When the Bell Tolls

[Castus Annen]

There was not much that could rouse the lithe Selonian from slumber. In fact, in all of his years he could think of only two things that would pull him away from sleep - his well-known morning alarm, and the feeling of another body so comfortably nestled beside him. Or was he nestled into the other body?

It never mattered, really.

But, this early in the morning, what caused him to open his eyes now seemed to be a combination of the two. There was an arm that he was using as a pillow, and a body that his tail was wrapped so firmly around.

A light breath, and the Selonian rolled over in the loose grip that seemed to only grip tighter as he moved in its' hold. In return, his tail constricted around the middle of his partner, and his legs moved to wrap around those of his bedmate.

And still the morning alarm rang, incessant and insistent.

Castus gave a nuzzle to his partner's neck, whiskers folding back as the side of his snout pushed against flesh.

"Rouse yourself."

[Meeristali Peradun]

"Mmf..."

His own tail, the end of it, twitched against his nose...

"...come and get me, then..."

...and made for his mouth. The taste of fur in his mouth when not in a conscious state was still no bother, but the twitching of his own tail against his face caused a twitching of that nose that got his free hand swatting at the whole deal and set his mind to rousing slowly; the application of snout to his neck sped that along a little more, but consciousness hadn't yet gained surer footing and his hand went for that next, just as the simple command to dispose with sleeping snuck into his ear and pulled him into the land of wakefulness.

"...hnng, I am. A moment... please..."

The grasping hand turned to a soft pat, a short stroke at the back of his partner's head. His eyes slipped half-open, fluttered shut, then opened three-quarters of the way.

"...a moment."

[Castus Annen]

His body seemed to wrap ever further around the Felacatian, and Castus gripped Stali a small bit as the other's hand gave a pat to the back of his head.

"It is time to wake," he somewhat repeated in different words.

The tip of Stali's own tail seemed to have a life of its' own, and the Selonian caught the 'offending' appendage with a decidedly uncharacteristic playful nip.

"If you do not," he rumbled, a deep thrum building in the depths of his chest, "... then I shall make you."

It was a threat that he had given many times before, and one that had been challenged just as much. His tail seemed to pull Stali closer in a last moment of closeness, and the rumble became a siren's call. He could already feel the reciprocating thudding in his partner's body.

[Meeristali Peradun]

"No," he said, defiantly and more sharply than intended, due to the nip, at the second proclamation that it was time to be roused, "it is not."

He groaned, somewhere between pleasure and its antithesis; waking to untangle himself from the sheets had never been quite so unwanted a thing as when there was also this Selonian to untangle from as well. The threat was routine, and some mornings Stali slathered on the contrarian attitude just to see how far his partner would go to make him 'rise'.

"Then make me," he said in a low, husky growl, "I darrre you."

The dare being a threat of his own.

[Castus Annen]

The challenge had been met. It was often met when time permitted. Thankfully this early morning had been planned; his alarm set earlier than normal to facilitate a small bit of deviousness. And why not? His Felacatian companion was a desired bedmate, as nearly as flexible as he himself.

The Selonian's back rolled up as he disengaged, rising to perch over Stali. Whiskers flattened, small ears perking up and forward as his head ticked to the side, staring down. A powerful tail unwrapped, then rewound itself around the body beneath. It was not nearly so long as Stali's, but there was meaty strength that was undeniable.

A paw came down, gently, to run a single clawtip from the top of Stali's chest to his abdomen.

And in the next moment his spine seemed to fold back down, the tip of his nose only just barely touching his partner's own.

"Very well," his suddenly silky-low voice thrummed.

[Meeristali Peradun]

The claw pulled a breathy shudder out of the pilot, but the Selonian was now right where Stali wanted him, a small, tooth-bearing grin painting his mouth at the fact. The next moment tailing Castus' words was taken by gleaming eye contact, and his tongue darting out and up the trail from chin to nose, disappearing as fast as it arrived.

"Slowpoke."

The grin only became wider, and his eyebrows peaked and fell, attempting to antagonise and dare his partner further.

"You must be getting old."

Not that he wasn't.

[Castus Annen]

Castus let his body tense, feeling a familiar roll of excitement begin to rise in the pit of his stomach. It had been a very long while since he'd had Stali to himself, and the Selonian was more than ready to show his partner of so long a touch of writhing, energetic joy.

His head rolled to one side, going in to nip at the Felacatian's ear just as the chirp of his bedside comm unit cut through the air.

Two teeth still held onto an earlobe for seconds that ticked by. A following chirp. Then another. And another.

With a groan, Castus released, rolling up so that he still sat straddled over Stali.

"Answer," came the growled word as he let wide paws rest on the midriff below him.

"Sir. We're fifteen minutes from our drop point."

His whiskers skewed, then folded back against his muzzle as he stared down. It seemed that the higher up the hierarchy he climbed, the less time he had for himself and those whose company he so very much enjoyed. Well, more the one, rather.

"I will be along shortly."

"Yes Sir."

The comm went dead, and the Selonian slowly began to unwind his tail from the body beneath him.

"I have never been to Manaan," he finally voiced after a long moment of silence and staring, partial resentment in his murky eyes at having been denied one last bit of pleasure before duty took both back into their daily lives.