I Lava You

A Silly Sacrifice short story by Alfador

Inspired by Killing-Time's Round 17 announcement, I decided to try to burn through (pun oh-so-intended) my writing slump to get something quick churned out. The authorial equivalent to going out with a sketchpad and a pencil to get some practice in. Contains snuffie, adolescent cubs, tribal gods, and burnination.



"But... but I WANT to go to the volcano!!" Tears dribbled down Alao's face as he pled. But the shaman's decision was final: Zilue, the chieftain's daughter, was the sacrifice that would save their village.

Alao had lived his whole life on the small island their tribe inhabited, revering Loae, the spirit of the volcano, as had his vulpine ancestors for uncounted generations. But every so often, Loae would erupt, and the shaman would traditionally choose one individual among the village for the honor of sacrificing his or her life to ensure the lava flows would not consume the village.

The fox boy hesitated, but circumstances being what they were, there was no point in hiding it any longer. "But father... Zilue is... was going to be... we wanted to be mates!!"

Rinko, artisan for ten years in wood and bone, looked down at his son. The lad's tail was tucked between his legs, his ears flat against his head--this was no joke, no ruse, he had the strongest of feelings for the chieftain's daughter.

And so Alao's father relented and sent the boy to the shaman's hut, knowing there was a good chance he was sending him to his death. Alao strode in through the doorway confidently, brushing aside the beaded strands that masked the entrance.

"I need to speak to Zilu...e." Alao trailed off as he saw a beautiful sight. Zilue was clad not in traditional woven garments, but only in braided strands of flowers, twisted and curled into her fur all over. She was otherwise nude, and her beauty nearly made Alao's heart stop.

Kokonor, the shaman, had a look of mild annoyance. "I have not finished preparing Zilue for her journey to Loae's bosom, young one. But I suppose if you have something to say to her, you had better do it now, before the procession starts."

Alao's voice failed him. The words stuck in his throat. The young fox froze, only to thaw from the shaman's glare. "I... I love you, Zilue. I want to go with you... I want to be sacrificed with you!"

Zilue gasped, the pretty young vixen bringing her hands up to her mouth. The shaman sighed, and reached for another flower from the pile on one of his work tables to weave into her tail fur. "Loae only requires one sacrifice, Alao. Would you really deprive the village of two on this day, instead of one?"

The fox boy hesitated. It had been just two years ago that he and Zilue had begun to notice one another, had begun meeting in secret to indulge in mating play. Because of her father's status as chieftain, they dared not let any others know, nor to perform the true mating act, which Kokonor had taught all the village cubs was the only way a couple could be truly mated and bear kits.

He still could find another. He could choose any of the village girls to be his mate instead. He thought about his choices. There were not all that many.

But in the end, there was only one.

"I must. Zilue is the only vixen I truly love as a mate... or to be honest, at all since Mother died. I must go with her, and I do wish to die with her. Maybe... maybe Loae will protect the village from two eruptions instead of just this one?"

Kokonor smiled. "I don't quite think it works that way, boy. Nevertheless, it appears I cannot separate you two, even by death." The aged fox stood up straight. "Go now and gather some flowers, and a few punga fruit as well for your markings."

Alao's heart beat ferociously as he dashed out of the large hut. His tail lashed from side to side with delight, he was free and clear to follow his beloved to a fiery death!

The young fox knew where a bountiful punga tree grew just beyond the village, and grabbed three of the sweet fruit before continuing on to pick flowers.

When Alao returned, the basket was mostly full of dream-lotus and firebloom blossoms he had picked out as being particularly appropriate. Kokonor told the fox boy to strip out of his clothes, and then proceeded to tie fewer flowers into his fur than Zilue wore--as a male, his ceremonial decorations would include designs dyed into his fur.

The young lovers held one another's hands throughout the process. The shaman became irritated at how often he had to get Alao to turn his muzzle forward instead of staring longingly into Zilue's eyes. The punga dye formed intricate patterns across the young fox's fur.

At long last, Kokonor announced his work almost complete. "But because this is a very special situation, and the sacrifice is two young lovers, I believe an extra step will please Loae. Stand up, please." At the shaman's direction, the two young members of the tribe stood still while the old fox painted their crotches with punga juice.

They then embraced, pressing their bodies together. When they pulled away, Alao was embarassed to note he had a partial erection, impossible to conceal, and the tip of his penis was coated with punga juice from Zilue.

Zilue too appeared to flush slightly around her muzzle as faint mirrors of Alao's dye patterns appeared on her chest. Kokonor touched them both on the nose with a large feather, and kissed the pair. "Now you are ready. May Loae embrace your souls for a thousand years."

The two foxes proved their inseparability through the sacrifical procession. Alao and Zilue held each other's hands the entire way along the path up the mountainside, as the entire village followed with music, thrown flower petals, and praise for the volcano goddess and her two brave sacrifices.

An eruption 10 years previously had reshaped the side of the mountain, and the caldera was now too steep for sacrificial processions to climb. Instead they traveled to a large vent in the side that had opened in the same eruption. Mere months before, it had lain dormant, but now bright orange liquid rock was clearly visible mere yards below.

Alao gulped as he felt blisteringly hot air rise out of the vent. "Well, Zilue, this is it..." he chuckled nervously. The pretty young vixen melted into his embrace, drawing sighs of joy from the assembled villagers to see such powerful love.

Zilue looked into her lover's eyes. "I'm ready, Alao." She gave an impish grin, and tugged on Alao's arm, towards the vent. "Let's go meet Loae now."

The sacrificial pair stepped up to the edge of the vent, feeling the furnace-hot air rise behind them. Both foxes said "I love you." at the same time, then giggled and slowly fell backward.

The villagers saw the two lovers disappear from view in seconds, and began playing joyful music. The sacrifice had been made, the village was safe.

Alao and Zilue, however, felt the heat of their love instantly replaced by the heat of molten rock. As they fell, the hot air and radiant heat from the lava below scorched their backs and filled their lungs with searing heat. The pain lasted for mere seconds, as the vent was not all that deep, and twin spluts of living fox on lava marked an end to their pain.

The two lovers lived for mere seconds more; the heat of the lava transferred much more readily than that of the hot air, and so pain nerves burnt out as fast as they could fire. Their last moments were filled with little more than a prickly tingling, and the euphoria of knowing they were together for the rest of their lives.

Then the two foxes ignited, and incandescent flames erupted from their bodies until all that was left were two charred smears on the surface of the glowing hot magma* flow.

The two foxes found themselves in a very bright place. In fact, "bright" seemed to be all there was to it. Their eyes soon adjusted, however, and a shimmering form appeared before them. She appeared as a beautiful vixen, agelessly beautiful and agelessly wise, and they knew at once who she was.

"Loae." Zilue said first. Loae smiled and nodded. The volcano goddess drifted closer to the pair, and for the first time they noticed they were floating in a glowing sea of magma, in what must be the very heart of the mountain. The timeless fox lady was as nude as they were, but though their sacrificial flowers and punga dye had burned away, Loae's fur was filled with eternally flaming flowers, and more blossomed where she had passed.

"Yes, my children, I am Loae. It fills me with joy to see you... but sorrow that you must come to me so soon."

The two young foxes exchanged confused glances. "But... but we were the sacrifice, so your lava flows would spare our village." Loae's face took on an expression of pure, timeless sadness. "But that's never been the case. The stories your shamans pass down have changed over time... not through any fault of theirs, but nevertheless countless young lives have been lost for nothing. Please, let me explain."

"I love all of you, but from time to time I must erupt, it is as much a part of my life as you eating and passing waste. I do my best to keep my lava flows from affecting your village... but one year I could not avoid it. I slowed the lava as best I could, giving your people ample time to evacuate, but the village itself was completely destroyed.

"Unfortunately, the shaman of the time came to believe that I was somehow angry, and required a sacrifice to make amends. The poor fellow was simply out of his mind with anguish from having everything he knew destroyed in a single night... but his words have continued to send young foxes from your village to a fiery death for more than a hundred years. He, and every shaman who arrives here to learn the truth since then, are the most anguished by the needless deaths their words cause."

Alao and Zilue embraced Loae, tears filling their eyes. Brilliant lights danced in their vision: even their tears shone with liquid fire. "So... what can we do now?" Alao said timidly, noticing for the first time that the searing pain of hot air in his lungs was echoed in this spiritual realm by a tingling crackle to his voice, as if he were a talking flame himself.

Loae smiled once more. "Whatever passion ignites your hearts most. All the villagers who have died, including your mother, Alao, are here somewhere. I do not leave my children behind, but gather them here to my home. Love one another. Be mates, though the pleasures of the flesh may feel different as pleasures of fire. Whatever you will, do it. And I will always be here."

"All around you."

The lovers looked into each other's eyes and felt joy renewed. Death had not stopped their love, and their new existance would provide boundless joy in the warmth of their beloved goddess's volcanic body.

And so the spirits of Alao and Zilue drifted in Loae's heart for a thousand years and more, loving and playing in the warm glow.

THE END


started May 26, 2010 ended May 26, 2010 editing complete May 27, 2010


*(Yes, it was called lava earlier. That's because when it was exposed to the surface in the vent, it was lava... but this particular flow was parallel to the surface and so slipped underground again, where it is again called magma.)