Haven
One of the first short stories I have written, but also held onto for a few years.
The Dune-Hounds are coming, Krall can hear them hissing and chittering in the distance.
They must have finished off eating the rest of his hunting party, it was just Krall and Dain left after they were ambushed, Dain, however, is suffering greatly from a vicious bite wound to his calf.
Krall isn't surprised they were able to track them down, the two males left a panicked trail of prints in the sand and streaks of blood from Dain's injury acted as a red carpet to a five-star dinner for the hounds. To make it more difficult there was a scent of burnt flesh in the air, Krall's left hand, a calculated sacrifice...
The young human hunter smashed open a firebomb with his hand against one of the Dune-Hounds faces, it scared them off briefly enough so he could hoist up Dain and run.
The initial escape felt like hours as the desert wind howled with the pained screams of his fallen party members, but it may have been only mere minutes.
Krall collapsed, his legs were aching. Dain gave off a series of grunts in pain as he fell to his knees after Krall let him go.
Krall was the youngest in the group, the newest addition to their tribe's hunting party, and he did excellently the last few days at bringing home meals for the tribe. Unfortunately, a more vicious hunting party formed in the shadows, the Dune-Hounds learned their hunting patterns and territory and finally ambushed the humans.
Dain held up his bloody leg as he attempted to climb the side of a dune on his hands and leftover leg, meanwhile Krall was panting and sweating, staring at the sand below him.
"What are you doing? Help me up! We need to go!"
Krall looked up at Dain and shook his head decisively. "I can't help you. I need to get home back to my family."
"Krall?!"
"I'm sorry brother, may the Gods show you kindness." Krall's eyes glazed over with tears as he scrambled up to his own feet, animalistically climbing the dune ahead of Dain.
Dain cried out, "KRALL?!"
His head then spun as beyond their bloody trail appeared a series of shadowy figures on all fours, hissing and twisting their heads, analysing their prey. "KRALL!" cried Dain again.
The beasts descended with incredible ability towards Dain, the man turned over on his rear and pulled a dagger from his waistline and held it at the ready...
Krall pulled himself over the top of the dune and threw himself over, tumbling down the other side. This was an effective manner of travel in the desert, saving the hunters energy crucial to survival and it was simply fast. Within moments the hunter was at the base of the dune and beginning to run along the flat towards the next mountain of sand.
Krall tried to ignore the bone-crunching sounds and high pitched screams coming from Dain...
Krall was over the next dune and halfway down the other side he paused and dug himself into the side of it, sand piling over him and covering his form. He tucked a hand over his nose and breathed slowly and carefully.
Moments passed, he heard the pitter-patter of many feet. The sand was shifting over him as the weight of the Dune-Hounds slid down the side of the Dune. He could hear them sniffing about for his scent.
The beasts seemed to pass over him and move on, but he waited.
Krall had waited in his shallow grave for hours in complete silence before finally, slowly pushing his face forward and out of the sand. The male peered around, nothing to see but clean white dunes. Even all the footprints had been wind-washed away of himself and the beasts.
His body emerged carefully from the sand, by this point the sun had truly settled and night had fallen. Thankfully with his time spent under the sand his eyes adjusted to the dark and Krall was able to see with the aid of the moonlight.
The young hunter started to climb back over the dune from where he came, rolling over and down its other side. He approached the next dune slower, realizing the scene he is going to come across on the other side... Krall decided to go around the dunes instead.
Before he got a chance to change directions the flats of sand around him exploded as Dune-Hounds popped up. "Clever fucks." Hissed Krall, the Dune-Hounds obviously lost their prey, but instead of them all running off looking for Krall some stayed behind and waited, burying themselves much like he did. Krall pulled out his dagger and studied their numbers.
Five.
Five large Dune-Hounds stalking around Krall.
"I will not die like this. Not this way." He muttered to himself.
"Gods, please hear my plea."
Krall noticed one of the beasts had a similar dagger stuck in the side of their neck. Dain's.
Resilient things they are, these beasts. How many times does he have to stab one before it goes down, wondered Krall.
The wind howled over the tense scene, the circling beasts getting closer and closer.
Krall lurched forward suddenly with a guttural scream, darting towards the beast with a dagger already in it. It flinched and froze in place a moment, the others were slow to react as well, not anticipating such wild behaviour from its cowardly human prey.
Krall had dug down his dagger into the beast's skull while grasping the other at its neck, pulling it free with a twisting jerk. Blood sprayed the pristine white sand.
The creature whined out in pain and snapped it's jaws forward, Krall's burnt hand throwing the second dagger down into the creature's skull, then tugging both free in a violent display of force. The beast twisted up and started to worm in the sand as it lost all control of its self, the brain having been punctured.
Krall had a hound leap towards him, claws extended, and as he watched the beast descend on him he knew that was it for him. This was the end of his fight as he lacked the energy to react fast enough to this counter-attack.
A thick gust of sand-riddled wind smashed into Krall. He tumbled over covering his eyes.
"Run."
A voice sounded in his mind. Krall got up, although he couldn't see anything as a sand storm beat down on his position.
"I heard your prayers, hunter."
Krall started to stumble through the thick storm, his skin pelted by sand. It felt like many needles prickling at his flesh infinitely.
"I offer you haven."
Krall fell forward into the darkness, collapsing to his knees. The storm had ceased, and an aura overcame him. He felt safe at last, he needn't open his eyes as he simply could feel the presence of a deity.
"Krall, your fight is over."
Krall's heart sunk. "Am I dead?"
"No."
Krall peeled open his eyes and looks around. He was underground, the walls were made up of sand, shifting and ever-moving sand. The cave must be maintained by the force of the deity that saved him. Slowly the man stood and rubs his eyes clean, there was a fountain ahead. A beautiful serpentine sculpture, with crystal clear water running from the serpent's mouth.
The hunter's incredible thirst had him plant his head into the basin and drink.
Throwing his head back the man looked around. "I thank you, I thank you with all my heart and being."
"Krall..." Spoke the smooth voice again.
"Yes, where are you?"
"I am here, but you may not see me without understanding something..." Said the voice, it seemed closer, and distinctly feminine.
"What is it?"
"Who do you think I am, Krall?"
Krall blinked and wiped over his eyes. He studied the cave, but the only real feature was the fountain. The hunter stared over the statue for a moment before dropping to his knees.
"No... please." The male realized what has happened. A God did not respond to his prayers, something else did, something more malevolent... All Krall recalled about this legendary deity was an old tale, regarding a beast that only feasted on the strongest. A beast that devoured so many, and grew so powerful that the Gods themselves had to intervene and banish the creature to the wastelands of the desert, without considering those wastelands over time would spread and take over many lands... expanding this predator's territory.
"Ral'ah." Said Krall.
"Yes." It's scales shimmered, the air around Krall grew blurry before being void. His vision obscured by shadows; when those shadows cleared the male was face to face with a serpentine skull the size of his chest. It's gorgeous sapphire eyes staring into his soul.
"So much blood was spilt on my sands, that of men deserving and undeserving, and that of beasts so feared one would sacrifice their tribesmen to avoid being caught between their jaws..." The snake spoke so calmly.
"I couldn't help investigate."
Krall felt his eyes grow moist once more.
The serpent's great body started to circle him. "Oh, my. You're hurt."
"Show me your hand, hunter."
Krall raised his burnt handout, it's blistered skin was sticky with puss, blood and sand.
"Ral'ah, please-"
"Silence." She hissed.
Ral'ah paused and shut her eyes, breathing cool, scentless air over his hand. He grits his teeth with fear before a tingling sensation came over his hand. The feeling was unbearable, causing him to shake his hand violently, as he shook his hand the crusty layer of dried blood and sand fractured and fell away to show fresh, healthy skin beneath.
"I don't like incomplete meals." She teased, her coils closing in around Krall.
Krall cried out, holding his tingly hand. "Please, please let me go."
"Don't worry, Hunter. Your time was over out there, should I have not intervened you're flesh would have been splayed out all over the dunes by those beasts while your heart was still beating. I, however, am not so feral..."
"Ral'ah-"
She pressed her snout to his lips, interrupting him before speaking herself, "You are such an impressive little specimen, surely you had dreams, and desires you wished you'd have fulfilled before dying, share them with me?"
Krall gulped and shut his eyes. "I wanted to be a father, I wanted to be king of our tribe."
The serpent let off a purr-like sound as she looked him over admiringly. "Your wife is pregnant, you are a father Krall, and with your passing, your child will be raised knowing he was fathered by the bravest man in the tribe. The child will grow up to be an even more legendary hunter, and ultimately lead your tribe to the next age."
Tears dripped down Krall's cheeks as he stood slowly, Ral'ah's coils rising with him and coiling gently around him. "There is more, I can see it in your eyes. You wanted more, dreamed of more. Tell me..."
Krall shook his head.
The serpent stared intensely into his eyes for a moment, it's tongue flicking against his nose.
Krall ground his teeth and shook his head again shamefully. "I'd have wished to be able to know a deity of sublime appearance."
"Am I not... Sublime?" She hissed affectionately as her body circled so intimidatingly around him.
"You're planning to devour me!"
"Such a bloodthirsty and ferocious warrior is a hard meal to pass up, but I have other pangs of hunger I desire to satiate."
Krall's face turned red as he stared into her large sapphire eyes again, exhaling a sharp breath.
With all the scales pressing tightly against him, Krall failed to realize Ral'ah was no simple serpent. Two hands started to caress down his chest, and around his waist. Her skull raising, snout pressing into his hair to inhale his scent, her breasts rising before his eyes.
Krall gasped and quivered, his eyes blinking as he grew flustered.
Ral'ah's coils loosened up from around him, but her hands were all over him, shifting under his shirt and raising it off his chest. She leaned in to lick over his chest and up to his neck, cleaning sweat off his flesh. Krall was stunned and charmed. Although he felt alarmed, bells ringing in his mind for his safety he was unable to bring himself to fight her off.
A soft, scaly hand slid into his pants and groped his swollen shaft.
"Ohh, so you are interested?"
"Do not let my body speak on my behalf, demon." He muttered shyly.
"Are you not interested?" She cooed, fingers teasing over the sensitive head of his cock, rubbing the silky pre around with her thumb.
He grunted, a red shade of colour returning to his face as he averted his eyes.
"Mmmhh... that's what I thought." Her other hand-peeled his pants down, her muscular coils working the pants further down and off his feet.
The human squirmed as her breasts pressed against his chest and she licked his forehead. Her fingers teased his shaft a little longer as it throbbed with life, before finally peeling herself off him and sliding around. Ral'ah's head lowered down, Krall attempted to turn his head to follow her spiral behind him, before she rolled up the other side of him, snout pressing right against his groin. His toes curled as the serpent's tongue flickered over his shaft for a moment. "Nnnggh..." He ran a hand over her back, and one of her hands slid around to grope his rear while her maw parted to suckle in his member. Krall shut his eyes and squirmed, arching forward over her whilst she nursed his shaft, her soft and moist maw working over it delightfully.
Krall grunted softly and watched with keen eyes before she finally pulled away, only to go lower to lick and nose over his sac. Krall spread his legs and exhaled a deep breath. "Mmmhhhh, you are delicious." She commented, licking up the length of his cock.
Krall's hand stroked over her head, his heart was racing. Her eyes locked onto his hand and she raised her head, breasts gently cuddling around his wet cock as he maw caught his hand and held it. The hunter twitched and watched as he maw moved up his wrist and suckled on it. No teeth, just fleshy soft walls and pulled at his flesh. Krall ground his teeth whilst she released his hand, her coils unrolling from his body and splaying out across the cavern floor.
"Come know me, dear hunter."
Her underbelly was up and on display. The male wondered over to her, seeing a glistening slit a ways down from her breasts. A finger beckons him, and with no hesitation, the man climbed over onto her. A large scaly hand ran through his hair before pressing his face to her stomach whilst his cock rested against her heat. He could hear the serpent's stomach gurgling for him.
Her scales were a refreshing coolness against his hot skin, the human's hands held around her waist whilst lining up his hips, grinding his cock forward and rocking until the tip catches into her slit, his head was raised to meet her breasts, cuddling in between them as the human's cock slid into the serpent's sex.
Krall let off a long exhalation of air as he started to buck against the serpent's body, her hands cradling him and hugging him affectionately. The deity herself released a few gentle moans of pleasure.
Slowly her body rose up till he was standing with her body between his legs, she held him tight, a hand peeling his face away from her breasts and tilting his chin up to look her in the eyes. "Kiss me, hunter."
He blinked slowly and pressed his lips up to hers, Ral'ah, in turn, parting her lips to push her thick, forked tongue forward into his mouth. He shivered a little at the feeling of it slithering in his mouth, meanwhile his hips were back and forth against her until finally, his shaft would pulsate with energy, his seed spilling into her in waves of warm spunk.
The human breathed heavily, Ral'ah breaking away from the kiss to look over him as he pressed his cock firmly into her.
"Dear hunter, you must know, I only appear to those who want me." She hissed quietly, licking over her lips as the man's climax died down.
"From the start, I knew, deep down, a part of you desired me." She would say, before leaning down with her mouth wide open. Krall looked up and saw her cavernous mouth parting, yet he wasn't afraid. His eyes shut whilst her mouth shut over his head. His cock slid slowly from her sex, the male's hands feeling over her sides as she arched over and descended over his form, that soft mouth working down his frame, past his shoulders, gliding over his chest.
His head was starting to sink into her tight throat, muscles gripped his face and pulled on him hungrily, almost as if entirely automated, natural, processes took over, muscular reflexes tugging the body into its final destination. Only his legs remained hanging from her jaws, which she took a moment to enjoy, tongue running over his thighs and salty shaft before giving a final large gulp, jaws widening and his legs sinking her throat, a distinct form appearing in her flesh that mimicked every shape and bump of the human's body as it was jerked downwards, his feet the last part of him to slip into the abyss.