Back Story

She stayed there in his arms, holding him just as tightly, for what felt like an eternity. The moment, for the first time in a long time... very long time... no, she couldn't recall ever having a moment that felt as perfect as this one did. With her head rested against his chest, she realized two things: she was short enough to him that he was resting his head on top of hers; she'd never felt safer than that moment; and that she could feel his heart pounding in time with hers.

Perfection was a word she only used when she'd created documents for an alternative identity, but this... this was perfect. He was perfect. She was falling, and she knew it. She'd never fallen hard or fast for anyone. She always enjoyed a pretty face, but she'd always just admire or enjoy them for a time until she moved on to the next thing.

She pulled away long enough to look at him in the candlelight. Well, the captain had been right, he was falling for her and she could see it. She could feel it in his embrace. She enjoyed the moment of just the two of them a bit longer before her mind reminded her of why she'd asked for the private meeting.

Every part of her body told her not to, but she ignored all of it and pulled herself out of the embrace, taking his hands into hers. "As much as I don't want to cause this moment to end, there is a reason that I requested to talk with you." She guides him over to the table for two, where they both sit down. As he looks at her with concern in his eyes, awaiting what she's going to say, she squeezes his hands reassuringly before saying, "Last night, I came up to the deck to talk to the crew." She spoke quietly hoping that if someone did decide to eavesdrop, like she felt Elena would, only Dukalu would hopefully be the person to hear her.

"I've always had this ability to charm just about anyone that I spoke to. Reading people for me is like a fish swimming, it's second nature. I was intending to try to learn some information when I zoned out. It's not something I've ever done before and I didn't remember what happened first, but it seems something took over me and I started singing a song I'd heard at the docks as a child. I thought it was just something a sailor had created, seems it was a chant." She watches his face the best she can in the dim room, trying to read his reactions to everything she says as she decides to tell him everything. What was it about him? It was like he'd used a charm spell on her, no one was able to see the real side of her but something told her that she was able to trust him wholeheartedly.

"I somehow knew that my eyes were pupil-less as I stood there just like the captain's eyes had been when I spoke to her, but I didn't see the crew... I saw a womanly figure shrouded in darkness. She called me 'Uhti' and told me that I'm here to aid all of Maztica and that I have a power that she can help raise me into. I didn't, and still don't fully understand what all happened to me or who that figure was, but she told me to ask you about something painful." Kitsune held Dukalu's hands tightly to reassure and convey that no matter how painful the impending question and memory was, she was still here with him. She leaned forward slightly as she asked, "Who is Nachilan?"

He sat still listening to you, the only person to listen to in the whole world. Each time you said something strange, he would curl up his eyebrows in the slightest and cutest of ways, but he would not interrupt you. It was one of his many tells and one of his strongest behaviors. You knew how to read those in people. He would never be good at lying, but then again, he may have never tried in his life. He was that one dimensional at times, but it was growing harder and harder to pigeon hole him each time you talked to him and tried to read him. Were you that blinded by love? or was it something else?

You did notice something about his face and body. Had you not noticed? Or was there just more detail there than ever before. His cheeks had the stubble of the remains to a knife cut shaving this morning. The scraggly hair was more neatly combed, but they had a blue feather tied into a braid and clasped by beads of various colors and patterns. The leather gherkin he wore, did little to hide his chest hair and only partially covered a colorful tatoo of a feathered dragon that draped over his right shoulder and fell down his right side. He had jade handled daggers in their sheathes at his belt and a soft fur pouch that held his personal items including a wooden flute that protruded from under the flap. He carried no money on them as pirates dealt only in barter, but none of this compared to the smile lines on his face that you must have ignored before... before you were interested, before you made him into more than what he was before.

You had your speech prepared, but his constant glancing at your lips and your hair was distracting. He hadn't even had a chance to say anything to you. Maybe you should have started with some conversation or compliments. No. Not now, you remind yourself. You needed to be direct. You have surprised yourself on your own growth as a person in the last day or so. You were never direct before. Your dialogue has gone from "yo dude =)" to something much more serious and dare you think, eloquent. You could not explain it. You were still playful and jovial. You still wanted the power and to find yourself. "What if I didn't like myself when I did find myself?" you think. "What if he didn't like me?" You keep pushing these thoughts back. You had the training to do so, but it wasn't that as much as you were held captive by his gaze.

That is, until you asked your question. You heard his heart skip a beat, but his face remained frozen in adoration like a mask or a shield to hide some thought or feeling inside. He pulled back a little on your hands. It was easy for you to read his thoughts despite his defenses. He wanted to pull back away from you, to flee, to plan an escape route, maybe the long boats, maybe a spell from Poca, hide, run, disappear. You dared not change your question at this point, but your heart ached like you feared it would to see him like this. Was the name really painful?

Dulaku sat there in terror. It had happened again. He had fallen in love with an impossibly beautiful woman. You must have known that he would. It was written in his character. He was there on the ship at exactly the right time for you to practice your skills of persuasion. He had the pretty face that would attract you and draw out your abilities. That was his only trait. All his story, he would fall in love with beautiful women, again and again, and each time, they would be the women who deceive him and manipulate his feelings and ultimately break his heart. You were just such a woman. It was as unavoidable as the writings of the stars and the will of gods.

He fought the feeling. Would he end up drunk at some seaside town and be picked up by another sleazy pirate captain to be her first mate again. "Would this go on forever?" he laments. You could see his determination. The same power that had brought him to take you in his arms, was struggling to assert itself behind the mask, and it would break free and he would run. His facade weakened. He freed his fingers from your grasp and curled them back. He pushed his palms against yours, and continued to push them up your wrists. His and your skin rubbed against each other as he slowly pushed against you, his palms powerfully pushing against the inside of your slender arms. He was panting quietly. The cropped fingernails were held above your skin, but brushed closely against the tiny hairs on your arm, his muscular arms sliding against your subtle arms. He kept going with both of his seaworn hands until they grasped your elbows. He looked at you, but still panting, he looked into your eyes to see where that question had come from, he looked at your lips to see how you could have formed that question, and he waited until you looked at his lips, too. Pulling you forward, he kissed you, a deep and long kiss that matched the desire and the triumph of the moment. It was written in his character that he was to be passive and allow you to decide whether to tease, to torment or to kiss him. He was off the script. Your tongues touched, the hair rose on the backs of your necks, and your arms grappled you in time.

Reluctantly, he releases you and holds your hands again, the sweat on your arms suddenly cooling your arms as a breeze passes through the window panes, the chill going up your spine. "I have fallen in love with you, Kitsune. But you know that. You knew I would. I have fallen in love before, many times, but always I have broken my heart. Lani, I called her Lani. She was my first love."

He wasn't speaking quickly, nor looking off the right or left. He wasn't making this up or trying to remember it. This heart ache was ever present. It explains a great deal of what you have seen before in him, but not his latest behavior. He did not look in pain now at all though, as if he has layered over his heart ache with something more wonderful. "To understand, you have to understand the gods," he says, stoking your hand with his forefinger and keeping his face close to yours. "Here in Maztica, the gods walk amongst us. They made us for playthings and bind us to them to maintain their divinity. The high priests are particularly bound and become avatars of the gods, so that the power that the gods have, so have their priests. Trouble came to gods when the trickster god from Faerun came to seduce Qotal. Her name is Shar, and she tricked Qotal to give up half of his power. Qotal's brothers drove out the foreign god, but she left with one spiteful curse. She gave Qotal a vision of his sister Kiltzi, the goddess of love, so that Qotal was charmed into lusting her in the same way that he had lusted after Shar. After centuries of trying to deny the charm, he had his way with Kiltzi. She fled to Zaltec's protection, and Qotal, in shame, left Maztica to the east, his priests all bound in silence not to tell the tale."

"The gods can be forgiven for even these atrocities, though they can be more reckless with morality than even humans. We are dependent on them for protection and the magic they give. But the gods have not been kind to me. The high priest of Qotal and the priestess of Kiltzi at the time, as avatars, felt the same feelings as their gods and fell in love. They gave birth to my older sister and soon thereafter formed a family and had me. I was marked with the sign of Qotal and educated to be an Eagle Knight, until I felt my mark and fell in love with an acolyte to Kiltzi. She was named Nachilan and she was beautiful, as you are. However, she was two faced and encouraged my love only to crush it. I lost faith in the gods. I ran from the temples, I ran from society, as a pirate I have been running still. Perhaps I am running into your arms."

Seeing his face go from heavenly to tortured broke her heart. She regretted asking the question as soon as she did, but she knew she had no choice... that power was calling to her and she needed to get the whole picture. Her mind was thrown out of this thought as she was pulled into his deep kiss. The passion, the love, the urgency, she felt it all as they shared that moment, melting into him as they did.

When he pulled away and shared his story, the pained feeling returned. He was so hurt, the mistress of darkness hadn't exaggerated at all about it. She wanted to run and hold him, wrap her arms around him, but she resisted the urge as she paid attention to his story. It was a lot to process after all. Once he was done, she sat there with him for a moment. She knew he could see how pained she felt having to ask and cause him to relive this story, but she still cracked a small smile at him as she took her right hand out of his and placed it against his cheek, rubbing is slowly and softly with her thumb before pulling him forward into another deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as they both leaned across the table, locked in a second, passionate kiss. She felt every emotion he did and once they finally parted lips, she quietly but seriously told him that she never intends to hurt him... having never said words this true before.

"I trust you," he tells you without any degree of doubt in his decision. He was dying to hear about your day, and listens to your stories intently. He had heard much from Poca, but feared it was worse than that. "Elena is not to be messed around with, without serious consequences." He smiles at you with an idea, and rushes back to the cabinet from where he got the light globe and pulls out a glass piranha, setting it on the table. He carefully opens the teeth and withdraws two small glasses for the table. He then lifts the glass fish and pours out dark liquid from its mouth. "Rum," he tells you. "When you are as old and evil a vampire as Elena, you acquire some sophisticated tastes in drink, as well as other pleasures." He motions up to the ceiling where manacles are suspended. "The rum is about as dark and sinister as this room, but so very sweet." He drinks and then kisses you playfully with the wet rum on his lips. You grin and agree. You see that this wonderful man could not be happier to be a couple with you, sharing jokes and rum and kisses. He pours two glasses and you drink together, savoring the alcohol and the love."Please trust me when I tell you there is nothing between Elena and me as you suspected. Never has been. She saw me as a fallen paladin, trustworthy and controllable. I did nothing to correct that assumption. I keep her ship running while she hides from the sun, and I turn a blind eye to the visitors she entertains and to the thralls she control for blood, as long as the humans aboard are not molested. It's a balance we have maintained, but your news about the caves disturb me. She was right that I could not do this for her. She cannot grow in power. She has been tracking legends for a century. She cannot find them. Do you actually plan to help her?

Kitsune shakes her head strongly, "I would never, but she doesn’t know that. I plan to go along with it and find a way to make sure she doesn’t get what she wants. Just, make sure to be careful please... both when the time comes and now. She thinks she’s scared me away from you... it’d only anger her more if she saw us stronger than before. We have to play the part, I’d be devastated if she harmed you because of me!" Tears formed at her eyes thinking about Elena possibly harming Dukalu, or worse.

"I have played the part for my whole life. When do we find our freedom to not, Kit? When do the gods not choose our fate, or we can be rid of them all?

But this questionsing is useless. Now we need some edge to deal with Elena, some plan. Are you even well enough? You haven't mentioned anything about your attack last night.

Dukalu sees your eyes and furls his brow again. He kisses the edge of your eyes to solve it all for you.

"We will have our day, even if we have to run for it. But first, we need to make sure Elena doesn’t become more powerful. And of course I’m well enough.

"I wasn’t attacked, she didn’t hurt me." Her eyes furrowed at his use of the word "attack" but figured his traumatic experience made it seem that way to him. "She told me that me being here on this ship, searching for my place, that was supposedly leading me to her... I’m not sure how much I believe her, but... I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tempting."

...on this ship, this ship that is leading to these caves, with the ship's captain looking for this map codex, with this captain finding information about these caves from somewhere, this map codex that the mistress of darkness wants as well, that this mistress wants to enlist you to get the codex, and the ship's mate shares a story with the mistress, you and the first mate fall in love, a romance that was marked and destined to happen by inference by the gods hundred of years ago? Yes, indeed. It all sounds like gods playing with our lives alright and we won't be able to untangle any more tonight. The captain will be done with the first watch soon and I need sleep before the third. You said you were going to contact this mistress tonight? If you are, I want to be there to protect you while you are in your trance. Don't think this is too forward, but I have a private bunk where you can call her and stay safe. I'll be a perfect paladin.

She looked at him surprised, she surely hadn’t been expecting that offer. Her surprise turned into a grin of excitement, more time with him. She couldn’t get enough of him. "I have no doubt you’ll be the perfect paladin. Come and wake me when you’re ready for me to go into the trance."

And with that, they both rose but before they could leave, Kit grabbed his arm and looked up at him. "If that’s true and our lives are entangled due to the gods... I can’t believe I’m about to say this... then I’ve never been happier with what the gods have created. She looked at him with all of the happiness and love she felt for him. At this point, if it was divine fate that brought them together, she wasn’t about to let it tear them apart. She wasn’t ready to quite say it yet, but she loved him already. It was such a new and vulnerable feeling for her, which she didn’t like being vulnerable as it was a weakness for others to target in her eyes, but when she stood beside him, touched him, or just felt his presence, she didn’t mind one bit.

"I think it'd be interesting, the noble, goodhearted girl who believes in her gods alongside the fallen paladin with a questionable past who has turned (I think) his back on the hope and good of a higher power," he says with a grin. He replaces the globe light and rum and heads toward the door with you. Before opening the door, however, he presses your soft body against the rough wood, nuzzles his face into your neck under your hair and finds purchase on your ear, nibbling up to its top tip, kissing the spot of skin just behind the ear, breathing hard and then says "I only promised to be a perfect paladin once we got to the bunk."

Kit feels her breath leave her body as her skin feels the wood and the warmth of his lips. She closes her eyes as he works his way around her ear and whispers to her. Opening her eyes, she leans up and bites him gently on his jawline. Smiling, she says, "I'd love for this to go further, but we have to be careful, Elena will be back. I don't want to be caught in her bed with you. I think she'll do a lot worse than throw us overboard."

Kitsune was concerned, but also a bit frightened by Elena's sheer power. She also knew if she didn't tear herself away, she'd never leave his side.

He leads you outside and back down the ladder to his bunk in the rear of the ship. Here, crawl in first and I'll sleep in front and let nothing disturb you. He closed the hatch and secured it. He was a fighter and knew how to defend himself and his loved ones. The sheets smelled vaguely of him. There was no light, but your Elvin heritage allowed you to see his muscles as he took off this gherkin and laid down his back toward you. You were afraid to wake him with your chants, but he was already asleep, having had a short night of it for two straight nights.

She felt horrible knowing she might accidentally wake him, but she needed to talk with the mistress. She leaned over gently and kissed him lightly on his shoulder before sitting up against the wall behind her.

She tried to chant as quietly as possible, attempting to maintain as much control as possible over her volume. Speaking softly, she chants, "Uhti, come to me. Bring me your powers and show me my destiny. Uhti, come!"

"Welcome child. Did the name open him up to you? Can you now bear witness to the plight of mortals here in Maztica?"

"I can. The gods are deciding our lives based on events that happened outside of us mortals' control. It's heartbreaking in his case."

She gives you a smile, hardly perceptible in the darkness, one that even your eyes can not see through. Would you believe me if I told you that if it were possible to unravel every mortal's woes, you would not find the same thing? I am glad you could hear his tale. It has driven the events of the last hundred years and will drive the events of the next hundred years. Including your own, Uhti. May I call you that now?