Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 5.1 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 5.1 Doen The Midnight Sun
Going from one harsh encounter to another, the Caravan of Doen must now deal with a threat from within their number. Let's see how well the party members (and contributing readers) are able to handle it. Also: Jasper won the call to receive the black hart leather; congratulations, Jasper! Finally, there were not enough votes to grant any character a bonus experience point; awww....
The first thing I remember after recovering from the blow from the rock was the incredible amount of pain in my head... obviously. The second thing was the familiarity of my carriage, and the deja vu of having Taggart leaning over me, changing a damp cloth on my forehead. "We have to stop meeting like this." he joked with me, and I laughed... but regretted it a moment later when it made the headache that much worse.
"Ow." I emoted.
"I really didn't know imps were strong enough to pick up rocks that big." Taggart admitted.
"Lesson learned, huh?" I offered with a smile, and it was his turn to laugh.
The dog took the used cloth and placed it back into the water dish. He looked back down at me, smoothing out his kilt, "Are you okay? Not too dizzy?"
"Just a headache." I answered.
He held up a paw showing his thumb and all three fingers, "How many fingers?"
"Four," I replied, "If I'm counting your thumb."
Taggart nodded with a faint smile, "You priests certainly pay attention to detail." he looked at his paw, "Three fingers and a thumb." he chuckled. I felt his tail wagging against the covers of my cot and, as I looked at the way he distracted himself with his paw, I finally realized how wrong his statement was-- I HAD overlooked something.
"Taggart?"
"Hmm?" he inquired, seemingly engrossed in his own paw.
I reached out and took hold of it in one of my own, "Thank you for helping me."
The inside of his ears reddened immediately, and he quickly looked away from our joined paws, "You're important to the caravan... and... you're a priest... and..." he fidgeted, reddening more.
"...and?" I offered. I let my tone invite conversation rather than make any accusation. Judging from the way he brushed the scar on his muzzle, I could tell there was much more to Taggart's thoughts than anything superficial.
"I'm from Bannihar... originally." he noted, slowly taking his paw back.
"I didn't know that." I responded honestly. I didn't have to say anything more than that; I could tell that Taggart was ready to talk.
"But... it wasn't ever home... not like Doen was... not like it was for me at Avrin's Pub." Taggart let out a sigh.
I sat up slowly, pointedly taking my time to make sure that my head didn't spin and I didn't feel sick to my stomach. Once I was up and in a seated position I reached out and rested a paw on the dog's shoulder, "Then I can understand why you came to Doen... but, if Avrin's Pub was home for you, why did you leave?"
"I..." Taggart lowered his head and shrugged, "I guess, maybe I thought there was more out there for me... like there was some big plan I was supposed to be a part of and that no matter how much the pub felt like home, until I had a chance to find out where I belonged in the world I couldn't really be happy." and, after a few moments of silence, he finally looked up at me, "What about you?" he asked, "I can't think of many priests that would willingly leave a life of luxury for something like this." he motioned around the interior of the carriage.
"I'm not doing this for me." I answered with as much certainty as I could muster. In truth, looking back on my decision, I would have to say that it was as much my own sense of wanderlust and desire for a change as it was my intent to make a difference, "Something's wrong, and I have to help find out what it is."
Taggart nodded at that, quiet again. We each sat on the edge of the bed for several minutes until he spoke up, "I wish I could be a little less self-centered."
My ears sprang up at that, "What?" I'm sure the word came out at almost a shout, "YOU? Self-centered?" I almost thought it was a joke until he looked up at me, eyes damp. I lowered my voice, "Why? How? You're not self-centered at all."
He chuckled hesitantly, "It feels like everything I do is just for me." he answered, "I ran away from home after I told my parents that I like men more than women."
The comment made me pause until I remembered that Bannihar had different views on that sort of thing, "How does that make you self-centered?"
"I shouldn't have said anything." the dog explained, "There's no reason I should have said anything... but I did, because I wanted them to accept me."
The words almost knocked me for as much of a loop as the rock had, "Taggart..." I said, reaching for one of his paws, "The desire to be accepted is NOT a selfish thing." I explained, "If nothing, it's keeping who you really are from others that's self-serving."
"It just seems like I made everyone's life harder because I decided to say something." the dog stated, turning to look at me for the first time since the conversation began.
"You have no control how others react to what you say... as long as you don't say it with spite or intent to cause harm, you cannot be accused of having anything but the best intentions." I explained.
"What about leaving the pub?" he quickly pointed out, "Andrew took me in when I didn't have anywhere else to go. He and his wife treated me like family, and then I decide things aren't good enough there and abandon them to go to Zion." tears started flowing in earnest.
"Do you really feel like you abandoned them?" I asked, "Don't you think that if they treated you like family that they would support your decision to see the world?"
He wiped at his eyes with his free paw, squeezing mine with the one I held, "I... guess."
"And I can't believe that they really thought you abandoned them... and the fact that you're concerned with feeling like you did can only mean that you're not as self-centered as you think." I offered a smile.
"Well what about Haldyn?" he asked.
"What about him?" I inquired. Something about my response seemed to bother him; I saw the flinch he failed to hide.
"I know what the two of you did at the Wayside." he noted, speaking as if he didn't like the taste of his words.
"Oh... he told you?" I asked. The thought surprised me since the lion didn't seem to be the type to want others to know of his use of a Doenan Priest for companionship.
"No... I heard it." Taggart noted, motioning to his ears.
"I see." I nodded, and then paused. We were both quiet for several moments until I pressed the issue, "What does Haldyn have to do with you?"
"I..." I saw the words formulating in his mind, as if he were trying to find a way to explain a complicated topic. For all my lack of understanding at that point, it may as well have been one. Finally, however, he was able to explain, "I didn't want you to be with him."
"Why not?" I asked; if my ears could have gone up any further I'm sure they would have.
"BecauseIlikeyou." he powered through the sentence, running the words together.
"You like me?" I asked. It took a second before the simplicity of the statement took hold, at which point I smiled, "Well, I like you too, Taggart... you're a wonderful person... but I don't see what--" when he interrupted me, I was able to tell that it wasn't as simple a statement as I first thought.
"I!" the exclamation was a single syllable as he jumped to his feet, then slowly sat back down, his voice lowering, "I.. I like you, Zachary... not like I've been able to like anyone else."
"What do you...?" I began, but paused when he gazed right at me and, at that moment, I finally understood.
"I'm a Priest of Doen, Taggart..." I said simply, "You shouldn't hate that I tend to my flock... what I did or will do for Haldyn, or any other of a hundred hundreds of faithful shouldn't be something you should have to like or dislike."
"I know..." Taggart stated, pulling his paw from mine as he moved both of his paws to either side of his head in frustration, "That's why I feel like I'm so selfish."
I reached out and moved one of his paws, replacing it with my own as I smiled, "Taggart... you are not a selfish person." I said with certainty.
"Well I feel like it." he answered with a sigh.
"You've put your life on the line several times to help those around you..." I noted, moving my other paw to the other side of his face, replacing his again, "You've watched over me more than once..." I slid closer to him, "And you gave up your employment with Mr Flynn to do what you knew was right." I moved my face closer to his so I could look him right in the eye, "I have never met anyone else who has been so selflessly giving." and, with that, I pressed my muzzle to his.
I felt Taggart's heartbeat race the moment our lips touched. His tail, beyond wagging, simply vibrated against the bed and a moan escaped him once our muzzles separated, "Oh Goddess, Zachary... I... I don't want you to think that I--"
"I am a priest of Doen, Taggart... I don't judge." I answered, sliding my paws into his vest. I felt his fur puff up at my touch and his body shiver as I slipped his vest right off of him, "You've explained all you need to, and now it's my turn." I smiled, "You are a good man, Taggart O'Cuagan, and we are honored to have you with us on this journey... I am honored to have you with me right now."
A soft whine escaped the dog, and he slid his head up against my neck, pressing his body against me as he gave me the most heartfelt embrace I think I'd ever received. I've had men and women both pull me close to them, sometimes for the comforting touch of another emotional being, and sometimes in anticipation of a physical release... but in Taggart's case, it was something entirely different... he didn't embrace me as a priest; it felt like he was holding onto me for me.
Falling back to the cot, stunned by the intimate feel of being embraced by an equal rather than a supplicant, I opened my muzzle to speak, but Taggart was the first to find his voice, "Zachary..." he whispered, "I don't want to be with a priest..." he murmured.
The admission surprised me, but I recovered quickly and drew back, "I understand, Taggart... it's--" but he silenced me with a new kiss.
"I don't want to be with a priest... but I DO want to be with you." he answered.
The differentiation was not something I was used to, nor was the hesitation in his voice... I'd had uncertain partners before, but it was usually because they had never been with a priest until me, or weren't certain what to expect. In Taggart's case, I felt a different kind of uncertainty... something more... meaningful. In response, I gently pulled him down toward me and met his muzzle again with my own. My paws slid up the outside of his thighs, raising his kilt until then caressed his rump, pulling his hips down until he lay atop me.
Taggart's arms slid down either side of me. He drew them back up, claws gripping my robe as he raised it up to my waist; I could feel his body shaking. Breaking the kiss, I looked up at him patiently, seeing the still-present uncertainty. He was still young, which sounds silly coming from me since he is easily three or four years my senior, but there was something about him that suggested a degree of experience in the act, without any great level of experience in the spirit behind it. "It's alright..." I told him, "You don't have to do anything."
The dog looked down at me, ears turning even redder as he straddled my hips, "I know I don't have to..." he said, suddenly gaining a little more confidence as his paws slid underneath my robe, brushing through the fur on my chest as the bottom hem of my garments raised to my sternum. I felt his erection slide through my belly fur, and my mine brush against his groin before his tail slowly lowered down between my legs, "But I really want to..." he breathed.
Taggart pressed his hips against mine, exhaling deeply as his kilt settled down around me, both of us naked beneath it. I inhaled sharply as I felt the flesh beneath his tail slowly part, permitting me entrance into his body. It was slow... careful... intimate... many of the things that the time I'd spent with others was not. I could tell that he was eager and his desire was second to none... but there was a tenderness to it... something that hinted about more significance than the act itself. The prayers I'd spoken to Tah'Aveen often added that missing element during any such sessions with past partners... but that time, only one name came to my lips, "Taggart..." I whispered.
"Zach..." he moaned back, gripping the fur of my chest in his paws, arching his back as he slid even further down onto me. Despite the hundreds of times I'd been with anyone, I could not think of any other time that I was more meaningful; to Taggart I was not a direct line to the Goddess... I was not a Priest... I was not some easy way to seek relief and release... to Taggart, I was Zachary.
I awoke in the morning with Taggart laying beside me, head resting on my chest; when I let out a breath, his ear flicked, tickling my fur. Ever-so-gently I eased out of bed, leaving the dog to his dreams. I washed quickly and redonned by robe, and quietly slipped out of the carriage. We had been up late the previous night and, unlike a priest, Taggart was not able to draw stamina from prayers to the Goddess; he'd need more sleep.
As I strolled across the encampment I couldn't help but notice a little spring to my step. One of my older brothers, before he had retired to a life of isolation from the world once told me something very profound: "If you can find just one person in the world who you can give meaning to in life then you have found a purpose." Despite the fact that I already had plans and goals and a destination, I couldn't help but admit that it felt like Taggart provided me with an even greater sense of self.
"I think things are finally going right." I remember saying to myself... right until I received a blow to the back of the head, knocking me clean out. Yea... ironic.
* * * * * *
Since this is the last chapter before the first Milestone, there will actually be 4 posts instead of the usual three. To better showcase individual characters, the focus will shift from just Zachary's first person narrative to focus on others as the chapter progresses.
The Doenians are going to have to deal with some Sun Cultists... but for now, it's some character development between Taggart and Zachary. This chapter is given a red border due to the depth of the "charcater interaction". Due to the AUP policy of Fur Affinity (being only 16, Zachary is technically "under age") I didn't post the full version over there, but you guys here on SF get to see the whole thing. Congratulations!
As always, any comment or input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!