The Tour: Chapter 22

The sloping valley was so incredibly lush as to be almost . . .Elysian. Looking at it, one could hardly credit the lands or the Amazon village, Junon, as being anything but paradisical. That is, until one noticed the tall horned multicolored figures that mingled and went about their business peacefully among the human settlers.

Their escorts, four Tartaran Amazons, walked them into the center of Junon. It was just a formality, but one they took quite seriously. Unlike Elysia, where the handclasp above the head was no longer utilized, the Tartarans maintained a strong sense of security. As on earth, they had dropped down from the long, thick trees, seeming to come from out of nowhere.

There was a moment, when it seemed like the men would be left behind, or at least the Tartarans, in their dry humor, joked about it. Those grins hadn't reassured Marcus or Perdicus any, though Xena had given both some sympathetic words. It didn't help. . much. Salmoneus wasn't worried. Penho said he'd be sleeping with her tonight, so wherever she was, he would be or better said, wherever he was, she would be. She'd promised.

But the men weren't left behind. Instead, at the behest of Penho, the local Chieftess gave them limited access to the village baths, shops, communal kitchen and one of the guest huts. Salmoneus would be staying with Penho. Marcus and Perdicus counted their blessings. They had a roof over their heads for the night and a promise of a meal (which Izzy certified as being their kind of edible.)

On the other hand, Melosa was treated like a visiting Queen (which she was), and given access to just about anywhere she wanted to go. And she, and her mate pretty much wanted to visit everywhere. There was was so much to see in the thriving village. Junon even had, amazingly, a temple to the Goddesses. It made the Queen wonder, did Artemis visit Tartarus?

The Chieftess greeted Izzy like a long time friend, clasping her forearm in the warrior's grip and grinning hugely. Her smile was toothy and elongated when orange slitted eyes took in the markings upon the red Tartaran's chest. "It's about time. . .," she said teasingly, "that you came to visit us. We'd thought you'd taken the long fall."

Izzy laughed and shook her head, "Hardly. I've been watching my step." Then, surprising a certain ex-warlord, she'd introduced her mate, "Gosra, this is my mate, Xena." She shivered at the words, the admission and felt a swirl of desire run through her bones. Her tone was even, though there was, it seemed, hidden in the luxury that was her voice anyway, a definite purr that fuzzed through. Izzy couldn't help the sultry look that came over her face nor could she stop the way her nipples suddenly jolted awake.

That surprised her and it took a moment for her to regain her composure. No one had told her it would be like this. She fought back the urge, which suddenly came over her, to pick up her lover and run to the nearest guest hut. Her tail flickered to the side and paused there. Her horns flushed. She hovered just on the edge of another mating surge. Somehow though, she wasn't sure how, she managed to pull herself back from the brink. Gods, was it going to be like this every time?

She looked askance at her blue friend. There was, in between the lust that flushed the dark marks on her chest, a look of panic in her eyes. Penho gave her a reassuring look and smiled gently. Love was a very poweful thing among Tartarans, both prized and feared. It obviously affected Izzy more strongly than most. Penho wasn't the only one who noticed. A Tartaran quietly slipped away from the small crowd that gathered.

The yellow Tartaran and the warrior stared evenly at each other for a few moments, before the Chieftess broke out into a huge grin. "I bet you wore her out, didn't you." Xena blinked, then laughed. She couldn't help herself.

She shook her head. Dark tresses swirled gently. Then Xena grinned wickedly, "Well now that I know what to expect, you can bet I will." That got a huge guffaw out of Gosra and a small blush from Izzy. Tok nuzzled at Izzy's hand, begging for a bit of attention.

The Chieftess extended her palm and the two warriors clasped arms with a kind of comfortable familiarity. "Truly, when we'd heard you made Elysia, we were glad for you Xena."

Xena blinked. "You knew?"

Gosra grinned widely, "We could hardly not know it. There were howls from here to the Ninth." She whispered conspiratorially, "Seems you have some people on this world who haven't quite got over their angries, if you know what I mean."

Xena rolled her eyes. Oh good Gods. That meant, no doubt, that she'd be meeting some along the way. Well that was something to look forward to. . .Then she narrowed her eyes in sudden realization and turned to look at Izzy. The red demoness was suddenly occupied with gentling the daggite. Xena smirked. So, Izzy had quit listening hmm. . .She returned her attention to Gosra and smiled winningly.

"So," She said, "I've only been here.. . hmm. .three days, and this is all new to me." Gosra smiled understandingly. Izzy lifted her head in alarm, having a sudden intuition about where this conversation was going, She watched with dread as Xena fearlessly placed her hand on the Chieftess forearm, "What can you tell me about Izzy?" She was beginning to have an intuition about the Tartarans. This one was as safe as Izzy.

Gosra's eyes went wide and she grinned, "What, you're mates and she hasn't told you anything?" She waggled her eyebrows then patted the warlord reassuringly, "Don't worry about it. That happens more than you think. Some of us Tartarans are a bit shy. I will be happy to educate you," Izzy groaned at Gosra's next words and the sly glance the Tartaran gave her as she maneuvered Xena away from the crowd, "Besides, have I got stories for you."

Izzy, stood there, unsure whether to follow or not. She felt a presence behind her. "Paybacks are a bitch, huh?" Penho said and grinned. Izzy gave her an unamused look.

Then the Tartaran shook her head. "I should never have told the one about Gosra and the striger."

Penho patted her friend on the back, "Well, you might want to follow and do damage control, or you can come with me to my hut." Izzy raised her eyebrows, "I want to get Salmoneus settled." The red demoness' tail flicked as she contemplated. Tok pressed against her body and glanced from face to face.

"You sleeping in the Queen's hut tonight?" Izzy asked.

"Are you?"

"No."

"Neither am I."

"Let's get Melosa to stay there. It's not like there's ghosts or anything."

"Yeah!"

They grinned at each other. Izzy took a breath and let it out slowly. "I'll do damage control later. . .I mean, what can Gosra possibly tell her?" Penho raised her eyebrows and looked like she was about to say something. The red demoness held up a hand, "Don't say it. I know it, but I don't want to deal with it right now." The trihorned Tartaran grinned. Then Izzy bowed, but not very low. "After you, your majesty."

Penho grinned toothily, "Oh no, after you." Izzy smirked then started forward. Penho raised her eyebrows, "Hey! You think they'll have a party?"

"Are you kidding?" Izzy said, as waved Salmoneus over, "Is the sun going to rise tomorrow?" Tok's tail twitched in anticipation. There would be meat tonight.