Prismatic Pt 01

The drab robes denoting me as a priestess grew unbearably heavy as water continued pouring down. The layers were fully soaked and chilled me to the bone, every ounce of spring warmth being stolen from my flesh. I dropped the bundle of kindling I had collected and kept running through the forest. None of the trees were strong enough to offer me cover, every branch seemed to bow down under the heavy rain. The hood of my robes was plastered to my face and my night-black hair stuck to it as I tried to pull it back. The rain slammed into my body as I kept moving, no longer able to focus on a specific direction. Mist curled all around the forest from the force of the drops battering the ground.

Somehow, I ended up at the treeline. Soft, warm light shined like a wobbling mirage through the rain. Firelight shining through a cabin window. I had no way of knowing if someone of this area would recognize my garb and know I was a harmless temple devotee, but the shivers wracking my body in the relative cold made it worth the risk. I stepped out into the slightly risen clearing and gasped in discomfort at the unslowed drops slamming into me. I slammed my fist on the door as hard as I could. It was barely audible over the sound of the rain. Distant rumbles threatened lightning and I knocked harder. My knuckles hurt from pounding the rough wood as I tried to call over the storm.

"Hello? Please, can I come in? I'm just a priestess. I got all turned around in the forest."

No answer came as I pressed my ear against the rough-hewn door between pleadings. I leaned against the door helplessly and stumbled as it fell open under me. The warmth of a hearth poured out and soothed my skin even as I stood at the doorway.

"Hello?" I called out again.

"I'm sorry, it just opened," I dared a step into the cabin, "I don't mean any harm. I just got lost out in the storm."

No reply came but the soft crackling of the fire. I closed the door gently behind me.

It would be rude to let that cold air in, I reassured myself.

"Is anyone here?"

An earthen-colored couch sat across from the fire, one of the large cushions dented slightly as if it were someone's favorite. A small cauldron and fireplace tools sat in an iron rack beside the stone hearth. A small table sat empty beside a row of stout cabinets. One short, darkened hall led to a single doorway. A large, ornately-framed mirror hung on the wall facing the back of the couch, reflecting more of the warm firelight through the interior.

Whoever lives here must love looking at themselves, I thought at the contrast between the homey living space and the baroque looking glass.

"I..I'm just going to sit beside your hearth, if that's okay?" I called out into the emptiness of the space, "I don't mean any harm. I'll leave as soon as the rain lets up. I promise."

I directed the last words down the hall that I assumed led to a bedroom. But no one answered. I sat by the fire and sighed contentedly. I cast another cautious look and called down the empty hall after several minutes had passed. A fire of this size, who would've made this and left? A folded wooden rack leaned up against the side of the couch caught my eye.

It will take much longer for me to warm up and leave their home if I don't dry my robes.

I pulled the clothes away like a heavy, shedded skin. Water dripped out of them everywhere I pinched or folded the fabric. The dull brown color was soaked to a darker shade even at the deepest folds. I laid the robes in the thinnest layers I could manage on the rack and set it beside the fire.

A knit blanket, a muddled combination of greens and blues, was balled up on one side of the couch. I pulled it down to the very edge of the hearth with me and draped it over my shoulders. Fire flickered over my pale skin in golden light as I watched the door and the hall, braced for someone to appear and demand to know what I was doing in their home. But no one appeared. I sighed in the warmth and the sound of the storm waterfalling outside as it growled louder above the cottage in vain.

A buzzing heat pleasantly danced in my core. It sank lower as I twisted my legs tightly together and let my hips rock back and forth in a steady rhythm. A gasp escaped me as I shuddered against the feeling of something warm and relentless pressing against my clit. The pressure pushed and retreated while my hips thrust more incessantly, chasing the sensation.

The knit blanket slipped away from my body and I felt my nipples harden in the contrast of the relatively cold air of the cottage on one side, and the heat of the continuing fire on the other. My breaths huffed out of me faster and faster. Cycling ice and heat seemed to snake around my nipples and pinch at them in agonizing rapture. The sensation in my core tightened and drove the heat and my breath to a fever pitch.

What felt like a hand settled delicately between my breasts and gently pressed me down to the blanket that had twisted underneath me. I opened my eyes and stared into the glistening silver eyes that stared back at me. The pupils were surrounded by a prismatic iris that seemed to reflect back the dancing colors of the fire and the blues of my own eyes atop its own silver hue. The breath I had pulled in in ecstasy exploded from me in a scream.

The hand snatched away and the eyes before me widened. I searched in a frenzy for the blanket I had been covered in. Glowing, aqua blue tendrils of light, no larger than my pinky finger, covered my body. They seemed centered over my nipples and lap. I screamed again and scrambled away from the tendrils even as they departed and headed for the man kneeling before me.

The tendrils continued to slither away as I frantically tugged the blanket out from under my back and covered my body with it. The glowing blue threads hid in every fold and hidden place of the man's clothing. A slight aqua glow emanated from their hiding places as they huddled together.

"I'm sorry. I-" I stammered, torn between apologies and anger and terror, "I called out. No one answered. I was lost in the rain and-"

Any other words I had lodged in my throat when I took in the whole vision of the creature before me. Clearly, a man. But, not a man as I knew them. The sharp angles of his fair face shined like polished knives in the blend of firelight and peeking tendrils. His hair was the same reflective, shining chrome of his irises. Light danced on every strand in a breath-stealing iridescence. On one side, his hair parted to reveal the pointed top of an ear. He tilted his head at me like a curious beast and I realized how long I had spent staring.

"I- I'll go."

I scrambled to get my feet under me, but my legs were sore and shaking. The man leaned forward and placed his hand gently between my breasts again, his long-fingered hand resting on top of my own where I held the blanket to my body. He pressed down with a gentle strength and I held my breath as I sat back down.

"I am sorry about the slivers," he said and the peeking lights seemed to recede deeper into their hiding spots, "I would never have sent them ahead if I'd known I had company."

I stared back at his smirking, inhuman face and shuddered under his hand.

"It's okay. Really. I'll just leave-"

"You came inside because of the rain, right?" He glanced at my still wet robes hanging over the wooden rack.

"Yes. I was collecting kindling when it started."

"It will rain until morning, you know. You're welcome to stay."

I shuddered again and listened more closely to the muffled sounds from outside. The rain still came down relentlessly. Thunder crashed all around, as if to illustrate his prediction, and shook the floorboards. The warmth of the hand left my chest and the man stood before me. Water dripped from his high-collared coat as he pulled it off and hung it beside the doorway. I held the blanket tighter, as if it would somehow erase the memory of how he found me. The man walked by and entered the small kitchen area. He unpacked small, wicker boxes and pulled plates from one cabinet.

"Hungry?" He asked, without turning back to me.

My blood ran cold at the offer.

"What are you?" I asked hesitatingly.

He turned around fully, wearing an unreadable expression as he looked me up and down.

"Fae," he answered slowly, the word turning up at the end as if he was asking me.

My breath hitched in my throat.

"You have my word, there is no bargain or trick to it. It's just a meal."

The man approached me again, hand outstretched, "We can shake on it, if you like."

"That won't be necessary."

I hid my hands under the blanket as best I could until the fae snickered and turned back to the kitchenette. I tried to ignore the cooling wetness between my thighs as the sounds of plating continued a few feet away. More thunder rolled overhead out in the storm. I yelped softly and clapped a hand over my mouth at the sound of a lightning bolt striking close.

"Does it often storm this way out here?"

The clergy and I had only arrived in this area a week ago. We had been warm and safe enough staying in our quickly constructed wooden dormitories beside the stone temple we were renovating. The weather so far had been peaceful and mild.

"It's common during the spring. It will calm down in the next couple of months."

I groaned softly at the thought. Months? Work on the temple would take even longer if it was undone by more storms like this. I shuddered to think what the others were dealing with, crowded in the little shelter they had. Lightning slammed down again outside and I flinched at the vibration.

The fae sat across from me on the hearth, a plate in his own lap and another offered out to me. I took one and my mouth watered at the mere sight of the food. A wedge of some kind of creamy, pale cheese. Little slices of dark, oaty bread. Salty strips of meat. And a hodgepodge of berries; orange, deep blue, blood-red, and lavender. His plate clinked against mine in a cheers and I looked up in time to see another smirk before he stacked some meat and cheese onto a slice of bread and began eating. The dark clothes he wore clung to the top half of his chest and lower half of his legs, showing off where water had made it through his coat. I mimicked his stacking and happily dug into the delectable food.

The lightning and thunder somehow crashed louder outside as the night wore on. I dared a glance at the fae as we finished our meals and flinched when lightning flashed outside the small window and lit up his visage like silver-fire.

"Can't you-" I hesitated when his eyes came back fully to me, "make it stop?"

He tilted his head at me in that animalistic way again.

"You can do that, right? Control the weather?"

He smirked again, "I'm flattered that you think I'm so powerful. I have no power over the storms. I am not so exceptionally gifted."

His eyes glanced in the direction of my drying robes again, "You're one of those priestesses?"

"Yes. You know of us?"

"I saw some of you working on that old temple."

"When? I think anyone watched by a fae would have mentioned it."

"No one sees me unless I want them too," his smile widened, revealing his dagger-like canines.

His amusement faltered and faded when another slam of thunder made me yelp. I pulled the blanket tighter and grumbled to myself. Two months. Of this. I opened my eyes to find the fae gone, the plates as well. I turned in time to see him disappear down the hall and enter the lone doorway.

He exited a moment later wearing a quilted robe, the true color of it lost in the darkness and firelight. The fae's hair was now tousled as if he'd quickly rubbed it as dry as he could in a towel. A soft, bulky lump hung over his arms until he threw it at me. I pulled the warm sweater over my head and pulled the blanket out from underneath as it covered me. I recoiled when I opened my eyes and found the fae sitting close, his legs nearly touching my own, and looking me over.

"What is your name?" He asked slowly, as if it wasn't really the question he was thinking,

"Tiffany," I choked out.

"Tiffany," he repeated, "I am Ichor."

His hand reached out but I kept mine pinned at my side.

"Where did those, um, things go?"

"Oh, them. I suppose it was rude of me to interrupt when you were so close."

The glowing lights seeped out from around him. The first few came from seams in his robe, a few others peered out from the floorboards. A short scream burst from me as one nearly touched me again and I swung my hand out. The little tendril slammed into a wall with a surprisingly loud slap and the others vanished into their hiding spaces. Ichor glanced from the one that slid dramatically down the wall back to me and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that was rude."

"I didn't want them back! And I don't want them touching me!"

"Could have fooled me," he chuckled and reached an arm out, offering the open hole of his sleeve for the slapped tendril to fly into, "Why'd you ask then?"

"I was only curious if they're," I struggled to articulate the strangeness of them, "part of you?"

"Oh. Yes and no? They are their own beings. But, I can feel through them, slightly and if we both allow it. Like, if I wanted to know if the water in a glass I cannot reach is warm or cold, I can send one to touch it. And, if we both allow that channel of sensation to be open, I will feel the temperature it feels."

"And if they decided they didn't want you to know?"

He shrugged, "They can be stubborn. But, if they didn't like me they would leave. Right?"

One tendril slipped out from the neck of his robe and swirled around the pointed tip of his ear like an affectionate piece of glowing jewelry. The aqua light reflected on one side of his iris. Heat rose up to my cheeks as I considered what he said. He could feel what the tendrils felt. And, the amount of them that had been slithering on my body when I awoke. I looked away and was grateful my hair had dried enough to fall quickly over my face.

"If it makes you feel any better, I had not opened myself up to their sensations when I sent them home ahead of me. I only instructed them to feed the fire a little if it had died while I was away."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Though it seems they misinterpreted what I meant by 'feed the fire'," a chuckle bubbled up through his words.

I gripped the blanket in a balled up clump and threw it before I could stop myself. Blood flushed my face an even deeper red. I looked up to see the fae laughing and clutching the blanket as he had caught it. I scoffed at his reaction.

"So," I said in a huff, "You can't control the storms. You can't control little glowing worms. It seems to me you can't do anything but glisten and gloat."

His laughing stopped in an instant but the cocky grin remained, "Oh, really?"

The heat of the fire wrapped around me in every direction and light swelled in all the corners of my vision. The inner walls of the cabin vanished and the prickling of grass tapped at my legs as it appeared all around me. Greenery glowed everywhere and reflected off Ichor as he smirked at me. I reached out and ran my hand through the supple grass. Little yellow buttercups bounced back and forth under the brush of my hand. The smell of luscious summer filled my nose and settled like a soft, warm embrace over my skin.

"I think that's enough demonstration, don't you?"

I looked back at Ichor just as I plucked a buttercup from the grass. The greenery vanished like a soap bubble popping on a needle. The flower I held between my fingers evaporated like a tiny sunshine-colored breeze and was gone. The dark home and the continuing storm rose up around me again. Ichor cricked his neck across from me and let out a deep, tired breath.

"How-" I couldn't finish the question, too many swirled in my mind.

"Just glistening and gloating."

Ichor took the blanket and balled it up under his head as he laid down.

"So, you can control the weather! You made it summer!"

"No," he shook his head at me, a strangely confused glint in his eyes, "That was an illusion."

"But, it felt so warm. I could smell it."

"Illusions. All of it."

Another strike of lightning made me jump and curl my legs to my chest. The knit fabric settled over my shoulders again. I opened my eyes to see Ichor tying a knot to secure the blanket over my body.

"Thank you," I murmured, "And, I really am sorry about-"

"You don't have to apologize. If anything, I could ask the tendrils to apologize to you. Though you may not understand them."

"I'm not opposed to that."

"Apologize," he barked down one sleeve of his robe.

A few tendrils slid out and I leaned back as they settled in a line on the floor. The sound they created was a tiny chorus of melodic rattling, like bones and bells. It ended one at a time, as if some had more to say than others. One at a time, they finished their apologies and flew sulkingly back into their hiding spots.

"I am sorry," Ichor said as they disappeared, "they are simple creatures of desire. Not even fully animals. They don't really have the ability to think long-term about their actions."

"They sounded so sad."

"Don't be too sympathetic. They knocked my wine off the table once and I received the same pleading sounds."

I snickered at the thought and Ichor laughed in return.

"They taught me my lesson though. That was the last time I ever kept them from dancing outside during a full moon."

A shiver cut my laugh short and I turned my bare legs closer to the fireplace. The chill of the storm felt like ice on my skin compared to the gentle heat of the spring day I had explored only hours earlier. Ichor's pale hands slid over mine and I glanced over to find him sitting closer to me. He rubbed at my frozen hands with his own, willing his body heat into them. I shivered again and groaned uncomfortably. The arousal from earlier had obscured how cold I had become. The fae gave me a worried look and grabbed the towel he had used to dry his own tousled hair. His hand flicked at the towel and away; tiny, shining drops of water pulled from the fabric and floated into the fire before popping into steam. Ichor draped the towel over me and scrubbed at my hair and skin.

"You're freezing," he said quietly, "How long were you in the rain?"

"Um," I shivered under his hands again, "I don't know."

Ichor took the blanket I had thrown and wrapped it back around my body. I was too desperate for warmth to resist as he sat down and pulled me closer to cradle me against his chest. I leaned my face against the bare skin where his robe was slightly open and felt him flinch underneath me at the feel of my frozen skin. The warmth of the fae's body and the fire slowly seeped into me as I slipped into darkness and slept.

Soft cushions underneath my side let me know I had been moved from the floor at some point. I stretched out my stiff arms and groaned at the relief of my frozen limbs being warmed and relaxed again. I pulled them back and felt my elbow hit solid flesh as a pained "oof" puffed into my hair.

"Awake?" The fae's words were warm breaths on the top of my head.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Just a couple hours. Do you feel alright?"

"I think so. Everything feels stiff."

The fire still burned and shone warm-toned lights across Ichor. His hair was a tangled mess around his face when I turned to look over my shoulder at him. One unobscured eye scrunched as he smiled at me. The blue tendrils were tangled together, making a shape like a coiled serpent at the hearth. Thunder shook through me, I flinched and retreated back against Ichor, whose arms encircled me tighter.

"Told you it would storm until morning."

I stretched out my sore legs and sighed tiredly. Ichor's arms did not relax around me and I tried to ignore the pleasant feeling deep in my gut as he pressed me tighter to his body. His face nuzzled deeper into my hair. I felt his hot breaths in and out. As believably as I could, I told myself I needed his warmth as I arched my back and let him adjust me to fit seamlessly against himself. A shudder ran through him even as his flesh was so burning hot against my own. My hands naturally fell to his arms and I heard his breath catch as my fingers explored them.