Messandra glanced around as she allowed Calleslyn into her home, and swiftly closed the door behind them. The human woman was still shy about their relationship, nervous about what her neighbours would think, although Calleslyn suspected that none of them even guessed anything was occurring. Thankfully, her partner's shyness was not at all apparent when they were alone together. But human cultural mores were what they were, and she supposed that they had to be respected here, in a human city.
"What do you think?" asked Messandra, raising her arms and giving a twirl to show off her new dress.
It was sky blue in colour, clinging tightly to her curves, sleeveless and almost backless, held up only by straps around the back of her neck. Calleslyn's eyes were first drawn to the long flowing skirts, swishing around as Messandra moved, and deeply slit up the right side to expose half of one shapely leg. Unbidden, a vision of those thighs tangled in her own leapt to her mind. The truth was that she had been looking forward to this evening all day, fantasising about what they would do together in bed, aching for her lover's touch.
"It looks lovely," she said, honestly, "you make me feel plain."
"You could never be plain," replied Messandra, "trust me. But I am glad you like it. Oh, and you are exactly on time – dinner is just about ready." They kissed, gentle and affectionate, even though Calleslyn's body was already demanding much more than that. She would just have to wait.
They had eaten together before, and spent evenings chatting, but always here. In elven society, back home in Myaira, they could have gone out, attended musical performances together, or just walked past the tree-houses along the riverbank, but here in Haredil, such things were not an option. It should not make a difference that both of them were women, but the truth was that it did.
And, right now, all Calleslyn could think of was getting the meal over with and unpeeling that beautiful sky blue dress. She did not think that she had ever arrived here feeling quite so full of desire before; perhaps it was because of what she would be doing over the next few days. Immanent danger inspired passion in some people, although she had not particularly felt this way before. Perhaps Messandra was different?
She sat down at the table, as her partner brought the food in from the kitchen; a simple meal of lamb and salad with a bottle of white wine. Calleslyn resisted the urge to reach out and stroke the woman's thigh as she walked by... she wasn't sure how long she could hold out, but she really ought to finish the meal first.
Even so, as Messandra sat down opposite her, across the small table, she felt the heat rising between her legs. Her partner's new dress was low cut at the front, exposing the curve of her cleavage, and tightly fitted to her waist, emphasising the swell of her full breasts – larger than those of the lithe bodies of most elves, wonderful to explore and tease. She forced her gaze higher, past the pearl pendant nestled at the base of her lover's neck, staring instead into those deep blue eyes.
"Tomorrow is the day, isn't it?" Messandra asked, "that you begin the exploration of the underground passages?"
She nodded, mentally dragging her attention back to the world outside, "at least, we make the final preparations then, so I won't have time to see you after that. But it might not be a long foray. Vardala found us a way in – something she picked up from talking to the local gnomes – but it might be that that doesn't get us all the way to what we're looking for. There could be obstacles of all kinds that we don't know about. At least the advantage of it being here in the city is that we can return at any time to re-equip, or whatever else we need to do."
"But it will be dangerous?" There was no mistaking the worried tone in her voice.
"I can't deny it," she admitted, "but this is what I do. What I have done... well, not forever, but for as long as you have known me. I am sure we will be all right, though. We are experienced, and there is only so much that can be here, directly underneath a large city." She was playing down the risks now, but they would not be doing so tomorrow; overconfidence could get an adventurer killed. And where demons were involved, there could, in fact, be almost anything.
"I know... but I still worry. I admire you for it, though. Your bravery, your knowledge of magic. It's one of the reasons I've always..." she smiled, "well, you know..."
Calleslyn nodded. It had become clear that Messandra had fantasised about her for some time before they finally got together. It was the fault of human society again, and of the fact that elves were not so common a race in Haredil as they were in some other parts of the world. Messandra had never thought that her fantasies had any chance of becoming reality, and so had always stopped herself short of broaching the question. In any elven land, such reticence would be simply incomprehensible.
But now that they were together, Messandra plainly adored her. It wasn't just the sex, amazing though that was, but just being together, an affection that went further than the mere physical. The elf felt a twinge of guilt, lowering her eyes to her plate. Messandra was monogamous, and not, she thought, through the simple absence of any other opportunity. She doubtless expected and believed the same of Calleslyn, yet that was not true.
Twice recently she had made love to other women, and she had thoroughly enjoyed both experiences. It had not been the same as with Messandra, but then every person was different, individual in their personalities and tastes, and that applied as much to their sex lives as to their more obvious choices of fashion or diet. To an elf, this was all part of the rich tapestry of the world, and few people expected anyone to stick exclusively to one partner. In that, she was as much a product of her culture as Messandra was of hers.
She did not think that her human lover would understand that, and she knew that she could not risk mentioning it. In fact, she considered that she might have to take up monogamy, to meet her partner half-way, as it were. It would not be so bad, and if she had to restrict herself to one woman, there was no other that she would rather pick. Even elves, after all, tended to stick with individual partners for long periods of time, even if they thought little of side dalliances.
The feeling that making love with a different partner might be seen as a betrayal was a new one for her, and not one she had quite come to terms with. Hopefully she would do so – one way or the other – before the question reared its head again.
"But no," Messandra was saying, "I wouldn't ask you not to go. If you didn't, you wouldn't be you."
Calleslyn smiled, raising a hand to casually flip a fringe of hair over her shoulder, exposing her long neck and one pointed earlobe. She knew how Messandra liked to kiss that neck, and how sometimes she would rest her head in its crook as they cuddled up to sleep in post-coital bliss. She leaned back slightly in her chair, and was rewarded as the human woman's gaze visibly wandered across her face and upper body. She regretted not having worn a special dress – she would have to remember that next time.
She had, she remembered, a fine elven dress that she had not worn in years, one that covered little and would doubtless look somewhat exotic to a human observer. It was surprising she had not thought about it before, but she would enjoy seeing Messandra's reaction to it. She took a long sip of her wine as she imagined making love wearing it, the thought so powerfully erotic that she began to get damp between the legs. Yes, that was something she most certainly had to try!
They continued to talk, finishing the meal and then sharing the rest of the wine. Afterwards, Calleslyn would not remember quite what it was they had discussed, although she held up her own end of the conversation adequately enough. Inside though, all she could think about was getting Messandra out of her clothes and into her bed. Her body ached for her partner's touch, and the wetness between her legs was demanding, the passion feeling as if it had already been too long delayed. She had rarely felt like this, but tonight the desire was almost overwhelming.
The truth was, when they had first discovered each other, that Messandra was inexperienced and unsure of quite what to do. But she had learned quickly enough, and Calleslyn had to admit that she was quite possibly the best lover she had ever had. Oddly though, it was difficult to quite put her finger on why.
The human woman was passionate, gentle, and beautiful, but there had been others who could fit that description. Calleslyn had even made love to elven men of whom that was true, although, admittedly, she had always preferred other women. There was obviously something else about Messandra that went further than her previous partners, something she could not quite place. Was it the fact that, at times, she seemed almost innocent, that this whole thing was so much a new experience for her? Was it that she could so easily achieve multiple orgasms? Or was it, perhaps, a bonding of true friendship, something she could certainly not have shared with Shamira or Ansreal, to name just her most recent encounters?
Somehow, she felt that the latter was the most likely explanation. Perhaps it was more than just sex; it was true love, something that, looking back, she could not say she had really felt before. The idea left her more confused than ever, not knowing quite what she did feel, or what it meant. Except that right here, right now, she wanted to make love, wanted to see and feel her partner's naked body, and to gaze into these deep blue eyes as they climaxed together.
