FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

***

The snow crunched loudly beneath their feet as they traversed the midnight forest. Hand in hand, Night led Mhina through the maze of pines and spruce. Where they were going still remained a mystery, at least to her, for only he knew the route to wherever it was that they were going. What wasn't a mystery was the sudden temperature drop.

During the end of the frozen sleep, the sun didn't rise, so the temperature didn't rise or fall with the varying times of the day. But, it had been snowing hard, earlier and now the snowing had stopped. With the snow no longer falling, it was no longer there to insulate the air. As such, it had gotten much cooler.

"Hmm?" Night mused, turning to look at the shivering form of his wife. "Are you cold?"

"Night, it's like 20 degrees colder than it was earlier." she replied through chattering teeth.

He smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, sweetheart, I didn't notice." as he began to unbutton his jacket.

"Wha--! Not, don't take off your coat!" Mhina exclaimed, placing her hands over his to stop him from disrobing.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Mhina, it's fine, I don't need it."

"You don't need it?" she repeated, with obvious skepticism.

"No." he answered, before returning to the task of freeing himself from the confines of his outerwear. "More to the point, my beloved wife is cold, so I must warm her." he said, undoing the final button and shrugging out of his coat.

"Night, you're carrying a blanket. I can just wrap myself up in that."

"No, you would move more slowly that way."

"But, well then maybe we should go back." she suggested as he draped his jacket over her shoulders. "Can the thing you wanted me to see be seen tomorrow morning when it's warmer?"

"Yes, it can be seen all the time, as long as the sky is clear like it is now." he answered, buttoning the first few buttons on the coat. "But, even if we waited until morning, it wouldn't affect the temperature. The sun doesn't rise during this time of year, so the temperature is fairly consistent regardless of the time of day. So, going now or going later, it would be the same. What does change, however, is the weather and right now, the weather is good. I can't say for sure what the weather will be like tomorrow, so while I can, I need to show you."

"But, you'll get sick." she whispered, looking down and away at the ground.

He looked at her worried face, demurely turned from him. "...you really are cute." he said, quietly. He pulled her close and kissed her little pink nose. "I'll be fine." he promised. "I won't get sick because I'm not cold. The truth is, I don't really need any clothes at all."

Repetition was the flavor of the night, for once again, a look of pure skepticism was awash upon Mhina's face. "...nothing? Really? In this cold? Babe, I know you have an aversion to heat, but that doesn't make you impervious to cold."

He kissed her nose again and said, "No, but it does make me more resilient and tolerant of it. You know all that fur that Shade and Blaze and I shed in the blooming flowers season? That's what keeps us especially warm during the frozen sleep. We hardly lose any heat at all. As it is right now, I could walk around completely naked and still be totally fine, at least for a while."

"Oh?" she mused, touching her finger to his nose. "Now that is something that I would very much like to see."

"Then, I will show you." he said, his voice lustfully husky.

Without another word, he began to undress. He reached behind his back and grabbed his sweater in the awkward way that boys often did. He tugged on the garment and pulled it off, then handed it to Mhina. He stepped out of his boots and set them aside. That done, he reached for his belt and quickly unbuckled it. He flipped open the button on his trousers, then tugged on the zipper and unzipped them. With ease, he slid the pants off of each leg and handed the final garment to his wife. Completely naked with nothing between his body and the rest of the world, Night turned his eyes to his wife and smiled.

"Well?" he asked, cheekily.

Mhina was speechless. She had seen the splendid form of her husband in the nude many times, but never had she seen him look so wondrous. Painted with the dappled moonlight that sifted through the trees and the pristine white snow that covered the forest floor and coated the trees, he looked nothing short of enchanting.

A sensuous, male chuckle bubbled up from his chest as he walked over to his awestricken wife. He leaned over and kissed her soundly and whispered, "I'll take that to mean that you like what you see."

Breathlessly, she nuzzled him and bit his neck, playfully. She stepped back, slightly and whispered, "I always have."

Extremely satisfied with her response, he pulled her close and kissed her, deeply, groping her bottom as he did. She moaned, softly and his loins burned with desire. He eagerly kissed her all over and whispered sweet-nothings against her cheek and throat as he did. Enraptured, she clung to him and rubbed her leg against his thigh.

"...ngh..." he groaned, aroused and stimulated by her caresses. "Damn it, Mhina." he growled, abruptly ending his sensual ministrations. "We have to stop, sweetheart." he breathed. "For one thing, I'm already naked. But, being aroused and naked..." he chuckled, kneeling down to scoop up his boots. "Also, I really have to show this to you before the weather shifts. Come on." he said, taking her hand and continuing to lead her on their journey to his mysterious destination.

The couple walked through the dense wood, quietly. Every so often, a bit of moonlight would beam down through the canopy and brighten the forest floor. It was beautiful, Mhina thought. She wondered if the moonlight flickered through the leaves like this back at home. Then, something curious happened. The bright, white moonlight that shone down from the heavens started to waver with a greenish hue. Was the light going through the leaves? That was impossible. Evergreen leaves were much too dense for light to travel through them. So then, what was it?

Needing to find the answer to that question, she withdrew her gaze from the ground and raised it heaven-bound. A sharp gasp escaped her and she came to a complete halt. Her eyes were wide with a mix of confusion and wonder. Feeling her stop, Night turned to see what was wrong. Looking at his lovely wife with eyes filled with astonishment, he had to smile. In that moment, she had the innocent wonder of a child, but the beauty and allure of a woman. She was splendidly captivating.

"N-...Night?" she whispered, her eyes still on the sky. "What..." she trailed, her words abandoning her.

Wordlessly, he tugged on her hand and proceeded onward. In just a few paces, the edge of the wood came into view and the end of the journey had at last arrived.

"We're here." Night said, as they finally reached the timberland's edge. "This is what I wanted to show you." he said, as he guided her over the woodland threshold and into a wide open, snow-covered meadow. In the center of the frozen field was an icy lake that, like everything else, was coated with snow. Despite its emptiness, it was still somehow majestic as well. But, the real spectacle of beauty wasn't on the ground, it was up above.

Dancing in the moonlit sky were billowy curtains of colored light that streamed through the darkness like a celestial river. A slow reverent gasp left Mhina's chest as she beheld the entrancing display. Tears filled her eyes at the splendor of it all and a shiver unrelated to the cold possessed her body. Night, who had been spreading the blanket he carried out under a nearby cedar tree, walked over to her. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, then pulled her against him and hugged her tightly.

"I've wanted to show you this for a long time." he whispered against her hair. "This is, the Veil of Aria. When wolves die, this is the place where our spirits come to rest."

The mood had become somber as Mhina reached behind her to place her hand on her beloved's cheek. Night had told her once before about the Veil of Aria, the dancing lights in the sky, and what they meant to his people. Her own people had a similar belief, in that when lions died, their spirits rested in the radiance of the sun and become beams of its cascading light. It was funny how both peoples believed that spirits were drawn to ethereal lights. Even if they did not go to the same place, their places of rest still shined in the darkness, or illuminated the sky.

Lights...

"Come, let's sit down." Night suggested. He took her hand and quietly led her to the space where he had cleared the snow and spread the blanket. He sat first, then invited her to sit with him. She settled down upon his lap and snuggled against his chest. He took his clothes from her and put them aside with his boots. The burden of his garments resolved, he started to unbutton his coat that Mhina was still wearing, startling her as he did.

"Hey, wait!" she protested.

"You'll be less comfortable with it on." he said, unbuttoning the last button and sliding the coat off of her shoulders and tossing it aside. He started unbuttoning her jacket, surprising her, yet again.

"Night?!" she shrieked, placing her hands over his, preventing his actions.

He looked up into her eyes and momentarily held her gaze. He freed his hands from her grasp and placed them on either side of her face, framing her visage in his palms. He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly, yet deeply. "Mhina," he whispered, his eyes probing her soul, "I will keep you warm."

Her eyes were locked on his, love and yearning abundantly reflected in their depths. Her parted lips and lowered lashes were intoxicatingly alluring. Quietly, she placed her hands over his and restored them to her chest where he had been releasing the buttons of her coat. He continued to unbutton the pelt and once he unlocked the last clasp, he gently pulled it off of her form and placed it atop his. He reached for the edge of her sweater and smiled when she offered no protest and raised her arms, facilitating the disrobing of her. He tenderly eased her out of the garment, smoothing her hair as it got tangled, then tossed it aside. She hadn't bothered putting on a bra before they set out on their journey, so with the removal of her sweater, her chest was completely bare. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her rapidly cooling breasts.

"Hold on, sweetheart." he whispered. "Almost done." He reached for her pants and quickly unfastened them while she shrugged out of her boots. He placed his hands on her hips and pushed downward, sliding her pants passed her thighs and off of her legs. He collected the last of the artifacts of clothing and put them aside. With her as nude as he, he wrapped the blanket around them both and embalmed them within its soft linen folds, leaving only their heads exposed.

Mhina shivered against her husband's chest and wrapped her arms around him. Her body continued to tremble until Night wrapped his arms around her and nestled her legs between his. Almost instantly, the temperature within the blanket cocoon rose and the chill of the freezing night was dispelled. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her brow. Mhina murmured a sound of contentment and buried her fingers in his coat. It was surprising to her that such bliss could be attained in this frozen land of eternal night.

"Hey, Night?" she whispered.

"Hmm?" he replied.

"Is it only wolves that sleep in the veil?"

"I wouldn't think so." he replied. "The veil doesn't belong to anyone, so anyone's soul can rest there."

"I see." she replied.

For a moment, there was silence, except for the sound of the wind drifting over the endless frozen tundra.

"Hey, Night?" Mhina said, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" he answered.

"When our time in this world is over, I want to rest here with you, until the end of forever. Wolves do not do well in the heat and lions do not do well in the cold. But, if I were with you, I know you would always keep me warm, so let's rest here, together. It doesn't matter to me where I am, as long as I am with you, I can rest in peace. Although, I do have to ask a favor of you; let me die first.

"Let me have a moment, in eternal time to spend with my parents and my family. Tam and Lana are already there waiting for Tod and Kit, so the boys will still have parents that love them awaiting their arrival within the light of the sun. They will not be alone and they will not lose their way. And even if we, you and I, are not there, they will always have our love. They will always be our children. So, please don't die before I do.

"Then, when your spirit is ready to leave this body that I love, sing to me and I will run to you. I will run to you with a spirit overflowing with love and longing for my beloved soulmate. Then, you can guide us both here to this beautiful place. I could never find it on my own. It's not like the sun that shines everywhere and on everything, this place is like a secret that only your people know of and that only your people can find. So, sing to me and let's come here together.

"But, if you must go before me, then wait for me and listen for my song. When my spirit is ready to leave this body, come take my hand and embrace my spirit. Hold me forever and never let me go. Let's share our eternal lives here, together as one soul that is neither you nor me, but that is the sum of both of us. Let's come to this place and watch the dancing lights...for the rest of all time. Promise me that, okay?"

Abruptly, he hugged with her with all his strength, melding her body to his. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks and the sound of his sobs echoed through the wood under the shining glow of the Veil of Aria. A weight that he had been secretly carrying was lifted from his soul. He held his precious wife even tighter and felt her arms move behind him to hold him as tightly as he held her.

"...Mhina..." he whispered, hoarsely. For as long as he could remember, Night had known about the lore of the afterlife as believed by his kin. It was always comforting to him and because of it, he never feared death. Death was simply another cycle of life, its final cycle and he was fine with that. ...until he married Mhina.

Before the couple had wed, he knew of the beliefs of her people with regard to the afterlife. It was remarkable how similar their spiritual lore was to the one another. But, the weight of the differences never resonated with him until he realized what the differences, minute as they were, meant to his eternal life with Mhina.

Their souls were doomed to rest eternally in separate places. He would not be with her, nor she him and their spirits would rest, though never in peace. The thought was nearly enough to make him find death fearsome, after all. It wasn't fair. Why would they be forced to be apart because their faiths differed in this particular instance? Why was that? Wasn't their love enough to keep them together no matter their plane of existence? He didn't know the answer to that, but thankfully, his beloved wife did.

It was so obvious that he couldn't believe he didn't realize it sooner. If the only issue was of the where and nothing more, then it was hardly a problem. He didn't have to abandon her, he only needed to abandon the resting place of his people. If that was all it took, he would gladly leave the beauty of the Veil of Aria and embrace the majesty and warmth of the light of the sun. ...but, he no longer needed to, because Mhina had already sorted out the dilemma. And then, a thought occurred to him. He was not the only one who had agonized over their eternal separation.

Indeed, Mhina had sorted the matter thoroughly. She reasoned why she should go to him, how their lion children would still be loved and guided to their place in the sun and even the order in which the two of them should depart. Just like him, she was willing to give up the resting place of her family and ancestors in order to be with him. She realized what she needed to do sooner than he had even thought of a resolution to the separation. He wondered how long she had held this plan in her heart. Had it been there long, or had it only come to her recently? How long had she been pondering this problem in silence? How much agony did she put herself through in trying to solve it?

"...thank you." he whispered against her ear, his voice muffled by the soft curls of her hair that his muzzle was buried in. "I love you and I wish that I could promise you that I will leave this world only after you do. I wish that I could make that vow to you, I wish I could guarantee you that much. But, it is not for me to decide. Our time in this world, from its beginning to its end, is known only to the Great Spirit. Still," he said, pulling away from her enough to see her tear-stained face and wide brown eyes looking back at him, "I can swear to you that I will do all the rest.

"If I journey to the next life ahead of you, then I will wait and listen for your song. I will wait and the very instant I hear the melody of your heart whisper to me, I will be at your mortal side. You will see me and I will take your hand and hug you with all my strength for always. I will bring you here to this place of rest, but only after we take a moment to bathe in the light of the sun."

She gasped and trembled at his words. Pools of tears gathered in her eyes, glistening with the radiant light of the moon. One by one, they slipped beyond her lashes and down her cheeks until the trickle became a stream and a stream, a fountain. She buried her face against his pillow soft chest and whimpered, quietly.

He held her closer and kissed the crown of her head as he softly spoke to her. "Your parents will embrace their daughter and you will be able to hear the sound of your mother's voice, once again."

Her whimpers had grown to become a full on cry. He kissed every tear that fell from her eyes and every jewel of moisture that lingered on her cheeks.

"I love you, so much, Mhina." he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too." she breathed, caressing his face, affectionately rubbing her cheek against his.

"Let's not end this night in tears." he said. Gently, he took her hand in his and kissed her arm from the palm of her hand along the inside of her wrist. "I'm your husband. I'm not supposed to make you cry, sweetheart." he said, continuing to trail butterfly kisses down to the inside of her elbow. "I promised to always do whatever I could to make you smile...and I am failing, miserably." he said, smiling warmly and tucking his finger under her chin, tilting her face up to kiss slowly and sweetly. "What will come, will come. Right now, we are here and we are alive. For what's left of the night, let's remind each other of how wonderful it is to be alive." he proposed, before slowly descending upon her slender frame, devouring her, completely.

He embraced her tightly and kissed her everywhere he could reach. He kissed her hair, her eyes, her cheeks and whispered words she could not hear, but that she could feel. Likewise, she ran her fingers through his coat, wherever her hands could touch. She stroked his shoulders, his back, his arms, sighing and cooing lovingly at the feel of his kisses across her body.

"Night..." she whispered, wrapping her arms around his strong neck. Beyond his name, she said nothing more. She didn't need to say anything at all. Words need not be used for a moment such as this.

He placed his hands on her cheeks and pressed his brow to hers. He ran his fingers through her hair and pressed his nose to her curly, brown locks, inhaling her perfumed scent. He kissed and nipped at her neck before trekking down to her shoulder and on to her chest. His hands drifted down from her collarbone, to the coveted swells just below. He kneaded her soft, pliant breasts like a baker kneading dough, fondling and squeezing the mounds, tenderly. His fingers found one of her taut, pink nipples and lightly pinched it. Light as it was, Mhina still cried out his name and he delighted in the way her husky voice floated from her lips.

Hungry for more of her, he moved his hands away from her bosom and allowed his eager mouth to have a turn. Like a babe at its mother's teat, he suckled and licked and kissed the firm pink jewel in the center of their suppleness. His tongue teased and swirled around the pleasurable nub. When his delectable devouring of her had been exhausted on one side, he moved to the other and did the same.

Mhina writhed and squirmed under his tedious ministrations. Each swipe of his tongue across her sensitive bust made her melt away in rapture, such sweet rapture. What was he doing to her? She couldn't think, she could barely breathe and she felt as though she were soaring. The only thing she knew, was that whatever wondrous thing he was doing to her, she never wanted him to stop.

Slowly, she adjusted her position on his lap, moving her legs so that they wrapped loosely around his waist, allowing her to straddle him snugly. In this position, she could feel the heat of his growing arousal beneath her round, soft derriere. He wasn't quite full just yet, but she knew how to help him along.

Her hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest, where she paused to kiss the firm space between his pectorals. As she continued placing butterfly kisses on his chest, one hand continued on its downward trail, while the other circled around to his back and held on.

"I want you to enjoy the most pleasure that I can give you." she whispered, kissing him with sensual abandon. She kissed him long and hard, stealing his breath away. When he found his breath, once again, it was stolen again, just as quickly.

"Ngh..." he groaned, as his wife's hand squeezed around the swollen extension at his loins.

Knowing his body as she did, she knew exactly how he liked to be touched in this most sensitive part of him. She knew how to stroke, how to apply the perfect amount of pressure, and she knew where his most acute points of pleasure were along the entire expanse of him. She knew all of this and more...especially when his restraint was drawing to its end.

"Mhina...Mhina..." he gasped. "That's enough."

"I know." she replied, biting his ear while steadily pumping his staining member.

Her reply surprised him a bit. Usually at this point, she would stop her erotically agonizing assault on his overly sensitive erection and he would proceed to mount her. But, for some reason, she was not stopping. In fact, she was speeding up. "Mhina," he gasped, "I can't...if you keep going..." he panted.

"I want you to." she whispered. "You always work so hard to please me, so I want to try harder to please you, too. Even if this is all I can do, I want you to have it. Feel this bliss before me, have this pleasure all to yourself. And when you come down from that place of ecstasy, I want you to go running right back to it. But, when you run there again," she said, sliding her palm down the entire length of his shaft, "carry me with you." she whispered and with one firm, torturous, upward stroke, he was off.

A loud, primal cry escaped him as he released the sum of his accumulated tension. A barrage of sensuous sensations raced through him, like lighting blazing through a hot, tumultuous sky. His body shuddered and quaked and he wasn't quite sure if he was even breathing. When he felt Mhina's arms wrap warmly around his neck and realized that his own arms had wrapped around her narrow waist, he at least knew that he was alive. Wearily, he rested his head on her shoulder, as he always did and tried to steady his racing...everything.

"Mhina," he groaned, squeezing her rear as he felt her giggling, silently, "I keep telling you, you don't have to do anything special like that for me. I promise I get more gratification making love to you than any other man in this entire world has ever had, or ever will have with any other woman. You don't have to do anything to supplement that."

"I know, you always tell me that." she said, fondling his ear. "Still, isn't it nice, once in a while, to get something special, especially when you don't expect it?"

He couldn't argue that, so he didn't. Instead, he traced little spirals on her back with his thumb and enjoyed listening to the sound of her heart beat.

"Alright," he said, suddenly sitting up, "time to take you with me." he whispered, then descended on her like a hawk swooping in on its prey.

He pulled the blanket over their heads, completely encapsulating them in its warmth and hiding them away from the rest of the world around them. For just this moment, there was nothing else. For just this moment, there was only them. For just this moment...

"Love, don't go slow." she whispered. "I need to feel you...all of you. I want to feel you with me right here and now."

He looked into her warm, chocolaty eyes and brushed strands of hair away from her face. "I'm so glad you said that." he replied, smiling. "I didn't know how I was possibly going to be able to hold back." he said, kissing her lips. "Because, right now, I need to feel you, too. I want to be as close to you as my body will allow."

She smiled and caressed his muzzle, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed cheek against his. "Night..." she whispered, "don't make us wait any longer. ...please...I need you."

It was all he needed to hear. Gently, he ran his hands down the lower part of her back, down to her plump, round bottom and cupped its softness. He lifted her up just enough to grasp his still firm arousal and placed it against the gateway of her succulent sheath. There was no need for pretense. With one solid stride, he pushed passed the entrance of her womanhood and buried himself deep inside of it. She gasped, loudly, as she always did when he initially penetrated her. Every time with him felt like the first time, though the without feeling of pain. She cried out, her voice throaty and needy, as he moved his hands to her waist and held her, tenaciously.

Their desires congruent, Night did not hold back. In the position that they were in, he could not enter her as deeply as he otherwise could. However, the lack of depth also meant that he didn't have to adjust his pace or awkwardly hold back his glands for fear of knotting, later. This way, even if he couldn't go as deep as his rod was long, the freedom to not have to worry about the inconvenience of his orgasm was more than worth it. He rhythmically thrust in and out of her sweet body with fervor and desperation. His strokes came hard and fast and the sound of her titillating voice fired up his amorous blood even more.

With one hand steady on her waist, he extended his other up along her spine and tangled his fingers in the springy curls of hair that gathered there. He sucked and nipped at her bosom, quickly moving up to savor her neck. The softness of her body, the warmth of her touch, the wonderfully transcended feeling of being embraced by the deeper heat within her, it was like an exhilarating wanton inebriation. Without slowing his tireless grinding, he found her lips and kissed her deeply and ardently. He tasted her sweetness as his tongue danced and swirled with hers, a mirror to the play of their bodies in that instant. It was only because suffocation was imminent that he halted his sultry searing of her lips and returned his muzzle to her cheek.

Mhina was sure that she was losing her mind. The heady sensations that coursed through her body were nothing short of overwhelming. Her legs tingled with excitement, her heart raced with lascivious zeal, and her passion-moistened depths burned with the fiery heat of prurient pleasure. The feel of his sinewy length driving into her, through her, was like mesmerizing. It was just what she needed, to know for certain that he was there with her, right now. She needed to feel him joined to her in the supremely intimate way that only two lovers could. She tossed her head back and basked in the delectation of the feel of him impaling her over and over again.

She was close, he could feel it. Having made love to her as many times as he had, he could tell when his beloved ochre queen was reaching her limit. She was all but dripping with the sweet dew of their fierce copulation. Just a few more strokes and she would be at the diving place where she had sent him, right before they started.

He was close. From years of intimacy spent in his embrace, she knew his body well and could feel that he was straining to hold back his release. She could feel the beating of his heart through the veins of his thick shaft and its tempo had quickened. She always loved that she could feel his heart beating in this way, because whenever he delved into her hidden warmth, she could feel his heart throbbing inside her body. She loved it. She loved him.

Tears of cascading amorous affection for him rained from her eyes. "I love you." she whispered, as she rode him like some wild, bucking stallion. The heat of him thrusting in and out of the heat of her was euphoric. Enthralled within the tenacious hold of sensual anticipation, she squeezed him tight, her legs and her arms crushing him against her softer, gentler figure.

He smiled and nuzzled her cheek. He would have kissed her, but she was holding him so tightly that pulling back enough to do so was impossible. "I love you, too." he replied, instead.

This was it. Their fervor had reached its peak and they were approaching the moment when they would dive off its edge. He could hear her voice whispering in his ear and she could feel the warmth of his breath whispering across her chest. He could feel her heart pounding against his and she could feel his heart throbbing deep within her. He ached to pour his ivory seed into her warmth and she yearned to receive it. Then, all at once, a frenzy of sensations erupted in them both. In the exact moment that Mhina soared over the edge of euphoria, so too did Night join her on their erotic journey. They went to that place together, sheltered in tenderness their mate's embrace.

Together.

Never before had they lost themselves in the pull of sated passion, simultaneously. Usually it was one and then the other, but never at once and the sensation was intense.

She screamed her beloved's name and heard her own cried out in response. Her inner hearth which he was still immersed in, trembled and convulsed around him in some sort of a seizure of eroticism. He fired the milky white marrow of his being into her with an explosive forcefulness he had never felt before. She soaked every ounce of his being into her and held onto him, tightly. He cradled her in his arms and rocked forward, doubling over her like a second blanket. She was crying and laughing all at once from an immeasurable joy that swathed her in its fervent glow. He raised a trembling hand to her cheek and then the other and pressed his brow to hers. He couldn't stop shaking and neither could she.

For a long moment, he held her tightly in his arms. A minute, an hour, the entire rest of the night, he couldn't be sure how long, but he held her close to his heart. Without asking her, he knew the reason behind her tears. It was the same as the reason why tears fell from his own eyes. Their burning love-making followed by a simultaneous and explosive climax. They started together and ended together.

Together.

It was as though the Great Spirit itself was blessing their union and was making them a promise that they would surely share eternity in exactly this way, perfectly as one. He laughed and kissed the tears from her eyes, earning him the most beautiful smile she had ever graced him with. She had never let him go, once she had wrapped herself around him, she hadn't let him. Indeed, even that torrid part of him was still wrapped in her satiny warmth. She hadn't let him go, she would never let him go. She laughed through her tears and hugged him tighter.

He brushed away the trickles of joy from her face and kissed her, again. His kiss was dulcet and slow. He probed the sweet recesses of her mouth, tasting her, drinking her, wrapping himself in all that was her. He gazed down at her, his eyes filled only with love and devotion. She never looked more beautiful. Softly he kissed her and softly he whispered, "I will always love you."

She smiled and touched his cheek, trailing her fingers, slowly along it. "And you," she whispered, "will never leave my heart...or my soul. I am yours, forever."

The two spent the rest of the night slowly loving and cherishing the pair of mortal bodies they shared and that they knew they would not be able to keep forever. But for now, while they still possessed them, they wanted to enjoy every inch of their mate's form. Every touch, every kiss, every caress was a patient, reverent tattoo of dedication to the other.

Embalmed in the loving warmth of her husband, Mhina no longer felt the cool of the frigid air, or the chill of the endless night. All she could feel was her Night, her love, her beloved. Just as she believed, he was all that she needed to stave off the cold. She wondered if she would ever feel chilly again. It didn't matter. Right now, in this moment in time, all that mattered was him and all that she wanted, was his love. And all that he wanted was to fulfill that tender desire of hers, now and forever, in this world and the next.

Like moon and sun, night and day, one could not be whole without the other. He was her beloved endless night and she was his precious eternal day.

Together as one. Forever as one. An unyielding bond of love. A never ending romance.

The story of Night & Mhina.

Love.