Watyr

Lydra climbed over the log in her path, brushing the bark and moss from her hands as her feet hit the ground on the far side. Taking a deep breath she surveyed the forest around her. Sticking out her bottom lip she exhaled upward, causing her bangs to fluff out across her forehead. There seemed to be no end to all these trees. Who knew there could be so many trees in the forest? And what purpose did they all serve anyway? There were no real trees in the City and no one there seemed to mind. All they seemed to do here was block her view so she couldn't see more than 100 feet in any direction.

Last month her friend Jeyle had made a deal with another friend to spend one night outside of the City in the middle of all these trees in exchange for Mall credits. Since she had come back she had been different, changed in some way that Lydra couldn't put her finger on. After repeated inquires has netted nothing more than an enigmatic smile, Lydra had decided that the only thing to do was come out here in the Forgotten Woods to find out what was out here. The only thing she hadn't counted on was that a life in the City had not prepared her for anything more strenuous than walking down a smooth corridor or sitting in a café enjoying a meal with her friends.

Plopping down on a large rock Lydra pulled out a vacpak of watyr enhanced with something super-duper that she couldn't pronounce but promised to keep the body from the deprivations of dehydration. She had found it in a store in the Mall that catered to those who spent their leisure time in the City's arenas and "adventure parks". What was adventurous about climbing a wall of plaster painted to look like rocks or running for hours along paths that ran through simulated mountains and deserts? Lydra had tried it once and decided that sweating was disgusting and surely had to be unhygienic. However, she hadn't known what it was out here that had Jeyle walking around with a dreamy look in her eye and had wanted to be prepared. To that end she had several vacpaks of the watyr, some meal bars and a pack of incendiary tabs.

After taking several long sips of the slightly sweet watyr Lydra looked around again. It was brighter off to the left and seemed a little less doom-and-gloom-y. Stashing her watyr back into a canvas sack she slung it over her shoulders and set off in that direction. Who had known that the Wood was so big? And all these trees! Finding her thought repeating she tried to focus on something else. As she trudged along she looked about at all the strange things that had no place in the civilized City. Strange lacy moss grew across some of the rocks and strange shelf like fungi grew out of some of the trees. Strange flora grew out of the ground in the sparse patches of filtered light that made it through the tree cover high above. Strange flowers grew out of the bark of some of the trees whose trunks stretched up high above her head before branching out. Strange, strange, strange. All of it was strange. The clean sterile corridors of the City were a far cry from this Wood. Everything here was strange. And dirty.

Blowing her bangs across her forehead again Lydra continued to plod on. She would look for another couple Houras and then she was headed back. Maybe hearing that Lydra had ventured out of the City would be enough to loosen Jeyle's lips about what was out here. If it hadn't been for the UpSat strapped to her wrist Lydra might have been worried about getting lost in this trackless expanse. As it was she was confident she could find her way back when she was ready.

With a suddenness that made her yelp in surprise a strange noise echoed among the trees. Not a scream or a roar or a growl but somehow a mix of all three it seemed to come from behind her. Whirling around Lydra examined the forest looking for anything that might have produced such a spine-tingling sound. Seeing no immediate threat she continued to scan the trees for a long moment. Finally resuming her trek she couldn't shake the feeling that there were eyes out there in the gloom that watched her progress. The feeling was decidedly un-friendly and Lydra picked up the pace. Maybe she should cut her search short and head back to the City. As she paused to consult her UpSat for the fastest route back the sound rang out again. It was much closer this time and seemed more menacing.

Frantically scanning the forest around her Lydra's blood seemed to turn to ice in her veins as she saw a shadowy form stalking towards her through the trees. Unable to make out any details other than the fact that it was big and headed straight for her, Lydra turned and ran. Sweating and exercise might be disgusting but they were far more preferable than letting that whatever-it-was catch her.

Pelting through the trees as fast as she could, Lydra dodged boulders and ducked under or leapt over fallen trees. She couldn't hear anything pursuing her but the whosy-whatsit was undoubtedly right on her heels and pausing would mean instant unpleasantness. Taking no time to watch where she was going, she had no time to stop or slow down as the Woods abruptly ended on the edge of a ravine. With a scream she plummeted over the brink and fell down.... down.....down.

She hit the watyr and immediately plunged deep. The current snatched her up and whisked her away from her entry point, flinging her around like a leaf in a storm. Struggling to reach the surface Lydra kicked and clawed at the watyr with all her might. She had never been in watyr deeper than a bathing pool before and had no idea how to swim. The bottom was close enough that she could have pushed off it to help reach the surface, but she didn't know that.

With her lungs burning for air from her dash through the woods and her unexpected dunking Lydra was becoming frantic. She couldn't breathe! She couldn't see the surface, she was going to die! As her lips parted to supply the breath her lungs were so desperate for, something suddenly propelled her straight up through the watyr. The choking inhalation that should have filled her straining lungs with watyr instead brought air, precious air! Lydra had time for only one sweet breath before her momentum pulled her back under the watyr. She caught only a glimpse of the rock that she smashed into before blackness overtook her and she knew no more.

Rykin had been having a good time, as usual, when something fell into him. He had been hanging out just below the watyrfall, enjoying the feel of the bubbles created by the turbulence as they flowed through him. He had been considering heading downstream to see if there were any fish hanging out near the rocks where the watyr began to calm and slow down. He liked to tickle the fish and it made him laugh when they would suddenly dash away only to return a moment later to the exact same spot.

He barely had time to register surprise when something broke through the surface of the watyr directly above him. He became tangled with the thing and as the current whisked it away, he was pulled along with it. It only took him a moment to assess the situation and slip loose from the straps of the pack he was caught in. The thing (person?) that had hit him continued to be swept away downstream and he followed along to get a better look at it.

As he swirled around the flailing creature it soon became apparent to him that whatever else it might be, it was neither proficient at swimming nor able to breathe watyr. The face area had puffed out cheeks and the appendages were flailing wildly in an inefficient attempt to get to the surface of the river. He saw the lips part and acted instinctively, swimming below the creature and pushing it towards the surface as quickly as he could. If this was like most surface creatures it would die if it tried to breathe watyr. If it died he would have no way to find out why it had fallen on him.

Rykin saw the creature break through the surface and could hear, even through the watyr between them, the sound of a desperate inhalation. Paying more attention to the creature than their surroundings he was dismayed to see it smash into and ricochet off one of the smooth boulders that littered the river. The flailing stopped and the creature began to drift under the surface of the watyr as the current pulled it along. He swam over and wrapped one arm around its torso before it could sink too far. Making sure that the face-area was above the watyr he began swimming towards the shore.

This close to the watyrfall the shore was mostly comprised of steep muddy banks studded with rocks. The force of the watyr cascading over the falls had carved a deep channel that helped the watyr maintain its high velocity for some distance downstream. Allowing the current to carry them along, Rykin had only to keep an eye out for any rocks and steer them around with minimal effort. The watyr gradually began to slow and the height of the bank to decrease. By the time he found a suitable sandy beach the river had widened and was moving much more slowly. Pulling the limp body up onto the shore was easy here.

Taking a last deep breath of river watyr, Rykin's head broke the surface and he expelled all the watyr in a rush. His next breath was the first time he had breathed air in several Solar Cycles and felt odd for a moment before his body adjusted. Turning to the task at hand he pulled the creature out of the watyr and farther up onto the shore. A quick check verified that it was still breathing and didn't seem too damaged.

Rykin sat down nearby and began to wait. He wanted to know more about the creature and what had led it to land rather unceremoniously on his head. Since these answers were most likely to come from the creature itself, he would wait until it awoke. However, waiting was not something that Rykin did well. After several moments he began to fidget. A few more and he rose, pacing back and forth on the sand. Maybe a closer examination of the creature would reveal some answers.

Approaching the figure lying in a heap Rykin began a closer visual examination. Now that he was paying attention he could see that the creature was female. Different species or not, those were definitely breasts pushing against the jumpsuit it (she) was wearing. Rather nice ones too, he thought. Continuing his perusal he looked over her clothing. A one piece jumpsuit with the legs and torso of blue and the arms of white. The boots seemed to be part of the suit as well. There were pockets here and there with a belt that had several small pouches. Everything was color coordinated with the exception of the silver thing attached to the wrist. After making sure she was still unconscious he poked at it twice, depressing a couple of the buttons. There was no response. The trip down the river had apparently rendered it useless. Oh well. No answers from that. Although he had figured that she was from the City, he had hoped the device would tell him why.

Turning his gaze back to the girl he noticed the strap of a pack over one shoulder. As he gently turned her on her side he saw that the other strap had broken and that remaining one was badly frayed. Pulling it off he took a look inside. Silver squishy pouches and silver wrapped bars. A packet of blister sealed items that felt like small pills. He could read a few of the words on the package, but he hadn't paid much attention in Humes class in school. Why bother studying a species that never came out of their metal box?

None of the packages in her bag told him why she was out here. The only thing left was the human herself. Gazing at her he studied her appearance. Her short blonde hair barely came down to her chin and was matted from the river. She had a scrape along the edge of her jaw and one high on her forehead. Her eyelashes were very long and darkened from blonde at the roots to nearly black by the tips. Her nose had a slight bump near the bridge and her eyebrows swept up away from her eyes like wings. She had a blue gem embedded in one earlobe and a green one in the other. Her lips were pale and slightly parted to give him a glimpse of white teeth. Her eyes were the brightest green like the watyr lily pads that drifted in the calmest parts of the river.

Her eyes!

Realizing she had woken up and was looking back at him gave Rykin such a start that he sprang to his feet. Not as graceful on land as he was in the watyr, he tripped over his own feet and sprawled in a heap. Regaining his balance he found himself on his hands and knees near her feet. Looking at her face again he found her still gazing calmly at him with no sign of alarm. Opening his mouth he said the first thing that came to mind, cursing himself for sounding like an idiot even as the word left his tongue.

"Hello."

Lydra was not surprised when he greeted her. After all, she was dead, so nothing was likely to surprise her at this point. Other than the fact that she was in pain, she hadn't expected being dead to hurt. Her head was pounding and her body ached all over. As she struggled to a sitting position she discovered that she was wet. Why was she wet? The last thing she remembered was that she had been in the Woods. As she dragged her body upright she remembered the awful sound that had triggered her flight through the Woods and then her headlong tumble over the edge of the cliff. Looking at the river flowing by just beyond the edge of her boots she supposed that she must have fallen into it. Otherwise she would have gone splat when she landed. Since she was all in one piece, she must have died from something other than splat-ing

Looking back at the creature that had spoken to her, Lydra took a moment to marvel. Kneeling at her feet was what looked like a man made entirely out of watyr. Not clear watyr like one would find in a glass in the City, this watyr was tinged with enough blue that she couldn't see through him. Other than that he might have been any one of the thousands of men in the City. Two legs, two arms, a face with eyes, nose and mouth all in the right places. Letting her gaze travel over his body she marveled in his physique. His arms showed muscle definition and his stomach was flat and planed. Closer inspection revealed a hint of webbing between his fingers as well as slits on his neck. She had no idea what those might be for. Reaching out her hand she gently pressed on his shoulder to see if her hand would sink into him. Instead her fingers met resistance and she ran them along what felt like warm skin but still looked like watyr. Oh how interesting it was to be dead!

Rykin was starting to wonder if maybe the Hume was mute, or perhaps touched in the head. All she was doing was sitting there and staring at him. Surely she was surprised to see him? As far as he knew, no Humes had had any contact with his kind in hundreds of years. Legend said they fell from the sky in silver seeds that had grown into the silver City that they had all retreated into. Retreated, but not before waging war on the world. His own people, as well as those of Fyre, Ayr and Earyth had done battle with the Humes to keep them from destroying the planet in their greed. Now the silver seeds came and went from the City to the sky but the Humes didn't venture out from it. He had had classes about Humes, maybe they had classes about the Elementals? Yet still she stared as though he was new and fascinating.

Then she poked him. He frowned at her as she ran her hand along his shoulder and up his neck. He pulled back so that he was sitting on his heels and glared at her. You don't go around poking people you don't know, it isn't polite.

He didn't realize he had spoken aloud until she smiled at him. He felt his breath catch in his throat and a tightness in his chest. She hadn't been very pretty before with her stringy half dried hair and skin still pale from the trip down the river. However, all that changed when she smiled. Her teeth were straight and white and the smile brought a twinkle to her green eyes that made them dance like sunlight on the water.

Lydra couldn't help smiling at the watyr man. He sounded so disgruntled at her probing, though even disgruntled he had a beautiful voice. Two-toned, it sounded like watyr flowing over rocks. Rising to her knees she moved towards him. Her headache was subsiding and, since she was dead anyway, she wanted to see what this watyr man was all about.

Rykin eyed her warily as she moved closer. He hadn't much interest in being poked again and she still hadn't said anything. He still didn't know anything about her or what her intentions were. She didn't look very dangerous, being rather small and petite, but appearances could be deceiving and she was rapidly closing the distance between them. As she reached out her hand he captured it in his own to prevent her from poking at him again. As his fingers closed around hers he felt a sparking tingle spread out from that point of contact to encompass his entire body. He heard a low throaty moan and was surprised to note that it came from her, not him.

Lydra couldn't help herself, she moaned at the touch of his hand to hers. It seemed that all her skin burned away in a flash of bubbles and light. Heat enveloped her body and made her every extremity tingle and pulse. The sensation was strongest between her legs. Back in the City she had had a few boyfriends and had lost her virginity to one at the age of 18. In the 3 years since then she had had sex with a couple different guys, but none of them had ever caused such a response, especially not after one touch! Deciding that, since she was dead she really didn't have any reason to be a prude, she reached out her other hand and traced it across his chest.

Rykin did not stop the Hume as she ran a hand across his chest, he was still too busy trying to regain his composure from the previous contact. Reaching out his free hand he brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear and whispered, "Who are you?" To his surprise he received a response.

"Lydra"

"Lie-dra?"

"Yes. What is your name?"

She didn't seem surprised that they spoke the same language, though her accent was strange to him. Then again, she seemed rather calm about this entire thing. Maybe Humes were all like this, how was he to know?

"My name is Rykin. Rye-kin. How did you come to be in the river?"

Lydra didn't want to talk about how she had died. The tingle between her legs had spread up to her nipples and other thoughts seemed more important to her right now than her past life. Rising to her feet she unzipped her jumpsuit down to her navel and began peeling it off. Clothing would be in the way for what she had in mind. She had to sit back down to pull the boots off her feet, the water that had gotten inside made them want to stick to her feet. Throwing aside the jumpsuit she regained her feet and walked over to the watyr man, Rykin.

Rykin was watching her in amazement and puzzlement. Without answering his question she had begun to take off her clothing. Before he could think to protest she was naked and, by that point, he no longer had any protests to make. She now stood before him wearing nothing but her beautiful smile. With her standing and he on his knees he was eye level with her navel. His eyes raked her body, settling on her breasts for a moment before continuing to the juncture of her legs. When she reached out and ran her hands through his hair his hands rose to her body as if of their own volition. Sliding them up her legs he thought for a moment that her skin was as smooth and silky as the watyr in which he normally swam. He pulled her a step closer and began to kiss the soft skin of her stomach, flicking his tongue into her navel. If this Hume wanted to mate, he had no issue with that. He could get answers from her later.

Lydra loved the feeling of Rykin's lips on her skin. Each feathery kiss sent bubbles zinging through her blood straight to her brain. Keeping her hands in his hair she fell to her knees and then lay back on the sand. He followed her down until he was stretched out next to her. Now he had access to more of her than just her stomach.