Chapter 15

- Bronwen -

He has the most incredible cock. I already knew it would be special. Bryar and Piper have given us enough hints. But still, when I see Noker's hardness, I go quiet and just stare. Of course he has two. One is short and looks smooth, while the other is big and full of exotic features like bulbs, knots, spirals, and bands with different texture than the rest.

I have to remind myself to breathe. In any decent society, that thing would be classified as a grave threat to public morale. But this is Xren, where everything is either incredibly great or terrifyingly deadly. So it makes all kinds of sense the way he's equipped.

The moment I see it, my knees almost give in when the thought hits me: does he have the same tingling stuff going on with that as with his hands? If he does, and I'm right that he's like an electric eel, he just might kill me with pleasure. Because my primal, genetics-conserving mind is in no doubt: I am getting that thing inside me. And if it kills me, then it was worth a shot.

I turn my back to him and wade further out in the stream, letting him get his first glimpse of my naked butt. It's certainly big enough for him to not miss.

He comes in after me, and I innocently bend over to clean myself. The water is cool on my skin, but not so cold that it dampens the arousal. Squatting down, I clean myself properly all over.

Noker comes closer, hard cock bobbing from his midsection and casting a shadow of its own. "Shall I check if you're clean?"

"When I'm done," I promise. "Now, please clean the back."

He kneels down behind me and gently scoops water over my back, stroking it with big hands.

When that's done, I help him get clean too, sliding my hands all over his hard muscles and marveling at the combination of firmness, smoothness and the suede-like texture of his stripes.

I take his hand and wade back ashore. "Now get dry. Lie down."

He sits down on the grass, squinting up at the sun. "We will dry quickly."

"And I will help." I kneel beside him and use my hands to wipe the water off his skin. Delighted butterflies of anticipation flutter around in my stomach when I work my way down his front until my wrist happens to brush against his scandalous cock. "Sorry."

I'm not being subtle, but Noker is a male, and those will often need to get things spelled out for them?—

He takes my hand and pulls me up and closer, so I'm straddling his lower stomach and his manhood is pushing at my lower back. Taking hold behind my head, he pulls me close and places a light kiss on my mouth. "Then I will help you, too." He proceeds to kiss all over my face, squeezes water out of my hair, and practically licks my forehead. "See? All dry."

"Not all," I confide and reach behind me to gently grab his cock. "There is place only this can help."

His cock jumps in my hand and his bright yellow dinosaur eyes widen when he gets the meaning. "Oh…"

I'm practically shaking with arousal. No mortal girl can be expected to be this close to a mix of caveman and dinosaur and not be deeply affected. I've reached my limit. I can't take it anymore. I'm giving in to it, the way I should have back in the cave with the drums playing outside. But this, by the side of a clucking river, in the light from the alien sun, is perfectly fine.

"I will do it," I wheeze. "Is very big, and I am not." Grammar is not high on my list of priorities right now, but I'm serious. I trust Noker to not want to hurt me, but this will be his first time, too, and I can't be sure he'll be as careful as I need him to.

I slide forwards until I can place the tip at my entrance. It's thick, but not impossibly so. Testing with one finger, I find myself slick and ready.

"Will be slow, maybe," I warn him. "Is first time."

"We'll take our time," he rumbles.

I slide myself onto his rod, feeling resistance but pushing through. He fills me up, and there's a little bit of a burn, but it passes quickly. Encouraged, I keep going until he's as deep as I think he can get.

I stay there for a few seconds, getting used to the sensation of being stretched. And then there's a tingle. Deep inside, warm and light.

"Ohh," I exclaim as they keep coming, quickly building up to that sparkler effect that his fingers had on me. Except now, it's deep inside my womanly center where I feel them the most. I close my eyes and let my head fall back, just enjoying the unbelievable sensation of having a fountain of warm sparks inside.

"That's not slow," Noker growls. "But keep going."

Oh yes. I'm not done.

I lift myself up, sliding the cock out of me, but it's hard going because I just want to enjoy…

In one movement, Noker lifts me and changes our position so I'm on my back on the soft grass and he's above me, cock still inside. "You shouldn't do the work."

I lay my head back, feeling the rightness of it. I could have trusted him from the start.

I curl my legs around his waist, opening myself fully. "Take me."

Noker pushes in, slowly and firmly. I feel all the various features on his cock, but only in the background — the sense of being filled up and the tingles are far more important.

But then he starts to fuck me properly, and it all comes together. The movement is the key to the bulbs and knots, and the tingles soothe and caress deep inside. My whole pelvis feels like it's melting, churned to a golden liquid.

I arch my back and groan helplessly as I give myself over to pure sensation. I can't last long like this. It's all heating up so fast, the sparks are filling me and…

I twitch, hard. "Oh my God." There's something caressing my clit, with immense care and smoothness.

I remember his second cock. That must be it now, setting me off?—

Then it starts to tingle, too. And I lose all control as the bliss comes to get me. Twitching and screaming and keening, I come on Noker's half-dinosaur cock while he keeps thrusting, fast and deep.

I'm distantly aware that he grunts and jerks, too, stretching his arms above my head. There's a sharp crack and a flash as from lighting somewhere close.

"It's all right," Noker says soothingly. "We're safe."

I believe him totally, so I dive back into the blissful wave without worrying any more.

His weight is on top of me, his warmth and his safety, as I ride out the climax, wondering if I'll be able to walk when this is over.

Finally I look up at his face with unfocused eyes. "That was like thunder."

"There are no clouds in the sky," Noker says and slowly rolls us over so that I'm on top again. "Just a bang."

Relaxing completely, I just want to stay here forever with his alien cock inside me. "And what a bang."

We stay here for a long time before I recover enough to sit up while we eat a snack.

"What's that?" I ask. There's a rock on the ground, a round river rock that's cracked exactly down the middle.

"That was the bang you heard," Noker says and eats a berry.

"What happened?"

"I cracked it. Just for fun."

"Oh." I have no idea how anyone could crack a rock in half with only his hands, but Noker is incredibly strong and I'm not in the mood to think right now.

We lie there for a good while. I'm so relaxed and blissed out I start to tell him about my bakery idea, down to the design of the baking oven. "...but it not need be big. Just big enough, you know? To hold two loaves. Like this. And with flat table. Shelves for storing. Some trays. Some things for stirring and mixing." My vocabulary runs out.

"An oven," Noker ponders. "We only have a small iron forge."

I stretch luxuriously, enjoying the sun on my naked body. "Of course. That all the clan need."

We wait until I can trust my legs to carry me, and then we walk on. The combination of Noker's exotic features and his tingles is as close to magical as anything I've ever experienced. And then there's the rest of him… my mind is still filled with pink clouds, all kinds of pleasant chemicals flooding my bloodstream.

The sun sets and the jungle gets dark. It's never pitch black — there's always some luminous flowers and other light sources that I can't identify. But I'm happy Noker has his night vision and can spot dangers even now. We're not even slowing down much, as far as I can tell.

After a long walk he stops and puts one hand on his hip. "Here we are."

Looking around, I see nothing that looks any different from every other spot in the jungle. Except there is a faint smell of wood smoke in the air. "Are you sure?"

Noker looks up, and my gaze follows his eyes. There are dark shadows up there, round and somehow moving back and forth.

"Oh, okay," I say when I get it. "The platforms."

"Clansbrothers, please lower my platform," Noker calls softly into the air.

Right away there's a little whine as two of the shadows whizz down on ropes.

"Here you are," says a deep voice as a figure steps off one of them and over to the other one without touching the ground. "No need for Brak's platform?"

"He'll come home in a few days," Noker says as he places his backpack on the empty platform. "For now, it's just Bronwen and me."

I sense a lot of movement above us. Probably the Foundlings are all looking down to get a glimpse of the new woman.

"Greetings, Bronwen," the first Foundling says. "I'm Sprisk." Then he heaves on the rope and his platform zooms upwards.

"Greetings, Sprisk," I say to the empty spot of air where he just was.

"Step up," Noker says and steadies his platform with one hand. "We don't want to spend too much time on the ground here."

I grab hold of the rope and step onto the circle of wood. It moves and sways and twitches like a kayak in a storm, making me cling to the rope with both hands. "I don't like heights," I squeal.

"I know," Noker replies as he gets on himself. "But the higher we go, the safer we are. Sit down in the middle, and it won't feel so bad.

I do as he says, noticing no change at all. "Be careful, please!"

Noker grabs hold of the rope and pulls us up on some kind of pulley system that's probably really impressive, but right now I'm too busy closing my eyes and hanging on to care.

Noker exchanges a few soft words with other Foundlings as we zoom upwards. I hear friendly chuckles and jokes that I don't get.

Piper told me that the platforms dangle and twitch much less higher up, but I sure don't notice any difference. When Noker finally ties the rope to something above us, I hear the clan's voices way below. The constant, muted hiss from the jungle is also less loud up here, reminding me of my own cave in the Borok village. Except there's a great deal of creaking and cracking coming from the platform, the rope, and the pulley.

I open one eye. "Is safe?"

"I will keep you safe," Noker says and sits down. "The platform is solid, and the rope is much better than your rope ladder in the village."

I cling to the rope with both hands. "What happens if rope breaks?"

"I've never seen this rope snap," he tells me, and I can hear his frown more than see it. "But I will attach another rope for safety." He opens a compartment built into the platform floor and takes out a length of rope, then ties it to the thick tree branch above us and the other end to the point where the pyramid of ropes that holds the platform up come together in a knot. "There. It's not necessary, but you can feel safe now."

I don't. "What happens if tree breaks? Or these ropes?"

He chuckles and embraces me. "You're safer now than you've ever been on Xren."

Which isn't saying much, but it does help me relax. Below us there's only darkness, so I mercifully can't tell how high up we are.

Noker opens his backpack and places both food and drink on the platform. "Ah. Try this from the Borok tribe. It's not as good as ours, but it's drinkable." He holds an open pot out to me, and it smells of frit.

Well, it might make me feel less panicky. I let go of the ropes with one hand and take a sip of the fruit wine. "Is not bad."

Noker bites into a piece of grilled meat. "They make good food in the Borok tribe. Every meal at the common table is a feast—" He goes quiet and lifts his head as if listening.

"Enemies!" comes a quick call from below us.

I stiffen. Noker puts one massive hand on my forearm. "Men. We must be quiet."

The only thing I hear is the hiss from the jungle and the creaks from the giant trees around us.

Then there are low voices below. I can't hear the words, but those are definitely cavemen.

"Outcasts," Noker whispers into my ear. "Hunters from a tribe wouldn't be out at night."

There's more than two voices, but they don't sound too excited, and I don't think they know they're passing through a Foundling camp. But this is a clan made up of both men and boys, including babies. If only one of them decides to make a sound, the game might be up.

Just when they pass under us, the voices stop. Noker tenses up beside me and slowly grabs his spear.

My heart beats like crazy, and I barely dare to breathe. I know enough about the outcasts to not want to have anything to do with them.

Several breathless seconds go by before the voices continue, still low and calm as they slowly distance themselves from the camp.

Noker lets go of his spear. "It's rare for anyone to pass this close to the camp. But we haven't made the ground around us as uninviting as we normally do, because we know we won't be here much longer."

We sit in silence for another few minutes.

Noker leans in. "I can see them. Five men, standing still not far away. I will try to lure them away so they don't set up a night camp this close to us. Sit still." He gets to his feet, quietly unties the ropes, and slowly lowers the platform down to the other ones. "Bronwen, you can keep brother Dexer company." He helps me crawl over to another platform, where strong arms grab me and wordlessly position me so the platform is steady.

Then Noker is gone.

"Greetings, Bronwen," Dexer whispers, staring past me with his blind eyes. "Clansbrother Noker has work to do. But you can sleep as well here as on his platform."

"Thank you," I whisper. But I don't like Noker being alone down there with five outcasts.

At least an hour goes by without any sign of Noker. Below us, the jungle is quiet.

Dexer's platform sways gently back and forth, creaking like a wooden ship.

"It may be a while yet," he whispers and hands me a folded-up piece of dinosaur leather. "He must get the outcasts as far away as possible."

I get the hint, so I lie down and curl up on the rough wood with my head on the leather bundle. I know I won't be able to get any sleep.

When I wake up, the jungle is getting lighter and the night sounds have given way to the louder daytime noises.

Dexer is sitting beside me, blind eyes staring up at the treetops. "He's not back yet."

I inch closer to the edge of the platform and peer down. I instantly regret it — the platform is only halfway up to the treetops, but still really high up from the ground. I grab onto two ropes and cling to them.

There are more platforms hanging above us and below, maybe two dozen of them. Some have little huts on them, which I know from Piper's story are there to dampen the cries from the small babies inside. There are men sitting or lying on each platform, sometimes two, sometimes three or four boys. They all sway gently back and forth, and most of the Foundlings are asleep.

"Can we go down?" I ask carefully. "I have to… hmm."

Dexer gets it right away. "Of course. I haven't heard any danger for a while." With fingers as sure as if he had perfect eyesight, he undoes the knots, grabs the rope, and lowers us down fast. I step down on the ground and just stand there, getting used to the lack of swaying down here.

I take care of my errand and return. More of the Foundlings are waking up, and some are on the way down.

I'm not too interested in going up again with Dexer. There's nothing to do up there except worry about Noker.

A big man steps off his platform. It's Sprisk, the third Foundling who's half dinosaur.

"Greetings, Bronwen," he says quietly. "Brother Noker has not returned yet." He has to speak carefully so that the spikes on his chin and jaw don't strike his chest.

"He been gone for a long time," I point out. "Is he in danger?"

Sprisk looks into the jungle. "We've heard no sounds of battle. But he should have been back by now."

"Should we look for him?"

Sprisk thinks about it. "We have nobody to send. I must stay here and guard the camp in case the outcasts return."

I can see why. Most of the men in the clan have some disability that might make them less than ideal fighters. Normally, Sprisk would have the help of Brak and Noker for the toughest tasks, but now he's been having to do it all for several days.

"I'll go," I offer in an impulse that I know might kill me. But sitting here just waiting is not good for my anxiety.

Sprisk looks me up and down. "Do you have a weapon?"

I draw my knife and show it to him. "This is sharp enough."

"Noker would never forgive me if I let you go into the jungle alone and with no weapon," he rumbles. "It is far too dangerous, even for one of us with a weapon."

"Lend me a spear," I suggest. "Someone has to look for him. He may lie injured in woods. I know what to do."

He frowns. "Are you a healer?"

"Yes," I lie. "I know the plants and… everything." I'm genuinely worried now. It might be that Noker is about to die from some wound. And I know there's quicksand in this jungle. He may actually need someone to rescue him.

Sprisk thinks about it, then takes hold of Dexer's platform. "You are indeed brave, Bronwen. But for a small woman to go into the woods alone is too dangerous. I will send someone else. Dexer, take her high up, please."

I back off two paces. "Noker has saved me many times. I owe him."

"We all owe Noker and Brak our lives many times over," Sprisk snorts. "Someone else shall go."

I spin around and run for the edge of the jungle. I can't leave this to Noker. The Foundlings are kind, but they're not great in the woods, from what I hear. Not that I'm much better, but after years of living in tunnels, I'm pretty good at staying out of sight.

Nobody comes after me, so I slow down to a light jog. I know which way Noker went, but Sprisk has a point. I would feel much better with a real weapon, and not just a knife. The jungle is teeming with raptors and terrible insects. But I also have a point — I do owe him.

And I have been walking through the jungle with him for a whole day. I know a few things about how he would move through the woods.

As I walk on, I'm more and more struck by the craziness of my choice. "Not the smartest thing I've done," I mutter to myself, glancing up at the mighty, dark trees that tower over me. "But I do like the guy."

I'm on a hair trigger. Whenever I spot even the slightest hint of movement, I dart behind a root or crawl under a bush or hide behind a boulder. Twice I hide from predators — once a small raptor that doesn't see me, and once a centipede the size of a couch, with black mandibles like scythes. I don't stay hidden long each time. I reason that if I'm scared of the things, then every other creature is, too. So walking in the predator's tracks may save me some trouble. The raptor especially is going in my direction, and I follow it for a good while, making sure it can't see me. It never stops and looks behind itself, not expecting anyone to be crazy enough to stay this close to it.

When the raptor gets away from me, I keep going and cross paths with several smaller creatures that I know the cavemen hunt. Those aren't all that shy, but it has to be a good sign for my stealth that they don't notice me at all. If I had a better weapon, I could actually hunt them.

I go through the woods until about noon without a pause. Then I stop and pick some berries as my lunch. There's been no sign of Noker, and I start to think about returning to the Foundling camp. Maybe he's there now, worried about me?—

There's a rustle in the bushes behind me. I slowly turn, not wanting to make any sudden movements that might alarm or alert a predator. My hand seeks the hilt of my knife and pulls it halfway out of its sheath.

"Woman Bronwen," says a bright, eager voice. "I'm here to help you."