Lucan: a Warriors Escapades

As sudden as an ocean storm, crashing waves into the bows of ships, Lucan awoke. There he was again, in the middle of the clearing in the woods. Laying on his back in the grass, surrounded by small white daisies. The sun shone warm unto his face, though its rays seemed far less magical than they had before. Slowly he sat up, looking around him, trying to make some sense of all that had just happened. That's when a familiar voice called his name, or rather screamed it, from behind a thicket of trees.

"Lucan! You long-legged oaf! Get up off your ass and get back here at once! Who knows what kind of evil dwells in these woods..." Conn croaked in a squeaky voice, his usual tough demeanor significantly diminished. Looking at him Lucan saw his same old friend, the short, blonde-haired man, who got mistaken for a girl more often than Conn liked to admit. Though the mistake was easy to make. Conn had long, wavy hair, high cheekbones, and soft lips. Not a hair would grow on his chin, even as Conn acquired salves and concoctions from every potion seller he could find. He was tough though, strong willed and assertive, but seeing him cowering behind his oak tree, Lucan decided that much of his bravado was an act.

"Hey Connie! Not to worry, I'm alright. How long have I been asleep?" Conn looked at him confused, swung his head from side to side, searching for danger looming in the dark and motioned again for Lucan to come to him.

"Asleep? What are you talking about? One moment you're running like a pig-headed idiot into the clearing and the next you've fallen over onto that fat ass of yours. Now stop fucking about and get over here." Lucan scratched his head as he clambered up onto his feet. He noticed his clothes were on as they had been before and nothing seemed to have changed. He did feel a slowly softening erection pressing against the fabric of his pants, which he readjusted shyly, as he hurried to Conn. "It still amazes me how much of a dimwitted dullard you are, Lucan. We're out here in some forrest we barely know, looking for some witch who may or may not be real, in lands under the dominion of the sworn enemies of the kingdom who's colors we wear! When I tell you not to move, don't fucking move."

Taking large steps, as only he could, Lucan had made his way over to Conn, standing beside him and resting his large hand on his shoulder. His hand seemed to swallow him whole and even though he barely produced any pressure, Conn buckled slightly under its weight. "I know, I know. I'm sorry Connie, but I have good news too! News that'll surely make you happy." Conn rolled his eyes at Lucan's unfailing jolliness and was certain this would not be the last time he'd have to yell at the hairy giant.

"What news would that be?"

As a breeze passed from the clearing through the woods and blew the distractingly wonderful smell of fresh daisies in the their noses, a short figure suddenly appeared. "I believe I would be that news..." A smooth voice spoke. There she stood, hands crossed loosely over her chest, her hair long, red hair braided behind her back, a wide brimmed hat pressed on her head. Althaea smiled mischievously and looked up at Lucan, who found her standing at about the height he had imagined her, even shorter than Connie was. Conn practically hurled himself into the air when he saw the green skinned stranger standing before him, quickly drawing his spear and pointing it towards her.

"What be your business vile beast! Let go of your weapons and steer clear of our path!" The words, though strongly meant, came out high-pitched and unconvincing, they even failed to make Althaea move an inch. She looked from Conn's crazed eyes back up to Lucan, who scratched his chin, ashamed of his friends reaction to the woodland witch.

"Is this the commander you spoke of? He seems rather... cute?" A deep red blush rushed over Conn's cheeks, who kept the end of his spear pointed in Althaea's direction.

"No, this is my friend Conn, I think you might've frightened him a little..." Althaea Laid her hand on her chest and gestured her surprise.

"Afraid of me? Does he not know there is nothing to fear, and besides, he is the one pointing his weapon at me, I have been naught but peaceful as of yet." Lucan grabbed a hold of Conn's spear and lowered it, at first Conn refused to let go, but was quickly overpowered by his fellow soldier.

"What is all this Lucan? Who is this woman?" He muttered meekly. With a wide smile stretching his cheeks Lucan slapped his friend on his back, accidentally beating the air from his lungs, and gestured toward the figure standing before them.

"This is Althaea! The witch of the woods and I am pledged to keep her from harm until such time as she sees fit. In the mean time she has agreed to travel with us to meet Cormac and hear whatever it is he has to say to her. Come now Connie, there is nothing to fear. She is perfectly pleasant." Althaea feigned a bow in Conn's direction, readjusting the leather strap of the bag she carried on her back and nodded along with what Lucan had to say. She had replaced the short black dress she had worn before, for an outfit more suitable for travel. Black pants were stuffed into long boots, laced up to her knees. She wore a black tunic, who's neckline just revealed to top of one of her shoulders. Lucan had a hard time not imagining her naked and by the way Althaea was looking him up and down, it seemed as if her fantasy was about as lively as his.

*

It had taken another few long moments before Conn had been fully convinced. The story Lucan told him confused him greatly (though he made sure to leave out most of the more intimate details). Eventually he had relented and properly introduced himself to Althaea. Having been a sceptic of magic before, he was still slightly unconvinced that Althaea was actually a witch. But he could not deny the power of her aura radiating all about her, still he had groaned miserably when Lucan had explained that Althaea had cursed him, knowing that that could only ever lead to trouble.

The three of them had set out on their journey back to camp, though they had all agreed it'd be unlikely that they would reach the camp before nightfall. When Althaea had realized that Conn and Lucan had traveled on foot and boasted neither horse nor pony, she had taken Lucan up on his offer to carry her. So for the next few hours they traveled as the sun set. Conn in front, mumbling profanities and Lucan striding behind, Althaea on his back, her head nestled in his neck...

* * *

Darkness had come far sooner than they had thought and quickly the three traveling companions had been forced to improvise a camp. Conn and Lucan had laid out their bedrolls nearby a riverbed, underneath a yew tree, who's branches covered them as a makeshift roof. They had rejoiced when, with a few simple words, Althaea had managed to light a fire with the wood they had found, all of which had been unfortunately wet. Althaea did have to make a small, abashed confession, in her haste she had forgotten to pack a bedroll and now had no place of her own to sleep. Being the gentleman that he was, Lucan had offered to share his, which Althaea seemed to accept rather easily. Lucan hadn't noticed however, he was just glad not to have to sleep alone in the dark.

The fire still burned softly, small flames licked at the charred wood as sparks floated away amongst the stars in the sky. Conn lay a few feet away from the others, with his back to the fire and facing the river. Huddled up on his side he did his best to fall asleep, but with clenched teeth and eyes pressed shut tightly, he could not force to give himself a single moments rest. Every sound in the forest seemed a threat to his ears, a bear stalking the river, a wolf who smelled their fire, an ogre who smelled their flesh. The only thing that could soothe him was knowing that Lucan was right behind him, there had not yet been born a beast who could hope to defeat that hulking man, or so Conn dreamed.

Lucan too was having trouble sleeping, though his situation was not put on by sounds in the night, but rather by a witch who had believed it absolutely necessary to thank him for his chivalry. He lay with one arm resting underneath his head, the other kept hold of a long, red braid, which underneath his blanket kept bobbing up and down. Lucan could hear the smacking of Althaea's lips as she took his cock once more into her mouth, sucking him down to the back of her throat and tickling his balls with the tip of her tongue. He was afraid the sounds she made might wake Conn from his slumber, his own moans he tried his best to suppress. But when Althaea began stroking his shaft vigorously with both hands, sucking his balls into her mouth, one by one, a small groan escaped his lips. He could take it no longer and had to see with his own eyes the pleasure being bestowed on him. Lucan pulled away the blanket covering Althaea, who looked up at him surprised and smiled as she saw his blushing cheeks in the cold evening gloom. Softly she placed a small kiss on the head of his cock and crawled up his body, to kiss Lucan's lips. With open arms he received her, pulling her against him as she climbed on top of his lap. Lucan helped his cock slide inside of Althaea's wet folds and realized it felt even better than it had before. The two of them could not get enough of each other, as their tongues kept exploring one another, and kisses were planted from their lips down to their necks. Lucan grabbed a handful of Althaea's ass and bent his knees so he could better thrust himself inside her. Althaea let him guide her wherever he wanted her, she was simply glad to have Lucan inside of her once again. It had only slightly embarrassed her when she reached her climax within a few thrusts of Lucan's throbbing cock, but she did not complain. Instead she grinded on his shaft, pushing him as deep in her as he could go and clenching on his cock every time he moved in and out.

Lucan breathed heavily, completely unaware of the cold which turned his breath to steam. He took one of Althaea's breasts into his mouth, sucked on it eagerly and fucked her without rest, feeling her orgasm dripping down his shaft, his own crawling ever closer. With his eyes closed he wished only to be somehow closer to Althaea, wrapped around her like a coiled snake, intertwined as lovers forever. Nothing had ever felt so good as she now did and Lucan refused to waste a second of the mind blowing experience.

As he kept pumping himself in and out of her, forgetting that he was meant to keep quiet, he was alerted by Althaea suddenly stopping the gyrating of her hips. He looked up at her and saw her peer out to something besides them. Still Lucan kept slowly thrusting up and down, unwilling to yield.

"It looks like our little escapade might've woken someone up..." Althaea whispered, smiling as she kept her eyes fixed on whatever she had seen. Lucan struggled to come to his senses, of which on his best day he had very little, and chose to also look in the direction Althaea stared. There, behind the campfire, he saw a bedroll, with its blanket cast mostly aside and Conn's smooth body painted orange in the light of the flames. His face was hot with both embarrassment and arousal, though Lucan was more focused on the womanly curves of his thighs and the hard cock he stroked steadily. It was a pretty cock, Lucan determined, a word he had never thought to give a male appendage. But with Conn's long, blonde hair running down his shoulder, a strand pushed behind his ears, his big blue eyes flickering with passion, the only word that came to Lucan was; 'pretty'.

Althaea moved in closer to him, her hips picking up speed again and whispered in his ear, "don't stop baby, give me all your seed." Lucan had been riding the edge of his orgasm from the moment Althaea had taken her into her mouth. Now she stared into his eyes again, demanding he cum inside of her once more, and Lucan so loved to pleased her. His hands grabbed hold of her waist, his hips thrust upwards with a virile recklessness and Lucan forgot completely about what he had just saw. His entire world was in his hands and she moaned his name as his thrusts became more erratic. She groaned and begged for his cum as Lucan lost his breath and pushed his cock inside her cunt with one final thrust. Together they moaned in unison, as Lucan unloaded inside of Althaea's pussy once again, whilst she received his cum, her teeth glistening as she smiled brighter than she had ever done before.

Breathlessly Lucan spent all his seed, as a set of small, suppressed moans could be heard in the distance. These were mostly lost to him however. Althaea, who kept him inside her, laying down on his chest as Lucan threw the blanket back over them both, kissed him one final time and stroked his beard with her soft fingers. "That's a good boy, now get some sleep handsome, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow..."

* * *

The early morning sun had seen them rise slowly, as dew lay scattered on each blade of grass they had made their beds of, Lucan and his companions awoke groggily. Up first was Althaea, who had snuck out of Lucan's arms and left him to snore alone underneath his blanket. She had gathered some small things, a knife, a pouch and her thoughts as well. The latter was the one who kept her most busy, as she left the river side in search of some flowers she knew grew in the area. In truth, Althaea rarely left the safety of her own little patch of forest, she remembered days when all was mostly peaceful and she and the other witches of the woods could wander freely, gathering materials to strengthen their magic. Yet the wars of men had disturbed the natural order of things and now Althaea was one of the last witches who remained in the woods she called home. All the rest had moved further north, to the mountains of Scandar, where pines grew nearly as tall as the grey peaks reaching ever skyward. She missed them sometimes, the others, perhaps one day she'd decide to join them, though for now she was determined to protect her home. This 'Commander Cormac' was not the first human to request her presence and if he was anything like the others, all he'd be after would be the power of her magic to vanquish his enemies. Althaea was not interested.

Having kneeled down by some brush growing underneath the limbs of an oak, Althaea held in between her fingers the small red flower she recognized as a blood lily. To most this ordinary flower might serve as some colorful gift to a lovestruck maiden, but Althaea knew that her petals and stem could be used in a number of concoctions, most of which poisonous. Quickly she gathered a bushel, storing them into the pouch she carried. But just as she had folded the last into the pouch, her ears perked. Behind her she could suddenly hear the sound of snapping twigs and shuffling feet, the sound of slow, tight breathing from a man attempting to remain quiet. Just as she heard him edging closer, she turned around fiercely, sticking out the knife she carried and rushing to stand up straight. "What be your business sneaking up on me?!" She said sternly. The man in front of her had clearly not expected her to hear him, as he gasped the second she turned around and looked at him. He was a nasty looking man, with thick jowls and bushy sideburns. His shoulders though were broad, the kind a seasoned warrior might sport, his hefty stomach was covered by a set of chainmail and Althaea thought she recognized the red insignia of the Eastern Army. Though looking him up and down, her eyes were mostly concerned with the sword he wore on his belt, on which he already rested his hand.

"Sneaking? I was not sneaking... But now that I have found you, girl, what be your business all alone in this here forest?" He smiled a dangerous smile, showing crooked, yellow teeth, some of which had been chipped and broken. "You are alone, aren't you? Not to worry sweet thing, I'll take proper care of you..." Althaea tried to back up, as the man kept edging closer to her, but quickly found her back pressed against the oak tree. There she stood with worried eyes, she was by no means helpless, but Althaea knew that much of her strength was tied to her home, from which she had traveled further than she had ever done before.

"Stay back you vile creature!" She barked, producing a bolt of blue flame from her fingertips. The fire had meant to be far more substantial, but in the end came out as more of a sigh, than a storm. It had stopped the man in his tracks though, yet still he seemed unimpressed, laughing at her openly.

"Do you truly believe a little spark like that will stop me? I've made short work of far better fighters than you." Again he stalked closer to her, until he stood but a few feet away and Althaea could smell the rancid smell of his clothes and the scent of wine on his breath. He had moved his hand away from his sword, but Althaea saw it slide down towards his crotch, where it began fiddling with his belt.

Just as she feared the worst would happen, running through her thoughts to try and think of any spell which might manage to save her, a loud blow, followed by a vicious crack and a shocked groan woke her from her worries. The man stood still, his eyes bulging from his head, his limbs gone stiff. For half a second Althaea was completely lost on what had happened, until she saw Lucan's shadow loom over her, standing behind the man, and watched him pull his axe from the man's back, to swing it down once more and burry it into the back of his skull, all the way down to his chin. Blood splattered on her face as the man sunk down to his knees, the axe still lodged somewhere in his neck. Althaea was at a loss for words, all she could do was watch the man roll over in front of her feet and lay there in a growing puddle of his own blood.

Lucan walked over, grabbing hold of the leather bound handle of his axe and pulling it violently from the man's skull. Althaea stared at him wordlessly, seeing him peer over his shoulder, in search of more danger. "I sensed something was wrong, I don't know how. Are you okay?" Lucan stepped closer and laid his hand on her shoulder, at first Althaea pulled away from his touch, her body still riddled with fear. But as his large hand moved upwards to her neck, rubbing his thumb on her cheek and pushing a strand of red hair behind her ear, Althaea's heart beat began to slow once more.

"I-I'm okay, thank you." Lucan hung his axe back on his belt and wrapped both his hands around her waist. In a quick, smooth motion he pulled her up off of her feet and lifted her over the body, putting her down again some few feet away. "Wait, before we leave." Althaea began to rummage in one of the small bags attached to her belt and pulled out a tiny glass vial. Still she stood shaking slightly on her feet, it had been a while since she had been in this much danger. Lucan looked down at her somewhat confused, clearly in a hurry to leave. Althaea handed him the vial and pointed towards the body, "blood of the enemy, collect some for me, please." Though unsure of why, Lucan did not argue with her, instead he knelt down quickly, filled the vial messily with the man's blood and rubbed the excess from the glass with the bottom edge of his tunic.

"We really do have to go now Althaea. This one looks like a scout, but where there's one, there's more." Althaea hadn't yet seen this determined side of Lucan, but staring up at him now, he looked every part of a soldier. His eyes were stern and the shadow cast along the length of his broad chest showed a certain grandeur she had not expected to find. Now it was her turn not to argue, so Althaea let Lucan guide her by the hand back to the river, glad to feel his skin against hers, glad to have him so close to her.

* * *

The march back to camp had been mostly silent, all agreed that it was for safeties sake, for who else might be lurking in the shadows? But a certain awkward tension also hung heavy in the air. Conn hadn't spoken much since he had woken up, though normally he'd spend most of the morning complaining about his sleep, or lack there of. Today he kept quiet, as he trekked a path ahead of Lucan and Althaea, who walked besides each other, both still slightly on edge.