Torn, having realised how Keira apparently only wanted some exciting play before he could claim his prize, allowed himself to slow down once victory was assured, and endeavoured to give Keira the most pleasurable experience he could.

The evening was long and very much enjoyable, with the two interchangably dominating and being dominated in the ensuing bedgames, each having a lot of fun. Finally, however, Torn's more mortal stamina gave way to his fatigue, and he could go no longer. After finishing, they simply lay in bed for some time - while the Merry Band of Misfits were apparently having some sort of drinking game abovedecks.

Torn, despite his earlier vigor and promise of domination, was very gentle after the two had pleasured one another. He was stroking through Keira's now messy golden locks when she spoke up. "I am not like you… I cannot feel the moons." He felt Keira pull the blanket up, and he pulled her a little closer, enjoying the snuggle. "But considering your stamina, I have a sinking feeling I might feel it tomorrow," he jested.

When she a few moments later slipped out of bed, Torn took care to memorize every curve. He smiled when she called the moons beautiful, deciding that it was a good time to practise his poetic skills.
"Behold, she said, for there's beauty in the sky.
Why, I replied, for a beauty most blinding is right before me, in the shape of a golden woman.
Neither moon can match her tonight, for the light of Canelux and Pravpora is pale, a mere reflection of the warm rays of the sun, but in this room before me stands a star as warm and bright as that which makes the light of day."

Keira gave him a laugh. “You just might feel it. I’m sorry if I was a little too rough, on tonight my strength is a lot more than normal so I’m not use to it.” She gave him an apologetic look. 

Out of the bed she listened to his words and tilted her head as she heard his beautiful poetry. “You certainly know your way with words.” Coming back to the bed she slipped into it and kissed him softly. “Let me tell you what the moon feels like.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear. “It’s that warm love that only your lover could give you. It fills you with warmth like the perfect herb bath. The moons together transform you and suddenly nature takes you away. The ground beneath your paws is the greatest thing you would ever feel. The feeling of your pack around you even if they are leagues away.”

Again she had that apologetic look on her face. “While it is not poetry like your words… I thank you for being my moon tonight, perhaps not a true lover in that aspect but still. You are soft and gentle even if you come off rigid.” She laid with him and tried not to think about her words wholeheartedly. “You are the man who climbed the rope to Canelux herself and wooed her to her knees.” But could he be the one who stole her wings as well? It scared her.

She smoothed back his hair and gave him a smile. “Your poetry really did melt me. Perhaps you can craft more for me on our journey?”

Torn welcomed Keira back into the bed, smiling. He just lay still, listening to her pristine voice. "Lycanthropy is often described as a curse, but you make it sound like an excercise in freedom and serenity." He snuggled a little closer, letting his flesh do the talking for him. As she mentioned how he had climbed to Canelux and wooed her, however, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Woo her to her knees, huh?" he asked, musing, allowing the innuendo to hang in the air for a little while.

Torn kept cuddling Keira, occasionally caressing an intimate area. "I speak what words spring to me naturally. I cannot promise more poetry on the voyage…" He snuggled closer and playfully bit at one of Keira's earlobes. "At least not without proper… Inspiration." Then, he abruptly rolled out of bed and began dressing. "Well, this was an astonishingly pleasant escapade, but I cannot neglect my other companions. Come, join me on deck, and we can acquaint you with them, hm?" He smiled at Keira innocently, finding a spare belt in a drawer to replace the one he lost.

Keira smiled down at him and laughed. “If I lived believing it was a curse then I would be miserable. I was born a halfling and I could shift even as a babe. If my mother hadn’t dealt with that when Jayden was born then I am sure she would have flipped out. In a lot of ways, it is freedom. To be one with your pack in the light of the moon… It’s amazing. Even my mother runs with us even though she has to transform using magic and it’s not natural for her. Her and my father run together as mates. Forever.” The halfling laughed at the innuendo. “I’m sure he was pleased.”


She nuzzled his neck for a moment as he caressed and smiled. “I can spring some inspiration for more words of your’s.” It was hard for her to be close to someone but this was temporary and that was alright with her. She rolled on her side and stared at him. “Sounds good to me, I worked up an appetite of my own.”



Coming up after dressing she listened to the Merry Band of Misfits having fun. She got some food and found herself a seat on a barrel thinking about everything. “Parvpora, wonder if Ynarrah has been there yet.” She looked up at the moons and thought about her twin sister. She waited for Torn to introduce her to them all.

Torn got up on the main deck together with Keira, spawning instant cheering and hooting from the band - who clearly understood what the two had been up to. Torn grinned and held up his arms to quiet the boys down, which took some time to accomplish. "Well, lads, I am sorry for vanishing like that - probably should have given you a heads-up about that," he said, which only spawned more laughter from the men. "I trust you two had fun, eh, Torn?" said one of the raiders, and Torn, for only a second, looked absolutely horrified - before he grinned broadly again. "I cannot speak too well for ms. Keira here, but I most certainly did," he said, offering Keira a wink.

Torn and keira were both served some food - a stew, boiled in thick broth before separated from the water and served in a velvety gravy, filled with chunks of vegetables - chiefly potatoes, cabbage, and spinach - as well as a mix of mutton and pork. Together with the ale found on board, the meal was, all in all, fairly good; not luxurious, but certainly servable at a respectable tavern. Torn found a seat next to Keira and began talking with the band about duty and living arrangements - Torn was soon appointed as daytime lookout, and being the de facto leader, he also got the captain's cabin - and the queen-sized bed therein, which was reportedly large enough for two. After all the roles had been divvied up (the eldest of the raiders became the helmsman, and Keira was tasked with navigation) Torn finished his meal, and made a gesture to the men. Suddenly, all was silent, and a few of the raiders produced small instruments, and provided some basic background music. And Torn took his place atop a crate, and did as he always did at the beginning of a new adventure - he sang.

A sunny springtime day we went, to new and thrilling lands
To carve our way through time and world, a fate with our own hands
We lept on board and took our due, our way to new adventures
A means by which to see and smell, new dangers and a new world!

Here, take us home, to that place we call our calling -
Draw your swords and shout!

There is a hero in each heart, and a monster in each mind!
We'll charge ahead like beasts, so we won't be left behind
In this world so pale, we gather and set sail,
As we ride from our cradles to our graves!

The horizon calls us forth to live our petty mortal lives
A legend may be slain, but he'll be laughing as he dies
So on to myth and mystery we sail to join the greats
We'll stand, resentful, as the times resists us and berates

Fear, take us home, to that place we call our calling
Fear of unsung lives!

At this point, the rest of the band joined in, causing the refrain to boom across the ocean, a mighty roar in the midst of an otherwise calm sea.

There's a hero in each heart, and a monster in each mind!
We'll charge ahead like beasts, so we wont be left behind
In this world so pale, we gather and set sail
As we ride from our cradles to our graves!

Once the song was done, it was met my cheers from the raiders. "How long did you work on that one, Torn?" came from one of the men in the back, to which he replied "About five minutes before I got up to sing it. Got a little stunted, lads, sorry about that. However, it is late, and I do suggest we all get about the business of resting." A few of the men looked disappointed, but the suggestion was mostly met by approval. As Torn stepped down from his crate, he knelt down beside where Keira was seated, and spoke to her softly. "You can have your own cabin, or you can share the captain's cabin with me. What do you say?"

Keira chuckled a bit at the men. “Best fun I’ve had in a while.” Her life was exciting but nothing beat having a good bed mate. Well, that was what her mother always said. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a pipe and put some tobacco in it. A small flame sparked at her fingertip as she lit it. She puffed a bit on it and blew. “God damn, Aunt Angela knows how to grow good tobacco.” She offered it up to the  men. “Grown and given out by the Goddess of Fertility and Earth herself.”

She listened listened to them while eating their dinner. It was quality stuff, the stuff she was used to her mother cooking. It was no Aunt Angela’s cooking though. Giving Torn a smile she reached down into her bag and pulled out the maps needed for the trip. “Until we reach the edge of these maps. We should be good.. After that I’ll have to navigate by other means but we should be alright.” 

After that the whole crew sang for them. It was like being around her sister, Holly, and Calanthe all at once. She smirked a bit more and closed her eyes to listen to the song. Leaning her head back she looked up at the sky and watched the moons. It tingled her flesh and hurt. Her breathing went heavy and she closed her eyes once more. A blessing and a curse as always.

Turning her attention towards Torn she gave him a smirk. “I think I’ll share the cabin with you.” She got up and pulled him up. “You’ll have to show me.” After he led her to the cabin she opened the window again and watched the moons. “I lied when I said it was all good. It hurts.” She gripped at the window and the wood chipped in places. “The two of them full… hurts. Like something clawing at the deepest pits of your soul.” She bite her lip. “I need a distraction. Something. Anything. Even if it’s talking.”

Torn followed Keira into the captain's cabin (to the cheer of his travelling companions), wondering a little about the haste Keira seemed to be in. He soon got his answer, however; Keira was in pain from the moons. Torn looked at her, contemplating the situation. All great gifts come with a price, I suppose, he thought. He walked over to her, and standing behind her, he caressed her waist gently. "We can talk until the seas run dry," he said, his left hand defly working on her corset. "But pain, I find, is best remedied by something else." On that cue, one of his hands slid under the edge of her trousers and down between her legs, while the other hand finished undiong the corset, taking it off gently before reaching up to Keira's breasts.

Torn just stood there, enjoying the soft touch of Keira's body, for a few seconds. It occurred to him that he truly enjoyed it - not like he had some other women, but in a more special fashion. With her flesh in his hands, he felt as though he was experiencing something more personal, more mutual, with a kindred spirit. Unlike Keira, however, he was not unnerved by the realisation. To him, love and romance was but another chapter of his life, one which could end well or ill as it pleased, as long as Torn could enjoy the journey. In response to this sensation, he bent his head down and kissed her neck, with more affection than he had originally planned. "This time, I would sooner be gifted your body than take it by force." He let go of Keira's breast (but kept his other hand in place) and turned her around, gently, so he could look her in the eyes. "So I ask you, Keira… May I have your body tonight? May I experience you naked form, in full, and anjoy all the pleasures it can provide?"

The cheers made it sounds like they were doing something amazing. A chuckle left her lips as she tilted her head back to look at Torn. Though it faded as soon as she could tell him her real reason for wanting to hide. His touch was enough to distract her a little but her body still felt the pain. A sad smile reached her lips as she listened to his words. They were sweet and if she were still a naive girl it would be enough to have made her heart flop dead. Her spine was sent chills as he delicately untied her. “Aye,” she chuckled.


It wasn’t rough or really demanding, that’s what crossed her mind. Closing her green eyes, she tried to relax and focus her mind off of the pain but onto him. It was the affection of the kiss to her neck that caused her to jerk her head softly and let out a laugh. It tickled but only because she had been so focused she wasn’t expecting it. Opening her eyes only slightly just to see enough of him, she watched him speak.


She was more interested in his words to even respond as he turned her around. Fluttering her eyes open all the way she gave him a smile. “You may.” It was a long journey but if he was sincere enough maybe the ice would break. Though with a man like Torn she wasn’t sure what to expect with him.


The night came and went. The pleasure had been long enough to avoid most of the dual moons. She cuddled up to him unlike the last time, she was exhausted, but more so it was her mind fighting everything back. Things were going to be interesting, more so than they had been.



Time would go as it pleased, it had already proved that before. It was a long journey and time was the story teller again. This time though, fate had chosen an interesting character to help Keira.