章節 46: The first night

When they kissed, the entire population of the village cheered. From her seat in the front row, Luna threw back her head and howled, triggering a chorus of howls from the forest. When the couple finally separated, they were surrounded by people wanting to wish them congratulations. They were ushered to a couple of chairs where the people that had gifts could step forward and present them. Natalie and jack were the first in line.

"You're about to head out there for trials and hardships. So we decided your gear isn't going to cut it and made these for you." The two then handed over what they had in their hands. From Jack was a sword that bore his mark on the base of the blade. When Leo held it, he could sense the energy in the blade, and knew that Jack had reinforced it to withstand his strength. Natalie handed Iris a bow, it seemed far heavier and stiffer than her previous one. However, since turning into a werewolf she was often talking about how her bow was too easy to pull back, and that if she didn't want to break it she would have to make a new one soon.

"Thank you, both of you. We have always appreciated your guidance, and may we rely on you both for many years to come!" Leo said what he truly felt at that moment. Though he wasn't used to using a sword, he had time to get the basics before leaving in two months. Iris said her thanks as well, while also standing up and hugging her mentor and role model, Natalie, with tears in her eyes.

After the two of them, the line slowly got shorter until the last gifts were given. Unlike Natalie and jacks, most were items that were for their house, or that they couldn't take with them. They were happy to receive them regardless. After the gifts they moved onto the feast that people were bringing out from the houses. As they were preparing, Iris walked off to talk with someone and elder grandma walked over to Leo. She wrapped her arms around him like an embrace, but them she leaned close and whispered,

"I may not have much say in what the two of you do together anymore, but if you ever make her cry, the other champions will be the last thing you ever need to worry about." Though he had always intended to treat Iris well, he resolved to be extra careful in the future. She then separated from him while wearing a smile, and acted as if she hadn't threatened him. Leo's back was drenched with cold sweat.

As the night continued, they feasted until well after sundown. Since word had traveled about Leo being immune to alcohol, many of the men wanted to challenge him to a drinking contest. Both Leo and Iris tried to get them to stop, until someone shouted out that they couldn't have the groom dead drunk before the bedding. This situation caused both of the newlyweds to blush heavily, before someone forcefully changed the topic.

As if on cue, Lucy showed up and led Iris away to talk with her privately. Leo was curious about what they were talking about, but was distracted and only saw Lucy hand the scarlet eared Iris a small pouch. And so, the night continued until someone once again brought up the bedding, but this time stating that it was time for it. And so, the two had to do a walk of shame to the house under the gaze of the entire village.

Leo practically shoved Iris into the small house in order to escape the gazes directed at them, and without looking at the inside quickly turned to shut and latch the door. A moment later he felt energy spread around them and knew that someone placed a barrier(probably elder grandma) and he released a sigh of relief. He was leaning against the door while facing it to calm himself, when he heard a sound to get his attention.

"Ah-hem!" Leo turned around, and was stupefied by the sight he saw. There was several candles scattered around the house to provide proper lighting and mood for the couple, but if Leo noticed that then he was a pathetic man. Leo was captivated by the sight of the completely nude Iris standing next to the bed waiting for him. She apparently already disrobed and was waiting for him to do the same. So with out wasting time, Leo slowly started walking towards her, while slowly stripping out of his clothes. He wasn't shy about it, from the times she had gone to meet him during the full moon, Iris had already seen him naked plenty of times. It was however a first for him to see her, and Leo was captivated.

As he approached her, he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer, and pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and responded with passion. Slowly his hands strayed from her waist to the other areas of her body. He was exploring her whole body with his hands, and she was doing the same with him. His hands would stay at the most intimate areas of her, but they would continue a moment later. The only exception though, was her arm.

When he ran his hands along her arm, he felt several longs lines running the length of it, and immediately recalled what they were from. Due to the leather outfits she always wore, he had never seen her arm after the first full moon. He only knew that she had the bandages on for several days. Leo froze as fear gripped him. He started to fear irrationally at him possibly hurting her again. He knew it was irrational, but couldn't help it.

When Iris realized what was going on with Leo, she knew she had to take action. And she did so by pulling him down onto the bed on top of her. Leo was shocked at her action at first, but was grateful at her distraction. He calmed, and once again pressed his lips against hers.

Leo had planned to go slowly at first with Iris, since he knew that girls were usually in pain the first time. Iris however, had different plans. And as she became more proactive, so did Leo. The two soon fell into desire, passion, and lust, that continued until the sun started to rise over the mountains.