Chapter 28: Beyond the rapids

At first sight, our venture into the rapids might seem suicidal. We are relying on Whina’s and Emere’s skill to get us through the gorge. However, both elves are confident that we can navigate the rapids safely. We move away from the slack water and into the main current. Once we are back in the main river current I begin to feel more at ease. Whina keeps up a steady flow of instructions as we begin to pick up speed. Emere’s wakawaka is following about thirty metres behind us, and is so far keeping to the same course as us.

“White water ahead!” calls Whina, as the river narrows further and boulders in midstream cause the water to churn.

The next fifteen minutes seem to last for hours as we frantically steer our wakawaka around boulders. Several nearmisses cause my heart to pound. I keep an eye on Rawiri, who is strapped in his pack on Cassandra’s back in front of me. He is staring wide eyed at the spray that soaks all of our clothes. Thankfully spray is all that enters our wakawaka. As Whina predicted, the sides of the wakawaka are high enough above the water to prevent the churning water from sloshing into the wakawaka. I don’t have time to look back to see how the other wakawaka is faring.

Once we are beyond the worst of the rapids, we check that those in the other wakawaka are alright. They have some minor damage to their wakawaka that will need repairing when we are clear of the gorge. Gradually the hills recede and the river starts to widen again. By midday we find a place to stop and rest. Whina and Emere busy themselves making temporary repairs to the damaged wakawaka, while Ikaroa, Ihapera and Makareta forage for something to eat. Meanwhile Defina35 checks the supplies we have temporarily unloaded from the damaged wakawaka.

“I see you’ve noticed that Defina35 is in heat,” says Cassandra while she feeds Rawiri.

The bulge from my erection is obvious through my clinging wet trousers. It’s a natural male reaction to the smell of any female in heat. Now probably isn’t the time for sex, but that doesn’t stop my cock from standing to attention. Defina35 is equally helpless to the urges surging through her body. She is clearly distracted from her work by my close proximity.

“You had best go and fuck her while everyone else is busy,” says Cassandra. “Otherwise the pair of you will be insufferable all afternoon.”

Although Cassandra and I are married ... a rarity in Thurnian culture, and nonexistent in elven society ... we adopt a Thurnian’s traditional attitude towards sex, namely fuck anyone who is willing. Elven pairing is closer to a master and slave relationship, so it cannot be described as a marriage. Mated female elves, like Ikaroa, are only allowed sex with her mate’s consent, although that doesn’t stop her urges.

Normally I would invite Cassandra to join us, but she is busy feeding Rawiri. Cutting short his feed would add a whole new meaning to being ‘insufferable all afternoon’. Unsurprisingly, Defina35 is eager for sex, and the pair of us move to a small clearing nearby where we won’t be disturbed. Defina35 goes down on her hands and knees and adopts her favoured position for sex. When Cassandra makes up a threesome, she normally lies on her back, while Defina35 places herself on her hands and knees straddling her. That way I have easy access to both of their cunts and can switch from one to the other with ease. Even though Cassandra isn’t with us, Defina35 still prefers the position.

The biggest challenge when having sex with an Elf Maiden is not to come too soon. The strong pheromones emitted by Defina35 soon have my cock as hard as a pole. I have had considerable practise at fucking Elf Maidens, and these days I can control the timing of my orgasm ... to a degree. However, today my poor control isn’t helped by the fact that Defina35 hasn’t had sex for nearly a month. She’s desperate for an orgasm, and she soon has me equally eager to empty my balls. It’s a battle of wills over who will orgasm first, and I must soon concede defeat. My seed floods into her sopping went innards which fortunately triggers her own orgasm.

However, Defina35 isn’t done with me yet. She continues to rock back and forth on my cock, and even though I’ve spent my entire load, I do my best to help her reach a second orgasm.

“Thank you, Alex,” says Defina35 once her second orgasm subsides. “I needed that.”

“Next time we must include Cassandra,” I reply. “I made her a promise to include her whenever possible.”

“Sure. That’s what we all agree back in Thurn,” replies Defina35.

The contract Cassandra and I signed with Defina35, and her clone sister, Defina36, back in Thurn has no practical application in our current circumstances, and yet both Definas still feel morally bound by its terms. Defina35 and I return to where Cassandra is still feeding Rawiri.

“There’s something or someone watching us from the trees over there,” says Cassandra quietly, indicating a copse of trees at the far end of a clearing.

“Why didn’t you call me as soon as you saw something?” I reply, casually looking in the direction of the copse.

“I’ve only just noticed it. At first I thought it was one of the Elf Maidens, but our observer has darker skin than any of the elves.”

“Do you think it’s an animal or one of the Hrill?” asks Defina35, referring to the mysterious third race that occupied the hibernation chambers below the Atene tower.

“It’s standing on two legs, so it could be a Hrill,” I say. “The drawings of them in Atene are very imprecise. Will you go and alert Whina and Emere. Hopefully Ikaroa, Ihapera and Makareta will be returning soon.”

We wait for several tense minutes. The being continues to watch us from the copse, and we do nothing to alarm it while our foraging party is still absent. Whina, Emere and Defina35 quickly complete the repairs to the wakawaka and reload the supplies. If necessary, we can depart quickly, although that would be as a last resort. We can’t paddle back upstream through the rapids, and downstream may bring us closer to danger.

“We’ve got company,” says Ikaroa when she and her party return about ten minutes later.

At first I think Ikaroa is referring to the observer in the copse, but she points to a larger group standing on the edge of the forest behind her.

“We should try and talk to them,” says Makareta, echoing my own thoughts.

“Yes, I agree,” I reply. “But to be on the safe side, everyone but Makareta and me should get into the wakawakas. Any sign of trouble, then cast off and go across the river to the other bank.”

“You too, Alex,” says Makareta. “It only needs one of us to take the risk. I’m the daughter of an elven leader, so I claim the privilege of first contact.”

I could raise several counterarguments. Ikaroa and Ihapera can also claim kinship to an elven leader, Cassandra is the daughter of Thurn’s emperor, and I’m Thurn’s trade envoy to the elven communities. However, now is neither the time nor the place for such arguments. We all do as Makareta suggests.

The group of beings that Ikaroa has seen are brown skinned, which indicates they are neither Thurnian nor elven. We must assume they are Hrill. Other than the limited, and unverified, information we learned in Atene, none of us know anything about the Hrill. They supposedly fled south from Atene at the same time my own ancestors fled north to establish Thurn. The Atene elves believe the Hrill are almost extinct, but their theory uses the flawed logic that few sightings mean that the Hrill don’t exist in any significant numbers.