[F4A] Song Of Summer [Narrative]

Transcript

Iron chains littered the forest floor. There was just light enough to see the runes etched into the metallic links. They caught the setting sun in such a way and almost glowed with power.

My guide met me at the tree line. They wore a crown of laurel leaves, red berries nestled between them. Unable to hide their wry grin, they extended their hand.

I returned the gesture, their fingers brushing mine as they took it. Despite the warm summer air, I felt a chill go up my spine. I had seen the signs around town, literal flyers that had been posted haphazardly on light poles and community boards, offering a riddle to solve.

It depicted a woman in a green gown, head tilted slightly to the side, a deer skull pressed into her cheek. Vines and flower stems were wrapped around the exposed flesh. A celebration of the solstice.

While I wasn't normally one to go to such events, a curiosity had gnawed at me. Rumors had circled around town about these liaisons in the woods. Nobody had been able to successfully stumble upon one.

I had recently ended my engagement and found myself with a surplus of free time. Hours of my day that used to be dedicated to planning my wedding were now empty. I had expected my fiancé to call, to say that we needed to talk, but he had vanished.

Ghosting me was preferable. It stung, but I couldn't blame them. We trekked further in, the horizon vanishing as the trees surrounded us on all sides.

Anxiety was a knot in my stomach and chest, tangled around the chill. I tried not to let my apprehension show as branches knit together, forming a barricade between us and the outside world. The taper ends allowed slants of light through the canopy, but that would be gone in a couple hours.

Then, a meadow. A large bonfire had been lit, the wood still catching. I had a feeling it would be an inferno before the night was over.

A small gathering of a couple dozen people in green gowns surrounded it, wearing crowns of flora, feet bare as they trampled through the dirt without a second thought. The puzzle had been a complex one. I'm not quite sure how I came to the conclusion myself, but once the answer had formed, I found myself calling a number.

When the gruff voice answered the phone, I nearly hung up, my heart hammering so loud I was sure they could hear it. But then the car came to my home. Someone was playing music.

They sat against a tree, strumming a lute. They had a small group around them, who seemed entranced. Or maybe it was due to several empty cups around them.

A few had started to dance. It was a wild movement of swishing fabric and acrobatics. Some swung from trees and branches in a way that made it look like they were almost flying.

Someone whipped by me, and our eyes met. Time slowed to a halt as our gazes stayed on one another. Hair streamed behind them, framing a face that seemed almost too perfect to be human.

For an instant, I thought I saw runes drawn on their skin. Statues were placed around the meadow, animal heads on humanoid bodies, beings that seemed to be halfway between man and beast. Food and beverages sat on tables that looked like they had grown out of the ground.

Or perhaps had been reclaimed with how the roots and vines wrapped around them. Wooden cups held wine, strong enough that smelling it made my head spin. Berries and other flora had been gathered together, a rainbow of things to choose from.

When I had made the call, I expected a silly kit or an invitation to a live stream. But this. ..

I felt out of place in my own attire. Before I could ask about receiving my own dress, I was led to the center. They stepped onto a stone slab, offering their hand to me so I could join them.

A few cloths and candles had been placed on it to make an altar. It too had faded runes carved into its surface, a deer skull entangled in vines on its highest point, almost as if it was watching the party as it unfolded. A golden chain with a sun charm hung between the highest prongs.

The way the light fell, it shimmered. My guide rested a hand on my shoulder, towering above me. I wondered if they felt the tightness in my gut, the chills that continued to roll over me, leaving my skin covered in goosebumps, apprehension that left my whole body tense.

They offered me a cup of wine. The smell made my nose itch, and warmth flooded me. I politely refused, and continued to watch the performances.

Fingers continued to pluck strings. Every vibration of the cords seemed to send a spark through the air. My drink was taken by someone far more eager, who tossed it back without flinching.

They were soon joined by another, who was clutching berries tight enough for the red residue to trickle between their fingers. They drank from the cups and ate out of one another's hands, a gesture of trust, an intimacy I found myself craving. My tongue flipped across my lips as I watched, mouths brushed against palms, then traveled upward toward the inside of the wrist.

Before reaching the forearm there was hesitation, before attention snapped to me. I averted my eyes like I just walked in on something far more obscene. As the sun set, more wine was drunk.

Grips on the cup loosened, and the dirt drank almost as much as the guests did. Music and language became more off-tune, requests and lyrics a slurred mess. Lips traveled further up, hands lower.

Gowns were slid down, raised, or simply discarded. Some stumbled back to the trees for privacy, some simply falling to the forest floor, a tangle of limbs and moans. A universal language that man and beast knew all too well.

Emptiness was filled with fingers, tongues, and cocks. How I envied them. I tried to imagine those same hands and mouths trying to undo my attire, then becoming frustrated when it proved too complicated.

I looked down at a couple who had decided to continue their activities on the ground in front of the musician. Their moans joined with the melody, only cut off when lips crashed into something else. Tears welled, shimmering on their cheeks.

Despite that, their expressions were one of bliss. Heat flooded me as blood sang in my veins. They were feeling.

I wasn't sure if I watched for seconds, minutes, or even an hour, but I didn't dare move, afraid to ruin their moment. Perhaps I would have stayed still until the vines and roots began to wind around me as well, just to preserve the scene. They became a tangle of limbs and size, slumped against the altar, resting their heads on the musician's lap.

Sweat glistened on their skin, damp hair clinging to their smiling faces. Wine wouldn't be the only fluid the dirt would absorb. Gold glinted in the fire's light.

My eyes went to the skull. Bright green lined the sockets. They glowed in the silvery light of the moon and the orange of the fire.

The sun pendants went back and forth like a pendulum. All I could think of was the lady in green. How content she looked.

If I couldn't find comfort in one of the other attendees, at least I could watch the show. The charm caught the moonlight, along with a few stray drops of wine. A shimmering eye inviting me.

I hopped onto the stone slab. While I had intended to only sit, the woman in the poster was still stuck in my mind. The skull was a lot lighter than I anticipated.

It was nearly rooted to the stone, quite literally. But in my hands I felt heat roll over me. My palms seemed to be the perfect shape for it.

And for a moment it felt like a pair of hands were cupping my own face. I stared, thumbs running over the jawbone and teeth, and I felt something brush against my own lips and chin. Warmth evaporated the cold and loosened the knot in my stomach.

Rather than set the skull on my shoulder, I pressed my mouth against the bone. A coppery tang pulled on my tongue, and I was immediately met with pain. Wincing, I pulled back and saw crimson smeared on white.

A few drops of red were smudged on my fingers. A stray thorn had pierced me, it figured. Sighing, I sucked on my lower lip and wondered if I would be missed if I left the celebration early.

When I went to try to set the skull down, my hands hit something solid. My knuckles brushed against plant-like material, and I realized it was shoulders. Eerie quiet followed.

Fabric billowed as dancers came to an abrupt stop, perching on branches as they watched. A few faces peeked out from the trees, but no one moved from their spots. The sun-charm flashed as the skull rose in the air.

Vines twisted and knit together like muscles in sinew. The head rolled, wooden snaps echoing in the empty night. Arms extended, seeming to reach toward the canopy above.

Tapered branches branched against those in the trees, but they continued to remain statues still. I stumbled back, one foot catching behind the other. My fall was abruptly halted, green tendrils on either side of me.

Leaves caressed my exposed face and wrists, too intentional to have been caused by a breeze. The pounding of my heart shook my form. Tongue heavy in my mouth, I found myself staring up at the pitch-black sky, littered with stars.

Eyes wide, I stayed still, not even allowing myself to breathe. A shadow fell over me, and the stars were gone. The skull was a finger's width away from my face, grass green glowing in its sockets.

A bony maw parted, and hot breath rolled over my nose and cheeks. The warmth melted the chill away completely, sweat trickling down the nape of my neck. Tears pricked the corner of my eyes, and I finally inhaled.

It was like breathing in sunshine. Sweltering heat made my clothes soaked with sweat. I clumsily attempted to remove them, but my fingers were shaking so hard.

Not from fear, but excitement. A leaf-covered hand extended toward me. Stems writhed on the palm, making the digits twitch.

My trembling hand joined theirs. Tapered appendages tore through the fabric with ease. Within seconds I only wore the golden charm.

It was heavy around my neck, forcing me to bow in submission. I was gently pulled upwards, my legs dangling over the creature's maw. Its breath tickled my folds, the wooden hands pushing my bare legs apart.

As the palms traced over my thighs, breath caught in my throat. Instinctively I closed my mouth. Jaw clenched, I swallowed down noises of pleasure, air hissing out between my teeth.

The gangling jaw remained open, its mottled black tongue lulling out. A grayish fluid dripped into the altar below, ancient ruins glowing at the contact. It hissed with heat and power, the glow spreading all to the text, still obscured by cloth.

And as my head reclined back, I could see an audience had assembled. Transfixed attendees sat in a circle around the stone, eyes wide with anticipation. My cheeks burned as I felt the urge to hide my nakedness.

Vine strained and entangled me further, forcing me to lock eyes with the audience. Texture across my ribs, breasts, hips, thighs, as vines wound tightly around my form. My hands were kept free, but I doubt I could be able to do much more than hold fast to my new restraints.

Then, wetness brushed against my own. Even though I was faced away, I knew the sensation all too well. A tongue was being used.

Bigger and more prehensile than ones that had previously lapped inside me, I found my own fluid smearing on my thighs and dripping onto the altar. My skin glittered with sweat, nipples erect as white-hot pleasure rushed through my core. How long would I be able to hold my mouth closed? My silence seemed to be taken as a challenge.

Legs were pushed further apart, grip tightening as the tongue pumped in and out of me, each motion punctuated by an echoing wet thrust. A moan finally pushed its way past my lips. My back arched and I felt the rhythm quicken, going deeper.

My bondage grew so tight that it bit into my skin. The world spun as I tilted back, exposing myself completely to the crowd. How many times had I fucked by a covered window, wanting to pull back the curtain or raise the blinds, press myself against the glass, clouds of breath obscuring the outside world, wanted hands to tangle my hair, forcing me to face an unseen audience, whispered words of degradation and affirmation of what I truly was, desired the slow and gentle thrusts becoming fast and hard, swallowing down the wish to shed civilized acts that came with intercourse, to embrace that true primal nature within.

My clenched jaw finally released and I screamed with pleasure. The world spun and I realized it was doing it quite literally. With my palms against the stone, I realized they were still slick with sweat.

My arms and legs trembled as a few aftershocks passed through me.