Festival of Lies
Festival of Lies
Hiding in her room she smiled mischievously at her latched door. On the other side she could hear her parents trying to be quiet, but the spirit of the festival left no one untouched. The Festival of Lies was one that Melanie looked forward to every year, especially this year, as she was finally old enough to attend. No one really kept certain track of the years, only their winters seen and counting the number of times the supply carriages came between so the harvest may begin. She herself had seen 18 winters, her 19th coming up not long after the festival, when the leaves began to fall from the trees.
Her village was a small one, only about three generations of twenty families living in the middle of nowhere, cut snuggly into a clearing in the woods. She had always loved it there, but felt that she was out of place. She was strong of mind and much more driven than any of the other girls, but mostly it was the urges that separated her. A strong burning in her loins that she could not extinguish without lifting her skirts and raking her claws over her forbidden flower. Though some of her friends had experienced similar sensation, they always told her it would pass as she became a true woman. At first she felt like she never would, but even after her first heat and come and gone, they only grew in their intensity.
She saw it in some of the younger couples, the glint in their eyes as they try to slip off unnoticed to the far side of the gully, jumping across to avoid being seen in the torch-light on the bride over. Disappearing into the trees they would not be found for hours, and when they returned they would always plead exhaustion and slip off home without another word. Once curious, she had snuck after on light paws and almost come upon them when she heard a scream. Her heart raced, but it was not a cry of help. Even the very sound of it was different, almost like enjoyment; always accompanied with animalistic grunting sounds. They had caused the fire to return so she slipped off home to deal with herself, leaving the couple to something she imagined to be quite similar.
Finally looking at herself in the rippled glass that stood as her reflection, she admired her costume. She had watched the festival begin for many a years before she was shooed off to bed, and this was far more daring than anything she had seen before on the other girls.
One of the blouses her mother had set aside for her, that was larger than any of the others, was draped over her left shoulder, the right side torn away to drape halfway down her upper arm, revealing just a hint of white fur at the top of her chest running up her neck and down the underside of her slender muzzle. Just below her breast on the left side, the bottom had also been cut and torn away, angling down and across her front and back to her right side that hung to her hip. It gave a clear show of the same milky white fur across her belly and fading into the burnt amber fur that cover the rest of her; that might kill the elders on site. The longer right side was tucked into the waist of her skirts; at least what was left of them.
Just one of the skirts would be easily seen through, so there were three, one of brown, one of purple, and one of a dark blue all sown together at the waist, a small hole left for her thick bushy tail to easily fit through. Though any bright light, she was sure, would make it as easy as if there were one. The bottoms of all of them had been cut and torn at different places and lengths, almost creating an array of autumn petals around her knees, contrasting beautifully with the color of her leg till it melded into the soft black of her paws. If her identity was found out, the elders would surly band her from the festival till they felt sense had returned to her. The thought made her wicked smile return to her face and she dropped to her barely covered knees and searched beneath her bed, the black tip to her tail twitching back and forth anxiously.
Finally pulling out a beautiful wooden box her father had made for her, with her favorite wildflower burned delicately into the top. Pulling the top off she smiled at the plain brown half mask that she had made that summer under the tutelage of the elders, along with all the others old enough to attend their first festival. It was plain, with a few brown leaves and an acorn stuck to it in the proper way that she had been taught. It was the reason that her father had build to the box for her, as pleased with her success as she had been.
It had been moons since they had all learned together, but she could still remember some of the masks her friends had made. That was something she would not risk. Lifting the beautiful brown aside, her eyes shown with her own pleasure. The fabric that made the base of the mask could not been seen for it was covered in a delicate arrangement of fiery red leaves, incredibly tiny yellow blossoms lined the border, and a string of tiny brown ones twisting around the right eye and off to fade into the long amber fur draping from her head.
Her fur was the same burnt amber tipped with black paws and tail tip as half the Foxes in the village, only a view had the brilliant orange like the setting sun. Today her head fur was worn long and flowing to her mid back, many small beads of brown, red, and green holding small clumps together. Some of them caught the light and brought the sunlight coming through the window into her fur. Looking back to the mirror, she shook her head a few times to give it a look of disarray before smiling she lifted the red mask out of its hiding place and held it up to her face. It held perfectly to her fur, giving enough room for her eyes to see and reaching down her muzzle and bending just over the tip of her nose. It fit as a glove should fit a paw, but she hardly even felt that it was on her muzzle at all.
Smiling to herself again as she removed the mask, went to her window and unlatched it, placing the beautiful box with the red mask returned to it on the sill. Returning to her dresser, she pulled out another blouse and shirt that would fit over what she wore, hiding it from view. Then placing the brown mask upon her muzzle, she returned to the mirror. She looked as she imagined every other girl would look this night. Showing only a little too much, and giggling when she spotted a familiar mask.
With a sigh and mischievous shake of her head, she turned away from the mirror and headed for her door, making sure to open it slowly enough to give her mother time to jump from her father's lap, but just fast enough to catch the look in their eyes. It was as if to say ‘wait till she is gone!' It made her loins burn again, but she had to ignore it for now.
"Oh, Melanie! You look absolutely beautiful! Much like I did when I attended my first festival." Her mother was a beautiful slender Fox, looking much like Melanie only older. Her father, she now stood from his chair by the fire smiling, had the same fur color, but a more masculine frame beneath it, as one would expect. He held out his arms and she rushed to him, hugging him tight.
"I'm so proud of you! My little girl is growing up so fast!"
"I love you, father!" Smiling up at him, he slowly let her go. Turning, she hugged her mother close. "Mother!"
They walked together to the door and they stood waving as she headed off toward the center of town where everyone was gathering. As she reached the wide open area between their houses and the gully, she noticed several were arriving as well and joining the many already there. Perfect timing.
"Melanie? Is that you?" She turned and saw the sunset orange fur, hidden behind brown mask with little yellow blossoms in a pattern she well recognized.
"Julia!" She hugged her best friend tightly. "You look so beautiful!" It was a plain blouse that she wore, but the skirt was one that she had shown to only Melanie. A beautiful dark blue skirt that flowed seamlessly into purples and dull reds and even dark greens. It was truly one of a kind that her father must have paid a small fortune for. But as she was lucky to be alive, due to an illness when she was small, he was more than willing to spoil her if he was able.
"So do you. Though I must say I expected something far more daring from you."
"You shall see." Julia's stare was almost scolding, like she knew what she would do. Yet it was possible she had a good idea; they weren't best friends for nothing. "But you must not tell anyone it's me when you see, or it'll be my neck to the elders. Just tell everyone you saw me recently, alright. No matter when they ask." Her friend now shared a wicked grin much like the one that was always on her lips these days.
"Promise." She held up her hand and Melanie grasped it, turning it so the back of her hand faced her, then so the back of Julia's did, then both leaned in and licked the others hand. Not the most inventive secret handshake, but it was theirs since they were little.
They both broke into a smile and Melanie pulled her close kissing her cheek. "I'll be back. Watch for me." She winked and snuck off at a run back to her parent's house. Avoiding the window to the main room and her parent's bedroom, she snuck around to her own. Pushing the window slowly so it would not creak, she leaned in and grabbed her mask box. Pulling out the fiery red and setting it to the side, she placed her brown back in the box. Then peeling off her outer layer, she threw them to the floor on the far side of the bed from the door. She was hardy worried about her parents seeing her when she returned, knowing they would be in bed long before.
Closing the mask box and slipping it back in the window, she lifted the red to her muzzle, smiling when it settled. One last look down at herself to make sure everything was right, she then pulled the window closed and started back around the house, stopping by a small patch of wild flowers hidden in a small nook. They were a beautiful purple, like one of the skirts she wore, and they settled nicely into the beads already in her fur as she tucked the small stems in. Smiling again, she headed back for the bridge and the torches that were now being lit as dusk began to set. Perfect timing again as it would be hard for anyone to see her till it was too late to stop her. Rounding the last building, she saw the strings of lanterns being hung from the corners of the nearest buildings to the tall torch post on the bridge.
She was only ten paces into the crowd before she heard someone gasp. Meeting Sofia's gaze, the most pricy, prudish girl in the village, she found shock and curiosity looking her up and down. She could almost see the disgrace in her eyes; she would make a fine Elder some day. Her grin was wicked as their eyes met, thrilled by the uncertainty she saw, knowing that her plan had worked. If someone who prided herself on being a busy-body did not know who she was then she was sure the Elders would never know.
Some turned when they heard Sofia's gasps, but the majority's attention was on the center of the clearing, where the first two stepped together and the music began. There would be few points during the evening when the music would stop, if only to change the musicians.
As she made her way closer to the center, but not breaking apart those already dancing, people began to notice her and made a wide birth to have a look at her. She stopped just inside the circle of people who had found partners and begun to dance, and looked around. Those who danced near her had slowed to have a look at her, but overall were more interested in the masked figure they probably knew, but in the thrill of it, danced as if they didn't.
She looked around and spotted Julia, staring at her with a wicked twinkle in her eye, but her maw was as dropped as she had ever seen it. Smiling to herself, she felt the music touch her; she started to spin and dance in the steps everyone had learned, though she danced by herself. Around and around the circle, the feeling of it exhilarating her, till suddenly her paw was caught up. Opening her eyes, she saw the mask in front of her. She smiled, knowing it was her friend Benjamin, the only one who came near as close to her and Julia.
"I might have known you'd do something like this." His smile echoed her own.
"Because you know me far to well!" They spun together, around the circle, as they looked each other up and down. He looked very handsome. His shirt, like most of the boys, was only partly laced, showing the white fur of his chest as the light danced in it.
"If I did not, I might have the sense to love you." Her eyes flashed as she met his again, looking up her tattered dress and meeting her eyes. "But you shall have to deal with the love of a brother still."
"A brother's love met equal with a sisters, dear Ben!" They smiled and danced on around.
Yet half the circle and Ben spun her where she stood, but as she settled back into his arms, she found it was no longer Ben's mask she gazed upon. Others had switched partners much in the same fashion, but she hardly cared as she danced on into the circle. It was more often that she switched partners than any other girl dancing, and the ratio of girls to boys was very upset by the fact. It seemed many of the boys were only staring at her. There were angry faces outside of the circle, but she paid them no mind as she was passed from partner to partner. Some she knew, some tried to converse, but most just danced and held her, thrilling her even more than when she had learned the steps.
There came a point where the music stopped. Everyone clapped for them as the musicians rose and traded off with others so they could take their turn to enjoy the festivities. Turning to look across the sea of people, Melanie spotted two of the Elders, their fur diminished in its brightness, headed toward her with no small amount of patience. Her heart started to race, unsure of what to do. One never ran from the elders, but it was much what she felt like doing now. Dark had well set in by now, but the festival was hardly underway; she did not wish to be reveled and miss the rest of the night as she was dragged home by the ear to her disappointed parents.
Suddenly a hand caught up her wrist and pulled her into the crowd as the music sprang back to life. She was spun so that she could not see but a blur around her. When she was finally stopped and set back into the steps, she gripped the shoulder hard as to not fall from dizziness. Looking up, she met the most dazzling eyes she had ever seen, almost black with how dark they were. They were only accentuated by the almost black fur and the dark blue mask that surrounded them, the mask far too perfect to have been made in the woods by hand. Those eyes met her with the same wondering gaze as was captured in hers. It was clear that neither of them knew who the other was, but they were too lost in each other's eyes to even guess.
Three different songs passed, and none other had danced with her, the strong arms of this stranger not willing to let her go. No word was spoken between them, but they danced as if they had learned together. His eyes finally left hers to travel down over her form. Her skirts were all but see-through in the fire light, and her blush blended with her mask, through her fur, at the smile that broke his maw.
No longer captivated by his eyes, she looked at his maw. Covered in the same dark fur as the rest of him, though he seemed to have the same white fur on the under of his muzzle as anyone else in the crowd. Letting her gaze travel farther down, she found a different shirt on him than any other boy. There was no lace, but buttons, clearly expensive, and they had been undone with the heat of the evening dance. His chest was strong and covered in the white fur trailing down from his muzzle the glistened in the fire light, barely concealing well toned muscles. His pants were the normal breaches, though they seemed a much finer material than those worn by the villagers. They held his obviously muscled legs well, hiding enough while still showing everything.
As her gaze traveled back up, taking in his dark pointed ears, clearly that of a Fox, and his dark head fur pulled back by a dark blue strap, before she met his own eyes again and was sure. She had never seen anyone with such colors or fines in the village before. The thought that she was dancing with an outsider set her heart drumming harder, the fire suddenly springing to life in her loins. Her cheeks flushed again, deeper, and she was sure he noticed. His smile nearly killed her where she was, and it was clear to her. This was no boy, but a man. The strength in his arms seemed to resonate the simple fact as he spun her around.
Suddenly she was aware that they were no longer in the circle of dancing, but off on the far edge. They slowed to a stop, breathing heavily and gazing at one another. Releasing her, he held out his paw. Her intense eyes glanced up to his own before she placed her paw in his and let him lead her toward the bridge.
"It is a beautiful night for the festival." His voice caught her off guard, so deep, strong and sure. She knew she had never heard it before.
"We could not have picked a finer night in the season." His eyes shown, revealing the same as hers had, that he did not know her, but that he loved the sound of it. They stopped just to the far side of the middle on the bridge. Leaning against the strong wooden rail, they looked at each other. It was as if words were spoken between them, but neither parted their maws but to smile.
Suddenly a mischievous wind picked up, blowing her wild flower scent into his face and just strong enough to douse the light over head, shrouding them in darkness. Not moments after and she felt his maw pressing tightly against hers. It was a sensation she had never before imagined, nothing like kissing her paw as Julia had told her for practicing. Even more tantalizing was the feeling of his tongue parting his own maw and pushing against hers. Her gasp parted her own and she felt his tongue search her maw for hers. The fire in her was uncontrollable now, pressing herself against him, letting her tongue fight against his, learning as quickly as she could to keep up with him.
A warmth spread onto her stomach as she realized that his paw was beneath the rip in her blouse. A shiver pushed her away from him as it ran rapid through her spine. He turned her to face over the rail and pressed himself behind her, covering her in the warmth coming from his own body. She felt the friction as he slid down. Why it excited her, she did not know, but when his hand touched her uncovered leg it was like the shock of jumping into a cold lake. Yet is felt so wonderful at the same time. As he slowly stood behind her, that hand traced further and further up her legs; she practically melted into his body.
The fire was so intense between her legs that she never even thought of stopping him, though she feared she might burn his paw. The fact that that was where he was heading never crossed her mind till it would have been too late to stop him. Too late if she had wanted to stop him. Her gasp was loud and followed by a sound she had never made before. A strong moan, much like one she had heard from her parent's room on nights when they thought she was asleep. Her instincts parted her legs as they did when it was her own paw.
There was a soft chuckle behind her as his fingers danced around her flower, claws trailing lightly and sending indescribable currents through her body, yet it was nothing to compare with what happened next. The tip of his finger suddenly entered into her flower, something that she never thought possible. But the feeling that it sent through her, like it was now her entire body that was on fire, was not one to be ignored. She fell forward, gasping as she gripped the rail with all her strength. The paw returned to her side and suddenly his maw fell to meet her neck as her long head fur draped away from it.
Her eyes were wide, but she didn't see anything as her mind was so focused on the feeling of his finger slowly sliding further into her. How far could it go? The thought was answered as she felt his knuckle rub against the outside of her flower, sending more delightful shivers through her. Suddenly he started to pull his finger free of her; she could feel muscles, that she had not known she had, try to grip onto him, to pull him back into her. A soft whimper escaped her maw and she heard him chuckle again as he almost completely withdrew his finger.
She bit her lip to keep from shouting and she suddenly felt like she was being stretched. It took her a moment to get past the amazing feeling to notice, not only had he returned his finger to her depths, but he had added a second one as well. Her body was no longer under her control; she shivered and moaned as he slowly withdrew his fingers again, before he would push them back in.
The fire only burned with more intensity as he continued manipulating his fingers and kissing her neck. When she thought she might actually burn from the inside out, his hand twisted, sending more fire through her. She could feel his thumb feeling around her flower, till suddenly she convulsed and the fire inside of her exploded. Finally catching her breath, she leaned back against this stranger, who had managed to do what she never could. The fire was gone, doused by a cool, yet warm liquid that she could not feel running down her legs.
There was suddenly a voice. Both turned and saw another couple coming onto the far end of the bridge, though it seemed they could not see them in the darkness, bent over the rail as they were.
"Come!" He grabbed her paw and pulled her off the far, dark side of the bridge and into the surrounding woods. Her legs felt like she had already run five laps around the village, but she followed him anyway, not wanting to lose him in the night.
Suddenly he stopped as they were bathed in moonlight. Glancing around, she recognized the clearing that she had followed the one couple to. None but the villagers ever knew it was there, yet this outsider had led her straight to it. She looked at him with a new curiosity as he led her into the center of the clearing. He noticed, but seemed to brush it aside as he pulled her close and pressed his maw to hers once again. The thought flew to the back of her mind as she raised a hand to his cheek, holding him close to her. The tip of her finger brush against his dark blue mask, almost black in the moon light, much like his eyes and fur.
Her eyes traveled over him again as they broke apart, taking in his shinning chest as the moon glistened off his own sweat beaded fur. That chest rose and fell with heavy breaths and he watched her watching him, a paw rising to her cheek. She noticed a straining on the front of his pants, but the paw pulled her gaze back up to his own.
"I have never known a woman like you, and I don't even know who you are." She smiled, her gaze still with a wicked hint shinning in it. "I have had women before, but none with a lust to match my own. I want to make you mine." She studied him curiously, was he talking of marriage?
"I'm afraid I don't understand..." After a long moment of searching her eyes, realization and shock light up his own.
"You cannot tell me that you can make sounds as you did on the bridge, and have no experience at all. Even the way you danced with one after another, I could never have thought it to be true."
A deep blush set into her cheeks. "No one has ever touched me that way before. It felt so... so right!" There was a strong silence in which her embarrassment only let her meet his eyes once. "This was my first festival as well. I wished to have my fun before the Elders caught and tamed me, as my mother says they will."
The paw returned to her cheek and she slowly met his gaze. "Your mother is wrong. None such as you should be tamed." She felt as if she were swimming in his eyes. "It seems I have come back in just enough time." Opening her maw to ask when he meant, she was cut off as he pressed his own to hers once again, silencing her with a kiss. When she seemed almost dizzy from lack of air, he finally let her breathe, gasping himself. "I want to take your flower. A gift, from the likes of you, any man would be blessed to receive."
She thought of the flowers in her hair, but that didn't seem right. The only other flower was the one between her legs, though it seemed that he had already taken it, having been the only other to touch it, and the first to ever enter it. Yet it still seemed he wanted something more from her. Watching his eyes, she knew that she would never be able to deny him anything, this total stranger. This perfect man.
"Whatever you wish of me is yours, you only need to take it." His smile seemed to split his muzzle. As he reached for her hair she felt some disappointment, but he only brushed his hand through it, letting it fall to her bare shoulder. His other hand rose to her other shoulder and took hold of the material. Baggy as it was, it was no challenge to slide it down her arm, revealing her milking chest fur with strong peaks of berry red skin.
A shiver passed through her as her bare chest was exposed to the air, but it was not cause of the chill. His eyes seemed hungry now, yet she knew she would still not refuse him. His hands were now on her hips and he held the materials there. Stepping closer, he pressed his chest to hers, his open shirt tickling her slightly, but the warmth of his body making her melt. His lips came to her ear. "Don't be afraid." His words seemed to be a spark within her loins, but as he bent down and wrapped his maw around the tip on her soft mound, she lost all thought as it roared to a flame.
She had to grip his shoulder to keep her legs from giving out beneath her. More moans filling the clearing around them as one of his hands braced her back, but the other searched behind for the clasp of her skirt. When it was loose, all the material fell away from her body, but she did not notice as his teeth nipped her breast playfully. She hardly noticed as he lowered her to the ground, though when he stopped she whimpered again.
He smiled down at her, making her blush as she realized her clothing was gone. As he stood and began to remove his own shirt and work at the clasp of his own pants, she thought it was to make her less embarrassed. What she saw, however, held her eyes and cause the fire to scorch. She remember the only lesson she had learned about boys and girls; ‘girls have flowers and boys have sticks,' the major difference between the two. What she saw now was no stick, but looked more that of a branch of skin poking out from the white fur of his own loins.
Thinking of the bridge and what he had done with his fingers, she suddenly realized what he intended to do with it. Fear crossed her features and he dropped to his knees beside her. "I will stop if you are frightened. I have no wish to hurt you." Her eyes were still afraid, but she swallowed it as best she could.
"I cannot refuse you. Take what you will of me, only..."
He smiled and laid his body atop her own. "I will be genital with you." The heat from his body seemed to sooth her, clam her till she only felt him and her fire. A hand traveled down and his fingers entered her flower again, causing her to gasp and moan, her back instinctively arching into him.
He pulled them in and out of her faster than he had on the bridge, causing her to spasm and wither beneath him. When she thought she would explode again, as she had before, he stopped and pulled his fingers from her. Repositioning himself between her legs, she felt something much larger pressing at her flower. She tried to stay relaxed as he slowly pushed harder into her.
Suddenly she gasped and he grunted as his tip entered into her. It was a strange feeling to her, yet as with his fingers, it just felt right. Opening her eyes, she saw the look on his face. "Are you alright?"
He met her eyes and chuckled slightly. "Y-yes. I've just never felt anything this tight before!"
"Is...is that bad?"
He met her worried eyes and smiled. "No, definitely not." Resting a hand on her cheek, his fingers lightly brushing the edge of her fiery mask, he braced himself over her and started to press deeper into her. Her maw fell open at the amazing feeling inside her. Like she was being stretched and filled at the same time, as she realized, in fact, she was.
It began to feel if her skin might not hold together around him and fear returned to her features. He stopped and stroked her cheeks, smiling almost sadly. "I fear that this may hurt, no matter how I try. But it will not hurt for long, I promise." She tried to swallow her fear as she nodded, taking a grip on his shoulders if only to feel something solid.
He pushed forward roughly and she felt a stinging pain, almost as if something had let go suddenly. She hissed and whimpered for a moment, meeting his worried eyes. Gritting her teeth, she tried to smile. "It's not so bad." He smiled as if know she was lying, but slowly started to push forward again. With the friction she felt inside her, the pain seemed to lesson, though it was still evident. Soon there was a force that seemed to preventing him from going further, but as he still pressed on, she realized that it was her own depths pushing back at him. But at the same time, his hips were started to press against hers, spreading her legs farther open.
When they settled against each other, he smiled down at her. Most of the pain gone now, she smile back, but the fire inside her had started to roar again. He seemed to notice as his grin turned wicked. Suddenly he pulled himself back out and then push back in. The rush to her head was overwhelming. She seemed to melt into the ground, yet grip and wrap around him at the same time, moans emanating from her now open maw.
Regaining herself slightly, she smiled up at him with the same wicked glint, and he started again. She was lost in the feel of his body against hers, his inside hers, stoking the fire within her. He pushed and thrust with such force that her back started to drag across the ground, but neither of them noticed and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as he moved inside her.
She moaned and gasped till, as on the bridge, the fire within her exploded. He practically collapsed on top of her, but he never slowed. It was only moments before it was as if the fire had never went away, but now she could hear his own grunts and moans as his hips connected with hers. He was obviously getting as much out of it as she was.
Soon she started to notice that his own sounds were getting louder, more despite. For a moment she remembered the couple in the woods, finally knowing what it was they were doing, but the thought didn't stay for long as her fire suddenly exploded again. This time, however, he seemed to increase his power and his speed as he thrust into her, his grunts becoming full out moans.
She didn't know how, but it seemed that she was being stretched even further, like he was getting bigger inside of her. Yet now the added pressure only seemed to make her fire burn harder. In the back of her mind she feared having bruises where their hips were coming together so hard, but she hardly cared as her own hips started to rise to meet his. Suddenly his thrust became unbearably hard. She thought it should have hurt, but suddenly there was another explosion. It created such a force in her than she felt her own fire explode once again, only this time it lasted till she felt the man collapse on top of her. It was then she realized the other explosion had been his.
The realization, as amazing as it was, was soon at the back of her mind, the bliss that she felt at that moment was like nothing she could have ever imagined. After long moments of heavy breathing, he braced himself above her and she could see the same look in his own eyes. Leaning down he pressed his own maw to hers once again, the noses of their masks touching.
They broke the kiss and he looked into her eyes again. "I still don't know who you are." She smiled and reached for her own mask, but suddenly the sky was filled with light. Looking up, they both saw the fireworks exploding overhead, just out of site over the trees.
Looking back down he smiled at her. Slowly he pulled out of her, making her gasp and whimper slightly as the blissful feeling slowly left her. Grabbing her paw, he helped her to her feet and they searched around for their cloths. When they had them back in place, he took her by the paw and led her back toward the village so they could better view the fireworks.
Sneaking back across the gull and slightly into the crowd was easy as all eyes were looking upward. It was a beautiful display and the only one they get during the seasons, as they are rather expensive from the supply carts. He held her hand tightly, sometimes raising it to his maw and kissing it. It made her heart flutter. When the show was over the music began again. He smiled at her as started leading her back to the dancing circle. Yet half way there Sofia, Christy and Rose, the two girls who follow her wherever she goes, made a strategic run for their linked hands.
The force knocked them away from each other, Christy pushing Melanie to the ground and Sofia grabbing the man's arm and practically dragging him off to the circle. She would be the one to go after the best dressed, hoping for money where ever she landed. Melanie stood and brushed off her dress, the other girls far gone by now. She looked around, but could not find the dark furred stranger anywhere in the crowd.
Yet it didn't seem to bother her, for she knew that he had chosen her over any of the others. Smiling to herself, she found her way to the edge of the clearing and started back through the village to her parent's house. She was exhausted and a little sore, but had absolutely loved her first festival. Even if she never found out who he was, she would always remember him; especially his eyes.
She opened the door and closed it behind her, leaning against it and sighing with contentment. "Back so soon?" She jumped, hearing her father's voice from the fireplace, which she only just realized was still lit.
"Y-yes father." She tried to fold her arms over her to hide her costume as she felt him watching her.
"Did you have a good time?"
"Oh yes! It was more than I ever imagined!" Loosing herself in the moment she held out her arms and spun in a circle, as if she were still dancing.
"I should have known you would not wear something so simple to your favorite festival."
Realizing her mistake she dropped her arms. She stared at her father, slightly afraid of what he would say about her appearance. He rose from his chair and crossed the room to her, walking all the way around to inspect her dress, his tail swishing unpredictably. Stopping in front of her, she saw a smile break his muzzle.
"You look absolutely wonderful, Melanie!" To her even greater surprise, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her, spinning her around as he had done when she was a child. She couldn't help but laugh out just as she use to. Finally setting her down, he leaned forward and pressed his maw to her fur just above her mask. "Now hurry off to bed before your mother catches site of you." She smiled and hugged him again before he brushed her off to her room.
The next morning she woke, fearing it had all been a dream, but the dried up purple flowers scattered across her pillow and the soreness between her legs told her that it was as real as possible. Throwing on a blouse and skirt she ran out into the main room of her parent's house.
"Good morning, Melanie!" Her mother was by the fire cooking something that smelled wonderful. "You slept so late I almost feared you were sick. You must have had a fun time last night."
"Oh I did mother!" She sat down at the table as her mother started to spoon the warm soup into a bowl for her. "And I danced with someone. I think he was an outsider! Oh, but he was wonderful! He hardly let go of me all evening till Sofia and her little group stole him away. But it was magical!"
"An outsider, you say? Well that's odd. We never have any outsiders during the festival. I wonder if it was the Stones' boy."
"Stones?" Melanie started in on her food, starving as she was, but hardly paid attention for the curiosity of who the man was. "I didn't know he ever married."
"Oh it was a long time ago. He had left the village and come back with a wife. The Elders were absolutely shocked. They spent years arguing with the poor man, especially after Derk was born. They weren't comfortable with someone like her being among us."
"Someone like her?"
"Well the village she was from...wasn't like use. They weren't Foxes, but Wolves. Black Wolves, specifically. They have mostly dark fur and almost black eyes. And their ideals are much different than ours, their notions about... well young people interacting." She shot sideways glances at her, as if to see if she still in one piece. "The Elders, being the Elders, were furious."
"What happened?" Her bowl was empty and pushed aside as she listened to her mother.
"Well, when Derk had seen maybe 7 winter, soon before you were born, the Elders started to attack him directly. She left, taking him with her. It was so long ago, the Elders finally forgot about the whole thing, till the last supply cart came through, bring a letter for Mr. Stone from her family. He must have cried all night, the poor man. Apparently she had taken ill and died rather suddenly. It also said that when things were in order, Derk would be coming to stay with him."
Melanie sat and thought for a few moments before jumping up and taking her bowl to the water bucket beside the fire. Setting it with the others, she ran for the door on light paws. "May I go out, mother?"
With a knowing smile, she nodded. "Be back before it's too dark."
"I will!" Closing the door behind her she started off for the center of the village. But suddenly a thought struck her. She had been wearing a mask, just as everyone else. How would he know it was her? Turning back, she ran around the house to where the wild flowers were and picked a few, putting one in a bead still stuck in her head fur, close to her eyes. Lifting her skirts maybe a little too high, she was off at a run for town.
On the other side of the last building, she saw a crowd forming, mostly of the girls in the village, and she heard a familiar voice calling above the rest. "I'm looking for the woman I am going to marry! I danced with her last night and no matter what your elders say, I'm not going to let her get away from me again. Anyone with that kind of spirit is not worth letting escape." She knew it had to be him, but she wanted to be sure.
Rounding the house, every girl in the village was standing between her and him, but he was plain to see standing on the speaking box to get a look at everyone. His head fur was loose, falling down about his shoulders as black as raven's feathers, and his eyes, even from that distance, seemed to match. He wore a shirt that buttoned and dark blue pants of a tight material. Could it be that he hadn't slept? Was he looking for her all night?
There was something of a sinking feeling in her gut. He wanted to marry her? Her father had often told her that she had a wild spirit, and as much as her mother would insist, she should never let anyone take that away from her. It wasn't uncommon for girl to marry so young in the village, but would she be happy? Is that what her mother meant by taming? She knew, especially after last night, that she never wanted to be tamed. With a sigh she turned away, heading back around the house and giving the gathering a wide birth.
Maybe it would have been easier if he had been an outsider and she had never seen him again. Yet he was the only one to ever give her the feeling of being so content. He had said that her mother was wrong... was that enough? She stepped onto the bridge, looking back at the gathering of girls. For a moment she thought she saw a pair of dark eyes staring at her, but she dismissed it and started across the bridge.
It look different in the daylight, but she stopped where they had begun the night before. She leaned on the rail and looked over into the gully, having lost its little river during the drying season. Looking at the little flower in her hand, she sighed again. Maybe it was better as just a memory. But her heart seemed to pull at her as she thought that. Holding the flower by the stem, she studied it, as if it might have the answers. She sighed once again and let it go, watching it fall into the gully.
"It was a beautiful night for a festival." She jumped, dropping the other flowers she held onto the wood on the bridge. She stared into those same dark eyes, only made a little lighter by the sun slighting shinning off his dark fur. Those eyes had and uncertain shine in them as he crossed to her, bending to pick up the flowers she had dropped. Glancing back at her he saw the one in her head fur and smiled. "Their beauty is made far more captivating when they are in your fur. Especially bathed in moonlight." The uncertainty was gone, replaced with a knowing that made her knees weaken. She turned back to the railing for support. "Why do you turn away from me? Are you not the one who I danced with last night?" He stepped closer and brushed the hair away from her neck, letting his fingers trail through her soft fur. "Where you not the one in a clearing, whose moans were so enticing."
A shiver from his fingers and his words coursed through her. Her eyes met his again and he was sure. "Never could I forget these." His hand rose to her cheek and rested there, his thumb rubbing against the only part of her that had been hidden the night before. He smiled and though she wanted to return it, she looked away, back out over the gully. "What is it?"
"I...I don't know if I can."
"Can what?" She could hear the worry in his voice, but she couldn't bear to look at him.
"My father told me never to let anyone take my spirit... I don't think I can be a good wife."
The same soft chuckle as the night before turned her head. He was smiling at her again. "I do not want I good wife. I want you as my wife. You spirit, your passion," he let one paw drop between her legs and pressed against her through her skirts, "I want your fire. I will not tame you."
The fire returned at just his touch, the sound of his voice rang in her ears and she was his. She knew again, with utter certainty, that she could not deny him anything. With a ragged voice that said she wanted him, she answered, "I cannot refuse you. Take what you will of me."
His smile melted her into his arms. "Then I take you as my wife, now and always." He raised her muzzle and pressed his maw to it again. "And what is my passions name?"
She smiled up at him from his arms. "Melanie. And I will never leave you, Derk. No matter what the Elders say." He showed little surprise as he smiled, tilting her muzzle back and pressing his maw to hers, holding her close to him.
"I knew you were the one."