Editing Machina Dei/Writefaggotry (section)

=Modun (Part 2)=
As expected, Modun had become a proud warrior. He had fought many times against both the Chinese and the Romans, and they had been forced to reconcile with his formidable strength. In addition to being a skilled warrior, he was gifted with the truesight of a shaman - he could see beyond the flesh, into the souls of their spirit-kin.

Of course, not everyone could appreciate his mysticism or his strength. Especially his third wife, Xiuxiu. She had been given to him as a gift from a nearby province that had recently sworn fealty to the Huns, and neither Modun nor Xiuxiu had been particularly happy with the arrangement. Modun because he had wanted to go to battle against them, and Xiuxiu because she found her new husband to be disgusting. Though, perhaps more accurately, she found his spirit-kin disgusting. The way the mass of flesh moved around his body and writhed just beneath his skin was something that deeply disturbed her.

But, it was her duty. Not that she had the luxury of objecting anyway. At her young age, all Xiuxiu could do was to took comfort that her womb bought the lives of her people. So, there she lay, naked on the bed of a tribal warrior, waiting for him to consummate the contract between their peoples. Her mind wandered to the two wives that came before her; she had yet to meet either of them, and the girl idly wondered if they would get along.

The door opened and she saw her new husband. Just as before, during the negotiations that sold her away, she could see that thing moving underneath the skin of his arms and neck. An unsettling bulge lay under his leather chestpiece, and she shuddered inwardly at how it would feel against her own body. She sat up, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them uneasily. Now that he was here, she felt much more anxious.

He didn't look at her though. From what she could tell, he didn't even notice her existence, and, worst of all, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She could see him muttering something under his breath - was he displeased by her appearance? Or maybe he was just unused to politics and courtly behavior; she had thought his home was remarkably simple for a man so high up in the world.

Suddenly he burst out laughing, while he started to strip his clothing away. It was as though someone told a joke only he could hear. Then she saw it. For the first time, she was able to see clearly that thing attached to his body.

Circling around his chest and back, as well as running up into his arms and legs was a moving mass of flesh. The skin over it was stretched taut, and she could see how Modun's skin hung slightly loose where the bulge wasn't present. She clenched her eyes shut and buried her face in her knees. "I don't want to be here," she said quietly to herself.

She felt the bed shift. "Me neither."

She looked up to see Modun sitting next to her.

"I'd rather be atop my horse, bow in hand, leading an attack on some city or fort." He looked up and down her body. "You don't have lotus feet."

"The practice only recently started in my province... do you disapprove?"

Modun shrugged. "I don't particularly care. It's just that the other Chinese wife has them."

"Oh... how is she?"

He shrugged again. "I don't talk with her. She belongs to Yuoh more so than to me, anyway." Modun saw the confusion written across Xiuxiu's face and sighed. "Yuoh is my companion, a spirit-kin."

"I... I belong to you, right?" Xiuxiu asked, hoping she wouldn't have to bring pleasure to the growth that writhed under Modun's skin.

"Yes. I'd have let Yuoh have you, but she said your breasts are too small and your body is too frail. She said she'd break you if without trying. I wouldn't care, but Yuoh said it might lead to an unnecessary confrontation."

Xiuxiu blanched at the thought.

"Anyway, goodnight. I'm going to sleep." With that Modun lay down and turned away from her.

"Err... it's our marriage night. Aren't you going to ... erm..."

"I'll do it tomorrow. Now be quiet."

Suddenly Xiuxiu heard another voice, or, at least, she thought it was a voice. The sound was harsh and made her cringe while covering her ears. She saw an eye open in Modun's back, its cyclopean gaze fixed on her pained expression.

Sleep did not come easy for Xiuxiu that night.