FIC: Trees (6/9) (original) (raw)

Title: Trees (6/9)
Author: capra_maritimus
Rating: PG-NC-17 for the series, NC-17 this instalment (for sexual situations)
Pairing: Billy/Dom AU (Billy/Domhínithe)
Warnings: I guess I'd better warn for interspecies sex, eh?
Disclaimer: I don't know these people, I don't own these people, I am not these people. This is all a product of my fevered imagination. Astrid belongs to ingve9 and myself. All other OCs are mine.
Summary: Billy and Domhínithe get to know each other.

Notes: The original tig (co-authored by Pip of acroamatica, pippinmctaggart, myself and ingve9) is now labeled as Part 1.

Many, many thanks to vensre for the beta. :D:D:D:D:D:D

For Steve.

To recap: In this universe Dom is half-human, half-uruisg (or urisk for English speakers), a kind of satyr-like brownie found in the highlands of Scotland. The story takes place in mid-May, 2002, in the Manchester area, about two weeks before they have to return to NZ for TTT pick-ups. After that Billy will rush off to film Master and Commander in Mexico and Dom will go to NY to film An Insomniac's Nightmare. Well, that's the plan, anyway....

[Part 1 (tig)][Part 2][Part 3a][Part 3b][Part 4][Part 5a][Part 5b][Part 6][Part 7]

A cascade of moonlight flowed over flexing muscle and sinew, the covering of short fur where skin had once been softening the harsh contrast of light and shadow. The perfect twin arcs of horns glinted in the nocturnal radiance, but the eyes were shadowed by the hooded brow, and further obscured by the long, curling hair. Upraised arms that had paused in the shape of the crescent moon lowered gracefully to each side. The muzzle rose to bring the capric face full into view, eyes silver from the sheen of the moon bearing the closest resemblance to humanity. The _uruisg_-man before him, the one that kindled Billy's body and disturbed his dreams, turned to face him and raised a hand in mute greeting.

Billy swallowed and forced his feet to stay in place.

For a time they stared at each other, recent past and present twining together in uncomfortable ways. Billy's stomach roiled with excitement and nausea as the moment stretched past bearing. His trembling increased, his breath rasping in the back of his throat. Somehow the blanket had ended up back in his hands and he clutched it in front of him in a death grip.

The set of the creature's shoulders sagged slightly, but otherwise he made no movement. The forest itself seemed unnaturally quiet, the lack of sound accentuating the roaring in Billy's ears. His throat tightened as he forced his attention to his lover's other self.

The subtle defeat in the uruisg's posture startled Billy out of his frozen silence. "Dom, no...." he whispered. Domhínithe's ears twitched at the sound, but made no other sign. Billy willed his fingers to release the blanket, and suppressed a moan as it slid to the grass. He inched nearer, then stopped within five paces - he couldn't force his feet any closer.

Billy nearly bolted when Domhínithe shifted position, but the uruisg only crouched down, eventually sitting with his chin resting on his stifles. Billy recognized that Domhínithe was making himself small and non-threatening for him. Slightly ashamed yet oddly grateful, he concentrated on breathing long and slow, struggling to get a grip on himself.

He jumped when he felt something hard hit his leg. He looked down to see a small white stone lying innocently in the grass. Billy looked up in time to see another just miss his foot. He gaped in confusion at Domhínithe who was holding a similar stone in his fingers. He showed it to Billy, then tossed it up into the air and batted it toward him, hitting him on one toe.

With the air of a man in dire need of a padded room, he tentatively hit the next one back to Domhínithe, who nodded his head emphatically - and nearly took Billy's head off with the return volley. Billy lobbed his next stone back more aggressively, and it wasn't long before they had a rousing game happening in the grand tradition of Tig and Cup, Billy chortling in dazed disbelief at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

After Billy missed three in a row, he held up his hand and stopped to catch his breath. There was far less fear in his smile when he was finally able to speak. "Thanks for that."

Domhínithe's posture remained the same, though Billy could have sworn his expression had changed to something approaching a delighted grin - his eyes were certainly shining with merriment. Freed of his paralysis, Billy edged closed till he was less than an arm length away. His stomach was doing little nervous flip-flops as he sat down, his eyes glued to Dom. Now that they had arrived at this moment he wasn't really sure what he should be doing, and the uruisg was giving him no clue.

"Dom." Billy tested the texture of the syllable with his tongue and lips, trying to reconcile the familiar name with the strange figure before him.

Something in the tone of Billy's voice must have been enough of a reassurance for Domhínithe's posture to relax completely. Billy watched as Domhínithe lay back and lounged luxuriously on the fresh grass, arms stretched above his head. Billy grinned and shook his head in wonder and relief. This was indeed still his Dom: friend, love, and all around cheeky bastard.

But here, in this place, in that form, Billy was painfully aware that he was far more than that. "Domhínithe," he whispered, trying to find for himself a name that fit.

Dom flinched, and sat up, poised to flee.

Before he could think about it Billy was kneeling in front of him. "Shhh, shh, remember the other night, Dom? How I named you?" Shakily he rested his hand (oh Holy God!) on Domhínithe's cheek, and lightly stroked him there. "Domhínithe, Dom, please, don't be upset."

The unexpected brush of fur against Billy's arm drove the air out of his lungs. The stab of panic under his ribs faded when he realised that Domhínithe was doing nothing more than resting the side of his face against his shoulder in an obvious show of vulnerability. Billy was taken aback, for never had he seen nor imagined Domhínithe as anything but Otherworldly powerful. Yet here he was leaning on him for strength, his grip on Billy's waist a silent wish for comfort.

Billy tentatively stroked the silky softness of Domhínithe's ear, the sensation doubled with remembered imagery of his vision. Prickles of resentment distracted him momentarily and he turned his mind from it, focussing instead on the love he felt for Dom. He shifted as Domhínithe snuffled and angled his head to rest in the crook of Billy's neck, the soft, panting breaths tickling him there. Feeling slightly bolder, Billy petted the unruly hair that brushed his face and crooned wordlessly to him, knowing that he could not deny Dom this small bit of solace, fey or no, friend or--

Billy pushed Domhínithe back to stare into his face, hands gripping the powerful shoulders. He could feel Domhínithe tense under his hold, and Billy witnessed his gaze turn at once keener and yet more distant, an aloofness that raised Billy's hackles. It was easy for the simmering resentment, buried under the exhilarating strangeness of the last two days, to flood his awareness, bringing with it an unpleasantly pointed question: why the fuck was Billy being the consoler here?

Billy set his jaw against the tidal surge of his rage while his fingers clenched, gouging the fur under them. "You--you tried to--"

Domhínithe did not make any motion of denial, but merely looked at him as he knelt before Billy. His arms lay on his thighs, crossed at the wrists, unnaturally still, a study in marble awaiting judgement.

Billy jumped up and paced back and forth, each turn leaving a sharp imprint in the grass. He stopped suddenly, and spat out one word, one question:

"Why?!"

There was no movement or sign from the kneeling figure, no answer or reassurance forthcoming. Billy let out a frustrated growl and abruptly strode away, needing the extra distance to ride out the whirling accusations and defensive arguments that were clashing in epic courtroom battle in his brain.

--he tried to--but he didn't--and I liked--he hurt me--he terrifies me--but I love--enough to--I don't know--"

Billy bent double against a nearby tree, palms gripping the trunk. His fingers dug at the grooves in the bark, breaking off pieces in places. He panted and gasped for air, desperately scrabbling for the surety of the night before, back in the security of Astrid's house. He squeezed his eyes tight against the forgotten truth that in Faerie, safety was hardly a given.

A breath of noise behind him made his head turn with whip crack speed. He gasped to see Domhínithe standing far too close and still behind him, exactly as Billy had first seen him on the moonlit hillock in Great Woolden Wood.

Domhínithe's head snapped back with the force of the blow from Billy's fist. The rest of Domhínithe's body followed, thudding heavily to the ground at Billy's feet.

For one ugly, euphoric moment, Billy was David overcoming his Goliath.

All sound in the forest ceased. Domhínithe wiped at the red painting his nostrils and his upper lip. He sat up and gave a quick shake to his head, but made no move to either stand or defend himself.

A sudden gust lashed at Billy, sending grit stinging into his eyes. He wiped it away irritably as the adrenaline started to drain from his limbs, leaving him trembling and exhausted. Billy rubbed at his hand to try to soothe the throbbing pain, shame and a creeping fear keeping his gaze fixed on his hurt. The air around him turned frigid, the breeze growing in power with unnerving speed. The crescendoing roar in the trees caused dread to tingle along his spine as Billy stared into the wind in wild-eyed alarm.

The pressure built excruciatingly until he felt as if his ears were stuffed with cotton, and it finally burst forth into angry chaos. Billy was flattened by the force of the tempest, stones and sand and dirt pummelling him from every direction. Gasping in pain, he covered his face with his arm and crouched helplessly on the ground.

A mighty shout reverberated through the clearing. The sheer blast of it stopped everything - Billy's heart gave such a lurch it might have been trying to obey that commanding cry. He blinked the leaves out of his eyes to gape at Domhínithe as he roared in the direction of the trees. The wind subsided as quickly as it had erupted, and Domhínithe's voice quieted accordingly, though he continued with snarls and growls that were no less insistent. A hesitant breath of a breeze threaded its way through the forest's leaves, then subsided into stillness.

Domhínithe barked out one last rebuke, the muscles in his arms and back tensed in challenge. No further sound came from the trees, or from anywhere in the vicinity. After a moment his shoulders slumped, and when he turned to look at Billy, his face was full of sorrow and regret.

Eyes darting nervously from side to side, Billy sat up gingerly to check himself for injuries. He grimaced when he saw the multitude of abrasions, and hissed when his scraped leg slid along the grass, his skin as raw as his nerves. It was abundantly clear, even after all he'd gone through, that he was not welcome here, nor would he ever likely be. Billy shuddered at the implications.

"Dom," he whispered, turning his face away, "I don't know if I can do this."

After several more minutes of eerie quiet, Billy felt a familiar touch on his shoulder, and let out a ragged breath. He could sense the question in the air as clearly as if Dom had spoken aloud.

Do you want to go back?

The offered choice pricked like a knife point at Billy's throat. He didn't want to go back, not really, but he had no idea how to move forward from this impasse. He closed his eyes and tried again to recreate how he had felt with Dom in Astrid's spare bed, tried to remember how it had been to feel strong and confident in the face of strangeness. All he felt was a bleak emptiness that threatened to suffocate him.

He felt a nudge at his shoulder, and turned to face Domhínithe who was kneeling beside him. He held completely still as Domhínithe carefully took both of Billy's hands in his own. They felt cool to the touch, and more calloused than Billy was used to. He glanced in confusion as Domhínithe turned his hands over, examining them, softly whining at the bruises on Billy 's right hand and clicking his tongue at the abrasions suffered during the windstorm.

When Billy felt the soft muzzle on the skin of his knuckles, he swallowed noisily. This was something Human Dom would do, no question, though more often than not with as much spit and noise and silliness as possible. Why, then, did the touch of Domhínithe's muzzle to his hurts make him want to cry?

Billy hadn't thought he'd made a noise, but something made Domhínithe look up from his ministrations. Their gazes met, and Billy nearly cried out at the endlessness of it. It made him dizzy, as if he were looking down from the edge of a great height. That shared regard dissected and displayed everything that Dom was - human and uruisg, lover and friend, perilous antagonist and fierce protector, a being so full of a love that had the granite weight of an oath.

Billy blinked the stinging from his eyes as the kneeling figure in front of him rested his forehead against their clasped hands. Billy's grip tightened and he nodded once, sinking to the grass beside him, exhausted. He felt Dom touch his muzzle to his forehead, a kiss of sorts. Billy's eyes closed, a shaky peace settling into his bones, easing his scattered thoughts.

The great oak tree lowered its branches, its leaves just brushing the top of their heads. Billy sighed, feeling for the first time a faint sense of protection from within this strange place, this place that Dom was a part of, which was in turn becoming a part of him.

Leaning against Dom's shoulder, Billy let the last of his guard crumble, for once allowing Dom to comfort him.

Billy jolted awake, and was chagrined to realise he'd had a bit of a kip, sitting with Dom under the protection of the oak above them. He looked toward him, and started badly - in the familiar warmth of the embrace, he had forgotten that Dom wasn't wearing his human skin. He smiled wryly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Your touch isn't all that different, like this," he mused aloud. "A little furrier, I suppose. More solid. But still very much yourself. I hadn't expected that." Billy frowned. This wasn't going to work unless he could think of Dom and Domhínithe as one person in his mind. He wondered, suddenly, if Dom felt like he were two different people. He'd have to ask about it, later, when they could actually hold a conversation.

Billy sighed, and motioned for Domhínithe to let him sit up. The uruisg did so with no hesitation, though his eyes were full of curiosity as he shifted with liquid grace, no longer touching Billy but still intoxicatingly close.

"Let's have a look at you, then."

His eyes roamed over the glossy fur on arm and chest. He examined the sturdy horns gracing his brow, curving to the back, avoiding Dom's piercing gaze for the moment. Dom's normally short, straight hair was now shoulder length and riotously curled, like sheep's wool in texture, but so much longer and almost alive in the way it moved. Billy was utterly convinced that if he sank his hands into the mass of them, the strands would grab his wrists and never let go.

Billy flushed and pushed the shiver of arousal away. Now was not the time.

So when would it be time? a part of him asked, faintly mocking.

When I can go to him without fear, Billy retorted, so shut it. He tried not to think about how long that might take. Mercifully his inner cynic kept any further pointed commentary to itself.

His attention turned outwards again to see Dom watching him still. Billy let himself sink into that gaze, a little distant, a little alien, yet still affectionate, and by far the most reminiscent of Dom's human features. He smiled slightly, caught up in their mutual gazing, another thing that hadn't changed much. With a chuckle he looked away, forestalling yet another staring contest, one which - this time - Billy was certain he would lose.

He looked closer at Domhínithe's arms and was pleased to recognize the shape of the muscles under the fur and the proportions from wrist to elbow to shoulder. The hands were still very much Dom's hands, long-fingered and elegant, if far less fidgety and beringed at the moment. Putting that anomaly to the back of his mind, Billy's gaze roamed over his entire body, and estimated that Domhínithe was slightly taller and broader.... He sighed and amended his observation to Dom being slightly taller and broader in uruisg form.

Billy shivered. And faster and stronger, too. Without thought his eyes followed the moonlit edge of flank and thigh and leg down to the unaccustomed sight of pastern and hoof. The hooves were glossy and flashed white when they made a twitching motion, reminiscent of a restless stallion. As delicate as the lower half of his leg appeared, Billy didn't think he'd want Dom to kick him.

Dom said uruisgs dance, he thought, as a shimmer of excitement accelerated his pulse.I think I'd like to see that. He closed his eyes and smiled as a subtle rhythm buzzed pleasantly through his bones.

Billy opened his mouth to ask. All that came out was a low moan, shockingly loud in the quiet glade. Dom had let his legs drop apart so that not even shadow obscured what had been hidden.

Billy never imagined that he'd experience his mouth wanting to water and become dry all at once, and he struggled to silence the wheeze in the back of his throat. It wasn't helping that Dom was clearly very happy that Billy's attention was trapped where it was. Billy gulped in a great lung-full of air, and then another, scrabbling at calm with the tips of his fingernails.

Well, okay, it's not that different, Billy thought wildly, not entirely convinced as he stared at the obviously hard cock emerging from the exceptionally obvious non-human sheath.

Not that much bigger, you mean, his mind helpfully pointed out. He groaned and hid his face in his hands.

Billy nearly jumped when he felt the touch of Dom's hand on his, lightly stroking his fingers.

"I haven't been this nervous looking at you since that first time," Billy smiled shakily. His stomach lurched when he felt those fingers move to his cheek, but he didn't flinch away as Dom stroked the skin along his jaw like he often did when he was feeling particularly soppy. Billy nearly collapsed in gratitude at the familiar concern and care communicated by it.

He steeled himself and placed his own palm on the side of Dom's cheek, exactly where it had been earlier. Dom's ears twitched, and Billy could have sworn Dom was giving him a smug look from under half-closed eyes that may as well have said There, that wasn't so bad, was it?

"And I suppose you'd be perfectly Jedi if our roles were reversed," Billy remarked dryly, his fingertips shaking slightly as he traced the lines of Dom's new face, relearning the shape and feel. Dom snorted in agreement, but dropped his hand to rest innocently on his own thigh. Billy sighed, thankful for Dom knowing exactly how much to push things and when to back off. His thumb stroked lightly under one eye, now hidden in shadow thanks to the changing angle of the moon.

He brushed aside an errant curl and placed his palm against the side of Dom's neck, feeling the pulse throb faintly under his hand, the rhythm not quite as sedate as Dom's outward composure. Billy smiled and slid his thumb up along the jaw where it was just slightly askew, and ran his fingers along the tuft of a beard at the end of his muzzle. He imagined what human Dom would look like with a similar growth and smiled at the ridiculous image. Yet, in this form it fit Dom perfectly.

He stroked the top of the bridge, giggling when Dom's nose twitched. Billy couldn't resist poking it gently. Dom made a low growling noise, warning him of impending tooth action if he didn't quit it. Billy laughed but let him be for now, moving his hand to follow the curls up toward the top of his head, his nerves fading in his growing delight.

Billy stroked the sweeping curves of the horns, measuring them against the length of his palm. They were shorter than Billy had anticipated (they'd loomed large the other night), measuring maybe and inch or so past his fingertip. He loved the contrast of the cool smoothness to the soft fur and got a better look of their underside when Dom obligingly tilted his head down and to the right.

Suddenly Billy giggled. Dom looked at him in confusion. Billy looked pointedly at Dom's crotch, then tapped a fingernail on one horn, lips twitching in barely contained mirth. Dom's nostrils flared and his eyes flashed with mute outrage at the horrific pun.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," Billy choked out, grasping at his composure.

Dom rolled his eyes, then crossed them and stuck out his tongue.

Billy rolled on the grass in hysterics, the battle finally lost, tremendously reassured that even in this form Dom could still make him wet himself.

Eventually Billy reached the end of his laughing fit and sat up, wiping his eyes. He noticed that Dom was making a weird sort of panting sound and it took Billy a few moments to decipher it.

"Dom, are you laughing?"

Dom nodded his head vigorously, then, with a last snort, he sat close beside Billy so he could nuzzle his cheek. Billy had the stupidest grin on his face as he nuzzled back, one hand gripping Dom's shoulder in relief.

He reached up to put his hands in Dom's hair, examining the texture. His fingers didn't catch in the hair at all; instead it twisted around his fingers and then slid away, ephemeral and fine as lambswool. Not at all what he was expecting, but it felt wonderful nonetheless. Dom still appeared to enjoy it when Billy massaged the place where body fur met hair at the back of his neck, making a sound suspiciously like a purr.

Billy scritched a little harder and smiled when Dom melted into a puddle at his side, one leg twitching in the grass and lolling like an overgrown St. Bernard.

Still got it, Billy thought with a hint of smugness. His eyes travelled fondly over the decreasingly strange form and this time he didn't shy from looking his fill, though his breath did stutter a bit when his gaze snagged on the sight of Dom's half-hard cock. He bit his lip and decided to come back to that in a bit.

His heart fluttered in his chest as his hands released Dom's hair to stroke his arms, marvelling at how soft and warm the pelt was under his hands. He skipped his chest to investigate the shape of his legs. His hands paused on the outside of his thighs where the wool was coarser, thicker. He resisted the temptation of the inner thigh and let his hands travel down the narrow part of the leg, fascinated by the hocks and the dew claws. He gently held his hoof in his hand, studying it. He lightly touched the underside and nearly got kicked in the face.

Guess he's still ticklish there, Billy grinned, and went for another go. Dom pulled his leg back and growled in his chest. Billy held up his hands in surrender then shrieked when Dom's fingers swiftly attacked Billy's stomach and under his arms.

The tickle war was cut off abruptly by Dom giving a triumphant cry and leaping up to dance madly around the still wheezing Billy before plopping down beside him. He nuzzled Billy's face and gave him a quick hug, looking very pleased with himself.

Billy smiled back at Dom, more convinced than ever that things would work out alright. In a fit of whimsy Billy kissed the tip of Dom's nose. They both stopped in momentary surprise. Dom edged closer again, nudging his face with his muzzle, making a questioning sound.

Billy rubbed his nose against Dom's. "This is fine, really. I wish we could kiss properly, though."

Dom looked at him, considering, then licked his face.

Billy laughed and scratched behind Dom's ear, an action more appropriate for a Springer Spaniel. In truth Billy secretly loved the silky feel of them and found himself looking for excuses to touch - even if it risked irritating Dom. True to expectations, Dom shook his head violently and batting his hand away. When Billy, smirking, tried again, Dom licked Billy's neck and ear in the slobberiest fashion possible.

"Eugh!" Billy wiped the cooling moisture from his neck as best as he could. "Stop it, you daft git."

Dom snorted, then rubbed the side of his face against Billy's neck to clean him up. Sort of. Billy giggled.

"Ah, Dom...."

They embraced and quietly breathed together, acclimatized themselves to the strangeness and the novelty and the giddy relief of being together. Billy held on for a long while, face in the crook of Dom's neck, breathing in Dom's smell: clean and slightly sweet, with an unfamiliar slightly musky tang. He sighed and relaxed against Dom, his hands cradling the back of Dom's skull, his hands lost in the forest of his hair. Dom's arms were a sturdy support at his back, holding him up, keeping him close.

The moment of intimacy was abruptly shattered when Dom's fingers launched another guerrilla mission in Billy's armpits. Shrieking in outrage, Billy launched himself after the escaping culprit, invoking the wrath of his Highland ancestors (the few of them that there were, anyway) down on the infuriating, goat-faced Sassenach's head.

They darted in and out of the trees, Dom impossibly swift, and being the great tease that he was, always keeping the merest margin beyond the fingertips of Billy's outstretched hand. Billy, knowing full well he was being toyed with but having far too much fun to protest, tried to outflank him by scooting around the opposite side of any tree or bush Dom ducked behind. Dom bellowed his triumph as he once again evaded his pursuer, Billy following close behind, his war cries choked with laughter.

Eventually the two of them, laughing and breathless, collapsed against the great oak Billy had noticed earlier. It seemed fitting, somehow, that they'd stopped there, their faces alight with joy. Billy looked up into their branches and saw the stars twinkling through the leaves. His eyes widened in wonder as they began to move and dance around them. Fireflies, not stars he thought, and laughed again as they circled in a stately pavane over their heads, the heavens performing just for them.

Billy could see shapes and movement all around him out of the corner of his eye, nothing more than ghostly outlines that faded when he looked directly at them. A subtle rhythmic rustling filled the glade - there was no noise other than what could be explained by the leaves or small creatures in the grass, yet to Billy there seemed to be a definite cadence - as if the earth itself were providing the music. He hugged Dom tight, forehead to forehead, his blood thrumming in time with the joyous eddies of the breeze swirling softly around him.

Dom pulled away slightly, studying Bill's face. With great deliberation he slowly licked up the side of Billy's neck once more, his expression sombre, questioning. Billy shuddered, energy crackling over the surface of his skin from the point of contact to spread pyrotechnics sparking over every part of him. His eyes half closed, his head tilting to the side and he gasped when he heard the uruisg make a hungry-sounding rumble in his chest. This was it, then: the top of the rollercoaster, the brink of the cliff, the moment when the towering wave threatened to crash down and end the hapless surfer's ride.

Billy's breathing hitched, then resumed slightly faster with each careful nibble at the join of neck and shoulder. He closed his eyes and let his head drop back in offering. That was all the invitation Dom needed to slowly push Billy to the ground and straddle him, licking intently at his neck and chest.

The press of Dom's body pinning him was just lovely, the fur teasing and stimulating Billy all over his skin, so intense, almost too much. He wanted desperately to wrap his legs around Dom's waist but couldn't get them past his stifles. Instead Billy thrust his pelvis into Dom, who made a surprised growl in the back of his throat before pushing back with increased aggression. Billy groaned at the display of strength, his insides twisting with arousal and excitement and the dregs of fear.

Billy looked up at the leaves, eyes dilated to the point where he could barely see the spinning lights flying into the sky, the stars in return falling into the trees, one merging with the other. The entire grand spiralling dance of the universe seemed to move inside him and above him, his mind flying up with the stars as energy curled up his spine, spreading out to his limbs, fingers and toes. He blazed like the sun, his arousal flaring hotter wherever Dom touched him with fur and hand and tongue.

Oh God, if that tongue went any lower he'd be done, that'd be it....

"Wait, Dom, wait!"

Dom stopped, ears flattened against his head, and softly whined a question. Billy touched Dom's face as he tried to catch his breath and wrench his spirit back to himself.

"No, no, everything's all right, just wanted to slow up a bit. I wasn't quite finished exploring."

Dom studied his face for a moment, then with a nod leaned back onto the grass, his posture open and welcoming.

Billy bit his lower lip as he lightly stroked the inside of Dom's thighs, wandering along territory he had avoided earlier, his stomach trembling with nerves and excitement as his touch sparked and sizzled along the tender flesh. Mesmerized, he moved his hands flat against the skin and soft fur in long, luxurious strokes that ventured nearer and nearer to Dom's rising cock. Dom grunted in exasperation which changed to a strangled yelp as Billy slid his hands down to finally clasp the emerging erection.

The fur covering the sheath was a bit weird and slightly prickly and made it difficult to stroke him properly. Billy moved his hand toward the tip where the skin was furless, savouring the welcome softness.

The sharp urge to explore with lips and tongue tingled in his mouth. He licked his lips and looked up at Dom, unsure suddenly if Dom would want him to. A gruff hand clasped his shoulder and pulled him closer, and Billy laughed wildly.

"Always in a bloody hurry," he joked, his whole body vibrating with want and nerves. He took a deep breath, and was instantly dizzy with the scent of Dom at his most turned on. Dom pulled him closer, a low growling underscoring the insistent motion. Billy could barely focus as he bent his head down, descending through fear to unimagined sweetness.

The taste was strange, yet addictive. Billy wondered if he had been drugged and was now hallucinating. How else to explain the scent of wildflowers and loam, the texture of moss and bark, the tang of spring mud and the sea? Billy buried his fingers in the thick wool on the outside of Dom's thighs, clutching till his fingers ached, holding on for dear life as he devoured Dom's cock, taking him in deeper with each thrust.

Dom's breathing was harsh, laboured, his noises nothing at all human as they writhed together in the grass, bodies undulating helplessly in the swell of pure instinct. A low rumbling - hypnotic, irresistible - resounded through him like distant thunder. It ignited something within Billy, and he was abruptly blasted by the overwhelming need to run, to leap high, to race the tempo pounding in his life blood.

He wanted to be pursued. He wanted to be caught.

Billy let Dom's cock escape from his mouth. He grinned like a maniac in the face of Dom's confusion and, jumping up, barked out a laugh over his shoulder before giving in to the lunatic urge to run. Dom cried out in protest and challenge as Billy sprinted toward the tree cover, slipping into the shadows just as Dom leapt up to follow.

Billy darted swiftly between moonlit trunks, knowing full well that Dom would soon be right behind him and welcoming the inevitability of it. He saw shifting shapes and hints of movement around him as he passed and he smiled to know his fears were long gone, replaced by a mad elation. The nocturnal breeze soothed his smouldering skin, and his body responded with a burst of speed that felt like his feet had sprouted wings.

The sane corner of his mind wondered when he had decided that racing through the woods starkers was a grand idea. Luckily, the branches behaved themselves, refraining from smacking him in the face or abrading sensitive or already abused areas on his body. For the first time since he had arrived the dark of the night seemed welcoming, thrilling rather than menacing. He felt it enfold him, hide him, keep him safe, and something in his chest swelled with gratitude.

Billy finally heard the expected crashing behind him and laughed into the darkness: Dom had decided to get off his lazy arse after all, he thought. Billy ran faster, weaving and swerving around trees and rocks more for the joy of it than any real hope of evading his pursuer, revelling in the delirium of the chase. Dom appeared to be enjoying the pursuit as well; Billy knew that he was holding back, drawing it out.

An exultant cry sounded behind him and Billy whooped in reply. He put on an extra burst of speed, feeling like he could run forever. His heart beat pounded to the rhythm of his feet and his blood rushed in his ears; he imagined he could hear drumbeats and wild cries, but when he tried to listen more closely, they faded into the normal night sounds of animal and rustling branch.

He didn't worry about losing his way; he knew Dom would find him and bring him home. And find him he did: an instant later Dom burst out of the undergrowth not three metres behind him. Billy laughed again, joyous, happy that Dom'd found him. Billy slowed his steps just slightly, grinning, faking a tiredness he didn't really feel.

When Dom lunged at him, Billy swerved at the last minute. Dom flew past his shoulder into a bush with a surprised grunt. Billy jumped on Dom's back with a war cry, and unexpectedly found himself flipped onto his back with a very smug looking uruisg pinning him down. Dom was, indeed, very strong in this shape.

Billy gasped out his laughter, finally out of breath. "You caught me, ya numptie."

Dom pressed his body into Billy in reply, crushing his hips into the grass beneath him. Their cocks slid and sparked together, and for a moment Billy and Dom stared at each other, both gasping for air. Billy's amusement fled in the recognition of who had caught him, and what was being asked of him. Billy closed his eyes, the nearby sound of water gurgling encouragingly in his ears, and nodded once. His laid his palms flat on the furred chest, signalling his permission and submission both, and above all else, his desire.

Dom's ears flickered and he snuffled quietly at Billy's neck. Billy watched his eyes brighten at the scent there, and smiled as Dom nuzzled Billy's face, feeling the faint trembling. In an instant the humanity of Dom's gaze was subsumed completely by otherworldly instinct, and Billy gasped as Dom roughly flipped him over, face down in the turf.

Billy should have been panicked by such a loaded manoeuvre, but instead it proved to be electric. His spine undulated in response to Dom's hands gliding over his back and sides - he couldn't help it, he was a creature now of pure sensation. Dom's hands on his hips steadied him and conversely burned him, blunt nails scraping against his skin. Billy's panting breaths turned to moans when hot breath scalded the curve of his arse, increasing in volume when a rough tongue licked him ready. Billy pushed back against Dom's mouth, coherent thought scattering like leaves in the wind. His breath rasped in the back of his throat, a choked plea for more.

A blast of cool air on his arse cleared his head momentarily, just in time to fret that the lube had been left behind at their camp. Billy looked briefly over his shoulder, shifting his weight to the left as he did so. The earth gave way under his left palm, and he grunted as the ground met his face yet again, his arm dangling over the edge of something that hadn't been there a moment ago.

He barely had time to notice that he'd slid over the lip of an undercut beside a small stream (the mystery of the water noises solved) before he felt hands dragging his hips sideways. Sand and pebbles prickled the undersides of his feet as he was set upright roughly, Dom's body pushing him into the bank with unrelenting pressure, hands desperate on his skin.

Billy threw back his head and laughed with manic glee, his skin prickling at the fur (still a novel sensation) teasing along his spine. A soft brush against his hip evoked a slice of memory from a few months ago, when Dom had played with him while wearing the fur gloves. Cautious he'd been, almost diffident, alert to Billy's every response. Billy'd started to ask him about it but Dom had merely attacked his mouth with his own, forestalling any conversation.

Realisations softly exploded in Billy's head, a thousand tiny moments past graced with new meaning. Dom hadn't just been experimenting, he had been hoping, preparing. Dom had been getting him ready for this.

Desperately Billy turned around, suddenly needing to see Dom's eyes. The gaze that met his was a potent mix of human and myth, shining with fire and power. There was love there, too, but an unnerving distance as well. Billy decided he didn't care for that distance at all. He stroked Dom's throat, running his hands over the tendon there, and down over his shoulders and chest. His eyes reconnected with Dom's and, with an evil grin, opened his mouth against the furred neck to bite down, hard.

Dom choked out a noise that may have been shock or thanksgiving. He whirled Billy around again, pushing him into the bank with the frantic force of his hips. Billy grunted and braced himself with his arms - he didn't relish his cock being scraped bloody against the exposed tree roots. He gasped harshly when Dom slid his body relentlessly against his, the friction of fur and skin rubbing him raw. Billy moaned, grabbed two handfuls of sod and hung on.

The pressure on Billy was interrupted by the return of Dom's tongue on his ass, and Billy cried out as he was frantically pierced and slicked, the scrape of teeth making Billy's muscles twitch.

Dom made a guttural noise in his throat and Billy's cock leapt as Dom pressed against his back with mounting aggression. Fire rushed through Billy and his hips moved in demand against Dom's hardness, his thoughts feral and wild with the intensity of how much he wanted to solve this last remaining mystery. Billy spread his legs further apart, tension and delayed fatigue from the race making his thighs quiver.

Behind him, Dom growled, the sound tearing along Billy's nerves. As he pushed his way in, Billy's head snapped back, panic warring with elation as he felt himself being impaled, with no time to get used to it. He writhed snake-like in the intensity that was almost too much to bear. Billy's mind babbled that it should hurt, it should, but it only burned, burned all the way through him, threatening to leave only the ashes of his former self. Billy couldn't understand why his body was not being torn to shreds, why the tearing and shredding that was reshaping his mind and his spirit left no corresponding lacerations on his flesh.

Dom had lost any semblance of humanity in his frenzy, biting and growling and making sharp, otherwordly cries. His fingers clawed and caressed Billy in turn, powerful arms grasping Billy close to prevent escape. Some of the scratches had bled, but Billy barely registered the thin line of sticky wetness slick in the hollow of one hip bone. He cried out, his mouth snapping in frustration at the air, wanting to bite and gnaw at Dom's mouth, but he couldn't reach, the angle was too awkward.

Dom blazed like a sun against his back, swelling brighter and hotter, a red giant at the brink of exploding in supernova cataclysm. His life force sent bursts like solar flares through Billy, sharing with him for a time the mantle of the semi-divine. Dom clutched him hard to his chest and bent him back, ecstatic, exploding his seed into Billy.

Billy arched with Dom and shuddered at the heat and slickness inside him. Wild energy coursed up his spine, whirling, gaining momentum; it struck him behind the eyes, and burst out through the top of his head and up to the stars.

His own orgasm was a tiny mote in the supernal conflagration. Billy collapsed onto the bank, eyes wide and blank, the forest around him disappearing in a maelstrom of light.

To be continued in Part 7.
___________

stifles - the goat equivalent of 'knees' on the hind legs (FYI the corresponding joints on the front legs of a (four-legged) goat are actually called 'knees'.)