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Long Ago and Far Away
Jared is in his fifth summer the day the sea rolls in like she always does but leaves something behind when she rolls away again.
“What is it?” Jared asks, bending down closer to look at the small creature. He touches the back of it, its back is hard.
“It’s a turtle,” Jared’s mother explains. “But leave it alone. Come, help me gather these shells.”
The creature appears to be hard all over, it has no head that he can see. It’s like a shell, but bigger and prettier. He reaches out again for he is curious and wishes to know more about the creature.
Then a head appears from inside of the shell. It opens its big jaws and snaps down on Jared’s hand.
Jared screams. His mother comes over and picks him up. His hand is red and swollen.
“Well now you’ve learned a valuable lesson,” Jared’s mother says as she carries him away from the turtle.
Jared hangs on to his mother tightly. His hand hurts him greatly, but he can’t help but think of the turtle’s head that was not there and then was. “Is the turtle magic?” he asks.
“Shh, don’t let the others hear you say such things. There is no magic, not anymore,” his mother replies. “Let’s find Eloquise, she will have some salve we can put on your hand.”
Jared is sad and not just because his hand hurts. He wishes there was still magic, because if there was, maybe he could use it to bite the turtle back.
***
Jared is eight summers old the day his father and three other men who live in the village head out in their small wooden boat to catch fish, as they do almost every day.
Jared’s mother had tried to stop his father from going. She had one of her dreams the night before. One of the bad ones.
“Look at the trees,” she says now to her best friend, Eloquise. “Just as they were in my dream.”
Jared looks up and up and up at the trees that grow near the shore. The tree branches sway, the wind twisting the leaves this way and that. He stands closer to his mother who puts her arms around Jared’s shoulders.
Eloquise grabs a handful of sand and tosses it over her shoulder. Jared knows the other villagers do not like it when his mother speaks of her dreams, not even Eloquise, who is his mother’s most cherished friend.
“It is best we do not speak of such things,” Eloquise says.
Jared looks up at his mother again, she is shaking her head. “A storm is coming, there is no denying that.”
Jared looks over at the sea. He loves the sea, spends most of his days either playing in its waters or walking endlessly on its shore, looking for treasures. But he does not love it today—today the waves crash against the shore with a fury that makes Jared tremble.
Jared’s grandfather joins them. He is old, his hair as white as sea foam, his body as crooked as the branches that are bending to the wind’s will.
Jared’s grandfather looks at the sea and then the sky. The sky is almost as dark as night though the day dawned not long ago.
His grandfather looks at his mother. He shakes his head. He looks sad.
“Come, Jared, come to my hut. I have a story to tell you,” he says.
Eloquise purses her lips. She does not like the stories that Grandfather tells, but Mother just kisses his forehead and sends him on his way.
Jared takes his grandfather’s hand and together they climb up the steep hill, up to the village.
Grandfather nods at the other villagers as they go about their chores. There are many people that live in the village and Grandfather knows all of them by name. He is the village’s elder, respected for his age and wisdom, even if his stories are dismissed by the people of the village as the ramblings of a confused mind. Some think his stories are foolishness, but others whisper darkly his stories are dangerous.
“Come sit,” Grandfather says. He hands Jared a small loaf of bread, brought by the traders who visit the village from time to time. The villagers trade the bounty of the sea—fish, crabs, shells, seaweed—for the things the sea does not provide. The cloth to make Jared’s kangber, the skirt that all villagers wear after their fourth summer, had been procured in trade many moons ago. It is becoming too small now, soon there will need to be another trade.
The wind is loud now, even in his grandfather’s hut. Jared thinks of the small boat on the endless sea and the bread is suddenly too dry for him to eat. He places it carefully beside him.
Jared sits on the rough floor. His grandfather brings his chair closer so that Jared can hear him over the howling wind.
He starts the story like he starts all his stories. “Long ago, the world was full of magic.”
“And then the old gods came and stole the magic away,” Jared adds. He knows this part by heart, but he loves it still. He wishes the world was still full of magic.
Grandfather nods. “So it is said, although others say there is magic still. The gods may have been greedy, but even they could not steal it all. Those were the days of dragons and fairies, of giants that could reach out and touch the sky, of ogres, of beings of great beauty and beings with dark hearts. It was a time of wonder but a time of great danger as well.”
“And there were humans who could wield magic just as our warriors now wield spears.” Jared picks up the bread and bites off the end of the loaf, eager for his grandfather to truly begin his story.
“Just so. Of course, by the time I was brought into this world, all the dragons and other mystical creatures had long since been banished by the gods, but no one knew where they were sent or even if they still existed at all. I grew up here in our village by the sea, right in this very hut we are sitting in now. There weren’t as many villagers then and I was often lonely. The sea has always been a friend to me though, and every day I would go down to the shore to visit her.”
There is a loud crack of thunder and Jared hears the rain pelting against the grass walls of the hut. A storm this loud and fierce usually frightens him, but he feels safe in his grandfather’s hut.
“And one day, while I was saying ‘good morning’ to the sea, a creature crawled out of her depths.”
This is a story Jared has never heard before. He greedily eats more bread as he waits for his grandfather to continue.
“Have I told you of the triads?” Grandfather asks.
Jared shakes his head no.
“They are creatures of the sea. The one I saw was a triad. It was large, with six tentacles, a small head, and eyes the color of the sea. The creature came closer and closer to me. I wanted to run, but I could not take my eyes off the triad.”
Jared no longer hears the storm. He is leaning forward as far as he can, his bread forgotten.
“Did it bite you?” he asks, remembering the turtle who had also crawled from the sea.
Grandfather laughs and shakes his head. “No. But it did something truly amazing. The triad turned into a man, right before my eyes.”
Jared gasps. “You must have been so frightened!”
Grandfather chuckles. “I was so afraid I could not move. But he spoke gently to me, telling me I had nothing to fear. He said, and I will always remember this, that he was curious about me, just as I was curious about him.”
“The creature could speak?” Jared asks.
“Just as you and I are talking now. We talked for a while, the creature and I, until I was no longer afraid. He told me of his home, a beautiful place where he lived with others like him. A place of magic. He said other creatures lived there as well, some that lived with the triads in peace and harmony. And some that would do us great harm if they were ever to step from their border into ours.”
“If magical creatures still exist, why don’t more of them come to see us? I would love to see a sea creature or a dragon or even an ogre.”
“I do not believe a visit from an ogre would be a pleasant one, but then what do I know of ogres? I wanted to ask more about the triad’s world, about the other creatures that lived there, but my time with the sea creature was short. He did say that he might get in trouble for visiting me, but he did not say with whom—perhaps his parents, perhaps the gods. But he was young and curious and, I believe, a bit reckless—like a boy I happen to know very well, and he said that once he saw me on the shore he just had to find out more about me.”
Jared shifts his eyes away from his grandfather. Just the other day, his mother had caught him swimming on a day when the waves were high and scolded him for over an hour. Jared loves the sea and he knows the sea will never harm him.
As he waits for his grandfather to continue with his story, Jared becomes aware of the thunder and the rain again. The storm is a strong one. He wonders if his mother is still out by the sea, waiting for his father. But then his grandfather begins speaking again, and all thoughts of the storm are lost to his grandfather’s words.
“One of the villagers saw him and was afraid. Soon, other villagers came, they yelled at the creature, told him to go away.”
“But he was nice, he told you about his home and everything. Why would they yell at him?”
“People are often afraid of things they do not understand. You see, in his human form, the triad had tentacles as well as his arms. The tentacles frightened them.”
Jared thinks seeing a man with tentacles does sound a bit scary, but he isn’t going to tell his grandfather so. His grandfather is brave and someday Jared hopes to be just like him.
“What happened then?” Jared asks.
“A warrior, for we still had warriors those days in the village, came down the hill with his spear and threw it, piercing the sea creature in his shoulder. I pulled the spear out, and water flowed from the wound instead of blood. The sea creature whispered something in my ear and then dove back into the sea. The warrior threw a second spear at him as he dove. I could not tell if the spear hit him or not.”
“What did he whisper to you?” Jared asks.
Grandfather looks around as if to make sure they are still alone and then leans closer to Jared. “People here still hold fear in their hearts for the creatures the gods sent away, so this must be our secret. He said he would come back someday.”
“And did he?” Jared asks, eyes wide.
Grandfather leans back in his chair and shakes his head. “Not yet, but he will.”
“Is that why you spend so much time by the sea?” Another crash of thunder, so loud that it makes Jared shudder. He wraps his arms around himself, waiting for his grandfather’s reply.
“It is. And it will be up to you, young Jared, to keep my vigil should the gods decide my time by the sea is over. You must wait for him, Jared. And protect him if need be. He is a creature of magic and magic must be guarded from the gods and from those that fear it alike.”
Jared nods even though his heart is pounding at the thought of seeing such a terrifying creature. “I promise.”
Just then Jared’s mother comes into the hut. “Jared, come with me. The storm is a bad one, we must go inside the hut and lash the door.”
The storm raged for two days. Jared never saw his father again.
***
Jared steps outside his small hut and lifts his arms toward the heavens, his long, lean body stretching, as he breathes in the air, the taste of the sea carried to him by a strong wind. He looks toward the trees by his hut, strong trees, old trees, that are just beginning to bear the fruit that will add sweetness to his diet when the fruit ripens many days from now. The branches of the trees dance and bow, the wind is strong, unseasonably so. A storm is brewing. Jared has never liked storms, not since the one that took his father ten summers ago—no—it’s eleven summers that have passed. It is strange how the summers pass so slowly and so quickly at the same time.
Jared looks over at the other huts, all empty now. After Jared’s father, the other three men, and the boat were lost to the sea, the villagers began leaving, believing the village and the sea to be cursed. Jared’s mother had been the last to leave, two summers ago, having waited until Jared reached his full manhood to take her leave. She too believed the sea to be cursed and had begged Jared to leave with her.
But Jared made a promise. And although his grandfather has long since gone to live in the valley of old gods, Jared intends to keep that promise. Every day, he keeps vigil for the sea creature. And every day, the sea creature does not come. His mother had often told him that his grandfather had made up the story of the triad to calm a scared little boy during a storm, and maybe she was right, but there is a part of him that wants to believe, needs to believe.
The wind blows through his hair, tangles his tattered kangber around his legs, bringing Jared back to the here and now. The wind is strong, strong enough to make Jared, who is by no means a small man, sway. The storm that is coming will be dangerous. He will need to catch his morning fish and then shelter in his hut.
Jared makes his way down the hill to the shore of his beloved sea. The sea is angry today, waves thrashing, the blue of the waters so dark that it reminds Jared of the sky right before night gives way to dawn.
Finding a fish in these waters will be nigh impossible. Perhaps there will be crabs, scrambling to flee the raging sea.
There is a clash of thunder so loud that Jared’s body jolts, and he looks up to see lightning flash across the sky. His morning meal will have to wait, the storm is upon him. He has never seen a storm that came in so fast or one so intense. Still, he is fascinated by the sea, so beautiful in its rage. Waves, as big as him, maybe bigger, crash against the shore.
The skies open and rain crashes down on him, as fast and as furious as the sea, and Jared can barely see now. He turns to head back to the safety of his hut when he spots something inching its way out of the churning waters of the sea.
It can’t be. It’s too much to hope for. Jared steps closer to the creature. The creature shivers once and is still. The wind is brutal now, Jared has to fight it to get closer to the creature. As he nears, he sees that the creature is huge, with three tentacles on each side of its body. Grandfather had said that the triad he had seen had tentacles. Jared’s heart beats faster. He steps closer, pushing his dripping-wet hair out of his eyes so he can keep them on the creature. It does not move.
Could it be hurt? Or worse?
Jared kneels at a safe distance from one of its tentacles. It is beautiful and terrifying, its skin is bronze, the tentacles are longer than Jared’s arms, they seem to stretch out forever. Its skin glistens, whether from the sea or the rain or for some other reason, Jared cannot tell.
It’s so still.
Jared inches closer, no longer aware of the raging sea, of the thunder or lightning, or the danger he is from the waves that are crashing close to him.
He should not touch it. His mother had always said his curiosity was going to be the death of him someday.
He isn’t going to touch it. No matter how much he wants to.
Well, perhaps a tiny touch. He needs to see if it is hurt after all. He reaches out and touches a tentacle with two of his fingers, a tentative, barely there touch. The skin of the creature is warm, so much so that Jared draws his hand back in surprise, before tentatively reaching out and touching it again. Jared can feel the warmth of the creature seep through his entire body. He shakes with the strangeness of the feeling, but still, he is curious.
The creature’s head is smooth, like the rest of it. There are eyes, two of them, but they are closed. Between the wind blowing his hair around and the pounding rain, Jared cannot make out its features very well, but he wants to.
He should not touch this creature again. It too might bite, like a turtle had once bitten him. But Jared feels he must touch it, his fingers itch with the need to touch. He inches even closer. He won’t touch its head, but maybe it won’t mind if he touches its back. Just to see if it’s warm there too.
He lightly runs his fingers down the creature’s back, it is warm despite the cool rain pelting its skin. “Are you hurt?” he asks.
The creature's eyes open. Its eyes are green, like the sea sometimes is. And then one of the tentacles Jared is crouching by grabs him, wrapping around his waist, gripping him tight.
He really must stop touching creatures that crawl out of the sea.
Jared flails, trying to get away but it’s no use, the creature has him in its grip. He yells, although there is no one to hear him, no one to come to his rescue.
The creature lifts its head, still staring at Jared. And then it shimmers and begins to rise, pulling Jared up with it. Jared tries to twist in the creature’s grasp but it’s of no use. He looks down at his feet, which are no longer touching the sand. When he looks at the creature again, there is a man standing there. A beautiful man with dark blonde hair, sea-green eyes, long eyelashes, delicate cheekbones, pink full lips, two arms and two tentacles, both of them holding Jared up high. As the creature, which Jared now knows to be a triad, opens his mouth to speak, lightning strikes so close to them it singes Jared’s hair.
He hears the triad shout something, but the words are lost to the howling wind and then Jared’s world goes dark.
Jared must not have been out long, because when he comes to, the storm is still fierce, but he’s no longer by the sea. He is in the village and still being held aloft by the sea creature. One of the creature’s arms is wrapped around his shoulders, the other arm holds his legs, while a tentacle curls around his waist.
“Which is yours?” the triad asks.
The triad can speak, just like the triad that visited Jared’s grandfather so long ago could.
Still, it is quite the shock to be held by tentacles and to be spoken to by a creature that has crawled from the sea and morphed into a man.
“Are you unable to speak?” the triad asks.
“No. I mean, yes. The one right over there—” Jared says, pointing with a shaking hand toward his hut. “If you’ll put me down, I’ll take you to it.”
“I prefer keeping you where you are for now,” the creature responds. His other tentacle reaches up and slides through Jared’s hair in a surprisingly tender gesture. Jared knows he should be frightened witless, but he can’t help but be soothed by the feeling of the smooth tentacles caressing his hair. It’s been so long since he’s been touched. And he can feel the warmth from the tentacles despite the rain that is still pouring down on him.
The triad puts him down right in front of his hut but keeps a tentacle wrapped around Jared’s waist. Jared finds he likes that very much. The tentacle rests right about his kangber, the warmth of it seeping into Jared’s body. He feels warm in places he has never felt warmth before.
Once they are inside, he openly stares at the beautiful creature. He knows he is being unspeakably rude, but he cannot help himself.
The creature is shorter than he is, but then the villagers used to say, as they tossed sand over their shoulders, that Jared must be part-giant. The creature’s shoulders are broader than his though. Freckles dot his skin, like water droplets. The tentacle that is not wrapped around Jared’s waist moves like the waves of the sea. The sea creature is beautiful and terrifying, like the sea in the midst of a storm.
“What should I call you?” Jared asks.
The creature’s other tentacle reaches out and strokes one of Jared’s cheeks and it feels so good. “You may call me Jensen. And what shall I call you, human?”
“My name is Jared.” His grandfather had not lied to him. He had seen a triad, one that could speak, just like this one does. “Forgive me for being so bold, but how do you come to be able to speak our words?”
“We walked the earth once. Not me or mine, but our forebearers. We walked the earth along with dragons and hybrid-wolves and other creatures.”
“Back in the days of magic,” Jared says. “So it’s true then, the old stories. You lived among us until the gods sent you away.”
The tentacle wrapped around his waist unfurls. Jared is finding it difficult to focus on anything. Except maybe Jensen’s lips. They are full and pink and shiny-wet. Jared has never been kissed…
“The gods created us and then those gods were destroyed by other gods. And the new gods, who are now the old gods, were jealous and fearful of our magic and banished us. Still, the old ways have been passed down and many of our ways are still human ways.”
This is all happening so fast and it’s so confusing. There is a sea creature in his hut, one with tentacles, one that is naked. The tentacles frighten him, but he is intrigued by them as well. And he wants to know all the ways they can touch him.
His gaze lingers on Jensen’s cock. It is long, much longer than even Jared’s, and much thinner than Jared’s is. Like it’s another tentacle. A shiver creeps its way down Jared’s spine.
There is a loud rumble of thunder. Jared realizes he has been staring at something he shouldn’t be looking at. There is more thunder, the storm seems to have worsened.
Jensen tilts his head. His ears are long and webbed. “Does the storm frighten you?”
“No,” Jared denies. He is a man full grown; he will not admit to being frightened by a storm.
“Maybe it is me that frightens you,” Jensen says. “You do not need to be frightened; I will do you no harm.”
Jensen steps closer. He smells like the sea when the sea is like it is now, wild and furious. The tentacle that has been stroking Jared’s cheeks trails down to his neck and keeps sliding down, leaving heat in its wake.
Jared’s cock twitches. He’s very glad it is hidden by his kangber because he knows it is half hard and he is ashamed. He should be frightened by this creature with his tentacles. He is frightened, but he also wants Jensen to touch him all over, he wants it very much.
“Are there others in the village?” Jensen asks. “I saw many huts.”
Jared shakes his head. “They’ve all gone. It’s just me.”
“That is why you called to me; you are lonely. If they all left, why did you stay?” Jensen asks.
“Because I was waiting for you, or someone like you,” Jared admits. “A triad visited before, a long time ago, when my grandfather was around my age now. It couldn’t have been you though, you are too young.”
“I’m older than I appear, but it was not me. This is the first time I’ve been to your shore. When I heard your call, I could not help but come.” The wind is howling even louder, the walls of the small hut begin to shake. “I thought we’d have more time, but the storm is moving in faster than I would like.” Jensen tilts his head and after a few moments, he nods. “Jeffrey is coming. He says the storm worsens. He is worried.”
“Who is Jeffrey? How did you talk to him?”
“Jeffrey is my bonded. We do not need words; we can speak through the bond.”
Jared takes a step away from Jensen. He had hoped—foolish hopes, really. He never had a chance with a creature as beautiful as Jensen. But now that he knows Jensen is bonded, which he assumes to mean married, Jared has no chance at all. Soon, Jeffrey will come and take Jensen away with him and Jared will be all alone in his village again.
“Why do you look so sad?” Jensen asks. The tentacle travels back up to Jared’s cheek, stroking it again.
Jared cannot tell this beautiful creature that he wants him, so instead he just shakes his head.
The door flies open and a man—no a triad, like Jensen—walks in. He is tall, taller than Jensen, almost as tall as Jared himself. He has gray in his beard and in his hair, and he is beautiful too—not the delicate beauty of Jensen, but a more powerful beauty that Jared is as drawn to as much as he is to Jensen.
Maybe he is so lonely he finds everyone beautiful.
“I told you not to come,” Jeffrey says. He grabs Jensen by his tentacles and pulls Jensen to him, claiming Jensen’s mouth with his. Jared watches them because he cannot turn away. The air seems to shimmer around them. They hold on to each other with arms and tentacles and Jared wants, oh so much.
“I am fine. I had to find him. Look at him, Jeffrey. He is the one we’ve been waiting for; I know that he is.”
Jeffrey turns to look at Jared. His gaze is intense and Jared feels his cheeks begin to flush.
“But he is human,” Jeffrey says to Jensen.
“Touch him and tell me he is not ours,” Jensen replies.
Jeffrey lets Jensen go and walks toward Jared. He is naked too and Jared can’t help but look at his cock. It is hard and even longer than Jensen’s but also slender.
Jared wonders what it would feel like to have Jeffrey’s cock pressed against his. Wonders what Jeffrey’s cock would taste like.
Why is he having these thoughts about Jeffrey? A few moments ago, all he wanted was Jensen.
He looks over at Jensen and Jensen is smiling at him. As impossible as it seems, as wrong as it undoubtedly is, he wants both of them to kiss him just like they had just kissed each other.
One of Jeffrey’s tentacles strokes Jared’s arm. Heat seeps from the tentacle into Jared’s body. He shivers, but he is not cold.
There is more thunder, so loud that it hurts Jared’s ears.
“We must leave. The sea is greedy, it wants this village and with the help of the storm, it will take it,” Jeffrey says, turning back to Jensen.
They are leaving. Will the storm really take the village? Where will Jared be safe, if not in his hut?
The tentacle stroking his arm grabs it tightly, pulling Jared toward Jeffrey. “We must hurry,” Jeffrey says.
One of Jensen’s tentacles wraps around Jared’s other arm and they pull him out of the hut.
It is as dark as a moonless night outside, the wind is loud, the rain pelts his skin. The trees have bowed almost in half, Jared sees branches on the ground, some flying near his feet.
Everything has happened so fast, it is so much to take in. Jared can’t think, doesn’t even realize they are moving until they are halfway down the hill. The triads plan to take him to the sea.
Jared has lived by the sea all of his life. He is a powerful swimmer, but the sea is more powerful right now. If the creatures pull him into the sea, he will drown.
He yells at them to stop, but he is not sure they can hear him over the wind. They are at the water’s edge, which is much closer to the hill than it was when Jensen crawled out of the sea. A few seconds later, the water is up to his waist. He struggles, trying to pull his arms free, but the tentacles are too strong. The sea is cold, the water biting into his skin. He does not want to drown in the dark, freezing waters.
He cannot see either creature clearly because of the rain and the wind blowing his hair into his eyes but he yells again, yanking his arms, trying to pull them free. There are huge waves coming toward them, soon they will be underwater.
Jensen stands in front of him. He presses his body against Jared’s and somehow he still feels warm and the warmth seeps into Jared’s chilled body. Jared can feel himself growing calmer, although he has no idea why.
Jensen pulls Jared’s head down and speaks into his ear. Despite the howling of the wind and the crashing of the furious waves, Jared can hear him.
“Keep your lips pressed against one of ours, we will keep you safe.”
Jared looks at Jensen in confusion. He opens his mouth to ask Jensen to repeat his words when a wave crashes over their heads. Jensen’s mouth is on his, his tongue slipping into Jared’s open mouth. Jared can feel another body—Jeffrey’s—pressing against his back, holding him close as the three of them are pulled under the sea.
Jared’s fear causes him to struggle, but the triads just hold him closer, tentacles and arms and legs wrap around him until he can’t move at all.
Unable to move, he can only feel. Jensen’s tongue is in his mouth, teasing Jared’s tongue. He is being kissed.
And he can breathe. It is as if Jensen is breathing air from his lings into Jared’s. He can't fathom how Jensen is able to share air with him but it really doesn't matter. He can breathe and he’s being kissed, and he’s never felt this safe or felt so much pleasure.
There is so much heat coursing through Jared’s body, with both Jensen and Jeffrey pressing into him. He can feel everything, including their cocks, Jensen’s pushing against his thigh, Jeffrey’s pressed against his ass.
Jared forgets to be afraid.
Jensen’s tongue is no longer teasing. He is kissing Jared with a fierceness that sets fires inside of Jared. Jared kisses him back, hungry, starving, wanting to drown in Jensen’s lips.
He opens his eyes to see Jensen looking at him. Jensen tilts his head upwards, not letting go of Jared’s lips and Jared looks up. They are so far in the sea, that all Jared can see is water above him. They are moving, being propelled somehow. Jeffrey holds Jared even tighter, and they roll, all three of them together, Jared closes his eyes tight, frightened for a moment again. But when he opens them again he can see out of the corner of his eye the ocean floor.
Fish, of every color, of every shape and size, many he has never laid eyes on before although he has lived his entire life by the sea and has fished from its waters every day, swim below them. There are other creatures scurrying over the ocean floor. There are plants, some with flowers, swaying with the currents. Here the sea is not angry. It is almost still.
He forgets to breathe. Forgets to kiss, until he is spun around in the triads’ arms and he is facing Jeffrey. Jeffrey claims his lips. His kiss is more demanding than Jensen’s, so much so that Jared no longer can see anything but Jeffrey’s eyes, staring down at him. Jensen is behind him now, trailing kisses over Jared’s neck. They are moving so fast it feels like flying. Tentacles rub up and down Jared’s thighs, his cock is pressed into Jeffrey’s cock, and Jeffrey kisses him roughly, stealing his breath away as much as he is giving air to Jared.
A hand grabs Jared’s hair, tugging, and the brief bite of pain sends shivers down Jared’s body, delicious ones. He feels Jensen’s lips and teeth at his neck. There is something pressing against his ass, but he cannot tell if it is a cock, a hand, or a tentacle and he does not care.
Once more he is turned, remembering to close his mouth as soon as Jeffrey’s lips leave his. It is Jensen who is kissing him again, giving him the gift of his lips, his tongue, and air.
And then Jared’s body is tilted again and they are rising, higher and higher. Jensen is still kissing him and keeps on kissing him even as their heads break free from the sea.
“You can stop kissing him now,” Jeffrey says. His voice sounds amused, his teeth scrape over Jared’s neck causing Jared to shiver again. Jensen keeps kissing Jared though and Jared never wants to stop, Jensen tastes so sweet, so hot. Even when his feet touch sand, he doesn’t want to let Jensen go.
Jeffrey laughs and Jared is reminded that Jensen and Jeffrey are bonded. He breaks free from the kiss, suddenly ashamed of how much he liked kissing Jensen—how much he liked kissing them both.
He’s also very aware that his kangber seems more ragged than ever and is clinging to his hard cock.
He steps away from Jensen and Jeffrey, desperately needing a moment to compose himself. So much has happened so quickly. And he instantly feels confused, disorientated. He is standing on sand; he can feel it between his toes. But when he looks down, there is nothing there. No water, no sand, nothing.
“You were kind enough to allow us into your home, we are pleased to show you ours.” Jensen’s voice is soft. When Jared looks at him, Jeffrey and Jensen are holding hands, their tentacles wrapped around each other’s waists. They both look so happy, Jared’s heart twinges.
He has to look away, but there is nothing to see but the sea. No sand. No land. Nothing. Is this some kind of trick? He turns back toward the triads.
Jensen is still looking at him and holds out his free hand. Jeffrey smiles at Jared. He kisses Jensen and then steps away, disappearing from Jared’s sight after he takes just a few steps.
“Where did he go?” Jared asks.
“There’s magic here. Ancient magic. It keeps us hidden from those who would do us harm. Come and I will show you,” Jensen says.
Jared feels dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. The people in his village had always feared magic. The gods themselves had been displeased by magic. Would Jared earn their wrath if he walked into a place cloaked by magic?
Jensen steps closer to him. A tentacle grazes Jared’s waist, heat seeps into Jared. “Trust me, Jared. Do you think you could do that?”
Should he trust Jensen? He knows most of the people that lived in his village would not. But Jensen has shown him nothing but kindness. And he and Jeffrey saved Jared from the storm. And although Jared has no idea how they were able to do it, they kept him breathing under the water by sharing their kisses.
Jared touches his lips. They feel slightly swollen. He wonders if his lips are now as full as Jensen’s.
Jared looks behind him, toward the way they came. All he sees is sea. They have traveled so far he can no longer see his village.
“Has the storm passed?” he asks. “Can I return to my home?”
Jensen withdraws his tentacle and frowns. Jared misses being touched and is almost sorry he spoke.
“The storm had not yet reached its peak when we left. It may storm for days. I can take you back after that, should that be your wish, but I cannot say for certain whether your hut will still be standing.”
“If it’s not, where will I live?” Jared asks.
“That is what we would like to talk to you about. You are shivering. Come, Jeffrey will have a fire going. Do not be afraid, Jared. I swear to you, you will never suffer any harm in our hands.”
He offers his hand to Jared once more and this time Jared takes it.
He leads Jared into the nothingness. After a few steps, they are surrounded by a mist that is so heavy that Jared can’t see Jensen even though Jensen is just ahead of him. Before Jared can begin to panic, the mist lifts.
Jensen turns around and smiles at Jared. “What do you think?”
They are standing in a garden. There are flowers everywhere—pink, blue, red, orange, yellow. There are trees heavy with fruit, some of which Jared has never seen before. There are vegetables planted in a large patch of ground, most of which Jared has not eaten since the traders stopped coming to the village.
There is a house in front of the garden. It is much bigger than the hut Jared lives in.
“I thought you lived in the sea,” Jared says.
“We do spend a lot of time in the sea,” Jensen replies. “The sea is our home. But this is our home as well. Our ancestors built this home many summers ago. They are the ones who planted the trees and the garden. The garden is enchanted. Everything you see here grows all year long.”
Jared has lived on fish, crabs, and seaweed for so long that he hungers for everything he sees. There are trees that bear fruit near the village, but they only bear fruit during a certain time every year and it’s been months since Jared has tasted anything sweet. Jensen must sense this because he reaches for something orange that grows on one of the trees. As Jared watches, fascinated, Jensen removes the skin from the fruit and breaks it into pieces. He hands Jared one of the pieces. The fruit Is soft, juicy. Jared takes a bite. It is the most delicious fruit he has ever tasted.
Jensen is watching Jared’s face intently as Jared eagerly devours every piece of the fruit Jensen gives him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone eat anything quite that way,” Jensen says when the fruit is all gone. His voice has dropped deeper, his eyes are now a deeper green.
When Jared looks down, he sees that Jensen’s long thin cock is half-hard. Jared flushes. His cock, which had gone soft during the frightening walk into the mist, likes the way Jensen is looking at him judging by how fast it is filling.
Jensen laughs. “Come, we will feast tonight. But first, we need to have a talk.”
They continue to hold hands as they walk toward the house. “Is it just the two of you that live here?” Jared asks. “It’s so big, there must be so many empty rooms.”
Jared has heard of houses that are larger than the hut he has lived in all of his life. Houses made of wood or stone instead of grass and seaweed. This house is built with stone, it is bigger than any Jared has ever imagined. It goes up and up, like someone built one house and then built another on top of it.
“Once, there were many of us. But after the gods banished us, many of our kind scattered to the four winds. Others left to seek adventure or to find their true loves. It is just Jeffrey and I left here now.”
The door is made of wood, darker and more smooth than the trees near Jared’s village. Jensen pushes it open.
The room they are standing in is huge. Jared could fit his hut easily inside, and the huts on each side of his as well. Even more wondrous, there is a fire burning at the edge of the room. Jared has never seen a fire burning inside, all their fires were built outside, in the sand by the sea.
“Won’t the room burn?” Jared asks.
“You are safe here,” Jeffrey replies.
Jeffrey is sitting on a rug by the fire. They had rugs and coverings in the village, usually made with grass woven with seaweed. This rug is nothing like Jared has ever seen. It is much larger for one, and is dark blue, with light blue circles woven throughout.
Jensen leads Jared to the rug. When Jared’s feet touch it, he is surprised by how soft it feels.
Jensen sits down beside Jeffrey and they kiss. Jared watches them, even though he knows he shouldn’t. They look so beautiful together. It is wrong that he longs for them to touch him again like they did in the sea. They obviously love each other very much.
Jeffrey runs a tentacle over Jensen’s hair, another tentacle slides down Jensen’s back. Jared imagines how they would feel against his own skin, out of the water.
The men break apart and Jensen moves away from Jeffrey. “Sit here between us and we can talk.”
Jared sits. The fire feels lovely, warm but not overbearingly so. When he looks over at Jensen, Jensen is looking at Jeffrey. “I told you; he is the one.”
“I never thought our third would be human, but it makes sense. It is the part of us that is human that has hungered for so long.”
Both men put a hand on Jared’s thigh. He can still feel the heat of their touch, even under his kangber. He can also see the outline of his own cock because the cloth is still damp and clings to him like a second skin. The kangber is also bunched high on his thighs, exposing almost all of his legs.
“Maybe you have another kangber I can wear while this one dries?” Jared asks. He tries to yank on the kangber, but that was a mistake because now more of his leg is covered but his mostly hard cock is very visible.
Jeffrey chuckles. “Sorry, sweetheart. We do have clothes, but not like that delicious skirt you are wearing. We rarely wear clothes anyhow. Look at Jensen, how beautiful he is. Don’t you agree it would be a shame to hide any part of him?”
“Don’t you think it’s wrong—to be—” Jared has no idea how to finish the sentence without possibly offending his hosts.
“We have a different view of right and wrong than humans do,” Jensen explains. His hand lowers, trailing over the edge of Jared’s kangber. Heat travels straight up to Jared’s treacherous dick.
“But you said you were part human,” Jared replies. One of Jeffrey’s tentacles is trailing over Jared’s neck, sending heat and want everywhere.
“We are. It is believed that we were created when the god of the sea joined with a warlock and a human. But that was a time so long ago no one has memory of it, so we cannot be certain that is true, some stories are just stories. But I do know this, the part of me that is human wants you very much. Has been longing for you for more summers than I can count.” Jensen’s thighs are touching Jared’s now. His hand has crept under Jared’s kangber.
Jeffrey’s tentacle has traveled lower on his back, almost down to the top of Jared’s kangber.
“But I thought you two were—what did you call it? Bonded?” Jared asks.
It’s hard to think—to form words—with how they are touching him. Jensen’s hand is on his back too now, rubbing soothing circles as Jeffrey’s tentacle pushes into his kangber. Jensen’s fingers on his other hand are so close to his cock that if Jared shifts just as little, they will be touching it.
It’s too much. And not enough.
“We are. Our kind has always bonded in threes, maybe because of our triad nature—human, magic, sea. Jeffrey and I have never been able to find our third, not until I heard your call.” Jensen leans over and presses his lips against Jared’s. “Jeffrey was worried, but I had to find you. You’ve been so lonely, and you are the piece of us we’ve been missing.”
“Stay the night,” Jeffrey urges. He pulls his tentacle out of Jared’s kangber and turns Jared toward him. “Stay until the storm passes. And if you want to leave, we will take you home. But if you want to stay—” Jeffrey kisses Jared as Jensen presses his body against Jared’s back. “I can promise you; you’ll never be lonely again.”
“If you want us to stop touching you, we will,” Jensen says. Jared can feel Jensen’s lips grazing Jared’s ear as he speaks. “But I hope you will let us give you pleasure, Jared. We want to very much.”
If he stays, he will surely anger the gods. The gods have banned magic and these are creatures of magic. But what have the gods ever done for him? Except take his father and his beloved grandfather from him. The gods in their jealousy forced Jeffrey and Jensen and their kind from their home. He owes the gods nothing.
And he very much wants Jeffrey and Jensen to keep touching him.
“I don’t know what to do,” he admits.
“Let’s make it easy for you,” Jeffrey says. He kneels in front of Jared and starts pulling Jared’s kangber down his hips. “Why don’t you let us take care of you and if we do something you don’t like, you let us know.”
Jared nods eagerly. He lifts his hips, letting Jeffrey tug the kangber down his body. Jensen holds Jared up, his hands gripping Jared’s ass, as Jeffrey pulls the kangber the rest of the way off of Jared and tosses it aside.
Jared’s hands instinctively go to cover his cock, but Jeffrey grabs both of his hands with one tentacle, holding them in place. “Let us look. You are beautiful, Jared. Every inch of you, so damn beautiful.”
It is a strange thing, but Jared finds he likes his hands being held this way. He likes the hungry look he sees in Jeffrey’s eyes too. Jensen sets Jared down on his lap and Jared can feel Jensen’s cock pressed against his ass and he likes that also.
Jensen turns Jared's head, stealing his breath away in a kiss that demands everything from Jared and Jared eagerly surrenders to it. Jeffrey lifts Jared’s hands over his head and his other tentacle begins stroking Jared’s nipples, turning them instantly hard. Every part of the triads radiates heat, Jensen’s mouth, his thighs that Jared is sitting on, Jeffrey’s tentacles. So much heat. Jared’s cock is already weeping, it is so hard, and Jared knows they’ve just gotten started.
“Jared, I want to be inside of you. Will you let me?” Jensen asks. His hands are wandering down Jared’s stomach, sending so many pulses of heat inside of Jared. Jeffrey leans down and takes the nipple his tentacle has been playing with in his mouth. Jared gasps at the wet heat that turns his nipple as hard as stone.
Jensen stops kissing him. He lifts Jared up slightly, one of his fingers caresses Jared’s ass. Jared trembles with need. Jeffrey pulls Jared’s head down and claims Jensen’s mouth. They both moan and Jared wishes he could see them, instead, he’s watching as a tentacle—Jeffrey’s?—inches closer and closer to his cock. Jeffrey grabs Jared’s hair, tugging it, as he claims Jared’s mouth.
Someone is gripping his hips. At least one hand must be Jensen’s, as one of Jeffrey’s is still tugging Jared’s hair. He’s getting lost in all the hands and the tentacles touching him, and nothing, nothing has ever felt so good. A tentacle slithers over his cock, leaving heat in his wake, making his cock leak so much precome Jared is sure the rug is wet beneath him. A tentacle prods at Jared’s hole and Jared tenses.
“Relax,” Jensen says, nipping Jared’s shoulder with his teeth. The tentacle on his cock starts stroking it, he’s drowning in Jeffrey’s kisses. All Jared can do is nod, or he thinks he does, it doesn’t matter anyway.
The tentacle holding his hands together releases them, allowing Jared to hold on to Jeffrey which is good, he needs something to hold on to. Hands roam up and down his side. Fingers and tentacles play with his nipples, teasing them until they are aching and as hard as his cock.
The tentacle in his ass slips in, just a little. Jared was expecting pain, but it’s more like—discomfort. The tentacle slides in further and Jared realizes the tentacle must be producing some kind of substance that is easing its way inside of him.
“You are doing so good,” Jensen says. “Our beautiful boy.”
Jeffrey hums his agreement. He stops kissing Jared to kiss Jensen again. Jared turns his head to watch them, he finds to his surprise he feels no jealousy at all that they are not kissing him. In fact, watching them kiss just makes all the heat Jared is feeling intensify. They are so damn hot together.
One of Jeffrey’s tentacles stops teasing Jared’s nipples and presses against his lips. The tip of the tentacle is wet and Jared, curious, opens his mouth and lets it in. It is secreting some kind of fluid; it tastes sweet and a bit salty and Jared thinks he could quickly become addicted to the taste. The more Jared’s tongue laps at the tip of the tentacle, the more fluid it leaks.
“Stop teasing and suck on it,” Jeffrey growls.
The tentacle slips in further into Jared’s mouth and Jared sucks. Jeffrey groans so it must feel good, and he likes the idea that he’s making Jeffrey feel good. Jared sucks harder and is rewarded by the fluid freely flowing in his mouth. He’s beginning to feel floaty, like he’s somehow back in the water again.
The tentacle in his ass pushes in deeper too, and that feels really, really good. Another one slithers toward his ass, and Jared realizes it is one of Jeffrey’s. Jared is burning in pleasure as Jensen’s tentacle pulls out and together their two tentacles push inside of him. This time it isn’t near as slow, they both push in steadily, filling Jared and then one of them presses on something spongy inside of Jared and—ohhhhhhh.
“Like that did you?” Jensen asks as Jeffrey chuckles and that spot is pressed again, causing Jared to moan around the tentacle in his mouth. “Wait until it’s my cock.”
The tentacle that was stroking Jared’s cock slithers over Jared’s balls and Jared moans again. The tentacles in his ass keep pushing in and pulling out, and it feels really good, but it’s not enough, nowhere near enough.
“I think he’s ready,” Jeffrey says. Jeffrey presses closer to Jared, his front plastered against Jared’s front, their cocks rubbing together. The tentacles leave Jared’s ass, he’s not sure where they go, maybe to touch each other, but they aren’t touching him anymore. The tentacle in Jared’s mouth slips out, and he is kissed, first by Jensen and then by Jeffrey. Jensen guides his cock to Jared’s ass. Jared can feel the tip of Jensen’s cock is wet and thinks maybe it’s leaking the same kind of fluid that the tentacle was that had been in his mouth. Jensen grabs Jared’s hips again, and Jeffrey does too, and together they begin pushing Jared down on Jensen’s cock.
A tentacle wraps Jared and Jeffrey’s cocks together, the delicious slide of Jeffrey’s long, smooth cock against his is enough to make Jared want to beg for him to never stop. Jensen’s cock feels so good sliding into his ass. There’s no pain, just heat, and intense, beautiful, overwhelming pleasure. Sometimes there are hands touching Jared, sometimes there are tentacles, it doesn’t matter which or who they belong to. He’s being kissed and being filled and being touched everywhere and he can feel pleasure building and building, like a wave right before it crests.
Jared’s not moving at all, one of them, both of them, are pushing him up and yanking him down on Jensen’s cock over and over again. Jensen’s cock seems to be swelling, Jared feels so much fuller than when Jensen started fucking him. He can feel the heat from Jensen’s slick cock, can feel it pressing against his inner walls, feels the flashes of intense pleasure when Jensen’s cock presses against that sweet spot inside of him.
A hand—Jeffrey’s?—is stroking their cocks that are still wrapped together by a tentacle. A tentacle is rubbing over Jared’s ass, sometimes the tip of it slips in when Jared is pulled down on Jensen’s cock. Jensen’s cock seems to be getting bigger and bigger until the fullness and the heat and pleasure of it threatens to be the undoing of Jared.
Jared’s hair is pulled, yanking him away from Jeffrey’s mouth. “Come for me,” Jeffrey orders and as if that’s all his cock was waiting for, Jared’s cock begins to spill as he cries out. His orgasm seems to last forever. Jensen and Jeffrey hold him up while Jensen pumps his hips, fucking into Jared fast and deep as Jared continues to orgasm.
“Fuck,” one of them says, or both of them and Jared can feel something wet and hot fill his inner channel as Jeffrey’s come, also warm and wet, spills over Jared’s stomach.
They collapse together, Jared sandwiched between Jeffrey and Jensen. Arms and tentacles hold Jared tightly as he begins to shake, he’s never been through anything so intense.
Sweet kisses are peppered against his back, his shoulders, his cheeks, his lips. His hair and his back are stroked. Jared feels so connected to the men holding him—is this what being bonded feels like?
Later, how much later Jared has no idea, Jensen brings Jared a wet cloth and gently cleans him as Jeffrey holds him, telling him over and over again how good he was, how perfect Jared is for them.
“How do you feel?” Jensen asks, setting the cloth aside.
“I feel wonderful,” Jared replies. And then his stomach growls. Jeffrey and Jensen look at each other and laugh.
“Let’s get you fed and then we can talk some more.”
They take Jared into a room they call a kitchen. The hut Jared lived in had only one room, all the cooking happened outside. It’s a cozy place and Jeffrey serves them soup that he says he made himself from vegetables from the garden and Jensen cuts them each a nice chunk of bread.
The bread is delicious, far more so than the bread brought to the village by the traders.
“Do you make the bread yourself?” Jared asks. He looks over at the huge black thing Jensen told him was a stove. He finishes one bowl of soup and Jeffrey fills his bowl again.
Jeffrey and Jensen look at each other. “No, we get it at a bakery. It’s run by an elf named Xinimi. She makes the best bread in the kingdom.”
“There’s a kingdom?” Jared asks. Finally feeling full, he sets his spoon down. “Where?”
“This is the kingdom that the gods banished us to. We are the guardians of the sea, if creatures escape by sea, then we would be the ones punished.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” Jared says.
Jeffrey shrugs. “No one knows the sea like we do, any creature would be foolish to try.”
Jared looks at Jeffrey and Jensen. They are staring at each other. Jared has no doubt they are communicating without words, just like they did before Jeffrey arrived in his hut.
“What are you discussing?” Jared asks. “Is it about me staying?”
“Are you thinking of staying?” Jensen asks. He looks over at Jared with hopeful eyes. A tentacle rubs Jared’s thigh, reminding him he didn’t put on his kangber, maybe he won’t put it back on. He feels surprisingly comfortable being naked. It feels—freeing.
Jared nods. He doesn’t have to think about it. He has nothing to go home to and everything to gain by staying here. He wants to be with Jeffrey and Jensen, the gods be damned.
Jeffrey grins. “That is wonderful.” He leans over the table to kiss Jared and his tentacle rubs against Jared’s cock, which twitches in renewed interest.
“Does this mean we are bonded?” Jared asks.
Jensen rubs the back of his neck with a hand. “I am not sure how it works with humans, I guess we’ll all find out. But if you are to stay, there are things you should know. Come, let me show you something.”
Jensen stands and holds out a hand, Jeffrey does too. The three of them walk out a door and Jared realizes they are behind the house now. In front of them is a forest. Birds fly over the trees. The birds are huge, black, and look like no birds that Jared has ever seen before.
“Never go into the forest unless one of us is with you,” Jensen says. “Beyond the forest, there are wonders the likes you’ve never even imagined. There are elves and fairies and ogres, and even though they all have good hearts, I do not know how they will react to a human in their midst.”
“Ogres are good?” Jared asks.
Jeffrey nods. “Of course they are. But there are other creatures too, ones that love the dark. We will always be by your side, Jared, but if you stay—we thought you should know what might be lurking in the shadows.”
Jared looks over again at the forest. A bird flaps his gigantic black wings and plunges into the trees. Jared shivers.
“I don’t care,” Jared says. He looks at Jensen and then at Jeffrey. “I don’t care what is out there. I’ve made my decision. If you want me, I am yours.”
“Oh, we want you all right,” Jeffrey replies. Tentacles, at least three of them, roam over Jared’s ass. Jared shivers again, but it has nothing to do with the forest.
“Have you ever been fucked on a bed?” Jensen asks, leading Jared back inside the house.
Jared shakes his head. “I’ve never been fucked at all, until today.”
“I am honored to be your first,” Jensen says, walking backward and kissing Jared as they walk out of the kitchen with Jeffrey behind them.
“I say we all get comfortable on the bed, and then teach Jared here how to suck cock. If he’s as good at it as he was sucking my tentacle, you are in for a treat, Jensen. And I’ll decide if I want to fuck Jared with my cock or see how many tentacles we can stuff into that pretty ass of his. What do you think, Jared?”
A tentacle slips into Jared’s ass, still open and wet from Jensen’s cock.
“Yes,” Jared replies. Both Jensen and Jeffrey chuckle.
“Good answer,” Jeffrey says as another tentacle slips into Jared’s ass.
UJared cannot wait to take anything and everything they have to give him.