Master Apprentice Archive Quick search:

Back to part 1

OBIAREUS:

We reached a suitable place to sleep well after nightfall. Kaigan showed me the spring and the valley below us, then led us a little way into a cave to bed down. I might have found it beautiful had I not been so frustrated with the whole endeavor. Immediately I began to set out my pallet, far away from where he had dropped his pack.

"If you are quite finished lecturing me, I intend to sleep properly. Perhaps tomorrow you may take further joy in humiliating me again; for now, I will allow it no further."

Kaigan snorted at me, beginning to lay out his own himation as a sleeping pallet. "Even in the unnecessary explanation of Philetor and Kleinos that Xanthus plied me with, he never mentioned that the Kleinos had to allow anything at all. Certainly he had the wrong of it in suggesting you would submit yourself to this."

I froze, bent over my bed, then straightened, staring at his crouched form, turned away from me and half-silhouetted in the moonlight against the opening of the cave. "Oh," I said quietly. "I see."

He turned his head and stared at me. "Do you, now? That would be the first time today, then." And he resumed straightening his folded himation on the ground.

Silently, I took my bedding up and moved close to him, spreading my own himation next to his. "I understand now why you have brought me here," I told him. "You frustrate yourself needlessly."

His puzzled look gave me pause. "Now you speak in mysteries, Obiareus."

I unpinned my chiton and removed my belt, baring myself. "It is clear that you kidnapped me for no other reason." I knelt on my pallet and swallowed, understanding now why he'd stared so long, so many times. "Have me; I will not fight you. Be quick. We must yet sleep if you are to... 'teach' me further on the morrow."

I pillowed my forehead against my arms and closed my eyes. There was a sound of rustling cloth, a sigh of breath, and then -- nothing. I waited a moment for him to rummage in a pack for oil, or move behind me, but after a while I could stand it no longer and raised my head.

Kaigan lay on his pallet, back turned to me, appearing for all the world to be asleep. I blinked at him, then, slowly, began to dress myself again, hot with shame.

"You wound me," his voice rumbled softly through the cave, "to assume I would be so callous -- and to think that a man 'from the other side of the sun' is less civilized than you."

Incredulous words welled in my throat and stuck there. I could not help but rise, take up my mantle, and move to the other side of the cave again. After I'd settled, I pulled half of my himation-pallet over me and frowned into the darkness, stung yet again. With a strange, dawning ache, I realized I did not know which was worse -- that I allowed him to hurt me, or that I seemed to have hurt him in return.

KAIGAN:

Damn the boy. Damn the boy and damn his silly pride, his stupid misunderstandings. Inanna, were you to manifest yourself before me this instant in all your glory, I would cheerfully wring your lovely neck.

I don't know which is worse, to have been offered that lovely ass as a sacrificial lamb or to know it was available to me and know further that I had to turn it down! Yes, Inanna, yes, I can admit it to myself now, I want him. He's beautiful, and he's strong and willful and damn you, lioness of the desert, I will leave your service if you do not let me be!

Because he is hurt as well. It took me only a little thought to get past his petulance and his pride to realize that something gnawed at him -- especially after his last display. Those were not the actions of a whole, soul-healthy man. Perhaps it is his mother's bending over to that serpent Palaemon. Perhaps it is something else. Stars above, I didn't want to care! I knew this would be a mistake.

This should have been easy. Take a young warrior out to the wilds and live with him for two months. Two turnings of the moon. Teach him, learn from him. I could have taught him as I was taught, I could have shown him the things I learned in Aegypt, or in Gaul. We would have had a pleasant time. But now...

Now, I hear his hitching breaths on the other side of the cave from me, and I know he is as without sleep as I am. Now, I want nothing more than to take him into my arms and soothe his wounds. Damn you, Inanna. I told you I would love no more after Siobhan -- I swore an oath! Why did you have to bring this golden warrior into my life? I will not care for him, Inanna. I will not.

Sometime during my soundless rantings, she must have grown weary of me and put me to sleep. The next thing I knew, there was sunlight slanting into the door of the cave, which faced east. I remained on my back and studied the low ceiling of the cavern and wondered what this day would bring. It did nothing to wonder, however, so finally I sighed quietly and rose. Obia was curled up on his pallet, looking very young and very loveable. I longed to take him into my arms, and take what he had offered the night before.

No. I would not do that. He would not make me into his rapist.

Soundlessly, I left the cave and walked the few short steps to the stream. I filled the skins up again and splashed water on my face, for it had been a short night for me. I stood and stretched, then removed my chiton and breechclout, not wanting to have anything between me and the beautiful day it was becoming. We still had some good fruit and cheese and half a loaf of bread left to break our fast, and already I could hear rabbits rustling through the undergrowth on the other side of the stream. We would have meat a-plenty between my axe and Obiareus' sling.

Something made me turn and I realized the object of my thoughts had risen. He was standing at the door of our cave home and staring at me, his face unreadable in the sunlight. We stared at each other wordlessly for a time before being startled by a hawk bringing down a pigeon, almost right in front of us. The hawk obviously hadn't seen us, for he was startled almost out of his mind when he noticed us standing near his kill.

I chuckled at the bird's antics and that seemed to break the spell of silence we were under. With a bare nod of his head, Obiareus stalked past me to the stream, where he crouched and splashed water on himself. He had obviously not gotten past his hurt of the night before, and I wondered what I could do to help him. While I thought, I went to a convenient tree and relieved myself.

We broke fast together in silence... neither one of us had spoken a word, which, when I realized it, was rather odd. Finally, I rose, and dressed again, fastening only one of the fibulae in deference to the heat. Despite my lack of sleep, I felt unaccountably refreshed. Being away from the town and all its distractions, smells and noises relaxed me, and I realized with a start that regardless of how it turned out with Obiareus and me, I needed this. I should have come here long before.

I stretched and moved my ancient body into some gentler motions to warm up, while Obiareus watched me, his eyes hooded. Finally, I turned to him with a smile. "Are you ready for another lesson then, my Kleinos?"

In such a good mood as I was, I was hardly prepared for him to leap to his feet with a snarl. "I believe I told you that title did not apply to me, barbarian."

Oh, Inanna. So we were back to that. Inclining my head and sighing, I said, "As you wish. I apologize. I was merely..."

"I have had enough." Using his staff as a lever, he rose and tossed his himation over his shoulder. "I am returning to Knossos. You may do as you wish."

Shocked as I was at his discourtesy, it took me a few moments to gather my wits. When they returned to me, I realized how angry I was at his mien. "We had an agreement, or so I thought," I said, softly.

"I was in my cups," he replied, his back to me. "You took unfair advantage."

"I did not," I said, loudly, as I rose to my feet. "I took no advantage of you at all yesterday -- or yestereve, for that matter, no matter how crudely presented!" I should not answer heat for heat, but the boy was causing me to boil over. We now stood, separated by a greensward and many angry words. "I should have expected it," I finally said, when he began walking away from me again. "You are not more than a spoiled, vain puppy, a lone child raised by selfish parents. You do as you wish, Obiareus. Far be it for me to change the course of your history."

That made him turn, and his face was suffused with anger. "You know naught of me, barbarian," he growled. "My brother was one of the finest Jheudi ever--"

"Then he should have taught you better how to treat your elders!" I replied with heat. I hadn't known Obiareus had a brother -- where was he?

With a cry of inarticulate rage, Obiareus raised his staff and attacked me.

OBIAREUS:

I saw not that I was overtired after a mostly-sleepless night and a dream -- a strange, unfathomable dream I could not imagine deciphering. I saw not that I still bore the sting of the night's humiliation. Ai, the night's and the day's. I did not even bother to consider that Kaigan truly knew nothing of me, or of Heiro. I only heard the barb he slung at the man who should still have lived to teach me anything, and it drove me to white-blind fury. I flew at Kaigan, enraged, and had he not rolled from under my heavily-swung staff and armed himself to block me, I would have sought to knock his head clean off, or pound it into the rocks.

After what I had suffered at his hand -- and mouth -- I could scarcely stand the idea of a mention of my brother coming from this pompous, insensitive boor before me. My hands worked my staff of their own volition as I drove Kaigan immediately to the defensive, my anger pressing me forward where my embarrassment had cost me the battle the day before.

"Never -- speak -- of him," I panted, low, as my staff struck his over and over. I wanted to say more, but my desire to defeat him was stronger. Sensing this, he levered himself forward and tried, as he had the day before, to step inside my guard. Immediately I brought my staff up in both fists and caught him hard under the chin, rocking him back, stunned.

"Good," he breathed as he came at me again, and my anger exploded again. He sought to turn this into another lesson, but he would not have it from me. I sought to knock him out of his senses.

But he is strong and quick, and where I have reflexes and the motion of the young, he has size and sheer cunning of decades of battle and cultures I have no way of knowing. We fought long and hard this time, for even had he pinned me as he did the day before, I would have let him break my back in half before I yielded.

Finally our staves crossed once more, and, breathing hard, he said quietly, "You have fought me to a standstill, Obiareus. I am pleased and proud." His voice was almost tender and his eyes compassionate, and, confused and losing my tight hold on my anger, I stared back at him. I wanted to shove him off me, tell him I cared nothing for his pleasure and pride, but he had unknotted me, and I knew it was not so. Even as I continued to watch him warily, he relaxed his stance somewhat, his staff still against mine but no longer pressing forward. "Now take your rest and tell me: what happened to your brother that gives you such pain, Kleinos?"

The old tightness I had known for ages had returned to my chest at the mention of my brother. Loosing a frustrated noise, I shoved at Kaigan's staff enough to get him away from me, then dropped my own weapon in the grass. Exhausted, I dropped to my knees, facing the end of the valley, away from Kaigan.

I may never know what made me drop those words on the ground that day. I was faintly horrified even as I spoke, knowing I only gave him more to embarrass me with later. Still, the words left me as quickly as they came to me. Part of me knew even then that I was safe, much though I would rebel against the thought later.

"I was seven years old. Palaemon had only taken power a moon or two before, and already he was as poisonous as any scorpion. He had blackmailed another Senator into quitting his station. He had wormed into several beds -- two wedded Senators and I believe there was even a scandal involving one of the Priestesses -- I cannot remember. I was not much for politics back in those days." I laughed harshly, then went on, never turning, only staring at the broken sage in the ground in front of me. "It was not long before he was in our household like a brother, and ai, my mother adored him. My true brother, Heiro, was not so kind to him, sensing somehow that Palaemon was as malicious as he appeared to be benevolent."

Before I even realized it, I sank to my heels and lost myself in memories of Heiro.

"My brother was so sharp-witted. Nothing escaped him, and he loved me so protectively. He was ten years my senior and in between his birth and mine he had comforted my mother through another child lost before it was born -- a sister. He might have been ready to go into the Senate at seventeen, had he been so inclined, but he was such a good fighter he took to the Jheudi. Ai, Kaigan, Heiro was an amazing fighter. He would have bested you three times by now, and been kindly while he did it." I struggled against my throat's tightness and ache, then succumbed to it, falling silent for a while until the words I needed to say could be loosed again. "I have never been -- could never be -- the man that my brother was. Even your Inanna would have loved him."

I barely felt the tears that began sliding down my cheeks. "I have tried," I hitched out quietly before steadying my voice, "to be like him, to have his forgiveness and wisdom. Gods know my mother wants me to. I have tried to consider being a perioikos to some worthy Jheudi, but I cannot. I cannot give my heart, I cannot -- not even Hekate can claim me. Too much has been taken from me. I will not risk losing more."

I fell silent then, my hands balled into fists and my head bowed. The tears flowed freely, though gods know I fought against the noises that such tears produced. I certainly did not wish him to know that I cried like a babe for a man dead twelve years. Nearly anyone would have grown impatient with me and slapped me, were I still a child. My mother would have cupped my cheek, pressed cool water to it, and told me to go and play and pretend that it had never happened, which was somehow worse.

Somehow I managed to bring myself under control. I waved my hand dismissively. "Ai, gods. Pay me no mind; I slept badly." It was enough for me, if not him, and I fell silent again.

KAIGAN:

My poor, wounded Kleinos. Such a terrible thing to have happened to one so young. Yes, indeed something did eat at his soul, just as I had suspected.

I felt that any attempt at comfort now would not be welcome, so I remained crouched on one side of our greensward while he remained on his knees on the other. I chose not to notice his quiet sobs as he remembered his brother and remembered his pain. He would not have appreciated my acknowledgement of his weakness, no matter that I did not see it as such.

Pain is pain, and Inanna, you of all others know that we poor mortals cannot wallow in it forever -- no matter that we might wish to. Finally, the storm passed, leaving him drained and slumped over his staff. The sun was rising toward mid-day by then, another fine, hot day, and the sound of the waterfall drew me.

When he finally got himself under control, he rose and tried to dismiss his feelings with harsh words: "Ai, gods. Pay me no mind; I slept badly," before going to rummage through our stores. I could tell he was trying to keep busy to avoid thinking more on what he had spoken of.

Rising, I gently approached him, touching him lightly, fleetingly. "Come with me to bathe, Obiareus," I said softly. "It is a hot day, and we have worked up a sweat with our sparring." I also chose not to notice his initial murderous intent. "Many things look better to us when our bodies are clean."

He would not look at me, but his shoulders slumped. "Yes, that is probably a good idea," he mumbled, then rose. I stood behind him and carefully didn't touch him... I could tell he wasn't ready for that yet.

OBIAREUS:

He directed me around the caves, through the trees, to a place I had never been to. It caused me a strange pang to know one who understood my own isle better than I did. He was kind and gentle then, completely unlike the insufferable "teacher" I had had the day before. Still, I went along. There was nothing else for me to do out here in the wilds, and having opened up my heart so soon before, I found I was too tired to do other than agree with him. I wondered, though, why he would not come near me.

The spring was attractive, set into the valley behind a wall of trees and rock, all greens and foaming water. Kaigan for some reason felt a need to treat me with a kind of deference I'd never seen of him before, with me or anyone. He led me solicitously down to the bank of the spring, then, after peeling out of his chiton and breechclout, offered me his hand as he stepped down into the water. Eyeing him, I kept my limbs to myself, making my own way down into the warm pool in due course.

"Is there more you wish to talk about?" he asked me, and I fairly recoiled from his words as I felt my way along the smooth bottom of the spring.

"No, I do not wish to speak of it any further," I almost snapped. "I have had done with speaking of it. I should have left by now." But I knew as well as he did that I was making no move to leave the water, and no move to leave this valley he had selected for our temporary home.

There was something about him that I found unbearably intriguing, this barbarian. He had known, somehow, how to reach me, to tame the anger that had unleashed itself in my brother's name. Somehow, Kaigan understood my heart enough to tolerate me that long, and I puzzled at that. Now he was kind and somehow easy to be with, and I found myself reconsidering my desire to run back to Knossos.

Considering this strange turn, I glanced at my would-be Philetor. He was, indeed, marked all over, with his various inkings and brands all over his back and torso -- and perhaps lower, though by the time I thought to look, he was half up to his chest in water. He was strange, exotic, and beautiful in a way that made me reluctantly dizzy to consider. It was not only that, however, that drew my eye and my thoughts. It was more, and yet nothing, if I allowed myself to think on it.

But all of the king's warriors were beautiful in their way, and I had dallied with a few of them and set them away from me again. I had been readying myself to do the same to Xanthus, surely. This was nothing. It had to be nothing. What I had said to Xanthus was true -- I could not be kept: I would not allow myself to be. It mattered little how intriguing my barbarian was, nor how easily he drew my darkest secrets from me. I would not bear the pain of losing another, so I had long ago resolved myself simply that I would not care. The people in my life had betrayed everything I knew of love, and Palaemon was even now betraying the passion of my mother and the devotion of her son, and that was unforgivable. The gods only know why he wanted my mother so, unless it was because as a Senator, he was expected to be married -- just as a Jheudi is expected to have a perioikos. Ai, if she married him, she was lost to me!

The very idea had me wading away from Kaigan in impatience, splashing water over my face and chest and trying to clear the old tears from my eyes once more.

"You did not tell me what happened to Heiro," Kaigan said carefully, rinsing himself as well, splashing water into his hair and over his face. I glanced at him, then away quickly as he moved toward the fall.

"Palaemon killed him," I said shortly, and at Kaigan's gasp, I waved him down. "I cannot prove it. Ai, I cannot even say how I know it. But I get a sense of him... he was always a monster, and my brother had witnessed an event... well." I left the subject to die, bending my knees and sinking into the water up to my shoulders before making my way to the cool falls as well.

"Please," Kaigan requested. "Tell me what happened."

I frowned. His interest was disarming, and before I could stop myself, I heard my own voice confessing the events of the day that had ended in my brother's death almost without my consent.

"He was with the goats. He ascended a small knoll back behind -- but I suppose you have not seen my yards. At any rate, he was within his own yardage and saw Palaemon discussing something... questionable with another man." I paused as I remembered my brother's words, though I could not bring myself to repeat them. "Palaemon was in the process of slowly killing the king, Kaigan. He was placing small amounts of tincture of poppy into our own king's wine, waiting for him to fall ill and die so that the king's son, Anakreon -- another plot of Palaemon's, I was later to learn -- would succeed the throne."

I glanced at Kaigan, needing to know whether he believed me or no. His expression was stunned even as he stood in the loose fall of water, his long, silvering hair pressed flat to his head and his beard dripping.

"The king is yet alive," he said carefully, and I could tell he was yet treating me with the same gentleness of one who is hearing of the shaky visions of fever or grief.

"Of course he is," I snapped, bending suddenly and dipping my head into the water, then slinging my hair, heavy and wet, over my back. "As soon as Palaemon was discovered, he stopped his slow poisoning, for he could never know if my brother spoke of his discovery -- ah but that is still not telling you what happened, is it?"

Kaigan remained silent, waiting for me to finish out my tale.

"My brother witnessed the conversation," I continued, "in which Palaemon detailed his methods and his motives. Soon after...." I swallowed hard, struggling not to return to the place that sent me into pained tears every time. "I went out into the goat yard -- my very own goat yard, you understand -- and I found him with a dagger buried in his heart much like the one that Palaemon carried." Suddenly finding the calm center that enabled me to speak coldly of the death of my brother, I met Kaigan's stunned gaze. "You may perhaps recognize the design. It was not long after this that all of the Senators began to carry similar daggers, inset with mother of pearl...?"

He nodded mutely, understanding.

I merely shrugged. "That is the way of it. I can prove nothing, though even then it seemed to me that Palaemon flaunted my brother's murder before the entirety of Knossos. I was a child. My mother was too much in the man's favor to bother with proving my words -- but I swear to you -- I swear, it was him --" In spite of my best efforts, my voice broke.

"I am sorry," Kaigan said softly, stepping out of the spray and reaching for my shoulder to comfort me. "I should not have pressed. If you like, I will --"

"Stop," I said sharply, jerking away from him. "You treat me as though I have had more pain than anyone else in the world. Coddling me is worse than if you ask me pointed questions. If I wanted pampering, I would return to my mother's house." I swept my hair back from my face and made to move out of the water.

"But I know that you have not suffered more, only differently," he corrected softly. I turned to stare at him, waiting for the end of his point, as it would seem I was learning to do.

"And how would you know this?"

"Because I have lost someone dear to me as well." He lowered his gaze to the water. "I have not lost a brother, but I daresay you have not lost a wife and child."

For reasons I could not discern, Kaigan once more took the wind completely from my sails. "And you have?" I asked, trying to sound sharp, and failing.

"Yes," he told me, meeting my eyes. "Her name was Siobhan."

KAIGAN:

He made me break my oath, the oath I took to myself never to speak her name aloud again. Never to look upon anyone else again with the kind of love and desire I felt for her. He made me break my oath.

At least... I believe it was he who did it.

"The cedars of Gubla are large, but larger still are the great trees that live in the northern land, north of Iberia, in a land called Gaul," I told him, wondering at myself, wondering why my voice sounded so normal to my ears. "I left the army after our campaign against the Aegyptians failed, and desired to travel. I had never seen such an expanse of water like the sea, and when I was offered a place in crew aboard a Phoenician ship, I took it, and learned the ways of water. They are different than the ways of sand. Different, and yet strangely the same."

I took a seat on a convenient rock in the sun, and studied the glittering facets of the water. "This was while the Hyksos were being driven from Aegypt, you realize, and the Phoenicians were in decline. They couldn't land on the southern shores of the sea for fear of being caught in the war, so they concentrated on the northern shores, which are far different -- wild and without civilization. There are trees in the land north of Iberia that are taller than giants, Obiareus, and whole tracts of land that rarely see sunlight for the canopy of leaves that cover them." I closed my eyes, letting my body remember the peace and silence of those places. "The Phoenicians and others make coin by felling and transporting those giants. Among other things." The thought of slavery never bothered me until I married, Inanna.

"I left my ship because I wanted to further explore those massive giants -- against the wishes of my captain, who told me my wanderlust would get me into trouble. He was both right and wrong..." I found myself grinning wryly, and wondered that I could contemplate my heartbreak thusly. "Trouble -- in the form of a little red-haired girl -- found me before I could seek it out. Her name was Siobhan, and she took me back to her tribe and they made me their own."

It was a moment before I could continue, and I marveled that he refrained from interrupting me. "Their language is both crude and beautiful, and they celebrated life in ways that I found astonishing. And eventually, their chieftain saw that I belonged with Siobhan, his daughter, and we were married, according to their traditions." I swallowed against the lump in my throat. "She was the sun and the moon and the stars, Obiareus. Her laughter could charm birds from their nest. I loved her like I have never loved before..." And never would again, I usually continued. But I didn't say it this time. Why?

"We had only been married for two summers when she grew heavy with child. She had taught me so much of their healing ways, and the elders of the tribe had taught me even more, and I felt that there was nothing beyond me. I knew which herbs to give to ease pain and cure ills, even in a pregnant woman, so I was confident our son would be born healthy and whole."

Oh, Inanna. My arrogance knew no bounds.

I must have murmured that aloud, because I saw Obiareus frown in confusion and look at me askance. Forcing myself, I continued. "Then, a pox visited the tribe, I know not from where. Those afflicted developed tiny red spots that filled with pus and burst, itching horribly. Siobhan was gravid, due to give birth, and her temperature... I could not get her fever to abate, no matter that I gave her the willow bark and bathed her with cool cloths..." I clenched my fists and closed my eyes against the memory of her pain-filled eyes looking hopefully into mine. "Nothing I did, no herb learned from the north or the southern climes would help. She went into labor and died, even as our son died with her, his tiny face red and perfect."

"She was the only one of the tribe to die," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Many of the children became sick and then became whole again. I never even itched once." I felt the tears run hot down my face and marveled anew -- this was the first time I had cried over Siobhan in years. Always before, my pain was so great it prevented tears from coming.

"I helped the tribe then, and the bodies of my wife and son were cared for after their customs. Then I left, and walked south into Iberia, where I found another ship to carry me on." I opened my eyes again and found that Obiareus had stretched out on the grass in the sun near me, and lay with his eyes closed. "Inanna provided for me," I whispered. "She took me back... but she has never explained to me why Siobhan died in my arms. I confess there were times when I cursed her, but she never held that against me. My goddess knows what is in my heart, even when I -- do not."

Studying my large, capable hands, hands that had killed and healed both, I swallowed before continuing in a murmur. "I took ship again, and sought greater knowledge of healing. Everywhere I went, I was the one revered as healer, and none -- not even in the great houses of Aegypt -- had more knowledge than I held." I shook my head sadly. "All the knowledge, and none of it prevented the death of my beautiful Siobhan. Eventually, I heard of a warrior caste who practiced healing arts that were said to be miraculous. They were called Jheudi." I leaned back on my elbows and closed my eyes, which were still burning with tears.

Oh, Inanna, my lovely one. He made me break my oath. And part of me was... strangely glad.

OBIAREUS:

I listened to him as he had done for me, strangely finding ease in my own pain with the sharing of his. His tale was something outside my experience, something I could struggle with for years to fully understand, but that seemed not to matter as we sat in a spot of sunlight, drying ourselves in the open air. I felt a closeness with him that I had never felt with anyone before as I struggled to find words suitable to comfort him. As he spoke of his Siobhan, I discovered how deeply he loved and honored, and before I could even consider where the thought had come from, I knew I wanted to taste that from him. A scant hour had passed between my declaration never to want, and my wanting. I was afraid to allow myself to find the reasons.

Ai, and I had tried so hard to keep my eyes away from his well-marked form as he spoke of his pain, but my damnable curiosity got the better of me. I had seen the knotty bands around the firm muscles of his upper arms, the rampant, roaring lion over his heart, and another band around his left wrist. As he had climbed out of the pool I had noticed the scar placed low on his back, before I had averted my eyes for my own sanity. Between stolen glances, I also noticed the clay-colored symbols encircled in a decorated oval on his right shoulder blade, but that was the side of his chiton that he fastened, more often than not. I wondered briefly why he covered it so.

Yes, he was truly beautiful, but what made me ache inside so strangely was not looking at his body or his skin. It was the soft tenderness in his voice as he spoke of his Siobhan and the child he had lost. It was the affection that he displayed when he spoke of his so-called whore goddess. It was even the wisdom he showed me, and the forgiveness in him after I had treated him so poorly. After a long while, I had closed my eyes against the sight of him only to find that my mind, left alone with only the sound of his voice, was not calmed, but flighty and quick to drift to subjects I had kept it well away from my entire life.

"Do you sleep?" he asked me after a time, his voice a bare whisper.

"No," I replied, and opened my eyes to lie to him a little. "Your voice soothes me, I find." I wanted to say more, but could find nothing that was not suggestive of things I did not wish to convey.

He had moved close to me -- closer, perhaps, than I should have been comfortable with. "Thank you. I have not told that part of me for ages. It is good to have it out."

"It is the same with me." I raised myself up onto one elbow and looked at him in the sunlight. "I am... very grateful...." I allowed my voice to trail away. He was darker of skin, I think, than I realized, but his eyes were bluer than the sky -- bluer, even, than the oceans. Had I noticed that before? I did not know. All I knew now was that he was moving yet closer to me, slowly, and then I found myself moving in as well. I allowed my eyes to slide closed as -- ai, gods -- our lips met. His were warm and smooth, the beard soft, and he smelled of fresh water and fruit. I was afraid to move, afraid to breathe, his spell was so complete. Softly his lips moved over mine until they parted, drawing mine open with them. I made a quiet, lost noise as his tongue slipped delicately over my lips, then past them.

Poets have, for ages, described kisses like these. While I had discovered this barbarian to be more of a poet than I could ever be, I found myself dizzied and grateful with his mouth against mine, thinking of stars and the ocean and the beauty I'd seen in him. Afraid the spell would be broken but wishing him closer, I found myself clutching at his shoulders, pulling him to me.

Kaigan broke the kiss slowly, scattering smaller ones over my mouth even as he pulled slightly away. "Ah, gods, I knew you would be as sweet and soft as cream."

I shivered, wondering how long he had been dreaming of this kiss, wondering how it was that I had not been. Now, surely, it would haunt me forever, my barbarian's warm mouth pressed so softly to mine. He studied me, his eyes darting over my face as though to memorize the look of me. He seemed suddenly out of words. I knew for my own part that had he put a dagger to my throat and bade me speak, I could not have.

My barbarian only looked at me a moment longer, then moved closer to me in the grass. I gasped as hot, hard skin met mine, and his answering, pleased groan shot straight to my core. I put my hand to the back of his head and pulled him close again, kissing him. It was no longer a question but a demand -- I could not get enough of him suddenly, as though he would pull back and disappear from me, the way his Siobhan had. The way my brother had.

Even in the middle of my hunger, I heard a voice that could not have been mine rasping out, "No -- stop."

Incredibly, it was my voice. I tore my mouth away from his and turned my face to the side, struggling to control my breathing. I kept my eyes tightly closed, lest I look at him and lose myself again.

Kaigan's voice was hoarse and shaky when he at last replied. "I -- I am sorry. I should not have --"

I shook my head and rolled away from him, taking up my chiton and throwing it uselessly over my shoulder. "The fault is mine. I knew last night that you did not want me, and -- it is wrong of me to take advantage of your pain so. It will not happen again." So saying, I rose to my knees and then my feet, holding my chiton over my arousal as best I could. Ai, I felt -- I felt a fool, truth be known, and my face burned hotly. I fairly fled to the cave where we had slept the night before.

The instant I reached the spot where I had slept, I threw my chiton down, shaking. Ai, he had undone me, I had lost my mind! He had made himself plain the night before -- but perhaps I misunderstood, for his kisses by the spring had been as eager and hungry as mine.

No, when I forced myself to think on it, I knew that I had been foolish the night before, and certainly Kaigan was not interested in taking one who had no interest in himself. Now I wanted, in spite of my own insistence that I would want no one again. And now, as I had come to want, I had flung the object of my desire away from me. I should have gone back to him then, but my pride was yet too great.

Struggling between heart and mind, I went out into the glade and began to move through the exercises that the masters had taught us in formation. Strange things came to me unbidden: his love for his strange Inanna, who seemed so good for him and yet somehow so cruel to him. It was a mystery. I wondered if she had directed him to me, and then I wondered at the reason. My mind drifted from Inanna to Kaigan, who followed her so faithfully though she saw him stung again and again. I did not think I had ever blamed Hekate for my troubles -- but I had never claimed her, either.

I fought to release my pain, and the pain caused by his words. I hurt for him, my would-be Philetor, and could not understand why I would try to take pleasure from him in the middle of his pain, made so fresh to him by mine. Ai, but I could understand -- I wanted him. It was plain.

As I moved my body, my mind began to clear.

Kaigan had, whatever treachery Xanthus had done, chosen me as his Kleinos. Kaigan had come to my home, following the dictates of the tradition, and taken me with all the blessings of my household. That he'd had no knowledge that my household carried no blessings had not been his failing, but that of Xanthus. Now, there was no help for it -- I was to be his pupil, a temporary perioikos, for the next two moons.

But Kaigan was an honorable man, proud and worthy, and I felt I should have known this even before I had ever become drawn to his physical strength and beauty. No, he had treated me with honor, and I must treat him with the same. My status as his Kleinos could not be set aside. Slowly, as I moved, it dawned in my mind and heart that I did not want it to be.

KAIGAN:

It took me long minutes to get myself under control. It had been a long time since I had felt such desire, something you know quite well, Inanna. But I moved too quickly, and I felt terrible -- about moving at all. It was not something I should have done. Obiareus was owed an apology from me.

Once under control of myself again, I dressed and moved to find him, intending on offering that apology. I did not want to drive him away, just as we were realizing...

Oh, Inanna. No. You would not... you could not! Damn you... you had. The realization that I was falling in love with Obiareus hit me like a punch to my gut, and I nearly doubled over, falling to my knees in pain. Why? Please... please don't do this to me, my oath, my oath, blessed one...

I cannot bear to lose another one, Inanna.

The tears came hot from my eyes then, as I tried to call up an image of my lovely Siobhan, but instead saw only Obiareus and his beautiful, pale eyes. How... this is not... oh, Inanna...

But my goddess is wise. She sent me calm, and bade me trust her, as I always had. I took a deep breath and tried to release my fear to her, to allow her to lead me where she wished me to go, as she always has done. Some of it left me, but some of it... I would have to be firm with her. I had sworn an oath and I could not fall in love. Lust was one thing, and, well, I could do that. Had done that, with Penmennefer. I could have a tumble with Obiareus, I could... I could...

He was in the glade where we had our fire the night before, exercising. He had not bothered to dress. I watched him from the trees as his muscles rippled and stretched as he posed and used his staff. He was beauty incarnate, and as I watched, I felt myself respond.

No... it was far too late for me to be firm with myself, or with Inanna. I had already fallen, and so my oath was well and truly smashed.

With a deep breath and an ache in my heart, I joined him at his exercise. He did not react to my presence, but automatically accommodated himself to my being there. We flowed seamlessly from one pose to another, and then into yet another. When we were both sufficiently warm, he turned to me and bowed, his face impassive. "I would appreciate your tutoring me further, Kaigan," he said.

I inclined my head without a word, and, discarding my chiton, I picked up my staff.

As the day aged, we continued our exercise. He was a quick and excellent student, as I knew he would be. I only had to show him a move once before he was copying it, nearly flawlessly, and sometimes improving upon it. We spoke little... I occasionally corrected his stance or stopped him to demonstrate something, but other than that, the glade only heard our breath.

Finally, the sun was westering, and I realized we needed to stop, to eat. We were drenched in the sweat that comes from good, hard work, and hungry as well. I pulled out my knife and my axe and went to hunt our dinner while Obiareus re-kindled our fire, and with an efficiency that spoke of our comfort with each other, we prepared our dinner and ate, drinking nothing but cold water. I seasoned the rabbits -- thanking them with more sincerity this time -- with some of the herbs growing in the canyon, and Obiareus found some tubers which he roasted on the coals of our fire. It was not a king's feast, but the company made it better than one.

By full dark, our bellies were full, and the stars were shining. There was only a sliver of a moon, thin as a nail, which would set early. I looked into the sky and found the familiar patterns that had been with me all my life, and wondered at this new ache in my chest. Would you take him from me as you had taken Siobhan, Inanna? Or would you take me from him? I was older now, and even though I was still fit, I was twice his age. It was hardly fair to him...

"I thank you for your instruction today, Kaigan," Obiareus said suddenly. I glanced at him; he was poking the fire with a long stick, and his eyes were enormous in the darkness. "And I apologize for my rudeness of the last few days... and of earlier."

His mention of apology reminded me of mine. "No, it is I who must apologize to you, Obiareus," I said, barely refraining from calling him Kleinos. "You took no advantage in the spring. If anyone did, it was I. I acted foolishly, to ask of you something you may not wish to give."

Obiareus' mouth lifted wryly. "I will not argue... I have had my fill of argument lately." He gave me a quick look that I could not interpret before continuing. "You... you have proven to me that you have much to teach me. Not in... not in combat alone, either."

I frowned for a moment, then realized what he must be talking about. I was glad for the darkness then, for it hid my face. "That is... something that comes to every man... in time... Obiareus..." I said. The ache in my chest grew until it felt it might choke me.

"I would... be glad of your tutelage in that area as well, my... my Philetor," Obiareus said softly, hesitantly. His eyes came up to meet mine, and my breath was suddenly shallow.

"It would..." oh, Inanna. Did he mean it? Did he mean to call me his Philetor, or was he merely playing? Could I take the chance? Could I bear not to? "It would... be... my honor," I whispered.

He moved closer to me, and I could smell him, his maleness, the sweat of our exertions earlier, the smoke from the fire, the herbs from the rabbits. His hair smelled of lavender. "I would not wish to take advantage," he said, his voice low. "I would not wish... to hurt you further."

"You could not," I told him, surprised to realize it was so, surprised to realize how I ached for him, surprised, at the last, to realize I was kissing him.

And he was kissing me back.

OBIAREUS:

I woke slowly to a muzzy knowledge that I was wrapped up in warm, strong arms. It was alien to me, and yet so perfect. I had slept draped along Kai's body in a way that I had never, ever been able to tolerate from another lover -- and yet here I was, pillowed on his broad chest. My leg was slung between his, my arm wrapped possessively -- ai, gods, yes! -- possessively around his body. What should have disconcerted me was that we had fallen asleep amid long, languid kisses and he had never --

No, he had never taken me. So tired had I been, and so concerned was he that we might abuse each other somehow in our fervor that he had demurred from more than slow kisses. Those, we had shared until I was hot and panting, and then more until I was calm and sleepy, and then again... he had bewitched me, certainly. I did not know how I had come to want him so much in so short a time. I could see it now, and so help me, I did not care.

Almost of their own volition, my lips began to move over his skin, here catching a light sprinkling of hair, there ensnaring a warm, firming nipple. It was not long before I had to have his mouth again. To that he woke, groaning softly and settling his hand into my hair, his fingers sifting through the strands he had unplaited the night before.

His body felt so good next to mine, so irresistible. He was all warm skin and well-tanned lines, but that was not all. I wanted to trace every part of him and know him completely. I wanted his voice in my head, the smell of him in my nose, ai. Once more that sense of never being able to get enough invaded me, and I was lost.

"Speak, Kaigan," I told him hoarsely, planting small kisses along the beard at his jaw. "Speak to me." I could not tell him how suddenly I needed him. How could I explain that I had gone from faint excitement to --

To what? He had been waiting, it was true, but for what had he been waiting? Had I given it?

"Speak?" he asked me incredulously, his voice rough. "I cannot -- ah, yes... speak... tell me, what shall I speak of, my Kleinos?"

"Of Aegypt," I said quickly, the first thing I could think of that was not his Siobhan. My lips caught at his ear, and I whispered, "Tell me of the sands, or the river, or the people. I do not care." I needed his voice drowning out my thoughts, for they were more dangerous even than his passion.

But he caught me to him and kissed me, his long, large hands in my hair and his mouth hungry under mine. He tilted me and upended me until I was on my back beneath him. He carefully held himself over me but I put my hands around his waist and tugged him down.

"I am no trinket," I breathed against his throat. "Teach, do not coddle." It was pale humor as he settled his body on mine, his shaft hot and hard against my hip. I gasped and tried to arch up into him, but he had me in weight and determination.

"Slowly," Kaigan admonished me. "We have so much time, my Kleinos."

Slowly, indeed, he began to move over me, his skin sliding against mine. Ai, it was sweet, so sweet, so soft and hard, and so different. I held him to me as he directed our bodies and our mouths, slowing me when I wanted to ravish his lips and tongue or turn him over. I yearned to feel him inside me in a way that I had never wanted Xanthus -- I had always done the taking -- but gods above and below, I wanted to give myself to this barbarian.

"So eager," he breathed against the corner of my mouth.

"Yes," I agreed, clutching him to me as he moved so excruciatingly slowly over me.

When he pulled away from me, I moaned in protest, but his absence yielded such promise -- he returned with a small pot of thick oil that he had no doubt brought for his knife but now -- oh, now!

Dipping his fingers into it, he stared down at me with such longing in his eyes that I thought my heart would burst in reply to it. How had this happened? How had he delved into that place inside me where no one else had reached?

But those were thoughts for another time as his warm, rough hand slid over my skin, spreading the oil and wrenching cries from me. I tried to thrust up into that hand, but its mate pinned me down.

"Slowly," he whispered once more, and then, to my surprise, moved over me again, as he had been. I was not sure what to make of it -- he had oiled me. But ahh, gods, when he rejoined me on the pallet, the skin of his thick erection was now made unutterably smooth and slick with the oil. It gave against mine, slippery and hot until I was gasping and thrusting against him mindlessly. Any idea of what I might have done, or had wanted to do, was lost to the feel of him against me this way.

"Kaigan," I gasped, pulling his head down, finding his mouth again until cries wrenched themselves out of my chest. Pleasure bloomed inside me, then exploded, causing me shudders and tense, broken whimpers.

When I looked up at him, he smiled, though his eyes were somewhat lost. "My Obia," he sighed, "that was far more beautiful than I could have hoped." So saying, he thrust against my hip, now slick and warm with my own release -- once, twice, his eyes caught with mine and his lips parted with his startled, pleasured groans. The third thrust forced him to close his eyes and drop his head onto my shoulder, and the fourth -- a long, shaky moan spilled from him as it broke over him, his own release. He tensed, clinging to me and shaking, then went still, mindful only enough not to press me too hard into the rocks. I would not have cared, he was so... I could find no words. He is the poet; I am only a warrior.

"My Philetor," I sighed, stroking his back softly and relishing the title. His slow, contented sigh told me far more than any words might have. I did not know how I had ever found the words to deny that he was, indeed, my Philetor, my lover. I scarcely knew him, but that did not seem to matter -- I knew enough. He had enough honor to deny me when anyone else would have taken me coarsely; he had enough sense to know when it was time to speak and when to fight; he had enough desire, and yet enough thought, to wait, to be patient. Ai, Mother, Xanthus, Palaemon, I can only thank you for driving me from my home and into his arms.

After a moment, he shifted from my body and tugged me into his arms, enfolding me against him. I cared nothing about the stickiness between us. His warm strength surrounded me, and I nuzzled at his chest, smelling his skin.

"You did not speak," I admonished him softly, petting the muscular chest against which I was trapped. "I wanted your lion's purr filling my head as I --" I stopped, flushing and pressing my forehead against his chest to hide. Ai, one hot, sticky encounter and he had turned me rambling and senseless, already laying claims to him.

Kaigan pulled back from me, his huge hand tipping my face up. I was forced to look into his deep, blue eyes as he paused, gathering his words.

KAIGAN:

Kissing my Kleinos is like sipping the finest honey.

He was as I knew he would be, eager and open and honest with his affection, with his needs. We kissed the night before, in the light of the stars, and his mouth was warm, and inviting, and so very true, so very there. I let my hands comb through his long, beautiful hair and made love to his mouth while he responded in kind, until we were both drunk with passion and dizzy with the taste of each other.

Then, he fell asleep, between one kiss and the next, ah, he fell asleep on top of me, his head over my heart, filling my arms with his warm body and my nose with his scent and my lips with his taste. I held him carefully, tightly, cradled within the care I had for him, and let myself drift off as well, consciously trying to forget the oath I had broken, was breaking, with every beat of my heart.

And in the morning, he woke me with more kisses. I felt his hard length branding my hip as he kissed me. Inanna, you know I am no stranger to the ways of love men have, and I dearly wished to have him inside me. But you have counseled me to patience, and it was wise counsel -- my Kleinos is hurt and tender, and requires gentle handling. So I merely made our bodies slick with the olive oil I carry with me, and let him drive himself to completion under me. His face as he was overtaken with passion was the most beautiful thing I have seen in many, many years.

Once he had reached his pinnacle, I loosed the reins on my own need and let myself seek a finish. The sudden, almost surprising ecstasy was nearly like to pain for me, that is how long it had been since I sought a lover, since I allowed myself to feel like this. I buried my head in his neck and shuddered out my pleasure, holding him tightly.

No matter how tightly I held him, he responded with more. Ah, how my Kleinos has stolen my heart.

When I could again move, I deemed I must have been crushing him with my superior weight, so I rolled us over, bringing him with me. He nestled into my arms as if the gods had made him specifically for that purpose, and sighed with a contentment that made me feel both smug and tender.

"You did not speak," he whispered finally, and I frowned, thinking back. Yes, he had asked me to speak when I was purely incapable of rational thought, much less the mechanics of vocalizing anything coherent. "I wanted your lion's purr filling my head as I..." he trailed off, then buried his face in my chest.

My Kleinos was embarrassed! No, this would never do. Gently but inexorably, I framed his sweet face in one hand and lifted it from its hiding place. I looked deeply into his eyes for a moment, then kissed his nose and nuzzled it. "My Kleinos must always feel free to request of his Philetor whatever he wishes," I said softly. "It is my honor and pleasure to give to my Kleinos anything he so desires, from the lowliest pebble on the beach to the brightest star in the heavens." Even as I said it, I knew it was true. Were Obiareus to demand the moon, I would begin to build a ladder.

He blinked, then slowly smiled, a smile I had never before seen on his face. Oh, I had seen him smile, many times, but this... this was a look composed of equal parts joy, awe and sheer, sweet adoration. It was the latter that brought me down to earth. "But..." I said, finding my own shame in how I felt, "my Kleinos must also be careful... for his Philetor is..." I swallowed and it was my turn to hide my face.

"What, Kaigan?" He asked me, tracing my large, broken nose with one finger. What could a gift of the gods like him see in a mere man like me? "Please, tell me."

It was a struggle, but I managed to get the words out. "I would ask you... to be careful," I mumbled, finally, "in what you wish for. Receiving the affection of one such as me could bring you trouble, Obiareus," I finished, all in a rush. "There are... so many things you don't know about me. And it would be my undoing to know I caused you pain."

That smile was back, and I realized with a pang of conscience that I never wanted anyone else in this world or out of it to see it on his lovely face -- except me. "I am not afraid," Obiareus said firmly. The adoration in his eyes shamed me further. "And I will make it a point to never ask more than my Philetor can or would give me."

Did I say I was shamed? I was, for ever thinking that this young man could be shallow and vain. He is a treasure of great, rare price, Inanna.

But you knew that, didn't you, my goddess?

OBIAREUS:

There had been something in his eyes as he'd gazed at me, warning me against himself. What was it that lurked there so hotly? I knew I had not had everything from him he'd sought to tell me. Still, I know all too well that sometimes, there are no words, and sometimes, where there are the words, they are not what we wish to say.

Knowing this, I yet found myself promising him things that should never have come from my mouth, and I had told him that I was not afraid, when I should have been terrified. He... he had promised me such things, and I should not have allowed it.

But if I never called him to his word, then what harm was there?

After a while, we rose at last. My hunger was beginning to get the best of me, as was my need to be clean of the sweat and stickiness we had created between us. Moving to my pack, I hoped only that my mother had thought to include some cloth or another for my washing.

My hand encountered something within the bag that quite distracted me from my desire for the spring. It was a sheathed dagger, small and light, with green-dyed, braided goatskin covering its hilt. In the base of the wooden hilt, where the leather ended, was carefully carved the symbol of Xanthus' household.

Was it a gift, or something else? My scorpion of a lover had given me what appeared to be a present -- one that matched my belt and fillet, one that was meant to appeal to my vanity but now only made me frown. Ai, but we are a strange people if our gifts to one another are all blood-drawing weapons. Still, I strapped the thing to my calf, thinking that at least here in the wilds, it might be useful.

I wondered, though, what he had intended me to use it for?

I did not, after all, find a cloth in the bag, but I did find the small vial of oil that my mother had always supplied me with. She was given to taking lavender flowers and pressing and crushing them into oil from the almonds. As a child, she had always taken this oil and spread a bit onto her fingers, then brushed her fingers through my hair. The ritual that had always soothed me now made me sigh and frown as my erstwhile lover's gift had -- still, as with the dagger, I tucked the oil into my belt, thinking I would use it in spite of my sting at my mother's actions. My need to bathe myself -- among other things -- was strengthening. Smiling to myself, I replayed the morning's exertions, putting the haunts of my past aside. I decided that if this simple life was the life of a Kleinos, then I stood to be very happy here.

KAIGAN:

He is happier, now -- or at least, more content. Ah, the joy in my heart to know that I contributed to his contentedness. I am well and truly lost, I fear, and though a small part of me still cries out in anguish, the most of me is content to live in each hour as it happens, and let the future care for itself.

I intended on joining him soon enough in the spring to get clean of the wondrous stickiness we had created on each other, when my stomach rumbled. Though reluctant to wash his scent from me, I also knew that it was prudent, and further, that I could replenish it any time I wished. What a marvelous thought that was!

We still had one pomegranate left from the food I had brought with us. I knew if my stomach was empty, my Kleinos, being younger, must be equally as hungry. I cracked the fruit open and carried it with me to join him in the spring -- it would do to break our fast until later.

He was standing hip-deep in water and stretching, his back to me as I approached, and I was stunned anew at his beauty. Forcing myself to relax, I stepped into the water and approached him, admiring the way the water outlined the muscles of his golden back.

When I was close enough, I gently wrapped one arm around him, showing him the halved pomegranate. "Hungry, my Kleinos?" I asked him softly, and kissed his wet shoulder. How this wonder could feel my voice was beautiful was beyond me, but there was little I wouldn't do to make him happy.

"I hunger, my Philetor," he replied, his voice husky. He took the half of the fruit while giving me a look that purely melted me. He scooped out some of the juice sacs with two fingers and held them out, offering.

Who was I to resist? I opened my mouth and swallowed the fruit and his fingers, savoring the delicious combined flavor I tasted. He never took his eyes from mine, though his darkened and his lids drooped in pleasure as I gently sucked his fingers clean. "A wonderful taste," I murmured, then bent my head to kiss him.

"It improves with age," he replied, kissing me back.

I gently broke from him and copied his motion, offering him a scoop of juicy fruit. He did the same as I had, licking my fingers to capture all the taste, suckling me gently and deeply. I felt myself rise again at his actions, and marveled, for I was old and I had thought such things were beyond me. But my beautiful young lover, it seemed, was determined to tax whatever strength I had left, and I knew I would cheerfully and blissfully allow him to do so.

Continuing to feed him fruit with my fingers, I nudged him gently back until he reached the sun-warmed rock on which I had taken my ease the day before. Distracted, I passed him my half of the fruit and then lifted him out of the water with one heave. He shouted with laughter at my actions, then gasped as I lowered my mouth to his rigid manhood and swallowed it whole.

"Dear gods!" he nearly shrieked as I sucked him down, and he dropped the pomegranate in the pool in order to clutch at my head. "Kai! What do you... ah!"

Ah, Inanna, I thought his kisses had tasted sweet. His glorious cock was thick and hard with blood and the crown, displayed through the foreskin, was ruddy and weeping. His taste was rich and heady, and I savored it as I caressed the skin of his pubes and petted his testicles. He was moaning continuously, nearly sobbing with the pleasure of what I was doing.

I pride myself on my skill at this, and used all my learned tricks to give him as much pleasure as I could. I suckled him as a babe does his mother, swallowing all of him gratefully, and allowing him to thrust as much as he liked into me. It wasn't long before he was brokenly urging me up and away but Inanna, I would taste all of him, and so when he spilled into my mouth I drank him down, savoring his screams of ecstasy as much as the honey of his essence.

When he was soft and small again, I finally released him with one last gentle kiss. I looked up to find him all but insensible on the rock, limp and panting. "Kleinos?" I spoke softly, heaving myself out of the water to join him in the sun. When he did not respond immediately, I kissed him gently. "Obia?"

His eyes, when they at last focused on me, were stunned. He blinked as if he had never seen me before, and had to swallow several times before he could speak. "I -- I have never... how... "

Slowly, I realized, to my shock -- he had never experienced oral ministrations before. No one had ever loved him that way? How pleased I was that I could provide that for my Kleinos. I kissed him again, more gently still, and pressed his sweet body to mine.

OBIAREUS:

Ai, gods.

Go to part 3