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The Seduction of Seleste

from the world of the mating season

Goodnight My Love

Chapter 35

They traveled on through the green forest, and after having lived for so many days in the bright dazzling plains, the forest seemed dull to Seleste in comparison. Moving among the murky green shadows, she couldn't bring her mind from the rich golden fields, the flowers, the fruits she had only just left behind. Sometimes she wondered what life would have been like had Keme never appeared in the throne room, had she just stayed and made Ahote happy. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad after all. But when she glanced at Keme as she moved with him through the shafts of sunlight, he would smile at her with love ringing clear in his green eyes, her heart would skip a beat, and she knew she had made the right choice.

Clouds began to swirl overhead, and in the distance, thunder cracked. The rainy season was coming, lurching above in the form of ominous black clouds. The wind picked up, sending its icy fingers through Seleste's fur. She shivered, and when Keme frowned, she knew he was wondering where her blanket was.

"Night comes," Soomse announced. He glanced back at Seleste. "And with it rain. We must find a place to make camp, Chieftess."

"We'd get to the moon village a lot faster if we didn't keep stopping," Talisa complained.

When Soomse looked as if he would argue, Seleste stepped forward. "You're right, Soomse. Let's find a suitable place."

Soomse stared at Talisa a moment, as if he wanted to say something to her. But he nodded to Seleste and turned away.

They continued on. Honiahaka walked upfront with Soomse. Seleste, Keme, and Talisa followed behind them. The rest of Ahote's escort followed in the rear. They fell silent as night began to darken the sky, as stars became apparent in the purple mist, as shadows lengthened to cover the leafy earth.

Seleste had never walked so much in her life. She reflected that even when traveling with Keme in the wastelands, she hadn't walked because her leg had been broken: he had carried her. And now, they were walking and walking and walking. She could feel her calves screaming, and looking down at them whenever they paused to rest, she noticed them becoming rounder and more pronounced. Keme noticed this two and playfully wagged his eyebrows. Seleste laughed. She was so glad to have Keme back to his normal, silly self. With Honiahaka's return, he seemed to come alive. It hit her for the first time that he had been convinced the shemales had killed Honiahaka.

"Something ahead," Soomse whispered and halted. He lifted his paw for the others to halt. They followed suit when he crouched down in the bushes.

Seleste crept to Soomse's side to see what the matter was. He glanced at her questioningly, then looked ahead again. Seleste followed his gaze to what appeared to be a hut. It was a log cabin. The thatch roof was lopsided, as if the rain had pushed it out of shape. A large tree with a swing stood outside. The wooden seat of the swing was cracked in halves and dangled from the ropes. Woven baskets hung from the roof, draped with curling flowers. The hut was dark, and the entire outside was overgrown with flowered vines. Vines snaked across the shuttered windows, sealed the door shut, twisted through cracks and sprouted through the rotting wood. The whole cabin had the air of something defeated or dead. And outside . . . near the tree with the swing . . . a little grave.

"Looks to be long abandoned," Honiahaka said, "but we could take shelter here for the night."

"Soomse, send warriors to scout ahead," Seleste ordered.

Honiahaka watched her, lifting his eyebrows at this new confidence in Seleste. Seleste blushed and avoided his eye.

"Yes, Chieftess," Soomse said at once and snapped orders to two of his warriors. The two warriors crept toward the rotting cabin, their spears ready. One kicked the door open. They cleared the entry, then hurried inside to check for inhabitants. Lone wolves, bears, any sorts of creatures could have been inside, seeking temporary shelter from the pending storm. After what seemed forever, the two warriors returned to report the cabin empty. Seleste then announced that they would take refuge inside.

Thunder clapped, ringing hard in their ears, and the first few drops hit them as they moved toward the cabin. Seleste couldn't take her eyes off the tiny grave under the tree. Those little stones piled on top . . . they always meant a pup was buried beneath.

As if her feet were carrying her, Seleste hugged herself, shivering against the sudden downpour as she went to the grave. Flowers lay across it, withered and curled, but fresh enough to mean someone had been there recently. Seleste blinked and looked around. Oh, god, were they coming back? Had they just barged into someone's home?

Not knowing why, Seleste knelt and sadly touched her fingers to the pile of stones. A shock went through her, electric and stinging. Her long pale mane whipped straight back, his eyes went wide, and she was blinded by a sudden vision. A female sitting on the swing . . . white . . . blue eyes . . . beautiful . . . rocking back and forth with a small gray pup to her breasts. She was breastfeeding it as she sang, "Oh my love, Melomiel, I will keep you safe and well . . ."

"Seleste?"

Seleste jolted and the vision faded as Keme touched her shoulder. She looked up at him, visibly shaken. He took her paws and helped her to stand . . . and she toppled into his arms in a dead faint.

---

When Seleste later awoke, she could feel the heat of a fire. She didn't open her eyes, she just lay there. She could hear the rain as it drummed the roof, a curiously comforting sound. Her body was aching all over. She felt so sore she didn't want to move. She was lying on a bedroll, could feel the pillow rising soft against her cheek, the brush of the fur mat that made up the base of the bed. Keme was with her. His scent filled her nostrils as his hard body lay alongside her own. His arm was thrown across her and she could hear him breathing quietly. She smiled to herself. He was sleeping with her.

Her eyes still closed, Seleste turned in Keme's arm and snuggled against him. She felt his arm tighten and a thrill of happiness went through her. Others were there too. She could only assume they were inside the abandoned cabin: the smell of the rotting wood, the flowers, the weeds was pungent on the air. And there was another scent - a musky scent Seleste couldn't quite identify. She could smell Soomse and his warriors, as well as Talisa and Honiahaka. She could hear Talisa's small feet moving, pacing. It had to be Talisa: the tread was too light to be male.

"Tali," Honiahaka said soothingly, "sit. Seleste is fine, I assure you."

"I don't like it," Talisa said nervously. "This place _reeks _of magic! Can't you smell it? It smells like Zaldon's house. There were blue butterflies here once - they're everywhere outside, dead."

"Yes, I saw," Seleste heard Honiahaka say pensively. She stole a peek from behind her mane and saw he was sitting on a wooden chair, rubbing his chin in deep thought. He looked like a statue, so hard and muscular, one paw touching his face and the other hanging between his knees, his brows furrowed in a frown. Somehow, it made him look handsome. Seleste smiled. She had never dreamed that skinny, scrawny, awkward Honiahaka could grow to become such a big, graceful, beautiful thing. The first time she laid eyes on him in the forest, she finally understood how it was that both Keme and Talisa seemed so taken with him. To learn that Keme had slept with Honiahaka had angered and stunned her. But now . . . it wasn't so shocking.

Behind Honiahaka, Seleste could see Talisa pacing up and down. Without turning, Honiahaka reached over his shoulder and caught her arm. He pulled her close, and she stood behind him, hugging his neck. Seleste watched with an aching heart as Honiahaka rubbed Talisa's paw and kissed it to calm her. She smiled and dropped her cheek against the top of his head, leaning down close to hug his neck tighter. They looked so sweet together. It sent a pang of confusion and despair through Seleste to see them that way. She wanted to be happy for them, but at the same, she was finding that she wanted Honiahaka. She wanted to know him between her thighs. She felt terrible for her desire - but dammit! Everyone had slept with him but her! Keme had known the heaven of that hard body and Talisa had been sleeping with him for years! Seleste's eyes traced over Honiahaka's hard chest and rippling belly and she hated herself for wanting something she had spent years rejecting, she hated herself for wanting something that now belonged to Talisa - even if Talisa didn't seem to know it yet.

"You know," Honiahaka said with a laugh, "Zaldon is going to throw you over his knee when we get back."

"To blazes with Zaldon," Talisa said at once and Honiahaka laughed again.

"Now, now," he playfully chided. "If it wasn't for Zaldon, we wouldn't have met."

Talisa smiled and her cheek bulged against Honiahaka's mane. "I remember the day he brought me to court like yesterday."

"You should," returned Honiahaka. "I was outside my father's hut playing, and you threw mud in my eye!"

"It was because I liked you!"

"But how was I supposed to know that? I ran inside crying --"

"--and Zaldon popped me on the tail and made me apologize. Then I had to go stand facing the wall while him and your father chatted about the weather. I swear, he whacked me so hard my butt was sore for hours. And it was just one whack. But it was one enough to teach me how to behave at court."

Honiahaka laughed. "Yes, at _court _- anywhere else and you made sure to torment me."

"Am I still tormenting you?" Talisa whispered miserably.

Honiahaka sighed heavily, and watching from behind the strands of her mane, Seleste saw his pale eyes cloud over sadly. He took Talisa by the paw and guided her to sit in his lap. She perched on one of his thighs and put her arm around his neck. They sadly touched foreheads a moment, then Honiahaka rubbed his nose against hers.

"I love you, Talisa," whispered the sun chief at last. "You could do a million stupid things - and I would still love you. Nothing will ever change that."

Talisa closed her eyes as if she was relieved. Honiahaka smiled and kissed her tenderly. Seleste suddenly wished she was asleep: she felt extremely uncomfortable watching such a tender, intimate moment between the two of them. But she realized that Soomse and his warriors were still there as well - at least two were awake on guard - and as if they had realized it too, Honiahaka and Talisa stopped kissing.

Talisa awkwardly cleared her throat and rose from Honiahaka's lap. She didn't see it - but Seleste did - when Honiahaka's eyes followed after her as if he was spellbound. But the doting look left his face as quickly as it'd come, and Talisa sat at his side on another chair covered in deer hide.

"I miss Zaldon," she said after a pause. She laughed and said to the fire, "I miss the way he was always scolding me -- I acted like I hated it all the time," she added quickly, "but truth was, I liked it. He was always so fussy. Was like having Mom back."

Honiahaka laughed too. "Yes. My father won't be pleased with me either. He didn't want me to join the rescue party. I insisted."

"And you thought it would be a good idea to drag Keme along because . . .?" Talisa lifted an eyebrow.

Honiahaka snorted. "As if anyone could drag Keme anywhere. I didn't ask him to come - he stowed away on my ship!"

"Hmm. For a moment there, I thought you asked him along because you liked him. But then, we both know Kota would have killed him first."

Honiahaka laughed softly. "He almost did. He's the one who found Keme in the storage room. He dragged him up on deck by the mane, shoved him around, put a sword to his throat. I thought I was going to have a dead body to send off to sea."

"Sounds like Kota. And as usual, Kota was right for being jealous, wasn't he? You went after Keme. Didn't you?"

Seleste went very still when Talisa asked the question. This was something she had been wondering about as well. She shifted slightly in Keme's arm to get a better view of Honiahaka's face. The sun chief was looking at the fire, and his pale eyes reflected the flames as they brooded.

"So he told you," Honiahaka said at last.

"Not on purpose," Talisa answered with a weak laugh. "Anyway, you've got deep gouges on your shoulders, Honi. _Someone _was pretty strong with you."

Seleste couldn't believe it when Honiahaka's cheeks colored slightly. But he wouldn't look at Talisa. His face was as guilt-ridden as if he and Talisa were married.

Talisa's wild curls tumbled around her face as she shook her head in amusement. "Same ol' Honi," she said, "can't resist that male tail." She reached over and parted Honiahaka's fur with her slender fingers, examined the nail marks, and tisked.

"It was worth every gouge," Honiahaka said and Talisa laughed heartily.

Seleste lay there feeling shocked. Talisa was taking it so well! When Seleste learned that Keme had been with Honiahaka, the very last _thing she wanted to do was _laugh. Maybe Talisa was better at pretending than her. Or maybe Talisa wasn't as prone to jealousy. But it didn't add up. Talisa had gotten so mad when Seleste let Ahote touch her! And later, when she married Ahote, Talisa attacked him physically with a sword! But to learn that Honiahaka had been with Keme? Apparently, that was nothing to her. In fact, Seleste didn't know why she was surprised: Talisa had shared Honiahaka with Kota for years. Sharing him with another male was hardly something that seemed to upset her.

Seleste lay there watching as Talisa examined Honiahaka's shoulder, and she wished she knew how to be as free of insecurity, jealousy, and anger. But she was just so scared of losing Keme! It was as if, in all the madness of the past few weeks, Keme was a bright, bright light in a place of darkness. She felt warm in his presence and she didn't want that feeling to stop. Ever. She was just so scared of someone taking her light . . .

"He's shemale. He's very strong. He can't help it," Honiahaka said and winced when Talisa grazed a gentle finger over the gouges. "The shemales applied medicine while I was with them. They started healing faster."

"Maybe he thought he could be rougher with you because you're male. He's never harmed Sel and me."

Seleste saw Honiahaka shake his head. "No. It's because he was afraid. I know he feels guilty for his desires. After all, we both thought you and Seleste were dead and because of that, we found comfort in each other."

"Don't beat yourself up, Honi. We've all taken comfort in sex . . . and we've all fucked Keme. No harm done."

Honiahaka laughed. "Yes. Our Keme. It's the rare wolf that could resist such a creature. Masculine divinity, that's what his beauty is. I'm hardly surprised that his flesh was the price you had to pay to escape the plains wolves."

"Keme was the only one shocked. You should have seen him rage when Seleste asked him to do it." Talisa grinned at the fire. "I've never seen anything so cute and hilarious in my life. I mean, it was clear he was attracted to Ahote, but Ahote is so obnoxious --"

"And he married and slept with Seleste," added Honiahaka. "I don't blame Keme for being angry. It's almost how I felt when I discovered the two of them were . . . in love. Here I had risked _everything _to find her only to find that she loved someone else? But then I met Keme, spent time with him, and I was glad. I was glad for both of them. If I can't make Seleste happy, I know he can."

"Ha! You should have seen them back when they first met - couldn't _stand _each other," said Talisa merrily, as if it still delighted her even now. "I just knew they'd fall in love. I kinda coaxed Keme into it. Because I knew they each had something the other needed. I'm glad they eventually grew brain stems and realized it."

Honiahaka chuckled softly.

Listening from where she lay beside Keme, Seleste felt a thrill of guilt. Here she was, jealous of Honiahaka and Talisa - and they were happy for her! She didn't deserve such wonderful friends. She suddenly felt beneath them both.

"So that's why you did it?" Talisa asked quietly after a pause. "Just comfort?"

"Are you asking if I have feelings for Keme?" Honiahaka looked at Talisa searchingly, and Seleste knew he was realizing that perhaps she was a bit insecure. Just a bit.

"It was a vulnerable moment for you, I know. You'd just lost Kota - we l-lost him. God. . . ."

Seleste heard a sniff and her heart ached: Talisa was crying. She had never seen Talisa cry. The auburn warrior sniffed and dragged her wrist under her eye in an angry jerk. Honiahaka scooted his chair closer to hers and wrapped his arm around her. She dropped her head on his shoulder, and he held her tight, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb as she sniffled.

"I miss him too," Honiahaka whispered after a long pause. "Everyday. I ache."

"But it wasn't just because of Kota that you were with Keme," Talisa said wisely.

"No, it wasn't," Honiahaka admitted. "It was simply because I wanted him. He's beautiful - and I don't just mean his body or his face. He's a pleasure to be with, a good friend, loyal and brave. It's because of him we almost saved Kota from drowning - he swam with Kota on his back for I don't know how long before we found driftwood big enough for him. Keme's is a good spirit. I couldn't see myself _not _wanting him. But every time I get close to something beautiful . . ." Seleste saw Honiahaka reach out and cup his paw on the air, as if he was clutching tight to an invisible ball. "It gets away from me," he said. "Seleste got away and Kota got away and you got away. I just wanted to hold Keme, to kiss him and have him in my arms before he got away too."

Listening to Honiahaka, Seleste realized that he was just as frightened of losing his friends as she. How terrible it must have been for him, to think that she and Talisa were dead when he had already lost Kota.

"I can understand that," Talisa said, her head still on Honiahaka's shoulder. "Seleste will understand it too. Just give her time." She kissed him on the cheek and rose. "Good night, Honi."

"Good night . . ." Honiahaka whispered, and as Talisa stood, he smoothed his paw down the length of her tail. She smiled at him over her shoulder and flicked it back up, then switched to her bedroll, tail swishing, and climbed in.

Seleste heard Honiahaka whisper as he turned back to the fire ". . . my love."

---

When I get close to something beautiful Then I feel low

because I know I'll never have it for too long

I've been everywhere I'm like an institution I feel down on myself Just to pray for sweet sunshine

And if I fall Fall . . .

When I get home

I swear I'm gonna change my ways And I'll start dancing Live a little Live it up these days

I say all the words But lack a real solution I tell all my friends Stick around to see who's right

And if I fall Fall Help me if I fall

Help me if I fall . . .

Don't let me go You've got to give me the strength To guide me You get me by You get me high You help me take over this city Don't let it go Don't let it go

Help me if I fall.

-- Matchbox20/If I Fall (the songs that describes Honiahaka in his character sheet)