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In the dimming darkness of the Last Light Inn, after her entire life is gone by her own hands, Shadowheart looks around for anyone she can fall back on. Through whispers of mists clearing from the cleansed shadow curse, she sees Karlach. For a moment, she thinks of asking her to hold her, hoping that the newly fixed engine could warm her a while.
Instead, Karlach is arm-in-arm with Wyll and chatting up a storm with Dammon.
She deserves someone like Wyll, Shadowheart thinks to herself, scanning the rest of the inn. Not like me. Never a betrayer.
Tav and Gale are nowhere to be found, as expected, and Shadowheart doesn't think she can intrude on anything with Gale. He seems too... protective of the relationship he has with Tav. It wouldn't be fair to them either to simply waltz in and demand they listen to her woes. Even if Tav was the one that helped Shadowheart see the holes in her teachings. Her indoctrination.
The others either avoided her on instinct or were not what she needed. She didn't need simple pleasure from the likes of Halsin, she needed a warm touch and so much more. On through the night she waited for her mysterious savior to arrive, realizing too slowly that the only one who could save her lived in her skin. The one woman that needed someone else more than anything right now, must look to herself.
You can't fix things without a change. Shadowheart stomps off into the darkness with the tools in her hands, a sudden thought in her mind. If everything's changing, if I must be alone... then I'll be reborn here. Changed to repair what I've broken with my own hands.
Those hands work the scissors in her hair and flood her scalp with dye stolen from Reithwin's guild houses. By a reflecting pool deep in the brightening woods around the haunting visage of the Temple to Shar, Shadowheart spends the better part of the night working her hair into silvery strands instead of the black. Before she can begin on the curtain of bangs covering her forehead, a voice sounds behind her.
"I apologize if we're interrupting." Isobel Thorm is behind her, hand held firmly with her winged, no longer armored lover. "Shadowheart, you were... how are you faring with everything?"
"I've never been sounder of mind and clearer of purpose," Shadowheart bites sarcastically, running her fingers through her new hair. It dried well enough that it doesn't splotch her hand. "And you? You and your divine beau have an evening planned? I'll get out of your hair."
"That's clever," Isobel says with a smirk. "You know, carrying burdens all alone is not what the Moonmaiden—"
"And why do you think I care for your Moonwitch?"
The silence isn't cold, nor is it hateful. All around her, Shadowheart feels emptiness in the words. The lie on her tongue and in her mind reaches the air faster than she can realize, and Shadowheart's lip begins to tremble for reasons she can't fathom. Turning away from the two women, Shadowheart stares at the ripple of her reflection in the water. It flickers with small waves. It's not just within her, and it's not simply the claws of uncertainty ripping through her. Her face disappears in the image drawn back to her in the pool.
Heavy footsteps approach her, and Shadowheart can't turn to look at Aylin. Everything she's shown Shadowheart — the memories, the fables she's lived with for decades, the truth — hurts deep in her bones more than she could ever before imagine feeling, more fury and anger building only to be eclipsed by unrelenting sorrow.
"Shadowheart," Aylin says quietly, her hand on Shadowheart's shoulder in a firm but gentle grip. "What you have endured, what you have seen because of my mother's glorious gifts, is something that I understand. You know it. I withstood my tortures for a century, burdened by dreams of what could have been as I wished for what might never be. You were tormented by nightmares of what never was, never knowing you suffered them."
"You say that, and yet you stand strong."
Isobel nears her now, her voice as calm as the hand on her shoulder feels. "To do what is right, what is just, is strength. And you freed Aylin... you brought her back to me. You brought yourself back. Isn't that worthy?"
"Did I? Bring myself back?" Shadowheart whirls on them, Aylin's warm hand pulled away from her, and the softness in their eyes is horrible. It stings more than a thousand daggers ever could. She reacts the only way she knows how. "Why do you stare? Have you never seen someone dye their hair before, or is that something your mother never prepared you for?"
"Do you think I am not well acquainted with silver hair?" Aylin smiles, but it drops from her face as soon as she finishes speaking. "Once daughter of darkness, you cannot let yourself bear this alone."
"And what? You'll be the ones to carry me?" Shadowheart scoffs.
Then, Aylin sets her hand on her shoulder again. For some reason, the heavy weight of that palm is enough to wet her eyes again. Isobel stands next to her and settles arms around her, pulling Shadowheart into an embrace that eventually envelops all three women together.
In that warmth, Shadowheart lets her tears fall because she doesn't know what else to do. There is no Shar to guide her, her parents are trapped with the monsters that destroyed forty years of her life, and she can't bring herself to even think the name of the one who now guides her divine power. When Aylin holds her in strong arms, she feels like she can drift away for a moment. When Isobel rests her head on one of Shadowheart's shoulders, it's as if the weight is somewhat lighter.
She cries, and she doesn't know why.
Both women are tight around her, holding her as if she will fall to pieces. If she's honest with herself, Shadowheart isn't sure if she will or not. She's always been strong, self-reliant, and yet she collapses into their comforting arms. Collapses and feels Aylin pull her closer as Isobel slides ever nearer.
"You are free now," Aylin whispers to her. The long half of her hair brushes on Shadowheart's cheek. "You are with us. You are safe. Never again shall the domination of Shar tear you from those you love, or those that wish to see you smile again."
Isobel's voice is in her ear. "There is no greater gift to Selûne than joy. Happiness."
Shadowheart leans over, confused feelings and a mixture of emotions spurring her on. Her lips find Isobel's and she doesn't know why she does it, it's not fair to either of these women who thought themselves helping her and nothing more. Feeling weaker than ever, she breathes a moan when Isobel returns the kiss. It never deepens to anything further, stopping short of a long-held brush of lips, until Isobel drifts away to press her mouth to Shadowheart's forehead.
Then there is Aylin.
"I'm sorry, it... came over me," Shadowheart hurries to say, trying not to invoke the wrath of a smite on her head for stealing a kiss in confusion. "This is so close. So comfortable. If you want me to—"
Aylin's lips meet hers harder than Isobel's did, the crushing mouth turning to tongues quickly. The taste of Aylin is, and it makes Shadowheart laugh through her tears and breathy sounds, divine. Like light itself in her mouth, as if she feels rejuvenated from nothing more than the flick of Aylin's tongue on hers. Hands brush her hair aside, and Isobel presses small pecks on her neck where skin is revealed. Everywhere on her body, hands roam to touch shoulders and arms and to tentatively feather the curves of her breasts.
Not sure what to do, she tucks one hand into Isobel's and lets the other rest on Aylin's hip. Both women whisper noises of approval, and that sense of rightness alone, of doing something good again, nearly causes her to cry once more. But she can't, not with Aylin holding her so close that Shadowheart feels something stiffening against her thigh.
Breaking away from lacing her throat with kisses, Isobel asks her, "Is this all right with you?"
"We've feasted upon one another long enough to sate our desires," Aylin explains after pulling her mouth from Shadowheart's, dragging with the taste of her tongue.
"Aylin!"
"Is it not what we wish for Shadowheart as well?"
Shadowheart pauses. "You wish to feast on me?"
With another smirk, Isobel says, "I only seek to comfort you. Aylin wants to, well, not quite feast. But if you're all right with this, then we're all right."
Feeling the mischievous spirit returning in small waves, Shadowheart reaches between her and Aylin and strokes the length running down Aylin's thigh. "I take it she aims to use her other sword?"
"I desire to bless you again with the light you deserve. That which has been taken from you, but this time with the simple pleasures of carnal relief," Aylin mutters, clearly trying to withhold from thrusting her cock into Shadowheart's hand. Isobel snickers at her formal language. "A night to forget all that has befallen you."
"One night. For all of us to celebrate," Isobel promises against the sharp tip of Shadowheart's ear. Her teeth glide against the skin there.
"Then," Shadowheart says, turning to face Isobel, "we celebrate."
At once, mouths clash into a frenzy. Three women slip tongues into each other’s mouths with an apparently held-back intensity, and Shadowheart would never admit it to them but the part of her infuriated with Isobel may have been because of more than just religious dogma. The plump curves tracing her outline are so warm in her hands, and her tongue dances as swiftly as Aylin's hands start to undress Shadowheart.
More kisses than she knows what to do with feast on her all over. Neck, ears, jaw are all touched by two mouths working in faulty synchronicity, flooding her with the intense sense of finally finding someone to fall into. It hadn't meant to be like this, only an embrace, but their mouths tell her a different story. They draw myriad sigils of protection on Shadowheart's skin, filling her chest with a heat that spills lower even as they're gentle, not at all what she's used to or normally likes. Gentle, caring, comforting, and all for her. At once, the majestic touches leave her.
Aylin takes her lover by the chin and looks into her eyes, nodding. The time they spend staring at each other could break Shadowheart, turn her away from this gift they're offering, but the warmth there keeps her locked firmly in place. Holding her gaze, she sees out of her periphery that Aylin is unlacing her trousers with one hand. They lean closer, mouths touching in practiced patterns where skin meets skin and the slip of tongue is offered readily. Greedy, they kiss one another as Aylin withdraws herself.
Unsure what else to do, a hint of awkwardness building, Shadowheart brings herself before a new altar.
On her knees in front of both women, she begins to pull Isobel's leggings down with one hand while her other finds a firm grip around the base of Aylin's cock. Stroking with unsure circles, she listens for moans in the kissing women as she bares Isobel and brings her mouth to the tuft of silver hair and lower, lower until she's ringing her mouth around Isobel's clit.
For a while, she exchanges mouth and hand between the two women. One moment, she swirls her tongue around Aylin's crown while her fingers part Isobel; the next, she is working the traces of her mouth down Aylin's shaft with her hand while she tastes the slick running free from Isobel's cunt.
"This was not the plan," Isobel moans above her as Shadowheart finds a spot with her tongue that makes her shiver. "Aylin?"
"Speechless," is all Aylin manages to say. Caught without words when Shadowheart buries the full length of Aylin until her head pushes against the back of Shadowheart's throat. "We cannot let it end like this."
"We won't." Isobel pulls herself from Shadowheart's hand with a sigh, pressing on her shoulder until Shadowheart pops off of Aylin's now dripping length.
Shadowheart lets herself fall to the grass below, impeccably clean from the divine aura Aylin exudes. Hovering over her, Aylin turns to face Isobel. They share a nod before Isobel sits down next to Shadowheart, distant but not touching. Far away enough that this feels like being watched, yet close enough to taste her arousal in the air.
Close enough when Aylin peels her own shirt from her body, revealing a maze of scars on herself and firm breasts whose nipples call to Shadowheart's mouth. She listens to her instincts and leans up to take one in her mouth, only to be pressed down again by strong arms. Strong arms that reach down to spread Shadowheart's legs until they're hooking around Aylin's waist, the other hand not busy there ripping the shirt from Shadowheart's chest. A firm grip tightens around one of her breasts, and that roughness makes her try to press her thighs together only to squeeze harder around Aylin's waist.
"Shadowheart, let go. Let us take care of you," Isobel says, tracing a kiss on Shadowheart's shoulder. She strokes the newly silvered hair with her hand and provides a pleasant angle for Shadowheart to sit back and watch as Aylin presses herself down onto Shadowheart's stomach. "If you wish to stop, simply say the word. We wouldn't want to force this on you."
Watching Aylin's cock on her stomach, feeling the heavy weight laid on top of the flesh hiding her clit, burns away concern. All she feels is comfort. She whimpers, "I need this."
"Then we shall provide," Aylin intones, drawing herself back and pressing her tip against Shadowheart's entrance.
She slides in slowly, carefully as if Shadowheart will break. Breathing becomes difficult when she's spread fully around Aylin, drinking her in with her subtly pulsing body, and then the hand around her breast tightens and Isobel lowers her mouth to the nipple there. As Isobel sucks, Aylin pulls her hips back and thrusts her entire length into Shadowheart with a rock of her hips that has no real speed or fervor.
With time, she finds her pace. Her hips roll more and harder, until she's working at a furious pace that pushes Shadowheart's legs apart farther and farther until she doesn't know if she can take much more. Her ankles find Aylin's muscled back, digging into the rippling hardness there, as she moans the most pathetic sounds she's ever made. They cross somewhere between moans and cries of fear, moments from spilling tears, but pleasure overwhelms anything else.
"Gods, what have I done... to deserve this?" The words drip from Shadowheart's mouth between thrusts.
"Exist."
Whether Isobel or Aylin said it, Shadowheart isn't sure. Her eyes are going cross, and her head is full of light, her chest on fire and her thighs tired from stretching.
Pleasure coursing from the mouth around her nipple, Isobel's hand reaches between Aylin and Shadowheart to form a V around Aylin's cock as she buries herself into Shadowheart with increasing aggression. But it's what she needs, Shadowheart knows it. She needs to feel her body come alive under those repetitive, rhythmic motions. Isobel's fingers grace her lips, sopping around Aylin's ministrations, and slide upwards along her until she's using the pads of both fingers, now wet, to circle Shadowheart's clit just as Shadowheart had done for her.
Sensation overwhelms her, cock and hands turning her into a mess that can only focus on the intense, unyielding pleasure warming her, and Shadowheart can't help but come. Tightening cunt around Aylin's pulsing strokes, Shadowheart instinctively tries to pull away from the stimulation but both women have her locked in place.
"You will endure this," Isobel says between licks and sucks on her breasts.
"You will overcome this," Aylin growls, sheathing herself to the hilt so that the weight of her presses against Shadowheart's already overused lips. "You will. We will show you."
Between panting moans, Shadowheart manages, "You will?"
"We'll show you the Moonmaiden's love." A kiss on her neck follows Isobel's words, then she captures Shadowheart's mouth with hers and slips her tongue in with more grace than Aylin's ardor.
It's not long, then, until Shadowheart's nerves ball up again and release in tight waves that lap up Aylin's length seeking to draw the same from the aasimar. Her climax is rough, intense, and shakes her legs into a flurry of spasms that dig her thighs and ankles harder into Aylin's well-built physique. But before she can drink deep of that release, Aylin pulls free and Isobel abandons Shadowheart with only a hand on her breast, and at first it feels cold until she sees what's happening before her.
Isobel's hand around Aylin strokes as the two kiss, their eyes closed and their bodies pressing together as close as they can given the awkward position. Wings unfurl behind Aylin with the hand turning to underhanded caresses that Isobel must know Aylin adores. Those wings spread to their full length before drifting closed. Not around just those two, as Shadowheart expects. After all, they must want their privacy in so close a moment.
So close a moment. She laughs to herself, apparently forgetting in an instant having been just now fucked lovingly by Aylin.
But then the wings close around her too, and Aylin's voice reaches a sharp pitch. She thrusts into Isobel's hand, inadvertently brushing her iron-hard shaft along Shadowheart's tender clit. The sensation blinds her for a moment, stunning Shadowheart back onto her elbows to watch the two women seek Aylin's orgasm.
Faster Isobel goes until a thin film spools onto Shadowheart's stomach, after which Isobel ducks her head and wraps her mouth around the pearls spilling from her lover. Groans claw out of Aylin's chest, both of her hands now on Shadowheart's breasts and gripping with all her strength. The sight of the two women losing themselves in each other, a bit of Aylin's release on her own stomach, and the rough fondling are almost enough to make her come again just from the closeness alone.
But she can't. She is too sore and tells them as much. "That was... thank you. I don't know how I can repay you. Not literally, of course. I assume."
Aylin quirks a brow at Shadowheart, panting still.
"You can repay us by sleeping with us tonight. In our bed. For one night," Isobel reminds her. "It is our refuge, but there are times when others need it too."
"I think I would like that," Shadowheart admits quietly.
"Then let us take you there." Aylin stands and Shadowheart realizes she's being carried in those burly arms. Turning to face Isobel, Aylin nods. "I'll return in a moment, darling."
"Of course," breathes Isobel, watching as Aylin's wings flutter before whipping wind around them all.
In the sky above, Aylin carries Shadowheart without letting go. Perhaps it would just be the one night, it is what they promised after all, but it is a memory that Shadowheart hopes never to forget. One that etches itself into her mind in the shape of Aylin's strong jaw as she surveys the land beneath her. Etched upon her memory with the silhouette of Isobel watching them from below.