## Preface

Thorny Desires and Shifty Fingers in Quiet Passion
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at https://archiveofourown.org/works/60538231.

Rating:
  Explicit
Archive Warning:
  No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
  Multi
Fandom:
  Slay the Princess (Visual Novel)
Relationships:
  The Long Quiet/The Shifting Mound/The Thorn (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Shifting Mound/The Thorn (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet/The Shifting Mound (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Shifting Mound (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet/The Thorn (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Thorn (Slay the Princess), The Shifting Mound/The Thorn (Slay the Princess)
Characters:
  The Thorn (Slay the Princess), The Shifting Mound (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero (Slay the Princess)
Additional Tags:
  Smut, Fluff, Fluffy Smut, smutty fluff, Thorn's POV, Romance, Shifty's dormant form, AKA Sleeping Mound, AKA Handsy, Polyamory, Polyamory in which two of those involved are the same being, Epilogue to Kiss the Sleeping Mound, And therefore set in the Sleeping Mound after Thorn is taken away by Her, Threesome - F/F/M, Shifty doesn't have a name yet so she's referred to as either capital S She or Ocean, Shifty loves her vessels a lot, Non-Human Genitalia, The Slayer has a cloaca, Monsterfucker, Cunnilingus, Fingering, Praise Kink, Femdom, Bit of bondage, Thorn gets to have fun here, (So do Slayer and Shifty), Hairy Thorn, Shifty and Thorn share senses, Thorn is happy as part of the Shifting Mound, Happy Sex, soft fluff, Shifty's hands absolutely go to town on Thorn, saying goodbye, Exploration of what it's like to be a vessel, And how Thorn feels about becoming part of Shifty, Scissoring, Kiss the Thorn('s Lower Lips)
Language:
  English
Series:
  Part 10 of Kiss the Princess, Part 2 of Kiss the Sleeping Mound
Stats:
  Published: 2024-11-13 Words: 8,918 Chapters: 1/1

# Thorny Desires and Shifty Fingers in Quiet Passion

by Vickysaurus

Summary

> Thorn wakes in the Shifting Mound's sea of hands, in tight embrace with her Slayer. Finding herself hot and bothered and with plenty of time before the Slayer needs to go find Her next vessel, the three of them decide to enjoy each other's company.

> (Smutty epilogue to Kiss the Sleeping Mound)

Notes

> Here's something a little different from my usual writing. This one's an epilogue to Kiss the Sleeping Mound, and unlike the rest of the series, it's quite smutty. Enjoy!

See the end of the work for more notes

## Thorny Desires and Shifty Fingers in Quiet Passion

Thorn woke up from the first time she had ever slept so slowly, so comfortably that she wasn’t sure where happy dreams ended and happy reality started. Afloat in a sea of loving touches, gentle hands and warm feathers, a warm, rosy feeling tingling all over her, she let her eyes stay shut just a little longer. She just lay there and took in the sensations around her, petting the feathers of the heavy creature on top on her, while the hands surrounding her tenderly brushed through her hair, finally tangle- and vine-free. She didn’t need to open her eyes to feel the presence of the nameless being the hands belonged to. Thorn was deeply aware of Her at the back of her mind, of what it felt like to hold the two smaller, less arm-y creatures in Her hundreds of hands. She could feel the softness of her own locks between fingers, the gentle way they tickled a bit as She combed Her hand through her hair as if she was doing it herself. She was the ocean Thorn’s little river flowed into, a being so complex and strange, and yet sweet and caring.

At last, Thorn opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her Slayer, the bird who had both betrayed and saved her, lying fast asleep on one bare breast, his hand on the other. She’d quite forgotten about that, as well as how little was left of her dress from the waist up. That did explain some very pleasant feelings that had invaded her dreams and still lingered.

“Good morning, My heart,” a soft voice spoke from all around her. “I am pleased that you have rested well.”

There was no need to ask, She could feel the rest in Thorn’s body just as easily as Thorn could feel her own weight in Her hands. They were connected more tightly than any other beings ever could be. “Good morning, my Ocean,” she said, a little embarrassed to find Her already awake while she was in her state of undress. “Did you, um, sleep too?”

Hands gestured above Thorn as She replied. “In a way, I am always dormant. Not until more vessels return to Me will I awaken… But I was more asleep while you were. The part of My thought that is you rested and I roamed the streets of your dreams with you. Other parts of Me remained conscious, watching over the two of you, or explored the experiences of My other vessels.”

Thorn could only vaguely remember what it had been like to be Her, as if it was a poorly remembered dream. A vast, wandering, multi-faceted mind, filled with a boundless curiosity and desire to know what She was, yet stuck in the void and unable to experience much for Herself. It made sense that only parts of Her would sleep. Even now, she could feel the presence of the pathways that she could reach through into Her thoughts, to actually experience being Her for herself again, but if she did that… “I… am only a part of You, aren’t I? A piece of Your thoughts and memories. If I tread outside my own corner of Your mind, will I become You again?” She already knew the answer.

“As you said, you already are Me, My heart. But if you were to leave the part of Me that is you, then yes, you would cease to be that part. Does this unsettle you?”

Thorn thought about that for a while, idly petting her Slayer. “...No, I don’t think so. I like being me… well, I do now, anyway. But I like being You too. I know, because I can remember it, even see Your current thoughts and feelings, I’m just choosing not to look at them because I’m enjoying being me a while longer. But… You know that already.”

A hand petted Thorn’s long, fully untangled hair. “I do, My heart. Do not worry; if you were to be lost in My wider being, I could inspirit you once more, return you to yourself, but I would rather you don’t leave us in the first place. Your unique perspective is precious to Me.”

Thorn fondly intertwined her fingers with one of Her hands. “So are We just lying here talking to Ourself?”

“Yes, We are,” She said, some of the hands that made up the Slayer’s blanket petting his feathers. “I think everyone does it. I know he does.”

A smile came to Thorn’s face. “Is that what he’s up to when he goes all quiet?”

“Yes. He speaks to himself, advises his own course of action, debates among his options. A multitude of Voices sound off in his mind, both emotion and companion to him, just as a multitude of vessels make up My constellation.”

Thorn ran her hand through her Slayer’s plumicorns. Slayer… that had been one of the kinder names her previous self had bestowed on him amidst her stream of insults. She supposed maybe she should call him something else now that he’d turned over a new leaf and rescued her after her own betrayal. But no. Just because she had forgiven didn’t mean she was going to forget.

He made a noise in his sleep and stirred on her chest, his hand rubbing and kneading her right breast, his talons poking her soft skin just a bit and his rough scales providing a particularly pleasant little scrape. She gasped as the erotic sensation tingled through her entire body, her every nerve perking up. All around her there was a ripple as fingers drew tighter to each other. It pointedly called attention to just how sensitive and tingly she was all over. She hadn’t realised she was quite this hot and bothered, but after all the fun the three of them had had before sleeping it was no surprise. Especially if he’d periodically been squeezing her boob all night long.

“My Ocean, can You, uh, let me have a good look at him?”

At Thorn’s whispered request, the hands she was using as a pillow lifted her head up a little and the ones covering her Slayer up parted. A handsome, feathered bird-like creature about as large as Thorn lay face-down on top of her, his head on her breast. Black feathers iridesced gorgeously, perfectly preened by her Ocean. A long, thick tail with a pretty fan of feathers at the end emerged from round, muscular hips. He had clawed, scaly hands and feet at the end of fluffy limbs with solid muscle hiding under feathers, especially on his arms, whose long plumage almost made them into wings. His feet were bent at different angles than hers so he could comfortably walk on his toes, cute little pads protecting them. A sturdy, attractive body with a thick, enticing puff of feathers covering his chest like a big, fluffy cravat and a soft little belly. A head adorned with fluttery plumicorns and a beautiful crest that would raise and lower with his emotions, a black beak, and soft, kind eyes - currently closed and buried in her chest. He was curled up on himself a bit, a big fluffy beast, but she knew there was a particular dainty elegance to him when he was awake. He was very handsome… probably? It was difficult to tell with how different he was from her own pale, hair-covered body or her Ocean’s array of hands, but Thorn at least was very attracted to him, wanted to feel him even closer on her, so it made sense to her to think of him that way.

“My Ocean…” Thorn asked, pondering a question that had never come up in her before. “What do the people out there look like? Are they like me? Or like You? Or like him?”

A curious gesture, index fingers raised as if to lips. “I do not know what they look like. I know that they are, and I know that in spirit, they resemble you the most, but I do not know their appearance. You are curious about the physiological differences between us, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t matter, but I wonder which of us is ‘normal’. Hmm. It’s probably him, he’s the hot one. Um, I mean-” she cut herself off, blushing at having said that in front of Her.

A gentle laugh rippled through Her hands. “My Heart, I felt your attraction to him already, I share in it Myself.”

“Right, of course.” Thorn bit her lip as her Slayer squeezed her again, her sensitive flesh spilling out between his fingers. That was getting to be a real problem. She looked him over once more, and found her eyes drifting to the thousands of hands around her, hands holding every part of her sensitive, bothered body. So many hands. So many things they could do to her. Her thighs rubbed together. “So. Um. You know. If I, um, wanted to, let’s say explore some more of these physiological differences between him and You and my own body… Like, I mean, just if You and he wanted to, um, would, uhh, would that-”

“My heart, if you wish to have sex, I would be more than delighted to experience this new way of perceiving him, and you, and Myself.”

Thorn nodded rapidly, a huge grin on her face, unable to find the words to express her excitement, her skin eagerly responding to Her every touch. “Let me take the lead, alright?” she whispered excitedly. “He’s not even awake yet.”

“I shall look forward to the paths you weave, the nerves you excite, the feelings you stir, My heart. What sensations will you experience as-”

“Shhh, You’re waking him up,” Thorn whispered as she felt her Slayer stir again, his fingers twitching and squeezing one breast, unbelievably soft feathers brushing against the other, sending titillating tingles coursing through her body. He lifted his head up, confusion in bleary eyes turning to flustered surprise as he saw what he’d been sleeping on.

“Something nasty finds itself on my chest,” Thorn said, putting on her mean voice – the high-pitched, twangy, yet sultry one her predecessor had spoken in, trying to keep the purrs that desperately wanted to escape her at the sight of him out of it.

“Whah?” The confused bird looked up at her, soft eyes shifting and nervous. “Thorn? I-I’m not nasty!”

A grin spread across her face. “Oh, but you are. You’re a wretched little thing who betrayed me, cut me out of my clothes, and then used my boob as a pillow.”

His soft eyes shone with amusement as he adjusted himself upward. “Bit of a downturn in severity of those crimes, don’t you think? Besides, the vines ripped your dress and didn’t you offer yourself up as a pillow?”

“Lies, lies, lies!” Thorn said, poking him in the side with every word. “You are a wretched titty napper, and-” She couldn’t hold it in any more and burst out in laughter, throwing her arms around him.

“Good morning, My love,” her Ocean said. “You have returned to Us from slumber. My vessel was your pillow, and I was your mattress and blanket. I hope you slept well in Our embrace. I hope your dreams carried you far beyond the walls of the Long Quiet to beautiful new worlds.”

He leant into a hand caressing the side of his face, closing his eyes a bit, his plumicorns fluttering. “It was the best sleep of my life.”

Thorn pressed herself against him, his impossibly soft feathers like silk on her body, and whispered in his ear. “Low bar, isn’t it? Maybe it was actually an awful sleep and you just don’t have anything to compare it to.”

“No way. It must’ve been nice, with company like this. The, um, pillow was very soft.”

His kind eyes blinked shyly. Thorn had never been able to resist those eyes. Two arms sneaked in between them to touch their hearts, as She was wont to do, and the mere touch of the loving limb against her ribs made Thorn gasp and rub her thighs together, only to catch yet another wandering arm between them. Well, she wasn’t letting go now. The things those arms could do to her, the things he could... every moment of waiting for it, of anticipation, was agony. She could feel her heartbeat throb warmly between her legs as she realised just how horny she was. Her Slayer’s eyes widened looking into her flustered face as he too started to realise the state she was in. With them pressed so closely together and her nipples hardening against his chest, he could hardly miss it. She swallowed her embarrassment. If they were gonna do this – and she could hardly bear the thought of not doing it – he’d know anyway.

“I’m just curious,” Thorn said, “how awake are you? Are you alert? Ready for action?” She flipped him over onto his back, using the momentum to get on top and straddle him, making sure to hover her breasts, rocking a bit after the sudden movement, right over his face. What she hadn’t quite expected was the arm stuck between her legs coming along, Her wrist being driven up right to her crotch as she landed on top of her Slayer. A surprised moan escaped her at the sensation, a moan that was immediately echoed by Her ethereal voice. The fact that her own bliss pleasured her Ocean too only made Thorn feel even hotter as she instinctively grinded over Her wrist.

Her Slayer looked up at her, eyes wide, obviously trying not to glance at her breasts for too long. Reading his emotions could be a bit difficult, but the way he bared his neck and fluttered his eyelids up at her still spoke of them. “I’m so ready, my Princess. I-I’m yours to do with as you please.”

Thorn bent down onto him, the arm pinned under her driven up yet further as Her hand curled up and scratched her sensitive underbelly through the remnants of her dress. She lowered herself and kissed her Slayer with raucous passion, pouring everything she had felt for him over three lifetimes into it. Hands ran over her back, through her hair, over her butt and down her legs, and she had no idea which were his and which Hers. Every one of their touches drove her excitement even higher. Someone digging through her hair had made their way down to the back edge of her scalp and her neck, raking their nails across them, pressing them in and making her crane her neck in pleasure. Her beautiful bird crooned, clicking his beak rapidly. It was the cutest sound Thorn had ever heard. “Good boy… I… Look, I really, desperately, want you,” she said hoarsely. “Both of you. Do you, um, want to…?”

“Yes!” he blurted out. “Yes, my Princess, so much! T-take me, please…”

Thorn laughed a little meanly as she gently flicked his beak and sat up. “Sorry, love, but it’s my turn first. You’ve been driving me crazy with your nocturnal groping and if you don’t follow up on it soon, I might just rip you apart. What about You, my ocean?” she grabbed one of the hands squeezing her side and brought it to her face, kissing its back and nibbling its skin.

“I am as eager for this as you are, My heart. Your pleasure is mine.”

Even as Thorn kissed Her hand, she could feel the touch of soft lips on her own. “Now there’s an idea…” She guided Her hand downward by the wrist, past her jaw, over her rapidly breathing throat, to bony shoulders. Every time She hit one of her wounds, she both felt the rough texture and the sting of pain as it lit up, a pain that reverbed sensually in her fervid state. And as she guided Her down further, her own excitement built as she felt the increasingly soft swell of her breast under sensitive fingertips, just as it built from the fingers dancing across her boob. At last, as She made her way to softer and thicker parts of the mound, she encountered a perked up nipple, so very ready for Her touch. Thorn let herself moan loudly as the fingers did their dance across her skin, around the edge of her areola, pushing in softly, kneading her, pressing into her softness. A hand motion circumnavigated her breast, reached its heavy lower curve, and lifted it up, letting it bounce in Her hand a couple times, both of them feeling its weight. And yet with all the playing She did with her, She only very occasionally brushed her nipple. She was winding her up, getting her even more lustful, ready for more love from both of them.

Her Slayer joined in after a little while of awestruck staring. Sitting up so she was in his lap (that damnable arm being driven still closer and closer in), he brought his fingers up to her face and let them slowly rub all the way over her pointy ears, exploring every ridge and edge. The moment a sigh escaped her, he thrust forward and kissed her, as if he was capturing her pleasure in his own body. His hands moved on into her hair, sometimes brushing and sometimes pulling, strands catching on the edges of scales, talons scratching her sensitive scalp. His kiss muffled every sound that tried to escape her at their fondling, except all of them were echoed by Her, Her ethereal voice beautifully moaning and gasping. Thorn was driven yet deeper into a thick mist of lust by the fact that just by being pleasured she could in turn pleasure the being she so loved. As she grinded her hips against the arm and her Slayer’s lap, his hands found their way across her bare shoulders, caressing the edge of her shoulderblade and the lean muscle underneath. He teased hairy armpits, tickling them a little as his hands went on a journey down her flank, tracing ribs one by one all the way to her spine and back again, sneaking up on her breasts from the sides. Thorn arched her back in pleasure as talons dragged over her sensitive body, making their way up the hills, one of them meeting Her hand as they intertwined their fingers, squeezing and kneading her soft, sensitive breast together. Bells rung and fires blazed in her mind as those scaly talons grabbed a stiffened nipple between them, tweaking and ever so nicely twisting it.

Thorn took a little break from the fervent kisses with her Slayer, her face beaded with sweat and flustered with pleasure, her very breath steamy. “I’m starting to feel a little overdressed, love.”

“I shall take care of that, My heart. I shall release you from your bonds of cloth, reveal your full beauty to the world.”

Thorn giggled as she lifted her butt up to allow Her to move her skirt. “Flatterer. Do You even have eyes to see my beauty with?”

“I have yours, My heart. And My every touch confirms what they see: you are beautiful,” She said as a whole cluster of hands disrobed Thorn, lifted her skirt up and over her body, some of Her hands intentionally going underneath it and rubbing her whole body as they went. Eager shivers travelled along with them as they petted her back, her ribcage, her stomach, her sides; goosebumps raising at the many unreasonably sensitive spots they brushed across. As the dress passed over Thorn’s head, she gave one of the hands carrying it off a little lovebite.

Her Slayer looked her up and down with his beak hanging slightly open, his eyes wide and his crest raising. Thorn couldn’t help but purr at the admiration she saw. “Also,” he said, “I can confirm it for You. Absolutely gorgeous.”

Thorn realised she’d never actually seen herself naked either and looked down. Her body was pale, thin, and hairy, rather too bony for her own good, both her ribs and hip bones poking out too much. Thankfully, the scratches the vines had left all over her were much less severe on her torso and hips, her dress having provided her some protection. Soft, pale hair covered her thighs, upper arms, and underbelly, forming a trail from her navel to a much thicker bush on her prominent mound of Venus that hid her wet genitals. “See, my Princess?” Her Slayer said softly. “Gorgeous.”

With her own vulva hidden behind pubic hair, Thorn was starting to get really curious what his feathers might be hiding down below. But she could save that particular treat for later. She threw herself at him, desperate to feel his touch, the tickle of his soft feathers against her nude body. She rubbed herself all over him, let her hands run down his fluffy chest as she kissed him, softly biting his lip, letting her fangs poke into it. Her Ocean’s hands took the opportunity of her dress’s absence to explore her lower body, and even as she squeezed large, round pectoral muscles hidden under magnificently thick and soft plumage with her own hands, she also felt her own body through Hers. A bony, curved spine, soft fuzz starting at the small of her back and growing thicker as She went lower and lower, until She reached a short, fur-covered tail eagerly arched up. Fingers danced over a pair of firm buttocks around the base of the tail, bringing yet another wave of pleasure as She kneaded and groped them.

Thorn bit and kissed her way down her Slayer’s feathery neck as the many hands explored her body, wrapping around her hips, following the lower curve of her butt, while others squeezed into her thighs. Thorn buried her deeply reddened face into the forest of fluff and thick muscle at her Slayer’s chest, muffling a moan as a hand wandered and stroked deep between her legs from behind. It brushed through a forest of warm, wet hair, dancing forward agonisingly slowly before she finally felt it brush over her throbbing labia, her every nerve on fire as it traced them with precise fingers. But instead of going further, She retreated just a little, slowly circling her outer lips but staying just a tiny bit away. Thorn moaned and whined and tried to nudge Her in with her legs, but those maddening fingers just continued to wander around and stroke so near and yet so far away.

“M-my Ocean,” she moaned, “ple-hease… Please… Put them in…”

“Perhaps later, My heart,” She said, deliberately letting the hand wander off to her inner thighs instead. Thorn could’ve exploded at the teasing.

“Please, no… Just do it…” she begged into a soft bird breast.

“Such a lovely rose is something to be savoured, not picked, My heart.”

“Come on! You’re just teasing Yourself…”

“The passage of time means nothing in the maw of forever. I shall make you scream later,” She said, driving Her nails into Thorn’s inner thigh.

“This is cruelty!” she cried into her Slayer’s chest.

She felt a gentle tug on her hair and lifted her face out of her Slayer’s chestfluff to find him looking down at her, a flustered smirk on his face. “You… can be rather cruel. Sorry you had to find out this way.”

“I don’t see you doing anything about it!” Thorn snapped. Okay, actually, his hands had been doing wonderful things to her breasts, squeezing them together, pulling and tweaking her nipples, but she was starting to be real done with the foreplay.

He smiled sweetly. “Just lean back, my Princess, and I’ll take good care of you.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Thorn gasped, giving him a brief, but sensual kiss before she leant back into a bed of loving hands, trembling with anticipation, spreading her legs. He kissed a trail down her body, from her neck to her collarbones to her breast, a little too slow for Thorn’s liking with her Ocean’s teasing to her inner thighs, tail, and buttocks continuing to drive her wild. His beak was pleasantly sharp, its nibbles and scratches sending titillating little stings through her, while his lips and tongue were delightfully soft. As he found her breast, he paused for a little while, his tongue playfully flicking her nipple as he bit into her most sensitive and tender skin. He sucked down and pulled on her nipple, her toes curling against a hand that massaged them as waves of pleasure radiated inside her. It was absolute bliss and yet she still felt way too lonely down below, her throbbing, wet pussy only teased, Her hands now simply brushing through her luscious pubes.

Thorn pushed her Slayer downward. “Come onnn, hurry up already! I really need you down below, She’s being a horrible tease.”

“I’m on it, my Princess.” With a last nibble he finally moved further downward, nuzzling the lower slope of her breast before crossing her tummy, a fire in her sensitive skin following the trail of tender kisses.

Hands caressed her face as her eyes stung with drops of sweat rolling into them. “The point of the journey is not its ending, My heart. It is the journey itself. You and I both know how much you’re enjoying the anticipation.”

“You are an evil tease,” Thorn gasped, kissing Her hand and sucking on its sensitive digits while her Slayer followed the trail of soft hair down further and further. As he finally got close, the horrible hand that had driven her so wild finally dipped a finger into her wetness, stroking her inside and teasing her clitoris for just a moment before retreating. Thorn moaned in both arousal and anger and bit into Her finger, immediately feeling the pain blossom in her own.

“It’s okay, Princess, I’m here now,” her Slayer said, a scaly finger gently stroking her labia, its ridges driving shudders through her.

“Thwn plwse, twke mw alrwdy!” Thorn’s words came out rather muffled with a finger in her mouth.

“She asks that you take her already,” her Ocean helpfully translated. “I too am most eager to experience the pleasure you will wea-eave~.”

Both of them loudly moaned in unison as his tongue made contact, lapping over Thorn’s eager, wet vulva before slipping inside a bit and flicking up to play with her clitoris. Her body burned as he lovingly kissed her lower lips, her thoughts and words going utterly incoherent with every warm motion of his tongue setting her nervous system on fire. Her Ocean’s hands wrapped around her, found every sensitive spot on her body, and sensually fondled them. Sheer bliss made Thorn’s muscles contract and twitch involuntarily, arching her back, bucking her hips, and squeezing her Slayer’s head between her thighs as she wrapped her legs around him. She was lost in ecstasy, her whole body experiencing their love, the deepest and most intense pleasure that erupted out of her clitoris as her Slayer kissed and licked her having nowhere to dissipate to with everything else burning in her Ocean’s hundred-handed love. Every gust of the storm she felt was loudly echoed by Her.

Under an onslaught of love so intense from two creatures so full of it, Thorn didn’t stand a chance. She couldn’t possibly last long, and she was in no mood to even try. She just gave her all to them, let go of all inhibitions and allowed the wonderful climax they built her to to take her fully. She moaned indistinctly, screamed their names, told them how much she loved them, begged them for more and more and more… The intensity of her orgasm built rapidly and yet rose so high, higher and more powerful than she could ever have thought herself capable of. She bit into the side of a thumb, digging her fangs in and feeling the delightful pain erupting in herself as She echoed the shocks of Thorn’s climax. They didn’t let up, if anything both of them treated her to yet more intense love as she mumbled sweet nothings at them. They overstimulated every bit of her, waves of increasingly desperate pleasure rocking her body until finally every little spot of her skin was warm with a rosy comfiness. Only then did they relent with their almost painfully overstimulating onslaught, simply holding her sweaty body with tender love, petting her and letting her catch her breath. Thorn lay in their arms, her eyes closed, luxuriating in the afterglow. Her Slayer still had her legs folded around his head and shoulders, but now simply rested his chin on her, cupping one buttock and occasionally squeezing it while playing with her tail.

Thorn fluttered her eyes open to look at him, a fond smile on her face. “Ahhh, that was wonderful…” she sighed, petting his crest.

“Indeed it was, My heart,” She said, Her voice even softer and breathier than usual. “A most pleasant sensation.”

“I love you,” her Slayer whispered, using her mound of Venus as a pillow as he looked up at her with pure adoration.

“We love you too,” Thorn said, petting his crest. She could feel her inner thighs ache and bruise where she had pressed them hard into his head and shoulders. “I didn’t squeeze you too hard, did I?”

“It’s okay, Princess. Of all the times you’ve hurt me, I like this one the best.” He chuckled sweetly and clacked his beak to take any sting out of the words.

“Well, I’ll just have to make up for it then, won’t I?” Thorn said, her sore muscles protesting as she sat up, her tired, rosy body begging to just be allowed to rest.

“P-Princess?”

Thorn grinned. “You’ve been such a good bird.”

“You have brought Us so much pleasure. You have made fireworks erupt in the starry sky of Our consciousness.”

“You didn’t think we’d let you get away with it, did you? I think it’s your turn now, love.”

Soft eyes looked up at her nervously, plumicorns fluttering as she rolled her shoulders to stretch cramped muscles. How could she ever not fall for eyes like that when they looked at her naked body with such desire and admiration? “Oh, r-right, I-I, yeah, Princess, um-”

She got up, robbing him of his pillow, and held his adorably nervous face with a dark smirk, playing with his soft plumicorn with her fingers. “Do you know what we’re going to do to you?”

He stammered and mumbled in response, his feathers rising all over. It made him look adorably fluffy, a sweet little helpless creature for her to sink her teeth into. She lowered herself onto him, his wide eyes following the tip of her tongue as she traced her fangs with it.

Her Ocean weighed in, wrapping hands around him as he trembled under Thorn. “Let us be united in the flesh, My love. I wish for you to experience the rapture you gave Me through your continued gifts to My vessel as I partake of your innermost depths. For Me to give you gifts that will allow you to experience worlds beyond.”

“She says we’re about to fuck you,” Thorn whispered sultrily.

He trembled in anticipation. “Y-yes, please, my-”

She cut him off with a fervent kiss, raking her hands through his plumage, burying them in it, frequently encountering her Ocean’s joining her as she dug her fingertips into the soft, warm skin below the feathers. He was like putty in their hands, his sheer desire for them driving her own passion on as he gave her back every bit of the love she gave him. She realised just how much she loved him. Even after they had betrayed each other and he had found her entangled in vines, immobilised and stuck, barely able to resist, he had… Now there was an idea.

Thorn smirked into her Slayer’s thirsty kisses. “My Ocean- mmmpf – could you – mmp – hold him down?”

The arms stroking his limbs tightened up and stretched, holding him inescapably and yet lovingly. He made a whining noise as he struggled against their restraining grip. “Not again! It’s not fair.”

“It’s plenty fair,” Thorn said, her mean voice coming out. “First I was restrained, now you are. Just because you didn’t take full advantage of the situation doesn’t mean I won’t.”

He just squeaked in terror and arousal.

“And as for You,” she said, poking a palm lovingly rubbing her waist, “don’t You let him go again.”

“We shall see what happens when you trust in the vicissitudes of Our own whims.”

Thorn let herself sink in soft chest fluff, kissing and nibbling at the thick pectorals straining against his restraints. “Have mercy, then!” he begged Her, his voice full of poorly hidden pleasure. “Please, change Your mind and have mercy on me!”

She contemplated this. “I do not think I am inclined towards mercy. Either in general or in this specific situation.”

Thorn looked up, letting only her eyes poke out of his chest fluff like a predator sneaking up through the grass. His face was flustered, his beak open and panting in pleasure as She ruffled his every feather while Thorn slowly let her hand run lower and lower over his soft belly. “I have been wondering what you’ve got going on down below, love.”

“J-just normal stuff, I think.”

“Lovely stuff, I’m sure,” Thorn purred, kissing his chest as her hand kneaded a soft, fluffy tummy as it crawled down and down. Now she was really curious what ‘normal stuff’ was like and whether it was different from her own. His body was chunkier than hers, pleasantly sturdy compared to her own skin and bones, both muscle and fat deposits larger. Her hands wandered down further and further, over a handsomely curved crotch and strong inner thighs twitching against the hands spreading them. She had to go down further than expected to finally find it, and he moaned as soon as she did. A singular orifice, rounder than her own and lacking a clitoris but, judging by his reactions to her exploring its rim, every bit as sensitive.

“A cloaca? I can work with that,” Thorn said, letting her fingers stroke him softly, carefully, lovingly. She could always get rougher later; all games aside she didn’t want to accidentally hurt him.

Her Slayer’s face was a battleground of pleasure and self-conscious nervousness, soft eyes half-closed. “Is… Is that – ohh - okay? It’s not… ahh - weird, is it?”

“If it is, so what?” she said, giving his chin a fond nibble as she explored and twiddled him. “It’s more interesting, more fun that you’re so different from me. I already know my body, but yours?”

“It’s a whole new avenue of sensations to explore,” her Ocean said, kneading his love handles.

“You’re fun, and you’re different, and you’re beautiful.”

Thorn purred, watching his reactions to both their affections. His eyes rolled back, his beak clacked and trilled, his plumicorns fluttered, and his limbs twitched against Her restraining hold. The sight of him, of the things she could do to him with a simple caress or poke, drove Thorn wild, her rosy afterglow beginning to turn back into just plain horniness again. Her Ocean wasn’t helping much with that particular situation, hands enticingly stroking up and down her limbs and her bare back.

“T-tell me more,” he mumbled, “about what I’m like...”

“Fascinating,” She said.

Thorn pinched the base of his tail. “You’re lovely. You’re sturdy and handsome, and so soft and sexy.”

“T-tell me more, my Princesses…”

“You are brave and empathetic,” her Ocean said softly as Thorn brought his pleasure to new heights with a few little tweaking motions. “Heroic and helpful. Your presence soothes and reassures Me, and all of My vessels have been attracted to you from the moment they first saw you coming down the stairs.”

“I sure was,” Thorn whispered, listening to the beautiful music he made as she swirled her finger around down below, “and I think I only got thirstier for you after you backstabbed me. Dunno what that says about me, but it definitely means you’re one pretty bird.”

He started crooning, only to find one of Her pinkies in his beak. He definitely looked close to his climax. “And you’re real hot. You drive me wild, and I wanna try something with you… A way we could maybe both enjoy our differences.”

She could see the disappointment in him as she withdrew her hand from his loins, only for him to perk up as she pressed her own to his, wrapping her legs tightly around his hips to allow them to make the cloacal kiss. “Oh, Princess…” he moaned, burying his face in her hair and pulling it with his beak. “You feel so-ohh good…”

Thorn kissed him fervidly, both above and below, scissoring her legs as he thrust his hips, rubbing their sweet spots together, his strange yet handsome birdlike face twisted in pleasure. Her own desire rose further and further at her labia brushing against him over and over, pressed so very close together that it doubled as a stretch for the muscles of her inner thighs. His legs too were spread widely, folded so soft footpads covered in rough texture pressed down on her butt, talons scratching her. He was obviously very close, she’d have to be careful with the scissoring to keep him on the edge of climax while she caught up. With him restrained and helpless she could probably made it work if she played her cards carefully and made sure to rub only slowly.

Her Ocean chose that moment to weigh in. “You are still My heroic knight, remember? My knight who swore himself to My service, on a quest to complete Me. You have done so well gathering My vessels, and you have been so good and so brave. Your Princess is proud of you, My brave knight.”

He moaned loudly and thrashed against Her restraining hands, his eyes rolling back in his head as he came. Thorn started making a grumpy noise and was about to ask her Ocean what the hell She thought She was doing when she decided she’d rather focus on making this good for her Slayer right now. She scissored him as fast and intimately as she could, pressing even closer to him, she whispered sweet praise into his ears, she caressed him everywhere she could reach, she peppered him with kisses and love. She held him for the entirety of his orgasm, tried to make it as good as her own had been, to overstimulate him as much as his body could bear. And as the aftershocks of his climax passed, She let go of him and he used his new freedom of motion to hold Thorn so tenderly, so lovingly, and yet she couldn’t help wanting more. “I love the both of you…” he whispered in her ear, giving it a little nibble that didn’t help at all with her bothered state. “My pretty Princesses. That was so good.”

Thorn just cuddled him, trying not to be selfish, to be happy for him and remember she’d already had her fun.

Still catching his breath, he did at least catch on to her state. “Do you, um, want me to…?”

Hands snaked their way around Thorn’s waist, tracing her midriff and dipping a pinkie into her belly button. “There shall be no need for that. You did not think I would leave your desires unfulfilled, did you, My heart?”

Thorn felt the hair on her arms and lower back rise, as did her tail, Her gentle, yet salacious touches sending shivers through her aroused body. “I, uh, did entertain the thought.”

“Please,” She said, more and more and more hands showing up and stroking Thorn, wrapping around her legs, her chest, and her back, stroking her so very softly and gently. “I did promise you the time would come when I would make you scream.”

Thorn’s eyes went wide as a hand came in from behind, giving her booty a little slap before reaching underneath it and very tenderly stroking her fuzzy crotch. “S-so You did.”

“We have now arrived at that time, My heart.”

Thorn squeaked as the dozens of hands all dug their fingers in just a little.

Her Slayer chuckled and gave her a little wave. “Good luck.”

And then she was pulled off her feet, dragged into an ocean of love, only briefly surfacing once more with a shriek of delight before she was pulled under. Within moments, she was absolutely lost in Her, every single spot on her body caressed and stimulated by soft, loving fingers digging themselves into her; stroking, petting, and fondling. Her love came in waves, intensifying, washing over Thorn, pounding and curling achingly against her shores before relenting and giving her a brief chance to catch her breath. It never lasted long before the next wave came, washing over her naked body and leaving her breathless and adrift in Her currents. Hundreds of needy digits squeezed and groped and caressed and fingered her. Her pleasure at their every touch only drove them on further, the beautiful, loving being behind them in every bit as much rapture as she was. Every bit of her was awash with Her adoration, Her gentle, yet powerful love for Her vessel.

She moaned and mumbled and whispered sweet, encouraging words and horny nonsense to Her as she lost herself in Her love and Her passion, adrift in Her. It was as if their consciousnesses merged once more along with their ecstasy, as if there was nowhere she ended and She started as they flowed together both physically and mentally. It was only barely less full and intimate a union than when She had originally taken Thorn, leaving her with just the vaguest idea she was a separate being, and yet the emotions were far more intense. Submerged in Her, Thorn just got to exist as joy and pleasure, in a state of absolute rapture as She took her into a series of incredible full-body orgasms. She played her with the skill of a virtuoso playing her instrument, exactly aware of every sensitive spot and how She needed to touch them to bring her the most pleasure, as well as when She needed to allow her to let off just a little steam to keep her going. It was impossible to say where overstimulation and post-orgasmic bliss ended and the anticipation and build of the next one started.

Thorn washed up on the shore after an indefinable time inside her Ocean, her utterly exhausted body soaked, her every muscle aching, awash in the afterglow. Her head was gently deposited on the soft feathery pillow of her Slayer’s lap, looking up at him and purring.

“She’s relentless, isn’t She?” he said, brushing her hair off her sweaty forehead.

Thorn grinned and nodded, her body still trying to recover from the absolute onslaught of love. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to walk again.

“The waves can only crash as hard as they can because of the strength of the rocks on the beach,” her Ocean said, joy and exhaustion sneaking into Her usually stoic voice. “You have brought Me as much pleasure as I brought you, My heart.”

“That’s a lot,” Thorn whispered at her Slayer as he petted her hair. “Sorry about… leaving you… behind there,” she said, catching her breath.

He smiled down at her fondly. “It’s okay, I got a bit of that too. She’s got… a lot of love to share.”

A hand ruffled his crest. “So do you. We would not be here without your love for Us. I meant all I said to you in the fires of passion. You have done well on your knightly quest so far.”

His plumicorns fluttered and he raised his feathers shyly. “Aw, uh, that’s… thanks.”

“Bit of a roguish knight, perhaps,” Thorn said, a teasing edge in her voice. “A handsome wretch. But you got around to saving your Princess in the end. And that’s what matters, love.”

He looked so adorably shy and glowing under their praise; Thorn realised she could’ve avoided a lot of pain along the way if she’d known how much he liked being praised from the start. Suddenly, a frown came over him and he reached for her arm, pressing on one of her wounds. “You’re bleeding again. You should be more careful with her.”

Thorn hadn’t even noticed yet, but a few of her cuts and scrapes had indeed opened up again during sex. “It’s okay, I barely felt them. It’s just a little blood.”

“There can be no pleasure without pain,” She said as Her hands helped cover the other cuts that had started bleeding again.

“Why not?” he asked rebelliously.

“It’s fine, love,” Thorn said, raising a hand to caress his cheek. “She didn’t hurt me, see? It’s just the scrapes from the thorns. Easy enough to accidentally open up, I might’ve done it myself with a vigorous movement. I promise She was really sweet with me.”

“She is precious to Me just as she is to you.”

“I just don’t like seeing you hurt…” he said sullenly. “I’ve done enough of that myself. We always end up hurting each other when I’m out there.”

Both of Her held him at that. “It’s okay, I promise. That’s in the past, doesn’t it all seem so far away now, love?”

He took a few deep breaths, his body relaxing and softening. “Sorry, I know I overreacted a bit. It wasn’t actually about a cut reopening, I guess.”

“I know,” she whispered in his ear. “It’s alright. Our rocky start made me what I am. I wouldn’t have been me without either our clashes or the forgiveness we came to.”

Many tender hands rubbed his back. “Every vessel you bring Me shows Me new parts of myself and of you. We hurt each other, yes, but we love each other too. Frequently at the same time. Do not blame yourself for the pain along the way, for I have had My share in causing it.”

He smiled now, cuddling them back. “I know, You’re right. Still, I don’t think I’m ready to go yet.”

“You don’t need to,” She said kindly. “I have already told you, you may stay with Us as long as you desire. The passage of time means nothing in the maw of forever. Rest with Us. You deserve it.”

And so he did. Time passed in happy bliss, impossible though it was to tell its passage with nothing left in this world outside the three of them. But She kept them safe from the void, and Thorn never again had to feel that cold that had crept up on her in the last moments before She took her. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they slept, sometimes they just existed in one another’s company, sometimes they made love, and sometimes they played together. Thorn’s wounds slowly began to heal, the small ones closing over altogether, while the larger ones showed signs of becoming scars. She didn’t mind, they’d be good reminders of the pain they’d caused each other in their foolishness. She had a few extra little scrapes too from the times she and her Slayer had scrapped a bit or gotten too rough with each other. He always insisted on kissing those particular scrapes better.

In the end, all three of them slowly became aware it was nearly time for him to go find Her next vessel. It was in everything: the looks in eyes, the touches of hands, the lingering questions in voices. The last time they made love, it was softer and sweeter than ever before, a beautiful goodbye to the fantastic time they had shared. In the aftermath, all three of them lay in each other’s arms in happy silence, enjoying each other’s touch a little longer. Yet after a while, Thorn realised her Slayer was crying into her shoulder, her Ocean gently but silently rubbing his back.

“Hey, love,” she said softly, “you know you’ll be back, right? You’re gonna return to Her with a beautiful new gift.”

He squeezed her. “…Yeah. But… you won’t be there, will you? You’ll be gone…”

She took his feathered face in her hands and looked into those beautiful, soft eyes. “Gone? No, love, I’ll just be part of Her again. As I’ve always been.”

He closed his eyes, tears streaming. “I know, and I love Her, but… I love you too. I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“But I’ll still be with you.”

“But not like you are now. I wish things didn’t have to change, I wish they could just… stay the way they are forever.”

Thorn wasn’t sure why that felt like such an unsettling thing to say. But this wasn’t the time to get into a philosophical debate about it. He needed her solace, and her Ocean was letting her handle this, understanding that he needed to hear these things from Thorn, not Her. “Love, from the moment you met me I’ve been a part of Her, a memory, just one story, one aspect of the one you love. There are many more. I know, I felt two of them the moment I was taken, I mingled with them, and together we are Her. That’s how it’s going to be for Her next vessel too. You’re going to go out there and you’ll find another aspect of Her, another way to love Her, another fantastic Princess. And when your story together ends, do you know whose hands will be coming in for her? They’ll be mine. These scarred hands will take her into Our embrace, they’ll welcome her and I’ll marvel at all the new stories, all the new memories and sensations and feelings she’ll bring. I’ll see a whole new side of you, a brand new way that you loved Me, unfathomable new sensations that you and she weaved together. And if she’s scared, if the sudden transformation is too much for her, it will be me who holds her and tells her it’s okay, that she is loved by the rest of Herself. And when you finally come to Us through the Long Quiet, it will be my voice that offers you solace, friendship, love, whatever you will need. I’ll be the one holding her so tenderly, no matter what she is, because she will be a part of Us, and she’ll be a part of the love between you and Me just as I am. I’ll be one step closer to completion then, one step closer to being able to step out into the worlds beyond with you. And whatever I’ll be after that, I’ll still be in here, always loving you.”

She kissed him on the forehead, letting her lips linger as he cried into her. Her Ocean very softly caressed both of them. “Let it all out, My love. Not all tears are an evil. Transformation will bring grief, but it will bring joy too.”

“I know…” he said, holding Thorn tightly.

“I’ll be watching you every step of the way,” Thorn whispered. “Every time She loves you, every time you and She forgive each other, that’s me. I’ll see you, and I’ll be so proud of you. And maybe… maybe at the very end, you’ll get to see me again too?”

“Perhaps,” her Ocean said. “It is impossible to see the future beyond My awakening. But I do not believe this goodbye is an eternal one. No goodbyes ever truly are. There is no permanence, not even in absence.”

A long time passed in silence as the three of them held one another. There was no rush, he truly could take all the time he needed. Finally, he took a deep breath, standing up, and Thorn dried his tears. He kissed her like he’d never kissed her before, a kiss saying farewell and see you soon at the same time, a kiss speaking of love and loss and longing and a promise of eternal togetherness. “Goodbye, my Thorn,” he said, their foreheads lingering together for a final touch. “I’ll see you again when you come to take the next vessel.”

She nodded, tears finally dripping from her own eyes.

Then he gave Her hand a kiss. “And I’ll see You again in the cabin. I love You both. But it’s time to make me forget.”

“Goodbye, My love, yet shed no more tears. The lives we share will always bring you here.”

“I love you,” Thorn whispered. And then he shattered, vanished and merged into the void, which took shape, formed itself into a small, distant world, a path in the woods and a cabin. Thorn leaned into loving, wonderful hands that hugged her as she felt them lulling her to sleep again already.

“It’s time to go, My heart,” She whispered.

“I’m ready, my Ocean.”

More hands enveloped her, her consciousness slowly blotting out, spreading, merging into Her greater whole again like a drop of paint dissolving into water. She had almost forgotten what it was like. She reached through pathways to far larger thoughts and feelings, stretched to Her limits, wandered Herself. She flexed Her every arm, every digit, and felt Her beloved vessel held in them, Her cautious heart, as she slept peacefully in Her arms.

## Afterword

End Notes

> Many, many thanks to GettingMetaphysical who very graciously beta read this story and helped me improve it!

> You might be wondering why this is posted as a separate story and not a second chapter to Kiss the Sleeping Mound. The reason is quite simply the rating; if Kiss the Sleeping Mound ends up at E-rating I can't link it any more in some of the places I link these stories, so unfortunately this one had to go as a separate story.

> Let me know what you think in the comments! I always love reading your comments on these, they very much keep me writing.

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