Champion, Chapter 19: Dreams Aloft

AidanThe RealmsFirstday, 3rd week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1NightThe Lord's Quarters, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

"So, your new spell lets you control the dreams of anyone you have met?" Brighid asked Aidan over dinner.

"That's what it says," he agreed. "It's supposed to be more effective with people I know better."

"Hmm," his lover mused. She bit her lip, then looked at him. "You realize that you have met the Brighaid, right? Even if you discount the dream-realm They brought you to, They manifested for you when you fought the Taig."

Aidan stared at Brighid, stunned. "How—would—would that work?"

The redhead shrugged. "I do not know. Do divinities dream? They met you in a dream before, does that count? And even if They do, it seems unlikely that you would be able to have any control that They do not cede to you with a level 5 spell. But still..."

"Still," Aidan agreed. "Still indeed. It almost feels too audacious to attempt. I think I'll keep that one in my back pocket for now, but still... Thank you, love. That would never have crossed my mind."

Brighid gave him a dazzling smile. "You are welcome. Now, are you ready to tell our little dove how much we miss her?"

"I don't know," Aidan teased, "I don't feel very tired yet. Maybe there's something you could do to help me with that?"

"I think I can manage that," Brighid replied with a smirk.

AidanThe DreamlandsSunnild's Dream

Aidan was flying. After a moment of panic, he registered the soft, warm body pressed against his back and the arms wrapped around his chest and waist. He relaxed and reached around behind himself to grasp Sunnild's butt.

"Ah!" she gasped in his ear. "Don't do that so suddenly! I might drop ya!"

"Oh?" Aidan smirked. "So if I don't do it suddenly, it's alright?" He kneaded the firm muscles beneath his hands.

Sunnild moaned, and her arms tightened around him. "If I say yes, yer gonna do that the entire way, aren't ya?"

"Well, this position is a little awkward," Aidan mused. "It'd be better like this." He concentrated and, a heartbeat later, he was facing toward Sunnild instead of away from her. "Ah, much better."

"Eep!" The harpy squeaked in surprise, then moaned again. "Yer right, that is better." Sunnild's legs tangled with his, giving her the leverage to rub her groin against him.

"Sunnild," Aidan asked with a laugh, "why are we naked? Were you planning to do something naughty to me in your dream?"

"Wasn't," she panted. "Am now. Yer fault. Wait, dream?"

"Yes, this is a dream. I've been sharing your dreams since you left. I just got a new spell that gives me a little control over them, so now I can actually talk to you."

"And tease me," she moaned, still rubbing against him.

"And tease you," Aidan laughed his agreement. "I can't help it; you're too fun to tease, my little dove."

"If I didn't have to hold onto ya, I'd smack ya fer that," Sunnild grumbled.

"You don't. Dream, remember? I can fly here just as well as you can."

"Ya sure?"

"Pretty sure," Aidan hedged. "And if not, it's still just a dream."

Suddenly, he was falling. Sunnild shrunk rapidly above him, and panic filled Aidan for just a moment before he exerted his will on the environment. He turned his plummet into a slow fall, then swooped upward to hover in front of Sunnild. He took a second to admire her naked body before nudging himself forward and taking her into his arms. The dream took care of making sure his embrace didn't interfere with the wings beating behind her back.

Sunnild snuggled closer, wrapping herself around Aidan and nuzzling his shoulder. "I miss you," she told him. "I love you."

Aidan swallowed, throat suddenly tight with emotion. "I—" love you "—miss you too, little dove. Brighid misses you even more than I do, I think. She's been working late and coming to bed tired. I—when are you coming back to us?"

Sunnild made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat and pressed even tighter against Aidan's chest. "Soon. Flight Major Osgyth is making me take extra classes, but I think it's almost done." She shifted her wings, stretching them out and locking them in place, and the pair of them started to glide. "It better be," she added with a giggle, "I think I am about at the limit of what I can handle. Never was much for book learning."

Aidan chuckled and ran his fingers through the harpy's downy crest feathers. "You and Brighid can commiserate over that. She's terrible about that kind of thing; I can't get her to read a book with anything short of a direct command."

"Mm," Sunnild agreed. "Rather be doing than reading about it."

"So, your leaders have agreed to my deal?"

"Mm-hmm," Sunnild hummed. "The important bits, anyway. We'll have a counter-proposal when we come back—and I'm not on the negotiation team this time around, so I don't know the specific terms—but it's only arguing over numbers and costs. The principle of the agreement is set."

"If you feel comfortable letting them know I'm contacting you like this, you can tell your leadership that the Council made it to Ceallach Macht, so they can send a team to negotiate the formal treaty as well. Technically, Eilwen and Gerwyn aren't here yet, but we expect them tomorrow morning."

"Mm," Sunnild nodded. "It's fine; I'm not making any decisions on this. If I wasn't so happy and didn't miss you so much, I'd be angry that they are practically selling me to you." She hesitated, then tucked her head into the crook of his neck again. "Um, I have something I have to tell you."

Aidan felt his stomach clench. In his experience, those were rarely words he wanted to hear from a lover. He kept his thoughts from his voice, however. "Oh? What is it?"

Sunnild's wings beat above him, lofting them higher before returning to a glide. "When I first got back," she started, "Flight Major Osgyth debriefed me. I told her why I accepted your offer and why I went to bed with you." Aidan could feel Sunnild's throat convulse as she swallowed. "And I told her that I learned a secret from you."

A cold ball settled in the pit of Aidan's stomach, but Sunnild kept talking. "I didn't tell her what the secret was, I swear! But I had to give her something. I told her that your position is weaker than it looked like, and the Sisterhood could get better terms from you and the Starchasers."

Aidan blinked, then laughed. "Oh, is that all?" Sunnild bit his neck in response, making him laugh even harder. "You're adorable, little dove. Ouch!" He swatted her butt in reaction to a second bite. "It's not ideal, but it's hardly something that will change my opinion of you, Sunnild. You could have really hurt us if you shared that secret. I would have preferred that the deal goes through as written, but as long as the Sisterhood doesn't think they can rake us over the coals, it'll work out. I didn't give away everything I could have."

Sunnild relaxed against him. Her lips pressed to the spot she bit, soothing the mild pain. "I'm still sorry," she whispered against his skin. "It feels like I betrayed you and Brighid, just a little." She squirmed against him. "You should punish me."

"Oh?" Aidan felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. She was too cute. "You should be careful with something like that, little dove; I can think of all kinds of ways to discipline you." Sunnild's head lifted off his shoulder so that she could examine his face. Her eyes grew wide, pupils dilating, and she started to gnaw on her lip.

"But I'll save that for later," Aidan teased, "when Brighid can help me. You did say you felt like you betrayed us both, right? It wouldn't be right for only me to punish you in that case." His lover groaned in the back of her throat and pulled him tighter against herself, shuddering.

"Now then," he said, pulling free of her and grasping one of her hands, "let's fly. Show me your favorite places, Sunnild."

She smiled at him and laced her fingers with his, then they were off, soaring over the Mistvale Highlands.

AidanSecondday, 3rd week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1Early MorningThe Lord's Quarters, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

Congratulations! You have reached level 44 in Sex.

Congratulations! You have reached level 22 in Foreplay.

"Aidan... Aidan... Wake up, Aidan!"

Aidan groaned and rolled over, sluggishly trying to avoid the hand trying to shake him awake. However, Brighid was persistent, and eventually, he was forced to crack open his bleary eyes and swat at her hand.

"What time izzit?" he mumbled.

"An hour past sunrise."

"What?" Aidan didn't understand. He'd gotten a full night's sleep; why did he feel so tired still? There was only one answer he could see. "Ugh," he groaned again, "must be the new spell. Doesn't count as restful sleep, I guess."

Brighid bent down and pressed her lips to his. "It is only a Novice-tier spell, after all. Maybe when you get better at it—by which I mean when you hit Apprentice next week—it will not be so tiring." Aidan aimed a half-hearted swat at her shoulder, which she dodged without effort. "Come on, my Lord, you need to get up. Eilwen, Gerwyn, and the others should be here around noon. I can set the table for lunch if you want; you missed breakfast already. I gave yours to Riama."

Aidan was tempted to roll over and try to go back to sleep, but he managed to fight it off. He could order Brighid to let him sleep—she might even obey; he gave it about 50/50 odds—but he needed to be up, bathed, and dressed when the rest of the tribe arrived. He couldn't afford to give Eilwen the free ammunition that sleeping through their arrival would cause.

With a sigh, he sat up and stretched. "Yes," he told Brighid, "please get me something to eat if you don't mind, my love. But first..." he let his arms fall around her neck and dragged her into another kiss. She hummed with pleasure, parting her lips to admit his probing tongue. His fingers trailed up the back of her neck and into her hair to hold her tight against him.

Brighid's hands trailed down from his shoulders to stroke his back and sides. She leaned into the kiss, bare chest pressing against him. When at last he broke the kiss by tugging her head away from him, her eyes were unfocused, and a blush covered her face and neck. "That," Aidan told her with a smirk, "was from me. This is from Sunnild." He let himself fall back down onto the bed and pulled her down with him.

Several minutes later, Aidan released Brighid and smiled as she took a wobbly path toward the kitchen. He still felt like he'd only gotten about four hours of sleep, but there were few better ways to wake up. He stood up and stretched again, then made his way into the bathroom to perform his morning ablutions.