Chapter 38 #2
Curious, she stood and came to stand beside him at the front of the vehicle. She watched him manipulate the controls – a flat screen that he adjusted mostly with his two middle fingers instead of a wheel or even a joystick.
“Can I learn how to drive?” She asked, fascinated by the rapid but smooth movements.
“Pilot, you mean? Sure. I'll hire you and the others a teacher.”
Peony beamed. The idea of being tutored in how to drive was hilarious, but she had to admit, when she reminded herself that this was basically a little plane, this was not a car and she would definitely need a professional instructor instead of being taught by a regular person like when her dad taught her to drive at sixteen.
“So, where are we going?” She asked as she watched the lake come closer.
“You'll see,” he grinned, his tail flicking behind him, betraying his excitement.
She chuckled, putting her arms around him from behind him.
She kissed his back, right between his shoulder blades, which was about as high as she could reach.
He was such a big guy. She snuggled up right against his spine, giggling when his tail curled back, hooking around her thigh.
Only to jump when it slid down, hooked under her skirt, then up again.
She had stroked the prehensile appendage before, usually when they were lounging together.
She hadn't ever considered using it for sexy purposes.
Not because she was uncomfortable with the idea of using it in bed, but simply because it never occurred to her.
Tails weren't human equipment, and, in the heat of the moment, she wasn't thinking about it.
But she trembled excitedly to feel the soft skin stroking up between her thighs.
Then, down. Then, up again, just a bit higher.
He pet her thigh with his tail, creeping up gradually higher and higher until she felt the flexible tip flicking against the dampening crotch of her lacy panties.
Her arms tightened around his torso as she moaned softly, eager for more.
Before she could beg him to stop teasing, the hover pulled up to a stop and she was reminded that there was something he wanted to show her.
Stepping back from him, she looked around curiously.
The vehicle was hovering over the surface of the green lake water, the surface made dark from the setting sun.
It rippled out away from them, disturbed by whatever force kept the hover up.
She could see the edge of the forest ringing around them from most sides, but there didn't seem to be anything interesting about this spot in particular.
As she was looking out at the mostly calm surface, aside from the surprisingly deep but smooth ripples, Atem fiddled with the control screen. With a gentle, high pitched whooshing sound, the bubble-like cover of the hover split like an orange and folded down.
“It does have a top-down function!” Peony beamed excitedly, as the gentle breeze began to play with her hair and skirt. The water, to her surprise, didn't smell like she expected a lake to smell. Instead, it was a slightly crisp smell, like a fresh apple orchard, mixed with mineral water.
“Come here,” Atem said, holding his hand out to her.
She took it and let him pull her into his arms, her back to his chest this time.
He wrapped his arms around her and, with a silly, hyperfocused expression, began adjusting their position until they were standing in the middle of the hover, looking out over the left side, towards the distant shore she could barely see.
“Do you know what's over there?” He asked, resting his head on her shoulder.
“Er, more forest?” She guessed brightly, making him chuckle.
“Mm, yes. But on the other side of the forest, there's a small plateau.
Small as in short, it's actually pretty wide.
It's the remnants of an old, ancient mountain that was mined by my people hundreds of years ago.
Mined completely dry. Then, the mountain itself was harvested for the stone.
All that's left over is the base of the mountain.
And the base of the mountain wasn't harvested because, as they were digging, they discovered that most of the stones were actually crystalline in structure.”
As he was speaking, whispering directly in her ear, the sun was lowering over the horizon. It was low enough now that it didn't burn her eyes to stare.
“The plateau is a popular place for camping these days. People enjoy climbing to the top. It's a physical challenge. There are even the remains of one of the deeper mine shafts that the more adventurous like to explore. I've been inside. It's pretty interesting.”
“Okay,” she replied patiently, waiting for what he wanted to show her. Not that the story wasn't interesting, but she couldn't even see the plateau he spoke of from here.
“As they were clearing the mountain, something interesting was discovered,” he said, pausing to kiss the side of her head. “But you can only see it at sunset.”
As though he had timed it perfectly, the sun began to breach the horizon.
The bright rays of its light struck the plateau and the crystalline structure he spoke of began to sparkle and shine. Peony gasped, surprised as the horizon, stretching out for what had to be miles in every direction, began to break into a bunch of rainbow prisms like holographic glitter.
“No way!” She cried, grabbing onto Atem's arm.
He chuckled. “Oh, good. I was already seeing it, but I guess you were too short to spot it. At least, I hoped, and you weren't just completely unimpressed. Or couldn't see it at all.”
She leaned back against his chest, tucking her head under his chin. “It's beautiful, Atem.”
“You can only see this when you're on the lake. If you get closer to the forest, the canopy will force you up too high. If you go to the other side of the lake, the plateau slips under the horizon and you can't see it at all. This is the exact perfect spot for viewing.”