My Shield

Gonyaul instinctually went into protection mode, compartmentalizing any fear in the moment for prioritizing action on what needed to be done. He used the wraps from his unworn Arisha Ikeburer to tie Voah and himself together in a makeshift harness knot. He then proceed to get the tent cover and used it to wrap the two of them together. First he enveloped voah into himself and then he covered them both with what he could of the material.

Before this was implemented the sand stung. It felt like sandpaper playing staccato rancorous noise on the outside of his garments. It was unpleasant, but tolerable enough with the desert attire. It was the exposed areas that truly only felt the biting in the fullest sense. Once the tent cover was around them though, it muted the sand even more; it feeling more like dull pinpricks of pressure.

Gonyaul angled his body so he was shielding Voah from the main direction of the sandstorm. He was pretty confident being covered by him, that the only pain she would have to endure now was her own internal emotional storm conjured up by her imagination and the terrifying and alien sounds accompanying the maelstrom.

Gonyaul was next trying to move the two of them over to the camels; to use them, since they would lay down, as another shield barrier.

Voah didn’t know that the air could carry sand like this. At times she felt like she could barely stand in place, that is, until Gonyaul wrapped her up tightly against him, providing both of them with some much needed cover and a little more stability as they took position near some of the encumbered beasts of burden.

Her anxiety must have been more apparent than she realized, but she was more than pleased to have Gonyaul step in as her protector against this strange phenomenon of nature’s force and help allay her fears.

She hugged her head near his neck and clutched him tightly with one arm around him and the other on his chest. She ignored the pain from her tears and sweat that stung her raw cheeks which had been abraded by sun and sand. The smell of Gonyaul’s perspiration, his virile protective actions, the closeness of their bodies, and the general excitement in the air from this entire incident was turning her on and she could feel that the same was true for him. But this was clearly very poor timing. She couldn’t help but pull herself closer to him, digging her claws in as they weathered the storm together.

Gonyaul’s adrenaline was surging and it helped add another layer of willpower to ignore the sensations of being sandblasted. It also increased his heart beat and alertness.

He could feel everything Voah was doing as clearly as if he was seeing it; his eyes were presently covered as best as possible for protection. His sense of smell was bombarded by a symphony of desert scents being played, yet a very clear melody of Voah was noticeable too.

It felt good to actually be taking charge. It made him feel invigorated in a way he had not expected. So intense was the feeling of her gripping into him and he shielding over her that any chance for fear to settle in as they waited was abated with other more pleasant sensations. Did all the others feel this way when they were fighting he wondered? Up to now he always ran, distracted, hid, found alternative solutions, got tossed around or fainted in many of the skirmishes. Voah was typically the hero and he had been more of the damsel in distress.

Gonyaul began humming a vauxian song, he dare not open his mouth.