[Aster]
Three weeks flew by much like snowflakes in a blizzard, each day busier than the last. They spent them fishing and smoking whatever they managed to catch, until they had enough dried fish to last them through for at least a month. It was only after that that they finally made, and then packed their sled and left their small home by the lake. Four days ago.
They had been walking eastward ever since, just a small family of three with a heavy sled behind them, struggling through the snow that more often than not reached to their hips. It was as boring as it was exhausting, their new routine. Not long ago, back in the caves, they could hardly imagine such a thing; now, they found themselves with the luxury to grumble about it. Sometimes life was funny like that.
Looking behind him at that marvel of engineering, Aster couldn't help but grimace a little, his face all flushed from exertion. The sled, a clumsy thing made of a tangle of branches and held together primarily by hopes and prayers, creaked and groaned under the weight of their smoked fish. There was no single straight line in it, twigs poking out everywhere, wobbling dangerously with every little bump it hit. Even the rope he was holding wasn't actually a rope, just a bunch of thinner branches braided together. Still, somehow, it held. Most of the time.
The sun was already dipping behind the horizon, painting the snow-covered world around them in shades of orange and purple. Just when Aster was about to pull the sled over yet another pile of snow, Nivalis finally called for a halt with a breathless, "Okay... this is far enough for today."
Aster and Silvia both let out grateful sighs in unison; even the fog that escaped their lips curled in the same way. Pointing her spear at a small space between three old pines, perfect for yet another hut, Nivalis then added, "Let's get started." Tired sighs followed from the kids, also in unison.
With the bit of energy they had left, they got right to work. Nivalis took her knife and went to chop the low-hanging branches, the most labor-intensive task. Aster busied himself making the fire and dragging the branches his mother had cut through the deep snow to their chosen spot. Meanwhile, Silvia was literally growing the icy dome they would be sleeping under.
No one said a word through it all. Like a well-oiled machine, they moved in perfect harmony, each one knowing exactly what to do, where to be, and what was needed next. In just half an hour, they had a cozy little shelter to protect them from the cold night that was slowly falling over the forest.
It wasn't pretty either; there was no need for that, as once everything was done, they had spent another ten minutes masking their creation with layer upon layer of snow until it was almost indistinguishable from a small snowdrift. Just one side had a small, narrow opening, which they quickly covered with a few branches to block out the light. Their sled was just nearby, buried in the snow with only the braided rope poking out. It would wait there for the morning to come.
Just when the last rays of sunlight disappeared, the three of them crawled inside one by one, a small fire already crackling in the middle. From wall to wall, a soft cushion made of pine needles had been laid down, the only luxury they had to their names, the smell of it filling the entire space. Above, at the ceiling, a narrow hole had been left for the smoke to escape, loosely covered with branches to block the light but not the fumes.
"Did you get it?" Nivalis asked as she crawled towards the fire, without looking back at the boy. She looked as tired as they all were, her silver hair clinging to her sweaty forehead despite trembling from the cold as well. Her big breasts heaved with every labored breath she took, straining the tattered tunic she wore.
Holding the fish with his mouth, Aster nodded, then mumbled something that was supposed to be a "Yes." When he closed the entrance behind him, he shuffled towards the fire and sat next to his mother and sister. "Here you go," Aster then said after taking the fish from his mouth, handing the ugly, now a bit wet thing into her waiting hand.
Nivalis thanked him with a soft kiss on his just as sweaty forehead before skewering the fish on a stick and holding it over the flames. There was no real need to roast it as it was smoked through and through, but they still preferred it warm whenever they could; it was much softer and more enjoyable to eat that way. Soon enough, the sound of it sizzling filled their small home, along with the smell that made everyone's mouths water.
While the fish did that, Aster shifted closer to his sister on the bed of pine needles, the warmth of the fire kissing his side. He didn't say a word when his scarred hand disappeared under the hem of her old cloak, his ugly fingers brushing against the delicate, trembling skin of her ankles. Slowly, carefully so, his fingers began their journey upward, dragging the fabric with them, exposing more of her pale, goosebump-dotted legs to the flickering firelight.
Silvia didn't stop him, her golden eyes half-lidded on him as she lifted her hands above her head, making it even easier for him to undress her. Soon enough, her cloak lay discarded beside her, leaving the young girl only in her old boots that barely held together.
Aster smiled at her when she shyly lifted one into the air for him to unlace and take off, then the other. Her pink slit peeked at him from between her skinny thighs as she did that, matching perfectly in color with those nipples perched atop her flat chest, partially hidden by her silver hair that cascaded all over her. "Thanks," came a shy whisper from her once her boots came off and her feet landed softly on the pine needles.
Aster nodded in response and let his gaze wander over her petite, naked form for a heartbeat longer. He then turned his attention to his mother, who was rotating the fish above the fire, and did the same to her. Nivalis flinched slightly at his sudden touch but soon relaxed, allowing her son to peel off her old clothes until she was just as naked as her daughter.
It was pretty tricky to do as she didn't let go of the stick even for a moment, but they managed without dropping their dinner. Her beautiful breasts, heavy yet firm, swayed with her movements as she got herself comfortable, their pink tips catching the dancing light of the fire before her.
Finally, with the women undressed, Aster's hands went to his own hips, fumbling with the knot of the half-cloak he wore there. A moment later, it joined the heap of clothes, leaving him just as naked as they were, his small boyhood already hard, pointing straight at his mother like a compass needle to the north. They both gave him that knowing look of theirs, followed by almost identical little eyerolls before turning their attention back to the fish. "Here we go," he mumbled with a sigh, getting comfortable between them.
Noticing that they kept shivering quite a lot, Aster's hand went into the air, mana igniting in his chest at the same time. A moment later, a pale-golden mist began to seep out of his hand, snaking its way through the air until it was everywhere, warming their home even more than the fire alone could. Both girls let out appreciative hums at that, shifting a little closer to him until their naked sides were pressed against his, bony to his left, soft ones to his right.
"Alright, let's get this into our tummies," Nivalis soon said, taking the fish from the fire, and with a lot of blowing and hissing, tore it into three roughly even shares. After handing the bark plates to the children, she took hers for herself and began eating in a not very princess-like way—with her fingers.
Almost as one, Aster and Silvia reached out and pushed a sizable portion of their meals back onto their mother's plate, much to her dismay. "Stop that. I've told you time and again, I'm not that hungry..." Nivalis tried to protest as usual, to give the food back, but was shushed and glared at until she stopped. Evenly didn't mean 'fair'; she was bigger, therefore needed more food. Eventually, she had no choice but to give in. Picking up the warm fish, she took a bite, but did so with a cute little pout on her lips.
The sounds of soft chewing and contented hums filled their small home as they devoured their dinner, the same smoky kind they'd eaten for weeks, but it still tasted just as good and was more than welcome in their bellies. But any of that didn't reach the outside world, that was now utterly dark and quiet; only the occasional whoosh of wind could be heard as it passed by their hiding place.
...
Their bed of pine needles rustled and crunched as Aster and Silvia wrestled atop it, for no reason at all, giggling and squeaking like the kids they were. Their silver locks, wet and curly after a quick snow bath, clung to their delicate shoulders and heaving chests as they moved, with little grace but lots of enthusiasm. Each shallow gasp and every soft puff of breath was almost drowned out by the crackle of the fire and the distant sighs of wind outside their shelter. "Just surrender already," Aster wheezed out between giggles as he managed to pin his squirming sister beneath him, in the most undignified manner.
Her legs ended up above her head with her cute butt facing up straight at his silly-looking face, wiggling this way and that with each attempt to break free. But that did little to help as his scarred hands had a firm hold on her ankles, pressing them deeply into the pine needles next to her ears. "Nevaaah!" she squeaked out before twisting her body in a way no one but a young, flexible girl like herself could, resulting in her pale butcheeks sliding all over his surprised face before she slipped out of his grasp.
The next thing Aster knew was that he was lying on his back with his sister perched on his chest, her pale thighs framing his baffled face as she looked down at him with that smug look of hers. "JuSt sUrReNdEr AlReAdYyy," she mimicked him in an overly high-pitched voice before sticking her tongue out for good measure.
With every wiggle of her hips, her hairless pussy, all pink and puffy, kept peeking at him from between her legs, but he barely paid it any mind. The same way she'd often ignore his hard little thing whenever it poked her when they wrestled like that. It was a game, just them being a couple of idiots, nothing more.
For a moment, Aster didn't move and just blinked slowly at his sister, her soft thighs pressing against his cheeks with each of her triumphant wiggles. Having that smooth, little butt slide across his face? There was no recovering from that. But the thought of letting her have an easy win... oh, everything brotherly in him screamed against that.
Calling to the power of tickles, the forbidden technique #72, his fingers immediately moved to her armpits. The effect was instantaneous. Her hands shot up to her mouth to muffle her adorable shrieks of laughter and panic, her body squirming uncontrollably above him as she tried to escape his merciless digits. "Can't... do it! You... lost...!" she tried to say between her cute giggles, struggling to breathe.
Not long after, she slumped forward with a final, squeaky gasp, falling face-first right into the messy nest of his curls, all limp and breathless. "You... owe me now... a massage," she weakly mumbled once she'd caught her breath, right into his pointy ear.
Aster muttered back a quiet, "Yeah, yeah..." as he rolled her off him and to his side, making her land with a soft rustle onto the pine needles. He then sat up and glanced down at her victorious yet exhausted face, then even lower to his own thighs, from where his hard little thing peeked out, throbbing in time with his heartbeat. The dim firelight made it look longer, casting a faint shadow on the pale skin. "I'll... go check on Mom," he then added, receiving a lazy hum from Silvia.
With a final tickle to her ribs, causing her to squeak again, he got on his hands and knees and moved away from her. "Oh, you'll regret this later..." he heard her mumble from behind, followed by a few pine needles hitting his back. His lips curled into a smirk at that.
There, right near the entrance, their mother sat with her back to them, completely still and silent. Her naked figure, partially hidden in the shadows, leaned slightly forward as she listened intently to the world outside, her little evening ritual that eased her mind before going to sleep, just to make sure they were truly safe here. The way her breasts hung, heavy and soft, with their pink tips pointing at the green carpet below, made Aster's member give a happy little throb at the sight.
As quietly as he could, Aster crawled toward her, the needles barely crunching beneath his knees, his pale butt wiggling with each step like a cat ready to pounce. He wanted to sneak up on her and get that adorable squeak out of her before wrapping his arms around her waist. But just before he was halfway there, a hushed, "Hey, sweetie," came from her.
A disappointed sigh escaped his lips at that. 'Right, her... she sees everything,' he thought as he crawled the rest of the way with no effort to be sneaky anymore. The closer he got to the entrance, the more muffled the sounds of the fire became, gradually replaced by the sounds of the night outside. A bit of chill as well, but just a hint, not nearly enough to ruin the warmth that his magic provided.
His response came without words, for he knew that she couldn't truly hear anything he had to say while she was focusing on her Blessing. Every rustle and crackle of the fire, every breath he took, all gave her a picture of everything around her. But words, even spoken right next to her ear, came out as a distorted, muffled noise.
The very moment his knees pressed against the softness of her bottom, his scarred hands slid around her waist, his fingers intertwining just below her navel, one naughty finger slipping into it as if by accident. Aster then leaned forward until his flat chest pressed against the beautiful curve of her back. A heartbeat later came that little poke, only slightly above her butt.
He felt her flinch and tense, just for a moment, before a quiet, "Asty..." escaped her lips in a soft, breathy whisper. He responded with a low hum, his small hands moving upward from her belly until they cupped the heavy weight of her breasts, giving them a firm squeeze that only a young, horny boy could give, until his fingers completely disappeared in their softness. His chin came to rest on her delicate shoulder, his gaze drifting up to her face, to her blue eyes hidden behind closed eyelids and long lashes.
There was no hint of guilt on her soft features, none of that inner turmoil he'd grown used to seeing when they did things mother and son weren't supposed to. None of it showed when his small hardness pressed against her lower back, once, then twice... even when he rested it there and just kept it warm and throbbing against her skin, she didn't show it, only turned her head slightly, enough for their cheeks to press together. "Just... give me a few more minutes, okay?" she whispered, to which the boy simply nodded and kept kneading her big, soft breasts in silence, holding them for her as a loving son should for his mother.
Ever since Aster sang that song near the lake, that consuming guilt of hers had been entirely replaced by worry about him having such strong feelings for her, feelings no boy should have for his own mother. Almost every day for two weeks straight, she tried to convince him how wrong that was, how much better off he would be loving someone his own age, a pretty young girl, one who he could actually build a life with, to marry and have kids with. All the things she was not and couldn't give him, she tried to explain.
And all those perfectly reasonable words were crushed against his shy, "But it's just how I feel," which always made her so incredibly frustrated, much to his quiet amusement. Eventually, she had no other choice but to convince herself that 'it was just a phase' and 'he'll grow out of it,' since her words and arguments did nothing to change his mind.
Things returned to how they were before, now that she was more than sure that he wouldn't ever grow to hate her for all the naughty things she did for his sake. And all of that from a single, a bit cringy song near the lake. 'Worth it,' Aster thought with a silly smile, giving her heavy breasts another loving squeeze from beneath, making them wobble beautifully.
Just when he was about to bury his face in her silver hair and start kissing the delicate curve of her neck, she flinched. Not in the cute way she usually did when he startled or tickled her, but in the tense, terrified way one does when they hear a twig snap in the dead of night.
Her heartbeat quickened under his palms so suddenly that it echoed through his forearms, startling him. "I-I... see someone. Four men... armed," she whispered in a shaky, choked voice, almost inaudible over his breathing. "Take the fire out. Now. And be quiet," she added, her voice even lower than before, urgent and tight, her hand picking up a knife from the ground.
His blood ran cold at her words, the playfulness evaporating instantly as if it never existed. He immediately let go of her breasts and scrambled backward, almost falling over in his haste. In the next instant, he was beside their fire, shaking his sister awake. "Someone's coming. Probably humans. Fire out. Now," Aster whispered, not bothering to be gentle, urgency taking over. Her mouth opened to say something, but the boy pressed his scarred palm against it to hush her. "Be quiet," Then, he pointed at the fire.
With wide, confused eyes staring at him, Silvia nodded quickly. She pushed herself up and, once he removed his hand, shuffled closer to the fire. Aster was right behind her, his heart hammering a wild, panicked rhythm against his ribs that almost made him gasp for air.
He watched her flick her wrist the same way he often did. Unlike his roaring flame, however, mist seeped from her fingers, cold as death itself, snuffing out the fire in a single, silent, and terrifying puff. Everything went dark, the kind of deep, absolute dark that made blinking pointless.
Finding his sister's cold hand by memory alone, Aster squeezed it tightly before pulling her with him toward the entrance, their knees crunching the pine needles beneath them. Once there, he slipped under their mother's waiting arm, bringing Silvia with him. With gentle hands, Aster guided the girl onto his lap, her trembling-from-fear butt against his skinny hips, right atop his forgotten erection.
To calm her, the boy wrapped his arms around her flat chest and pressed her tightly against himself until all the trembling ceased. "Everything will be fine," he whispered right into her pointy ear, his voice much shakier than he had intended. "Let's ignite some mana, just in case." A faint nod against his cheek was all he got in return.
Aster then took a deep, shaky breath and did just that, igniting more and more mana inside his chest until it started to hurt, then some more. The young girl in his arms did the same, judging by how much colder her hands and feet got with every passing moment. Their mother remained still, silent, only her nervous breathing and hand around his shoulders giving away her presence, the knife in her hand rattling ever so slightly as she listened for their doom.
...