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The forest was dense, dangerous, and incredibly beautiful. The leaves grew not only dark greens, as one would expect, but also deep purples and blues, matching the night sky as it began to overshadow the sunset. It swallowed the golden light, forcing it to retreat from where it brushed against the treetops.
The grass beneath their feet was also green, this shade much more vibrant. It glowed brilliantly, speckled with flowers that were such an electric white that it almost hurt to look at them.
“There’s not too many Nevrons around,” Verso had promised them. “But there’s a lot of other things here, weird stuff that can seriously mess with your head. Just keep an eye out.”
The five of them were there for the sole purpose of collecting chroma. Many of the petrified expeditioners had died in the usual fashion: bodies pierced by weapons, skulls caved in from horrific injuries, hands clutched around abdomens cramped into a fetal position from poisonings.
“The plants,” Verso warned. “Don’t eat them.”
And so they had all heeded him. Monoco led the way, as he knew the place nearly as well as Verso did.
Verso himself had opted to stick to the middle of the pack, mostly so that he could focus on Maelle. He had been doing that quite often lately, his eyes following her every move. He almost seemed to worry at her, trailing after her like a loyal hound. Lune had so far given him a couple of raised eyebrows, but said nothing. Sciel had noticed not at all.
He also kept touching her: a fleeting brush of his fingertips against her shoulder, a hand along the small of her back to guide her here or there, his arms instinctively reaching for her if she neared too close to a cliff’s edge.
Maelle didn’t really mind it. She would simply glance up at him, whispering “Thank you,” or, “That was sweet of you.”
He would grin at her boyishly, pleased to have her attention.
They had been speaking in quiet tones, going over everything she recalled from her previous life. Her memories of him, that past Verso, were warm ones, filled with happiness. Their closeness had been coming along anyway, even before she remembered it all. Now it increased tenfold with each moment they spent together.
“He’s named after the family dog.” She gestured towards their companion, who trudged methodically through the woods.
“Yes,” Verso laughed. “Several of them, actually.”
Maelle smiled at him, wanting to ask him more about the dogs, about how many they’d had, their breeding and colors, etc; when it happened.
She hadn’t been watching where she was going, just blithely following behind Monoco. When he walked through a patch of glowing pink mushrooms without any trouble, she didn’t think anything of it.
Bright-colored spores fell upon his white fur, tinging it, and she giggled lightly at his new appearance. She accidentally breathed in a mouthful of them, right as she tried to form the words, “Madame, what fetching blush upon your cheeks-“
Suddenly, she felt Verso lift her up and off the ground, scooping her into his arms.
“Merde,” he grunted, “Stay back!”
This was directed towards Sciel and Lune, who had started to lag behind so they could study the exotic flora and exchange notes. Both women backpedaled when they saw the spores.
Verso cursed several more times, in rapid succession.
“This is bad,” he explained. He was clutching Maelle tightly, almost suffocatingly so. She saw some of the spores stuck to his lips, and fright shot through her.
“What’s going to happen to us?” she asked timidly. “Will Monoco be okay?”
Verso smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. His expression confused her, and only served to make her more nervous.
“He’ll be fine,” he replied, dismissive. “He doesn’t have any nostrils.”
He shouted after his friend.
“Slow down, mon ami! We need to find a safe place to make camp, immediately.”
“Oh, fuck.” Monoco looked down at himself. “I walked right through the stuff, didn’t I?”
“Yes you did,” Verso told him. “And now you get to take a cold bath and sleep all by your lonesome tonight. No spooning for you.”
Both men exchanged an even more puzzling chuckle.
Verso peered down at Maelle, his face tight with anxiety.
“It’s going to be alright,” he murmured, but she couldn’t decide if it was intended for her himself.
The group managed to locate a place fairly near a source of fresh water. A babbling brook split off into tiny branches that cut through the forest, feeding into a shallow pond. It was far from any Nevrons, and most of the plant life seemed relatively harmless.
“These are only toxic if you’re dumb enough to eat them,” Verso told the others. “But if you touch them you’ll be okay.”
“What about you guys?” asked Lune. “What’s about to happen?”
Verso sighed. “The effects should wear off after a good night’s rest. In the meantime, however, I’ll need to find a place to recover, away from all of you.”
“And Maelle?” Sciel inquired.
“Same thing,” he answered. “I’ll find a spot for her, too. Somewhere just as secluded.”
“Is it contagious?” Sciel questioned. “Should we be worried?”
“It isn’t,” he told her. “it’s just…potent. The symptoms are going to be rough.”
“Shouldn’t Maelle stay put? Just in case she feels sick-“ Lune began, but Verso snapped at her in reply, shocking them all.
“No,” he hissed. “She should be entirely alone for this. She doesn’t need any supervision, she just won’t feel well. Having people hover over her will only make things more difficult.”
Lune pursed her lips, displeased, but did not argue further.
Verso’s flash of temper subsided the moment he looked over towards Maelle.
“It’ll be okay,” he said. “You’ll be right as rain come morning.”
He raised his hands, intending to set them lightly upon her shoulders, then thought better of it. He simply handed over her bedroll, and showed her where to sleep.
I feel fine, she thought as she bedded down. She got cozy underneath her blanket. Her skin was a little itchy, perhaps, most likely a side effect from the spores. Otherwise, though, she was okay. Maybe I didn’t inhale too much.
Verso had gotten a lot of it, though, and she worried for him. Hopefully he’s alright, riding out the symptoms on his own like that.
She yawned, figuring she could doze for a bit and then check up on him later, once it was her turn to keep watch.
She slept for perhaps an hour or so. The earlier itchiness had grown more intense, as she had anticipated. Maelle tossed and turned, feeling it spreading rapidly throughout her whole body. No amount of scratching got rid of it.
At a loss for what to do, she decided to get dressed in just her skirt and blouse (sans underwear, which proved mysteriously uncomfortable when she tried to pull them up) and go for a walk. She figured she could take a more circuitous route to Verso’s side of camp and check on him before starting her turn for night watch a bit early. She figured Lune wouldn’t mind, and would appreciate the chance to rest up a little longer.
Maelle hopped nimbly over fallen sticks and over the various paths the brook made through the clearing. Even the muddy soil spattering against her legs did nothing to relieve the bone-deep itching underneath her skin. She scratched at herself again, but it still proved useless.
As it turned out, Verso was wide awake.
His eyes were closed, though, and he was shuddering, as though from a nightmare. His blanket had been tossed aside carelessly, and he was sprawled across his bedroll.
His bare chest drew Maelle’s eye first, followed by the rhythmic motions of his arm, which then follow down to…
The itchiness that had plagued her all evening gathered itself into a fiery heat, which promptly pooled between her legs. She gasped, too loudly, and Verso’s eyes flew open.
He did not stop, could not stop, could not control himself anymore, even if he tried.
“Maelle,” he whimpered, expression beseeching, “Don’t-“
His helplessness only drew her in closer.
She was perhaps three strides away when he came with a sob, finishing all over his own stomach.
Heat licked at her lower belly at the sight, and she fidgeted, crossing and uncrossing her legs as she stood over him.
It was all she could focus on; that, and Verso’s wide eyes as they drank her in.
“Putain,” he swore. “Sweetheart, you cannot be here-“
She ignored him, leaning over to touch his arm instead. The heat remained, insistent, but the itching completely.
“I can help,” she offered. “I can make it go away.”
He trembled, closing his eyes hurriedly, as though wishing she might disappear when he next opened them.
When he made no attempt to sit up, she gathered one corner of the abandoned blanket and used it to wipe his abdomen clean.
He grabbed her wrist, startling her. At her wounded expression, he released her and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyelids in frustration.
“Fuck,” he said. “This is going to take forever to go away.”
“Then let me help,” she suggested again, hoping to persuade him. Touching him felt so good, made her feel so much better. Her body was aflame - as it had been all those years ago - but this time, the agony was delicious.
And just like back then, here was her brother, trying to save her.
She did not want to be saved.
“How long until…” She nodded towards his groin.
He futilely covered himself, his embarrassment causing her to chuckle.
“A bit,” he admitted. “Here, let me at least-“
He took the blanket from her hands, his own shaking terribly, pulled her on top of himself. She sat astride him, his hands on her thighs. She was distinctly aware of her aching center where it pressed subtly against his now-clean stomach.
She lowered herself to kiss him, and he whimpered again at the sensation of their lips brushing together. He buried his fingers in her hair, not daring to let her up.
“Maelle,” he whispered reverently. “Maelle, my princess, why did I wait so long?”
She didn’t have an answer for him. She took a brief moment to fish around inside her memories as Alicia, trying to see if they’d ever done anything like this before.
A handful of moments popped up: pecks on the cheek, hands linked together as they strolled through the gardens, an embrace that went on for a long time. None of them even closely resembled this, though.
When did he start falling in love with me? She marveled. And when did I, him?
It was neither the time nor the place to find the answer. Verso’s mouth was on her neck, his teeth grazing the flesh there. Maelle writhed, involuntarily bucking her hips against him.
He responded by growling and biting down, hard, his nails sinking into her scalp. One hand held her close as his other tried to slide through the waistband of her skirt. He fumbled for a few moments before grumbling and shoving the material up around her hips instead.
“That’s better,” he commented, talking more to himself than her.
He could not hold her neck at biting level and pleasure her at the same time, so he had to maneuver her so that she was lying flat on her back, against the soft fur of his bedroll.
He slipped his hand around the edge of her blouse, tearing it. Buttons scattered everywhere, some of them bouncing out of view and into the nearby pond.
His middle finger found that precious space between her legs, the warmth of her sex sending a jolt through him. His lips sought out the shallow valley of her breasts.
It was her turn to hold him as he attacked each nipple, giving each of them equal attention. He suckled one whilst groping the other, feeling them harden at his touch. He used her breasts for balance as his finger slipped in deeper.
Maelle sighed at the feeling, letting her legs fall wide open as she accepted him. It was only up to his knuckle, not enough to render her entirely senseless. His lips on her breasts, however, was driving her to distraction.
The heat lapped eagerly, spilling onto his hand as she neared her release. Her orgasm took some of the intensity with it, allowing her body to finally relax.
Although she felt ready to retire, Verso was far from it. She saw that he was hard again, and he rutted against her thigh. He seemed out of it, his eyes cloudy with lust.
He kept mumbling, only partially coherent. “You’re so sweet, so wonderful for me, good girl-“
“Verso,” she pointed out once she had caught her breath. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
He paused and blinked, lifting his wet mouth from her nipple to peer up at her. The look he gave her was dark and glazed over. Whatever they’d inhaled from those mushrooms had obviously impacted him much more severely than her.
Maelle nodded towards his cock. His desire dripped from it, a thin bead forming at the tip before vanishing. Her mouth began to water.
“I want you to feel good, too,” she suggested.
He glanced down between their bodies, as though he had forgotten his own dick existed at all. She fought back a laugh at his confoundment.
“What if I hurt you?” he asked when he turned back to face her.
“You could never hurt me,” she reassured him. “You love me too much.”
Even if you did somehow manage it, she mused but dared not say, I think I would rather enjoy it, under these circumstances.
He removed himself from her breasts at last, sparing them one last forlorn look before grasping his length desperately.
She could now see the whole of him, and what a sight it was. His body hair obscured much of his muscular frame, but his cock was on full display, eager to fill her to the brim and leave her happily satisfied.
Maelle reached between her own legs, stroking her swollen clit and gathering a bit of herself for him to taste. She lifted her fingers to Verso’s mouth, showing him how wet she was, how ready. He bent forward and licked them clean.
He fisted himself carefully, slowly, gritting his teeth against his own need. He leaned over her, finding purchase by bracing one arm above her head and hiding his face in her tangled hair.
His breath was hot and loud inside her ear, and she moved her neck off to one side to give him better access. His legs extended out beyond the covers, his toes digging into the grass. He engulfed her, his body eclipsing her own. He’s so much larger than I am.
He pushed inside of her gradually, teasing her entrance, letting her slick gather there. She twitched at the feeling, yearning for him to go inside. She wanted to cup his ass, to encourage him, but her arms were too short to reach. He was not letting her move, either, pinning her down with most of his weight. She wrapped an arm over his middle as best she could, clinging to him.
She clawed at him once he was completely sheathed inside. They both stopped, hesitant. Verso allowed her time to become adjusted to his size and the accompanying newfound feeling of fullness. He did not move until she nipped at the shell of his ear.
“It isn’t painful,” she murmured there. “You feel amazing, you can keep going.”
He thrusted, and she cried out. He stopped again, unsure. “Maelle-“
“It’s fine!” It was her turn to growl, irritated. She was pouting; he kissed it from her face. “I want more.”
She could feel him everywhere, every inch of him consuming every inch of her. All of the fire that had been building and building had at last transformed itself into something they shared between them. Each thrust spread that warmth back and forth. They were both lost inside that pleasure, that wonderful not-quite-pain.
Sweat plastered her bangs to her forehead. Her hand kept sliding off his back. He picked up the pace, setting something more brutal as she tried to roll away, overstimulated.
Each time her body shifted, though, he clutched her closer. He moaned, low in his throat, unwilling to let her escape.
“Mine, mine, mine,” he panted, over and over.
“I’m yours, Verso,” she promised him, meaning it. “I’m always going to be yours.”
That seemed to quell some of his possessiveness. He settled into the space between her neck and shoulder. For a while, it was just his warm breath against her flesh, neither of them trying to speak.
Maelle felt her climax build up and up and up. She squeezed around him. She and Verso came at the same moment. He filled her with his spend, and she clenched around him, tight as a vice.
He did not slow down until they were both worn down from it. He very nearly collapsed into her, his weight equal parts suffocating and comforting.
She guided him to lay his head on her chest. She shut her eyes and let the final dregs of that horrible, aching heat leave them.
“Is the worst over?” she asked.
“Don’t know,” he grunted, already half-asleep. “We’ll do this again if it isn’t.”
“Good,” she declared, patting his sweaty mane. “I’d like that.”
He began to snore, and she rolled her eyes. Men.
She felt her body start to sink into oblivion, a true, deeper sleep waiting for her just around the corner. Lune is going to be furious when she finds that I’ve skipped out on my turn for watch duty.
That was a future problem, however. For right now, Verso was napping peacefully against her breast, the sky was a miasma of nighttime hues, and a painted aurora covered the sleeping couple, safeguarding them against the dawn.
Later, they woke up and had another roll around in the sweet-smelling grass. Afterwards, they sheepishly arranged themselves into a more respectable appearance before rejoining the rest of the group.
They needn’t have worried about Lune being upset. She lay, naked as anything, clutching an equally nude Sciel to her chest.
Beside the campfire sat Monoco, heating up a pot of coffee, unperturbed.
“The girls,” he sighed, aggravation slipping into his tone. “Mistakenly found another patch of that pink shit while they were out surveying.”