Arete was nestled in Xena's strong arms. Their legs were twined. The blonde's chest moved with her night's breath. Xena observed, with genial fascination, the bard's sleepy seduction of Kalai.The following is a bit of alternative fiction based on certain characters from the Xenaverse. It is not meant to infringe on anyone else's rights. If you don't agree or disapprove, please go read something else.
Xex Alert: Just a little bit
Arete was nestled in Xena's strong arms. Their legs were twined. The blonde's chest moved with her night's breath. Xena observed, with genial fascination, the bard's sleepy seduction of Kalai.
The fire, no longer roaring blaze, but not quite unto its final slumber, crackled warmly. The shadows of the lovers wrestled slowly against the wall. Kalai's back was arched. Her feet were firmly planted on the ground, but everything else was moving subtly in response to Gabrielle's tantalizingly fine strokes. The young Amazon had long since passed the whimpering o gods stage and was well into the huffing grunt stage. Xena smiled in appreciation.
It was one thing to hold a personal opinion about someone's skill. It was quite another to see it play out as true. Gabrielle had a knack for loving and, fortunately for the warrior, a passion to match.
Kalai didn't cry out, but her whole body shuddered and tilted in a powerfully strong one. In a little time afterwards, they were all curled into each other, like kittens, partially covered by furs, partially revealed to the world. That was pretty much how morning found them.
Actually, it wasn't quite. Xena was up and about long before the others. It was her habit, after all. She was feeling the pressure of her bladder and, once awake, it seemed a good time to check on Argo and to take advantage of the dark morning stillness. If her expression was thoughtful, no one was there to notice.
Arete was awake, trapped gently in the middle by thighs and arms, when the olive skinned beauty returned from her perambulation. Xena kissed the warrior gently, then after pressing fingers to her lips, helped free the woman from her sleeping burdens. The two smaller women, light and dark, snuggled into each other and slept past the dawn's first rays, but not past the smells and noises of breakfast.
The community dining hall was pretty much fully occupied by the time Iovene arrived. Her hair was still wet and crinkly from her bath. She had it tied behind her neck so it wouldn't swing in her face. She spotted her companions almost immediately. It was hard to avoid. Kalai's wave and shout had carried across the hall. Iovene waved back in acknowledgement and grinned as she watched her friend settle down on the bench. Then she started forward, not quite paying attention to where she was going.
The startled "HEY!" was her first indication that there was a problem. The second was the clattering of her tray upon the floor. The tray went ignored the minute Iovene lifted her eyes to the woman who was angrily confronting her. They fell into each other's eyes and stared, unable to help themselves, drowning in a mix of past and present that neither could quite understand or ignore.
Their rapport was broken roughly by Velona's sharp command for attention. The brown Chieftess grabbed Eudora's arm and dragged her in front. Iovene knew it was probably meant as a protective gesture, but her hackles rose and she had to fight down the urge to jump and tear at the Velona's lovely throat. It was a confusing rage, since she knew she had no claim on the red head and it was so out of character for her. If she had a sword at that moment she would have run the Chieftess through. It was a scary thought.
She lightly fingered the knife at her hip thoughtfully, imagining the various ways it could protrude. She shook her head at such images, which seemed more real than she had reason to believe. They were more like memories. She breathed down the ire. She was Iovene, dowser, seer. She led a peaceful life and only lifted a sword in self defense. These thoughts were . . .
She felt a darkly comforting presence besides her and turned her head to watch as Xena picked up the tray for her. A strong hand cupped her shoulder as the other handed her the tray. "You all right?" Iovene nodded quietly, her face tense. The warrior smiled at the dowser's silence and spoke affably, "Thought I might get some seconds for our Queen." The words were surprisingly calming for Iovene, who nodded again and tried to gather her wits from the dark corners they'd hidden in.
Xena looked on sympathetically for a moment then made a decision. She turned to the woman who was now standing behind Iovene and smiled her least charming smile. The woman, who had an interest in living longer, stepped back and let the warrior cut in line. Xena grinned, very charmingly, and then very politely thanked her. The woman forgot what she'd been so upset about.
They didn't talk in line, but the silence was soothing. Iovene grabbed some fruit, cheese, rolls and hot cereal and Xena procured similar. By the time they made it to the table and Iovene was seated by Arete, the dowser was in the mood to talk again, though not necessarily about what had just occurred. She didn't have to worry. The Queen wanted to hear more about the earth elemental. Now *that* was something Iovene could talk about.
No one seemed to notice, except for Xena, who filed it away in the back of her mind, that Iovene never once interrupted them.
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These pages were last updated: November 20, 1997
ŠNovember 1997