Chapter 26: A Fresh Start
(Septham 29th, Year 665 of the 4th Age)

The past several days felt prodigious to me. The sounds and air felt fresh and crisp. I tasted the same comestibles as I always did, but they somehow developed better piquancy to my tongue. I presumed these were what someone experienced when they were in a high of being smitten and deeply infatuated with another individual, according to what my mother explained to me earlier, and I had no complaints. In fact, I wanted the exultant rush to be amaranthine and overwhelm a different sensation within me.

I hummed Gellir's favorite song from the dance as I played with my breakfast more frequently than usual. Mom must've sensed my jubilant energy as she appeared cheerful, presumably reminiscing about her younger days or using my fortune as a vicarious substitute for her earlier years. I couldn't blame her because I had a fresh start with Gellir, continuing her second chance she got late last year, and I hoped he would be sufficient as a lover than my brother.

My heart fluttered rapidly to my delight when I encountered Gellir in a hallway at school. I tasted lightning on his lips as we immediately osculated and embraced each other.

"Hey there, gorgeous," Gellir uttered after our seemingly everlasting kisses finally ended.

"Hi, stud," I responded, huffing.

"Are you planning on going?”

I gave Gellir a confused look. "To what or where?”

"Tonight's game.”

My eyes enlarged ephemerally. "Oh yeah." I quickly articulated my honest answer, "I plan on being there.”

Gellir beamed at my reply. "Excellent." He took a few paces away from me before something dawned on him and brought him back. "Quick question. Would you like to hang out with me after the game, maybe eat somewhere?”

“Sure."

Gellir's grin grew wider, and he showed his perfectly shiny teeth. "Awesome." He actually walked away this time, giving a brief salutation to Róstran and Lárus as they showed up.

Lárus's head followed the white Direfenri for several seconds and reverted back to me. "What just happened?" There was an iota of jealousy in his inflection.

"I believe I have my first date ever in my entire life.”

"With Gellir?”

I nodded. "We're going to the game tonight, and he's taking me to dinner after.”

I beheld my twin brother stymying his rage. "Congrats. I'll also be there along with Ásyvör, and she wants me to take her somewhere to eat, so it appears I have my first date, too.”

It was my turn to subdue my acerbity to give Lárus a warm felicitation. “Nice."

"You two have fun watching Mettevéúrokkig tonight," Róstran said, uninterested in the game.

"You're not going, Róstran?”

Róstran shook his head and replied in the same listless tone as if the topic was lackadaisical to him, "I find games where dolts lose what little brain cells they have left to be platitudinous and superfluous. Why would Faer create one of those supererogatory recreations?" The warning for tardiness disrupted the conversation.

I thought about my upcoming first date ever with anybody during the rest of school. The classes went by in a blur, somehow remembered what my assignments were. I didn't recall much of lunch other than Lárus acting nonchalant about my fortune. A poster advertising an avenue of transient revenue captured my attention for several transitory seconds, the longest duration for any extraneous force intruding on my fantasy about going out with Gellir.

Mom squealed jubilantly and embraced me, followed by hugging Lárus, and she jounced energetically. "Oh, I'm so happy, so happy, so happy for you two! You're gonna have so much fun watching Mettevéúrokkig at school." Her eyes lit up. "In fact, I'm coming also.”

"What about the pups?" I asked.

"You know what— everybody's coming." Róstran did not enjoy mom's plan, and mom ambulated to her bedroom, with him, Lárus, and me following her. "I haven't gone to a Mettevéúrokkig game for almost decades; I want to relive my more youthful days." She denudes herself and stops on the boundary line between the personal chamber and bathroom, turning back at us. "I'll wash myself, and then we can go.”

"Do I have to go?" Róstran inquired with a puppyish whine.

"You don't actually have to. That was me in the heat of the moment back there. However, you'll be alone for a while." Mom's tone took a subtle shift in pitch. "And it'll be dark by the time I show up. I suspect it'll be even later for Lárus and Kaera to return.”

"I metamorphose my previous decision and now want to go.”

It took a multitude of carriages to transfer the servants and pups to the game. The admission fee was six Liérés per person, although the students currently enrolled at the school got the price reduced to one. I noticed we were very early, so mom got the seats closest to the arena, hoping they would give the close-up action a thrilling experience.

The players were on the field doing warm-ups. I counted eighteen per team, and the vast majority wore only jockstraps despite the hiemal conditions of gelid wind and snow. A small handful stood out blatantly because of their distinctive attire, split evenly between more conservative gear and naked. They all had armbands to display which team they belonged to and helmets. I heard mom whistle in awe, tilting my head at her.

"They are either intrepid or imprudent," she said bluntly.

“Who?"

Mom pointed me toward the players that displayed their penises and testicles, my sex burning from beholding them and ones only in underwear, and I did not receive further answers from her. More Fenri filled the void in the stadium, and apparently, the game was a huge event among the population. It was like all of Álfsandur congregated and condensed into a bantam space. It was an even mix of those that wore some form of habiliments and those that elected to expose their entire pilose physiques. Surprisingly, mom was in good company as some nursing mothers had their pups with them, breastfeeding the neonates to no one's objections. Another surprise was her stripping to only her panties as she got in a decumbent position on a portable cushion to feed her whelps with lactation.

My brother found Ásyvör, so he went to be with her. I saw Gellir a few minutes later and splintered from my family to be with him, and he had a smile that showed he was delightfully surprised I arrived before him. As a show of independence, we sat further away from our families for some privacy, chatting about bits and pieces of ourselves. Apparently, he wasn't that far from where I lived, and he could juggle.

It was a couple minutes before the game started, so Gellir got up to grab a snack to ward off our famished stomachs. I looked around the stadium, observing the complete reversal of vacant seats to people, and I beheld my brother with his date on the other side of the field. My cheeks flushed with apoplexy and jealousy, which I knew I shouldn't have towards Lárus. I should be happy for him since he was with somebody of interest, and they appeared merry in each other's company, observing Ásyvör laugh at one of my sibling's jokes. If only Lárus could reciprocate the felicity towards me and Gellir like I tried to feel for them. Lárus saw where I was, and I knew he deliberately attempted to provoke the negative emotions within me as he flaunted his smooch with her. Gellir disrupted the choler within me as he appeared with viands, handing me a sandwich. The price was a major ripoff for the subpar quality; even reducing it wouldn't persuade me to purchase some, and I held Gellir's hands.

Everybody had to stand up to pledge our fidelity to Faer and the Alpha Prime. Then, our team started the school's chant to get everyone hyped up and intimidate the opposing side, and I noticed the nurturing mothers evacuate with their pups. The entire seating area shook violently from the feet stomping on it that it was as if Faer shook the whole land.

The referees placed five humongous rocks on the dividing line, the largest being in the center, with the four smaller versions flanking it. A stentorian whistle commenced the game, and the eight players on both teams charged on their steeds, with the remaining members staying behind as goalies. Each side had four players, with the largest baskets attached to an elongated pole, and the remainder had a more bantam replica. I eventually deduced that the capaciousness of the containers corresponded to the size of the rocks as I observed them tossing the boulders to each other or at their adversaries.

"Why are they throwing the smaller rocks at the other players like they intend to harm them?" I inquired. That aspect of the game probably led to Róstran believing the game was asinine.

"It's a way to gain the Köllúék without trying to intercept it or waiting for it to hit the ground. If the player that has it falls of his horse, the other team collects it, and he must wait a minute before getting back into the action," Gellir answered.

I nodded but was still bewildered as to why the other players received a fair share of attacks despite not possessing the Köllúék. "So, why are the others fair game?”

"Everybody on their horses must wait a minute if they fall off." Gellir instantly jumped and hollered for joy as our team scored a point, sitting back down several seconds later. "It gives the other team a better chance of scoring a point. The only person safe from intentional assaults is the goalie.”

The game continued as the opposing side picked up the Köllúék and charged down the field. I lost track of where it was because of the constant passing between teammates and believing the smaller boulders were the legit version. My best method of keeping up to date on the progress was whenever someone on the opposite team intercepted a pass, followed by cheers or jeers. The way the players exchanged it between themselves was like a different show inside the game. They would suddenly toss the primary rock behind them without looking for their teammates and somehow succeed and do other tricks. Their marksmanships were also worthy of admiration because of the goal's size and the distance they had to throw from, and the defenders had quite the dyads between their legs from catching the speedy rocks with their whole bodies, sometimes scooting back. As the game intensified, I almost forgot about the growing fire in my loins.

I discovered that the teams and their respective fans were equally as rancorous towards the referees as they were toward the other faction when the arbiters threw a penalty at a player, decrying the adjudicators immensely. I heard words from nearby spectators that ranged from, "He totally moved his horse or his head on purpose," to, "That should've been a flag, you fucking nincompoop." Their denigrations got more sardonic, and security had to forcefully remove someone from the area when he called the refs wolves in his vitriol. Brief skirmishes erupted on the field occasionally, which lasted close to a minute before the judges and guards disrupted the paroxysm. We all had a concurrence by grimacing at one of the naked players taking a direct hit to the inguinal region. Mom was right— the nude males on the field were imbecilic or brave, going with the former.

My school's team was in the lead, 3-1, when halftime arrived, and everybody had half an hour to walk, go to the bathroom, or grab a snack or drink. I had to relieve my bladder, so I went to where the restrooms were. My inquisitiveness got the best of me when I heard rustling and yips in the nearby bushes after I emptied my bladder.

My curiosity led me to discover two Fenri with black fur braced against a tree. Their positions against it told me they were engaged in coitus, although clothed. It was hard to deduce where the male penetrated the female from my hiding spot, but that hardly mattered. They were around my age, and I saw them at school, so they were absolutely playing with fire. Surely, they knew the danger they placed themselves in. If so, why were they fornicating this close to people?

My inguinal region started to burn even more fervidly from spying on the clandestine intercourse, and my right hand crept into my pants and underwear. The digits caressed my nether lips, causing me to bite my mouth and hiss at the thrilling stimulus. I sat behind some verdure for cover, watching the adulterous coition while fingering myself.
The masculine Fenri had alacritous thrusts on his feminine partner's rear. They looked at each other with an expression that conveyed their deep devotion to one another. It was the same love I observed between my parents and the deep amity I had to— get that thought out of your head, Kaera.

I went far into my vagina, nearly inserting my entire hand in there. My crotch and panties were imbued with nectar. I swapped my fingers with a fresh array, sucking the fluid off them one digit at a time. The concupiscent hormones in my blood impelled my freshly clean hand to grope my corresponding breast and squeeze it. My head swiveled in a panic toward the sound of footsteps coming at me, beholding Gellir while still having my left hand in my pants.

"Gellir!" I whispered sharply, trying to devise an excuse to spy on the horny tryst and masturbate.

"I got worried when you didn't show up after a few minutes," Gellir responded, staring at the libidinous couple behind me. "I see.”

I gradually got more relieved as Gellir plopped adjacent to me and looked at the Fenri pair just as the macho lover knotted to his womanly counterpart. He insouciantly allowed his erection to breathe. I couldn't believe the duo went all the way and lost their full virginity before their Mating Ceremony, even if they made an oath to Faer to be with each other. How would they keep their loss of abstemiousness hidden from society? Why didn't they have the blatant expression of, "Fuck, we definitely went too far this time?" And Gellir acted just as placid as they were. "Did they seriously just?" I couldn't finish my sentence as dread for them, and stupefaction blockaded my throat.

"Yeah," Gellir casually answered, stroking his penis.

"But why? Aren't they taking a huge risk of discovery?”

"Just watch; it'll explain itself eventually." Gellir prostrated against a trunk and went spread-eagle, jerking his cock debonairly. "Why not finish what you started in the meantime?”

I resumed pleasuring myself while waiting for the conjoined couple to detach from one another. Having Gellir stroke his dick near me made me reminisce about Lárus and reconnoitering the orgy in Álfsandur's Red Zone. Still, the atmosphere this time didn't feel spectacular. The ascendancy to my emotional apogee was slower than usual because I wasn't in the mood ever since Gellir caught me. Perhaps I was still fretting about someone discovering the two Fenri while they were still tied to each other and ruining their lives like what happened to mom.

Gellir wasn't as anxious as I was, utilizing both hands to masturbate. His phallus had a coating of precum, indicating he was enraptured by his personal session. I kept going at a pace that gave an apocryphal impression I earnestly wanted to climax. The sparks I had no longer existed, and I exhausted the remaining vaginal fluids by sucking them off my fingers, giving him a bit of a performance with them. White, agglutinative substance extravasated from his urethra and flowed down his hands, and he groaned contently at his release. I fingered my slit several more times and pretended I had an orgasm with him, and he started to clear the cum off himself.

The knotted duo eventually became free, and I saw, with mostly disgust, why Gellir wasn't worried about the two individuals. I thought the virile Fenri shoved his knot into the female's pussy, expecting to witness semen oozing from the hole any second. Her anus presented itself to me, and that was where his seed came out. First off— still gross Second— I wondered why he chose that aperture precisely. Third— he had quite the sword for being a regular Fenri.

"She took that up her ass?”

Gellir nodded. “Mmm-hmm."

"Why? It doesn't really matter he shoves his penis in her since they violate the rule of abstinence until the Mating Ceremony." Like I was worthy enough to point that out.

"It's a loophole." I gave Gellir a confused expression. "What, you expect Fenri like us to stew in our horny desires from puberty to Mating Ceremony without any source of relief other than the potions?”

“Yes."

"You're too innocent, Kaera." If only Gellir knew the debaucheries and other corrupted activities I partook in prior. "Let me elucidate it to you, then. Nobody bothers to check a girl's asshole, and they would discover nothing if they did. She keeps our version of chastity. If you were assiduous at frequently measuring a male's knot, the expansion resulting from going into it is minimal to warrant attention, certainly way less than entering a vagina. A couple can copulate as often as it wants before its Mating Ceremony without worrying about hiding the permanent marks until then, provided no one catches them in the first place.”

"So?" I drawled out.

"Do it in the butt in secret, and none will be the wiser, provided that you don't use it to violate a Hjolagrð's actual edict." Gellir directed my attention to the romantic dyad by pointing. "Get a look at that.”

I wished I hadn't. The male had his maw between the girl's buttcheeks, no doubt licking the sperm from her posterior orifice. “Gross."

"Don't knock it till you try it.”

“Experience?"

Gellir nodded again. "You'll find nobody in our age demographic gives a shit unless you provide them a reason to divulge your secret should you allow them to know." We heard a chorus of cheers erupt nearby. "Come on; we're missing the game.”

We returned to our seats when the opposing team scored a point and took the lead. The other half on each side swapped places during the halftime break, noticing the different players. The game played out similarly to how it commenced: tricks, harsh strikes on their genitals that made me wince regardless of protection or not, my groin burning, and disgruntlement at the referees' pronouncements. One more brutal skirmish than the previous clashes broke out among the factions on the field, leading some players on both sides to sit out for the remainder.

I noticed Manasína, Ingileif, and Hjálmveig arrive at some point and sit near mom and Róstran. Observing mom being fervent and bloodthirsty about the game made me realize she was a maturer version of Manasína, who was also naked like her. I scanned the seating across the arena for my brother and found him with Ásyvör in their exact spots. Ásyvör had a super-wide smile on his visage, and it appeared she was giggling. He and Ásyvör had their hands together, and I averted my gaze as I caught them kissing each other.

The game ended with my team barely winning, 5-4, and I reunited with the other household members. Lárus showed up with Ásyvör after I arrived with Gellir, and Gellir and I parted ways with them after we left the stadium.

"Make sure you bring Kaera back before eleven tonight," mom told Gellir.

"I will," Gellir responded.

Mom looked at my twin sibling and Ásyvör. "Are you two going somewhere else for awhile?”

"We," Lárus started his reply.

"We're planning on hanging out in Áílkæn Square for a couple of hours," Ásyvör instantly interjected.

Mom appeared content with her oldest pups. Each had a date. "Then, I shall see you, Lárus, no later than eleven also." She headed to the carriages with the servants and her whelps, waving farewell backward. "Have fun, you two.”

I arrived at a fancy restaurant in an affluent part of Álfsandur after following Gellir. The milieu inside from the subfuscous lighting had a calming effect on me, and we sat in a darker part of the room away from the main source of coruscation. The menu items sounded ornate, and I went with múlveig while he went with seafood ækalla. We both opted for the suggested alcohol pairing to go with our meal and a plate of swamp crab for an appetizer at his suggestion.

"Seafood?" I questioned out loud.

"I'm a huge fan," Gellir replied. "Trust me; they're delicious." We got ale and a plate of swamp crabs that were split open. I had to urgently relieve my bladder, and I returned and sat in my seat, taking a decent gulp of my libation. I was familiar with the booze because that was what I had during special celebrations, so I knew instantly the flavor wasn't correct and had to replace it, observing him shove a bite into his mouth. "So, mind telling a little bit about yourself?" He catechized after swallowing the comestible.

"Like what?”

"Like where you originally lived. I never saw you in town until recently.”

"I grew up near Kelna and lived in a tiny shack until early this year.”

Gellir snorted derisively. "Couldn't blame you although it was a damn miracle you escaped.”

I agreed, although I took some offense at his attitude toward the village. "What about you? Any siblings?”

"I have five older brothers, but all of left the house when I was barely born, so I guess you could say I was raised as an only pup." Gellir took a sip of his alcohol. "Anything unique about yourself?”

I thought for a moment. "Does my past count?”

"I prefer traits.”

I shook my head. "Then no, not really.”

"There must be something unique.”

I thought for a minute longer. "I like to write.”

"Oh. Like what?" Gellir rested on his fists.

"Mainly just jotting down my life, but maybe I could write a book in the future.”

"Any idea what to write about?”

"Maybe entities invading from another realm— maybe forbidden love.”

"I would gladly read a book that featured dimensional invasion with forbidden romance. I'm intrigued already.”

I grinned as I lifted the cup to my lips. "Thanks." I lowered the beverage container. "What's your unique trait?”

"I can make my eyes move independent of each other.”

“Really?"

Gellir demonstrated his point by moving his left eye up and his right eye down. It was mystifying in a freakish way as he rolled them in various directions. He then proceeded to do funny faces, which, combined with the movements, caused me to laugh and spit some of my drink.

Our meals arrived, and he received one huge oyster filled with starchy dumplings and seafood while I stared at a golden brown pastry shaped like a horn. Inside the baked cornucopia had shredded beef in a fruity sauce. My victuals had wonderful flavor, but I wasn't satisfied. They lacked a homey aspect to them, and I could certainly not complain if the portion size was greater, especially for the prices. The Carnivorous Hangout still remained my favorite restaurant.

Judging by the moon's position in the partly cloudy sky, it was getting late, so Gellir escorted me to my home. We entered the small stretch of forest that divided it and Álfsandur, so I could handle the rest of the journey, but he grabbed my left hand as I separated from him. He pulled me in closer for an extended osculation. I felt the sparks on my lips and tongue as I tasted him, and our arms explored each other's figures. He aggrandized his force, adding to the erotic sensation, and I sensed him getting more audacious with his touches. An instinct told me to end the kiss as much as I hated to do so, and it was a struggle to break free again.

"I'll see you at school," I spoke.

"I'll see you there, too." Gellir waved as he turned away from me. "Bye, babe.”

I waved back at him. "Bye, hot stuff." I ambulated towards my domicile and couldn't help but shiver slightly about something in Gellir's eyes, shaking my head dismissively at the fear. "That is one weird characteristic to have," I said.