Epilogue

“These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite.
Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so.
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.”

Friar Lawrence
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
Act 2, Scene 6

Eiszeitliches Wildgehege Neandertal
Hochdahl, Germany
Present day

Katrina Möllenberg is a renowned curator and archaeologist of the prehistoric era, specializing in early modern human settlements and territories. Today’s call directed her here, because the local museum has found a new site, where the fossilized mud floor has conserved the skeleton of a woman along with her clothing and jewelery items, minus of course the natural degradation and animal predation. Preliminary examinations have determined that the woman was strangled based on the fracture to the hyoid bone, that wasn’t caused naturally. For the scientific value, the team and their police liaison will try to reconstruct her in order to determine, how she was murdered, as they did in Ötzi’s case. The victim’s main piece of decoration is a tooth chain, with a gemstone in the middle. Due to natural damage, it was sent to a gemstone expert to classify whether it’s Aquamarine or Turquoise, the latter of which can turn green from blue, or it’s possibly an emerald, which would indicate early trade.

By our current standards of time measurement, Noyneh has just passed the age of 18. She holds a high position in her tribe, not simply because she’s the leader’s daughter, but also due to her being the first the members of the cave have seen with green eyes, in addition to her fiery red hair. Due to her status, she is also largely exempted from doing pre-agricultural work, like the other women, regarding the heavy lifting part, that made her upper limbs as strong as today’s elite rowers, but she’s involved with horticulture and detoxification, two major female inventions of this era, before it was retconned out of existence.

She’s lightly foraging outside in the thick forest, when in starts to rain heavily. She could handle that, but very instantly a barrage of movement disturb the bushes… a pack of wolves. Left without options, Noyneh is forced to climb up the nearest tree.

It is there, that she sees the wolves chasing a young woman she’s never seen before. While she might have fallen somewhere before, her light honey blonde hair still comes through the greenish mud sprayed on her head, partially covering her face too. Very abruptly, she’s climbing the very same tree Noyneh is on, so the young woman has to help her company in misery. Little does she know, as swift the danger passes, she’ll be a misery of a company instead. For now, Noyneh extends her right hand to the climbing woman and holds onto the tree with her left. The moment the blonde takes her hand, and she pulls her up as the wolves bark underneath, Noyneh recognizes that the mystery woman has eyes so blue she has only seen on clearest skies. Though she can’t explain it, her feeling toward the mystery nymph is very mixed. For one, she’s never seen her, so she must be of a different tribe, but otherwise she’s as athletic as she is, so her social status must be very similar to that of Noyneh. The blonde manages to find a spot on the other side of the treetop, and both start to break off branches in an attempt to throw at the wild pack below them. In the beginning that only enrages them, but as the rain passes, the wolves eventually give up. They let the Sun pass lower on the horizon to make sure they’re not harassed anymore, and climb down.

This was pretty dangerous. Why did those wolves chase you?
They’ve taken a chicken from me, and I don’t allow myself to be robbed.
It sounds so crazy, my father wouldn’t believe it.
Can’t a girl have a secret of her own?
Sure… are you familiar in the area?
Not very much… I took care of myself near a clearing when those wilds took my dinner.
I’ll escort you to a nearby lake where you can wash up. I’m Noyneh, by the way.
I’m Zisoe. Daughter of Talric.
I’m the daughter of Nakzuak.

Upon reaching the lake, the women decide to disrobe and enter the water and start to wash themselves. They enjoy the dusk setting in from one point of the horizon as the Sun sets on the other. As the weather turns slightly cooler they retread to the shore and after putting their bearskins again, Zisoe starts precipitously to crush some pistils of wild chamomile flowers to gain some yellow powder as face paint, signifying her tribal connection. A grave miscalculation on her part since Noyneh instantly recalls it seeing it on warriors from a hostile tribe.

Without asking for an explanation or possessing great skills of combat, Noyneh decided the best course of action is throwing a punch, but the blonde was not having it. While equally inexperienced, she did not let her rival know it. Both weigh around 135 lbs, stand 5’7”-5’8” in their early twenties. Zisoe halted Noyneh’s move with her palm and grabbed the fist to pull her adversary closer. Opting out of a quick brawl, she wanted to savor the passion and aggressiveness of the moment. She envelops her free arm around the redhead’s waist and tackles her to the ground. The other is temporarily stunned by the chain of events and can’t even react when the blonde presses her fist down to the ground, practically pinning her there.

What seems like an eternity, but is only two minutes in reality, Noyneh feels the weight of her life breathing down on her neck in Zisoe’s form. Everything seemed to good to be true from the beginning of her childhood. Her being born with fiery red hair was seen as a blight, so the other girls avoided her, and the men only groomed her to carry favor with the leader and to become leaders themselves. Getting annoyed at being bested so easily and quickly, the redhead musters her strength and starts to press the blonde off of herself and to the side. Residing in that position for fleeting seconds, Noyneh manages to turn the tables and pin Zisoe. During this sweaty action they never break eye contact, and both can realize attraction and hatred in those pupils. Their legs become intertwined together as they roll around in the grass. The motion continues until they hit a tree, and need to separate.

Noyneh takes a few paces toward a safe distance and puts her arms high as Zisoe collects herself from the ground. As she sees the invitation to a test of strength, she wastes no time accepting it, and with their fingers interlinking, a short burst of primal grunts leave their throats. Their legs come dangerously close to the other, with Zisoe forcing Noyneh’s arms to the sides and leaning in, resulting in them falling over, the blonde landing on top of her again. Sweat glistening their bodies as darkness sets in, the secondary buildup of contention has reached its boiling point in the young women, and Zisoe abruptly locks lips with her rival.

What initiated as a surprise attack turned into something so much more. Outside their fathers and mothers, this strange and hostile girl is the only one they can relate to on an equal footing. As a virgin, neither was aware how to approach novelty without coming off as desperate, naive or foolish. They lack the experience of making love to a different body other than what lust dictates. Befittingly, they instantly tried a torrent of kisses as if they wished to swallow the other whole. It was only in the very backs of their minds, that come complete nightfall, their respective tribes will come for them, and their torches will flood the forest in light, up until they come upon each other, and war breaks out. What matters them is exploring what this new feeling can offer to them. Noyneh, without breaking lip contact, runs her fingers through Zisoe’s hair, then uses her pinky to follow the path of the carotid artery, eliciting a moan from her newfound lover, breaking the kiss. To avoid embarrassment or questions they don’t know the answers to either, there’s a nod in silent agreement that they shouldn’t talk. They rise to knee level, kissing and disrobing each other, until they both can stand again naked. With their eyes accustomed to darkness, they can finally and literally see each other in a different light under the Moon. Their pale white skin with the glistening sweat almost glows, making it easy for each other to find what they think could stimulate the other. Stepping closer, they start to kiss spots on the other they have attacked before. Both girls giggle, when they can get a moan from the other, and this lasts until their exploration turn toward the more intimate. Lying down on the floor, Noyneh’s head rests at Zisoe’s legs and vice versa, as they start to kiss and lick the other’s belly and inner thighs, buttocks, breasts, moving around constantly, when their attention turn to the primary sex organs. On a very instinctive level, they start to insert fingers into the other’s lovebox, one after another until it reaches a level of discomfort. There’s no hint of wanting to dominate the other, just simple relegation to the pleasure brought on by the rival. Their truce turned into an alliance as waves of orgasm wash over them, so strongly in fact, that both girls have exchanged necklaces, rewarding their lover for their prowess.

Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf
Forensische Anthropologie
Düsseldorf, Germany
3 weeks after the finding

Dr. med. Elke Schweitzer just closed the door behind Katrina Möllenberg and detective Peter Stahl to debrief them on the medical examination she has performed on the skeleton. In addition to signs of strangulation left on the hyoid bone, the victim suffered a probably very violent attempt at popping her eye out as evidenced by residual bleeding left in the cavity. There were also teethmarks on her distal and intermediate phalanges where the ends of her fingers are positioned. The assessment is that she did not die by accident.

While resting on the meadow, the young women, almost half asleep suddenly recognize familiar voices to them from either tribes, and with neither wanting to be found naked an exposed, they grab their suits and run away further into the forest, parallel to the lake.. Once they confirm the voices grow further apart, they put on their suits and begin in a direction of a seasonally inhabited cave. They gather firewood and start a bonfire, just deep enough into the cave so that it can’t be seen from the outside. Zisoe catches a forest dwelling rabbit, and after breaking its neck, she uses a stone spearhead to skin the animal, and so they can roast it above the open flames. With the dinner finished, the young women decide to warm each other by way of a tight embrace, and slowly fall asleep.

Ending One

Noyneh wakes up a few hours later, and as the cobwebs leave her sleepy eyes, she realizes Zisoe isn’t beside her. Venturing to the entrance of the cave, she sees the blonde not far away, looking at the Moon. She tries to place her right hand on the other’s shoulder, but Zisoe shrugs it away. The blonde tells her, that come the morning, she would just go home and they never see each other again, something her heart can’t tolerate. Noyneh tries to console her, that their relationship can tolerate a secret, and meet in such a fashion, but Zisoe reacts aggressively. She tells the redhead, that as she grew fond of her, the only option is for her to leave the tribe and become her lover/servant. It is now, that it dawns on Noyneh: Zisoe’s possessive side has returned and there’s little room for negotiation. Since she has no desire to become subservient or to abandon her family, with her pride on the line, the fiery redhead grabs the blonde arm and hurls her forward. During their sleep, rain has poured down, so the terrain loosened up and became very muddy. Unsurprisingly as they had further ventured in, standing became more difficult. Accordingly, both lowered to all fours and tried to pin the other in the thick, grassy mud. For Zisoe, she ends the day as she had begin it, covered in greenish muck. To Noyneh, she hasn’t been covered this much by it since she was a child.

Both women grabbed onto hair to retain firm control as much that’s possible. After occasionally getting pushed into it or just falling into it, their hair sticks to their skulls, so in order of changing tactics, Noyneh tries to secure her legs under her own with her arms enveloping her midsection. To avoid such predicament, Zisoe forces her to roll around, a nigh perpetual motion which lasts until they hit a rock. The blonde is successful in breaking part off the rock with her spearhead, so she can aim the redhead’s temple. Becoming drowsy, Noyneh can put up a reduced resistance to the blonde’s fingers encroaching her throat. Instinctively, she reciprocates and places all her strength into suffocating the blonde on top of her, and for a few fleeting seconds it seems as if they mutually strangle each other, but instead Zisoe frees her right arm trying to pop out the redhead’s eye. Noyneh screams, and letting go of her adversary’s throat, she tries to pry the attacking hand away. It’s too late for Noyneh to realize that it’s an elaborate ruse, so that the blonde can lean in on her with all her might and enhance the strangulation. The drowsiness give way to flickers of light running across her vision one last time before she takes her last breath.

Ending Two

Zisoe wakes up a few hours later, only to unsuccessfully reach beside her, looking for Noyneh. As she gets to the entrance of the cave, she sees the redhead standing a bit farther in. Since it has rained while they were sleeping, the ground has loosened as has become very muddy. The blonde asks her to return to her side, but Noyneh declines, reasoning that the second the pink cloud was lifted from here eyes, she came to conclusion, their affair can only work out, if the blonde denounces her family and becomes her pet. Enraged at the proposal, Zisoe grabs Noyneh’s arm and kicks her feet out of under her. The blonde lies beside her to hold her firm grip on the other’s arm with the intent of twisting it, but it proved to be a short lived victory, as the fire demon uses her free arm to punch Zisoe’s calves. Screaming in pain, the blonde rolls away, while Noyneh can compose herself, given the circumstances. The redhead needs to lower herself on all fours to avoid getting tackled again. When they meet again, they grab hair to use it for control and they start to roll again. Their movement continues until they reach a big rock, and the blonde wishes to use her spearhead to force Noyneh to give up, but the redhead succeeds in prying it from her hand, and with one elbow pushing down on the blonde’s neck, she uses her free hand to carve a piece out of the rock. The next moment, the blonde only feels dizziness and seeping blood from her forehead, somewhat blurring her vision, in addition to the nighttime conditions. Suddenly she feels Noyneh’s fingers strangling her, forcing her lungs feeling as if they’re on fire. Desperately, she tries to pry the fingers away at first, but as that fails, she instead tries to implement her own suffocating movement. On the verge of passing out, she can hear, that the redhead loses air rapidly on the account that Zisoe even in this state is stronger. Confident in her abilities, she loosens her grip on the other’s throat, which proves to be a pernicious mistake. Feeling in the saddle again, Noyneh leans in on Zisoe and applies greater force. The blonde’s fingernails cut deep into her wrists and lower arms, but the pain is worth it. Zisoe sees some dark greenish brownish rings before her eyes at the instant when she takes her last breath.

The End

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