Part 1 (Start Reading Here)

[Emily]

Evan felt the body finally gasp, and though relief rippled through him, he kept his attention on the goddess, focused on the way the she recoiled with indignance, as though the evidence that she hadn't been letting the body breathe hadn't just cascaded through the both of them.

Then, through the indignance broke a smirk, and all at once, the goddess finally released the body to fall to its hands and knees, breathing freely and eagerly to catch up on the breaths that had been withheld. Evan moaned, relief flooding through every tired muscle that was finally able to relax, and he sighed a contented, pleasurable sigh as he laid down on his back to rest. He felt himself taking back control of the body, but it was heavy, and he really felt no desire to move it. His heart trilled in his chest, beating with exhilaration and pleasure, and Evan felt bathed in warmth--from exertion, sure, but also from a sense that he had done something right.

His hand mustered the energy to caress down over his chest, and Evan sighed with a surprising amount of pleasure as he felt the scaled texture of the shirt the goddess had created for him. His hand kept going, though, and Evan realized the goddess was moving it, but he hardly found call to complain as she reached for his cock, and excitement swelled for her touch. His eyes closed and his other hand felt at the ground beside him, palm pressing down against grass and dirt and finding a connection to the land that reminded him of his wings in the sky. The goddess stroked up and down his cock, rubbing his thumb over and around the tip before stroking again, and Evan moaned freely, shuddering with the sheer pleasure of it.

Thank you, the goddess said, and Evan didn't fully understand, but he was at peace with the warmth he felt from her, tears welling up and overflowing from his eyes. Thank you, she said again, and Evan echoed the sentiment back towards her in his mind, too lost in the pleasure of her touch and her words and the land beneath them to form any words of his own.

He worried only briefly that perhaps this was precisely falling into the river, but with a groan he managed to clench his fingers into the ground, feeling the cool texture of the soil, and he relaxed into his awareness of every exhausted muscle in his body and the cresting waves of pleasure the goddess pulled through him with her touch, and he decided that at most, he was falling into his own body, thoroughly present here in this realm with the goddess, and he wasn't going anywhere.

[andrav]

The goddess could not bring herself to do much more than idly stroke up Evan's cock with his own hand for a long time, keeping the body aroused and open as more of Evan's muscles relaxed. As the tension built in the body, the goddess nudged another of his muscles to relax so there was more capacity for pleasure. She widened their shared blood vessels, and his circulation made his skin flush with a silvery light. Still, she didn't increase the motion of Evan's hand.

And, finally, the goddess was hungry again. Evan's right hand, having finished offering the excess energy to the realm, flew up to his throat, pressing gently. She shocked him repetitively, quicker than a heartbeat but feather light. She increased her intensity slightly until the sensation was just below pain, a singing nerve-command straight to his neck over and over again.

Then, Evan's left hand, at last, escalated its speed. The goddess moaned deeply, the vibrations quietly altered by the impact of her own electricity. It was bliss--absolute pleasure, and she was coaxing it on and on.

[Emily]

Evan rode waves of pleasure as they rolled through the body with each of the goddess' strokes of his hand. He felt something opening, though it was hard to say what. Himself? His body? The land beneath him? A portal? To where?

It constricted--quite pleasantly--as the goddess brought his hand up to his throat. The skin beneath his palm lit up with excitement, sensitive to the touch and pulsing in playful echoes of his heartbeat. Both rhythms sped up together in a dance, and a low aching throb began to build in his cock, still twitching in the same steady pace of the goddess' motions, and beginning to yearn for more.

The raw desire of it surfaced first, and then Evan turned a curiosity toward his ability to change his hand's speed. It was hard to tell if he was successful or if the goddess just decided to oblige him--or perhaps even her own desires. Either way, elation pulsed through him as the motions of his hand sped up to join the pricks of sensation around his neck, his heartbeat pounding ever louder as pleasure undeniably built, and he moaned deeply, the vibrations of it buzzing past his grip.

A shudder rippled through him--not only his body and his being and even the goddess there with him, but also the world around them. He felt joy about every single sensation that caressed his skin and his soul, and he could swear he felt the grass beneath him shiver with pleasure, the air against his skin vibrate with song, even nearby trees moan with satisfaction as his body tensed and pulsed, splashing pure ecstasy across his awareness.

[andrav]

The goddess felt Evan's will begin to exert pressure on maintaining and even increasing the speed of the hand around his cock, and the goddess was so thoroughly entranced by the sensations they were experiencing together--the hand against their throat, the loamy earth beneath them, the slick scales of Evan's clothing sliding across his back--that she let it continue.

It was bliss, a bliss that was truly generative to her, to the land, and honestly, to Evan as well. She wasn't consuming him--they were feeding and nourishing each other with the abundance of this ecstasy, and it thrilled the goddess. The whole landscape around them hummed in agreement.

But, as though to darken their thoughtless pursuit of pleasure, flashes of what had happened in the cave with the demon stole into the goddess' mind, and she did not have time to hide them. If this pleasure with Evan was healing the land, there was still so much damage left to undo.

The goddess used the hand that had been around Evan's throat to reach down and gently still the other around Evan's cock, causing waves of thwarted pleasure to splash angrily up into their chest.

Softly, within Evan's mind, the goddess said, Save some for the tree.

She was unconcerned that he wouldn't know what she was speaking of, but they were nearly there, and if he was going to feed her and the land so thoroughly, she may as well put what he had to give to good use.

When he had gathered himself, the goddess aided him in returning to standing, collecting the satchel as they did so, amused to remember how they had gotten to the ground in the first place.

[Emily]

The ecstasy that had splashed across him receded suddenly, long before Evan felt done with it, and a groaning scream of agony echoed through his mind as he fell back unexpectedly into his body, one hand clutching the other forcefully while his hips bucked into the air, devastated by the loss of his touch.

Save some for the tree.

Evan was so disoriented it took him a moment to even understand that the thought had come from the goddess, but in the wake of her words he began to relax, allowing the soothing pleasure of her presence with him to mix with the memory of the song in the air, the soft wind that rolled over him and chilled his skin oddly comforting. He was able to find a new bliss surprisingly easily, floating and rocking with the breeze, reveling in how sensitive he was. He almost began to wonder if he could cum from just the breeze, but his mind replayed the goddess' words, finally starting to comprehend them, and with a soft groan, Evan relaxed his hands down to the ground beneath him, settling his body into at least a brief stillness as he refocused his mind on how to stand.

Gods, his whole body moaned as he moved, and he briefly fluttered in the pleasure of well-used muscles tugging against each other with each subtle movement. He expected the body to stop as he reveled, but it continued moving. Surprise and relief and awe cascaded through him, and Evan fell even deeper into pleasure. He tumbled pleasantly for a moment before collecting himself again, not quite reaching for any control over the body, but trying to anchor himself in awareness of it, and curiosity about the direction they were going.

Finally, he got himself anchored enough to finish comprehending what the goddess had said, and to form a reply.

Tree?

[andrav]

While Evan managed the first few motions toward standing on his own, the goddess enjoyed offering strength on the follow through, even when Evan had paused for a moment to bask in the soreness in his muscles. She felt him tumble back from his agency of his body, ecstatic and in awe of how obvious it made her presence within him.

She relished the sensations of surprise that gave him, but as his awareness returned to his limbs, the goddess found herself in no special hurry to start traveling again. So much had happened this night, but there were hours yet left.

Tree? Evan asked her mentally. The goddess shook Evan's head, finding it easier to simply show him that to try to explain now. With a deep and pleasurable inhale that captured at least some small token of how much the land appreciated what had just transpired, the goddess took a tentative step in Evan's body toward the center of her realm.

Steadying herself and passing some of the control back to Evan, guiding him only by degrees of direction, flashes of memory sped behind their eyes. She remembered the long and painful stretch of time when she had inhabited the tree and drained energy from Samael's realm. And, in a dense clump of memories, she thought of just how many times over the years she had worshipped at the base of the tree, joining and merging with it and its creations.

It wasn't an explanation, but there were emotions of awe and reverence that Evan surely picked up on if he caught none of the images themselves.

They weren't far now.

She enjoyed being this joined with Evan--to effortlessly share her mind with him. Though she lamented to some degree that he could not possibly catch everything she passed to him, there was delight in the ways he knew at least some small piece of what she was capable of, which she also let shine into his awareness. And they had been merged for so long now. Before, she could only keep it up for a matter of minutes, but the ease and comfort with which she resided in Evan's body... it felt nothing short of miraculous.

[Emily]

The goddess shook their head rather than answer, and for a moment, frustration flared, worry that she was holding something back from him. But then, she took in a deep breath, and Evan couldn't help sinking back into the pleasure that invited, reminding him of the bliss they'd just shared and filling him with the sensation that even the land had enjoyed it. He felt a little embarrassed recalling how reactive he'd been to even the breeze, but the goddess seemed more interested in getting them moving than paying it much mind. She gently nudged him into movement, and he gladly anchored himself in the experience of walking, guided by wordless directions the goddess offered. Then, she thought of the tree.

Of being inside it - merged with it? But, it seemed like it had been painful... And yet, she held awe for the tree, and it seemed like maybe it was a source of... something.

Nervousness fluttered through Evan, perhaps a brief echo of worry that he might not be worthy of - visiting? Meeting? - whatever the tree was to the goddess. He reassured himself with memories of the waterfall they'd visited earlier, and just how welcome he'd felt there. And, with some embarrassment, a memory also bloomed of the way the goddess had held him while he'd sobbed after they'd returned from that place, reassuring him against his fears that he didn't deserve her. It seemed a bit silly, but the closest sensation he could find to this trek now was like meeting a lover's family. And, while he was scared - he wasn't exactly accustomed to being brought home, so to speak - he also felt confident. If he and the goddess had been walking alongside each other, he might have taken her hand; the warmth that would have gone into the gesture emanated within them, radiating with reassurance and affection.

[andrav]

As the goddess opened the pool of her memory a fraction, she found that the stream of them did not want to stop flowing. She felt Evan reach for them, choosing one and then another to gather at least an emotional impression of what she remembered. It felt good to be seen in this way, even if the dam of her restrained loneliness threatened to break open.

In many ways, Dehaljadrun had avoided the tree for the last decade. What was the point of generating portals if she couldn't use them? After having torn a rift to Samael's realm, the goddess felt a little like a dog with a tail between its legs in returning now. Briefly, the goddess experienced flashes of shaking and spasming within the tree in her despair at the possibility that Evan had died when the portal had separated them.

But, inwardly, she felt Evan reach for her. He was, in a way, mentally offering a hand as though to bolster both of them. She took it readily, returning the warmth he offered as she forced them both to inhale deeply and sigh out abruptly.

As they rounded a particularly dense copse of trees with black, reflective leaves, the air around them felt thicker, darker. It hung heavy in the mist around and above them. The ground began to incline, and the goddess felt Evan’s breathing quicken. She clung to him inwardly, wrapping around his veins and curling about the capillaries in his feet. Her electricity pulsed within his blood, and his vision blurred for a moment. The effects of the wine they had drunk earlier returned. And as the breeze passed through the leaves, Evan’s skin recalled the soft, slow strokes of the goddess moving Evan’s hand along his cock.

The goddess hummed inwardly, the intensity of this place, of sensation itself familiar. She had to admit, as sheepish as she was about returning, Dehaljadrun could not stifle her own excitement at bringing Evan here.

As they rose step by step above the mist, an enormous tree came more readily into view. It sparkled with dense, lush bark emphasizing each vein as though with tiny black gems or dew made of resin.

Its branches began low and went wide, obscuring exactly how vast the tree stretched up into the sky, but it was tall enough to be out of Evan’s view. His vision was further obscured by wide, plush leaves that were individually the size of a human. Their wide surface caught and reflected the little moonlight that shone through, the mist around them glowing with a deep and foreboding purple. The trunk of the tree could easily house three people.

As they watched, the tree shifted and undulated, appearing to bulge slightly toward Evan’s body before doubling back and flowing up the tree.

She had left the tree hungry. She had left it full of the worst parts of itself, this land, Samael’s land. Using Evan’s body to bow her head, the goddess shifted Evan’s weight down to one knee.

I’m sorry, the goddess thought in the direction of the tree. Roots shifted underneath them. After a long pause, the goddess added, But I’ve brought you a gift. The tone of her voice was almost singsong as she thought it. The goddess inwardly turned toward Evan, grinning.

[Emily]

Evan gleaned some shame from the goddess which surprised him, and perhaps sent a fresh ripple of nervousness through him--though, also a bit of instinctive indignance on the goddess' behalf--but it didn't seem worth fixating on when the goddess returned his inner warmth and prompted them both to inhale and exhale before the last leg of their approach.

The landscape changed in a way that made him wonder if they'd already arrived - the air felt thick and dark, hanging heavily around him even as a breeze gently rustled the reflective black leaves of the trees around him. But there was no specific tree here, not yet. He still felt direction forward from the goddess, and so he pressed on, his breathing quickening as the path grew steeper. The goddess clung to him--at first comforting, but quickly it tightened to a choke, and Evan briefly panicked as his vision blurred. He thought he might pass out, but the pulse of her electricity in him bolstered his senses. He was disoriented, but so very awake, drunk on the weight and movement of the air around him. He remembered again laying on the ground with the goddess, her will stroking his hand over his length and then relinquishing him to the breeze. He moaned softly, unsure how much it came from himself and how much from the goddess. Embarrassment bloomed again, but when Evan turned his attention toward the goddess, he felt only excitement, and he managed to relax again as he continued forward.

Eventually, the heavy mist around him began to thin, which was equal parts relieving and disappointing. He breathed a little more easily, but only just, sensuality only dissipating enough to allow room for awe as a specific tree came into view.

It was black like the others, but nearly sparkling, its bark textured and dewy in the moonlight. Its branches above him were dense and sprawling, and as he truly began to comprehend its expansiveness, he realized its leaves were nearly his own size. Enough mist still swirled around him to glow with a purple light, and as he approached the trunk, it seemed to undulate toward him briefly. He felt a pulse in his own body, the bulge in his pants swelling and relaxing in a compelling echo of the tree.

Evan didn't realize the goddess was taking control again until he was already knelt on one knee, he head bowed to this tree like he'd bowed to his commander, complete with--

I'm sorry.

It was the goddess who addressed the tree, but Evan's heart pounded with recognition. If nothing else, surely the goddess wouldn't put him in this position without feeling the gravity of it herself. The ground itself seemed to shift beneath them, and Evan wasn't sure if he was relieved or terrified by the seeming acknowledgement.

But, I've brought you a gift.

That flared Evan's heartbeat even faster, the flash of a grin from the goddess igniting a flurry of thrill through his stomach. Evan tried to lift his head, intent to look at this tree, insofar as the trunk was the face of it. He wasn't keen on simply being talked about. If this tree were a human--or any animal, really--simply making eye contact would have been the recognition he craved at this point, and in the absence of that, he felt deeply unsettled, and couldn't help looking inwardly to the goddess in search of guidance, though he was obviously embarrassed and a bit grumpy to be seeking it.

((OOC: I figure, he'd (presumably?) need guidance whether or not the goddess lets him lift his head--he'd just be a little more grumpy/embarrassed if she keeps his head bowed))

[andrav]

Evan lifted their head from the bow to stare intently at the tree as though somewhat angry with it. Or her. Difficult to tell, really, and in reality, there was little difference. The goddess internally laughed, bringing one of Evan's hands to stroke across his bare shoulder before reaching out to touch the bark of the tree. The undulating movements of the bark reached forward to meet Evan's hand. The surface was rough and many faceted, but it formed and softened around Evan's touch, gently caressing him in welcome.

We'll need to climb, the goddess said, as much to Evan as to the tree, and the tree responded by creating footholds near its base, the branches shifting slightly lower to accommodate Evan with only moderate difficulty.

Sending a rush of compulsion toward the front half of Evan's body, the goddess urged him forward, eager to watch him exert his muscles again.

Climb until you see moonlight through the leaves, the goddess instructed gently.

((OOC: The tree is going to keep shifting as he climbs, simultaneously making it possible for him to keep going and greedily reaching out to caress him where it can. He might occasionally get caught between branches, for instance. Permission to make it fun for you as you write that up.))