Daughter of the Witcher Ch. 07

You should rest if you can. I will tell lady Margit that things have not changed, but that Koten sleeps deeply. Eat a little more if you have the want of it. I will return as soon as I can. I am glad that you feel a little better -- since even I can see it in your face."

Nadya looked over at Koten and she slid her hand under the covers for a moment. "Something is wrong here, Natan," she said, "It is as you said. He feels cold to me. I think that after coming to know a little of you and seeing that there is no harm meant for me, I will lie on the bed against him. I think that I might sleep now and if it warms him, then there is no harm, no?"

Natan nodded, "Why not? I only hope that he is not too surprised if he wakes to find you there."

He laughed. "He would not believe that it had happened anyway, to wake up and find a beautiful female on his bed. Koten does not think that he possesses that sort of luck these days."

With that, Natan was out of the door and looking for Margit to reassure her a little.

Nadya moved to get back onto the bed. She found it much easier now that she was feeling at least a little better. She eased herself down and moved carefully to press up against the lump which was Koten.

The room was lit by only the soft and flickering light from the fire and it gave her a chance to look at this strange man.

She wondered about him and she did find herself feeling a little concern for someone who had helped her, now that she knew of it. As she looked down at his sleeping face, she still wondered about it.

As she was gauging things at the time to put herself into the best position from which to spring at him, she'd seen even then that it would have likely failed. This human was large and what she saw went with what Natan had said of him. He looked strong.

As she remembered things in her foggy way, he was also larger than Natan, who was a bit taller than she was, now that she'd seen him. This human would be a good deal larger still. The thought would normally have caused her to fear a little, but he was plainly helpless the way that he was here.

She looked some more and found herself liking his face. It was a surprise, since other than her father, she hadn't ever met a human male whose face had appealed to her in any sort of way.

She pushed the thought away but as soon as she did, there was another thought in its place.

He'd carried her in his arms.

For three and maybe four miles.

Why?

As he was here -- even in sleep -- he looked like more of a warrior than a healer.

Now that she felt better, she knew that her outlook was changing, moving away from the dark way that she'd been feeling. She might not have wanted to continue to live very much earlier, but she felt a little more like living now, and it was because of those two males, one a Kurtadam prince of all things, and this human.

He'd felt so cold when she'd touched him. It shouldn't be like that.

She was warm now, very warm. It caused a notion to pass through her head which caused her to smile to herself. What he needed was something warm there in the bed with him.

She almost laughed. Such an idea, she thought. If she tried anything like that and he woke up, she'd be mortified and his kind heart would likely stop from shock.

But she did find herself feeling some concern for him all the same. The room was warm, but he had none of that heat under the blankets with him.

She reached over and touched him very gently. If he woke up, she decided that she'd try to calm him a little and tell him her thanks and then offer to try to warm him a little. He'd likely refuse politely, she guessed. After all, she was probably in need of a bath by his standards, never mind that he likely regarded her as an animal.

And yet, he and Prince Natan were obviously close friends and the prince was not human either.

She nudged him this time, and the result was the same. Nothing.

Nadya began to hope that he was alright.

She looked around, wondering what else she could do for him and she came up dry.

She got off the bed and she carefully spread out the blanket which she'd been given so that it covered him as well, and then, taking a deep breath to hopefully give her a little brass for boldness, she lifted the covers and eased herself into the bed with Koten, half-expecting him to wake up with a start and yell.

But nothing happened at all. He only kept sleeping, his breathing indicating a deep level of sleep.

Nadya moved herself against him, thankful for her fur now, since it kept the shock of his coldness from her. After only a few moments, she felt some of her own body's heat coming back to her from him and she hoped that it was doing him some good.

The irony of what she was doing came to her then. This had to be the first time that she'd gotten into a bed with a human because she'd wanted to be there to do something kind for him.

She had another thought and after a moment, she reasoned that since he hadn't been disturbed by her getting into bed with him, then maybe if she were to lie on top of him, he'd get more of the benefit.

There was a fair size difference between them and to him; she doubted that her body represented any considerable weight. He'd carried her in his arms, after all.

She reminded herself that it had been for miles, and that helped with her resolve that she do something for him. So, ....

Nadya moved slowly, a little at a time, and with periods of stillness in between them. It seemed to take her forever, but at last, she made the last careful movement which brought her on her front on top of Koten.

And still he hadn't woken up. She wondered if it were possible that he was in a coma.

Mostly, she was on his chest, looking at him with the covers over her back to keep them both warm. She didn't want to lift herself up at all, not wanting any air to get in. She was feeling plenty warm and she now wanted Koten to be warmed by her more than anything, so she contented herself with lying there and looking at him.

Well, it was very different to her to be there against a human voluntarily with no money changing hands to get her to do it.

"I want for you to wake up because I hope that you are alright," she whispered to him in the Kurtadam tongue, unaware that he understood at least some of it. It didn't matter, he was asleep, so she felt a little safe to say what she felt.

"But I do not wish for you to wake up too soon, since I am enjoying this now. You are very nice to lie on for a female such as me, Koten. I cannot feel your arms around me as I would now like, but that is alright. I do not want that you grow ill from helping me, for that would be cruel luck."

She laid her forearms down on his chest very carefully and then she very slowly laid her head on one of them so that she could rest a little herself as she looked at him.

She thought about him and realized that, though he was unconscious or only in a deep sleep, she liked him. She hoped that there wasn't anything bad or nasty to him, because she suddenly wanted to be able to tell herself that she liked at least one other person in the world now that she was feeling better.

She did smile then and widely to herself. She knew at that instant that she liked Prince Natan as well, not that it would likely get her anywhere with him. He was young and very cute and -- it had to be said -- he was actually very handsome as well, though it was a little obvious that he hadn't really grown into the handsomeness part of it fully yet.

Too bad he was a prince. She wasn't weighing her chances, she was just daydreaming a little, that was all.

She thought about Koten again and played with that little daydream awhile. Likely neither of them would ever have any want of her, but she liked the sudden thought of having them both as friends, since she doubted that they'd ever want a female who was a little of both their kinds.

Her reverie was cut short a moment later when she felt Koten stir.

The surprising thing to her was that it was only one part of him which was stirring. The very few times when someone had paid extra for her to spend the whole night with them had taught her the lesson that even while sound asleep, they could get hard all by themselves for no reason at all other than maybe a naughty dream.

He must have felt a little restrained, she guessed, for the way that he'd spread his legs a little after a minute. That was when she'd felt that at least one part of him was warm as it pressed against the inside of her thigh.

She carefully spread her own legs so that it had a little more room.

And then, ... Nadya had a deliciously naughty little thought herself.

She didn't think that she'd dare.

Then again, she'd gone this far. Why not go a little further?

Since that unseen part of him didn't show any signs of abating, she eased herself backwards with her thighs spread a little more and after a few careful and cautious movements, she closed the gap, neatly trapping him.

It had forced her to move backward just a little to get him there, but now his hard shaft was against her outer lips. She squeezed her thighs together for a moment just to savor it.

She gave him a little experimental hump after that, watching his face carefully. It felt really good to her and he didn't seem to have been disturbed by it at all.

She did it again.

And then again.

She put her head down on her arms then and she began to hump against him very gently and very slowly, liking it very much and reminding herself not to get at all carried away, not that she thought there was any danger of that here, after all.

Feeling it a little now, Nadya looked at Koten a little differently. He was very good to look at too. She had to give him that. As long as she was daydreaming, she thought about how her life would have gone very differently if she'd had the love of a man like him before her life had turned into the unending whirlwind of shit that it had become, no matter how she'd tried to avoid all of the pitfalls and misfortunes that she'd even seen coming to her.

A man this good-looking wouldn't have any need for a scrawny, fur-covered mutt such as her, but he wasn't awake now to protest or object, and so she went with her little daydream, imagining them doing this and so much more out of love for each other.

She'd never had the occasion to have the want of a love like that with a human. They had all sorts of names for a freak like her, unless they wanted a whore who was truly wild in bed, and then only for as long as it took them to get themselves off inside of her. After that, she went back to being just someone to laugh at.

But not this one, she suddenly realized. She didn't know much of anything about him, but she had seen a lot in his pale blue eyes in that one instant and cruelty was not one of the things that she'd seen.

It was all nonsense and she knew it, but she did so love doing this with him.

It was too bad that he wasn't awake and wanting to share this with her. If he was half the male that she imagined him to be in her daydream, she'd want to reward him for being that way.

And of course, then she'd get to feel his strong arms around her.

Oh, THAT was a nice thought, she realized as she allowed herself to grind her pubic bone against his for a moment so that she could feel the way that her clitoris was being gently mashed between them.

She sighed a little, not being able to help herself. This was soooo good.

It caused her to wonder what he'd be like to fuck with. As men went, what she held between her thighs felt a little on the large side. It probably wasn't any larger than any of the rest that she'd had jammed into her, it was just that here and like this, what she had was an unknown quantity.

Not that she was complaining, of course.

He moved very slowly then and she found it comforting, lying on a man like him to feel him move a little in his sleep. She wondered if human females ever really appreciated the way that it felt. She hoped that they did.

They'd be idiots if they didn't appreciate the feel of something like this.

A female in her position would give a lot to know that someone like this would protect her and offer her this level of warm comfort.

And a little quiet humping if it was all that she could get for the moment.

His arms moved slowly and he exhaled. It wasn't with a sigh, though it might have been if he'd put a little more into it. She felt his arms -- very warm to her then as they came to rest half-encircling her before they stopped and the feeling told her that she'd had an idea which must have actually helped him to warm up.

He did sigh a little then and she wished to know which god or gods that he worshiped so that she might thank them for this comfort. She tried not to think of how she must seem ugly to him. It would certainly mean the world to her to know it if she didn't, though she held no illusions. She closed her eyes and imagined a world like that- with a man like him thinking that she was pretty enough for him.

Nadya knew at that moment that she did really like him, at least when he was like this.

She felt herself smiling then. She couldn't help it.

"Koten," she whispered very softly and dreamily as she humped on steadily, "I hope to learn that you are a kind human and that you sleep this way very often, because I would do this with you at any time at all if you liked it with me."

She felt him harden considerably then. He'd been hard to begin with, but just now, he'd gotten even --

She opened her eyes.

Koten was looking right at her, those blue eyes seeming to hold her immobile as her languid humping came to an abrupt halt and they looked at each other.

He began to whisper to her then, saying, "I hope to learn your name, lovely one, and I hope that what you were saying came from your heart, so that mine might struggle to find an equally sweet reply."

She lifted herself from him and then she was gone.

Koten sat up in the bed, his eyes frantically scanning the dimness of the room for a glimpse of where she might have gone.

"Please," he said, "I am sorry if I said anything wrong. I meant only --"

He heard her anguished groan as a very soft and forlorn sound. He realized that he was looking too far away.

She was still there on the bed.

She lay on her side, curled up with her legs almost to her chest and her long bushy tail covering her as much as possible.

Her head was against the covers and the end of her tail lay there covering her face so that only her sad yellow eyes looked out over the top of it at him.

"There you are," he said softly, "I am sorry that I spoke at all now. What you did felt so good and to see you like that, you looked happy and so --"

"Foolish," she said.

He shook his head, "No. Anything but that."

He reached for her, but her warning growl stopped his hand in midair.

"I mean no harm," he whispered, "I only want to touch --"

"The fool?" she asked, "The idiot who gave in to her stupid thoughts and imaginings? Leave me be."

"Why?" he asked, "You are no fool, and those were surely not stupid thoughts. I would love to know of them."

He moved his hand slowly and she growled again. He brought his hand nearer very carefully. She couldn't believe it.

"I am not so weak anymore that I cannot ruin your kind hand with my teeth. Do not touch me."

"I must," he said, whispering now, "I found a rare beauty lying on me and then I saw that she was not a dream. I would have been happy even if she was, but to find such loveliness against me -- really against my skin --"

"Stop it," she snarled, "I do not believe you. I have learned my bitter lessons of how human males lie to get what they want."

He moved a little closer, "You may paint me however you like, but please do not begin until you know me. Something this nice has never happened to me. Please move your tail; you will have to in any event if you wish to bite my face."

"I do not want to bite your face," she growled, "You were kind to me. I was just stupid."

He shook his head, "You were not stupid. I think that you tried to help me. Your face changed before me three times that I saw. It was such a lovely problem for me, wanting to kiss it and not being able to reach."

She wasn't aware that she'd been shifting, but then she recalled that she wanted to feel him against her in both ways so that she might remember it.

He eased himself down on the bed before her. She saw that his arm was in the air and reaching for her.

"Stay away," she snarled, "I would be gone now if only I knew a way out of here that didn't bring me in front of more humans or Kurtadams. Do not touch me. Do not --"

His fingers found her shoulder and he pulled her against him. She groaned to feel that body against hers once more.

She wasn't sure anymore which shape she was in at the moment, once she'd felt his face against her neck.

Koten found the chance which he so desperately wanted then. For an instant in the dim light, he saw her as a human and he nuzzled under her ear, licking the soft skin behind her jaw. He wasn't aware of it just yet, but Nadya had no real and complete way to appear as a human.

She could get close, very close, but she could never hide a few of the details.

It required a lot of conscious control to keep her yellow eyes looking like human ones.

Unlike humans, Kurtadams have a layer of reflective tissue behind their retinas called the tapetum lucidum. It occurs in many animals and it aids their night vision. It does not occur in primates such as man.

It also causes their eyes to shine back incident light in the visible spectrum. At the correct angle, her eyes reflected light in the same way as those of wolves and other animals no matter what she did. If she was looking at you, you could find her in the dark with a lit candle.

She was aware of it, but there was only so much that she could do by averting her gaze.

Her face looked human easily. Unless she smiled too much or grinned, and if that happened, such as if she forgot herself and let out a smiling laugh, ...

Her teeth spoke of something which was very far from being humanlike. She didn't have eye teeth such as any human would. She had the same set of canine teeth no matter how she looked. They only shifted slightly in size.

When she was as close as she could get to looking human, her long, bushy tail never quite made the journey into disappearing. There was always a thin and slightly furry foot-long tail hanging there attached just above her lovely cheeks. Most of the time, it was easily hidden if she wore a dress or even is she wore breeches and boots. She just had to remember to tuck it in then.

Nadya knew nothing of its effect on Koten, but he'd found that as she went from one to the other, she often hung in a place which was at about the midway point between them. As the reddish wolf, her hair was a dark mane which ran down her back. Her tail was long, and her face was most definitely wolfish, with her ears pointing up and she had a long snout then.

Stuck for the moment in the middle, her tail was still there and long, her mane was gone, already replaced by her long red hair. But her face was shaped as more human, and yet not.

The snout was very nearly gone, her nose smaller, and her lips very humanlike. But the coloring of her fur changed as it shortened -- at least it did over the lower part of her face, turning white over her cheeks and chin with the red showing above that from the top of her nose to her hairline.

It went on like that, white -- all the way down her front, fading out to the red about halfway down her thighs. On her front, she was white, and on her back, she wore the reddish brown. The line was along her ribs.

He'd seen none of this as yet, only the way that her face appeared then and how her ears were shifted lower and a little forward, stuck there on their way to appearing human. Like that, they protruded from her hair.