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The Divide: Prologue - Memories

By Ta'kom Ironhoof and Calima

With a little ring of the bell, the day's mail landed on the wooden floor of the tiny cabin in which Ta'kom lived. The Ta'alian Empire provided each of their recruits with basic living quarters, nothing more than a roof over their heads, and a bedroom to sleep in. The straw-filled mattresses were of the cheapest make, along with all the furniture that adorned the hastily made wood and sheet metal box they called a 'home'. Even though Ta'kom was of the royal bloodlines, he couldn't be treated any different from any other recruit; the idea being that in ancient times, no horse was more or less important than any other. It was only the ones who fought, and won, who earned the right to stand out from the rest of the herd.

However, the history of the Ta'alian empire was of little concern to Ta'kom at the current moment. His mind was focused on when the day would come; the day that he'd be assigned to his unit. For the last month or so now, Ta'kom was placed on stand-by, told to wait and he'd receive a letter in the post for his assignment. Each day brought dread up until the moment those letters and adverts slid through the slot.

Today was no different. Ta'kom, after his daily exercise and shower, had been pacing around his hut, barely managing to be able to eat while the worry of when the day would come and the 'where' and 'who' of the unit he'd be a part of. He knew it could either be one of the two fronts; the Canine or the Feline fronts. But, which one? He'd heard the horror stories from each, neither being more or less terrible. Maybe his worries were all for nothing if it weren't for Calima.

Calima, another recruit with whom he'd taken a liking to. It was so strange to think about now but their first interaction was in the sparring arena during close quarters training. Before then, while they knew one another, they hadn't spoken or spent much time with one another.

Just her visage alone was interesting, the point that most noticed first. Her feminine form was something to be admired. It was obvious that she worked and trained hard but, what was more striking was her mane, tail, and coat color and pattern. For the color of the coat, it was an orange-ish tan color interspersed with green splotches over her whole body. Some would assume these were dyed spots of white but it was only after Ta'kom had begun talking to Calima, he discovered this wasn't the case.

The mane and tail were much like Ta'kom's own but the colors were as different as night and day. From the roots to about halfway down, it was a beautiful peach-orange color, graduating to an aqua green color. Again, according to Calima, this was as 'natural as my bosom.' Ta'kom remembered being taken aback by this information but it soon didn't matter.

For six hours in the sparring arena, Calima and Ta'kom were tasked with not holding back to display all that they had learned so far. It was vital to their lives on the battlefield. Should an enemy get that close, they needed to be able to prove they could handle the situation with ease. It was during this time that Ta'kom learned more about Calima on an intimate level. The tossing of each other's bodies, the dodged kicks, and all of the physical contact while wrestling on the ground gave Ta'kom all he needed to know about her physicality. It was the little quips they passed to each other in the heat of the moment that had hooked Ta'kom's interest, some of which came to him as he began to sift through the letters.

***

"That your best?" Ta'kom rumbled, taking a step back to counterbalance himself. One of Calima's little striped feet had come painfully close to catching him upside the head - so close that he'd felt the breeze generated by it tickle the fine hairs inside of his right ear.

To her credit, the oddly spotted little red dun mare only snorted and rolled her eyes at him, "I don't have my license to kill yet, Ta'kom, just my learner's permit." Her ears swept forward in his direction as she regarded him, "lucky for you." She added, smugly.

Her contrite nature was quickly replaced by her desire to not wind up pinned on the ground - though, thinking about it, maybe being pinned by him wouldn't have been such a bad thing in retrospect. Ta'kom had managed to get one of his massive hands wrapped around her left bicep, and in return, Calima had very quickly taken the step forward necessary to lock her foot behind the feathered back of one of his.

Calima's ears disappeared into the silken tangles of her mane, flat against her skull and her jaw set with determination as she worked to deny him the win. With her leg between his, and using her weight as leverage to take away his ability to throw her without throwing himself, Calima had effectively both quelled the threat and opened up an entirely new chapter.

Of course... She'd have had to be a complete fool not to notice exactly what had come to pass. After all, the wee mare's supple body was molded tightly to Ta'kom's, highlighting the glaring differences between their physiques. "Your time here is done, Ta'kom. One move, you're down."

Peering down at her delicate little face, Ta'kom's grip on her arm shifted. He was hardly ignorant of the way her body fit against him. He could feel her heart thundering wildly in her chest against him and knew each time she drew a breath even without watching the gentle flutter of her dilated nostrils. "I say when my time here is done." He couldn't help but chuckle as he sacrificed his equilibrium to take her down with him.

***

"You're mine, mare," Ta'kom whispered into Calima's ear as he gripped his hands tight and simply fell backward.

In the space of an instance as the two bodies were off-balance, Ta'kom deftly pulled Calima close and rolled back, forcing Calima over him, then under him as he pinned her to the ground. The faintest bit of worry shuddered through Ta'kom when he heard the breath leave Calima's body. He worried he had been too rough but that was quickly dispelled.

Calima's eyes shot open again, a passionate rage-filled them. With gritted teeth, she whipped her legs around Ta'kom's torso, locking against his chest and pulling him down to the training floor with a heavy thud. She then whipped herself up, grabbing the stallion's legs to prevent him from using his natural weapons against her again.

The pair were locked for only a moment before Ta'kom realized he had been beaten. With hearty laughter, the two released. As if on cue, the chow bell for lunch rang as the newly formed friends continued to walk and talk.

That was almost a year ago now, however. In the space between, Calima and Ta'kom had begun to 'date', as much as two recruits could. Differing schedules, training regiments, and daily tasks often kept the two apart but during the evenings, the two were almost inseparable. These thoughts filled the young stallion's head as he got to the final letter and his heart sank. Today was the day he had dreaded all along.

The envelope had a large red stamp stating "Movement Orders" on the front. He wondered if Calima now had her's as well.

Perhaps it would have come as a comfort for him to know that she had, indeed, received her orders. They say that misery loves company, after all. Maybe it would have eased the sting to know the dread that had developed in the pit of the little mare's belly and the ache that suddenly gripped her heart.

She'd known that such a day was coming. It was inevitable, they'd trained to be used for this purpose and should have been ready for it, come what may. Ta'kom hadn't been factored into that equation, nor the nights they had grown so accustomed to spending together. The paper in her hand may as well have read 'It's over. Forget him. It's time for you to do your duty and your duty does not consist of doing Ta'kom Ironhoof.'.

Calima's icy Prussian eyes squeezed shut. The paper in her fist was slammed against a rickety oak table hard enough that the poor thing shook and creaked beneath the blow, protesting as its mettle was tested by the heartsick mare. Her chest heaved with a heavy sigh as she fought to compose herself, forcing her ears to rise from where they'd drooped to the side and her head to lift from where it, too, had fallen.

The world was burning, and where once she fanned the flames, Calima felt as if she were burning right along with it. Ta'kom and her had already made plans to meet up today and, more than ever, the distraught mare needed to see him. Calming herself, Calima pushed down her emotions, dried her face, and stepped out from her abode.

Stepping from the cover of the porch, the midday sun was shining brilliantly in the cloudy blue sky. Calima lifted her muzzle, taking a deep breath of the slightly cool breeze while also taking in the scents of the kitchens and forges; a nostalgic mix she'd known since she was a filly, just starting her education and combat training.

The thoughts were brief and she made her way down the row houses. Calima couldn't allow her mind to be drawn elsewhere at the moment. There were too many things that were still left unsaid, things that she had intended to say and do while falsely believing that her time wouldn't come. But today, it had. Calima quickened her pace. Ta'kom was probably already waiting for her.

And waiting he was. Walking up to the old, gnarled oak tree at the top of the hill behind the camp, Ta'kom's mind was also fumbling over all of the 'what-ifs and 'maybes', the 'should-haves' and 'could-haves'. If Calima had also gotten her letter, she would more likely be sent to the front lines. Ta'kom, on the other hand, being of noble descent, was selected for reconnaissance and intelligence. He would be part of a small team consisting of other members of the royal houses of the Ta'alian empire. He certainly wasn't looking forward to being commanded by Ta'Jiro but there could be no discussion on the matter.

It was just the way of the caste system amongst the Ta'lian Empire. It had been this way since long before our ancestors first walked upright for the first time.

Ta'kom shook his head as the breeze caught his mane and tail, causing them to flow freely. Here Calima and Ta'kom were equals. There was no talk of the differences between those of royal blood and those who weren't. There was no worry about the protocols and procedures. Here, beneath the gnarled oak tree behind the camp, they were equals. Equiids who loved each other, even knowing the risks they had been taking since their younger days of sparring as equals.

As these types of thoughts continued to flutter through Ta'kom's mind, he looked up to see Calima coming up the thin dirt path, her arms were wrapped around herself and her muzzle pointed towards the ground. That was all Ta'kom needed to know that he was correct. They had both received those dreaded orders today. The Gypsy Vanner stallion continued to stare at Calima until she got within earshot.

Trying hard to brighten the gloomy silence, Ta'kom started, "Was starting to think..."

"I got my orders today." Calima interrupted.

"I figured. You've never been good about hiding your feelings." Ta'kom replied.

Calima stopped just a few paces from where Ta'kom was sitting under the tree. The breeze was stronger on top of the knoll and as the wind whipped the reddish-orange and sea-foam hair of her mane and tail, chills ran down her spine. She took in the scene before her, desperately trying to suppress her emotions. But her resolve failed, her knees weakened, and her mind let go. A small puff of dust lifted from the ground as her knees hit the ground, tears rolling down her eyes.

Ta'kom moved toward his lover as she collapsed, attempting to be the rock that he knew he needed to be right now. Seeing her like this, though, cracked his shell, his eyes began to water as well. Calima began to sob wordlessly as Ta'kom wrapped her, drawing her into his chest, tightly. The pair knew what the other was thinking without the need for words. Tomorrow, Calima and Ta'kom would start on two separate paths. Paths that may never cross again. Their love was already forbidden, there was no changing that. This was simply another knife in the metaphorical heart of the matter; a physical separation with an uncertain future.

After a time, Calima was able to calm herself enough to break the wordless embrace.

"You know, I still remember thinking that I shouldn't have fallen for you. Told myself this was going to happen and I did it anyway."

Ta'kom pulled his head off of Calima's shoulder and placed their foreheads together before replying, "You're not the only one. We both knew this couldn't last. Let's not think about that. We don't have much time left."

Separating, the two got off the ground, brushed each other off, and kissed briefly before Ta'kom took Calima's hand, leading her around to the other side of the tree. When Ta'kom had first arrived on the knoll, he had set up a small dinner for the pair. By now, the sun was beginning to set and the sky had faded from bright blue to various shades of purple and orange, some matching Calima's coat tones.

One of her delicately fluted ears twitched towards him once or twice before finally swiveling away from the sight of the sunset and off to the soft sound of his heart steadily thrumming in his broad chest. She could feel him watching her, studying her... Maybe memorizing her. The thought that this was likely the last time they'd ever see one another again, left her feeling broken and distant.

"I..." Calima paused and shook her head, choosing to chase away her own words and replace them with actions. Wild grasses sighed as she pivoted on one foot towards the pinto stallion and quickly rose to tiptoe, tangling her fingers in the fabric of his shirt. Her eyes flitted to his ever so briefly before her lips found his in what could only be described as a passionate, desperate plea for that space in time to never end. For them, their love, their time together, to remain wild, untamed, and evergreen.

He'd been her first, and a great part of her wondered if he'd wind up being her last now that both were being shipped to war and her part in that war would be anything but easy. She was nothing more than cannon fodder, hardly worth a damn, but that had worked to her advantage as she'd coasted under the radar, only being noticed by him and for reasons that had nothing to do with everything she'd kept hidden and tucked away from common sight. So many would die... Would she be among them? Would he?

Calima's eyes squeezed tighter shut, the long line of her lashes pressing into the tear-streaked rise of her cheekbones as she felt his strong arms envelop her body into their protective embrace. His lips worked against hers, his mustache tickling her as their kisses became more and more frantic before absolving away into a tear-filled embrace. Any other time, she'd have paused to stroke the curled handlebars of that mustache. She loved it. She loved him... But now? Now there was no pause to be made, no time to make it. This was to be a farewell neither would ever forget. One which the halfling Kelpie would etch into her memory and save for her dreams.

While the two ill-fated lovers sat silently in their joint melancholy, the breeze picked up once again. Gentle, soft as a kitten's whiskers, but enough that it set the long stems of the wild grasses to sighing and singing, officially breaking the monotony of their awkward quiet. It did little to stir the Equiids, their thoughts were focused solely on one another, stamping those final hours into the dark, deep recesses of their minds. At least there, time failed to march forward. At least there, their passion could be eternal.

Time, however, was a river - ever-flowing, never stopping, always finding a way to make its path steadily onward. The final vestiges of sunlight falling beyond the horizon was just one reminder of that sentiment. Albeit hesitant to untangle himself from the young mare in his arms, Ta'kom studiously managed to fulfill his directive for the evening. He lit two candles, much to the chagrin of the wind, and uncorked a bottle of wine he'd managed to smuggle from the officers' mess hall. Any other time, Calima would have chuckled at his pilfering, but she simply looked on, forcing her ears to prick forward at the sound of the fine mulled liquid filling their cups. They were wooded, and anything but fancy. Standard issue utensils were utilitarian, even for the officers, but details such as that were of little importance and immediately lost. For all she cared, they could have been the finest crystal.

Raising his mug, Ta'kom broke the verbal silence. "To us..."

With less enthusiasm, Calima raised her's and replied. "To us..."

As the pair tipped up their cups, the moon began to crest on the horizon, shining brilliantly against a star-speckled ombre sky. The harmonious chatter of woodland life drifted through the air as the pair began reminiscing about happier times past. The conversation began when the two were children, shaking and scared as the Matriarch called down from her stage. Flowing forward, Calima laughed about when Instructor Kallisor accidentally stabbed himself with a poisoned dagger and how training was canceled for a week. Then, there was the day it was announced that those of noble birth would be separated to begin training in their family's specialties.

A somber silence engulfed the two once more as the same thought entered both Ta'kom and Calima's minds; They had dealt with that separation, maybe they could deal with this one as well. Though for Calima, as she turned away from Ta'kom, looking toward the horizon, another thought overrode everything else. Maybe it simply slipped her mind or maybe the stress of the day made her forget. How could she...

"Calima? Is something wrong? You've got a worried look about you." Ta'kom questioned

A single delicate ear flicked swiftly in his direction. Indeed, she was worried. Calima had lived her entire life with a secret that quite literally meant the difference between life and death should it ever be spilled and spoiled. As such, the young mare had never revealed it to anyone, even though it had complicated her life among the natural equines.

Once, sometimes twice, a month she'd be forced to feign illness, seeking isolation from any and everyone when the full moon rose and the tides began to shift. She could feel it then just as she felt it at that very moment; a calling, a tugging, and demand to which she simply couldn't capitulate or acquiesce. Her eyes closed. So many times she'd dodged questions and answered with a half-hearted reply that she'd been studying or meditating or some other nonsense - anything but the truth.

As a child, her mother had made it explicitly clear that isolation was what she needed to do - the explanation as to why was always held above her head, some clandestine piece of knowledge she'd have bequeathed upon her when she came 'of age' as a right of passage. That time never rose, she'd already been assimilated into the world of the natural Equines before the time she'd come of age - and when she did... The reason made itself clear all on its own.

"I'm fine," Calima replied, desperate to save face. She even offered him a fleeting little smile as she considered jumping up and fleeing. That thought immediately kicked the proverbial bucket. She knew that Ta'kom would only follow her out of concern for her safety. But the stirring in her womb had already begun and she knew it was too late. Only the truth could set her free now, and it would result in her exaltation or execution at the hands of the man she loved.

How fitting.

Ta'kom, in response, twisted his head a bit, still questioning what was going through Calima's find. "Do you really think that after all the years we've been together that I wouldn't know when something's wrong?"

She shivered at the sound of the softness in his voice. She could barely see him from beneath the thick golden veil of her lashes, but what she could see was more than just concern written across his face. He was studying her.

Another thought had pushed its way into Ta'kom's mind. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light from the full moon playing its sterling fingers across her coat, but the mare before him appeared to be glowing. More specifically, the smatterings of teal spots across her body were positively radiant, shining like stars against the russet backdrop of the rest of her. As her eyes opened and she turned to finally face him and look him in the eyes, his silly thought was cemented in reality. Calima was indeed glowing, her usually shocking blue eyes glittered brightly, making that fact abundantly clear.

The mare's mouth opened, but sound refused to leave at first, and she placed a hand squarely over her heart. She could feel it racing against her palm as both anxiety and lust continued to grow. Her nostrils dilated as she drew and deep breath and released it slowly, sounding more like a squeaky balloon than the confident mare so many had come to know and rely on.

The time had come to reveal her secret to the man she'd loved for so long, and as if the night itself had come to aid her on her journey, its warm winds picked up, lofting her mane as it ran its invisible fingers through it and causing the glistening locks to flow in a manner almost supernatural. "How much do you know about Kelpies, Ta'kom? Tell me what you've heard?" She asked. She'd already begun slowly unbuttoning her tunic, well aware of her lover's intrigued and puzzled look.

The stallion's ears whisked forward sharply in alarm, "Kelpies?!" Ta'kom exclaimed as he swallowed hard. Perhaps this was all a bad dream? Her glowing spots and eyes, the talk of fantastic creatures, the seductive way she was slowly undressing - it left him with an unusual mixture of both abject terror and undeniable arousal. Just what was it she was going on about? "I mean, I know the stories we were all told as children about water monsters. They're just something parents tell their kids to keep them away from the water and strange feral ancients. Frightening them into safety." He shrugged, watching more and more skin be revealed.

Slipping her arm free of the final sleeve she'd had to contend with, the offending garment was held up between them, captured between jus two fingers, before she dropped it into the tall grass and offered him a gentle nod, "You and I both know there's a pinch of truth in every fairytale," She all but sighed, propping herself up on her knees with her hands on the ground. Her face found itself scant centimeters from his before the gap was closed and they rested cheek to cheek, lip to ear.

"Despite what you've heard, only some of it is true." She whispered ever so softly, "We are dangerous, we do live in water, but we only do what is necessary to protect ourselves. We've been hunted to near extinction because people fear what they do not know." Calima's teeth gently grazed the shell of his ear before leaning back and finding her feet, fumbling with the buckles on her leather breeches. "One thing you likely have not been told is that on the nights when the moon is full things like clothing are almost suffocating. They're unnatural... Uncomfortable... I just get so damn hot." Her voice drifted off as she continued to struggle to get the clasps undone.

A Kelpie... Flesh and blood mythical monster. Something allegedly responsible for the deaths of children and fishermen alike. Something that left one fearful on misty nights near any body of water. They were supposed to be so very ugly, covered in mud and bog water, seaweed and algae tangled into their unkempt manes and tails - and there she was. Shining, shimmering, splendid. There was no way... And yet... The look in her eye told him it was the truth. With a slight nervousness in his voice, Ta'kom finally spoke, "But you're not going to eat me, right?" He couldn't help the chuckle that punctuated his words.

Her head tilted at him and her heart raced even faster, flat out galloping wildly within the cage of her chest. It was truly now or never, she needed to test and provoke him. She needed to know she could still trust him or simply allow him to end her there and then. A plan, however harebrained, was hatched.

"You're right to be afraid." She began as the final clasp was finally freed. The bronze buckles were so worn and old it was no wonder they were giving the mare so much trouble. Before continuing, Calima let out an appreciative sigh as she pushed her breeches down off her hips and kicked them free as they slithered down the length of her legs.

"Much better..." She hummed, stepping free and standing before him in all her glory. "The moon cycle brings with it a lust most undeniable. Sex or blood, it demands either and there's never a warning or indication of how the evening will go beforehand. That's why I isolate myself, Ta'kom, but it seems we're both lucky tonight, or about it be."

Ta'kom could only stare in pure amazement at the sight before him. Calima standing there, directly in front of the swollen, full rising moon as it inched higher and higher away from its bed at the horizon. She was a painting in motion, brought to life by the loving hand of an artist simply known as time and nature. Her beauty radiated in a way that he'd never been truly able to appreciate until that exact moment, watching her as she shone brightly. She was a dream... She was magic... His consciousness abruptly returned him to the moment and task at hand. The tightness of his breeches had become increasingly present, nearly to the point of absolute pain - and with it had come the dissipation of his fears, replacing it with desire.

"What do you mean by 'lucky', Calima?" Ta'kom questioned

Calima cracked a sly smile, answering, "Well, when a stallion and a mare love one another..."

"I know how sex works. You said we were both going to get lucky and I assume there's more to it than getting laid," Ta'kom replied

"I'll be blunt, Ta'kom. Had it been a night for bloodlust, you wouldn't be alive when the sun rose in the morn'." She explained, deadpan. "Beyond that, just the fact that I'm telling you any of this means that I've placed an enormous amount of trust and faith in you. Before I was separated from my parents, even as a child, I was told never to speak of my identity to natural Equiids. I can feel it in my bones, Ta'kom, that you now knowing this, is a threat to my very existence and the existence of my people."

Silence spanned between them as the stallion absorbed her words and their meaning and watched the seductive sway of her hips as she sashayed towards him. The moonlight soaked her nubile young body, highlighting her every curve and the pretty lines of her delicate arabesque face. When she finally came to rest, standing so close to him that he could have reached his tongue out to run it along her pubic mound - and he'd have been a liar had he claimed the thought didn't cross his mind - he was powerless to do much more than bask in her glory. The scent of her heat, the heady notes of night-blooming jasmine and salt breezes, was nearly overwhelming. His cock flexed instinctively within the painfully tight confines of his breeches. He shuddered roughly as she lowered herself, straddling his waist as she came to rest against him.

Stars alive, Ta'kom could feel the heat of her lust inflamed sex against his shaft. His hips shifted, demanding more contact - better contact - with that divine part of her perfect body.

"You were too slow, it seems. You know the legends, a Kelpie never allows its prey to escape once it has it in its grasp." Calima's voice was low and husky, and damn near close to a possessive growl as she spoke and waited to see just how he would react.

Escape? Ta'kom thought briefly. Even if he wasn't mesmerized by the mare before him, escape was the furthest thing from his mind. He chuckled before replying to Calima's obviously playful words with sarcasm. "Oh no! The sexy, scary mare sitting in my lap has captured me! Whatever shall I do?" While Ta'kom had a large grin on his face, he saw no such jovial expression from Calima.

Instead, Calima yawned in a display that revealed her fang-like eye teeth and the sharply back curved ones that lined her jaws behind her equine fronts. No sooner did her lips close than she'd easily pulled Ta'kom's hidden dirk out from the backside of his belt. Cold fear mixed with the heat of his desire, sending a chill through the stud that settled in the pit of his belly. He froze, choosing to allow the mare to do as she pleased until he was certain of what she was doing.

Calima could feel the shift of his tension as she picked up one of his hands, closing his fingers tightly around the dagger's hilt. Raising the point of the blade to the skin of her throat, she placed the tip against a clearly visible pulsing artery. Her head tilted off to one side, her mouth falling scant inches from Ta'kom's ear as she gave him full access to her life-vein and the means to sever it. "Foolish stallion. You dare to mock me? I'm giving you a choice, either you fuck me or you kill me here and now."

Her words sent a fresh rush of blood through him, erasing the chill. His ears pinned at the sound of her calling him foolish, and the implication that he'd ever seriously choose to end her. The hand with the dagger lowered, tossing it off into the grass somewhere to his side, while the other wrapped itself around her upper back and drew her in closer. He could feel the sinews of her body begin to relax, and his heart nearly shattered with the realization that she'd been poised to react had he chosen the other option.

"Shhhh..." He crooned, placing the gentlest of nips to her throat where the blade had been, claiming it as his regardless. "We'll discuss who the greater fool is later, mare." Ta'kom's confidence was only bolstered by the feel of her melting against him and the subtle roll of her hips grinding her loins against him.

He knew just how to please her. It certainly wasn't the first time the pair of lovers had mated, but the energy in the air that night was something neither had experienced before. It left them nervous and raw, and it wasn't long before the mare couldn't take it any further. Rocking back on her knees, she threw care to the wind and quickly tore his tunic open with a less than dainty huff of effort. Buttons flew in every direction, scattered and lost to time itself as she eagerly surveyed the heated flesh she'd exposed with her actions.

Ta'kom had given her his answer, and it was the one she'd hoped for but never dreamed would come. What would happen between the pair would be unprecedented. It would be beautiful. It would likely haunt them for the rest of their lives - and for Calima, that was a very very long time.

Rising from Ta'kom's lap, she reached for his waistband with a sense of desperation he couldn't quite register. Wordlessly, the pair worked in tandem to quickly free the stud's manhood and legs from his restrictive garment. It was an immeasurable relief once the stallion's massive cock sprang free from its cloth cage, its half-mast girth bouncing lightly and taking full advantage of its freedom. Such actions hardly went unnoticed by Calima, who gazed upon his member with a look of desire that almost frightened the stallion - but the moment she took his shaft in her small hands, his fears immediately eased. One stroke became two and before he knew it, the warm wetness of her satiny lips and tongue had engulfed the greater parts of his sensory system. He couldn't help but moan a heavy breath, half closing his eyes as she thoroughly enjoyed the process of readying her partner for further pleasure.

Ta'kom lay back on the ground, guiding Calima's positively dripping sex to the lips of his muzzle. On the other end, the full girth and length of his impressive 18-inch cock stood firmly erect with a generous dollop of pre-cum leaking from his tip. The mare shivered at the sensation of his hot breath blowing across her most sensitive region as she dutifully licked his cream from his cock-head and set back to sucking and stroking him as best she could.

That was all the invitation Ta'kom needed to dive tongue-first into Calima's heated snatch.

As Ta'kom's hips reflexively, yet carefully, thrust upwards to meet his lover's talented mouth, he explored the swollen folds of her labia for the first time. Slowly he traced them with tongue and fingers alike, desperately memorizing every detail he could. It wasn't long at all before her juices, mixed with his saliva, thoroughly glazed his muzzle, trapping him with her scent. And something new about that scent was driving him positively wild.

One hand held her hips steady, keeping her from bucking against his face as she often did in the height of her pleasure, while the other gently spread her tiny, pink slit open just a little bit more before he circled her hyper-sensitive clit with his tongue and plunged it within her.

The hand on her hip tightened to steady her and keep her still as she gasped and moaned around the head of his cock, nearly breaking his concentration. A single finger had replaced his tongue, massaging her clit as he rhythmically pumped his tongue in about, fully tasting and coaxing out the ambrosia of her body. Distracted and held fast as she may have been, the mare couldn't help but close her thighs around his head. Even before they'd begun, the lust-driven mare had been worked into a frenzy and this was nearly too much for her to handle. The night air was quickly filled with the sounds of their pleasure, though such a melody was quickly ushered along by the breeze.

"More, please Ta'kom!" Calima gasped as the waves of her climax subsided and her grip on both of his heads was released. A quick nip to the globe of her ass check and guidance from the hand he'd placed on her hip, spun her around to face him. He could register the surprise of her face, the lust, the adoration, the passion, and Ta'kom sealed it with a heavy kiss, one that left her able to taste herself on his tongue and lips. One that left them both intoxicated and shuffling to guide her into position.

The fat, swollen head of his cock drug through the folds he'd so gently and carefully laved and loved with his tongue mere seconds prior. Her hips rolled as she felt it catch just within the entrance of her core - and it was obvious that he, too, had been all too aware of the sensation of being squeezed and popped into place within her velvet vice. His hands closed tightly on the swell of her hips, and with one nearly violent upward thrust of his hips, he pulled her down upon the length of his cock, sheathing himself within her completely.

Calima's body went rigid instantly and her head was thrown backward in a stunning display of erotic capitulation and surrender. He could feel her body convulsing and milking the length of his cock as her second orgasm ripped through her body and left her nearly broken and boneless. "Calima." He commanded her attention, holding her in place as the quivering began to subside. He could feel her juices trickling from the place where their bodies joined and followed the contour of his heavy balls. "Calima, look at me."

She did. Her head tipped forward and she peered back at him through narrow, glowing slits. "I want to see your face. I want to remember you like this." His voice rolled like distant thunder. She could feel it, as much as she heard it, and it did nothing to ease the desire she felt for him. Her fingers reached to stroke his cheek and neck at about the same time his hips thrust up into her again, albeit far more gently this time. Calima's breath caught and released in a long, breathy moan that turned into what could only be described as a strained whine as her body reacted and rocked to meet his, thrust for thrust. Even her tail swished and snapped before being held high and off to the side as if that would help ease the intense sensations generated by their coupling beneath the pale moon.

"I love you, Calima." Ta'kom gasped, digging his fingers into the flesh of her hips as he pistoned into her, no longer able to restrain himself against the tide of emotions that swept over him. Love, lust, awe, sadness, anger... All of it crashed against him like a wave against the rocks - and it radiated through him into the love astride and all around him.

And that was all the wee Kelpie, in all of her shivering beauty, could take.

One further up sweep of his magnificent cock, and the way its flaring head kissed against the mouth of her womb, set the elegant creature off. "Keep looking at me!" He called to her, reaching to cradle her cheek in one of his massive hands as he felt her body tighten and writhe all around his shaft, begging him to finish, begging him to fill her with his essence.

His name was a mantra on her lips, thick and husky and barely able to be made out as legitimate speech as she gasped and bucked erratically against him, grinding hard and fighting to keep him buried and completely hilted within her as instinct demanded and dictated. She could barely hear him babbling beautiful words of endearment to her over the sound of the blood rushing in her ears - but froze at the first feeling of his burning hot seed splashing against her womb. Ta'kom was positively clinging to her as rope after rope of potent cum emptied into her from his tightened balls. Beneath himself, he could feel his tail twitching against the ground, tangling the thick hair of itself within the grasses - and he didn't care. All he cared about was the mare astride him, receiving his essence...

... Receiving life.

Neither one was aware of the full implications and ramifications of that final night spent beneath the light of a ripe moon. Neither one paused to think about a damn thing beyond soaking up the very last vestiges of their ill-fated romance and attempting to pretend that the dawn would never come. They lay there in their tarnished afterglow, tracing lazy shapes and patterns over one another's' coats, silently communicating in a language only the heartbroken could ever begin to understand until the moon shifted towards her place of rest.

Calima's ears hesitantly twitched in the direction of the crickets and peepers, listening as their lilting songs of summertide began to wane and give way to the sonata of the rising sun, sang by any number of birds that had begun to wake in preparation of greeting the first rays of light and warmth. The mare's eyes closed in acknowledgment that their borrowed time had run out.

"Don't open your eyes," she whispered to him, stroking trembling fingers along the strength of Ta'kom's jaw.

The stallion's own fingers traced the swell of her hip, memorizing the curve with his touch. "Why?" He asked, his voice soft and thick with the haze of adoration and melancholy.

"Because maybe... Just maybe... If we don't open our eyes, then it really isn't morning and none of this is really happening."

Ta'kom's heart threatened to shatter under the weight of her words. He rolled to envelop her in his arms, drawing her little form tight to his chest and his lips pressed tightly to the silken rust of her mane and forelock between her ears. Replying with words seemed as though it would cheapen the moment, and there was absolutely nothing that he could have said to ease the pain.

Their goodbye was far longer, far more drawn out than either had expected. Forehead to forehead, heart to heart, the pair had stood in silence, simply sharing breath and space as the sun rose to claim what the moon had held holy mere hours before. Regardless, bravery and duty won out over the desire to ignore the world and the implications of desertion - the mare of sunset and sea-foam went one direction, the stallion of ash and dusk parted in the other, with neither part aware of the wee beginning spark of life - the evidence that they had indeed loved one another - now cradled in the safety of Calima's womb, or the stories that would unfold for all three creatures bound tightly together.