• Home
• Stories
• Musings
• FanArt
• About
• Links
• Blogs

Fiction~~Nature's Choice~~Ch. 3

“That's far too thick for a tiny ass like his.  I’m guessing it’s going for his mouth.  That’s certainly big enough.” Sha spoke in quiet tones from the side of the lake before calling out loudly.  “I think you missed a spot, ‘Maro!  There’s still a bit of dirt on your left butt cheek!”

Nemaro stopped in mid-scrub and sank farther down into the lake, his cheeks pink. “Shut up, Sha!”

“Eh, I don’t know,” Kara murmured back to Sha. “The back entrance stretches a lot more than you’d think.  I’d bet it’s going straight for his behind.”

Meeta yelled out this time. “Hey, could you bend over a little?  I didn’t get a good look last time.”

Nemaro continued to scrub as quickly as he could, scowling.  After five days of Mosumato’s nearly constant attempts to molest Nemaro whenever they crossed a stream or drank or bathed, Horu had insisted that Nemaro have company at all times.  Most especially when he was at his most vulnerable: bathing. Nemaro thought he was going a bit overboard by forcing the entire company to be present, though!

The first two days hadn’t been too bad.  With Sha, Meeta, and Kara tense and wary, scanning the water intently, it had actually been a huge relief.  And then, as Horu handily blocked every tentacle that attempted to snag a piece of Nemaro, and Mosumato never showed himself, they got bored.  Bored, and stuck staring at Nemaro in his daily efforts to stay clean.   Their on-going commentary was starting to make him feel like a slave put up on the auction block.

Kara spoke up. “Turn around, Nemaro!”

He popped up and whipped around, searching frantically for the telltale oddity of light patterns across the water that would indicate one of Mosumato’s tentacles.  He didn’t see one in front of him and yelled back.

“What?  What’s wrong?”

Kara made a waving gesture with her hand.  “I was just going to ask about swimming. Is Little ‘Maro always that small, or is the water truly that cold?”

All three women started laughing. Nemaro glared at them and turned back around. 

“You three are demon spawn, all of you!” 

They laughed harder.  Once they got their breath back and Nemaro thought it was safe to ignore them again, the critiquing started.

“He needs more meat on his bones.” Nemaro grit his teeth.  Meeta always managed to say that, at least once a bath.

“I don’t think so.  He’s got muscles; he’s just wiry.  Anyway, those slender arms and legs make him look all young and vulnerable, don’t you think?  That’s all the rage right now   for toys and courtesans.” Kara ran her hand down Meeta’s biceps to show what her own preferences were and Meeta grinned at her.

“I am not a damn toy!  And I’m not skinny!”

“They didn’t say you were skinny, ‘Maro.  They said you were slender,” Horu corrected from his perch on a branch over the water.  He scowled and roots suddenly shot out under the water and stabbed something near Nemaro’s legs. Nemaro yelped as he leapt back.

Sha made a disgusted sound.  “Horu!  You could have at least waited until it touched him.  I had a gold piece riding on which body part it was going for!”

Horu growled, jumping down before Nemaro finished sputtering. “You saw it coming and didn’t warn me?  What are you thinking?”

A wicked smile lit her face.  “I was thinking how fun it is to see ‘Maro jump and squeak when one of those things pokes him in a private place.”

Horu got in her face and Kara drew closer to her cousin defensively.  “It’s not a game, Sha!”

“We’re all here, Horu.  It’s clear Mosumato is not willing to do more than torment him with bits of water while we’re around, so where’s the harm in it?”

“He can take him away!”

Meeta grunted. “Not likely.  If he was going to do something like that, he’d have done it by now.”

Horu turned to growl at her as well. “He may just be waiting for the right circumstances!  A stream connected to a larger waterway, or the ocean…even something as simple as a larger body of water like this lake!  When he’s got this much water to work with, he’s too damn dangerous for us to let our guard down! Tell me if you notice something I haven’t seen yet!”

The women stopped smiling and looked at each other.

“Why are we even here, then, if the lake is so dangerous?” Sha asked.

“Because we can’t avoid this lake without getting too far off course, and I’d rather meet Mosumato head on if he’s going to try something today, rather than have him sneak up on us while we sleep. “

Kara looked at Meeta and they both nodded.  “Sorry, Horu.  We won’t be so complacent about it next time,” Meeta said, her voice gruff.  

Nemaro noticed they didn’t apologize to him and he grumbled under his breath, hurrying out of the water to put on his clothes before the women started watching him again.  Those three were perverts, plain and simple, betting on where he was going to get molested.  He thought of the fact that they were betting gold pieces on it and he was even more offended.  If they were putting up that much money, the least they could have done was let him make a bet too!

Not that he really wanted anything coming close enough to his body to tell where it was headed.  The feel of Mosumato’s hands and his water on Nemaro’s skin had been something he still couldn’t completely get out of his head, and the results were beginning to drive him crazy.  He shivered, his eyes straying to Horu’s ass, and he turned away quickly and started back to camp.

He blamed the women.  Horu had come up with the restrictions, but Nemaro still thought the women took it too far.  Even taking a piss, one of the girls checked around to make sure there wasn’t any water nearby, and stood guard until he was done.  If he took more than a minute or so, they would come looking for him.  He hadn’t had real privacy in over a week. 

Which meant that he hadn’t masturbated in that long, either.  He’d damn well tried, but the women kept interrupting him!  He’d tried to pretend he had to pee, and they wouldn’t give him long enough.  He’d tried in the middle of the night, but he couldn’t keep quiet during times like that to save his life.  Whoever was on guard always heard and came over to investigate the ’strange sound.’  He’d been desperate enough that he’d even tried once when it was his turn to keep watch, but a sudden crashing in the woods had interrupted him. Trying to reach for his knives with his new, useless loincloth open and falling off his thighs, Nemaro had been so startled that he hadn’t done it again.

Normally, if he was this horny, he would have been ecstatic when they came to a town.  They’d found one two days ago at the foot of the mountains.  Horu and he had taken one tavern while the women took another to hunt down any rumors concerning the Eye of Forshar.  Drinking, Nemaro had started looking for a good natured woman who might be willing to play for a night when he’d seen an awed looking young man flirting with Horu.  His beer had suddenly lost its flavor. 

Nemaro hadn’t been able to stop watching them.  The young man simpered and giggled like a brainless whore, while Horu smiled and touched his shoulder and his face.  How could he stand to touch such an obviously unappealing youth?  Nemaro had been more and more disgusted as Horu and the young man’s heads had drifted together and they’d spoken in intimate whispers.

He'd finally decided to brave another sip of beer when Horu got up and walked out of the tavern with his arm around the young man’s waist. Nemaro had choked.  His beer had spewed all over the table and he’d smiled weakly at the disgusted barmaid who came over to clean it up.  He’d never seen Horu dally with a male, even though Sha said that it had happened before.  Nemaro had never even really considered it a possibility.  With all the women who offered themselves to the god, why would he pick some hairy male instead?

He’d sat there, staring at the wall while he waited for Horu to come back.  His fingers had run in circles over the table, pausing as he’d noted one spot that had been polished so harshly the wood was like hard silk, and then he’d ignored it. 

It was pretty, and felt cool and smooth, but it hadn’t brought Horu back into the tavern and it hadn’t kept Nemaro's mind from wondering just what the couple were doing.  Was Horu kissing the boy?  Was he still touching his face, or had they already lost their clothing and Horu was running his hands over that boy’s flesh?  The image had been so clear that Nemaro felt as though he were watching it happen.  Large hands holding the kid’s waist as Horu ground himself against him.  Horu letting the young man kiss his own chest, the brat making little love bruises on the pale green flesh as he worked his way down Horu’s body.  Horu sheathing himself inside that whore until they both came.

Nemaro had pushed the glass of his favorite beer away.  He’d shaken his head when one of the barmaids asked if he’d like to go upstairs and have some fun in a little while.  He’d felt a little sick. If he hadn’t been there with Horu, he would have left and simply headed back to camp, but he was supposed to be finding out if anyone knew about the Eye.  A few half-hearted questions of nearby patrons yielded nothing but some sour grunts and a proposition for ‘a really good time.’  He still hadn’t worked up the energy to finish his beer by the time Horu came back and nodded, letting him know it was time to go.

They’d walked to the edge of town without talking, Horu glancing down at him every once in a while.  The women were already waiting for them at the spot they’d chosen earlier in the day, and they’d walked back to camp before they’d shared what they’d learned.

The women had found rumors of a Lord Lanosh, whose lands were higher up in the Kimshar Mountains.  It was said he’d gone looking for a treasure a few years back, a rare gem that could cure all ills and grant immortality to its wearer.  He was trying to raise money to attempt a second search. Since the jewel’s description matched the Eye, they definitely needed to meet this man.

And most likely steal the map he was reported as having.

Nemaro had flushed like mad when Horu related what he’d been doing: gaining an introduction to one of the grooms in their tavern’s stable.  According to the Innkeeper’s son - the young pretty Horu had flirted with - one of the grooms claimed that he used to work for a Lord up in the mountains.  He’d been fired when he refused to participate in the search for treasure.  He claimed he’d had a premonition, one that was confirmed when not one man of the party of nearly a thousand had returned. 

Nemaro would bet he’d just been too frightened to go, but the man was alive and everyone else was dead, so cowardice or foretelling, it seemed to have worked out for him.  Horu had been able to talk to him and find out a little more about the layout of the Lord’s property, his security, and his propensities: paranoia and a liking for pale haired women from Nehman.

Nemaro had stuttered over his complete lack of anything useful to add while his mind tried to deal with the fact that he’d envisioned such an intense sexual scenario for Horu.  It wasn’t the fact that he’d thought of it in such detail, but the fact that he’d felt such relief when he’d found out he was wrong.  He’d gone to sleep feeling so relieved that Horu hadn’t done anything with that stupid boy that he’d felt buoyant with it.

After drifting off with a happy glow in his stomach, his mood on waking up a few hours later for his turn at watch had been a shock.  His lungs had heaved as he panted for breath, his cock had ached down to his balls, and as far as his body was concerned, he’d just been interrupted cavorting with Horu exactly how he’d envisioned the inn keeper’s son doing.  He’d managed to keep it together through his watch, but in the two days since, he couldn’t look at Horu without thinking of it. 

How his skin would taste, what his hands would feel like, the sensation of being penetrated by him while Horu’s soft blue eyes glittered with lust - it was horrible!   Nemaro watched Horu’s backside as he walked.  He looked at his hair and thought of unbraiding it with his hands and petting it over and over.  Watching his lips and tongue while he ate, licking delicately at his fingers after he finished, Nemaro had gotten so aroused he had to shift just so everyone wouldn’t notice. 

Horu had, of course, but Nemaro pretended to be looking at one of the women’s cleavage.

He thought it had worked, but he wasn’t sure.  And now, walking away from the lake, the mocking women, and Horu, he felt flushed and uncomfortable all over again.  It wasn’t right that he thought of Horu like this.  He’d never thought of sex with the god before! The man was beautiful – you’d have to be blind not to notice it – but that was completely unrelated to sex! Nemaro had watched him walk off with a woman, or two, and all he’d felt was envious that they’d chosen Horu over him.  Or maybe a little curious just what Horu did to make them so flushed and sparkly by the time they emerged from their rooms.

But he’d never wanted to experience it himself before!  It had to be the odd set of coincidences altogether.  Mosumato, and then the masturbatory abstinence, and then Horu’s flirting with that boy - that must be what had made Nemaro start thinking this way.  If he’d just been able to touch himself and finish, it would have been fine.

Which meant it was all the women’s fault.  They were the ones who were making him think like a boy-lover, and he wasn't!  If he had been, maybe he would have stayed with the historians for the rest of his life.  They seemed to have more than their share of that sort; if they’d only allowed creativity as well, then maybe…   

No, it wouldn’t have happened. Nemaro had never had any desire to explore that type of sexuality in the temple, and it was mortifying that he was thinking along those lines with Horu.  Yes, he’d enjoyed what Mosumato had done to him, even if he never wanted to do it again. And no matter what a number of dreams would seem to indicate, he knew that he couldn’t possibly want that.

But feeling this way about Horu was many times worse than any lust he’d felt for the water god’s hands.  These new thoughts were screwing everything up!  Nemaro didn’t care about Mosumato; he was a little frightened of him, actually. Enjoying something the god had done to him felt more like the reaction was wrung out of him.  He didn’t feel responsible for it, even if he had asked for it in the end.  Mosumato had obviously cheated on that front anyway, because asking for a yes or no in mid-sex didn’t count as getting permission.

No one was capable of thought at that point. It was common knowledge.

Any thought Nemaro had about Horu was different, though.  Thoughts that might jeopardize his friendship with Horu, thoughts that Horu had done nothing to initiate, were all on Nemaro’s own head.  His own perverted tendencies were finally showing themselves, and it was going to end horribly if he didn’t damn well cut it out! 

Sighing, standing on the trail while he concentrated on thinking only non-sexual things about Horu and his body, Nemaro jumped as Meeta goosed him. She and the other women passed him on the trail, laughing.  Great, they were already done and coming back to camp with him.  Horu came up and patted him on the back.  Flushing, Nemaro shifted uncomfortably as he started walking again.

“They won’t let Mosumato close again without warning me, ‘Maro,” Horu said as they walked.

Nemaro grunted.  He didn’t even care about that right now.  He just wanted Horu to move a little away so the gleam from Horu’s skin as the sun hit it wouldn’t catch his eye.  He tried to look around him at the leaves and bark of the trees nearby, searching for something to snag his interest.  For once, everything was bland and boring.  Nothing pretty or interesting caught his attention, which meant everything but his eyes was focused on the god next to him.  Today Horu smelled like new spring flowers combined with rain.  He walked with quiet, masculine grace that left no sounds when he stepped.

And he was looking at Nemaro so carefully that Nemaro felt like the worst sort of friend.  Even noticing the women in their leather didn’t make him feel like this.  Maybe because he only had fleeting thoughts of something sexual with them, and it was really more of a voyeuristic thing than anything else.  He’d never thought of them as sexual partners, ever.

He didn’t think he’d enjoy being in a relationship with someone who liked to smack him like an annoying little brother all the time, and all three of the women did.  Although Meeta’s smacks were really more all out punches.  Horu might give him a teasing or friendly slap every once in a while, but he’d never hurt him when he was angry or irritated.

Nemaro cringed inside.  Dammit, now it sounded like he was trying to convince himself why Horu would be a better lover!  This was so screwed up!  He didn’t like men like this!  He didn’t like Horu like this!  Nemaro had to step away from him or he was going to do something stupid like reach out and see if Horu's hair was as soft as it looked.

“I need to…uh…take a piss.”

“Not by yourself,” Horu said instantly.

“I know!  Just…stay a little away.  I’d like at least an illusion of privacy, dammit!”

Horu nodded and Nemaro stomped off the faint trail into the thicker bushes.  He leaned back against a tree when he was out of sight and tried to get calm. He was not getting horny because he was thinking of Horu.  Not in the slightest.  Wasn’t happening.  He stayed there a few minutes until his cock softened, then finally came back to see Horu watching him strangely.

He didn’t say anything as Nemaro passed him to catch up to the women, however, and Nemaro was glad to have avoided it.  They’d had everything packed up before they’d gone to the lake for his morning wash, so it didn’t take them long to head out of camp, with Horu leading the way.  He was the only one who’d ever been this far east and was at least familiar with the passes they would need to into the mountains. 

The next hours were hot, sweaty, tiring, and worst of all, dirty. By the time they made camp in a rocky patch of pines just above the pass, they were all covered in trail dust that had turned into a disgusting paste against their skin from their own sweat.  They had a view of Lord Lanosh’s lands, but Nemaro thought it was too difficult to enjoy when his skin felt coated in muddy sweat. 

Pouting wasn’t something Nemaro was prone to, but he was really tempted when Horu pointed the girls in the direction of a pool fed by an underground stream and let them wash first.  They didn’t care if they were dirty for a few more hours, but Nemaro did!  He should have been able to bathe first!  He waited, grumbling under his breath, until they finally came back.  When everyone got up to come with him as he made for the water, however, he’d had enough.  He was exhausted, and hungry, and horny, and he didn’t need this!

“Can I have one bath by myself? Mosumato can’t have followed us up here!  It would be insane!  There’s hardly any water all the way over the mountains, and you said he didn’t like to be away from water, didn’t you, Horu?  Just everyone...back off!”

The women smirked at each other and prepared to ignore him, like they always did.  Horu stopped them, looking at Nemaro carefully.

“I’d be all right if the women stayed here, but I have to come with you.  It’s not safe.”

Nemaro growled and gestured, asking him to lead the way.  Stomping after him, his eyes strayed to Horu’s buns.  He could see them in his head from the last time they’d bathed together, before Mosumato had accosted him.  Pale green, round and firm and muscled, they looked made for gripping tightly and biting. 

Closing his eyes to rid his mind of his own perversions, his mouth dried up when he opened them to find Horu already stripped down and stepping into the wide pool of water without even a shiver.  His skin was almost glowing, and the backside from Nemaro’s imagination was revealed in one glorious flash of skin before the water covered it completely.  Nemaro stared.  Still fully dressed, his cock hard and erect underneath his kilt, he tried to think of some way to avoid getting naked.  He couldn’t let himself be seen with an erection like this!

“Aren’t you getting in?  You were pitching such a fit about getting to bathe a few minutes ago, I figured you’d be ecstatic to be wet by now.”

“You’re here.  There’s still no privacy.” It was the best Nemaro could come up with.

Horu snorted and turned away from him. “There, now it’s private.  Get in, ‘Maro.”

Nemaro swallowed as he took in Horu’s unbraided hair trailing down his back in damp strands of color.  Broad shoulders jutted out from either side of the dark green mass, and Nemaro’s erection physically ached as he looked at him.  He had to leave or Horu was going to smell how aroused he was, and Nemaro couldn’t let that happen!  But everyone knew how much he hated dirt!  If he left, Horu would come after him.  He’d badger him, trying to figure out what was wrong, for days.

It could ruin everything if Horu knew what Nemaro had been thinking recently!

What was he going to do?