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On the plains, winters could be viciously cold. It was an unassuming, insidious kind of chill, carried solely on the wind, without the slightest dustings of settling snow to mark its passing. And while the people of the plains were used to weathering it, and keeping the hearth of their yurts burning bright… Lyn had to admit that, having now spent more than a few cold nights in inns and castles, she was struggling with her return to the wilderness.
If not for love, it would have embarrassed her that Florina—so accustomed to the snowy mountains of Ilia—seemed to be having a much easier time of it.
“You’re shivering, Lyn,” she noticed. A gentle, teasing comment, offered with a smile, but also with no small amount of concern. “Is it really so cold, even by the fire…?”
It was. Though they had the yurt to shelter them from the worst of it, and the hearth to ward off whatever else crept in, Lyn couldn’t escape it – that sharp bite piercing through to her bones.
Was it just the cold…? Ever since the war’s end, and with her journey back to the plains with Florina by her side, she’d had nights of discomfort; chills and fevers that had come and gone without rhyme or reason. Maybe her body was still weak, in some way… still recovering from strains it had never expected to endure.
“I… It is, somehow,” she finally said. “You’d think a girl of the plains would be used to it, huh…? I wonder if everything just feels cold, once you’ve faced a dragon’s flames…”
“Mm… I’ll bet you’re still worn out. With everything we’ve gone through, we’ve plenty reason for it. A few short months are hardly enough time…”
“A few years, maybe,” Lyn said. “Regardless, I… I don’t think I’ve any more wars in me. Even if that means letting my sword arm wither… I can’t do it again.”
She had expected, maybe, for Florina to offer some reassurances. Or to gently guide her elsewhere, away from thoughts of the future, and back into the here and now.
She hadn’t quite anticipated that Florina would stir, then shift – rolling over in their loose embrace until she was almost on top of her.
Lyn swallowed, almost stiff with surprise, as she looked up at Florina. And her lover’s smile—sweet and tender, as it always was—was balanced by a certain twinkle of mischief in her eyes.
“If it’s rest you need, Lyn, it’s rest you’ll get. And if it’s warmth you need…”
Florina leaned down, leaned close – her hair falling down over her face like a curtain of violet, and her soft lips just a breath away from Lyn’s.
“Then you know I’ll always be more than happy to provide...”
At once, the chill that had settled over Lyn seemed to melt away beneath a flush of warmth. She opened her mouth to speak—to stammer out a response—and Florina took her opportunity.
Her lips found Lyn’s, and the two melted together into a soft, slow kiss.
“Mmh...”
Lyn sighed into it; her eyes fluttering shut as she let Florina in. She was so warm, so wonderful – holding her with unassuming steadiness, even as the kiss grew more passionate.
It was, perhaps, the best sort of warmth to fight back the cold. The warmth that came only with love, deep and unconditional.
The heat of mutual desire, which could be kindled far beyond the hearth’s limits.
Lyn moaned as Florina’s tongue slipped into her mouth. Her arms wrapped around her, holding her close and tight, as her own tongue pushed back – meeting swirling, savouring the sweet taste of her mouth.
“F-Florina... mmh—”
The moment she’d tried to speak, her words had been cut off with another kiss – and it was easy to forget, sometimes, just how bold her sweet lover could be. How persistent, how insistent. But, whenever it was needed, Florina would happily remind her – and make her forget all about whatever had been on her mind.
So, it was only fair to match that boldness.
With that thought, Lyn’s hands began to move. Started low, and slid even lower – from the small of Florina’s back, over her hips, and towards her thighs.
Florina paused, briefly. Made a soft sound—something like a gasp or a moan, caught halfway between surprise and satisfaction—as she gently broke the kiss, still so close that their lips were nearly brushing.
Yet, Lyn quickly realised, it wasn’t for the hands slipping down her thighs... but for something else, hard and eager, that had started prodding up against them.
“Oh, my,” she murmured, with a breathy giggle. “Are you sure you want to unsheathe your sword, Lyn, on a night like this...?”
Lyn smiled against her. And yet, it was a good question. The warmth between them, then, was gentle and easy, even as they’d been happy to stoke it further... but it was possible to go too far, too fast. To fan the flames until they were wild and untamed, and beyond their control.
There were many nights to come, Lyn knew, that would surely be fierce and fiery. Tonight, though... she couldn’t bring herself to ruin the quiet, comforting glow of their intimacy.
“Mm... maybe not,” she whispered. “I’m happy enough, and warm enough, just like this... so long as you are, too.”
Florina with a smile, seemed to understand. And she nodded, closing in again.
“I think so, yes. Not that I’d ever miss an opportunity to... aha... ride with you.”
“You certainly wouldn’t, you little flirt,” Lyn chuckled. “But don’t you worry. There are plenty of other ways I can take you for a ride...”
Her fingers curled, Florina’s soft thighs yielding beneath her grip – and her lover’s next giggle broke apart with a hitch as they slid back up towards her rear.
It was all she needed to repay her in kind... seizing upon her open mouth with another deep, hungry kiss.