Considering the role sexuality plays in the character of both Aleena and Zed, it should come as no surprise there's some sexual overtones in this one, which debuts Zed.

Zed’s gone on to do some impressive co writes and solos already, and his debut, as you’re about to see, establishes him as a character worth following.

 
(note, this takes place chronologically before Chapter 3's Rollover, but after Chapter 2's Finale)
(Material of a sexual nature)

Stealthy as any predator native to his environment, Zed prowled through the light forest looking for a second wild boar to take down and join the first boar killed in Zed’s sackcloth. Its meat would be carried back to repay those who had helped him when he first reached the Weeping Tree. That had been one of the most embarrassing entrances Zed could recollect, with nothing but feathers barely hiding his parts from all eyes looking at him in amusement and astonishment. At least he had managed not to stutter under the pressure, when he spoke to the proprietress to request assistance.

Zed often found that the hunt could be boring at the start, going through the monotone task of looking for animal tracks, and discerning movements and sounds in the underbrush. To pass the time, Zed went over who he had met and gotten supplies from, who he had repaid, and who he had yet to recompense.

"The inn proprietress got those 3 large birds and two bottles I mixed and transformed from those lonely, poor-grade liquors she had wasting away on dusty shelves. The seamstress... thank god for small favors, like knowing how to deliver a child, the daughter being there to explain to her bewildered and livid father who I was, and why I had no pants on. Heh heh... note to self: learn when to say "no" to almost-adolescent females; though it was otherwise something new, entertaining for a bachelorette party. . . Now just the blacksmith’s preferred method of pay for 2 more days (damn, she’s got a twisted mind.. rawr..), and.. OWW flying fish in a black sky, what the Cal%^&$??!!"

Zed swore wildly as he lost his night vision from the sudden lightning blue flash, and dropped his hunting spear to swap with his detachable sword-spear, while taking up an open defensive stance. He had no idea what had just occurred but he prepared a defense while awaiting any other surprises to come.

Aleena's suit sensors were momentarily blinded. A bright blue-white flash of energy had erupted across the battlefield as Konall picked up his sister's blade. The fiend Kwadlin had fallen dead at his feet, yet the battle was not over. Aleena climbed to her feet and readied herself to resume the fight - many foes yet lived who would be certainly willing to dispatch the incapacitated.

The pulse of energy faded, and Aleena expected the sun-dried battlefield littered with the dead and dying. But what she saw was darkness. Her suit sensors quickly compensated, bringing up the low-light vision gain - she stood in a forest. Grass crunched beneath her boots and the space elf quickly looked around for members of her party or for enemies to defeat. As adrenaline drained, she realized she was alone. And yet, not so much! Unlike in mirrorworld, her suit could detect the faint noise of space elven communications traffic. It was barely noticeable above the cosmic background radiation, but it was there. Its presence comforted her that while her people were unreachable, she at least had a chance.

Zed crashed through the bushes and emerged in a small clearing where he thought he saw the flash of light. He thanked his ability to see in the dark as he avoided roots and stumps and other hazards of the underbrush, but stopped suddenly as he made out a figure, clad in black, in the middle of the clearing. His eyes shifted upward, rolling over the clearly feminine and athletic form. But the head of this figure was smooth and rounded; its face bore six glowing red eyes arranged in two vertical lines, and those eyes were focused in his direction.

Zed let out a whistle as he tried to grasp who was this mysterious figure that had shown up from out of nowhere. "Greetings, miss - whether you be a sauceror, divine being, or 'alien' I believe is the word? I mean you no harm unless you wish that upon me. Do you speak?"

"What country this?" asked Aleena. She examined the man closely. She noted a strange chemical trace about him - a cologne, perhaps? But he was otherwise human.

"This is the outskirts of the Degrassi outpost - the town is about three hours away by foot by my estimate. Would you prefer speaking in another tongue? I know a few dialects of the Loathing Kingdom. Also, you haven't stated whether I should treat you as a friend, foe, or new acquaintance..." Zed was pleased to deal with a female, as most times he wasn't set up by them; or they said it was a misunderstanding, and he adapted. Although, Zed found it slightly bewildering about the number of 'misunderstandings' he had been involved in since he arrived in Loathing Kingdom . . .

The lithe figure paused a moment to take her helmet off, lifting it from her shoulders and attaching it to her hip. Her sunshine yellow hair spilled from its confines, tied up into a ponytail. Moonlight reflected from her curves and highlighted her graceful figure as she moved and eventually, she smiled. "Good. I am a friend, and I must make my way to Seaside Town. I am called Aleena."

Zed took a few minutes before his reply - it was a rare sight seeing such a beautiful woman out in the forest, and in such a manner of armor that was unlike any he could compare to. He thought to himself, <Someone needs to market such catsuits - the way they hug her features, while seeming to breathe.. the helmet though, to keep such a face from the naked eye..>
Eventually Zed gathered his wits and replied, putting away his weapon to show that he took Aleena at her word. "Well met, Aleena - you may call me Zed. I believe the distance to Seaside Town would be a few miles to the north, and east a bit from the outpost, according to the market travellers. Would you like any supplies before you go along your way? I have none on me, but my campsite is a few minutes back."

The elf approached slowly, more for the mystery factor than a sense of caution. In this setting, where she felt most at home, her footfalls were entirely silent. She raised an eyebrow as the man, Zed, seemed to try to get everything out at once. "Pleased to meet you," she finally replied. She thought for a moment. "Yes, I think I could use a rest. Please, lead on."

Zed took a deep and measured breath, to try to forestall another incident of stammering when his heart rate skyrocketed so suddenly. He nodded to Aleena, and turned towards the direction he had left his cloak, travelling supplies, and sack cloth. "I believe you can see well enough that I wouldn't need to gesture around obstacles? Also, I apologize but it might be best if you kept some distance from me. There's an unusual family trait that the males in my family have, and I'd rather explain it after you're more comfortable and rested. Do you usually appear from nowhere?"

Aleena nodded, and stifled a giggle. "To answer your questions, I can see perfectly. I am slightly curious about your trait, but I respect your privacy. And only sometimes, but especially when there's handsome, shirtless guys about."

Zed almost misstepped at Aleena's comment, but corrected his pace easily enough. "Umm.. thank you? There's only some dried meats and grains to share, unless you can cook. My attempts seem to disrespect the meaning of 'cooked food'; at least according to past friends. I can however start a fire, and offer my cloak if you need something to rest on. I'd just expected to finish my hunt, rest, and set off in the morning."

"Well, you definitely found something. I can cook if you are hungry, but otherwise I'm not in any need. By the way, are you wearing cologne? It smells good."

"I can wait as well - to be honest, I wouldn't mind sharing my boar slabs, but they were to repay some folks I'm indebted to. Uh, not cologne, and maybe I should explain that family trait now while you've got some control left. Ah, here's my campsite, take a seat." Zed placed his polearms against a tree, and tried to keep his distance while moving his stash of firewood onto the remaining embers of his previous fire.

Aleena gave the firewood a kick and it quickly roared into flame. She sat on the grass across the fire from Zed, legs to one side. "While I've got some control left? Is that a strange way of hitting on me?"

Zed chuckled; "No, usually I don't need to use my words to charm someone, so I've never felt the need to learn. Some generations ago, an ancestor of mine was asked to 'pay homage' to a fertility goddess, if you get my drift. While he accomplished his goal for the most part and gained her favor for his village, my ancestor's personal reward was unique. So far, all the males from his line have this effect of encouraging loosened inhibitions to women of age, which..." Zed trailed off, as he didn't want to relate all the highlights and drama that his condition had brought about since he came of age. There were places he still couldn't visit without causing some level of chaos from either sex on entry...

"Ha, an altogether humorous, if somewhat creepy and unlikely story. But there is perhaps something I'd like to see."

Aleena got back on her feet and slinked cat-like around the fire to Zed. She reached towards him and caressed a gloved finger across his cheek. Zed always enjoyed the start of what he called 'the game of fire', and reached out to grab Aleena's arm for the placing of a mocking kiss. "Are you sure you're ready for this dare, Aleena? You're overdressed if I win." His eyes smoldered at he gazed at the seductive elf standing over him.

Aleena laughed softly, "Oh, you would not understand. My interest in you is more scientific than romantic." In truth, she did not expect him to know the details of recent days, nor of her advanced science. It would take too long to explain anyway. As her suit had analyzed his 'scent', she noted its chemical similarity to the drug Kwadlin had used on her. The same chemical that made her center burn. It was an interesting and altogether quite unexpected link.

She made a choice. She pushed Zed to the ground, pinning his wrists and climbing astride his hips. "Have you knowledge of one called Kwadlin? Or of Philler?" she asked.

Zed looked up at her confused by her sudden aggressiveness - he had some experience with role-playing and rough-housing during the lead-up to sex, but he could not see how he should respond if this were one of those moments. "I'm unfamiliar with those names, my lady, and I've already said I mean you no harm unless violence is inevitable. 'Kwadlin' may met one of my kinsmates though, if you think I should have..."

Aleena released one of the man's wrists. Suddenly a blade sprang forth from her own wrist. Two feet long and of deadly sharpness. She pressed it against his neck. "You lie. I get that you find this sexy, but I am deadly serious. Tell me the truth."

She ignored the manhood pressed against her.

Zed took pause in the fact that a) this was really the wrong time to be this painfully aroused by someone so vexed at him and with a blade drawn; and b) he could not swear his honesty to her in a fashion without giving away his land of origin. Finally he decided: <So be it, if this should result in my forced march home, I could live with that. I couldn't face dying being thought a dishonest man.> "I so swear to you, by my goddess Calypso of Ireaca, that I know not who you speak of. I was born this way, as were all my family the Polished."

Aleena withdrew her blade and it vanished back into her suit. She leaned back, sitting upright on Zed's hips. "You speak truth," as if he didn't already know that. "I apologize, I wished to provoke an emotional response to judge whether you were knowingly part of another Philler gang plot."

Zed's glare to Aleena's explanation could have ignited a fire as easily as Aleena had before. "I don't regularly practise dishonesty, and I have no reason to engage in crimes and wanton destruction like a gang member. Plus woman, I'd really appreciate if you would remove yourself now, or finish what you started, intentionally or not."

Aleena pressed Zed's shoulders back against the grass once more, but this time, she was gentle. She lay atop him, hands working his trousers, freeing his manhood from the confines of his pants. She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and whispered softly her explanation. "Please understand, Zed. That Kwadlin had forced a drug upon me that is very much like your scent. And that it is your scent and the remnants of the drug inside me that are driving me wild."

Zed groaned as Aleena spoke, while deftly freeing him from the painful confines that his pants had become. "Aleena, I told you before - this much is no surprise to me. Maybe there are mitigating circumstances, but the end of the game remains the same. Speaking of which, do you mind if I get a little wilder than this?"

The elf grinned, her cysuit melting away leaving both naked. "Please," was all she said, as she wrapped her arms around the man. Gently, she tilted her hips until his shaft was nuzzled between her thighs and kissing her entrance. Her breath grew hot and heavy with a sudden, soft gasp of pleasure. Her little noise was breathtakingly sensual.

Zed grinned. "Then try not to break," he whispered in response, as he brought up his hands to run along Aleena's sides. He began his particular form of service to his fertility goddess in earnest. Zed hoped that Aleena would not let up until the dawn...

. . .

Aleena stretched and smiled, carefully working her limbs and testing her flexibility. Her cysuit had returned to cover her body once again. The dawn highlighted the shine of her suit and the perfect curves of her breasts and hips. "Impressive, for a human."

Zed could only watch as her black suit changed in color as she sprouted large silvery wings from her back. She gave him a wink and leapt into the air like a bird, heading north east - to Seaside Town.

Zed laid back, worn out and smugly contented in his exhausted state - most times, he was lucky to have someone last a third as long before needing a break. He remarked to the wind, while following Aleena's flight: "Obviously, I need to meet more elves. Wonder if they all like it rough as her... and as a 'S' or a 'M'..." As Zed stretched out before falling into a daze, he wondered whether he should pay the last of his debts as he had planned to through his hunts, or whether the last debtor would accept 'alternate forms of payment'. Mostly wishful thinking on Zed's part, but it made him smile as he closed his eyes . . .

And with that, we’re off! As you can see, Aleena’s returned to the world. Next up, we’ll dip into the Feline Empire to see what’s up with Kadlin, Catrina and a few others. Although we only logged eight roleplays total in the limited roleplaying time, most of them are of exceptional quality.