Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga) (21 page)

     Her thoughts fought within her mind. She attempted to calm herself and focus on the important facts. Allowing her imagination to fly in every direction was not going to help matters. What was important was finding Arizira and ensuring she was safe. Walking around the east side of the towering faces of rock, Talliea paused and listened for any abnormal sounds.

     There was nothing. She sighed and once again wished she was more like Arizira. If she had the Arniran's keen sense of hearing, she was sure she would have picked up on sounds other than that of the wildlife around her. "Ari?" she called as loudly as she dared.

     When no answering call came back on the wind, Talliea gripped the dagger in her right hand tighter and steeled herself. Just as she was about to continue heading farther away from the formation, a strange feeling settled over her. It was nearly like a vaporous wave that settled softly on her shoulders. She noticed her fingertips tingling and a sense of absolute sureness came over her mind. The sensation floated away from her and she blinked when she became aware of its absence. Shaking her head and looking around, she started in the direction the feeling was guiding her.

     Never once did she stop to question herself. Whatever was leading her seemed to be coming from inside herself. There was no other way to describe it. She walked over small ledges of rock and through heavy beds of fallen leaves, and all the time she never felt fear or panic. What she followed was good and peaceful. It required no second guessing. When she came to a small and gentle drop off in the earth, she stopped and came back to herself. Looking around, she realized she recognized her surroundings.

     She had come to the thermal spring she'd visited before. The monolithic rocks around her climbed high above toward the sky and several trees swayed in the easy breeze. From her vantage point, Talliea could see down into the water of the spring. Steam rose over the flat faced stones that broke the water's surface and in the center, amid the columns of aspiring mist, Arizira waded with her back to Talliea. The sound of her gentle singing and humming came to Talliea's ears and she realized the words were unknown to her. They were lyrical and musical and utterly captivating and at once she knew them to be in the Arnira tongue.

     Arizira's fair and unmarked skin glistened with small rivulets of water and her silvery blonde hair, golden in the sun, was a deeper shade with the water having darkened it. Talliea watched her dip her head back into the water and spread her hands and arms out to her sides. The tops of her breasts peaked over the top of the water and Talliea felt herself blush.

     Arizira was naked! Completely. Naked.

     She turned away and closed her eyes. Why was that fact so shocking to her? She should have known! Arizira
was
bathing. The throbbing between her legs came back in an instant and she breathed out through her mouth slowly to calm herself. Turning back around, she let her eyes find Arizira again. Despite feeling awkward by her body's reaction, Talliea could not help herself from openly appreciating the woman before her.

     She felt her heart skip a beat in her chest as she watched Arizira trail her fingers over the surface of the water. She was beautiful, like some mystical creature out of imagination and wonder.

     Smiling, Talliea sat down against the tall pillar behind her and let her mind and her heart and her body appreciate the perfection so close to her. She wondered why she felt as she did when around Arizira. Her body always reacted pleasantly, but something else responded, too.

     Something inside her. Something stronger. Something deeper.

     She noticed, as she sat watching Arizira bathe and sing, that her mind and her spirit were completely at peace. There was no urgency or anxiety or worry plaguing the background of her thoughts. Her entire being was focused on nothing but Arizira. It was calming. Though the Arniran woman's back remained to her, Talliea was satisfied just being able to witness the smoothness of her gorgeous skin. The throbbing between her thighs still ached for something she could not name, but her heart was steady and without fear.

     Strange, she thought. Deciding that she had intruded on the other woman's time long enough, she stood up and was about to walk back to their camp when a voice called to her.

     "How long do you plan to remain in the cold, Tah-li?" Spinning back around, Talliea saw that Arzira was now facing in her direction in the water. Her chest was partially covered and the water licked at her skin.

     "I...uh...I was not. I mean, I came to...t-to find you," Talliea stuttered, shocked at having been caught. Arizira smiled and squirted some water between her palms. The spray shot high into the air before splashing back into the spring. "You have found me," she said in a deadpan voice.

     Blushing furiously, Talliea wrinkled her skirts in one hand while the other squeezed the handle of the dagger. "You should come down and join me. I have soap and can clean your wounds for you," Arizira called.

     Talliea felt conflicting emotions war inside her. Her dreams from the last few nights had made her more aware of certain...feelings? she had toward Arizira. The steady pulsating between her legs was enough to remind her of the heated and vivid images she'd experienced. She found herself wanting to discuss the dream with Arizira, but the thought that the other woman would view her differently, or feel awkward around her, was too much of a gamble.

     On the other hand, she was still slightly apprehensive about being touched. The
dohethra
had worked wonders for her pain, and Arizira's skilled touch had eased much of her body's tension, but there was still the lurking sense of dread that seemed always present when there was the possibility of another person placing their hands on her.

     Could she expose herself to Arizira again? Especially after her erotic dreams?

     "Tah-li, the water is warm and we have a long day's walk ahead of us. You would do well to allow your body this pleasure while it is available." Talliea blushed a deeper shade of red. Pleasure. She laughed to herself. Arizira had no idea.

     Shaking her flustered thoughts from her mind, she smiled to Arizira and steadily made her way down to the edge of the spring. Arizira's intense eyes followed her every movement and the way they glowed softly set her heart to racing. She stopped and felt uneasiness well up inside her. Communal bathing was nothing new to her. All of her life, she had bathed with the other women of her clan. Many times, when she had been younger, the baths had been some of her favorite moments. The women had laughed and spoken to each other and played games in the water. Life had been much more simple back then and she had not carried the worries she currently did.

     Bathing with Arizira, however, was something entirely new to Talliea. Given the way her body reacted to the other woman, she was surprised at her own nervousness when it came to the idea of being naked. She was being silly. She had seen naked women before and she was sure, given the fact that Arnira were all female, that Arizira had seen the same.

     "Come, Tah-li, the day wears on and we have much to do, but I would enjoy hearing your story since I have been away," Arizira spoke up. She held her hand out to Talliea and smiled encouragingly. Fidgeting a moment, Talliea finally said, "T-turn around."

     Arizira cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brows. A lost expression crossed her face before understanding dawned on her. Talliea was nervous about her body. Did Esu women not bathe together like Arnira did? The thought had not even crossed her mind. Even though her attraction to Talliea was ever present, the idea of the two of them bathing together had never once come across to her as anything other than what it was.

     Was Talliea afraid to be naked around her or was it just a general sense of uncertainty? Arnira bathed together often. The act was a further way to bond with individual members of the tribe and the simple task of washing each other's body and hair was seen as a gesture of respect. Talliea's reaction stopped her.

     "I will leave, Tah-li, if I make you uncomfortable. You may have the spring to yourself. I shall return and prepare our supplies so that we may depart once you are finished." Arizira began swimming closer to the edge of the spring, but Talliea's voice stopped her. "No. Please do not go. I am still...I-I still find myself wary when it comes to my body. Please understand. It is not you."

     Arizira took in the words and let her arms tread the water. Her eyes looked up and stared into Talliea's for several long moments. Again, she found herself curious as to what had actually happened to Talliea. Her suspicious and cautious nature when it came to herself was something Arizira had a hard time understanding. Finally, she nodded and turned away from the Esu woman before swimming into the center of the pool.

     Talliea swallowed her anxiety and breathed out her relief. With Arizira's back to her, she quickly stripped herself of her clothing and stepped into the warmth of the spring. Slowly, she lowered her body into the heated water and allowed herself time to adjust. As the times before, the spring felt amazing and her mind's worries began to fade away. Arizira remained with her back facing her and her head floated back against the water. Talliea noticed her eyes were closed and the sun seemed to cast her in a halo of gold. Wading through the water, she came up behind Arizira and tapped her shoulder.

     When blue eyes whipped around to meet her, Talliea smiled and splashed water into her face hoping to ease the situation. Arizira squealed and shook her head. Water bubbled around the two women as they each took turns splashing the other. Laughter and high-pitched cries of excitement sounded high up above them and resounded off the standing guards of rock that shadowed the spring. For a moment, neither woman thought of their heart's conflicts. They did not think of their peoples or their troubles.

     They laughed. They enjoyed one another.

     Water continually bubbled around them and sprayed into their eyes. Hands moved and connected with the water in the hope of outdoing the other. Finally, Arizira turned her face to the side and cried out, "You win, you win! I surrender!"

     Talliea splashed her one more time and the two of them smiled at one another as they tried to catch their breath. Arizira, turning back to face Talliea, was struck with how flawlessly beautiful her smile was. She had not been witness to it often and never in so open a display as she was looking upon now. The beauty of the other woman stilled her heart for a moment and she found that she could do nothing but stare.

     Talliea, cheeks sore from laughing so fully, shook her head and held Arizira's gaze. The sounds of their hands lapping the water was all that could be heard. She was mesmerized with how stunningly perfect Arizira was. Her laughter and her smile and the simple way they had played in the water were things she was not used to. They made her happy.

     Arizira made her happy.

     "You have a beautiful smile, Tah-li. I would desire to see it more often." Talliea blushed and ducked her eyes. She felt her heart constrict and a warm feeling spread throughout her limbs.

     After another moment, Arizira swam a short distance to one of the flat stones above the water. She grabbed her soap from atop it and swam back to Talliea. "Among my people, Tah-li, it is considered a great sense of honor and respect to bathe a close friend and wash her hair."

     Talliea quirked an eyebrow and looked from the bar of soap to Arizira. "Is that what we are?" she asked, the status of their relationship having never been defined. Cocking her head to the side again, Arizira nodded, "Yes, Tah-li, for I would like to think so."

    Talliea smiled and bit her lip. "I have never had a true friend," she admitted. Arizira swam closer to her and studied her face a moment. "Now, you do. We are friends. As your friend, allow me this honor. Please."

     Swallowing again, Talliea turned around and let her arms come up to rest on one of the stones breaking the water's surface. Arizira had never, in her short time of knowing her, done anything to harm her, disrespect her, or bring about pain. Always, she had brought her relief and happiness and, without her knowing it, pleasure. She trusted Arizira like she trusted no other.

     Whatever else she felt, she knew that trust was foremost in her thoughts. Arizira came up behind her and brushed her hair away from her shoulders. The touch, though simple, was electrifying. She inhaled against her will and bit her lip.

     "You are still in pain?" Talliea released the air in her lungs and smirked to herself. Arizira's innocent question amused her. The other woman was oblivious to her current state. "In a manner of speaking," she replied.

     Fingers as before moved across the skin of her back. She knew Arizira was only seeking to gauge the progress of her healing, but the feeling of her hands against her skin was incredibly distracting.

     "I will wash your back now, yes, Tah-li?"

     Talliea swallowed and nodded over her shoulder. Arizira was extremely close to her. She could feel her soft breaths against the back of her exposed neck and a part of her wished that Arizira would close the distance between them and press her front to her skin. She wondered how it would feel and noticed herself becoming flustered.

     The soft press of the soap against her back glided across her wet skin. Arizira scrubbed gently and in small circles. Occasionally her nails would lightly scrape against her shoulder blades only to be smoothed a moment later by tender fingers. Arizira ensured she cleaned her wounds efficiently and thoroughly. She passed the soap across the top of Talliea's back and down along the center of her spine.