Ahmed/Herger

By Debel

Mountains, ancient as the old gods, loomed over the solitary, slender figure at the pond's edge, amidst the tall reeds and the wading birds, for the Great Wolf would not bring winter's cold breath to this place for a time yet.

A covey of grouse exploded into the air behind the man, startling him. His actions were very quick and fluid as he immediately whirled to a crouching position to face the clearing surrounding the pond. But he only saw the meadow grass waving where the grouse had fled, disappearing into the safety of the virgin forest.

Ahmed ibn Fadlan cursed himself for a fool and worse to let his emotions rule him in such a way, but he had not been able to forget the fight he had so recently witnessed and the surge of unwanted feelings that had been born as a result. He shook his head and determinedly returned to the task which he had been sent to do. The roots of the plants he was harvesting offered great healing powers. At least that is what Bridget assured him when she sent him on this errand. It was not safe for the women to journey so far from the settlement for the herbs and his abilities at pounding massive logs into the stony ground for protection against the Wendol was limited; so here he was pulling weeds from the muck.

He sighed as he struggled with a particularly stubborn stalk and then the images filled his mind once again of Herger and the tall red-headed youth, the Prince's man. He had believed completely that Herger was doomed in the battle between them. The idiot had only laughed at his concern. The blue eyes as mischievous as their god Loki's and as willful and........and he had to admit as charming and warm. Of all the Northmen, it had always been Herger that he had felt closest to. The one who called him 'little brother' with a warm gleam in his eye. The thought of losing him had shocked him. Had shocked him into realizing how alone he would truly be in this strange land if Herger had died.

But Herger had not died, he had simply shrugged the fight off and gone about his business, leaving Ahmed dazed and feeling manipulated. He had watched as Herger had strode away, the tangled mane of golden hair shining in the sun and then he had paused and looked over his shoulder at Ahmed's still, dark figure and he had grinned and then he had laughed. He laughed the way someone laughs who lives only for the moment. And it infuriated Ahmed, who spun on his heels and stormed away to leap on his little, white horse of the desert. He only wanted to be away from this place and these crazy Northmen who laughed like dijinn, whether they were killing or making love.

The sound of a twig snapping sent him whirling about once again. His breathing had become ragged and he sucked in the warm air through parted lips as his eyes raked the area for sign of the Wendol, but there was only the sound of the bees working the wildflowers that bloomed nearby. He glanced at his horse which stood only a few steps away. It was unconcerned and showed no warning signs of a stranger nearby. Then why did he have goosebumps on his arms, he thought, as he rubbed them briskly.

His breath was knocked out of him as the weight struck him from the side and sent him crashing to the ground. It was long seconds before he recognized the body that was pinning him to the ground and the familiar laughter ringing in his ears.

"Herger! You fool! Get off me!" He shouted into the grinning face above his. His voice rough with the fear that had left the adrenaline still pumping through his veins. But Herger only laughed louder and made himself comfortable as he sat heavily astride Ahmed's stomach and easily pulled the smaller man's hands above his head.

"Let me up, Herger. You've won yet another fight, today. You've made your point. You win. You are a superb warrior. I'm beaten. Now get off me." Ahmed's voice was quieter this time and he made his eyes and voice as remote and cold as he possibly could.

Herger looked down into the face that glared up at him so uncharacteristically and his own face became thoughtful. He didn't like it when Ahmed looked so somber. He wanted the large eyes to glow warm again and the mouth to relent in its firm line of displeasure. Ahmed renewed his struggles and Herger tightened his thigh muscles against Ahmed's lean form. The struggling made the laughter spill out of Herger once again and he tilted his head as he made a face to show he was giving Ahmed's demands grave consideration, then with glinting eyes he smiled hugely as he said simply, "No."

Herger wasn't exactly sure when the idea came to him as he sat astride Ahmed in the warmth of the sun, with the sweet smell of the crushed grass filling his nose. Perhaps it was the feel of the body writhing beneath him and the look in that face. Perhaps it was the desire to remove the coldness in the voice and the remote look in those eyes. Still holding Ahmed's hands firmly above his head he lowered his own face till their lips were touching. He could feel the body beneath his suddenly stiffen and the lips part slightly with an involuntary intake of breath. It was a new experience for him, this hesitancy, those he had kissed in the past had been more than willing to be kissed. But he found he very much wanted the lips beneath his now to yield to him.

When he felt the soft lips begin to yield to his pressure, he pushed them further apart, thoroughly kissing the mouth now fully open to his exploring tongue. He kept it up till they finally broke free, gasping for breath. He searched the face beneath his and noted with pleasure that it had softened. The eyes were heavy-lidded with desire. He had never seen this look on Ahmed's face before and it excited him very much to think that he had produced it. He wanted to make Ahmed moan and cry out his name. He wanted to win him more than any battle he had ever fought.

Herger felt Ahmed's body loosen all over as it seemed to melt into the embrace of the warm earth beneath him and the look he gave his captor was so direct and so unmistakably provocative that it startled Herger. So much so that he loosened his grasp on Ahmed's wrists and relaxed his thigh muscles just enough that when Ahmed gave a great arch to his back it sent him tumbling. Ahmed seized his opportunity and planted a solid kick to Herger's midsection, completely knocking him flat.

Ahmed stood, hands on hips, white teeth flashing in a broad smile and laughing like a young boy as he crowed, "Ha! You are not the only one who can play at these games. Perhaps you could learn a few tricks from me. That is if your poor brain is not too feeble to hold all this new knowledge."

Herger grunted as he made a great show of struggling to one elbow. He grinned through his tangled hair and managed a one-shouldered shrug as he said quietly, "My feeble brain is wondering how far your skinny legs can take you before I catch you."

Ahmed's expressive face suddenly displayed a look of growing concern as he realized Herger was between him and his horse. It took him only a moment to take in that fact as Herger began to regain his feet with an alarming agility and a very determined look in his eyes.

Uttering a heartfelt, "Allah be merciful!" Ahmed turned and sped for the nearby forest.

The contrast between the sun-filled meadow and the filtered light of the forest was startling. Ahmed's mind noted this even as his body hurtled along on legs that were far from skinny and feet that were nimble as a deer's as he jumped the moss-covered remains of fallen giants. Giants whose standing brothers made a cathedral overhead, their long branching arms allowing the dust motes to dance in the beams of sunlight as if to their own ethereal music. But the only music that Ahmed could hear was the drumbeat of his own heart in his chest as he tried to keep ahead of his pursuer. He wasn't sure if it was from fear or anticipation.

Herger raced across the forest floor and through the carpet of ferns, keeping a close eye on the dark figure which leaped and dodged nimbly ahead of him. He grinned like a wolf with the thought of what he was going to do when he got that supple body beneath him once again.

The opportunity came sooner than he expected when he heard the shout and then the running figure suddenly disappeared from sight. It took only seconds to locate him. Herger avoided the tree root which had been Ahmed's downfall and his windfall as he approached the fallen man with caution.

Ahmed lay on his back on the spongy forest floor amidst the fern and the mushrooms and blinked against the small shaft of light which danced across his face. He moaned slightly as he tentatively moved his legs and arms and sighed with relief when everything responded as it should. He had simply had the breath knocked out of him when he tripped over something hidden in the fern. A figure moved into his field of vision.

Herger leaned over Ahmed and peered into his face, asking, "Are you broken?"

Ahmed blinked to clear his vision and shook his head in the negative as he tried to raise himself on his elbows, but before he could even obtain a sitting position Herger pulled him to his feet and hoisted him over his shoulder as easily as a sack of meal. He set off as if he had a specific destination in mind and when noises of discontent began to issue loudly from the dangling head of his captive, he slapped the shapely buttock with a resounding whack and threatened dire punishment if he didn't keep a closed mouth.

Ahmed, considering it wise to humor Herger while in his precarious position, kept a closed mouth throughout the journey. The Northman made his way not back the way they had come, but to the edge of the forest and onto a grassy knoll which he climbed with ease. Upon reaching the top of the hillock he set Ahmed onto his feet, placed his hands on his shoulders and turned the man to face forward. He smiled to himself when he heard Ahmed's sharp intake of breath and then pushed down on the smaller man's shoulders, indicating he should sit.

They sat on the edge of a sharp drop-off . Herger sat close behind him, his thighs rested on either side of Ahmed's and his arms hugged the other man's back close to his chest. He rested his head against the soft, dark curls as they took in the view.

Ahmed sat in wonder at the awe-inspiring beauty this strange land provided. The valley lay spread out far below with mountains endless as the ocean disappearing into the distant blue haze. There was only the whisper of the wind moving through the treetops and the high keening cry of a hawk soaring overhead and Ahmed leaned his back against the solid form of Herger, as unmovable as the mountain they sat on and he did not feel alone. He felt the Northman's warm breath puff against his cheek as Herger spoke softly to him, "I want you, but I will not do battle with you anymore....." Ahmed felt Herger's smile as he continued, "...although, some have said my love-making is like enduring a battle." His voice went even quieter still and Ahmed could easily hear the uncertainty in his voice as he asked, "Will you, Ahmed?"

Ahmed turned in Herger's grasp and searched the face of the man who had become familiar and strange at the same time. "You've never called me by my true name before."

Herger answered, still soft and serious. "Ibn is my 'little brother' who protects my back and stands with us in battle, but 'Ahmed' is the man who would cry for me should I die."

Ahmed answered, still discovering this new Herger that held him so close to his heart. "But, you don't cry when your comrades die. It's against your nature."

A familiar twinkle emerged and grew in the Northman's eyes. "It's against my nature to speak of dying when we can be doing this instead."

He captured Ahmed's head between his hands and kissed him as if he were going away on a long voyage and wanted to remember the taste and feel of these lips to keep him warm on endless, cold nights. He moved to nuzzle the smooth column of the neck and pulled aside the open collar of Ahmed's loose tunic to move his lips against the exposed flesh. Such a vulnerable spot on a man's body, Herger thought. He had killed many men with a blow from his sword to just this remarkable connection of bone and muscle that now attracted only his lips. His movements became those of someone gentling a wild animal he feared was about to bolt at any moment, but Ahmed found he did not wish to leave the warm captivity that Herger's arms provided.

Herger tugged Ahmed's tunic over his head and swiftly discarded his own, letting his hands roam over Ahmed's naked chest as he pressed the other man's back firmly against him. The dark head leaned back and rested beside his as Ahmed closed his eyes and surrendered to the sensation of Herger's large, sword-callused hands roaming over his body. He felt the gentle pull of his nipples as they hardened under the rough slide of skin. With each caress and new area of flesh explored the hands increased their control and possession of him. He sank further into the pleasurable sensations as they sat on what seemed to him now to be the edge of the world, while the hands moved across his belly to caress the bulging front of his breeches and it was as if he were falling over the edge and into a world that contained only pleasure.

Ahmed pushed himself back against Herger and felt the other man's own hard erection pressing against the small of his back. Herger's nimble fingers quickly had the fastenings of Ahmed's breeches undone and the sensation of those hands on him there in this open space almost made him come, but he found himself swiftly pulled to his feet as Herger stood and turned him around so that they were facing each other.

Still standing close to the edge of the incline, the Northman reached down with his powerful arms that could wield a broad sword in a day-long battle and encircled Ahmed just beneath his buttocks, raised him off his feet and took him completely in his mouth. Ahmed moaned and buried his hands in the wealth of golden hair, the great bowl of blue sky overhead suddenly seeming far too close and beginning to slowly spin. He spun with it, in the dark behind his lids, with the tiny, blinking suns and the wet tongue and lips and mouth that worked on his flesh till he cried out. Herger's assault on his senses was as swift and devastating as a Viking raid. There was time only to gasp as the Northman once again changed their positions and Ahmed found himself lying naked on the warm grass looking up into Herger's face, flushed now with an intense desire.

Ahmed reached up to the strong neck and pulled his friend's face down to his and kissed him, returning in truth the one Herger had given him. Ahmed knew Herger had fallen with him over the edge of the world and he would not be alone.

Afterwards, they lay quietly together for a time, warm in the sun and unwilling to part. Herger promised in a contrite voice to be gentler the next time and Ahmed's great, dark eyes only rolled in his head and he laughed quietly as he took the other man's face gently in his hands and murmured, "You have been teaching me how to be a warrior, perhaps it is time I teach you the art of making love, Northman." The kiss he gave Herger was full of the warmth of the sun and left the man from the North as hot as the desert sands.