Depthless Hunger

Zae Zin Nim fought against a green flood, flailing her limbs to try to make headway and yet somehow never getting any closer. Kai hovered in the distance, swept up in the acidic waters, and she knew with inexplicable certainty that he needed her help. The waves were too strong, they battered her from every side, she hadn't been breathing but suddenly she desperately needed to take a breath...

Realizing that she was caught in a dream helped bring her back to reality and Zae Zin Nim carefully opened her eyes. She was looking at the ceiling of what seemed to be a cavern and heard nothing but quiet sounds of dripping water nearby. More importantly, her body didn't hurt anymore, she just felt very tired. If she was awake, obviously she'd survived, but...

"Kai?" she slurred out. Omilaena appeared beside her a moment later and smiled.

"Glad to see you up," she said. "Kai is drawing them away from us, so focus on healing."

"You got... the poison?"

"I did, but I don't advise doing that too often in the future. Maybe eventually I'll be able to remove a poison instantly, but I'd need to know the Prana Jewels better and have a lot more personal strength."

"Then..." Zae Zin Nim had some hair falling over her eye and wanted to brush it away, but she felt certain that if she tried to move her arms they would flop around like wet cloth.

"No permanent harm done, don't worry." Omilaena smoothed her hair away from her face and her touch felt surprisingly pleasant. "You aren't suffering from the poison anymore, and you could fight if necessary. That said, I don't recommend it. Give yourself time to fully recover, especially all that new chakra."

"That's frustrating. With qi advancements you don't need additional time for the power to settle."

"Yeah, well, with cultivation you aren't generally giving up a major part of your own essence and transforming it into an entirely new ability. It's a testament to your overall skill and stability that you were able to do as much as you did."

"How am I physically?" Zae Zin Nim flopped an arm onto her stomach, but didn't feel any sources of pain.

"Healed faster than the poison. It seems like that Pure Yin Shroud has really made you durable - it's not regeneration, but you're in damn good health."

With her initial questions answered, Zae Zin Nim lapsed back into silence and let herself rest. Sleep didn't seem anywhere within reach, however. She was just sluggish, not weary. Maybe she could figure out how to cultivate in her present state, but she was still too unfocused.

Omilaena worked beside her, measuring one liquid carefully into another to create some sort of concoction that emanated healing energy. It was so strange to look at her and think that they were married. Until they had actually kissed the night before the Kama Altar, Zae Zin Nim hadn't been sure that it would work between them. Now it was as if her eyes had been opened: she'd always been told that women shouldn't be interested in other women, so she had admired Omilaena without understanding the attraction. Instead of wanting to be like Omilaena, she wanted... wanted...

The other woman saw her looking and smirked. Zae Zin Nim flushed a little, but didn't try to pull away. Teasing and sensuality between them was permissible now, in theory... it would just take some getting used to. When she looked at the other woman, she felt...

It wasn't the same overwhelming flood of passion as with Kai, but Zae Zin Nim felt a surge of love for Omilaena. Where Zae Zin Nim had been inflexible and stuck in her own culture, Omilaena had been more open-minded than either of them. She had even helped Zae Zin Nim admit her feelings and been willing to step aside herself. So many of the women Zae Zin Nim had known had been bitter rivals, yet here she had someone she could truly trust...

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"Are you ready to drink this?" Omilaena asked, bringing the vial closer. "It should help restore everything faster."

"Too weak," Zae Zin Nim said. "Help me."

After another little smirk, Omilaena took a drink of the concoction and then bent down to kiss her. Zae Zin Nim's eyes widened, but she kissed back and felt the liquid trickling into her mouth. It rushed through her body, relaxing all her muscles before pooling in her dantian. When they parted, Zae Zin Nim was panting for breath softly.

"You don't... need to make excuses..." she said.

"Good." Omilaena bent down and kissed her normally this time, and the kiss was surprisingly comfortale. Kai was bulky and hard and masculine, which was a little fearsome even if also exciting - kissing another woman felt more familiar, even if there was an edge of impropriety to it. By the time they were done, she felt much better.

Eventually Zae Zin Nim sat up and accepted the healing vial to drink normally. She'd been changed into a thin robe, which alarmed her for a moment before she remembered there was nothing inappropriate about her spouses changing her clothes. Lascivious as she was, Omilaena wouldn't have done anything to her while she was asleep. Both of them were together now, moving in the same direction...

As she stared at the other woman, Zae Zin Nim reached her conclusion almost at the same moment she spoke it. "You can use the Ape Titan's Ambrosia."

"What?" Omilaena had been toying with a syringe and now stared at her uncertainly. "That doesn't make any sense. You're much closer to the 999 Power barrier."

"But I got my last easy boost from Kai. It will take me a very long time to reach Sky Soul, evolve an Advanced Class, or figure out the Blackblood Physique."

"Are you sure? We have no idea where we'll be headed next, and resources like that aren't lying around."

"You have so many abilities that are ready for synergy or advancement, don't you? The barrier could be slowing you down more than me. Besides..." Zae Zin Nim nodded as she grew more confident. "I want you to have it. We're partners now, right? If you take this, you'll use it to help me find a proper qi source... won't you?"

"Of course I will." Omilaena smiled at her, first warmly and then teasingly. "But if you really want to help my advancement, there's something else you could do for me."

"What's that?"

"We might not have the Kama Altar, but there are still some... techniques we could try. They'll help me more than you, but after absorbing all that poison you took, I want to try something with my own poison. I promise that it won't actually harm you, and we should build up your immunity to all my poisons anyway."

"Oh... umm..." Zae Zin Nim lowered her eyes and tried not to squirm. She had only just finished learning how things worked with men, but this was a whole new world that she didn't understand.

"We don't have to if you don't want," Omilaena said, backing off so quickly that Zae Zin Nim's heart ached for her. "But I thought... this is all so new to you, maybe you want more time to get used to us before it gets complicated."

Actually, Zae Zin Nim was still a bit mystified about how relationships between women would even work and had been hoping that Kai could smooth things over. But Omilaena knew what she was doing, so perhaps... Zae Zin Nim nodded and hoped she didn't seem too innocent.

The pool in the cavern was murky at first, but Omilaena purified it with one of her elixirs. Even though the water was still dark, the cleanliness of it was obvious. They took off their robes, which was a bit embarrassing, but when they both slid underneath the surface it wasn't so different from being in a bath.

"Back here," Omilaena said, drawing her closer until Zae Zin Nim was resting her back against the other woman. That touch was strange and electric, but it didn't feel wrong. Omilaena's embrace wasn't sexual at all, just comfortable. "This isn't bad, is it?"

"No... but... the poison?"

"These combined powers of yours are a real furnace; it's quite impressive. What I want is to help it adapt to my poison." One of Omilaena's hands slid down to her stomach, holding her closer. "In the course of the poisoning, your dantian is going to process that poison. It could harm you ordinarily, but with my help it will strengthen you instead. And with luck, you'll also refine the poison for me to use."

"Like the Irunians!" Zae Zin Nim said, then flushed when Omilaena chuckled. Perhaps she'd been a little too enthusiastic, especially when they floated together so intimately.

"Yes, it's a similar principle. But... do you want this?"

"I... I do... it's just all so..."

"If you're more comfortable with chakra techniques, we can start there." Omilaena bent down to kiss the back of her neck and her hand slid a little lower. "Let me introduce you to a dual cultivation technique called Yin Resonance..."