Journey to Tarvos: Day 4

Title: Journey to Tarvos: Day 4

Characters: Joel/Teegan

Series: Another Life

Joel's plan to learn more about the link didn't materialize.  Both men were too exhausted.  Joel's body was still recovering from all that he'd gone through on Earth and Teegan had drained himself by keeping the link open for the past two days.  Instead of talking, the men spent the previous day resting.  When morning broke on the fourth day of their journey and Joel opened his eyes to see Teegan wrapped in his arms, he knew that he'd do anything to keep this man safe.

Joel could have lain there for hours with his sub in his arms, but his growling stomach had other ideas.  Carefully, so as not to wake the sleeping man, Joel pulled away.  The fire had died out over the night but the cold rain still fell outside.  Deciding the first course of business was to get the fire going again, he slipped outside to find dry wood.  

As he searched for the dry wood under a large tree, Joel saw berries nested by some of the leaves.  He didn't know what kind of berries they were and had no way to know if they were poisonous or not.  The last of the fruit trees on Earth had died out when he was just a young boy.  Joel plucked a handful off and put them in his pocket.  He'd ask Teegan about them when the young warrior woke up.  Gathering up the dry wood he could find, he carried it back to their cave.

"I thought you'd left me."  Teegan's voice startled Joel.

"Left you? To go where?" Joel asked.

"I don't know.  Back to Archer and Trey.  Back to what you are familiar with."

Joel's head tilted to the side as he studied Teegan.  The young man who'd been so happy and full of life before, was now sitting against the damp cave wall Teegan seemed to be shy and insecure.  The man looked defeated.  Joel felt the possessiveness flow through his veins.  He'd felt it before when he was with Teegan but hadn't known what to do.  This time he let his dominance guide him.  "I'm to be familiar with you.  You are mine, just as I am yours.  This is our journey to be completed together.  Why would you think I'd leave you?"  

In a weary voice, Teegan shrugged one shoulder and then answered, "Well, you know.  You learned that we are different. That I'm different.  Not just that I'm from Tarvos, but that I have one more sense than you do.  Than human's do."

The more Joel thought about it, the angrier he became.  Did Teegan think so little of him that he'd just leave him?  That he wouldn't fight for what they are discovering about each other? Leave him to face the journey home alone?  Dropping the bundle of wood in the fire pit, Joel strode to where Teegan sat huddled agains the wall of the cave.

"Stand up," Joel said in a voice bordering on harshness.  He waited until Teegan was standing and then Joel stepped closer.  With their noses almost touching, Joel growled, "you are right.  There are many differences between us.  I am from Earth.  You are from Gliese.  I've learned I am a dominant. You are a submissive. But these things bring us together!  They do not tear us apart."

For the first time that morning, Joel saw a spark of hope in Teegan's eyes.  He reached up and gently shook the young man.  "I come from a family of farmers.  We tend the life of plants. I will tend to your life. You come from warriors.  People who fight.  Then fight for us!  I will fight along side you.  But I can't do it alone."

Joel's body was vibrating with need for Teegan.  For Teegan to fight for them.  Joel felt a humming in his body.  His mind and soul seemed to become one.  That blend of mind and soul reached out and suddenly, he could feel Teegan.  Feel the other man's thoughts and emotions.  At first he felt confused.  He felt as if the world had tilted on it's axis.  Then it righted itself and he could determine what were his thoughts and what were Teegan's.  The look on Teegan's face told Joel that he felt it too.

"You've linked with me!" The submissive warrior softly exclaimed.  "How can that be?"

Joel leaned over and gently kissed Teegan.  "I don't know.  Archer and Trey told me there was much they didn't know about who was chosen from Earth.  They said the Historians knew but couldn't explain.  That each man or woman had to find their own reasons to be chosen to live on Gliese.  That we each had a destiny. I don't know how I linked but I do know my destiny is to be with you.  We are destined to be one."

Through the link, Joel could feel Teegan's confidence and strength increase.  The feeling made his own confidence and physical strength grow.  He kissed Teegan again.  This time harder, and then said, "We'll talk about this more but for now, let's get the fire started and find some food. We have a hard journey ahead of us."

The men separated and Joel started the fire.  He could feel his own hunger as well as Teegan's.  He remembered the berries he'd found.  He pulled them out and showed them to Teegan.  "I found these when I was gathering wood.  Are they poisonous?"  

"No, they are pineberries.  They won't fill us up or give us much fuel.  But they'll calm the hunger in our bellies."

"I only brought a handful," Joel said.  "Here, you eat them while I go for more."

Joel could feel Teegan's desire to argue before the younger man opened his mouth to protest.  With a sharp swat to the sub's ass, Joel growled, "Do as I say.  Now."

He watched as Teegan ate the handful of berries.  "I think I'm going to really like this link thing."

Teegan laughed and rolled his eyes.  "I'm sure my backside won't!"

"I'm sure it won't," Joel grinned.  Then he became serious.  "Will the link always connect us?"

"We will always be connected," Teegan explained. "But you can break the active link.  Take a deep breath and just concentrate on your own heart beat."

Joel started to do as Teegan had instructed but then stopped.  "Will I be able to link back with you?"

Teegan smiled at Joel and nodded his head.  "Yes, eventually you'll learn to do it.  For awhile you will link with me without thought.  By accident.  But once the link is strong, you'll know how to reach out with your mind."

With that reassurance, Joel pulled his mind inside his own body and listened to his own heartbeat.  Awareness of his heartbeat and breathing became intense.  Joel felt a snap within his soul.  Then he felt an emptiness he'd never felt before and he knew that the link had been broken.  Instinctively he reached out for Teegan and held him tight.

When the emptiness of the broken link abated to a tolerable level, Joel pulled back and looked at Teegan.  "We are going to be alright.  Together, we can do anything.  And the first thing we are going to do is get something to eat.  I felt your hunger as well as mine."

"I could make another net.  We could catch a fish and eat it now, before we start walking," Teegan said.  "It's going to be a long walk.  The net won't weigh much so I could carry it."

Joel looked down at his sub.  "Yes, that's a great idea.  We could eat our fill in the morning and then again when we stop for the night.

"You are right, my Arke," Teegan agreed.

The use of the term of authority sent a thrill through Joel. "Wait. Before you go, I need to ask you, would you like to have your spanking first?  Or wait until after we eat?"

Teegan pulled away and gasped.  "But.  But." 

Joel couldn't help his grin.  He would not say, yes, your butt.  No matter how much he wanted too.  Instead, he said, "Bare, of course."

Teegan laughed.  "I don't know why I'm laughing at getting a spanking.  Before or after?  Before.  That way my butt won't hurt so bad when we are walking."

"Wise decision, agape."  Joel took Teegan's hand and led him closer to the fire.  He'd never spanked anyone.  He'd never raised his hand to inflict pain on another person, but he wasn't scared or nervous.  Joel didn't know whether it was the dominance flowing through his soul or if the link had helped him realize that Teegan needed the discipline.  It didn't matter, Joel just knew this was the right course of action.  For both of them.

"This is not because we wrecked.  This is not because you linked with me.  Can you tell me why I'm going to spank you?" Joel asked.

"I wasn't fully honest with you," Teegan explained without doubt.  "I should have talked to you about the link.  You gave me many opportunities to do so, but I didn't."

Joel titled his head as he looked at him. "Yes, you should have. Why didn't you?"

Teegan shrugged and looked away.

Joel gave him a sharp swat on his thigh.  "No.  You don't shrug at me.  Tell me.  The lines of communication is the foundation of us.  Tell. Me."

"I was afraid you'd leave me.  I know you said you wouldn't leave me, but how was I to know?" Teegan cried out.

"Trust. That is how.  I've left what I've known to go with you to a place that is unknown. I trust you.  I want that trust back from you in full measure," Joel said firmly.  "We will work on building that link.  The link of trust."

Teegan looked stunned.  "I hadn't thought of the trust you put in me.  I took it for granted.  Will you forgive me?"

Joel leaned over and kissed him.  The despair and regret on his young warrior's face told Joel all he needed to know.  Teegan knew now that trust would be built. Not overnight, but slowly.  And like steel forged in fire, their trust would be strong.  The first firing would be the spanking.  

He reached out and pulled Teegan's pants down to his knees.  Sitting down, Joel took Teegan's hand and guided him over his lap.  He adjusted the other man until his cheeks were centered over his lap.  At the sight of the small white bottom, Joel had a moment of doubt.  Could he do this?  Could he bring hurt to this man?

"I'm ready whenever you are."  Teegan's cheekiness erased all the doubt in Joel's mind.

"This happens in my time, not yours," Joel said and delivered a hard spank.  "There are many things I'll learn from you.  You will learn things from me as well.  One thing you'll learn now, is that I won't be rushed.  I take my time and do a thorough job of what ever I do."

And with that declaration, Joel proceed to deliver a thorough spanking.  By the time he was finished, Teegan's cheeks and upper thighs were bright red.  The young warrior hadn't cried out, but made his discomfort known by small grunts and by the twisting of his body.  Joel took his time, soothing the hot bottom over his lap.  The bright redness would soon disappear leaving no bruises, but the lesson that both men learned would hopefully last a long time.  Joel cuddled Teegan, giving reassurances and forgiveness.

Helping Teegan into a standing position, Joel helped him pull his pants back up.  "It is done.  Now, we will move forward.  Go, agape," Joel said with a kiss to Teegan's lips.  "Go find your reeds to make the net.  I will get the fire blazing for our morning meal."

Joel watched Teegan carefully make his way down to the riverbank where the reeds grew thick.  Then he turned and went to collect more firewood.  As he gathered up the wood, Joel picked more of the berries.  He looked around to find something to carry them in.  Eating fish before their long walk and after they'd stopped for the night wouldn't hold the hunger at bay.  If he could figure out some way to carry the berries, they could eat them as they walked.   He piled the berries near the trunk of a tree and took the firewood back to the cave.  

After he'd put the wood in the cave, Joel went back to gather the berries.  As he walked, he saw a tree that had been struck by lightening.  The bark was peeling off.  He carefully pulled off a piece about as long as his arm.  He could have Teegan weave more of the reeds together and the bark could become a container.  Relief that they'd have a small amount to eat, he put as many of the berries as he could in the bark.

By the time he got back to the cave, Teegan was there and with a branch through a couple small fish, he was cooking their meal.

"Could you weave some reeds to make handles for this?" Joel showed Teegan the bark.

Teegan stepped closer and studied the piece of wood.  "Yes.  I could braid a couple long pieces and put them on each end.  That way it could be slung across your chest."

Joel smiled at Teegan.  He knew the journey wouldn't be easy, but with each solution to each problem, Joel felt stronger.  "Go.  Gather what you need, I'll finish cooking the fish."

The morning was late when they were ready to start off to Tarvos on foot.  The cold rain had given way to a light snow.  Teegan had the small fishing net strapped to his back and Joel had the bark container across his chest when they headed toward the river.

"If we hadn't crashed over the falls, we would have been home by now," Teegan said softly. 

"We can't think about the 'ifs'.  Let us talk of other things instead."

Joel waited until they were on more level ground by the river before he asked Teegan a question that had started to form in his mind.  "You seemed to have experience being on the bottom side of a spanking.  This was not your first one.  Who disciplined you before?"

"My battalion leader," Teegan answered.

Shivering in the cold, Joel continued with his questions.  "Your battalion leader?  You train as a soldier?"

"Yes, everyone in Tarvos trains. We are a warring race.  We may not wage war any longer, but we still train.  The universe is vast.  We stay prepared."

Joel mulled that over in his mind as they walked over the rocks.  If he could be transported from Earth, it only made sense that other worlds might be able to travel here as well.  He looked around at the lushness of the land.  The beauty took away his breath.  He didn't doubt that there could be some other race that might want to take from this land.  "I'd like to train with you, Teegan.  I might have come from Earth, but just as I've fallen in love with you, so have I with Gliese."

The younger man stopped. "You'd want me to train you?" At Joel's nod, Teegan knelt on the ground. "I'd be honored, my Arke."

The dominance flowed again through Joel at the sight of his own warrior kneeling with head bowed before him.  Joel suspected this might be a ritual, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do.  He looked at Teegan and placing his hand on Teegan's head, Joel felt the link open again.

He could see his own feet through Teegan's eyes.  He could hear the other man's heart beating in his chest.  Joel was in awe of all the emotions flowing into him from this man he loved.  He could even feel the slight pain in his own ass from Teegan's.  Tears started streaming down his face.  

Teegan slowly raised his head, and Joel saw his tears mirrored on the warrior's face.  Joel knelt and wiped the moisture from Teegan's cheeks.  "Come.  We don't want our tears to freeze.  Let us continue on."

Joel helped Teegan to his feet.  He knew in the cold that they needed to keep moving.  They'd make camp before the night fell, and have a fire to warm themselves.   As they walked on, Joel focused his mind to look through Teegan's eyes.  To see what he was seeing.  And then he focused on his hearing.  Sometimes, Teegan would push back through the link.  Together they were learning how to use this link between them.  How to keep it open without exhausting themselves as they walked for hours.

"Here, take a handful of these." Joel held out the bark container.  "We are using a lot of energy with the walk as well as with the link."

The men ate as they traveled, stopping only to take drinks from the cold, clear river.   Teegan told of Carrick, his battalion leader.  When Joel could feel Teegan tiring through the link, he talked of Earth and the farm he grew up on.  

Before the skies could darken behind the clouds, Joel spotted another cave.  "There.  See, there's a cave.  We'll stop there for the night."

They climbed up to the small cave.  Once again assured that no predators hibernated, Joel went in search of firewood and Teegan went to catch fish.  Joel worried that with the snow falling heavier now, that they may not be able to travel in the morning.  He quickly muted the link so that Teegan wouldn't feel his concerns.  He would discuss them with him after they'd eaten and were warmed by the fire.  If needs be, they could wait out the snowstorm here.  As long as they were together, Joel knew they would be alright.

TBC in Day 5