Laura S. Fox
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Hungry Heart - Book #4 - Ch. 29
🕑 Added 2023-04-09 18:00:03 +0000 UTCChapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / Chapter Ten / Chapter Eleven / Chapter Twelve / Chapter Thirteen / Chapter Fourteen / Chapter Fifteen / Chapter Sixteen / Chapter Seventeen / Chapter Eighteen / Chapter Nineteen / Chapter Twenty / Chapter Twenty-One / Chapter Twenty-Two / Chapter Twenty-Three / Chapter Twenty-Four / Chapter Twenty-Five / Chapter Twenty-Six / Chapter Twenty-Seven / Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine – Destiny Beckons
Duril was lying on his belly, the tome opened in front of him, and he was painstakingly scribbling down their latest adventures. He smiled as Toru’s tail slapped him rhythmically on the back, bound and determined as he seemed to be to get his attention. Eventually, without tearing his eyes away, but stopping his writing, he asked, “Toru, are you hungry?”
“No, I’m not hungry,” Toru replied. “Are you going to write long?”
“A lot of things have happened, and while I did write some of them when we were still at The Quiet Woods, I didn’t finish.”
“Is it really that important?” Toru asked and adjusted his position, first to look over Duril’s shoulder at the small writing on the page, and then stretching one paw across and resting his head on it.
“They are your adventures,” Duril said. “And ours,” he added, when the golden eyes stared at him questioningly. “If I don’t do this, they may become lost, and no one would know what truly happened.”
Toru rolled over and stared at Duril from below. That had to earn him something, Duril decided and began to scratch the big tiger under his chin. He was immediately rewarded with a low purr. “There are many other adventures we will go through,” he said, “and if I don’t take the time during these short respites to write it all down, I’m afraid that my memory will eventually fail me.”
“I don’t think that,” Toru said and closed his eyes, pleased as he seemed to be with having his most sensitive spot scratched so leisurely. “You have the best memory in the world.”
Duril laughed softly. “We don’t know that for sure. We haven’t met everyone in the world just yet.”
Toru shifted into his human and placed himself shamelessly on top of Duril. He hung his head over his shoulder and looked at the page again. “Your writing is so small,” he expressed his wonder. “The letters look like ants!”
“I don’t want to run out of pages,” Duril explained. “Since there are so many things happening, and this tome, as large and heavy as it is, isn’t endless, I must consider saving up space on the page for what will follow.”
“I can read your writing,” Toru said proudly. He slowly enunciated a few words, while Duril continued to look at him by turning his head. When his handsome face was so scrunched up in thought, he looked young and even innocent. Duril stole a quick kiss, taking his lover by surprise.
Toru considered it an invitation and immediately took advantage by wrapping both his arms and legs around Duril and pulling him away from the tome and his work. Since they were on top of a small hill, they ended up rolling down to its foot, both laughing. When they stopped, Toru caught Duril underneath him and looked for a moment into his eyes. “I love you, Duril,” he said passionately and placed a kiss on his lips.
It was all that Toru had to do to make him melt. At first, there was nothing but a soft brush of the lips, yet soon, it turned into something more passionate. Duril allowed Toru to taste his mouth at length, reveling in how amazing his lover was in everything he did, but most of all during such moments, lovemaking.
They were slowly moving to their own rhythm, while the sun smiled gently upon them from above. The weather was still fair, although Duril suspected that the day would be among the last that allowed them to enjoy such pleasant air and warmth. It appeared that Toru considered it the perfect occasion, as well, for indulging in the things they enjoyed the most when together and far away from any dangers and evil beings.
“I will always have you by my side, right?” Toru asked as he pulled away for one breath.
One breath was all it took for Duril, too, and he expressed his agreement by simply pulling his lover close and giving him a searing kiss. After that, all desire for conversation was gone from both their minds. Toru took his time unwrapping Duril’s shirt and kissing every little spot of skin that was revealed to him bare of clothes.
It made Duril feel loved beyond words. Toru could be a very passionate lover, as he well knew, but he was also gentle and considerate, and his embraces were tender, while his lips were fierce. They left a trail of pleasure everywhere they went, and Duril groaned his delight, free of any fear that anyone might hear them while they were taking pleasure in each other, right there, under the open sky, in the open field.
However, it appeared that his cries of pleasure, growing in intensity when Toru finally reached his manhood, did draw others. When Varg’s and Claw’s shadows fell over them, Duril opened his eyes lazily. Toru didn’t even bother to stop, as he filled his mouth with Duril’s now swollen member. He took great pleasure in doing so, too, and let it be known by making small sounds of delight while he attacked the object of his joy from all sides with both lips and tongue.
“We could hear you from the other side of the forest,” Varg joked.
While they were traveling through open plains now they could see a forest rising in the distance. And beyond it, there were the mountains, proud and majestic in the sun. During fair weather like this they could catch a glimpse of them.
“Care to join us?” Duril offered and a soft moan escaped his throat when Toru took it upon himself to swallow him down to the hilt again.
***
Claw had joked about Duril’s call of passion when the gentle breeze had brought to them the sound of their two lovers getting up to no good. But Varg had to admit that he liked it for what it was and didn’t mind following it at all. They had been through plenty of adventures lately and enjoying a bit of pleasure before heeding the call of the road again was just what he’d had in mind before hearing Duril and Toru starting to love each other’s bodies.
Now, he towered over them and took great delight in just admiring them without making a move to join for now. Claw’s hand was heavy on his shoulder, but not in an unpleasant way. Just the assurance that he had his best friends close was everything he needed to know that all was right in the world.
Interrupting his moment of indecision, the bearshifter took hold of him from behind and began to caress his body, his hands moving downward until they reached his loins. Varg had to admit that he sometimes enjoyed postponing things, keeping them from getting hot and heavy for a bit, if only to make the later pleasure all the more enjoyable.
Right now, Claw was fondling him through the rough fabric of his pants and it was just as tantalizing as he had imagined. At the same time, Claw, who was taller than he was, was angling his head to lick his neck slowly and to encourage him to give in to temptation. There was nothing else to want right now, he thought, as he took in the way Toru’s head bobbed up and down, making Duril come undone.
“Let’s give Toru a little more to do,” Claw suggested, and, under his guidance, Varg knelt by their side and allowed the other to break his manhood free from its confines.
Toru, who so far had seemed enraptured in pleasuring his favorite lover, lifted his head and looked at them. At the sight of Varg’s naked member, he smiled and licked his lips. Without one moment of hesitation, he grabbed hold of the thing so generously presented to him with one hand and then gave the engorged head a naughty lick. That sent Varg into a world of pleasure in less than the blink of an eye. He closed his eyes and leaned back into Claw’s arms while Toru began sucking gently on his manhood. By how Duril was moaning softly, his needs weren’t being overlooked, either. Toru was probably using his other hand to stroke his manhood, too.
Claw placed his moist lips against Varg’s ear. “It looks to me like Toru is doing a lot of giving, and not a lot of taking. Do any of you mind if I mount your precious lover from behind?”
Soft approval in the shape of moans and grunts followed. Varg didn’t quite have the power to use words, and all reason was lost to him as Toru sucked and stroked him in turn, bent as he seemed to be on driving him quite mad. It appeared that the bearshifter’s words had the same effect on Duril, as well, because a glance at the healer convinced him that the other was just as entranced with the idea of having Toru possessed in that manner.
Claw made quick work of shedding his clothes, but he didn’t do the same with Toru. He merely pulled down the young tiger’s pants and positioned himself behind him. Then, instead of going at it right away, he knelt and adjusted his position until his face was aligned with Toru’s delicious looking rump. Once there, he began to lavish Toru’s behind with licks and kisses.
***
Throughout all of their adventures together, Toru hadn’t once thought of his possible demise, but being so luxuriously treated by all his lovers, Duril and Varg simply by allowing him to do as he pleased, and Claw by showing why Varg was so in love with him, made him think that there could be such a thing as facing his own end by experiencing too much pleasure. They were all such passionate and generous lovers, and he was happy to have them by his side.
He twitched when Claw began pushing two fingers inside him, and while it was far from his first time being treated to such delights, a certain wariness always crept in. However, it appeared that the bearshifter knew exactly how to assuage his fears because next he moved to kissing him there, licking the entrance and making it slick. Only once Toru’s body gave in a little did he proceed to put his fingers in again, going deeper, slowly and steadily with each thrust.
At the same time, the noises his other two lovers were making drew his attention back to the task at hand. With renewed passion, he threw himself over Duril’s manhood, taking it down again as deep as he could muster, and enjoying the firmness he felt, as well as the taste of his lover’s pleasure at the back of his throat. He didn’t hesitate to do the same with Varg, although the wolfshifter was superior in all manner of physical appearance to many men, that part of him included.
Varg brought up a hand to caress his head, dragging his fingers over his scalp, making him keen in satisfaction. That was the way they were together and there was nothing else he wanted. The whole world could not care about him and that would be fine with him. It was because his lovers saw that in him, that they wanted him to fulfill his destiny, that made him sure he had to do everything he could to deserve their trust and love.
And it appeared to be enough. He enjoyed Varg’s member a little more, challenging himself to pleasure the wolfshifter, a man who must have had many lovers before him. Then, he moved again to show Duril how much he loved him by taking him in his mouth again.
Throughout this time, Claw continued to move his fingers in and out of him, and there was even another digit in there now, bringing the full number to three. The pressure he felt down there made it hard to keep hold of himself, so he moaned around Duril’s manhood. That seemed to please the healer very much because there were renewed noises of passion coming from him.
Claw removed his hand and now Toru experienced the sensation of something blunter, heavier and larger beginning to push against the ring of muscles at his entrance. It was almost unbearable, but in a pleasant way, and he knew that he had to resist and then he would enter a world of indescribable joy. Claw’s member was as large as the rest of him, and that meant that the pressure he now felt would only mount in the moments to come.
Despite knowing that, he proceeded to let himself relax, while concentrating his attention on sucking, now more vigorously, on Duril’s member, and then Varg’s manhood, moving from one to the other like a glutton who couldn’t decide which dish he preferred and tried to taste them all at once.
And then, it was there, a pleasure like no other, moving through him like an impetuous river, reaching the farthest parts of his body, making his skin flare, making him come alive beyond his wildest dreams. Claw sensed his pleasure and moved slowly inside him, making him stretch and filling him up until his pleasure soared even more.
It was hard now to keep his whole attention on the two scrumptious manhoods he was holding, because he needed to throw his head back and voice his unbridled joy at being taken like that. Claw’s hands were heavy on his hips, holding him down while the need to buck them back and get more of what already seemed to be on the verge of too much growing greatly. His power, even during such moments, or maybe because they were such moments, appeared to be no match for the bearshifter’s. He gritted his teeth and grunted and then moaned, while there was more of Claw inside him with each passing moment.
Varg reached for his chest and began to fondle him, while Duril pulled him down by the neck to kiss him. Then, it appeared that all three of them were in charge now, because Claw began thrusting into him relentlessly, while Varg and Duril continued their sweet torture with fingers and tongue and everything.
It was all a blur, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to postpone that moment of absolute bliss. He was soon gone, while Claw pushed inside him over and over, until he collapsed, resting his head on Duril’s belly. Claw said something in a language only he knew, heavy and sweet words that could only mean that Toru was far from being the only one at his wit’s end. When he withdrew himself, Toru had a vague sensation of something hot dripping out of his behind, and he knew it had to be Claw’s seed.
Slowly, he returned to Duril’s manhood and began to lick it lazily, his mind still hazy after reaching his peak earlier. Varg moved out of his grasp, and he had a mind to protest, when he realized what the wolfshifter intended to do. He pushed his behind up wantonly as another pair of rough hands captured his hips and he allowed the second conquering of the day, relishing in how spent he felt, and yet so filled with renewed wanting.
Varg didn’t appear to hold back, either, which was what Toru wanted, more and more of his lovers inside him, until they would all be fused into the same being. Duril appeared to appreciate all the more his rejuvenated desire and was slowly bucking his hips up, using Toru’s mouth as a means to reach his own peak of desire.
They had to be together in the same mind already, because Toru sensed how his building pleasure pulsed in the others and came back at him in full force and amplified. Varg was moving in and out, at first his moves ample and steady, only to lose all that in favor of a less sure rhythm that showed his passion by slamming hard inside Toru. Duril, who was so gentle and considerate in every dealing of his life, seemed to be possessed by the same urgency as the wolfshifter. He did mumble some apologies, although Toru couldn’t care less about such things.
He knew that he was closer to the same deluge of desire once more by how his manhood quivered under his belly. Only his lovers could have such a magical effect on him and soon all the three of them were on the path of no return. Toru felt Duril’s sweet essence filling his mouth, and soon, he could tell that Varg did the same to him, but at the other end.
It was more than he could bear, so he let his pleasure be known by moans and desperate noises, while his mouth stuck stubbornly to Duril’s manhood, which he milked for everything there was to be obtained.
***
Evening was setting in, but Toru couldn’t let himself be convinced to abandon the pleasant waters of the nearby river, even under the promise of the hefty meal Duril was preparing after Claw had run to the forest and returned with fresh meat. The day had been so beautiful, and a part of him didn’t want it to end.
Varg, who was in charge of getting him to dinner, appeared to be relentless in his desire to convince him that he was too hungry to resist. What did he know? Since he had found his friends, Toru discovered that even someone like him, who suffered from wanting something that couldn’t be named, could feel utter satisfaction and contentment. He was yet to let go of that feeling, even if there was a promise of roasted meat hanging in the balance.
“How can you not be hungry? We were quite vigorous in our lovemaking today,” Varg said.
“I loved every bit of it,” he admitted, something that wasn’t usually part of his habit when talking about such things. He turned his head lazily toward Varg and blinked a few times to make the wolfshifter understand just what he meant by that.
“I think I knew that,” Varg returned the lazy stare with a satisfied smile of his own. “I do have a confession to make, Toru.”
“I’m listening,” Toru said, his ears perking up.
“You three are all the lovers anyone could wish for. And I’ve had many people in my life.”
“I thought as much. I was wondering if I was equal to them,” Toru admitted simply.
Varg reached for his head and ruffled his hair. “You are far above everyone else I’ve known and loved. You, and Claw, and Duril. Does that make your heart more at ease?”
“It does,” Toru agreed. “I know that is how I feel about the three of you.”
“And I’m glad to see that you’re wise enough to admit it.”
“When wasn’t I?” Toru protested.
Varg pulled him into a hug. “I remember quite the kitty from back when we first met. You were all claws and fangs. We fought quite the fight. Even then, I was taken with you. I wanted to get to know you and discover everything there was to know about you.”
“Is your curiosity satisfied? And I thought only cats were curious, not dogs,” Toru said.
Varg laughed loudly and then rubbed his head vigorously. “I’m glad that you see yourself as a kitty, but I’m no dog.”
“Right,” Toru snorted. “You’ve always been a mutt.”
They laughed together, and maybe they would have indulged in more banter if Duril’s voice hadn’t interrupted them. “What are you two still doing, frolicking in the river? There’s food, you know.”
Varg turned his head toward the healer first. “Believe it or not, Duril, but it seems like our friend here has finally come to the realization that he’s not hungry anymore.”
“That’s not true,” Toru protested. Duril had brought the smell of roasted meat on his clothes, and that was enough to remind him of how much he did enjoy that sort of meal, too. “I’m hungry now.”
“You’re breaking my heart, kitty. Here I was, wasting my life away, trying to convince you to join us for dinner, and Duril only has to make an appearance, and you change your miond. I feel that I’m in my rights to feel a bit jealous.”
“If you’re jealous, what am I supposed to call myself?” That was Claw, who must have gotten impatient while waiting for them.
That convinced Toru that maybe he had lingered a tad too long, simply relishing and reliving the memories of that perfect day. “I will race you all to the camp,” he announced and started running.
“Look at him running all naked,” Claw said with amusement in his voice, but he shifted into his bear and stalked after Toru.
***
Varg pushed himself up from the water and Duril offered him a hand. “Aren’t you going to rush after them?” the healer suggested.
“I think I can afford to walk normally back to camp.”
“You know that, with those two, there might be a danger that we will arrive to find nothing but the sight of clean bones,” Duril joked.
“I’m sure that you have something stashed away,” Varg said.
“I might, but won’t you feel disappointed if all I have left is some cabbage?” Duril joked again.
“Unlike Toru, I don’t have any deep hatred toward cabbage,” Varg explained with a small smile. “However, given the choice, I would take some roasted meat over it.”
“Without a doubt.”
For some time, they walked side by side in silence. “How is your writing going?” Varg asked. “You’ve had very little time for it.”
“I know. But I’ve managed to get as close to our present day as I could. I told Toru that I had to write down everything before memory fails me, and he protested by telling me I have the best memory in the world.”
“It is very like him to compliment you like that. However, I’m afraid there’s someone in this world who could claim such a thing.”
“You’re talking about the hermit, right?” Duril said. “Yes, I keep thinking about him these days. He’s quite a powerful being. What do you truly think he wants to do with the shards, once Toru finds them all?”
“I don’t dare to assume anything, but it doesn’t seem like he has the best intentions at heart, if I may say so,” Varg offered his opinion.
“I think the same. But it seems like that is something that will happen far in the future. We’re made to believe that there are numerous shards, spread all over the world.”
“That’s what I think. We’ll do our part of helping Toru throughout. He will bear the heaviest burden of us all.”
Duril nodded thoughtfully. “Which is why we must do all we can and more to ensure that he succeeds. As for the hermit, he might have stolen a lot of knowledge from the world, but he doesn’t know everything. Of that, I’m sure. So, one of things I wish to undertake is to search for scholars everywhere we go and see what they know of Te’cla. Anything they know, even if it might seem like an insignificant detail, I want to learn. That is how you get to learn your opponent and how you can identify ways of defeating him.”
“That’s very clever of you,” Varg commended him. “And I, throughout our travels, I will learn of wolf packs that are scattered everywhere on the face of Eawirith and enlist their help for confronting the hermit when that moment is ripe.”
“Do you believe we should assembly an army?”
“It cannot hurt. He’s the one who could take the shards from Toru, or so he says. If that is true, he will end up in possession of such vast power that I don’t think we can even begin to comprehend. To go against such a force, the four of us might not be enough.”
Duril nodded again. “Then I agree with you. To recruit others in our path is something we should do.”
“That is, however, a story for another time for you to write, my friend,” Varg said with a smile and patted the healer on the shoulder. “For now, let’s see the state of affairs concerning a certain roasted deer.”
***
It was late at night, and they were all sleeping around the dying fire. Since their bodies were superior not only in strength, but also in how able they were to withstand harsh weather, they didn’t need as much heat as other people, but it looked like they were all like him, choosing to indulge when such an option existed.
Toru, however, couldn’t fall sleep just yet. He was lying on his back, looking at the stars above, while his mind traveled back to all the adventures they had lived through. There was still so much of Duril’s tome to fill, so many blank pages, and the healer’s precise ant-like letters would surely line up on one after another, as they confronted other evils in other times.
Would he ever find Nelsikkar? Eawirith was such a vast place, a single continent surrounded by large bodies of water on both sides, as his knowledge of it, now that he had learned about such things from Varg, indicated that the continent stretched from one end of the world to the other, a solid mass between waters. It made Toru wonder at the many things he had yet to learn about it.
And, since it was such a large place, that only meant that there could be someone else besides Te’cla who knew about Nelsikkar. Or, they even had a chance to discover it simply by walking into it. Toru liked to think that he would recognize it even if he found nothing but ruins. The thought of his birthplace being destroyed always brought with it a heaviness of heart that he didn’t know what to make of. Not only his parents, but everyone else… they were gone. And he was the only one remaining. That made him truly sad, and there weren’t many things in life that had the power to do that to him.
By his side, Duril stirred in his sleep. It wasn’t Toru’s intention to wake him up, so he didn’t move at all, listening to the steady rhythm of his friend’s breathing. However, it appeared that Duril was waking up of his own accord. “Toru?” he asked sleepily. “How come you’re still awake?”
“Did I disturb your sleep? You can go back to it. I was just looking at the stars and wondering about the future.”
Duril moved closer to him and lay on his back, too. “Do you worry about it, Toru?”
“No, I’m just wondering. This world is so large. There has to be someone else who knows about Nelsikkar, right? I mean, I don’t think that only the hermit really knows about it.”
“You’re thinking about your parents.”
At the frank affirmation, at first, Toru wanted to deny it, but then he realized that he was there, staring at the star-peppered sky because a part of him wanted to believe that he would see them if he only looked long enough. “I am,” he confirmed.
“That shows that you love them very much.”
“I want to make them proud, even if they are no longer here. I want to fight for the good that is in this world. And I want to find Nelsikkar and, maybe, make it live again.”
“I’m sure you will be able to do so if there’s a way. Even that you’ll do it despite there not being a way,” Duril added. “I’ve told you before. There were so many things I didn’t believe possible a long time ago, when I was yet to meet you. And now, I write like a scholar, I go on adventurers like a fighter, and I get to be part of your wonderful life. None of that seemed possible back then.”
Toru pondered Duril’s words. They filled his heart and settled it when it got too troubled. As was the case tonight. “That’s why I love you,” he said. “Because you see more in me than I see.”
Duril chuckled softly. “You’re a proud tiger, Toru. To admit such a thing to me is a great honor. Come on, now, let’s sleep. Tomorrow, we will be on the road again, and we might not get that many chances to sleep to our hearts’ content.”
“I feel like destiny is calling for me,” Toru said. “It’s also why I can’t sleep. There is so much of this world left to discover. So much evil to fight, too. And it’s hard to call upon dreams when there’s so much to do.”
Duril caressed his face slowly. “All that is true indeed. Of all the people on the face of Eawirith, you were called. It was your family’s duty, and it continues to be so. I understand all that. I also want to cuddle next to the world’s most beloved hero and have some nice dreams by his side.”
Toru wanted to protest a little longer, since he still wanted to think about his role in the world some more. But as Duril’s hand moved slowly over his cheek, his resolve to do so began to weaken. He yawned and blinked as his eyelids grew heavy. “But destiny…” he mumbled, while turning on one side and putting his hands under his head, while his lover’s caresses continued, enticing him to sleep.
“Yes, destiny beckons, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t sleep tonight,” Duril said and pulled him close. The warmth of his lover’s body reminded Toru that he was tired. All thoughts of future adventures began to blend with the world of dreams, and soon he was drifting away with a smile on his face.
THE END
Author's note: This was the end of Book 4! I hope you enjoyed it! Next week, you won't be seeing the first chapter of Book 5, however, as I had a conversation with Dave and established together to take a break from this story. Nonetheless, the Sunday slot won't remain bare, and it will be occupied by a new series. I showed Dave a few ideas of mine for new books, and he chose one. I won't say a word about it just yet :) But I hope you will enjoy it, starting next week!
And Happy Easter to everyone who's celebrating it today!
Comments
Laura S. Fox
Thank you for all the love, Margaret! You're really a great reader!
Laura S. Fox
Thank you, Dave, for giving me the opportunity to write about these characters!
MM
Oh gosh I love these characters. I am grateful to get to read their adventures. I will revisit them often and look forward to future tales. Thank you Laura and Dave!!
Dave Kemp
Thank you, Laura! These guys are so special to me. You're amazing and your ability to bring them to life is even more amazing. I can't wait for the new tale to begin!
