered robes then slid his tongue up toward the tendrils behind her ears. Her eyes closed and her chest moved with her quickened breath as he tasted her neck. He trailed kisses as he moved his lips further back and down toward her shoulder. He bared his teeth, grabbing the string of her haltered robes between them and tugged it loose. The cloth robes slid down from her chest and stopped at her waist; her wide hips and jeweled tail stopping it from sliding down any further. She looked down in shock at her exposed breasts. She tried to wiggle her hands free in an attempt to cover them but his grasp was too strong and it only worked to bounce her breasts from side to side, a view with which he was most pleased. He leaned back into her neck, kissing her more forcefully this time and moving lower than before. He adjusted his grip on her wrists, freeing one hand to cup one breast as his mouth moved toward the other. He massaged the full breast in his hand and slid his tongue teasingly around the other. Then in tandem he sucked her begging nipple into his mouth and pinched the other between his fingers. She let out another scream, though this time it was more breathy, more urgent and pleading. As he worked her breasts alternating pinching and sucking, his tail moved along her outer thigh. It played with the hem of her dress, pushing it up little by little and caressing her with the cold gold rings that decorated it. He pulled back, removing all of his touch from her, spare the hand that was restraining her. He watched her panting and must have asked something I couldn't hear to which she only nodded. His chin tendril touched the base of her chin and lifted her face to meet his for a deep, passionate kiss.
I didn't realize at first just how turned on I was watching this intimate interaction until I heard myself let out a soft moan. I was absent mindedly sliding my tail in slow circles around my clit while bent over the rocks and looking down on the adventurers. But my moan wasn't a surprise only to me. Before I could react to sink down behind the rocks, the man snapped his gaze directly to meet my eyes.
"Hey, you up there, stop!" he yelled up at me as he released his captive woman who scrambled to cover her exposed breasts.
Horrified, I turned and dove into the chilly water, swimming as quickly as I could to the shore. 'Stupid,' I thought, 'what in the Legion was I thinking? These adventurers could kill me with one cast!' I shakily reached for my bag and fumbled for my dry clothes. I could hear him yelling for me and his voice was getting closer. I tried to hurry, choosing to shove everything into my satchel and just drape my cloak over me until I could get away. I untied my rope, looped it repeatedly around my arm and swung the dripping bag of wiggling fish over my shoulder. Panicked, cloaked, and unbalanced I made my way to the edge of the rock wall as fast as my hooves would carry me. Clinging to the rock on my right as I made my way around and down the narrow and steep path. Then my hoof came out from under me, sliding on a loose piece of rubble. I tumbled forward; my ankle twisted as it made hard contact with the ground and the left side of my body scraped against the rocky path as my body ceased to a halt.
"Stop!" the man yelled as he caught up to me, towering above me as I lay breathless and pained on the ground. He must have seen the blue smudge of blood on my leg and knelt beside me. The mark on his large plated forehead shined like hot honey as he waved his hand over my bruised and bleeding skin and healed my wounds. "Better?" he asked.
"Echada," the single word of thanks and a slight nod was all I could manage.
He stood, towering over me once more and looked me over. A pitiful sight to sure. Hair a tousled, dripping wet mess, cloak haphazardly pinned and hiked up above my thigh from my fall, and eyes wide and terrified like a talbuk in torchlight.
"A simple thanks does not make up for the crime you have committed against me." he said.
"-c.. crime?" I choked.
"This is no time to play innocent. You were spying on me and E'reth. Probably followed us for some time too. To what end?" He demanded, more forcefully.
"S.. spy?" I breathed at the accusation. Surely I did watch them but with no malintent. Surely didn't mean to come across them intentionally as he now believed.
"Yes, you admit it. Spy," he called me, "what were you after? Gold? Honor? Reward?"
The lump in my throat grew. It was all I could do to swallow and try to vocalize something to get me out of this situation. "I.. live here. I come to fish a-and to live in peace. No spying.. no pain.. no danger.."
He looked at my incredulously, still unsure.
"Please, I-I'm sorry, I never see anyone out this way, it took my by surprise. Please, let me go free, you will never see me again."
He lowered onto bended knee, his hand touched my chin and tilted my face up to meet his glare. "One thing I will teach you is I never let criminals go free. There will always be a price." I was petrified once more, frozen in place and chilled to my very core. In one swift motion he wrapped his strong arm around my waist and launched me up onto his shoulder. "And the price will be paid in full, to both myself and E'reth." he continued as he leant down to grab my rope and fishing bag with the free hand.
Panic grew in my chest as he carried me back toward the lake. What were they going to do to me, they were adventurers, they'd faught against enemies I couldn't imagine, what am I to beasts like those. I tried to wiggle free but his grasp was too strong. He let out a deep, hearty laugh.
"Uh-uh, pretty one."
"And here's our spy!" he said as he placed me down near the edge of the lake where the tree they had just occupied stood tall. The woman, E'reth I assumed, stood against it once again fully clothed.
"Te kreinite, Epiolani" she greeted me, calling me foolish. But my mouth was so dry I couldn't muster a reply.
'Run! Apologize and run!' my mind pleaded but my body couldn't move.
