I Think We're Close Enough

When he approached her, Alastor saw Relm begin to hold her breath and tense again while he removed her cloak from her body. He didn't know if it was out of tension, anxiety, or something else, but it was impossible to tell. Either way, once Alastor began to rub her back again, Relm looked down and away from him, still unable to look him in the eyes during any sort of contact. That was fine; this would be a process for her, one that he was happy to help her with. Together they would break her anxiousness around physical contact. After but a few moments, Relm turned about in the water, lying down and offering her back to him again. A small knowing smirk twitched across Alastor's lips while he resumed stroking down her back, paw pads delicately grazing over the raised skin of the scars he'd left on her. He ever so carefully flexed his claws, letting the sharp points slip through her thick fur to brush along her skin, roaming from shoulder to hip as he went. Every so often he would let a single clawed digit follow the ridge of her spine from the back of her neck all the way down to the base of her tail, then curl back up and resume his circuit.

As time went by, Alastor found himself more and more impressed by Relm. The girl didn't shiver or squirm away, she didn't show any signs of discomfort or distrust. She had come a long way from when he'd first found her out here by the lake a season ago. That was why he knew she would never become her father—Relm was already stronger than Kefka ever could have been. Despite his best intentions, there was still a small part of Alastor's primal brain aching for him to let go of his control again. Relm's heat scent, although dampened by the lake, was still present, and the animal inside him wanted nothing more than to grab her and mount her again. Thankfully, without the bloodlust to trigger him, Alastor remained firmly in control this time. Still, the lingering thoughts and memories played in his head every time his paw moved down near her hips and rump, the animal fantasizing about what she felt like, what she sounded like, what she'd taste like...

Alastor's perturbed thoughts were interrupted when he felt Relm shift about beneath him, black eyes blinking in surprise as he found himself gazing down at Relm's eyes once more. She guided his paw with her own to her chest, asking him to resume there. He flashed her a small grin, then wordlessly did as she asked. The giant ebony paw pressed lightly down on her chest, siam claws flexing to part through her fur here and tickle at her skin just beneath her coat. Alastor did his best not to hold extended eye contact with Relm, instead focusing on his work and letting her gaze at the summer stars overhead. Her bright pink belly fur was soft and wet from lying in the water, lying slick to her form in taut clumps. His paw moved easily through her damp fur, claws parting it like a hot knife through butter. "Like this?"

With her lying belly up, Alastor had to be even more careful of how low he let his paw wander. He would stroke slowly down over Relm's chest and barrel, staying above her stomach to start. As time passed and Relm seemed to relax even more, Alastor began to let his stroking paw drift lower, teasing over the taut muscles of her abdomen and belly. He never let his digits slip lower than her waist, however, far too concerned that if he dipped any lower, he wouldn't be able to help himself and he'd wind up showing Relm what other parts tended to feel good if they were stroked right. So, steeling his attention on Relm's reactions to gauge what she liked, Alastor made another circuit on the girl's pink underside, roaming from chest down lithe sides and flat belly to her waist and then back up again.


"Alastor"