A first time for everything

It was one of the first real spring days, the sun felt like it was warming for the first time in months, thawing up the ground. And while there still was snow in the shadows behind trees and boulders, the sounds heralded a more gentle season, with birdsong and gurgling creeks, the air smelled of anticipation and the elation of sprouting new life. Everywhere there were small signs, the squirrels seemed to hurry faster up the tree trunks, the birds were diving and looping in the sky and the rabbits and hares were running to and from. Even some insects were seen, a buzzing bumblebee here, a ladybug there. A beetle was sneaking down in a crack between two small stones and a spider was sitting on a twig, trying to figure out how a net was made.

And then there was the young man – hardly more than a boy to be true, who came running down the narrow path, running and jumping and skipping – skidding from stone to stone and speeding up as if he was chasing the last traces of the rainbow seen in the west against the indigo cloud boulders. He jumped down several meters and landed smoothly on the rock below, then repeated the stunt, taking him a few meters further down. There he stopped and craned his neck, gazing against the sun as the golden locks from his fringe fell back across his forehead, glittering blue eyes scanning the sky for something. He turned and looked in another direction, shadowing eyes with a hand. Then he changed position of the hand, two fingers in the mouth as he wolf-whistled.

The high, piercing sound made the birds take off and the rodents scurrying down in their holes again. But the youth's face crackled up in a smile as he found what he was obviously looking for. It was a large Eagle, which came circling down from the sky, wide and strong brown wings stretching out to catch the winds, to tame them and to ride them. The youth stretched out his right arm and the Eagle, his familiar, landed like so many times before upon his balled fist. The large bird knew how to rest its talons on his bare skin without hurting him.

"Hello there," he greeted the large bird, raising an index finger to scratch its head. "What have you seen lately?" The Eagle tilted his head, its dark eyes scrutinizing its human friend. The youth was silent for a while, standing almost unnaturally still as he was taking in the visions the Eagle was transmitting to his mind.

The war was still going on out there, he saw. The hellish war between the Gods and the ruling Titans. The old war which had been going on forever it seemed, long before the youth was born as a matter of fact. A wretched war it was, taxing the world terribly. Already had large areas of the continent in the south been destroyed, rendered into barren dessert lands by the magic flames of the Titans, and it would take a long time before anything would grow there again – if ever. And up in the north chill and ice were spreading. Only these areas were more or less spared – so far at least.

"Seems like the Gods are getting their asses kicked," the young man said and the Eagle made a shrill sound, almost as if it was agreeing with him. It shook and spread its large wings, flapped them once, twice before folding them again. "Yes, I know, I have it for you!" the youth smiled and then, with his left hand, he reached inside of his pocket and produced a bundle wrapped up in tattered textile. He opened it and displayed a large bunch of raw meat – hare, leftovers from yesterday, especially saved for his friend. It was almost as if the great bird was smiling when it beheld its treat.

"Enjoy," the youth said and held it out, and it didn't take long for the bird to gorge the helping. Eagles – never the patient ones, never the ones to appreciate the delight of a slow ingestion. As a way to say thank you and show affection, the carnivore leaned toward the youth's head and they rubbed cheeks for a short moment, the sensation of short feathers and down feeling slightly tickling against his skin and a smile spread across his face, his eyes twinkling.

Moments later the Eagle was spreading its wings again, and taking off, describing a widening figure eight in the air before finding an upwind to help it reaching higher altitudes. With a shrill call it was taking off again.
"Take care my friend," the youth called out. "And I see you soon!" He dried off his hands on the textile before tossing it away. It was part of the nature anyway and would soon molder away.

With the sun in his back he continued down the narrow track, jumped over a broke with a waterfall and then he found another path which was meandering down the steep hillside. At one moment he spotted a large snake basking in the sun on a stone, and he regarded it for a while. Snakes could be used to spy with as well, even if the Eagle was outstanding the way it could fly long and far. He decided to remember that snake nevertheless; it might come in handy one dag.

Soon he was down on the green meadow which was sloping gently down towards the sea. The field was covered in an abundance of small white and yellow flowers. His custodian Amalthea had told their names once, but he had forgotten it immediately. After all he saw no point in naming flowers. Especially those you never used for anything. They were just there, white and yellow splotches signaling the turn of the season.

"Hello!" the voice cut through his thoughts and he turned around. First he didn't see a thing and he shrugged his shoulders and prepared to move on when the voice called out again.
"Anyone there?" He called back, scanning the high grass. And correct, there was something moving over to his left, perhaps 12 feet away. Something – or someone. "Show yourself!" he went on and was met with a titter. "Suit yourself, bye then!" he huffed and made a move to leave once again.

"No wait!" As he turned around this time, he saw her. A nymph, peaking up through the grass, with a wreath of the same yellow and white flowers as around covering her light brown, curly hair. Her glittering emerald eyes were curiously regarding him.
"Hi there," he tentatively said as he scrutinized her.
"Hi yourself," the nymph said. "You're cute!"
"Um," the youth replied as he felt a strange burning sensation upon his ears.
"Even cuter when you blush!" her laughter rung out like one of those brooks he had passed earlier. "And does this cute boy have a name."
"I'm called Zeus," he replied, feeling almost as if his ears were about to burst in flames.
"I'm Nenioni!" the nymph replied. "I'm one of the nymphs of this field."

"I'm," he hesitated. "Well, I live a bit away from here. In one of the caves by the steep shore side." For emphasis he pointed with his thumb in said direction.
"Alone?" Nenioni asked.
"No, I'm living with my custodian. Amalthea, the goat keeper."
"I've heard of her. Never met her though."
"Okay... so you haven't..." he staggered, suddenly lost for words.

Suddenly Nenioni laughed and jumped right up in the air, somersaulted and landed right in front of Zeus, just a few inch from him in fact, and without thinking he jerked back, and he found himself looking down in a pretty smiling face with round cheeks and button nose, the smell of grass and jasmine invading his nostrils.
"Oh, but he is cute! And look, he's even got freckles!" raising her right hand she poked him on his nose. "C'mon Zeus, don't be shy. I don't bite. Unless you want me to of course."

"Why should I... want that?"
"Some boys do!"
"Oh, well – not me." He couldn't for his life imagine this girl biting him.
"Do you like swimming!" she suddenly asked.
"Who doesn't," now he couldn't help smiling, it was almost as if Nenioni had read his mind. He had been on the way to the beach after all.
"Al right," she grinned. "Last one in the water is a Titan!" Then she dashed off. But Zeus was not late to follow – and to take over her and while running he discarded his tunic and hoses, glad that he hadn't bother with sandals today. He crossed the sandy beach with three long steps, flew out over the water and dived upon his head right down beneath the green-blue, foaming waves.

He dived almost to the bottom of the sea before he turned around and swam up again. Gazing in towards the shore he spotted Nenioni sitting in the sand, tying off her sandals.
"Hello Miss Titan!" he called out to her with a laugh.
"That's cheating!" she called back.
"Is not!"
"Is!"
"Is not!"
"Is!"
"You made up the rules, dear nymph!"
"Well, I didn't know you were barefoot," she mocked pouting.
"Should find out such things before making up rules!" Zeus laughed back at her. "Come on, it's wonderful!"

Just a few heartbeats later, Nenioni had delivered herself of the sandals and jumped into the sea as well, and then she and Zeus played around for quite a while. When tiring of that, they walked back to the shore, dressed and then sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree.
"You hungry?" Zeus asked.
"A bit," Nenioni said. "But it's not like we have anything to eat here."
"No prob," Zeus said and then he focused, closed his eyes. Nenioni looked at him in consternation and then even more surprised when bread, cheese, dried figs and raisins and finally a jug with lemonade appeared. All plopping down on a gray woolen blanket which hadn't been there seconds ago.

"How did you do that?" Nenioni's eyes were round and large as apple slices as she regarded him.
"Oh, I just fetched them from the cave. Amalthea doesn't mind. Now, enjoy!" he invited her, using the same voice as with the Eagle earlier. And Nenioni hesitated but a second before she tore off a large chunk of bread and cheese and begun eating. Zeus did the same, and they had soon finished Zeus' little treat. Full and content they laid back on the blanket and looked up in the sky, where fluffy little clouds were now heading towards the northwest, the rainclouds from the night now completely vanished.

Zeus found himself thinking of the war again. What the Eagle had shown him. How could the Titans be so cruel? So insensitive and heartless? They had destroyed so many things all over the world, taken so many lives. He hated the very thoughts of the Titans. Then he found himself thinking of his mother, she had left him with Amalthea when he was just a babe and he didn't even remember her. He had only seen her through the Eagle, his familiar had located Rhea six years ago, when he was in his eight summer, and since then he had asked the Eagle to keep an eye on her. He was worried about her, he'd hate the thought of anything happening to her.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Nenioni suddenly asked, tugging him out of his contemplations. He turned to look at her, she had moved closer to him, regarding him with inscrutable eyes.
"Um, no," he said.
"Why not?"
"I uh..." he blinked. "I don't know how to do it," he settled for after a short hesitation.
"It's not hard. You can kiss me."
"I'm..."
"Come on, Freckles! Don't be shy!" The next moment she leaned towards him and placed a peck on his lips.  

"That was it?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes – for starters."

Then she leaned in again and brushed her lips against his for a few heartbeats longer. It felt oddly nice, and as she repeated the movement, he felt his ears catching fire again.
"Oh, you know, you're so absolutely impossibly cute when you blush! Now, how old are you?"
"Fourteen summers."
"Then you're but a babe," she giggled. "I've been around for twenty-one."
"Oh..." He had no idea if that should be too old for him or not, but he didn't get the time to think things over before she had laid her hand around his neck and was tasting his lips once more, this time she flickered out her tongue, and somehow got it slightly between his lips.

Now it wasn't just the ears that were on fire, he was feeling strange between his legs too. Like it could in the mornings upon waking up sometimes. That was a new experience. New and not entirely uncomfortable.

Without knowing it, he opened up his mouth and found Nenioni doing the same. Then they were tasting each other's tongues and he found himself oddly delighting in her strange antics. Somehow Zeus felt that it was a bit too close to another being, too intimate. And he wasn't sure what Amalthea would make of it. At the same time he couldn't care less. This was strange and exciting, it felt a tad inappropriate. In a way it reminded him of when he and his best friend Helios had sneaked into the orange farm and stolen fruit last summer. The same sensation of trampling taboos, the same tickling fright of being discovered. As a matter of fact, Nenioni did even taste a bit like oranges.

They disconnected and connected again. Then Nenioni disconnected a third time and backed off. She put a hand to his cheek.
"You are cute, Freckles," she said. Then she stood and was gone.
"Hey, wait!"

****

The next morning Zeus couldn't wait 'till he got down to the meadow again. Amalthea berated him for wolfing his breakfast, but he wasn't listening, and just in the last moment, did he remember the treat for his Eagle. And when he met his familiar again, he was hardly bothering with what the bird had to tell him. He took out the meat soon and while the Eagle was glad to get it so quickly, it was obviously a bit surprised.

Then he sprinted off to the meadow again, didn't even stop to check if the snake was still around. It probably wasn't anyway, snakes never stayed long in the same places.

He had been a little anxious, but he didn't have to worry. Nenioni was waiting for him today again, and just like the day before did they swim (but without the race to see who was first in), eat and then they were kissing. And just as yesterday did Nenioni run away again. Annoying!

The third day Zeus was ready though and he grabbed her by the hand when she was about to leave and pulled her back. With strong hands he grasped her around the waist while he explored her even more thorough. After that he kissed her nose and chin and ears. He wanted to feel more of that peachy soft skin of hers, he wanted to discover her all inside out.
"Hey, Freckles," she began when he tried to lose the ribbons that held her tunic tied across her shoulder.
"My name is Zeus, not Freckles," he protested.
"All right, Zeus. Are you sure you are ready for this?"
"Are you?" he exhaled.

"I'm always ready," her green eyes had clouded up, almost as if there were mists drifting across a meadow on a rainy day and her voice turned oddly deeper. Now what? Suddenly Zeus felt a slight hesitation, then he forced it away. There were things he wanted to find out. For instance why he had dreamt about Nenioni tonight and woken up harder than ever down there.

Letting go of her, he tore off his tunic, hearing it crack a bit in the neck, but he could not be bothered with that now. Then he put his arms around Nenioni again and continued tying up her tunic.
"Are you sure?" she tried again.
"Didn't I just say I was?"
"But you're only fourteen, maybe..."
"Nenioni, I just..." his voice caught in his throat when he saw her naked this time. This was not like when they were swimming together. There was something else, something with the way she shone, with the way her nipples had perked and with the way her pupils were dilating, her breath deepening. "Fourteen is quite fine," he said and then he couldn't help himself kissing those breasts, taste those hard little raisins that were her nipples.

Nenioni understood now that Zeus meant business, and she helped him along, helped him get over his awkwardness and explore her the way she loved to be explored. It filled him with all kinds of strange emotions, and when she touched his hard and bustling erection, helped him along, he forgot to not blush. Then he forgot everything else. Everything but Nenioni's warm and wet cave. It felt to him like eating heated fruit, swimming, riding the tree swing and warming himself by the fire at the same time. And yet not. It felt like nothing else rubbing himself against the nymph like this. And then it felt wonderful. Just wonderful.

Almost swooning with delight Zeus knew he had discovered something amazing today.