dec 2nd 2024
The priestess awoke from a strange dream, its contents forgotten within moments, save for a lingering unease. A churning sound came from her insides, and she remembered at once where she was and what she had been doing. Evidently the bill for last night's erotically charged feast had finally come due.
After a short trip to the lavatory, Fianna stepped quietly through the darkened rooms of the Temple, so as not to disturb those still sleeping. Illumined only faintly by the occasional candle, the stone walls flickered with yellow-brown shadows. Rounding one corner, she saw a large portal through which the rosy pink of dawn shone—and, silhouetted against the sky, a familiar plump outline.
"Good morning, traveler," came the purring voice, scarcely more than a whisper. "Come, join me."
Fianna stepped closer, finding herself on a balcony overlooking a steep valley to the east. "I must say," she began, rubbing sleep from her eyes, "the dawn is as beautiful as everything else on Your island."
The Queen’s eyes narrowed in a smile. "That is but one reason I come here, almost every dawn."
"May I ask, what is another?"
She looked down at the tiny priestess, less than half her height. "Because in there, I am the great Goddess of this land, the One Who Makes Fertile. But out here, alone, before any of the worshipers awake? I am just Bubastis."
Pondering this, the priestess looked up at her hostess. "If I may be so bold as to ask... what were You before becoming Goddess of this island?"
"I do not understand your meaning."
Fianna rubbed at the back of her neck. "I have never met someone of your... stature. The only ones much taller than me are the Trolls, and they haven't your fur nor your tail."
The Queen chuckled. "I know not what My species might be called, if there is such a thing. The only other one of My kind I have met is My brother."
Your brother?"
"Karnak was his name. The two of us sailed together, from island to island, living off the bounty of the sea." She looked back down at the priestess. "That is what I was before - a ghotierwoman."
Nodding quietly, Fianna considered the past tense of that statement before voicing her next question. "I take it You have not... seen him for quite some time, Your Majesty."
Bubastis shook her head, ears drooping slightly. "Not since we landed here. After repairing the hole in the boat, he set off in the morning, promising to return with food and firewood. I have seen no sign of him since."
"You have my condolences, great Queen."
The cat-woman placed a paw on Fianna’s head, stroking her hair gently. "It is a great comfort to have My worshipers. Even if I lack a close confidant, I love those who serve Me, and hope they love Me in turn."
Fianna braced herself to ask another question - the question that always seemed to cast utopias in a more sinister light. "And what of those who do not serve?"
"There have always been dissidents," She sighed. "Some do not wish to serve any god or master but themselves. Some decry me as a false goddess. At first, I thought you might be one of the latter."
She blushed slightly, her fingers absentmindedly brushing the Saint Corvus pendant around her neck. "I certainly have no wish to disturb life on this island, Your Majesty. But... I am curious as to the fate of these dissidents."
We give them as much food and drink as they can carry, and see them off." She smiled. "My blessings do not end at the Temple perimeter. Even on the far side of the island, there is enough food and game for a few dozen to live on."
As the Sun began to breach the horizon, Fianna suddenly felt self-conscious about her nakedness, and shrugged her blue slip-dress on.
"In any case," the Queen continued, "I have a feeling you will be leaving before too long."
The priestess swallowed. "If I have done anything to offend You—"
"Not at all." Bubastis rubbed Fianna’s shoulder affectionately. "You have been a most welcome guest. But you have a life of your own, yes? Friends, family - a patron god, at the very least."
She reluctantly nodded.
"Then I give you My word that you will have safe passage from this island."
"I... thank You, mighty Queen."
The two women stood there on the balcony, watching the Sun color the valley treetops in a dazzling array of reds and yellows.
* * * *
"There you are, Fianna!" Grinning, Anankha came up behind the priestess, wrapping her arms around in a hug. "You need not trouble yourself with the pots and pans. Even if you were not our guest, today is a rest day!"
Fianna smiled, scrubbing the dishes with a rough cloth soaked in hot water. "I volunteered. It is the least I can do, after being served such a delectable meal." She poked her lover's nose with a wet finger. "Besides, if Mother Siobhann learned I had not cleaned up after my dinner, she'd have my hide."
"Ah... Your elder in your church?" She waited for Fianna to nod her head. "Your gods must be very different from Our Lady. I recall you were confused until you met Her."
"Our Church does not worship the gods directly. Nor are the Saints venerated during their lifetimes. They are our ancestors, who watch over us after they pass on to the Afterworld."
Anankha pondered this for a few seconds. "I do not often think of my ancestors. Zahdeb the scribe keeps records of them - who is born, who their parents are, when they die - but I do not visit him often."
The priestess looked at her over one shoulder. "Can you read and write, Anankha?"
"A little. Some of the signs stand for sounds, and I do not know them well. But the signs for people and things are easy."
Fianna nodded; it made sense for a mostly isolated people to have a different writing system, even if they shared her spoken tongue. Idly, she wondered if it had originated with the Queen.
At last, she finished cleaning the first stack of earthenware bowls, and turned to her paramour with a playful smile. "Tell me, Anankha... With all of the island's delicious food, in such great quantities, how is it that you stay so trim?"
The island girl's cheeks flushed red. "Partly it is because my work is so strenuous. Many of the ripest fruits grow on the highest branches, so I have to be able to climb to them." She wrapped her arms in a loose hug around Fianna's neck, purposely flexing her muscles. "But even on feast days and rest days, the food does not stick to my ribs. Not for lack of trying."
"I noticed my little binge drew quite a reaction.
"It did." Anankha planted a deep, slow kiss on Fianna's lips, stifling a moan at the taste of her. "I loved watching you fill up. So round and tight... mmm, even your dress could hardly contain you."
She returned the kiss, pressing her forehead to Anankha's. "You know, I wouldn't say no to seeing you with bigger curves, either..."
Anankha bit her lip, twirling a lock of her raven-black hair around one finger. The women's intimate kiss continued, their hands wandering over each other's bodies, until a knock sounded on the door to the kitchen.
"Forgive me for interrupting..." At the threshold stood a handsome man in a white garment like Anankha's, his long brown hair flowing past his shoulders.
As Anankha turned around, she smiled with recognition. "Oh, do not worry! Fianna, this is Ardath the goatherd. And sometime cheese-maker."
Fianna was less than pleased at the interruption, but did her best to be polite regardless. "Good morning, Ardath. The cheese at last night's feast was quite tasty."
"I thank you." He looked away with a bashful smile, one that many of his neighbors found utterly charming. "Miss Fianna, I come bearing a message. Our Lady, Queen Bubastis, requests your presence as soon as possible."
Anankha nodded her head. "I will take her to the Queen personally." As Ardath left, the island girl turned back to her lover. "In a few minutes..."
* * * *
Bubastis was napping on her bedcushion, curled up with her chin resting on her folded arms. Her ears twitched at the sound of footsteps, and as Fianna and Anankha entered, the Queen stirred to a lazy awakening.
"Rrrhh... Welcome, My lovelies. So good of you to come on short notice."
The two women genuflected, and Anankha spoke. "I live to serve You, Great One."
"Hmm... Indeed." She stretched her plump limbs, wiggling her clawed fingers and toes. "Fianna, My steward has told Me the tide is going out at Sunrise tomorrow. If you are to leave for your home, that would be your best opportunity."
Fianna’s lips twitched in a smile at this news; then the smile faded as she realized that she would be leaving Anankha behind.
"But before you go," Bubastis continued, "I should like to give both of you My blessing."
The priestess inclined her head again, but Anankha was beaming, her tanned cheeks flushed a scarlet hue. "It would be my honor, O Goddess."
Splendid. Come forward, both of you.
Both women walked towards the dais, Fianna slightly confused by Anankha's rapturous, almost lusty response. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but... may I ask what exactly Your blessing is?"
"Mmm, you may..." The voluptuous cat-woman continued to address her, as Anankha undressed and climbed onto the bed. "My power is not limited to making the land fertile. Though I have no children of My own, any of My faithful who... know Me, in the poetic sense, bear an invisible mark forever after. The men are potent, and the women fertile."
She stroked the island girl's cheek with a soft paw. "But then, how could it be otherwise? To know the Divine is to be changed by It."
Anankha ran her hands over the Queen's body, revering Her plush fur and the soft flesh beneath. "I only hope I am worthy of Your blessing, my Goddess."
As if in reply, Bubastis cradled the back of Anankha's head, pressing the Human's face between Her breasts - each larger than Fianna's head. Anankha's moans were quite muffled; her legs wrapped around the Queen's thick waist, holding her fast to the Goddess' warmth, but not fully encircling Her.
The priestess, entranced by the shameless display of lust before her, was nevertheless hesitant to join in. Sex didn't bother her in and of itself; it was the means of propagating the species, and as such was at least tacitly encouraged by her Church. Less clear-cut were the theological ramifications of copulating with a Goddess from an entirely different faith - in the flesh, no less.
"Is something wrong, dearie?" Bubastis was still holding Anankha's head to her ample chest, purring and flicking her tail.
Fianna sighed. "I'm sure Saint Corvus will forgive me..." With a sheepish grin, she removed her slip-dress and stepped forward. The Queen smiled and extended her free arm to her, finally releasing Anankha from her smothering.
"Haaahhnn..." Anankha gasped for breath, her face emblazoned with a lust-drunk smile. Seeing Fianna before her, she wrapped her arms around the priestess' waist, giving her a messy tongue-kiss that elicited a surprised moan.
Bubastis purred, content to watch the two smaller women paw desperately at each other for a long minute. Soon, though, She spoke again. "Anankha..."
The island girl reluctantly pulled away from Fianna's face; when she opened her eyes, she saw the Goddess laying back, Her tree-trunk thighs splayed. "Ohh... what do You desire, my Queen?"
"Put one of your legs under Mine." As the raven-haired woman did so, the Queen pulled her closer, until their loins touched. Anankha was astonished to feel how warm Bubastis was; the heat given off by Her womanhood was so great that she began to sweat.
Their legs interlocked like a set of shears, the Goddess and Her worshiper began writing, grinding their loins together, a mix of sweat and arousal matting down the huge cat's fur. Fianna watched in rapt fascination; this act wasn't something the had ever conceived of, but she certainly would not mind being trapped between those pillowy thighs.
"Do not think I have forgotten you, My little castaway." Bubastis grinned at Fianna, Her sharp fangs on full display, and the priestess realized she had been absentmindedly touching herself. "Ready yourself for Me, dear Fianna."
Unsure what the Queen had in mind, Fianna remained kneeling, but spread her thighs further apart. Her sex was dripping wet; evidently seeing her paramour being intimate with another woman had affected her.
"Behind Me, dearie. Facing Me." The curvaceous cat-woman was stroking her own tail, the tip of which flicked to and fro excitedly.
As Fianna complied, she heard Bubastis' tongue lapping at something with a wet sound. Her view blocked by the Goddess' width, the traveler began to rub and fondle Her bottom, drawing even louder purrs. She kneaded the huge woman's ass, marveling at how deeply her fingers sank into the soft, furry flesh.
Her tail snaked behind Her, and the priestess saw that much of its fur had been slicked down with drool. Then the appendage's tip curled downward, and began to tickle Fianna's clitoris. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she gasped - first from surprise, then from the pleasure of it.
"Hahh... Oh, Goddess..." Fianna saw Her head turn to look over Her shoulder, a fanged smile on Her face, as if to ask a question. The priestess nodded her head briskly, and the Queen's tail began wriggling its way deeper inside her.
Fianna's moans grew louder, her mind increasingly empty save for the wordless ecstasy she felt, inside as well as out. Bubastis' tail continued squirming; had the traveler been capable of coherent thought at the moment, she would surely have realized that the length of it had already reached the wall of her cervix. Indeed it had, so the Queen instead began flexing the muscles even tighter, Her tail coiling like a spring, stretching Fianna out slowly.
Anankha couldn't see her paramour around the Goddess' massive curves, but Fianna's noises were almost as loud as her own. She could feel herself sliding against the Queen's sex, wet and feverishly warm, with just enough friction to stimulate her own clitoris. "M-my Goddess, I... I'm nearly there..."
The feline giantess purred, carefully wiggling the tip of Her tail to rub against the most sensitive spot deep inside Fianna. At this touch, the priestess' moans heightened in pitch. Bubastis, Her skills heightened by decades of wild, passionate lovemaking, chose that exact moment to extend Her tail while clenching Her thighs tighter around Anankha.
Both of the smaller women gasped, then nearly screamed as the full force of their orgasms hit them like a sudden wave at the seaside. They reached around Bubastis' soft belly for each other's hands; and as their simultaneous climaxes rushed over and through them, Fianna and Anankha squeezed their hands together, with such force that the priestess' would be painfully tender when she awoke in the morning.
For Her part, Bubastis felt a tiny portion of Her power draining away, flowing into the two Humans in time with the throbbing of their hearts and bodies. But rather than worry over losing this infinitesimal bit of energy, the Goddess smiled; for to share Her power with Her subjects was to bring lust and joy - and, yes, fertility - to all. ■