He loosened the ties and nodded. Then he crouched down and waited for her to crawl underneath it and poke her head through.
“Hello,” she greeted, and although he couldn’t see her face, he could tell by the tone in her voice that she had a smile. “I’m very close to you.”
She kissed the side of his neck, right behind the round of his jaw. A thrill ran through him, sending a tremor through his body.
He stood when she cradled his sides with her legs, bending her knees when he threaded his arms through them.
“You’re a little big to fit between my legs,” she laughed.
“Sorry you have to reach so far back.”
I will have them around me. She was straddling his back, but Orpheus was determined to have her straddle the front of him while his cock was buried deep inside her.
He let out a pant at the thought, his tentacles shifting slightly behind his seam.
“Let’s go,” he told them, his voice a little more strained than before.
They set out, Orpheus filling with unease as he crossed through the salt circle. I will keep her safe and hidden. He turned his sight to the Mavka walking beside them, easily keeping up with his long strides, without his own cloak. He would need one for the future.
Then they entered the forest. Although it wasn’t too late to turn back, he knew he couldn’t.
The journey was long and with very little pause.
They were walking through constant shadows, the canopy of trees above enveloping them in darkness no matter if it was night or day. It was relatively quiet as he didn’t usually go this way, and they had very little Demon interaction the further they went.
None suspected he had a human with him hidden underneath his cloak and the moment they left the border ring of the Veil, the less dangerous it became.
The Veil’s properties were filled with invisible rings of life.
The border ring held those who were crazed for human flesh, living inside this section so they only had a short journey to scour the surface and hunt – with little success.
It had only taken a day to pass it and some of his distress lessened.
It took two days to leave the next ring that held those who hunted humans but were not as desperate for it. They ate irregularly, only when they were starving, and they would consume the first life they found – whether that was human or animal. They didn’t care as long as their hunger was sated.
They were typically medium-sized Demons with a little more thought. There was also less of them, their numbers growing smaller the further in they went.
Orpheus led them along the stream that eventually turned into a slow moving, but deep river.
The Mavka asked them both various questions, inquisitive about their relationship and what his future could hold if he found his own female. Some had been a little too personal, him not understanding what a boundary was. Orpheus had to snap his jaws at him frequently, especially when Reia squirmed on his back when clearly uncomfortable.
They only stopped for a few hours during the night so that one of the Mavka could sleep. It was a long journey with lots of walking. One of them needed to rest while the other looked out for any signs of trouble or danger, only to switch the following night.
Orpheus cradled Reia in his arm each time to allow her to sleep comfortably whether he was the one watching or the one sleeping. Choosing to trust the Mavka had made him restless. He wouldn’t have slept if he were by himself, but he needed to have his strength so he could protect her.
She also slept while she was clinging to him as he walked.
She often had to move around him, going from straddling his back to being carried in his arms since her body cramped due to the strain. She asked to walk for a few minutes here and there, and he allowed it for brief periods.
By the third day, Reia groaned on his back, tilting her head backwards and pulling on his hood which put pressure
on where it was caught around his horns.
“This is so boooring,” she whined. “Why did I even ask to come?”
“I would not have left you behind, Reia.”
He would have if the option had been better.
“It’s so far away. Being able to walk sometimes would have made this easier.”
He wished he could turn his head to see her, but if he did, his long snout would smack her in the face, and he still wouldn’t be able to see.
“But you would have tired yourself out. How would that have been easier?”
“Yeah, but at least I’d be doing something.” She moved the hand she had been using to hold onto him from his neck to rub her face. “There isn’t even something to look at. It’s just trees. Lots and lots of trees and mist. This is the most boring thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. I thought living alone in my house had been boring, but this tops that.”
“You lived by yourself? But there were many people in your village.”
“I told you, Orpheus,” she said quietly, wrapping her arm back around his neck so she could be closer. “They thought I was the harbinger of bad omens. They hated me and shunned me. No one spoke to me, and they built me a house on the outskirts of the town right inside the wall to keep me away.”
He had not known this. He hadn’t asked her much about her life with the humans since he wanted her to focus on the here and now, that she was with him and no longer with them. He didn’t want to remind her of where she’d come from in case she tried to go back.
“It was so boring being by myself all the time. I had to find shit to do to keep myself entertained.”
He looked at the ground as he walked while contemplating her words. He couldn’t imagine humans shunning one of
their own. They usually fought so fiercely to protect each other.
