Anubia & Raz Ch.4
#4 of Anubia & Raz
I'm sorry that this took so long, but I have been really busy with my duties and have been too tired to try to write. I wanted to get this done before my deployment, but it just didn't feel right. I finally 'got my groove back' and created this chapter. I hope that I can get another one done soon, but I can't make any promises.
All characters are property of myself, and are not to be used without my permission, which can be obtained at [email protected] .
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Anubia & Raz Ch. 4
Interlude
Raz smiled at the dozing form of his new mate and gently touched her shoulder, stirring her from her half sleep, 'Come on, if we don't head off soon we won't be able to get a decent bath in before it gets too crowded.' She looked at him through half lidded eyes, grinning mischievously as she said
'Well, I suppose you're right. It wouldn't do for everyone to see exactly what's going on, not yet at least. And I suppose I should get cleaned up seeing as I have to speak with the Queen later this evening about the choices I have made regarding the new Royal Guard positions.'
She got out of the bed with the aid of an arm offered by Raziel, and began to put on a few garments as well as gather some clean ones for after the bath. They then left her room, making a small stop at his quarters on the way to the bath so that he could grab some clean clothes as well. Shortly thereafter, they arrived at the baths and sure enough there were only a few others in the hot, steamy room. One of the attendant women recognized the officers from the night before and smiled coyly at Anubia before ushering the two into an adjoining bath chamber. The attendant left only to shortly return with a basket containing towels, a wash sponge, a scale burnisher, and a few bottles of oils, lotions, and soaps, which was left by the bath water as she made a final glance around, nodding as everything was accounted for and informing the two that should anything be needed, she would be in the main bath chambers attending to the other individuals.
The lovers looked around at the room they had been given and found it to be quite luxurious. The floor and benches were of a white marble with a sky blue ribbon randomly swirling in intricate patterns across the way. The walls were of a light terra cotta red, and the Rails leading into the bath and trailing around at certain spots seemed wrought of silver. The water was clear and pure, through which they could see a forest green marble deck. The bath itself was easily 25ft across and looked as if it ranged from 5ft at the 3 entry points to roughly double that towards the middle, with steps at regular intervals leading deeper into the center of the bath. Water was fed into the pool from a lion headed spout, from which steaming water was issuing forth in a steady stream. The ceiling overhead was a combination of a dome ,resembling a blue sky and small to medium clouds expertly painted round the edge, and a skylight completing the dome with curved glass raising in a half circle and separated into four quarters and separated again by the silver metal.
Anubia smiled at Raziel as she picked up a few of the oil bottles and unstoppered them, sniffing delicatelyat their contents in turn, then pouring a small amount of two of them into the bath waters. The scents of jasmine and honeysuckle spread through the room, caressing the nostrils of the two. As they entered the water she picked up the basket, removing the other oils from its contents and set them by the white marble steps leading into the water. She then motioned for Raziel to sit down in the water a little from the edge, allowing her a little bit of height from the last steps of the bath. As he complied she removed a bottle of soap and sponge, then sat behind him on the next to last step, then poured a little of the soap into her palm and began to wash his hair, setting the bottle down on the lip. She then put both paws into motion and began to gently wash his hair and massage his scalp, letting her lithe fingers work gently through the knots in his jade hair.
Raziel let out a sigh as she worked the soap into his hair and relaxed in the water, unconsciously thrumming as a contented smile slid across his face. He found himself feeling oddly at peace within himself and realized that he hadn't felt this way since the baths that he had received back when he was a small child. He was complete, feeling as if a piece that had been missing had slid into place. And at that moment he realized exactly what the feeling was then that he felt for Anubia. It was Love, pure and unfettered, the same as the love he felt before , yet different somehow, stronger and gentler at the same time, and all-encompassing.
He knew that he had found this in the jackal that was sharing the bath with him and felt as if his soul was laid bare. He was brought out of his reverie rather abruptly as one bucket of water was poured over his head, then another one, slower this time and accompanied by a hand that was working through his hair. He realized that she was chuckling at him and as he leaned his head back and opened his eyes he shared a gaze with Anubia and saw the spark of amusement as well as her love shining through her beautiful orbs. He pushed his head up slightly and shared a kiss with the jackal he loved, then returned his head to its previous position as she reached for the sponge and soap bottle with her free hand.
Anubia lathered up the sponge after dipping it into the water and allowing it to absorb a bit of the water and began to wash Raziel's neck and shoulders, then gently ushered him to a standing position with a light pressure from her hands under his arms. As he stood up he stretched out his wings a little bit so as to allow her better access to them. she began to wash from the tip of one, then worked across the wing to his back washing over what she thought was a tattoo, but when she worked the skin, she saw that the 'tattoo' didn't move with it.
She realized then that it wasn't a tattoo at all, but rather a rune, and the scales simply rippled over it like a flexible piece of glass over a picture. She gasped slightly at this discovery, then shook her head slightly and continued to wash across his other wing and moved down his back to his tail and buttocks. She then stepped around to his front and with the water at her midriff began to work over the front half of his shoulders, down his chest, and gently washed over his more sensitive area. She then took the nearby bucket and began to rinse him off in front and back, reaching for the burnisher with her other hand and gently scrubbed and polished his scales as she rinsed the soap from his body. Satisfied, she grinned at him and tossed the sponge at his chest playfully, saying'Alright big boy, mind helping me out now?' as she winked at him.
Raziel watched the sponge as it slapped against his chest and caught it before it fell, then rinsed it out and retrieved the basket with his tail, replacing the previous soap and sponge, then selected another soap. He returned the basket to its previous position and poured a bit of the soap on his hands. He motioned Anubia to turn around with a claw and began to work the soap into her hair, gently working his fingers through her hair and softly kneading her scalp. He rinsed the soap slowly, meticulously working through her tresses and ensuring that no soap remained there before pouring a bit of the soap onto her shoulders, then began to use her fur as a natural sponge, lathering up her shoulders and neck, slowly working up her ears, washing the stiff hearing appendages gently and rinsing them off afterwards as well as the previously washed areas. He rewashed her Neck and shoulders, slowly kneading those areas in a gentle massage. He worked down her back in the same manner, occasionally adding a bit of soap as needed to keep the lather going. after having her step up a few steps in the entry area, he paid special attention to her carefully groomed tail, and worked his fingers slowly over each bone in the appendage, massaging the muscle gently and thoroughly washed the fur covering it. He then moved down and softly washed her rear end.
He turned her around with a gentle touch after rinsing her back off completely, and began to soap up the front of her neck and then moved up to wash her face. She closed her eyes as he got close and he smiled mischievously as he washed her muzzle and face. He snuck a kiss as he reached down for the bucket, causing her to giggle as he poured the water over her head and neck. She gave him a mock admonishing look, then laughed lightly as he started to lather her front up, gently working over her arms, kneading the muscles as he moved down their lengths. He then moved down and began to wash her breasts, taking care not to press too hard, and smiling when she moaned softly. He quickly moved down, not needing to start that sort of thing at the moment, and started working his fingers across her midriff. He paused to rinse her top parts off before he moved further down, and started gently washing her legs, having her sit down so he could wash and massage them properly. He took his time washing and massaging them individually, then washed them off, working the soap out and finishing the wash/massage with her feet, cleaning out between her toes and working the ball and heel of both her feet before rinsing them off.
He then had her turn around and sit at the edge of the small pool as he rummaged through the basket. Finding what he thought he had seen earlier, he unstoppered a small perfume bottle and poured a tiny amount onto his fingertips, one on each hand and then restoppered the bottle. he then worked the rose scent into certain points of fur on her neck. As he finished he turned her around gently and held her close to his chest. He could feel her breasts pressing against his lower chest and nearly lost himself as he felt her heartbeat through his scales. He shook his head slowly, as if waking from a daydream and craned his neck gently towards her, kissing her softly and holding her gaze lovingly as the steam curled up around them from the still heated waters.
'There, all done' Raziel said as he stepped out himself and retrieved a towel for the both of them. 'Mmmmmm, now that felt good' Anubia mumbled, stretching luxuriously on the heated tiles and performing a small shake, spraying a few drops of water here and there as Raziel approached with the towels.
'Maybe we should do this more often, Lover' Raziel said with an open smile as he handed her a towel and began to burnish his legs and dry himself off. They retrieved their clean garments and dressed themselves, after which Raziel wrapped his wings around them both and softly kissed Anubia's neck and shoulders, then nuzzling his head against hers and engaging in a final kiss before he retracts his wings and walks over to pick up his dirty garments.
He called for the attendant woman as Anubia picked up her dirty garments and took his from his grasp. When the attendant arrived, Anubia thanked her for the items and asked her to see if their garments might be cleaned and returned to their rooms, promising an extra gold piece if they were finished within the day. As the attendant left with the arments, they shared a final embrace, kissing softly and then parting with a last lingering hug. 'I love you Anubia' said Raziel as he held her.
'I Know my Love, and know that I share that love with you as well' Anubia replied. as they parted. They said their farewells and left in opposite directions to handle the tasks that lay before them that day.
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So, what do you all think? Again, I?m sorry I took so long, but I wanted to take a little longer with this scene and try to paint the scene for you. I hope you enjoyed it and I still plan to make more chapters for this storyline. All comments are welcome and encouraged. Raz