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fellowshippers2006-09-19 04:23 pm
v-angelique.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2006-09-19 04:23 pm
Brethren, Chapter Eleven
Title: Brethren 11/15
Author: Viktoria Angelique
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
saura_
Pairing: VM/DM
Rating: Rish this part
Disclaimer: Clearly not true.
Summary: Viggo confides in Dominic, and Dominic has a dream.
A/N: Okay, it's time for my virtual spanking. I completely forgot to credit my wonderfully awesome beta,saura_ in the last two chapters. Shame on me! Sorry, love, but hopefully I will be forgiven as I sent the chocolate yesterday *winks*
Previous Chapters
On the second day Viggo and Dominic spent riding out towards the Indian settlements, they stopped only very late, having crossed the Susquehanna river early in the morning and being now only a few kilometers shy of the next, wider river. The night was clear, and Viggo found a clearing in the woods where they could set out the animal skin they used as padding on the forest floor, a few metres away from where they set up a fire circle for cooking and warding off unfriendly animals.
Dominic was given the task of fetching water from a nearby stream, and armed with a large flaming branch for light, he returned with a large wooden bucket looped around each arm, first letting the horses drink and then using the other bucket for their own cooking and drinking water. When he took a seat on a large, flat stone, Viggo had got a roaring fire going, and was roasting the bird he had shot down earlier on a branch for supper.
“Looks mighty tasty,” Dominic commented with a smile as he sat his bucket down, nodding at the bird whose flesh was beginning to turn a crisp golden colour.
Viggo smiled in return in the firelight and nodded his thanks for the water. “Horses are doing all right?”
“Yeah, they’re fine.” Dom stepped over to a flat near Viggo’s spot at the edge of the fire and sat down.
“Good. I think we’ll reach the settlement by nightfall tomorrow, if the weather stays good.”
“Excellent,” Dominic commented, lifting a twig from the forest floor and idly whittling it with his pocket knife for something to do while they waited on their meal.
“Dominic, I want to explain something to you tonight, before we arrive. I know we’ve talked a lot about having an open mind, and embracing traditions that we do not yet understand until we can fairly comprehend their meaning, but there’s something more specific you should know, about the way we’ll be perceived by the tribes we’re visiting.”
“Okay. Lay it on me, then,” Dominic encouraged, nodding.
“Well there’s a reason that I usually take these initial trips with Elijah, beyond his language skills. The native people, you see, they see the world and specifically human relationships in a different way than Christian nations. It’s not to say that one concept is ‘right,’ or ‘better,’ but you may be surprised by what you find when we arrive.”
“Like the way their kin groups function? You’ve already explained that to me, though,” Dominic pointed out, looking confused.
“Yes, but not just that. You see, there’s a special relationship in Indian society, one that is highly revered, and one that the native people we encounter will perceive between the two of us… you understand, of course, the idea of a master/apprentice arrangement, or that of a mentor and a student?”
“Sure. That’s what we are, right?”
“Yes,” Viggo agreed, nodding. “Well the Indians have a similar system, which functions to bring their young men into society. The coming of age is a very important tradition for both boys and girls, and it is part of why we try so hard to find parents willing to bring their children into our society. Parents understand the importance of childhood, and of education, and they come to see advantages with giving their children up to us before their coming of age. Baptism, in fact, is seen by the natives as our sort of coming of age ceremony, and the two worlds fit together quite well in that regard.”
“Okay, well I understand all that…”
“Yes, well the other thing you must understand, is that a young man, a few years younger than you are now, would be given a sort of older mentor in Indian society. This person would help the boy to understand Indian traditions, his relationship to his kin group, and his responsibilities as a grown man. Although you are a bit older, this is still how the natives are likely to perceive our own relationship.”
“Okay. Well, what’s the problem then? I mean, I’m not offended that they won’t think I’m of age…”
“No, Dominic, that’s not it. What I’m trying to tell you is that the older man in such a relationship, he educates the youth in all areas of society. Including, well, sexual relations.” Viggo waited a moment, allowing the import of his explanation to settle in.
Dominic frowned for a moment, considering what Viggo was telling him, exactly. “I don’t understand… you mean the older man tells the younger man how sex works? That isn’t so different from our own system, I mean an older couple tells the newlyweds…”
“No, no, I mean the older man educates the youth personally. The education is indeed meant to be used with the younger man’s wife or wives, but this takes place before a marriage partner is chosen. And what I’m trying to tell you is that the older man would show the youth how it’s done, personally, by performing as a woman would in the act of lovemaking. I know this goes against everything you’ve been taught, Dominic, but I don’t want you to judge the way some of the men you’ll meet will act towards each other. They’re going to think this is the relationship you and I share, and for the sake of cultural understanding, I wouldn’t recommend that you tell them otherwise.”
As Viggo explained, Dominic continued to frown, evidently parsing the information out in his head. “I don’t… you’re saying that men in the community we’re visiting lie together, aren’t you? But… that’s forbidden… I mean…”
“Many believe that the scriptures forbid it, yes. But I’ve taught you over the past few weeks that the scriptures are interpreted by many men, who come to many different conclusions.”
“You don’t believe it, do you? You don’t think it’s wrong,” Dominic stated, his tone gently accusing but his eyes still soft. He wanted to understand, if he could.
“I don’t, no. Obviously the young men who are welcomed into our community will have to halt such activities because of what’s best for society, but…”
Viggo trailed off, and Dom looked confused, his brows scrunched together as he thought about the implications Viggo’s words. He was willing to go along with society’s rules, but it was clear that his heart had another motive.
“Fine, then,” Dominic replied. “I guess that’s all I need to know. I trust you, Viggo… but I’m confused.”
“Of course. I understand…”
“I just need to think, okay? But I promise to try my best not to judge the people we meet.”
“That’s all I can ask of you, Dominic. Thank you.”
Dominic smiled brightly and nodded. “No problem. Now, is it time we eat this bird? I’m starved!”
Viggo laughed and carefully removed their meal from the fire with Dominic’s help, using a small knife to cut the juicy bits of meat off the bone and divide it between the two of them. He knew that there would be more trials for Dominic before this trip was over, but he trusted the young man to act with sensitivity towards the people he would meet.
His own feelings towards Dominic only increased in intensity as the days went on, pride and compassion mixing with something deeper, something sharper. But Viggo, for his part, was a master of control, and he had passed trials harder than this. He trusted himself not to fail this time.
------
Dominic was standing in the centre of a large circle, a bonfire at his back. Around him were many men, their skin a dark reddish complexion and their clothing exotic and unlike anything he had seen. They were speaking in a language he did not understand, laughing and pointing at him.
He tried to catch the eye of one of the men, to ask for help, but it was as if they saw through him, were looking past him. Dominic turned to the fire, and there in the centre, as if untouched by the flame, were Viggo and Elijah, naked but for dabs of native war paint and a feather headdress fastened to Viggo’s hair.
Dominic blushed, and tried to look away, but he found that his neck was locked in place, and he could do nothing but watch. Words of a tongue he didn’t understand rose from Viggo’s lips, powerful and frightening, as if invoking a spirit or enchanting the fire not to burn him. Dominic watched, transfixed, as Viggo’s body, tan and muscular, circled Elijah as if he were a panther and Elijah was prey.
Elijah dropped to his knees slowly, as if in supplication, and spread his arms, palms up, his eyes raised to the night sky. Dominic watched in horror as Elijah prayed—again in a foreign tongue, but somehow Dominic knew it was a prayer—to some God other than Dominic’s own, and then let out a cry of pleasure as Viggo pounced, knocking him back into the flames as he covered Elijah’s pale body with his own.
Dominic jumped at the voice in his ear, thick with its heavy Scots brogue and a hint of arousal. Billy was standing behind him, and though Dominic wanted to beg an explanation, ask the only person here who seemed to understand English what was going on, his tongue was dry as sawdust.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they? Viggo loves him, Dominic. He loves Elijah like a man loves a woman. Do you want him, Dominic? Do you want Viggo to love you like Elijah? You want it, don’t you?”
Dominic tried to open his mouth to protest, but no words would come out, and instead, to his horror, he found himself singing in a voice that was not his own, a beautiful and reverent melody in the same tongue that the others had used. As he sang, he felt the grip of a hand on his inexplicably hardened flesh, not Billy’s or his own. He turned, still singing, and gasped as Viggo swallowed the foreign words into his knowing mouth.
Dominic’s whole body spasmed as he suddenly awakened, and he was horrified to realize where he was—just a few metres from the fire, only a thin blanket covering him, the memory of his dream still very fresh in his mind. He was extremely grateful that Viggo didn’t turn, and blushed a deep crimson as he realized two things at the same time.
One, the song he had been singing in his dream was actually coming from Viggo’s lips, the words beautiful though meaningless to Dominic, Viggo’s body leaning into the fire as his song carried on the breeze.
Two, his hand under the blanket was also underneath his night shift, and moving of it’s own accord in a frantic pace against hardened flesh. His eyes went wide as he yanked his hand away, but they refused to tear away from a tightly muscled back, light brown hair sweeping down broad shoulders over a pale shirt, thin enough to make out the lean shape of a waist and the subtle curve below.
Shit.
Author: Viktoria Angelique
Beta:
saura_Pairing: VM/DM
Rating: Rish this part
Disclaimer: Clearly not true.
Summary: Viggo confides in Dominic, and Dominic has a dream.
A/N: Okay, it's time for my virtual spanking. I completely forgot to credit my wonderfully awesome beta,
saura_ in the last two chapters. Shame on me! Sorry, love, but hopefully I will be forgiven as I sent the chocolate yesterday *winks*Previous Chapters
On the second day Viggo and Dominic spent riding out towards the Indian settlements, they stopped only very late, having crossed the Susquehanna river early in the morning and being now only a few kilometers shy of the next, wider river. The night was clear, and Viggo found a clearing in the woods where they could set out the animal skin they used as padding on the forest floor, a few metres away from where they set up a fire circle for cooking and warding off unfriendly animals.
Dominic was given the task of fetching water from a nearby stream, and armed with a large flaming branch for light, he returned with a large wooden bucket looped around each arm, first letting the horses drink and then using the other bucket for their own cooking and drinking water. When he took a seat on a large, flat stone, Viggo had got a roaring fire going, and was roasting the bird he had shot down earlier on a branch for supper.
“Looks mighty tasty,” Dominic commented with a smile as he sat his bucket down, nodding at the bird whose flesh was beginning to turn a crisp golden colour.
Viggo smiled in return in the firelight and nodded his thanks for the water. “Horses are doing all right?”
“Yeah, they’re fine.” Dom stepped over to a flat near Viggo’s spot at the edge of the fire and sat down.
“Good. I think we’ll reach the settlement by nightfall tomorrow, if the weather stays good.”
“Excellent,” Dominic commented, lifting a twig from the forest floor and idly whittling it with his pocket knife for something to do while they waited on their meal.
“Dominic, I want to explain something to you tonight, before we arrive. I know we’ve talked a lot about having an open mind, and embracing traditions that we do not yet understand until we can fairly comprehend their meaning, but there’s something more specific you should know, about the way we’ll be perceived by the tribes we’re visiting.”
“Okay. Lay it on me, then,” Dominic encouraged, nodding.
“Well there’s a reason that I usually take these initial trips with Elijah, beyond his language skills. The native people, you see, they see the world and specifically human relationships in a different way than Christian nations. It’s not to say that one concept is ‘right,’ or ‘better,’ but you may be surprised by what you find when we arrive.”
“Like the way their kin groups function? You’ve already explained that to me, though,” Dominic pointed out, looking confused.
“Yes, but not just that. You see, there’s a special relationship in Indian society, one that is highly revered, and one that the native people we encounter will perceive between the two of us… you understand, of course, the idea of a master/apprentice arrangement, or that of a mentor and a student?”
“Sure. That’s what we are, right?”
“Yes,” Viggo agreed, nodding. “Well the Indians have a similar system, which functions to bring their young men into society. The coming of age is a very important tradition for both boys and girls, and it is part of why we try so hard to find parents willing to bring their children into our society. Parents understand the importance of childhood, and of education, and they come to see advantages with giving their children up to us before their coming of age. Baptism, in fact, is seen by the natives as our sort of coming of age ceremony, and the two worlds fit together quite well in that regard.”
“Okay, well I understand all that…”
“Yes, well the other thing you must understand, is that a young man, a few years younger than you are now, would be given a sort of older mentor in Indian society. This person would help the boy to understand Indian traditions, his relationship to his kin group, and his responsibilities as a grown man. Although you are a bit older, this is still how the natives are likely to perceive our own relationship.”
“Okay. Well, what’s the problem then? I mean, I’m not offended that they won’t think I’m of age…”
“No, Dominic, that’s not it. What I’m trying to tell you is that the older man in such a relationship, he educates the youth in all areas of society. Including, well, sexual relations.” Viggo waited a moment, allowing the import of his explanation to settle in.
Dominic frowned for a moment, considering what Viggo was telling him, exactly. “I don’t understand… you mean the older man tells the younger man how sex works? That isn’t so different from our own system, I mean an older couple tells the newlyweds…”
“No, no, I mean the older man educates the youth personally. The education is indeed meant to be used with the younger man’s wife or wives, but this takes place before a marriage partner is chosen. And what I’m trying to tell you is that the older man would show the youth how it’s done, personally, by performing as a woman would in the act of lovemaking. I know this goes against everything you’ve been taught, Dominic, but I don’t want you to judge the way some of the men you’ll meet will act towards each other. They’re going to think this is the relationship you and I share, and for the sake of cultural understanding, I wouldn’t recommend that you tell them otherwise.”
As Viggo explained, Dominic continued to frown, evidently parsing the information out in his head. “I don’t… you’re saying that men in the community we’re visiting lie together, aren’t you? But… that’s forbidden… I mean…”
“Many believe that the scriptures forbid it, yes. But I’ve taught you over the past few weeks that the scriptures are interpreted by many men, who come to many different conclusions.”
“You don’t believe it, do you? You don’t think it’s wrong,” Dominic stated, his tone gently accusing but his eyes still soft. He wanted to understand, if he could.
“I don’t, no. Obviously the young men who are welcomed into our community will have to halt such activities because of what’s best for society, but…”
Viggo trailed off, and Dom looked confused, his brows scrunched together as he thought about the implications Viggo’s words. He was willing to go along with society’s rules, but it was clear that his heart had another motive.
“Fine, then,” Dominic replied. “I guess that’s all I need to know. I trust you, Viggo… but I’m confused.”
“Of course. I understand…”
“I just need to think, okay? But I promise to try my best not to judge the people we meet.”
“That’s all I can ask of you, Dominic. Thank you.”
Dominic smiled brightly and nodded. “No problem. Now, is it time we eat this bird? I’m starved!”
Viggo laughed and carefully removed their meal from the fire with Dominic’s help, using a small knife to cut the juicy bits of meat off the bone and divide it between the two of them. He knew that there would be more trials for Dominic before this trip was over, but he trusted the young man to act with sensitivity towards the people he would meet.
His own feelings towards Dominic only increased in intensity as the days went on, pride and compassion mixing with something deeper, something sharper. But Viggo, for his part, was a master of control, and he had passed trials harder than this. He trusted himself not to fail this time.
------
Dominic was standing in the centre of a large circle, a bonfire at his back. Around him were many men, their skin a dark reddish complexion and their clothing exotic and unlike anything he had seen. They were speaking in a language he did not understand, laughing and pointing at him.
He tried to catch the eye of one of the men, to ask for help, but it was as if they saw through him, were looking past him. Dominic turned to the fire, and there in the centre, as if untouched by the flame, were Viggo and Elijah, naked but for dabs of native war paint and a feather headdress fastened to Viggo’s hair.
Dominic blushed, and tried to look away, but he found that his neck was locked in place, and he could do nothing but watch. Words of a tongue he didn’t understand rose from Viggo’s lips, powerful and frightening, as if invoking a spirit or enchanting the fire not to burn him. Dominic watched, transfixed, as Viggo’s body, tan and muscular, circled Elijah as if he were a panther and Elijah was prey.
Elijah dropped to his knees slowly, as if in supplication, and spread his arms, palms up, his eyes raised to the night sky. Dominic watched in horror as Elijah prayed—again in a foreign tongue, but somehow Dominic knew it was a prayer—to some God other than Dominic’s own, and then let out a cry of pleasure as Viggo pounced, knocking him back into the flames as he covered Elijah’s pale body with his own.
Dominic jumped at the voice in his ear, thick with its heavy Scots brogue and a hint of arousal. Billy was standing behind him, and though Dominic wanted to beg an explanation, ask the only person here who seemed to understand English what was going on, his tongue was dry as sawdust.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they? Viggo loves him, Dominic. He loves Elijah like a man loves a woman. Do you want him, Dominic? Do you want Viggo to love you like Elijah? You want it, don’t you?”
Dominic tried to open his mouth to protest, but no words would come out, and instead, to his horror, he found himself singing in a voice that was not his own, a beautiful and reverent melody in the same tongue that the others had used. As he sang, he felt the grip of a hand on his inexplicably hardened flesh, not Billy’s or his own. He turned, still singing, and gasped as Viggo swallowed the foreign words into his knowing mouth.
Dominic’s whole body spasmed as he suddenly awakened, and he was horrified to realize where he was—just a few metres from the fire, only a thin blanket covering him, the memory of his dream still very fresh in his mind. He was extremely grateful that Viggo didn’t turn, and blushed a deep crimson as he realized two things at the same time.
One, the song he had been singing in his dream was actually coming from Viggo’s lips, the words beautiful though meaningless to Dominic, Viggo’s body leaning into the fire as his song carried on the breeze.
Two, his hand under the blanket was also underneath his night shift, and moving of it’s own accord in a frantic pace against hardened flesh. His eyes went wide as he yanked his hand away, but they refused to tear away from a tightly muscled back, light brown hair sweeping down broad shoulders over a pale shirt, thin enough to make out the lean shape of a waist and the subtle curve below.
Shit.