Thalien

The Raven continued to visit Thalien in the pale, dark hours just before morning. For the most part, their later encounters were less sexual. Thalien\'s loyalty had long since been assured. Instead, their focus became the two great skills that Thalien had wished to learn.

Thalien\'s skills as a potential Raven grew most quickly. His training took place in long, dark dreams that left him exhausted when he awoke, as if he had spent a day of heavy work in his sleep. In his dreams he learned how to bond with dark places the way that elves naturally sought to bond with the light and air and green things. He learned to move in total silence and with such speed that onlookers would think he was little more than a fleeting shadow.

The dreams also increased Thalien\'s skill as a fighter. There his mysterious teacher became a more solid form that could dodge, parry, and counter Thalien\'s blows. He taught Thalien how to throw a heavier opponent down to the ground with little force, how to turn his surroundings into a weapon. Most of all, he trained Thalien with the long-bladed steel knife that was the chosen weapon of the Nighravens. In Thalien\'s hands it became a brief crescent flash, like the moon in the night sky, before it drew an enemy\'s blood. Thalien\'s master struck so quickly the blade never had time to shine. In time, Thalien found a knife just like the one he trained with in his sleep waiting for him in his hut after he awoke.

The Raven also began to transmit some secrets of human language to Thalien as well. In time Thalien was able to understand many of the conversations around him as he moved through the castle among the humans. Still, there was much Thalien did not know, because neither his teacher nor any other elf had come to understand it. Sometimes he lingered longer than he should in the common room or around groups of humans, straining to grasp the concept behind some word or phrase he heard repeated. A few times he was made to pay for it with his body.

His mastery of language outstripped his talent as a potential Raven early in the training. Soon Thalien\'s teacher focused little on teaching him human speech, and instead began to push his physical skills harder. Thalien tried his best to understand some of the deeper powers his teacher tried to reveal to him, the meaning of darkness and its intimate connection to sleep and dreams. He could tell his progress was slower than his teacher would like, but he continued to work as hard as he could. Often Thalien felt himself feeling tired all day, and sleeping many hours longer than most slaves could get away with.

This exhausting cycle continued for a long period of time, perhaps months, before it was interrupted. One day, when Thalien was blearily tending the rose gardens, his human master Valsgav came for him. It had been so long since Thalien had seen or heard him, that he did not recognize his voice at first. “Thalien,” his master had been forced to repeat, his tone strict. Thalien leaped up from the ground as his mind suddenly placed the voice, with hardly enough time to brush the dark soil off of his knees.

The cold months were coming, and Valsgav was dressed for it in a heavy cloak and thick clothes. Thalien\'s gardens bloomed all the year round, protected by magic, so often changes in the dress of the humans would be his first sign that something was changing on the outside. Thalien felt sudden joy at his master\'s presence, and strained to keep it under control. He knew Valsgav would not approve of such a display.

Valsgav placed one hand on Thalien\'s back and began to lead him out of the garden. Thalien walked obediently before him, feeling the change in the air once he was outside of the area protected by its magic. It was hard not to betray his excitement. He did not expect his master would say anything to him, since he would not expect him to be able to understand, but Thalien knew that he could speak to Valsgav if he wished. He wondered if his master would approve, or become angry and punish him. And what should he say to Valsgav, after so long?

He had time to muse over the answer as Valsgav marched him up the tall tower that lead to his master chambers. There a fire burned in a fireplace behind a heavy iron screen, filling the room with more warmth than Thalien felt outside. A wide bed covered in quilts and furs dominated the otherwise Spartan room. Valsgav paused to take off his cloak once he was inside, then turned to approach Thalien.

Valsgav\'s face seemed heavy with some unknown stress, his eyes focused and intent. The demeanor would have frightened him had it been any other human, but he could trust Valsgav not to intend to use him cruelly. Valsgav took one of Thalien\'s hands and placed it on the buttons of his shirt, a sign that he was to take it off. Despite having done this for his master before, it still made Thalien feel hot and embarrassed. It was especially true this evening, as Valsgav\'s gaze felt particularly hungry for him.

Thalien could not quite meet his master\'s eyes as she slowly undid the buttons, revealing the pale, ageless skin beneath. He wondered if Valsgav noticed the harder, more defined musculature he had acquired as a result of his months of training. His master only grunted with approval, the nodded for Thalien to go on. The elf\'s hands strayed downward to his trousers, the shirt bunching around his shoulders as he undid the fly.

Valsgav stepped forward before Thalien\'s trousers could slide more than a few inches downward. He snapped up Thalien\'s wrists in one heavy gloved hand and then pushed his slave back onto the bed, pinning him with his hands caught above his head. Thalien shivered as Valsgav\'s gaze trailed down the full length of his body. “Magnificent,” Thalien heard him murmur. The young elf\'s heart leaped into his throat, and his member began to stir and stiffen. There was something electric about hearing such praise from his master and understanding it.

Slowly Thalien could feel his trousers pulled down, to reveal his thickening erection. Valsgav emitted another heavy breath and his free hand, running the tip of his finger along the length of the shaft. Thalien whimpered and felt his muscles clench; something about the feel of the rough leather on his most sensitive skin was so pleasurable it raised goosepimples. “I wonder,” Valsgav mused to himself. “Are you a little wanton, or do you like me for some reason?”

It was hard for Thalien not to shout the answer on his mind right then. No, Valsgav was the only human whose touch inspired feelings of true pleasure within him, who made him want to respond! But the moment wasn\'t right. He closed his eyes and looked away, hoping the pink flush on his face would convince Valsgav that his slave was merely overwhelmed by the situation.

It worked well enough. Thalien felt his master release his wrists and roll him over, onto his back. He heard rustling and movement behind him, seconds later felt himself penetrated by Valsgav\'s unmistakably thick, meaty member. He leaned into Valsgav as he pressed into him, welcoming it. He hazarded a glance back at his master over one shoulder, and could only his chestnut hair drooping over his eyes, and his shoulders – still clothed in his tunic – hunched over his body. Valsgav\'s gloved hands were on his hips, thumbs pressing into his buttocks. Thalien felt possessed in a very different way than he had with the Raven, a possession more of the heart than the soul. He rejoiced in it.

Once Valsgav was within him, it did not take long for him to build himself to climax. His thrusts were lively, accompanied by hot breath on Thalien\'s long ears. The young elf was as receptive as he had ever been, almost forward, bending all of the little tricks he\'d learned about pleasing a male toward pleasuring Valsgav. “God!” The man cried out, voice catching in his throat, as Thalien\'s little tricks drove him to an early climax. It was an abrupt, shattering orgasm, and Thalien could feel his body fill with hot semen as his master shuddered within him. Valsgav all but collapsed onto his slave\'s back, panting with exertion.

“What\'s gotten into you today...” Valsgav murmured, lifting a hand to push aside a few strands of Thalien\'s golden hair. “It\'s as if you knew.”

Thalien bit his lip, himself spent and sweating. The temptation to speak was overwhelming, more than he could bear. In a second, words came tumbling out of him. His Human was thickly accented, and even as he compromised himself he wondered if Valsgav would understand him at all. “I don\'t, but I would like to,” he managed.

He could feel Valsgav freeze atop of him, and then suddenly the weight lifted from his back. Thalien felt himself flipped over again, and this time Valsgav\'s eyes bored into his with an expression of total shock of his face. Thalien felt panic rising in his chest and tried not to look so much as flustered, let alone armed. Valsgav said nothing, but it seemed obvious to Thalien that he was searching for some sign that his slave had done what he thought he had just done.

Thalien swallowed hard, and tempted fate again. He opened his mouth to speak. “If master would like to speak about it, I would like to hear.”

Valsgav\'s voice was breathless with awe, or perhaps horror. Thalien did not dare to try and decide which. “You can--”

“Yes, master,” Thalien replied. He glanced up shyly, his eyes only slowly meeting Valsgav\'s.

Valsgav\'s brow furrowed, and Thalien\'s heart sank. He could see Valsgav\'s mouth drawing into a thin, tight line of after. Thalien suddenly had the feeling that he might have committed some colossal blunder, and all while he was left half-naked and helpless beneath his owner.