Raptor and Rapture Ch. 01: The Goddess

Over the cracked lands of the expansive shimmer, Tarquin rode atop his raptor mount. The dinosaur's prints were stamped neatly into the brown, dead soil as the pair rode toward some direction, and both looked straight ahead through the mist of roiling steam rising up from the ground.

They called it the shimmer because of the steam: few chose to traverse the hot and hostile terrain, and there was no good place to camp for anyone passing through. In reality, the land was simply one collective, constantly active volcano, but it had gained a reputation over generations as a place that could not be settled by anything remotely human. Even the demons of the north, a race that could easily withstand the heat, kept their distance from the land because of the violent, behemoth creatures that roamed it.

Tarquin however, was a man used to taking chances. The idea of going around the territory and wasting nearly an entire week's worth of time didn't appeal to him, and he wasn't keen on the idea of being late for his next job. There was another petty war brewing in the western continent of Sk'lah, and, as a lifelong mercenary, he planned to capitalize on it.

For all the negative talk surrounding the shimmer, Tarquin had yet to discover any hostile creatures. Thus far, his journey had been uneventful, and the traveling had been smooth. His raptor, Axis, was thick skinned and just as well seasoned a traveler as the mercenary himself. He was larger than an average field raptor, being only slightly smaller (albeit stronger) than a horse.

The mercenary guessed that they must be nearing the end of the shimmer, and he winced through a billow of steam to see if he could make out any greenery ahead, "It's still looking fairly bleak," he said to the raptor as he patted Axis' side reassuringly. "I'll be happy to drink a little cool water at the end of this... and a bath would be nice too," he added as he felt the sheen of sweat all over his body.

As if agreeing with him, the raptor snorted.

Tarquin chuckled, "Yes, I'll use soap. Now, the sooner we're rid of this place, the sooner we can..." his words trailed off as he saw the shape of something looming in the distance.

He slowed Axis and undid the clasp of his sword at his backside. As they neared, he realized that what he was seeing was only a copse of tall, dead trees. The gathering of trees was dense, but as he drew closer still, he could see that they weren't dead at all, but were actually a natural, ashy gray color. The leaves that grew sparsely over the trees were a strange, neon orange, and they reflected strangely off the rising steam as they whipped around lazily.

The mercenary had never heard of such a phenomenon in the shimmer. He'd spoken with many merchants and fellow mercenaries over the years and in all the stories no one had mention such an interesting sight. So interesting, if fact, that Tarquin halted the raptor and dismounted in order to get a closer look.

The trees were growing too close together for the dinosaur to pass, and Tarquin patted the reptile's head and smiled, "I'll be back in a few minutes; there may be water for us to drink."

The reptile was used to the galavanting of his master, and he blinked dismissively before assuming a more comfortable standing position.

Tarquin carefully made his way into the copse of ashen trees. Sweat and dirt streaked his face as his eyes darted about vigilantly. He was a tall man, broad, and years of intense combat and training had gained him an impressive musculature and plenty of scars to match it. His hair was dark brown and shoulder length, and his features were sharp and strong. It was difficult to see even the color of his deeply tanned skin, dirty as he was, and his unkempt facial hair was somewhere past a goatee and dangerously close to being a sloppy beard.

Tarquin most often traveled alone with Axis. He found the company of roving travelers to be tiresome after a day or two and he hated sharing camps with others. Axis' keen sense of smell and night vision were enough to keep both of them safe at night when camping in the open, and Tarquin himself was no stranger to an unfair fight. The repercussions of this, however, was that the longer the mercenary traveled alone the less interested he became in his appearance. At the moment, anyone's glancing over him would assume the man to be easily middle aged and probably less intelligent that Tarquin actually was, but the man simply had no reason to keep up his appearances in the wild.

And it didn't get any more wild than where the man found himself. The trees opened up suddenly into a broad clearing where a large pool of water sprang up out of the ground. Steam plumed up from the oddly pristine water, and it was like nothing the man had ever seen in his life.

"Greetings, Tarquin."

The mercenary had drawn a dagger and was brandishing it before he even realized it, "Show yourself, whoever you are. I'm just passing through...It wasn't my intention to trespass." The voice hadn't startled him nearly as much as he felt it should, but his instincts were telling him that he'd stumbled upon something very dangerous.

There was long pause before he received a reply. Instead of hearing words, however, he stepped back as the center of the pond began to roil violently.

A woman ascended from the smoky depths of the pond with a flourish. It was clear that she was a woman because she was completely naked, and steaming water dripped from her curves as she walked upon the surface of the water toward him.

"A witch?" He asked as he stood his ground and took a deep breath. The woman that was approaching him was obviously not human, but there was no doubt that she was beautiful. Her skin was almost purple in color and too flawless to be believable, and though his body was reacting the way any man's body would, he held the dagger at the ready and looked at her squarely.

"No, not even close," the woman smiled as she stepped onto the shore. "I am Ne'shita."

Despite his caution, Tarquin found himself laughing, "Ne'shita, the goddess?"

The woman smiled, "That's a generous term. I am simply a guardian deity of the smallest order," the smile she offered was less humble than her words.

"Fine," Tarquin blinked, "Let's say I believe you; what do you want with me?"

The smile never faded from the goddess' lips, "You really don't like games, do you, Tarquin?"

"I really don't, I'd prefer to get to the point. Are you here to kill me or do you want something from me?"

"Everyone wants something from you," she laughed lightly, and the sound was almost electronic, "You kill people for a living."

Tarquin was growing impatient. It was true that he hated games above all other things. Card games, board games, but especially verbal games. "So, you want me to kill someone for you?"

The naked woman shook her head as she stepped up to him. She held no weapon, and her stance was completely neutral, "Quite the opposite... if you have time to hear me out."

Tarquin sighed and took a step back, "Fine, speak." He was less concerned about the fact that she knew his name and more concerned about why she wanted to speak with him at all. If she really was who she claimed to be, then she could probably find out anyone's name she wanted.

"I've been watching you for awhile," Ne'shita began as she stared over the man with a grin. "You are quite the fighter. Besides that, I know that you have been feeling awfully lonely as of late, and you're growing tired of slicing and gouging men for money. Maybe you want to settle down somewhere far away, find a nice woman, maybe even start a family?" She glanced up at him expectantly, "Am I wrong?"

"Yes, you're wrong," he answered immediately, though he didn't sound convinced himself. "Regardless, what do you want?"

She ignored the question as she looked over herself, "I tried to find a form that I thought would please you, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference; you're a difficult man to impress, Tarquin."

"I'm plenty impressed, but I'm also not keen on falling into a trap without knowing why. Now..." he stopped speaking as his eyes widened.

Ne'shita's body shifted and morphed into a smaller, more petite woman with long hair and smaller breasts. The color of her skin remained the same, as did her features, "Is this more to your liking? Or perhaps..."

Tarquin watched her shift again as he steadied his breathing. This time, the woman formed herself into a tall, broad woman, easily as heavy as Tarquin himself with thick legs and arms and soft, pillowy breasts, "Someone to keep you warm at night?" She chuckled as she closed the gap that he'd made between them.

The mercenary was more confused than excited, but seeing such a series of equally alluring women was certainly enough to jar his loneliness, "What do you want?" He asked again firmly with a bit of exasperation as he tried hard not to stare at the large, bare breasts that were almost pushing up against him.

"I want to find you a wife. The perfect woman," Ne'shita shifted back into her original form and crossed her arms over her chest. "I know why you haven't settled down; you haven't found the right woman. You're sad and upset that most every eligible bachelorette you pass in your travels is just... blah," she emphasized her words with a shrug. "I understand. It's hard finding a good man too," she gave him a sideways look and a wry grin. "I want to help you."

Though he was still loathe to admit that what she said was true, he winced and clutched the dagger a little more tightly, "And this woman is you?"

Ne'shita laughed, "Oh, goodness no, it would never work! I know more about you than you might like me to disclose, like the fact that the last time you visited a brothel you spent the entire night talking with the girl instead of fucking her."

Tarquin set his jaw, "That was months ago; just how long have you been spying on me?"

"Long enough. Enough to know what you want... and what you don't want."

He took a deep breath as he considered the naked goddess' words, "And what are you asking in return?"

She smiled slowly, "The thing I want in return is substantial. Tell me, have you heard about the race crisis?"

He had: anyone living who wasn't a hermit had heard of the race crisis. For the last decade or so, fewer and fewer males were being born in each country, across all races. In the last year, Tarquin hadn't even seen a male newborn, and the problem was becoming so widespread that some were already saying that it was a herald of the apocalypse. Nearly every major kingdom in the world had a plethora of princesses, but scarcely any princes. It had gotten so bad in some countries that newborn girls were actually being cast aside or killed simply so the parents could try for a son. "I know it well, what about it?"

"I want you to put an end to it."

Tarquin huffed as he furrowed his unkempt brow, "Oh? And how am I supposed to do that?"

"With my help. You see, there is a reason that the crisis is happening, and it's not due to anything that the silly humans think it is: My sister, Midorie, is to blame. She wants to eradicate all men from the planet. Somehow, she has found a way to make it happen very slowly, but if things continue the way they're going, she'll reach her goals in less than a generation."

"How can a race continue to procreate without males? Wouldn't that get rid of everyone?" Tarquin asked, genuinely perplexed by the logic.

"There are ways," Ne'shita murmured, "Things that you couldn't possibly know about. Suffice it to say that her goals are problematic for me and I want to put a stop to them just as much as any of the races do. If you help me with this, I will reward you by finding the perfect woman for you to settle down with."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Tarquin asked as he shook his head, "Do you really expect me to believe that I could single handedly put an end to the race crisis? On top of that, my reward for doing so is a matchmaking service?"

"Yes, that's the whole of it, more or less. I know you, Tarquin," she said, leaning forward, "What would you have me offer: heaps and heaps of gold? A castle? An entire empire for you to rule over?" She sneered, "None of those things would hold any interest for you. What I'm offering you is a shot at true love: a thing that even the most powerful gods can't promise. If you succeed, and I fail to find you a woman, you will still be set for the rest of your life. I'll make sure that people everywhere know that you are the one who put an end to the crisis, and they'll practically be throwing gold at you. Either way, you can't lose, unless you die, but that's a tired threat that you face nearly every day... isn't it?"

The mercenary closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, "What do I have to do?"

Ne'shita clapped her hands together once and grinned, "It's easy, all you have to do is impregnate three princesses and kill my sister."

"Easy, she says!" Tarquin threw his head back and laughed, "Ah, yes, no problem, milady, let me get right on that!" he continued to laugh as he shook his head, "So all I have to do is walk up to the castle gate and ask for an audience with the king. Then, I'll proceed to say, 'Excuse me, your majesty, but I need to fuck your daughter to save the world'. Of course, he'll agree, no hesitation, and then after I've stuffed the third princess I can mosey on over to whatever magic shithole your sister resides in and slip a god-killing dagger in her ribs."

Ne'shita was only slightly amused by the mercenary's outburst, "I told you I was going to help you. Getting close to the princesses won't be easy, but once you're there I'll make sure that you get your chance to do what you need to."

"And how are you going to do that?!" He nearly shouted at her as he took a deep breath.

Ne'shita said nothing, but instead, held her arm into the air and snapped.

A pair of red Troodon sprang from the trees with their teeth bared. Both were nearly four feet tall and had long, feathered tails that matched the feathers sprouting from their claws.

Tarquin glared at the goddess as he drew the sword on his back, "Bitch!" He snarled as he readied the weapon. It was a long, curved blade with a single edge and no guard. He bent his knees and braced himself for the fight as the two theropods split off from each other to flank him.

The one that approached him directly sprang first, it's razor sharp teeth aiming for his throat. He sidestepped the bird like creature and swung down hard onto it's neck, slicing into it with a grunt as the creature screeched horribly. Before he could deal a killing blow to the wounded animal, the second attacked him from the side. Tarquin's sword was neatly buried into his first opponent, and he had no time to reclaim it as he tumbled aside. The Troodon pounced at him as he came up from the roll, and the mercenary barely had enough time to sink his dagger into the side of the creature's head as he felt it's hardened claws gouge into his chest.

Tarquin grit his teeth as he wrestled the squawking dinosaur to the ground and stabbed it again. The creature went limp a moment later, and Tarquin span toward the first dinosaur to finish the job.

Instead of a half decapitated Troodon, however, he found nothing but his sword lying on the ground, its blade entirely clean. He snapped his gaze back to the one he'd finished killing only seconds before, only to see it dissolve into a black mist. He looked down at his torso where he was sure that he'd been bleeding a moment prior, but there was no pain and no mark that indicated that he'd been hurt.

"What was that for?!" He demanded angrily as he looked toward Ne'shita. The woman was smiling smugly, obviously enjoying the show he'd put on, and he did everything in his power to keep from throwing something at her.

She said nothing, but surged forward suddenly and pinned him to the ground, "To make you angry: I need your blood to flow well!" She said excitedly as she held his arms down with her hands.

The goddess was impossibly strong, and Tarquin could scarcely even budge beneath her as he struggled, "If you're going to kill me then kill me already; stop it with these goddamned games!"

"You're going to like this game, I promise," she said smoothly as she let go of his arms.

Although he felt her remove her grasp on him, he was still unable to move, "Fuck you, goddess or no!" he shouted as he tried to gain some control of himself. He guessed that she must have been using some sort of magic, or a force even further out of his own perception.

"That's the idea, yes," she cooed as she slid down to his hips. "It's been a long time for me, as well; I don't often do it with humans," she said as she began to untie the laces of his pants.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked helplessly as he looked up and watched her pull his pants down.

"This is necessary for both of us, you won't be complaining in a moment."

He was far more angry than aroused, but the fact remained that a goddess was currently straddling him, and she was naked and willing. Against his better judgement, his freed cock sprang up almost instantly and he took a deep breath.

Ne'shita positioned herself over him and bit her lip as he took hold of his member, "Men get grumpy when they haven't had it in a long time; you'll feel better afterwards."

Tarquin groaned as he felt himself slip inside of her. A myriad of emotions swept over him, and though he was still angry, the unyielding pleasure that was beginning to surge through him was enough to offset almost any other feeling.

Ne'shita sighed as she began to rock her hips, "Oh... this is much better than I thought it would be... I think I picked the right man for the job."

The mercenary gasped as the goddess on top of him picked up speed. He threw his head to the side before grunting, "Please..."

"It's not so bad after all, is it?" She asked as she closed her eyes and moaned.

He had to agree with her. Whatever force was holding him down was relinquished, and his arms shot up to her waist immediately as he pulled her closer to him.

"Mmm," Ne'shita licked her lips as she bounced on top of him, "You want to take me, Tarquin? This is good practice for you, I... oh!" she giggled as he grabbed her hips tightly and forced her up along with himself into a sitting position.

The mercenary forgot about nearly everything as he ploughed into the goddess. He buried his face into her chest and licked at her soft skin as he pulled her down onto him over and over again. It really had been a long time since he'd been with a woman, but it seemed that his body hadn't forgotten what to do.

"Good boy," she whispered into his ear as she nibbled at it.

"You're going to have to stop patronizing me if you want this to work," he growled as he grabbed her legs roughly and heaved her upward.

Ne'shita yelped, "Oh, is that so? I think that... ah!" She winced as she felt his hands squeeze her ass. The goddess would never have admitted it to the man (or any mortal for that matter) but she was very much enjoying herself.

"No more tricks!" He groaned as he held her to him and slid into her once more.

She threw her arms around his neck as she allowed him to support her weight, "None at all?" She whispered to him as she felt him penetrate her faster.

Instead of answering, he picked up his pace even more and forced himself deeper inside of her.

The goddess' mouth fell open as she allowed herself to be taken. Her cries echoed over the surface of the steaming pool, and she rested her head on Tarquin's shoulder as she felt him slam up into her.

Tarquin paused and carried her to the edge of the water before stepping into it. It was hot, but not too hot to bear, and he slid into it with the goddess before repositioning himself on top of her.