To Save a World

As usual, thank you, Janet, for the solid editing and feedback.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. The Sky Treader Clan is an ancient forest slash mountain civilization."

Serche nodded.

"With advanced nature magic."

Another nod.

"And you guys have been living on these super-massive trees that can hold up cities..."

She paused, then bobbed her head again "Small cities. More like communities, but yes."

"And... somehow, because of this... you can't swim?"

The pretty, silver Rakan threw her hands up into the air in frustration. "I've been telling you! We don't

swim

- we've lived centuries on the great Heart Tree without ever needing to flail around in the water!"

"But Tra -"

"Trasnu is just one of the weird ones." Serche insisted. "Even among the hunters, almost nobody attempts to soak in water deeper than their height! The small river was a day's walk away, and the cove below the Hanging Path is even farther. Nobody has that much time just to try and... and

drown!

"

Aaron looked towards Trasnu, who was standing beside the Shaman with his arms crossed. He grinned at Aaron in open amusement. "She's just being a whelp."

"Baby." Aaron grinned at Serche.

"Baby." Trasnu nodded.

Serche's golden eyes flashed. "This is silly. I am

not

going to drown myself for your amusement."

"You're not -"

Before Aaron could reply, a voice called from the water. "Uhh, hey! A little help? Anyone?" Lydia's voice was getting farther away. Serche gasped and ran to the edge of the Paradise Lost to peer at her friend in worry.

"Lydia!" Serche yelled in a panic. The young demon-touched woman's head was bobbing on the clear, flowing waters of the river. Her small body seemed to have trouble navigating the currents. Lydia was slowly being carried downstream, already past the huge raft that they were currently on.

"Hey, Serche!" Lydia called. She didn't sound distressed by her situation, despite getting farther away. "When are you going to jump in? The water's perfect!"

"Wait!" Serche yelled. "I'm going to get you..." She rushed to the center of the raft, where a huge, heavy wooden chest was given pride of place. It was secured into the very floor of the raft by clever notches in the edges that Trasnu fashioned with typical Rakan ingeniousness. She opened the heavy lid and rummaged around, retrieving a length of rope. She rushed to the edge of the raft again.

"Here! Grab it!" Serche threw the length of rope. It missed Lydia by quite a distance, the rope floating just below the surface of the water. Trasnu and Aaron chuckled at the comical sight, and even Lydia's giggle carried over to them.

"That rope's way too short!" Lydia stated the obvious.

Serche looked at the two chuckling men. "Save her!"

Aaron and Trasnu looked first at Lydia's unworried expression, then to Serche's own panicked one, then to each other. Finally, Aaron shrugged and grinned. He stripped out of his raggedy clothing and dove into the water in his old-fashioned undergarments.

Swimming downstream was easy and exhilarating. The water was so clear and crisp, like liquid air. He wondered if he would have found water as clear as this on Earth. Dunking his head under and swimming like that for a while, he blew bubbles through his mouth until he ran out of air. When he came up, Lydia's pretty face was right in front of him.

"Ah, my savior." She cooed.

"You don't look to be in so much need of saving," Aaron noted, wiping the water from his face. He treaded water easily.

Lydia wrinkled her nose. "I wish. I really am having trouble - my limbs feel like dead weight. Save me?" She pleaded in a cute, but much more reasonable voice.

Aaron chuckled. "That's what you get for playing in the water all day. Come on, you can float on your back and I'll pull you to the raft."

"Back to the Paradise Lost," Lydia smirked, teasing.

Aaron turned away before she could see his embarrassment. "Uh-huh. The Paradise Lost."

Not everyone agreed with the name at first. Even Lydia, his most stalwart supporter, averted her eyes and refused the name with vague recriminations. Serche outright argued with him - she wanted to name it something mystical and ridiculous, like "Fang of the Rakan", and "Pride of the Pack". Hardly a fitting name for what amounted to a twenty-foot barge. In the end, he had to thoroughly convince them... with his body.

Finally, they were able to agree on the name. If only because the ladies were too tired and sated from the hour-long fuck session that ensued to really disagree.

Trasnu, for his part, didn't really mind whatever the primitive vessel was called. But when he discovered the lengths that Aaron went to stand by it, it instantly became something to tease him with. Nevertheless, Aaron was firm. The name might be a bit cheesy, but was fitting. It was... a sort of acceptance. Like moving on.

It was already afternoon, but the sky was still dark. Huge, billowing clouds blocked out the sun. It seemed to Aaron like they were belligerent, floating giants, itching to storm down on them with the slightest of provocations. It lent the wide waters of the river a somewhat dark, mysterious air. The Paradise Lost sat on the water like a paradoxically floating boulder - a simple but robust creation made of thick logs and magically strengthened ropes.

The trees around their previous camp were too massive to cut by themselves with their stone tools, so they had to grow reasonable-sized trees from scratch. Inspired by Serche's expert displays of power, Aaron knew that they could sprout trees from their very seeds quite simply. With the shaman's insatiable wilding-driven sex drive constantly refilling Lydia's magic, it was almost unbelievably easy to grow as many trees as they needed, exactly as they wanted them to appear.

The labor for the cutting, trimming, and assemblage of the logs was the most time consuming and tiring part of the process - but between the three of them doing little else but fuck and work on the raft, they finished the whole thing just in time for Trasnu to arrive back from his scouting expedition.

He paddled to the Paradise Lost as Lydia floated peacefully behind him, his grip firm under her upper arm. The going was tough, but he took it easy, and after some time the young man finally touched the rough logs of the vessel. Serche hurried to toss them a rope ladder, and Aaron huffed as he grabbed it.

"But I don't want to get out of the water just yet," Lydia whined behind him. He turned to her with his eyes in an accusing squint. "The trip back helped me recover from my tiredness!"

"I should push you off me and let you drift back downstream." He sighed.

In response, Lydia just stared at him with her luminous red eyes, her lower lip jutted out in a slight, playful pout. As usual, Aaron couldn't bear the incredibly adorable sight. "Just a little more."

'Damn, she is getting good at that.'

Aaron told himself as he watched Lydia's head gleefully bob through the water, just out of arm's reach. She wasn't even a good swimmer, just enough to keep her head above the water and paddle clumsily, but she took to the water like a baby duck learning how to swim. She was quite addicted to it, insisting that they throw anchor and swim as often as they can.

Not that he could blame her. There was blessedly little else to do aboard the Paradise Lost.

At first, it surprised him that Lydia barely knew how to swim. She had, after all, lived most of her life in a port city. She explained, though, that Searle was exactly the reason why she couldn't learn - you couldn't be bothered with extra skills when most of your days were spent making sure you wouldn't starve.

Despite the coldness of the water under the cloudy sky, he felt a certain warmth as he gazed at Lydia's struggling form. Her delicate pink lips were already pruned, and her skin was so pale that Aaron could see the blue veins beneath - but her eyes shone like rubies and she glowed with a simple, happy flush. Her hair had grown. Dark red curls with streaks of yellow and orange now framed her heart-shaped face, reaching down to just below her jaw. Kind of like a very messy bob-cut.

She glanced at him, and she must have seen something in his eyes because she held his gaze and smiled brightly. The innocent, childish glee contained in her face was infectious, and the young man found himself beaming back at her. He wanted to pinch her cheeks and then kiss her, even if it might drown them both.

Lydia made her way back to him, latching onto his frame shamelessly as soon as she reached him. She sighed happily in his ear. "Ah, you make for a good resting post, master."

Aaron raised a brow as she looked down on him with a coy smile. She had her arms around his shoulder and her legs hooked around his waist. Her nubile body wrapped around him delightfully, perky chest pressed to his own. With the support of the rope ladder and his legs below the water, Aaron could just barely keep the both of them upright if he concentrated really hard - but damned if he'd sacrifice this moment just because of some slight discomfort.

"Happy to be of service." He smiled.

He wrapped an arm around her, his palm resting on her hip while his other hand held the rope tightly. Her eyes shone at him in their exotic, glittery lava hues, his touch seeming to melt the innocence and glee into a look that he knew all too well.

Lydia shifted her body down, her crotch seeking for - and finding - his already raging erection. Of course he was hard. Aaron believed he'd been just as conditioned as Pavlov's pet to expect fun times whenever the small sex-demon was around, river, or no river.

"Mmm happy indeed." Lydia murmured. She languidly arched her back, pushing her ass outwards and then in. Just like that, she began to grind into him under the water, creating small ripples all around them. All the while, she stared right at him with those luminous orbs of hers. "I have to repay you for being such a nice resting post." She explained.

"Are you sure you don't just want to feel the actual post?"

"Well, the post sure doesn't hurt, master."

Aaron's cock was so hard that it had begun to ache, chafing against the coarse cloth of his undergarments as Lydia delightfully rubbed into it. He tightened his arm around her. Her eyes slowly began to close, and he was about to lean in for a kiss that would undoubtedly landslide to more when they were both stopped short by a sound above them.

The pair looked upwards at the source of the indignant huff. "I can't believe you, Lydia! I was really worried about you - and then you jump the master the very second you got a hold of him."

Lydia grinned up at her cheekily. "You're just jealous 'cause Aaron isn't holding your ass like he is mine."

Aaron blinked. He wasn't - his hand was on her waist. After a look from Lydia, he got the cue and shifted his grip to bury his fingers into one firm, pliant ass cheek.

Her hum was approving. "Mm. Too bad you can't swim, or I bet it would be

you

he was holding like this."

"Insufferable girl." Serche admonished, her voice carrying just a bit of genuine annoyance. Yet looking up, Aaron noticed that her expression became less irritated and more contemplative as she pondered Lydia's statement.

That wasn't the only thing Aaron noticed. From his extremely low vantage point, Serche was standing just close enough for him to be able to completely see under Serche's small, improvised skirt. The Rakan woman wasn't fond of clothing in the first place - from the water, the glorious stretch of her silver fur from the bottom of her ankles to her nether regions was plain for Aaron to see.

"Naughty master." Lydia suddenly whispered in his ear. "Here I am literally perched on top of your hard cock, and you have your eyes on another woman?"

Aaron gulped, not turning away. "You didn't complain so much back at camp."

"That was then. It's been a long time since we've been alone together, my master. Do you think I wouldn't want to have you all to myself for a time?"

As she talked, Lydia stealthily reached under the water with her right hand. Her fingers honed onto his hard rod. She squeezed him as if in greeting, and then skillfully peeled his thin pants off just enough to expose his cock. Aaron shuddered at the direct contact with the chilly open water. His aching cock wasn't cold for long though, because as Lydia lowered herself back down the direct heat of her sex kissed his tip. She gave him a small wiggle of her hips before unceremoniously shoving down, engulfing most of his erect meat in one go. Aaron wondered when she'd taken off her underwear.

Lydia bit her lip as she issued a small, feminine grunt.

"Hey, don't just start ignoring me all of a sudden!" Serche complained from above them. Then she gasped. "Are you..."

Her question was answered when Lydia began a slow, distinctly bucking rhythm.

"I can't believe you!" The Shaman furiously whispered. If Trasnu hadn't noticed yet that some hanky-panky was going on, he certainly did as Serche sat down right on the floor above them and started glancing behind her every five seconds. "Lydia! You should -"

"Serche." Lydia suddenly called, surprising the other woman.

"Y- yes?"

"What did I tell you to call me?"

Serche stared at her for a moment, half in embarrassment and half in surprise. "L... Lee."

Lydia raised a brow as if to say

'well?'

. All the while she contented herself with small, lazy circles of her hips that simultaneously stirred Aaron's cock inside her and rubbed her aching clit into his pelvis.

Serche cleared her throat, the wind having gone out of her sails. "Well, Lee, I was saying -"

"That you'd like a turn after I was done?"

Serche's eyes widened, mortified.

"A turn... In the water. Swimming." Lydia haltingly explained with an evil grin. "It's been so long since you've had all

this

... water. Right?"

Aaron couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. It couldn't have been more obvious what she was talking about. In any other situation, he would have been embarrassed by the close presence of Trasnu aboard the raft. But at water level, even though he certainly might be within earshot, Aaron still couldn't see the old man's face. It was the best of what could pass for privacy that they'd had in quite some time.

And besides, he was already inside Lydia's tight hole. Even if he was embarrassed, there was certainly no going back now.

It was a pleasant contrast. Aaron felt the cold of the river all over his body, submerged as he was. His fingers and lips had even begun to prune because of the long soak, yet the length of his cock felt gloriously hot. Lydia's copious juices never made it past the opening of her pussy before it was washed away by the friction and the current, but plugged as she was with his hard meat, her insides remained slick and wet. The small undulations of her hips rubbed his cock throughout her tightness, repeatedly forcing her folds apart to accommodate his intrusion.

He gripped her plaint ass as she rode him as if to hold on for mercy, her movement becoming more and more urgent. Lydia's small arms tightened around his neck. Hot air blasted his earlobes as she huffed directly into his ear. The ripples around them became small waves, carrying the movement of their joining.

Finally, she stiffened and came with a subtle shudder and a very small whimper. She wasn't usually so reserved, but Aaron guessed it was out of respect for their older traveling companion.

"Mm." She purred. "That was good... swimming."

Aaron didn't know who she was fooling, but he had to agree. He was smiling around the languid kiss that followed. Her pussy squeezed his hardness periodically as if reminding herself that he was still lodged in there.

"Another round?" Lydia grinned, her eyes shining. Her gaze flicked back into Serche who was watching them with a look of morbid fascination, drawing Aaron's eyes to her as well. She sported a look that Aaron knew was a beastman's equivalent of a blush; her triangular ears were low on her head, but not completely flat. Aaron knew that if she was standing, her tail would almost curl down between her legs as if hiding from the embarrassment. Golden eyes stared at them, for all the world looking like a lost puppy, so adorably horny that it made the both of them chuckle.

"Don't worry, Siri," Lydia assured their friend, using the nickname she'd formulated weeks ago. "You'll have your turn after this, I swear. I'll make sure our master isn't too worn out to... instruct... you."

Serche visibly swallowed. She darted another nervous glance behind her. "That's fine."

"You heard her, master." Lydia directed her enchanting gaze back to Aaron's, their faces merely a breath away from each other. "Don't tire yourself out now."

She phrased it like advice, but the raised brow and the small smirk made her statement more of a challenge. Aaron was all too happy to accept.

"You got it. I'll try my best to be a good instructor." He punctuated his statement with an upward thrust that made Lydia gasp.

Their positioning was odd, to say the least. He didn't really have any footing to speak of, and this made his thrusts somewhat lacking in force. Suspended in the open water and with Lydia clinging unto him, their bodies wanted to float horizontally, and so he always had to compensate for the tilt with firm sweeps of a leg. It wasn't ideal sex - it was a tiring, clumsy affair.

But his hardness was encased in Lydia's liquid tightness, and even the smallest movements sent tingles of sensation from his balls to the rest of his body. The anticipation of the coming climax lent him the strength and perseverance to keep thrusting, complemented by Lydia's own up and down movements.

And besides, she looked magnificent as she writhed on his cock. Curls of crimson hair pressed to the sides of her face, and even in what little sunlight there was it shone like molten fire flowing down past her ears. Hooded eyes stared at him as she bit a thin, pink lip. She always had that all too-innocent look about her, but not now. Her eyes were wanton and needy. A blush had appeared on her cheeks, seeming to Aaron to become a deeper shade of red with every thrust of his cock. Their clumsiness made her huff through her cute nose while she tilted her face up to the heavens as if in supplication.

He wouldn't have interrupted that look for anything in the world. If an alligator appeared to eat them right this moment, Aaron would beat the thing black and blue while still giving the lovely young woman her sought after orgasm.

Finally, she pressed as much of herself into his hard rod as possible. Her mouth locked unto his, ripping a kiss from his lips as she whimpered helplessly. A tremble had begun from her core that radiated outwards, seeming to end in a flutter of her eyelashes as the climax swept through her small frame. Her pussy, already tight on the best of days, now squeezed him with an inescapable strength. Aaron wondered how she still managed to grind her clit into his body.

Her high faded with a final shudder. Lydia ended their lip lock to beam at him, again all innocence and now with only an undercurrent of lust. With the amount of sex that they've been indulging in the past few weeks, two orgasms were barely enough to slake Lydia's lusts. But it would have to do for the moment.

"You feel so good inside me, master." She purred into his ear. "So right... Like my cunt was made for your cock."

"You please me so well." He returned the compliment, raining kisses on her cheek and ear. "Feels like I belong in you." He started to thrust into her body once again, intent on unloading his boiling pleasure.

Lydia giggled and pushed off him, ejecting his wanting cock back into the water. "Ah, ah. Not just in me, I hope. You still have one other person to fuck. Err, teach."