Title: Another Life: Enoch Chapter 6
Characters: Enoch/Chandir/Wryn
Series: Another Life
After almost falling out of the window, Enoch stood and stared at the sun. It was so bright. The air seemed to glow around the setting orb. Sighing, he turned his back to the colorful sunset. He really wanted to face it and follow it as it descended below the horizon, but it was so bright it hurt his eyes. Tears dripped down his cheeks from the brightness of the sun. At least that's what Enoch told himself. It wasn't from grief of leaving a home. He'd never had a home. He barely remembered the shelter of a man-made roof over his head.
As his tears dried, Enoch started to see what was before him. He saw houses scattered across several miles. He hadn't realized he'd been in a village. Quickly, he looked around and saw a forest not too far away. He could find cover there. He could forage for food. He could live there. Well, he could survive. Surviving until the next day was all that he knew. Enoch forced each foot in front of the other. He could make it if he just tried hard enough.
He reached the tree line just as a coughing fit over took him. Leaning against the tree, Enoch coughed, his lungs burning. Gasping for breath, Enoch knew it was the residue of the ash from Earth. His lungs were scarred beyond repair. Yet another reason to leave Chandir and Wryn. He wouldn't be a burden to anyone. He'd seen what happened to people who were burdens. They were either left for dead or their loved ones died with them.
Enoch walked, stumbled, a few feet into the forest and then collapsed against a tree. He'd rest for just a few minutes, he promised himself. And then, he'd put more distance between him and the village.
He looked around as he caught his breath. Even in the dying sunlight, the colors were so vivid. The trees and bushes seemed so alive. They weren't the withered, decaying plant life of earth. Even the shadows that were cast seemed to be a bright shade of grey.
As he walked further into the surrounding trees, Enoch heard scurrying a few feet away. Swallowing hard, Enoch wondered if there were animals here. On earth as all the forest died, the animals had been hunted to extinction. He knew at one time small animals named squirrels and chipmunk had run across the heavily wooded floor, but even those had been caught in traps and eaten. Or they had died as the plant life they depended on withered away around them. He'd heard of larger animals called bears and deer, but he'd never seen one. Thinking back, Enoch tried to recall if the larger animals were dangerous. He sent out a silent plea that he wouldn't see one tonight. At the sound of a fallen tree branch snapping, Enoch hurried on.
Tripping and stumbling on roots and rocks, Enoch went deeper into the woods. Darkness falling over him; the trees blocking out the light of the stars and the moon, he only could hope that he wasn't walking in circles. Hope, he scoffed. Since when had the word hope entered his life? Oh, yeah, since he woke up to the sight of two large men staring down at him. Since those two men had fed him and bathed him.
No! He must stop that line of thinking. Chandir and Wryn were kind enough to share their food, he wouldn't burden them forever. He had to go on. The dreams he'd had since childhood of the two men were nothing but coincidence. There was no such thing as fate or destiny. Or if there was then death was his destiny.
He shivered as night fell fully upon him. He should have taken the blanket to keep himself warm. No, he couldn't have stolen from Chandir and Wryn. Not after all that they'd done for him. Maybe he could find a cave to take shelter in. But the thought of walking into the home of a deer, or was it bears that used to live in caves, scared him, so he kept stumbling along. Finally he couldn't hold off the exhaustion any longer and when he fell to the ground again, Enoch curled up next to a tree and let sleep take him away.
"Oh, please can I keep him? I'll hug him and love him and feed him. And I'll call him Bruno!"
Enoch woke to the sound of laughter.
"Astrid, he's not a stray pup." A woman's voice brought Enoch fully awake.
Looking up through the morning sun, Enoch could make out four bodies. Four against one. He had no hope of surviving.
"Well as little and hungry as he looks, he might need someone to take him in," Another female voice drawled out.
Enoch tried to stand up. He knew that women could be just as vicious as men and here he was laid out like an offering for them to rob or kill him.
"Careful, little one, careful." One of the women spoke as she reached out to help him stand. "Don't rush until you are fully awake. You'll hurt yourself."
"He shouldn't rush at all, Nica," Another woman scolded.
"Yes, Kyra, you are right. He's so thin! He would break if he fell."
"I'm-" Enoch started to talk, but his throat was dry and painful from the coughing fit of the night before. Trying to clear his throat, he croaked out, "I'm good."
Laughter trickled over him. "That's exactly what I say when I'm in trouble up to the heavens."
"You seem to always be in trouble up to the heavens, Astrid."
Enoch leaned against the tree he had been sleeping next to and took in the sight of the women before him. They were tall and healthy looking. Enoch could see how healthy by the fullness of their faces and bodies. He couldn't stop staring. He'd never seen a woman, any woman, so full of life. Most of the women he'd seen had been full of grief and sorrow. Not enough food and too much death had taken the life out of them before death could claim their bodies.
"I'm Kyra. I'm a Historian, the same as you are," Kyra gently informed. Her head was tilted slightly to the side, her long black hair hanging down. "These are my wives. Historians also. Sophie, Nica, and Astrid."
Enoch looked to each woman as Kyra pointed to them. Odd, he thought. Most people didn't introduce themselves before they killed someone. He shook his head. These women didn't need to kill him. Their clothes were better than his. They even had shoes! They didn't look like they were starving. And besides, he didn't have any food to offer.
"Do not worry so, Pais," the woman named Sophie said. "We will not bring harm to you. You look hungry. Would you care to share in our early morning picnic?"
"Sophie!" Kyra exclaimed. "We should get him-"
"Yes, we should get him calmed down. What a wonderful idea, Kyra," Nica said brightly.
Enoch watched Kyra glare at Nica. If he'd been under that glare, he'd trembled and done whatever the woman wanted. But the other women just smiled.
"Come. We'll take you to a place that I know is a favorite of some friends," Astrid said.
Enoch had little choice but to follow the red-haired woman. He winced and stumbled when he was pulled over pine cones lying on the forest floor.
"Where are your shoes?" Kyra demanded of him in an icy voice.
But before Enoch could say anything, Astrid was pulling him along again. "Don't worry about Kyra. She accidentally received an extra dose of dominance from the gods. Eeek!"
Enoch watched in amazement as Astrid grinned at Kyra. Why would Astrid grin at the person who'd struck her? Admittedly, the strike wasn't overly hard. And it was on Astrid's well padded bottom. But still, why would Astrid have a glow on her face?
"I need that extra dose to keep up with you," Kyra admonished.
Enoch couldn't quite understand the depth of emotion that was in Kyra's voice as she spoke to Astrid. There was affection, understanding, gentleness, and love in the woman's voice. His confusion must have shown on his face as the woman named Sophie gently took his free hand.
She winked at Enoch and said to Astrid, "And that's why we are a family of four. You, my dear sub, need three to tame your wildness."
"Her wildness is in the bed as well as outside of it," Nica laughed.
Enoch stared at Astrid when Nica said that. These were women that lived together. Loved together. White mist started to surround them. Enoch watched as the women touched each other, gave pleasure to each other on a bed bigger than any Enoch had seen. Sophie's ass was in his direct line of sight and he saw it was bright red. He pushed the image away.
"Why didn't you listen?" Sophie asked.
Blushing, Enoch looked down. She knew he was having a vision and had blocked it. He didn't want to tell her that he'd seen her with her wives or that he'd seen her red ass. He stumbled and would have fallen had it not been for the strong hold the two women had on him. His gasp turned into another coughing fit. He groaned at the fire that burned in his throat and lungs.
"You are unwell! This is ridiculous! We need to-" Kyra growled out but was interrupted by Nica.
"Drink! We need to give Enoch a drink," the dark haired woman exclaimed. She handed Enoch a leather pouch that was full of liquid.
Enoch lifted the pouch to his lips and took a sip. He started to wonder how they knew his name, but the sweet tasting liquid captured his attention. It was like nectar, he thought as he drank deeply. Sweet and almost tart at the same time, the juice soothed his throat.
"Woah there, Enoch," Nica said as she took the pouch from his hands. "You will make yourself sick drinking so fast."
"It's delicious," Enoch stammered out. "What is it?"
"Apple juice," Astrid said. "Ryder and Adryn barter with us. We give them yarn and they give us apples. Sophie makes the best juice from the fruit. But I make the best apple cake."
"You do," Kyra said. "Why don't we go to the meadow and pull it out. Enoch will share our meal."
Enoch was helpless to do anything but follow the women. Two of them still held fast to his hands. The five of them stepped out of the woods into a sunlit meadow. When he finally tore his gaze from the beautiful sight of the meadow, the women had laid out a blanket and unpacked a basket that Nica had carried. The sight of so much food left Enoch speechless.
"Come. Sit down," Kyra ordered gently. "You need to eat."
Enoch sat down and watched as the women joined him on the blanket. They seemed to always be touching each other, stroking each other. Enoch was fascinated at the love that flowed between the women. So visible he could see it.
"It's there between you and Chandir and Wryn too," Sophie said quietly.
"I don't understand. How do you know Chandir and Wryn? How do you know me?" Enoch asked.
Astrid looked at Enoch. "We told you we are Historians also. Sophie had a vision of you several weeks ago. She's been hell to live with worrying about you. She even asked for a spanking to help her."
"What?" Enoch knew what a spanking was, he just had no idea why anyone would ask for one. He remembered the vision he'd had a few minutes earlier. That explained why Sophie's bottom was so red. Embarrassed at what he'd seen, but feeling a strange need to know more, Enoch asked, "So all four of you live together? As wives?"
"Yes, as wives. As Historians. As doms, sub, and switches," Sophie said.
Shaking his head, Enoch thought, how does that work?
"It works really well. Especially when you're a Historian and link together the pieces of the visions to know what is to come," Kyra stated firmly.
Enoch looked at the strong dominant. She was so composed, every move she made seemed full of grace and strength. He turned and looked at Astrid. She'd said she was a sub. That's what Chandir and Wryn had called him.
"You have three women dominating you? You belong to them?" Enoch asked the pretty red headed woman.
"And they belong to me. Did Chandir or Wryn tell you that most Historians live in polygamous relationships? The symbol of past, present and future is evident. But for us, we are four," Astrid said. When Enoch looked at her in confusion, she went on to explain. "Kyra, Sophie and Nica are past, present and future. I'm the thread that holds them together. Just as the thread holds the pieces of fabric together, the fabric is what anchors the thread. We are bound together just as much as the tunic that is worn."
"We are four, but we are one life line," Nica said softly. "You are that life line for Chandir and Wryn, Enoch."
Flinching back, Enoch cried out. "No! Life. Living has no part of me. I couldn't even keep my family alive! I told them. I told them of the landslide that would bury them. But they didn't listen. Days and days of acidic, dirty rain fell. But they wouldn't leave the shelter that was near the mountain. When I knew it would happen, when I knew the time was near, I left. I was a child! And I saw them die over and over again."
"Enoch. Stop. Breathe," Kyra ordered gently. Firmly.
Sophie reached over and rubbed his back. "They didn't know. They didn't understand the visions. You don't understand them. It's hard to know, Enoch. Trust us. We've all seen sorrow and pain. But Enoch, we've all seen great joy."
"It's worth it, Enoch. The responsibility of the visions is worth it. The respect to the visions is worth it. Enoch? You. Are. Worthy," Astrid said. "Chandir and Wryn will be your support. Just as you will be their's."
Enoch was fascinated, enthralled, with the conviction in the sub's voice. He wanted to know more. He opened his mouth to ask her to continue. But the easy, peaceful morning was broken by an angry dom storming out of the forest.
"You were to bring him home!" Chandir roared. "Not keep him all day, leaving Wryn to worry about him!"
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