Darin tried to picture that but wasn’t certain what Axoev was saying.
“Down here in the Shadow, there is moisture. The tree can pull from the ground with roots, way down there.” Axoev tapped the dirt with his foot. His sole was so thick it almost looked like he was wearing a thin pair of sandals. “These aerial roots give the tree another way to take in moisture.”
“Oh.” Darin felt stupid because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. He realized between the two of them he might very well be the grunting Neanderthal. Desperate to make himself more appealing to Axoev, he asked, “How did you learn this?”
“Observation.” Axoev now grasped the sticky rope and showed Darin how to climb up the tree. “Using your feet against the bark will help until you develop more arm strength.”
Darin tried to mimic what Axoev was doing but failed miserably. His feet were too tender and his arms too thin.
“Please do not despair.” Axoev moved close to Darin’s side. “I have done this the whole of my life. You but one time.”
“Thanks.” Darin realized Axoev was right. He wasn’t going to learn this skill in an instant. “By the time I master this, it will be time to go home.” As Darin looked around at the village, he realized everything here was very simple. “How in the world will you be able to get me a spaceship flight home?”
“I will trade with another clan, who will trade with another clan, and so on. By working our way across the land, we will find you a way home.”
“As long as I don’t have to fly with Wetoo.” Darin shivered.
“I hear his ship is like a kaby with half wings.”
“I was surprised his craft survived the landing.”
“Then we are agreed. No more Wetoo. I will find another.”
From the way Axoev spoke with such conviction, Darin believed him.
“Now, let me take you up.”
Rather than suffer the indignity of being hauled up in a box, Axoev had Darin climb onto his back, which was way more fun. At least it was until Axoev was far up in the tree and Darin stupidly looked down. The urge to hurl was strong, but the last thing he wanted to do was puke on his new and strangely compelling master. Closing his eyes helped and allowed him to focus on the feel of Axoev’s powerful form. So far, Darin hadn’t felt or seen any fat on the guy. Even his ass was all muscle. Darin hadn’t really seen his cock while they were rubbing up, but it had felt like muscle. Oh, no. Darin was getting hard when this had to be the worst possible time. Desperate for a distraction, he breathed deep. Waves of scent struck Darin. There was the warm musk of Axoev, but also there was something sweet that made him hungry.
“What is that scent?”
“That is the aerial roots of the tree giving off their nightly call. The substance is also what makes them sticky.” Axoev was breathing a little hard, but not much.
“Nightly call?”
“As the sun goes down, the ropes exude this scent, drawing the forest creatures near and making them hungry.”
“The trees want people, bugs, and animals living in them?”
“Of course!” Axoev kept right on moving upward. He was so strong he was basically pulling with his arms while only using his legs to keep them from spinning around. Darin didn’t actually see Axoev do this, as he was too afraid to look and see how far away the ground was, but he felt what the man was doing by the way his body moved. “That is how they thrive.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I will show you in a moment.” Axoev’s stomach growled and so did Darin’s. It was strange because he hadn’t been aware how hungry he was until he smelled the curious perfume of the tree.
“You see how well it works?” Axoev asked. “The scent makes all famished.”
“Yeah.” Darin doubted there was any kind of fast food around here. He sighed slowly to himself. Last year he’d resolved to eat less junk food. He’d lasted about twenty-four hours. Now, though, he was going to be taking a crash course in eating unprocessed food. He gulped. He was already plenty skinny, so if they didn’t have good eats, he was probably going to waste away into nothing. Maybe Axoev wouldn’t have to get him home after all.
“I will feed you, my faunsha. You need not worry about making food until later.”
Darin nodded against Axoev’s strong back. He didn’t have the heart to tell him the only things he knew how to make were sandwiches. He wondered, if he couldn’t keep up his end of their deal, then would Axoev? Darin kept his eyes closed until Axoev stopped. When he opened them, he realized he was far from the ground, standing on what looked like an extremely sturdy plank walkway that seemed to encircle the tree. Axoev’s home was literally carved into the side of the tree.
“And this won’t kill it?”
“The bark is dead and over five men deep.”
“Five men side to side?”
“Five men foot to head.”
“Wow. That has got to be at least forty-five feet.” Considering that most men of the Clan Shadow were eight feet tall while Axoev was maybe six. Darin’s brain automatically started to calculate the circumference of the tree and how much potential living area the tree would contain.
“You look like you are thinking very hard.”
“Math. I find that everything I try to understand I break down into mathematical principles first.”
“It helps you think?”
“Yeah.” Math was to Darin what small talk was to other people. It helped him pass the time.
“Some, like this one, have even thicker bark.” Axoev placed his hand against the tree in what could only be called a loving gesture. “Come inside.”
Darin followed Axoev through a rough oval. There wasn’t a door like he was used to, but above the oval and all the windows cut into the tree there was some type of canvas that could be unfolded to cover the opening. As he looked around, he was struck by how charming the place was. Everything was roughly made, but all of it was both beautiful and functional. As he peered closer at the floor and walls, he realized the tree had oozed some kind of light varnish that sealed and smoothed the edges. It also made the interior shiny. To Darin, the tree had the same color as clear pine.
“This is the part of the house for receiving guests. Since I am the leader, I have a big room for welcoming clan members.” Axoev stood a little straighter, clearly proud of himself, as well he should be.
“How do you sit?” Darin noticed there weren’t any couches or tables.
“I do not understand what you are asking me.”
“There aren’t any chairs.” Darin looked around and realized that the floor that looked like slats of hardwood was actually layers of bark cut sideways. It had been smoothed down and coated with the tree shellac to make it shiny and probably to prevent splinters. Whatever the substance was, it wasn’t sticky, but his feet were able to grip it easily. There were rugs of a sort. They actually looked like small piles of twisted fabric, and there were curious things extending from the round side of the inner area that he hadn’t puzzled out yet. They looked like tiny branches with some kind of bulbous thing on the end.
“When we sit, which we don’t do very often, we sit like this.” Axoev knelt down in one smooth motion and then stood up the same way. “How do you sit?”
Darin showed him what a chair was, or tried to, but it was clear Axoev didn’t quite get it.
“Sometimes, like at the fire, we will sit with our butts on the ground and our legs bent.”
Darin got down cross-legged. “Like this?”
“Yes.” Axoev seemed pleased to find more commonality between them. He offered out his hand and pulled Darin to his feet. When he pulled too hard, and yanked Darin into him, Darin blushed. He thought another moment of kissing was coming, but Axoev seemed to be straining to stay on his best behavior. As frustrating as Darin found his conduct, he was also touched that Axoev was clearly a man of his word. “You change colors easily.”
“Yeah. It’s part of being an Earthling.”
; “It is rather…” Axoev seemed to be on the verge of touching Darin and saying something sweet but changed his mind. “I should have you dress.”
From the gathering area, they moved counterclockwise to what seemed like a kitchen area. Axoev named it in passing, and the word translated to kitchen. Past that they came to what was translated to bathroom and ultimately to a bedroom. Or at least Darin was pretty sure that was what it was. The actual word was untranslatable. There was a big pile of furs near the inner ring that looked very soft and cozy.
“It’s getting dark.” Darin wasn’t sure why he pointed this out. Maybe he was trying to figure out where he’d be spending the night. Would he sleep here with Axoev, or would he slumber somewhere else?
“Can you see?” Axoev asked. “My kind’s eyes are very light sensitive, and the tree doesn’t light up until just a bit later.”
“The tree lights up?” Darin couldn’t help but smile as he imagined the entire forest looking like a glen of Christmas trees. It seemed somehow the people and the trees had evolved a very symbiotic relationship.
“You will see.” Axoev was mumbling softly to himself as he sorted through a pile of leather items. “I know I bought the proper items from Hosi after the last fire. I wanted the women to know that I was considering—ah!” Axoev held up a small bundle of items. He turned and smiled proudly at Darin. “This is for you.”
“Thank you.” Darin untied the bundle and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. It was getting dark, and he was almost completely unfamiliar with the way the Clan Shadow clothed themselves. When it became obvious he didn’t know what to do, Axoev stepped close. Darin’s head swam a little. The smell the tree was giving off was making him hungry, but Axoev’s scent was making him horny. His poor, confused body was grumbling and trying to give him an erection at the same time. To Darin, it began to feel like his dick was growling.
“I will help you.” Axoev took the bundle and had Darin dressed so fast it was like a blur.
“Oh.” Darin looked down and realized he was wearing what could only be called a skirt. He also had on a shirt-type thing, but it left his arms, belly, and nipples exposed. However, it was the skirt that practically made him cry. It was snug around his hips and loose around his upper thighs and very, very short. If the edge of the skirt went to the tip of his flaccid cock he’d be surprised. And his dick was most definitely soft. Nothing took the sex out of his brain like being dressed up like a girl.
Chapter 4
Axoev was struggling not to become overly aroused. He found this difficult. Darin looked quite becoming in his faunsha clothing. Using the leather strips that Hosi had attached to the items, Axoev was able to customize the fit to best show Darin’s assets. The fur-trimmed shirt displayed his high, tight nipples, taut belly, and soft shoulders, while the swath of lower fabric showed off how long his legs were. When he moved, the edge of the skirt, trimmed in the softest black fur, would give peeks of his buttocks and cock. Pleased, Axoev looked up and realized that Darin was making his ugly frowning face.
“You don’t like what I have given you?” Axoev was surprised how much the rejection hurt. He thought Darin would be pleased. In all the history of Clan Shadow, no faunsha had ever been so well dressed as his. Even though they’d agreed it would all be nothing but a way to put the women of the clan off, Axoev still thought Darin would be proud to be in his home, at his side, and share his blanket.
“I’m not a girl.”
Confused, Axoev agreed with what Darin had said. They had clearly established their sex by what they’d done in the forest during the hunt. “No, you are not a girl.”
“Then why have you dressed me like one?”
Still unsure about the problem, Axoev tried to reassure Darin in another way. “This is not the clothing of a girl. This is the clothing of a faunsha.”
“I want to wear what you’re wearing.”
“You wish to wear my clothing?” Axoev looked down at his leather pants. “This would not fit you.”
“No, not your pants, exactly, but pants. Men wear pants.”
“Yes. Men wear pants.” Finally, they found another point of agreement. However, that didn’t seem to end the strife.
“Then why can’t I?”
“Because you are not a man.” Axoev thought that would clear up the confusion. He was upset when all his comment did was anger Darin even more.
“I am a man.” Darin stood as tall as he was able, perhaps thinking that the issue of being a man was one of height.
“Being a man isn’t about how tall you are.” Axoev smiled gently because he had thought that was his failing long ago. As the shortest adult male, he had to learn that how tall he was had nothing to do with being a man. Darin could be as big as Sieg and that would not make him a man. “You are a faunsha.”
“A male faunsha.”
“All faunshas are male.” Axoev was annoyed that Darin didn’t seem to grasp this point. Axoev thought they were in agreement, but it was now clear they weren’t. Worse, he didn’t want to stand here, looking at Darin and getting aroused, when he’d promised not to use him sexually. Rather than debate the issue any longer, he turned on his heel and walked away. “We will eat now.”
Rather than take his tender and clearly confused faunsha into the room of need, Axoev went back along the route he’d taken Darin along earlier. Since he was honor bound not to use him in that way, he thought it wise to keep that area closed off. A trickle of sadness seeped under Axoev’s strong exterior. He would like to have someone in that room with him. It had been beautifully put together by the women of the last leader. Axoev had never been in it but for once to see what it was like.
“I’m not wearing this!” Darin called.
Axoev ignored him. Instead, he went outside and pulled up all the ropes. He coiled them and hung them up on the hooks carved into the outside wall of his home. When he was done, his hands were sticky and he was beyond hungry. He didn’t want visitors until he had things resolved with Darin. It would be quite embarrassing for the clansmen to find out he couldn’t control his own faunsha. Axoev was known as a fair and compassionate leader, but it wouldn’t be wise for the men to think he’d gone soft. Always, Nemro was sniffing around, digging for weakness. He’d wanted to be the leader with as much passion as everyone else in the clan didn’t want him to be in charge. Nemro would be a terrible ruler.
Since the nearest home was too far to see into Axoev’s and the night was warm, he left the coverings up so that the full scent that called all to eat could fill his home. Thinking of food would keep him from thinking of Darin in other ways. Although Axoev wondered what he would do tomorrow at the fire, he decided to approach each event as it came.
From the shelving that was bored deep toward the center of the tree, Axoev removed dried meat and cheese. He grabbed bread from the shelving against the outer wall. As he was putting everything together, Darin came around the curve, utterly bare. He didn’t speak, but watched Axoev attentively.
Using clipped words, Axoev explained how Darin would prepare their meals in the future. “That space keeps things cool.” He pointed and showed Darin how to open the little door. “This keeps things dry.” He pointed to the slat bottom shelving for bread. “Fruit is kept hanging.” From the woven basket that dangled from the ceiling, he removed two balls and added them to the platter.
“That’s it?”
“That is it.” Axoev frowned at Darin.
“I’m not wearing that.”
“You displease me.”
Darin shivered. The clothing Axoev had given him wouldn’t give him a lot of warmth, but after his rejection, he wasn’t about to give him the shoulder covering that went with it.
“I’m not a girl.”
“I am not having that same discussion with you.” Axoev settled the platter on the floor then relaxed beside it with his legs extended and his head cradled in his hand.
“That’s how you eat?”
Rather than answer the obviou
s, Axoev grabbed a piece of the dried meat, bit off a good chunk, and chewed thoughtfully. It was good. Someone had spiced it with something new. Probably Sieg. He was always trying new things. Some were dreadful, but this was quite delicious. One nice thing about being the leader was that by the time anything came to his table, it was fully tested on the clan. Clearly, they had all enjoyed this new and rather pungent spice.
Darin stood watching him for a long time. Perhaps he had decided that he wouldn’t do anything that Axoev wanted him to do, including eating. However, his resolve was nothing when the tree continued to pump out the feeding scent and Axoev was covered in the sticky, scented sap emitted by the vines.
Eventually, Darin gave in and settled on the floor. Rather than mimic Axoev’s lying posture, he sat cross-legged.
“You should be grateful to me.”
“Oh?” Darin picked up a piece of the dried meat and smelled it. “And why is that?”
“In days past, a leader stole his faunsha from another clan.”
“Well, it’s not like I came here voluntarily.” Darin pulled off a small sliver of meat and ate it. He made a face but then kept on eating anyway.
“No, you did not come here of your own free will. But I did not make you come here.”
“Yeah. Another guy did that for you.”
“I have been kind to you considering that in the past leaders were known to beat their faunshas into submission. I have been extremely kind in allowing you to defy me without punishment.” Axoev deliberately paused then added, “Yet.”
Darin leaned back a bit, looking at Axoev with big eyes.
“My forbearers often modified their captured slaves.”
“Modified?” Darin grabbed some of the bread and chewed on that while he listened most attentively.
“Since they enjoyed using all the holes on a man, the first thing they did was remove the slave’s teeth.”
Darin stopped chewing.
“While the poor man’s mouth healed, he used the creature’s ass. Although, to be kind, he often broke him in with a variety of ever-widening objects. But there were those leaders who just used the force of their invading prick.” Axoev tore off a chunk of bread and savored the richness of a perfect loaf. “After too many died from that kind of brutality, tools were used more often, especially if the man was pretty, like you.”
Enslaved by a Barbarian [Sold! 6] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 4
