Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

During a civil war, the rebel army decides to summon a goddess.

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Emily
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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Evan let his gratitude glisten in the space between them and sank into the experience of the body for a moment--the comforting gesture of his thumb caressing his own palm; the continued chill in the air on his skin; the deep, lightening breath the body took; the smile that graced his expression.

You know, the goddess said, if we had been able to merge when you first arrived tonight, I likely would not have needed your soldier at all. I've missed this.

She began to maneuver the body to its feet, but Evan was little help on that front; he felt himself float into the memory of the goddess clawing at him beneath the water again, and in particular, the moment she had flown away, and the confusing melancholic relief from fear but tug of longing that had swirled through him.

You're the one who backed away, he replied, mostly playfully, but with a splash of something pained. He didn't want to belabor the point they'd just put off until after his trip to the Underworld, but if she was going to make quips like that, it was relevant. He hadn't wanted her to fly away; he'd wanted to believe that he wouldn't drown. He would have fucking loved to invite her into him from the start.

I've missed this, too. he added, wanting to make sure they had a warmer thought to land in. From there, he shifted his attention back into the body, wanting to feel his feet on the ground and curious about where the goddess was leading things next.
andrav
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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You're the one who backed away, Evan said, and the goddess winced even though Evan meant the delivery to be playful. Evan played through that memory again, showing her how painful it was to watch her leave, and she grew indignant. Did he want to die? There was a fine line between trusting him more and being rash, and they were already weaving over and across it.

But, Evan did not want to spend too much time pushing her there, adding, I've missed this, too. It was a small consolation.

The goddess used Evan's body to pick up the satchel with Evan's dragon scale inside as well as the cloak, nesting them together. Then, she closed her eyes and imagined something for them both to wear--a lightweight fabric that shone with tiny black scales and was soft on both sides. The fabric slid up and around their skin smoothly, igniting their shared nerves as it clothed them. The pants the fabric folded and merged into were tight but comfortable, not bothering to hide anything about the swelling in Evan's groin. And the separated shirt wrapped around one of Evan's shoulders and left the other side of his chest bare except for the straps of pauldrons that hardened and stuck out a couple inches from Evan's shoulders. They were thicker scales, reminiscent of Evan's actual dragon scales. The fabric wrapped a long sleeve down one arm.

Thus clothed, the goddess tossed the satchel over one shoulder and coaxed the body to walk toward the center of her realm, through the densest thicket of trees, trees that, as they moved forward, looked far healthier than the ones nearer the goddess' palace, though their leaves were still dark with sharp-looking edges of red and purple.

It's not a simple thing, merger. There's a point of exertion where it's not... very possible. She found herself embarrassed to admit this, and the sensation flashed through their shared awareness. And, it's been a long, long time since I've done it at all. There are... layers of how it happens. Dreams are one of the easiest forms, but it's... much less corporeal. And the thralls... they can't handle the merger. They don't make it out of the river. And possession, it's just pulling strings.

The goddess was quiet for a moment, mulling over what she said, struggling with the words. It was difficult to explain without the sensations to go along with them, and tinges of subtle movements occurred behind their eyes. A spreading out for dreams. A dropping loss with the thralls.

There's a reason cautionary tales about me exist, the goddess admitted as Evan's eyes studied the ground for no reason in particular.
Emily
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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Evan enjoyed focusing on the experience of moving, of picking things up, of refocusing on the world around them. He started to help with the body, sensing the goddess' intentions and ways he could urge a muscle to move towards that end before the goddess got to it. But, he only barely got to start that experiment before fabric began to wrap around him, tugging his attention into his skin as it drank in the texture and what small warmth the new clothing offered. It was soft, but shimmery, small black scales catching glints of light. The fabric formed around his legs and his hips in a tight but comfortable fashion, one which ignited a delighted pride in Evan; he could tell just by the feel of it that these pants fit him well, in ways that the likes of Blake probably wouldn't approve. The shirt that formed felt a little more foreign, long sleeved on one side but leaving half his chest bare save for straps that connected to pauldrons on his shoulder, made from thicker more solid scales, reminiscent of the dragon he'd so recently been. Although there was some discomfort with the shirt--mostly some uncertainty about how he looked in it--pride buzzed again in him as he remembered being a dragon, and pleasure that the goddess wanted to make a nod back to it.

Once the fabric settled and Evan's nerves grew re-accustomed to being dressed, the goddess bid the body to walk again, and Evan tried again at his experiment of cooperation in that regard, uninterested in just being along for the ride.

It's not a simple thing, merger. There's a point of exertion where it's not... very possible. The goddess spoke again as they got underway, a flash of embarrassment flowing through them. And, it's been a long, long time since I've done it at all. There are... layers of how it happens. Dreams are one of the easiest forms, but it's... much less corporeal. There was more to what the goddess was trying to communicate than just the words, and flickers of movement entered Evan's awareness--a kind of spreading out as the goddess talked about dreams.

And the thralls... she continued, a sensation of dropping already starting to form, they can't handle the merger. They don't make it out of the river. And possession, it's just pulling strings. There Evan remembered the moment the goddess had told him not to move that first night, the thrill and the discomfort of briefly feeling trapped. Evan open and closed a fist as they walked, somewhat absent-mindedly, just reaching for a brief little reassurance that his own impulses still held power. There's a reason cautionary tales about me exist.

Evan studied the ground, his brow furrowing, but he nodded in understanding, grateful to have some of this spelled out.

I don't intend to let the river take me, he replied after a moment. He wasn't sure if that was what the goddess was really looking for here--or if it even needed to be said--but, he was glad to give the goddess that reassurance any time she needed it. He had made it out of the river multiple times now, and while he understood its pull, at this point he had no fear that he'd give into it.

What is it, anyway? he found himself asking--really, more just letting a curiosity bubble up undeterred. It wasn't exactly light or water, and he wasn't sure he expected a clear answer on the actual substance of it, but he was genuinely curious as to just how the goddess would describe it.
andrav
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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The goddess started to notice that, as they continued to walk, Evan was trying to... help? He was trying to anticipate what she wanted the body to do and beat her to it a time or two, giving the sensation that she'd just missed something. It was disorienting, and a flash of frustration whipped through them both. Finally, the goddess decided to give Evan back control of the body lest they try to give it two conflicting instructions. He open and closed his fist as though to show her he still had control, and in the end, she supposed that was reasonable. Gently, she shared her sense of direction with him, wordlessly moving his eyes in the direction she wanted them both to go.

I don't intend to let the river take me, Evan said as they went, and the goddess felt his confidence bloom forth in their chest. She believed him and did her best to indicate that was the case as the body nodded in agreement. He had weathered that particular temptation a number of times now.

What is it, anyway? The goddess did not expect this question, and before she could help it, a wistful smile came upon Evan's features.

Simply put, the goddess began, it's pleasure itself. It's a friction between being and non-being. It's the knife's edge between life and death and all the energy that tension creates. It's everything you want to feel and also the urge toward nothingness, toward ease and bliss.

I suppose you could say that I am the river, or part of it, anyway. A guardian of it, maybe. The goddess took a long, deep breath, filling the lungs of the body completely and letting the air out slowly.

There's succumbing to the river yourself and then there's... being forced down it, the goddess said with some anxiety, and Evan's head swiveled around as though to look for danger. There didn't appear to be any.

It's the latter you're most at risk of, the goddess confessed.
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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Evan felt a little bad about the flash of frustration he felt, but thankfully it didn't linger; the goddess seemed content to just guide him and let him walk, and he supposed he was honestly grateful for it. He liked moving his body, and especially with all this talk of possession and succumbing, he appreciated relishing the experience of moving through the world. He staid in tune with the goddess' sense of direction, though, little interest in disobedience on that axis, at least for the moment.

Simply put, the goddess began in response to his question, it's pleasure itself. It's a friction between being and non-being. It's the knife's edge between life and death and all the energy that tension creates. It's everything you want to feel and also the urge toward nothingness, toward ease and bliss.

Some quip started to form in Evan's consciousness about already living in the river to begin with, but that was mostly being funny, and not at all worth interrupting what the goddess was saying.

I suppose you could say that I am the river, or part of it, anyway. A guardian of it, maybe. In some ways, that resonated with his half-formed quip even better; that rather than living in the river this whole time, he'd been longing for it--and now that he had this access to the goddess, he felt satiation he never had. Evan might have nodded, but the goddess took a long, deep breath, filling the lungs of the body completely and letting the air out slowly, and Evan was happy to make space for and fully enjoy that experience.

There's succumbing to the river yourself and then there's... being forced down it, the goddess said with some anxiety, and Evan's head swiveled around as though to look for danger. There didn't appear to be any.

It's the latter you're most at risk of, the goddess confessed.

Ah, Evan relayed his comprehension with a flash of a smirk in their mind. It really did come down to the danger the goddess felt she posed to him directly, then. Maybe it was just the multiple hits of confidence he'd gotten in the past few moments--the vanity from the clothing; the pride in thinking back to his dragon form; the knowing he felt of the goddess' belief in his resolve--but an impulse arose to challenge her in some way. The impulse didn't find an outlet in action, though, and instead simply rippled through them as a flash of a fantasy, Evan simply tossing the goddess a grin and gesturing with his hand a playful come at me.
andrav
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

Post by andrav »

Ah, Evan said, and the goddess feared the silence that might come after that, though she couldn't exactly explain why. She supposed she didn't want that simple admission to be the end of it, like that would forever be the case between them. But, unless she intervened in some way, it would be.

Despite that, Evan's pride from the clothing she had given him, from his recent memories as a dragon, and her own belief in him rippled up their spine and circulated their minds, forming something of a dare, and when she looked, Evan's mind was busy fantasizing about a gesture to egg her on.

Disbelief rolled through the goddess as she used Evan's body to scoff heavily, erasing the grin that had come over them. She couldn't believe him. But she also couldn't deny the pride and gratitude she felt knowing that he had returned to messing with her.

Closing their eyes, she stopped Evan's motion completely, disrupting and intercepting the signals he might send his muscles and instead tightening them all at once such that they pulled against each other. As such, he remained standing, but it felt as though each of his muscles were trying to lift all the ones they were connected to, pulling up and down across his whole body simultaneously. His shoulders, his forearms, his fingers, his core, his glutes, thighs, toes, all flexing and working toward tiring themselves out on each other, and all the while, the goddess wouldn't let Evan move or control anything.
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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A flutter of fear darted across Evan the instant he realized the goddess had seen his fantasy dare. But of course she had. He felt control of the body peeling away from him rapidly--the expression frowned with a scoff, and the eyes closed, and in the darkness Evan's body tensed, more completely and strenuously than it had in his life. Panic thrashed in him as he tried with no success to move something--anything--even just to open his eyes. But, with it was a strange sort of bliss, too, like the high of a good run, flooding the body with satisfaction that each and every one of its muscles was working itself tired in tandem. Evan felt himself slipping into that pleasure, a moan echoing in their minds as he began to fall, but he caught himself, stubbornness flaring. He'd dared her precisely because at least some part of him refused to believe that he'd allow himself to be pushed into the river; at the very least, he was going to go down swinging, and he wanted to show her that resolve now.

But what did that mean, exactly, when he couldn't move a single godsdamned muscle?

He tried to focus on their internal landscape instead, raking his attention past the friction of the straining muscles of his body, reaching for the goddess herself with a force of will to pull her down instead. He wanted to envelop her, constrict her, drag the satisfaction he'd felt through her, try to coax her to relinquish some control.
andrav
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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The goddess easily maintained control of Evan's muscles during his first few attempts to overpower her, and she even laughed internally a little at his ineffectual attempts. She wanted to prove a point, and this was a relatively harmless way to do it. Then, when Evan realized fully he couldn't move, panic spread over his awareness but still didn't make it to his body. And then, a wave of bliss--a well-earned fatigue--crashed over them both, and a loud moan cascaded behind their eyes that made the swelling in Evan's pants more present. It was difficult to contract that, too, and as the goddess thought about how to do it, she felt Evan go momentarily silent only to return in full force, reaching not for control of the body but for her, using his own satisfaction as a weapon against her while he did everything in his power to envelop her, constrict her--distract her.

And she did falter, for a moment. One of Evan's thighs momentarily relaxed, making the body tilt slightly toward one side, but the goddess shook Evan off, retightening the muscles and seeking a calm deep within her Evan might not be able to reach. But, Evan would not stop. He thrashed and pulled at her with his bliss, his longing, his determination, his desire, and she could not fully turn away from it. Especially not while the strength required to hold Evan's body in such a state was wearing on the body itself. Soon, the goddess had to pour her own magic and energy into the body just to keep it flexed and upright. She gritted Evan's teeth as the flames of her energy licked his blood and even ignited a little on his skin, creating a static warmth around them.
Emily
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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Evan felt a flash of relief and with it, celebration--a muscle relaxing, drawing his attention back to the body to find it, perhaps hoping to find an opened channel through it. But the goddess retightened it before Evan could make the connection, and frustration growled through him as he flailed for some means of control, and finally turned his attention back to the goddess empty-handed. He could feel the exhaustion from the body pulling at him, fanning the flames of the panic that had ignited, but he refused to throw in the towel. He'd be sore and exhausted, but that was a worthy price to prove a point. He felt back into the satisfaction that had rushed through him before, the genuine thrill of such a simple, thorough workout, burning every muscle in his body all at once, and he cast it out like a net, trying to ensnare the goddess with it. He mixed in the tiny but powerful flicker of relief the body had felt when even just a single muscle relaxed, the promise of a well-earned bliss once she released the body from its exertion. How good it would feel to just breathe--

Wait, were they breathing?

Panic flaring again, Evan dropped the net and pushed his awareness through the strain of all the muscles in the body and felt for the lungs, trying to gauge whether he'd be able to distinguish the burn of suffocation from the burn of every muscle all at once. Maybe it didn't matter--maybe she would relent when the body passed out--but what if he passed out with it, and she kept going? He was feeling dizzy or something like, but it was impossible to tell whether it was a lack of air or just overstimulation or a whole new sort of vertigo set on by not being able to do a godsdamned thing with his own fucking body.

At least breathe, he begrudgingly beseeched, exasperation plain in his consciousness, with a tinge of fear starting to show.

((OOC: Up to you if they actually are breathing or not... I went with, Evan's not currently able to tell amidst all the other sensations he's feeling, cuz that seemed very reasonable and more importantly, the most fun lol.))
andrav
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Re: Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

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Evan continued to flail ineffectually for control over her, and she laughed at him quietly within. He wasn't going to win against her. But then, with renewed energy, Evan summoned all his satisfaction from the burning, aching, used sensations in his muscles and cast a spiderwebbing net around both of them, amplifying the sensations the goddess already felt several fold. It was intoxicating, and the goddess wanted more of it, prepared to push the body even closer to its limits. But, suddenly, the sensations Evan cast in her direction stopped entirely, and in the distraction, the body they shared took an enormous, gasping breath.

At least breathe, Evan begged her, and she recoiled slightly, though she kept all Evan's other muscles locked up.

Had she remembered to breathe? Surely, she... Well, it was possible she had forgotten. She didn't need to breathe in any of her own forms. But this was not just a form she was taking on, this was a human body with genuine needs and repercussions.

Finally, the goddess smirked with Evan's mouth and released all his muscles at once. Immediately, their shared body fell to its hands and knees, breathing heavily. She had won, in a way, after all. He had begged. But he had also done so much more.

The flood of endorphins and adrenaline from their exertions flooded through their veins, and the goddess moaned deeply, both in their minds and with Evan's vocal chords. The goddess had only the desire to bring the body flat on its back before she relinquished control, fading into the background of Evan's mind but still decidedly present.

She was exhausted and somewhat depleted, but she felt amazing. She had challenged herself. Evan had challenged her. And that was fucking thrilling. Her excitement oscillated with their heartbeat, and the goddess laughed pleasantly, internally this time. She was giddy and impressed with Evan. She hadn't given him anything in aid, and still he had found ways to distract her in critical ways. But, better yet, she had given him back more of the responsibility of his own mortality such that perhaps it would be possible to trust him more. And the thought of that pulsed relief through the goddess until the cacophony of their shared emotions and sensations was almost overwhelming, even and especially for her. She needed an outlet.

Taking control back over Evan's hands, his left hand slid down the slick fabric of his black-scaled shirt and down toward his cock, which thrashed in response to her intention. And, simultaneously, she pressed his right palm to the ground, feeling into the dirt and the grass there and then laying it flat as the goddess closed their eyes and summoned up her connection to her realm and the land. She gave some of the energy they felt collectively to the realm, feeding it and alleviating some of the pressure in their body. The goddess stroked up and down Evan's cock several times, running their thumb over and around it such that the power she gave the realm flowed yet more freely. Dehaljadrun moaned again, deeply, deeply pleased with this turn of events. This was a greater gift than any she could think for Evan to give.

Thank you, the goddess said, completely unsure if Evan would have caught enough of her thoughts to make sense of what she was thanking him for. Still, their eyes watered and overflowed with gratitude. Thank you, the goddess said again.
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