When It Burns

When It Burns by Jaden56

Ein groaned and twined his long green-scaled tail around the hummingbird’s lean legs, his cheeks warming considerably where his panting breath rebounded back from the other’s smooth flesh. He tugged down the other creature’s neck wrap forcefully, his tongue quickly becoming accustomed and addicted to the avian’s spicy-sweet flavor.

His fingers slid through a feathery fall of white hair as he cupped the back of the hummingbird’s elegantly long neck, pushing his mouth harder against that succulent flesh. While the worm had tasted of moist, rich earth, the hummingbird had an undertone of a flavorful, sun-baked wind which made for an intriguing contrast. His snacks both had the same taste of flowers seasoning their skin as well…

Zilli’s pupils, already dilated from the head wrap binding his sight, darkened further as the aggressive little garter snake accosted him pleasurably.

He had been an unintentional voyeur of the snake’s coupling with a pink-eyed worm, having followed the invertebrate out of mild curiosity after he had wriggled off with Zilli’s intended lunch of a large, bright yellow flower.

Zilli had perched on a sheltered branch of a small tree and watched the oblivious worm hunted by the serpent currently entrenched with him. Instead of the worm being caught and eaten, as Zilli would have expected in regards to the hierarchy of nature’s food chain, he witnessed the moist pink and scaled green tails intertwined and rubbing in a most conspicuous manner with very little devouring involved.

Even more interesting was the fact the snake let his prey go safely, albeit a touch wobbly and slightly nibbled upon, dragging along Zilli’s enormous yellow flower, even though Zilli could distinctly hear the protesting rumble from the snake’s empty stomach.

//Perhaps he’s vegetarian,// Zilli mused to himself. Although he did not see why the snake refrained from re-stealing the flower and take it for himself if that was the case. It really was a delicious-looking flower…

Zilli refocused at the feel of teeth against his neck with the snake’s extremities squeezing him tightly.

This garter snake’s breed was non-venomous, although obviously the serpent relied heavily on the belief captured prey would be paralyzed from terror simply by the presence of sharp points and the crushingly strong coils of the snake’s tail, and venom was thus unnecessary.

However, Zilli was neither caught prey, nor intimidated by the young one’s strength.

“Either you are preparing to mark me as your mate, or attempting to consume me. I would advise you partake in neither of these actions – you would have had a better chance with the worm.” Zilli’s calm drawl was soft with amusement, and cool with striking confidence.

If Ein hadn’t been so plainly aroused and so overcome with hunger he would have throttled the damn bird. Instead he narrowed his yellow eyes and thrust his hips against his momentary lover’s, eliciting a torturous moan from his own throat instead of his intended’s.

Taking mercy on the deterred serpent, Zilli removed the indigo, sun-crested head wrap from around his eyes since there was no need to defend his person from an attack. He had deliberately invoked the other’s attention, pretending the snake had not yet been detected, and when the snake struck out at him Zilli had prepared to defend himself from being lunch.

He nuzzled the serpent’s scaled cheek with his own and returned the thrust with a graceful roll of his hips, his arms coming around the other’s back as the other melted, spineless with bliss. He supposed this was as good a defense as any, and fairly amusing as well.

“What are you called, matlal?”* Zilli asked as he feathered a kiss to the snake’s jaw, not out of any true interest in pursuing more than this solitary sexual encounter, but it seemed a proper protocol to at least know his lover’s name before they engaged each other.

“Einnnn,” the snake hissed breathily, clever fingers turning his lower back into an erotically charged zone and effectively muddling his brain as well.

“Ein…” the hummingbird hummed along the pointed crest of the young one’s ear, generously returning his own namesake in a sensual murmur since the charmed serpent did not seem likely to inquire after Zilli’s.

After the brief exchange, they sunk into the deep grasses, although the vibrant colors of Zilli’s plumage did little to conceal him as completely as Ein’s colorings did for him. If anything the verdant foliage only accentuated the reds and yellows of his feathers.

Even though both creatures had acute senses and the speed to escape if need be, Zilli did not want to chance making them more conspicuous if it could be avoided. His great wings folded and retracted into his back, rippling and settling until his deeply tanned skin was smooth and seamless.

Zilli’s body was wonderfully warm as the hummingbird comfortably straddled the snake’s waist, his knees nudging the bony ribcage that appeared to be mutinying against the fleshy encasement that starved it so.

Ein didn’t appear to notice his prey had topped him, his body writhing down to the tip of his shimmering green tail, generating as much heat and friction as he could. Briefly he considered the possibility he was going into heat – the need to mate was so insistent in his belly that he reasoned he could, and would, couple with just about anything and everything, even his own food.

Quite uncontrollably, Ein began to emit a musky sweet pheromone – using the inbred ability of his kind to mimic a female in heat to attract (or distract) a potential mate, never minding he was seducing the completely wrong type of species.* He’d already bedded a worm, what difference did a wind-flyer make on top of his continually strange day? …Or rather, on top of him…

Zilli noticed the chemical change instantly, and although it was not his usual preferred fragrance, such as the kind emitted from bright flowers, Ein’s scent was not altogether unpleasant.

“Did the worm not satisfy you, matlal?” Zilli murmured throatily over the small dip between Ein’s sharp collarbones, the light taunt more affectionately teasing rather than aiming to provoke the garter snake further. “Shame… He was a pretty one.”

Being not of a carnivorous species snakes and worms and other crawling-types held little interest to Zilli, but oddities in nature were always an intrigue and he had been around long enough to appreciate them.

And perhaps contribute his own oddity…

It was a warm day, and other than their various cloth wraps, accessories, and Zilli’s short, colorfully beaded maxtlatl* there was little to hinder the skin-and-scale contact between their intertwining bodies.

Inevitably, the attraction mounted as they were exposed to the other, and their mouths drew together for the first time (with Ein watching his fangs to avoid jibes from the bird). Both creatures felt an irresistible jolt of heat from the contact.

Ein produced an unintelligible keening cry and dug his sharp nails into the back of Zilli’s neck, crushing the other closer as he pushed his body upwards, striving for the cure to this worsening heat. Zilli was similarly affected, although considerably less vocal and violent. He opened his mouth to Ein’s and engaged in a dancing battle which the rest of his body was toned and normally accustomed, yet his tongue seldom participated in.

Zilli arced into the serpent’s abrasive caress scaling down his sides, feeling Ein’s obsidian-sharp nails tangle in the waistband of his maxtlatl and attempt to tear it off his lean hips. The material Zilli usually wore under his battle amour and did not destroy easily. With a gentle maneuvering of Ein’s grasping hand to a more productive area Zilli unlaced his loincloth on one side and let it fall off the other side to the grass beside them with a pleasant tinkling of glass beads and golden wire.

Ein’s arms went around Zilli’s deeply tanned back, brushing the flawless skin and toned muscles there. The hummingbird followed the pull of his lover and flattened his body over Ein’s, the full contact almost more than either could stand sanely.

The snake’s hands sifted to Zilli’s firm buttocks, forcing the other’s rigid sex to scrape against his own until Ein felt he could find release from that much contact alone. Zilli parted his thighs and thrust forward harder, his shoulders taut as his head bowed forward over Ein’s, his vibrant turquoise eyes dark as if the cover to heighten the rest of his senses had been placed over them again.

For a mind-numbing moment Ein desperately wondered if this was what he was missing forcing his meals to submit to his cuddling habit – reciprocation. Of course there was the worm, but the little thing had to be mental so he didn’t count.

“Zilli…” he moaned breathlessly; knowing his food-turned-lover’s name and being able to speak it so was also a first. The hummingbird leaned down and kissed the highly sensitive skin of his bared throat, eliciting a low groan for his effort.

“Ein,” Zilli agreed, licking the tip of his chin.

The sound of his name from another’s tongue seemed to make Ein even more desperately hard and his mouth demandingly claimed Zilli’s again in retribution, convulsing when the other’s pelvis slid down a pace to where his member rubbed over the nerve-charged slit below the pouch where Ein’s pulsating organ protruded.

“AH! Oh godsss…!”

The verdant snake couldn’t even bring himself to ask. He grabbed a generous fistful of hummingbird, ignoring the soft hiss his rough manhandling of tender places wrought, and directed the head of Zilli’s heated sex back over the slit, his yellow eyes rolling back with sheer ecstasy.

“Uhn,” Ein grunted, forgetting the shaft was connected to a living being as he squeezed the base and slicked himself with the pearlescent beads of liquid gathering at the tip.

Zilli had a high pain tolerance, and Ein’s desperation and rawness was quite endearing, but it was also rather inconveniencing to feel certain essential parts begin to bruise, especially during lovemaking.

“Careful, matlal,” Zilli admonished softly as he guided Ein’s tense hand into a gentler grip, distracting the green one with feather light kisses and a sharp, sensual tweaking of his right nipple.

Ein moaned miserably under Zilli’s warm lips, feeling betrayed by his body for submitting so completely to a flamboyant bird that didn’t even have to hunt for his own live food. If he had been dominated by a predator then maybe the situation would be more explainable; as his karma or whatever force dictated this creature lived off flowers.

If the continual teasing about his rather diminutive size from his clan weren’t enough, being overtaken by his lunch would have him eschewed in shame for the rest of his life if he were found out.

Ravenous lust and hunger warred internally within Ein. His worm appetizer had inflamed both cravings, and truly satisfied neither. Zilli smelled intoxicating and delicious while rubbing the opening to Ein’s anus in such a devious way as to reduce the garter snake’s mind to its most carnal bases.

Ein was going out of his mind.

With a sudden, violent motion he jerked from under Zilli’s torturous body, his tail flailing as he situated himself to attack or flee, staring up at the hummingbird with wide, panicked eyes.

“I c-can’t… need…” Ein’s breath was sputtering and unintelligible, while his tongue flickered out as if hoping to catch filling morsels from the air alone.

Zilli sat back on his heels and observed his tormented lover thoughtfully. After a few moments, with Ein twitching at each breath and slightest movement, Zilli settled himself on the ground in a fluid, unrushed motion, apparently indifferent to the rabid snake contemplating whether to devour or couple with him.

The hummingbird pulled his long white hair over his shoulder as he stretched languorously on the ground, displaying the full expanse of his lean body enshrouded by smooth, perfect skin.

”One bite, Ein. Just enough to sustain your body until you find more repulsive prey,” Zilli interrupted the snake’s internal conflict wryly, seeing the other begin to froth at the mouth.

Zilli relaxed his taut stomach muscles so Ein would not have to dig far into him to get a good chunk of meat. He pressed a hand against his last lower rib and the other along his hipbone, marking off a relatively safe area away from vital organs.

Ein slithered up to him instantly, his eyes so focused and intense that the hummingbird felt partially consumed already under that yellow stare.

Zilli wanted to observe that Ein did not allow his hunger to get away from him and took more than could be healed relatively cleanly, but he found his head rolling to the side away from the garter snake’s ravenous gaze. Being a hummingbird, his heart was always beating rapidly, but now it fluttered in an even more accelerated rate. As Ein’s slender fingers touched his side and belly almost reverently, Zilli sucked in a sharp breath and had to force himself to exhale before he choked.

Ein’s predatory instincts came alive at the first display of submissiveness from the entrenched hummingbird, and assumed – with no small amount of satisfaction - the miniscule trembling received through his fingertips was caused by the other’s fear.

Then Zilli took several deep, unwavering breaths that threw Ein from his feral reverie. Ein’s prey usually tried - and failed - to take un-stuttering breaths, and many stopped breathing all together for long periods of time, believing if the serpent thought them dead that would make them less appetizing.

There was no chemical change indicated from fear, Ein now noticed disappointedly as his split tongue flickered to taste for that pungent scent, and if Zilli’s exceedingly careful breaths and trembling weren’t wrought from fear…

Ein’s eyes followed the path of his fingers, over that perfectly sculpted abdomen and descending to white downy thatching… and brushed the other’s stirring member. The soft, deliberate touch caused Zilli’s breath to hitch again and moan softly.

“You’re getting off on this…” Ein muttered as his uncontrolled instincts began to settle, his tone aghast and slightly husky with unexpected arousal; Zilli’s pale eyebrows furrowed and his lips thinned, but the hummingbird made no nuance towards denial.

Ein’s short fangs scraped the flesh over Zilli’s ribs, not pulling back when the other’s hips gave a slightly desperate jerk upwards, and bestowed tiny twin puncture wounds in the tan flesh.

“Ein…!” The anguish coating Zilli’s usual cool, throaty voice caused the garter snake to look up and lock his burnished eyes on conflicting turquoise – and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to see that anguish reflected on the rest of his stunningly beautiful face.

“You’re more wiggly than that worm,” Ein hissed softly, enjoying being able to goad his too-quick lover for once, feeling composed enough to taunt. “Maybe I should have eaten him too.”

Zilli’s dark eyes narrowed unexpectedly, and Ein found himself twitching back from their intensity. “By all means go ahead, since worms are apparently quite appealing to your kind.”

“You saw-?” Ein’s slit yellow eyes widened, and then glared back with sudden accusation. “Do you get off on spying on other people too?”

Zilli leaned up on an elbow, obviously not pleased with the indictment, and Ein jerked his hands away from the hummingbird’s body as if the flesh had suddenly become freezing. The snake squirmed uncomfortably under that dangerously cold stare.

“I saw nothing you were not displaying for anyone passing by to see, matlal.”

Ein felt a twist of anger and embarrassment, but he refused to be humiliated by a creature so far beneath him on the food scale. He tensed to strike, but in the split-second before his tendons even had a chance to contract he found himself pinned to his back, a thousand needle tips piercing his spine.

“You dare attack me, matlal?” The endearment was sensuously crooned in Ein’s pointed ear, and the snake flinched as the other’s steel-strong grip tightened on his biceps and added agonizing pressure to those needles cushioning his body.

Looking around quickly Ein realized Zilli had forced him into a stunted patch of cactus that the snake hadn’t even known grew in this area.

Sensing the entire situation inane, he really had no clue how they’d ended up bickering like jealously possessive lovers who couldn’t get enough each other, when Zilli and he had met only less than an hour ago. Zilli nibbled his neck with fierce possessiveness – the hummingbird also seemed strongly affected by the conflicting urges to fight or make love. Or both.

“You’re hurting me, Zilli,” Ein said with unprecedented softness against Zilli’s cheek, which he kissed beseechingly with the moist end of his tongue. The spines were spread even and plentiful across the surface area of his back, so while they poked and pinched painfully at least they didn’t skewer him.

The garter snake felt the other creature tense against his body, and he took advantage of the hesitation to slip his long tail around Zilli’s waist, the action almost a gentle embrace until a flare of serious anger ruptured Ein’s will and his grip became crushing.

Before Zilli could dominate him again Ein flung his tail outwards, bringing Zilli with it, as he shot off the patch of needles and coiled himself up defensively with the lower half of his tail lashing furiously.

Zilli’s wings had snapped out in a graceful, blurring arc behind him, catching him midair from a likely rough impact with the ground. His bones were hollow, which made him light enough to throw quite a distance, especially with the amount of strength and anger fueling Ein, but he was by no means delicate.

They both stared at each other hatefully; Zilli’s ire cool, while Ein nearly spat with anger.

Ein couldn’t help noticing the bird’s erection hadn’t flagged a bit as he watched his lover hovering above him through yellow eyes glazed with bloodlust, although Zilli didn’t seem to notice nor care in the slightest. He pressed his own need into the sun-warmed grass and had to fight off a livid moan.

The silence stretched except for the quiet humming of Zilli’s brilliant wings. Ein didn’t understand how it was possible to hate and want someone so much. He thought the worm was a fluke, but having had Zilli in his arms, his prey bantering and touching him back so passionately…

Ein flattened himself into the grass as Zilli finally settled back to the ground a few paces away, although he left his now slowly fluttering wings extended, prepared to flitter away –perhaps for good - in an instant.

Neither of them seemed to want to leave, but silently acquiesced that attempting to mix together again was a volatile combination. Ein was confronting his own insecurities and instincts as a predator and Zilli, while neither suicidal nor afraid of pain, contemplated whether the pleasure of coupling would be worth the risk involved…

Ein and Zilli moved towards each other without even realizing their intentions.

Zilli caught and cradled the sides of Ein’s head between his hands, elegant fingers gently spearing the waterfalls of long green hair as lean arms went up and around his back. Their bodies came together as their mouths connected above, the kiss sweet and tender although absent of any remorse or apology.

Ein lay back gingerly in a bed of flattened grass (careful to avoid any more prickly cacti) as Zilli entered his body in one smooth motion. The snake gave a warbling cry against his lover’s mouth as the hard shaft forced pleasure upwards and deep into his body, agonizing at how rapturous one organ could make him feel.

Zilli soothed and tormented him further with his body, Ein’s scales rippling against his bare skin as he sunk again and again into that delicious heat, angling as deep as he could with each penetration.

The love making was slow and hard. Zilli’s pace was consistent even as Ein scratched lines in his back and chewed at his mouth, his hips rigid as they pushed through any resistance and pulled back from the desperate clenching. The need and heat built in their bellies until that was all they could focus on.

Rather than succumbing and becoming pliant with such pleasure assaulting him, Zilli was even more intense and focused, barely seeing Ein beneath him as he moved.

Neither could have possibly lasted very long, and when both of them came it was a contrasting affair. Zilli’s body neither sped erratically nor slowed to languish in his hard-won orgasm, instead at the end of each thrust was a slight pause so he could release spurts of semen into Ein’s channel, drawing back and rocking back in to repeat the action until he was spent.

Ein, however, keened and thrashed wildly, his nails digging deep rents into Zilli’s shoulders as he pumped what felt like an endless reservoir of ejaculate onto their bellies.

The pair shivered and finally slowed until Zilli was leaning back over Ein with his eyes partially closed, breathing heavily.

At this point kissing seemed too intimate - as if the contact would forge a bond Zilli and Ein were not prepared to commit to. Zilli did not linger long inside Ein, however the garter snake’s desperate need for cuddling seemed to infiltrate Zilli and he stayed to lay beside him, holding his lover in his arms as he tangled his legs with Ein’s tail while they baked comfortably in the sun together.

Zilli rested his cheek atop Ein’s green head, humming a wordless tune as Ein sighed blissfully and nuzzled into his glistening chest.

Ein was too satisfied and too comfortable to worry about someone he knew passing by and seeing him curled around a hummingbird, but obviously not trapping him to kill and devour.

//…Zilli’s more likely to kill and devour me,// Ein thought, more amused than disgruntled. He felt a strange sense of pride that his lover was so strong and capable, even without having to pin Ein to a bed of cactus, and had a brief moment of respite where he could have cared less about the species the white-haired creature was.

Ein could feel a deep attachment growing, connecting him to Zilli, but the hummingbird was so aloof he couldn’t tell if he felt anything similar. Not wanting to appear needier than he already was, Ein kept back the multitude of questions he ached to ask. He refrained also for his own sake because he knew, he knew there was no possible way to have his supposed prey as a devoted lover. He wouldn’t survive his clan if they found out.

Aggravatingly, Zilli didn’t look to be having any sort of internal conflict. He seemed content to curl up with Ein, languidly stroking his back until they eventually had to separate, and then Ein knew that would be the end of the relationship on Zilli’s part.

The garter snake felt the need for a mate – a lifemate and not just a one-time physical mate that was common for his kind - so strong in that moment that his throat tightened painfully and he had to blink his eyes rapidly, the fluttering of his translucent eyelashes tickling Zilli’s collarbone.

“It is becoming dark, matlal.” The other’s soft, rich voice startled Ein out of his maudlin reverie and he was surprised to see the sun had already sunk halfway down the horizon.

He shivered and squeezed tighter against Zilli’s warm body for a moment, before he used the pretext of stretching to cover how much sheer will letting go required, and moved away before he was tempted to wrap himself back around Zilli.

He didn’t speak, nor offer to help, as the hummingbird collected their garments, and Zilli dressed quietly before handing Ein his deep green neck wrap, seemingly apathetic to the serpent’s conflict.

Ein fingered the wrap but didn’t put it on even though he was cold without the warmth of the sun and his lover penetrating his body.

“You are pouting, Ein,” Zilli said, his voice tinged with amusement and the familiar censure.

The sound of his name, and the statement, startled Ein once again and he quickly turned the unconscious pout into a half-hearted sneer. The snake was becoming exasperated at how consistently Zilli kept him off-guard, but he guessed that just ensured he wouldn’t bore of the hummingbird anytime soon.

…They didn’t have time left together to get bored.

“I’m hungry,” Ein grumbled, eyeing Zilli’s bare chest… and that succulent spot below his left rib pointedly.

Zilli crossed his arms over his chest, effectively cutting off Ein’s focus and forcing those yellow eyes up. “That, incidentally, was a one-time offer,” he arched a pale eyebrow as a shadow of a smirk played at his lips. “I suggest going back to hunting your worms if you are always that terribly slow.”

Ein scowled and lunged at him, but Zilli had already taken a graceful hop and hovered backwards out of striking range. Rage pushed the need and desolation from Ein’s chest as he bared his fangs and hissed threateningly up at the hummingbird.

Zilli threw his head back and laughed, the sound curdling the rage with begrudging attraction and the pure want to dominate the other. Ein hated him as much as he knew how easily he could fall for him…but knowing Zilli the bird would make sure Ein was several hundred feet in the air before dropping him.

“Do not die yet, matlal,” Zilli told him warmly, and the suggested promise to return made the wild emotions settle, leaving Ein smoldering slightly.

“Do not let me kill you yet, Zilli…” Ein breathed softly under his breath, too soft for Zilli to hear, yet his lover’s smile deepened to touch his clear turquoise eyes.

From his vantage point, Zilli saw in the distance the oblivious flower thief. The worm still had the flower, but was now using the slightly bedraggled former snack as a blanket as he curled up underneath with what looked like a ladybug. Zilli shook his head, amused and not too resentful of his loss.

Finding the moment concluded, Zilli gave the garter snake one last appreciative look before turning towards the setting sun.

The bright colors of his wings very nearly put the gorgeous sunset to shame, Ein mused idly as he watched his lover go before shaking himself and forced himself to proceed in the direction of the approaching darkness. He was eager to curl himself on the very bottom of a large knot of snakes and sleep until he could conquer more unattractive prey that he wouldn’t be tempted to cuddle.

Perhaps something with spines next time…

~Fin

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*matlal – Nahuatl Aztec for ‘dark green’ or ‘net’ (since Ein’s a green snake and ‘caught’ Zilli... sort of. XD)

*Interesting tidbit found from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garter_snake) – “Male and female skin pheromones are so different as to be immediately distinguishable. However, sometimes male garter snakes produce both male and female pheromones. During mating season, this fact fools other males into attempting to mate with these "pseudo-females". It is often these males, with the female pheromone genetic variation, that are among the first to mate. By expressing the male pheromone, they still attract females. But, the expression of the female pheromone leads to fruitless mating attempts by other males.”

…I love garter snakes. XD

*maxtlatl – loincloth (Nahuatl)