Written Wonderland

Evan's sigh hit Dehaljadrun's ears like music. It rolled through her body, further exciting every nerve as the sound traveled the length of it. She never grew tired of this. She saw his fantasies he had of her now cascade through his mind, and she could feel how intensely her body was reacting to them. If she could only get him alone... Not that she was above fucking him publicly, but the puppet was suddenly a distraction. Too easy. Not enough play. 

And maybe the captain would crawl right on over here on his own. She half-hoped for it when his hands hit the grass, but then he met her eyes with that determination, and everything was so plain on his face. All his desire, all his urges, and the fight in him. It was delicious that he was still withstanding her. How long could he last? Was he enjoying defying her? The thought sent another wave of pleasure through her body, though it frustrated her. 

When he spoke again, his voice rippled over her highly sensitive body, caressing every curve. It felt as though he were worshiping her with his voice, and the fact that the words themselves were so in line with the negotiation, that he was not thrown off at all... The goddess allowed herself to get onto her knees again, her body open and fragrant and dripping, alternating her open palms as she ran one down the length of her shaft so slowly, tantalizingly with a wild, lustful grin before doing the same with the other. 

"Release the other men?" she said with an obviously faked innocence, "but then who would keep me company?"

--

Xavier heard Evan's sigh and cocked his head when he looked over to see Evan fall onto his hands. On top of all the confusing thoughts of Evan and the goddess swirling in Xavier's mind, he now had warring emotions of worry and... elation? Evan wasn't deterred by the cock? Granted, Seth didn't seem to be either, but it didn't take a genius to see that Seth was clearly repressed as shit, especially if the growl was anything to go by. 

Then Evan's voice. Xavier had never heard him speak that way. Xavier was suddenly much less in danger of crossing the inner circle and more in danger of tackling his captain there on the spot the same way the goddess imagined them falling off that horse. The tension palpable in the moment was enormous, and he was uncertain if he had ever felt this aroused in his life.

--

The breath coming out of Seth's mouth was hot and heavy and fast. He was grateful that the goddess seemed to have backed off him, but he was also starting to process that she told him he would not be much use to her, his brain having slowed way down in an attempt to keep him from disgracing the situation. But somehow realizing that was even worse than holding himself back. He wanted her to want him and grew angry that she was so focused on Evan now. He wanted, if he was honest, to have her attack him all over again. Please, he begged in his mind. Please come into me again. I can't stand it anymore. Please. 

Evan willed his fingers to relax again, and he slowly sat himself back on his cushion as the goddess knelt down in front of him. He settled into an impeccably straight posture, his chin held high as he held his gaze on her eyes, managing in this instance not to be distracted by the movement of her hands down her body. Appealing to her pride wouldn't be quite enough to get Evan everything he wanted, it seemed, which he wasn't particularly surprised about, but it had been worth a shot. Still, it meant he had to shift tactics slightly, and he wasn't immediately sure which way to go.

He took this moment to regard each of his soldiers out of the corner of his eye, recognizing that their states was one thing the goddess had managed to distract him from over the course of the past few exchanges. Although after briefly checking in, Evan almost wondered if that had been for the better, though. Once he was paying attention to his soldiers, he felt Xavier's arousal and Seth's frustration rather palpably, and he fucking loved it. He couldn't stop another grin from settling on his face, this one prideful as fuck. Oh, somewhere down in his chest was an inkling of fluster over this as well, for sure - some acknowledgement that today would inescapably color his relationships with the soldiers going forward, moreso than just the brief embarrassing moment with Seth in the night. Xavier and Seth were both witnessing a side of Evan that he'd kept fairly tightly under wraps, only letting out for brief spurts when he was alone with himself, or perhaps the occasional dalliance he could get away with outside their ranks. He hadn't given himself permission to be this openly sexual in years - ever? - and by gods, this felt good.

The captain's eyes refocused on the goddess, and he brought his own hand up to run its fingers down the center of his neck and then to the side over his collar bone, while his other hand brushed over his hip and around to his inner thigh, his hips rocking forward to emphasize the visible bulge in his pants just to the side of where his hand caressed. His eye contact would hint that this display was mostly for the goddess' benefit - and it was - but he'd be lying if he said he didn't relish the thought of how his soldiers might react. Reckless and irresponsible of him to indulge in? Maybe, but the part of his brain that was driving at this point absolutely did not fucking care.

"You can keep the Shel'ti men." He replied, his voice this time daring to sound commanding, and his grin cocky as fuck. "But I want all of our soldiers back."

The goddess watched the captain bring his hand up to his neck, and she had to briefly close her eyes as they grew heavy with desire. To bite into that neck while he touches himself... It became absolutely obvious that the captain was putting himself on display as his hand slid down his torso and around his thigh, his hips thrusting... she wanted him. She wanted everything about this one. In fact, Dehaljadrun found herself leaning forward, drawn in by the gravity of his pride and tension and profound ability to... keep frustrating her. 

Gods be damned, that woke her up. She was still negotiating here. But that did give her an idea. 

"I'll give your men back," she said, jutting her chin out slightly and turning her body slightly toward Seth, "if you take their place." She smiled with parted lips and narrowed her eyes at him. With one hand still stroking her cock, her right hand moved up and encircled her breast so Seth could watch. She kept an eye on him in her peripherals, and his shaking intensified. 

--

Xavier could not help that his mouth dropped open, his eyes practically glued on Evan, and the goddess was fucking egging Xavier on... It was too much arousal to have in one short body. Good lords, between the goddess' cock rubbing and Evan's hand around his inner thigh, his brain was about to explode. Nope. Come back later. Body's taking over, might not come back. His own pants were growing uncomfortably tight as he continued to watch in shock and delight. He was only partially relieved when the goddess turned part of the way from him, but that only made her less of a distraction from Evan who was... who was... wait, did he say she could keep the Shel'ti? Well, I guess it was unlikely they were going to get everyone back, and Xavier, too, valued their own men more than the Shel'ti, but he couldn't help but be surprised. That thought didn't last long, though, as Xavier squeezed his eyes shut briefly to try to shut out the thoughts that he wasn't even sure were the goddess' anymore...tumbling down off that horse. Feeling the bulge in Evan's pants. Breathing underwater. Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghfph. 

"Hm." Evan tilted his head slightly, an eyebrow raising in something like amusement. One some level, the goddess was offering something he'd fantasized about a million times - being hers, to be toyed with and tormented as she desired. Not only that, but becoming so by her specific option, so he could at least relish the idea that she'd chosen him as he endured whatever she threw at him-- or mercilessly withheld. He did have to practically bite his tongue not to say yes, but he didn't let that spoil his grin. He was fully in this game now, and loving every fucking second of it.

"I'm not here to be a martyr." He said coolly, his hands softly withdrawing from his body and crossing calmly over his chest, his posture still tall and positively cocksure. "I'm here to secure the success of our cause, and my sword wouldn't be any small loss to it."

Some part of his brain might've registered that Seth's state might be getting dangerous, but that part had long since fallen to the depths of his mind, rather fully overrun by parts of him that barely registered the concept of danger in the first place-- or, at most, recognized it as a thing to stare down with a grin, which was absolutely happening right now. The captain's silver-blue eyes were gleaming with anticipation, practically daring the goddess to do something thrilling.

((OOC: Meanwhile, in the now apparently helpless reasonable part of Evan's brain: "Fuck."))

The goddess laughed quietly, as if she had expected this. "No one said anything about being a martyr. Five nights, one for each of the soldiers." 

Oh, well fuck, that sounded perfectly doable, if not downright enjoyable. A more cautious part of his brain did somehow manage to claw its way up enough to at least make him stop and think for a second, though. Obviously, the experience would be something to endure, given the states of the men who were going through it. Caution wasn't even necessarily arguing that this wasn't a deal to take, though, just that there were considerations to make before blithely diving into it like it was just another daydream to wank to. His grin subdued itself a bit, replacing its more reckless overtones with a bit more serious business - though, a grin it did remain.

"What guarantee would I have that you'd actually let me go?"

His posture was starting to lean forward slightly, though, and the eyebrow that had been quirked in amusement was now sitting rather close to poised as intrigued; it wouldn't be difficult to guess that a 'yes' from the captain was well within reach.

Dehaljadrun relished in the captain's changing expressions and felt like she very nearly had exactly everything she wanted. She tossed a look behind her for the first time since she arrived--having to put her hands on the ground to do so--and waited for the priestess to speak. The goddess knew it would be impossible to convince the captain of his own safety herself.

"For an arrangement such as this," the priestess began, "I can give you a one-way talisman that will open a portal to come back here from where the goddess currently resides. Though, it will not work in the upper realms or in the land of death. As long as you keep it with you, you will always have the option to leave." The crone pulled one such talisman, about the size of a skipping rock, out of one of her robe pockets and held it out so Evan could see it. The talisman was artfully crafted in that it featured maze-like carvings of both wood and bone intricately worked into each other and held together with hardened maple resin and sanded so it was completely flat. 

The crone continued, saying, "If you physically travel to the land of mist, your mind and body will not be split between two places, and there is much less risk of ending up like men the goddess has...chosen...before. I assume that's what she has in mind." The crone remembered to choose her words carefully around the goddess lest she anger her. 

The goddess nodded slowly and turned back around, raising an eyebrow at Evan expectantly. She was still on all fours, bowing her back so she almost looked catlike, and her spine swayed seductively. 

--

Xavier was grateful that the crone finally spoke because it gave him something else to focus on. For at least the moment, he came out from underneath the waters in his mind and got a breath. Looking at Seth, though, it didn't appear that anything was going to distract him. 

Y'know, a very large portion of Evan's mind had completely forgotten the crone was even there, and for half a moment, he was confused as to why the goddess was turning around. There might've been a small but sudden rush of embarrassment as it sank in that his displays had been visible to the priestess, but she at least seemed harmless enough. Not to mention, being a priestess for this particular goddess, Evan guessed she'd likely seen similar displays before, so it also wasn't like he had to feel any guilt for being raunchy in front of a lady who couldn't handle it - certainly no more guilt than he ought feel for doing it in front of his men in the first place, anyhow. Evan only tasted enough of that to know it'd hit him later, but... well, probably quite a few things would be hitting him later about all this, and it wouldn't do any good to worry about those now, or to get lost in them prematurely.

In any case, the priestess spoke plainly enough about the proposed arrangement, and seemed straightforward as ever. For better or for worse, Evan trusted her, even as a part of him felt like this setup sounded too good to be true. It really seemed like they were just in the gritty details, at this point. Except...

"Then I think we're just left with the matter of what happens after killing Uranel; will you be willing to help ensure our forces take power? The king's death in a vaccuum might leave a hell of a mess for more good men to die cleaning up - and the sooner we can restore order, the sooner your temples can be rebuilt."

It seemed likely enough to Evan that the king's death would be sufficient for their purposes, but while he was here negotiating with god, he figured he'd get all he could. Besides, wouldn't that just take the cake, if after it all they still lost the throne to some other opportunistic shits that were left in Uranel's wake? No, if he could swing the goddess' investment not just in Uranel's death but in Mizu's victory, that was well worth further negotiation, as far as he could take it.

The goddess glared at the captain as though he had taken something away from her. Getting her desires satisfied had felt right around the corner; why were they still negotiating? Patience was not something she had practice with, but it was a fair question. 

"From what I've gathered from your men," the goddess looked at Seth pointedly and blew him a kiss, "it sounds like you plan to put the king's son on the throne. I want to make sure that happens. It will come down to timing. You move your armies into place and take care of the bindings in the land of the dead. When you are ready to attack, I will kill the king. And in the meantime, you're my plaything." At this Dehaljadrun grinned wildly and sat back up, arms folded under her breasts. "And I'll give one man back for every night you spend with me."

The goddess looked up at the sky for a moment ponderously and then added, "If you find yourself needing more troops, you might just have to come back with more offerings." Her grin somehow became even more mischievous. 

Evan was unperturbed by the goddess' glare - if anything, it might have been strangely gratifying. He kept on his mostly serious expression as she explained her stance on their victory and what it would take, though in his chest a well of excitement was building. She wanted them to win. From here on out, they did have a fucking god on their side. He'd just have to make sure Mizu believed it so she'd be willing to move the troops... surely getting the men back would be sufficient proof?

The captain was drawn out of his tactical train of thought at the word 'plaything', his grin widening again before his brain had even quite caught back up. Sure, a part of him was very much so experiencing some fear about what his arrangement with the goddess would really entail, but... well, the part of him driving at the moment would say that was a feature.

"Sounds like we have a deal, then." the captain nearly purred as he leaned forward again, this time his hands settling themselves down on the grass slowly and sensually, entirely in control. His eyes were intently focused and aroused, almost like a predator ready to strike.

"How exactly does one travel to the land of myst?"