32: The Mummy Returns... Again =[The Pharaoh's Army]= Night Of Celebration

Femi released a flattered little twitter as the women around her picked at her hair and tried to pin in a golden headband that dangled across her forehead, with small beads of different earth tones. She now wore a long, black robe-like-dress with sandals, and a veil across her face still. The sun had completely set not just an hour ago, and Femi could hear the strong, excited voices of the villagers from inside the hut that she had been preparing in. She wasn't quite sure what to expect from tonight, or what it would contain, but already she could feel a warm excitement swelling within her.
"And... finish." One of the women announced.
The four of them stepped back to give Femi some air. She arose from her stool and looked down upon herself. The sleeves of her dress revealed the corner of her shoulders, and contained a slit by her wrists, just before the rim of the material curled around her middle fingers to hold them in place. It was soft, but flowing, giving Femi lot of freedom.
"Thank you. It's lovely." Femi chuckled happily.
She wasn't quite sure why she had to change from the outfit she had been wearing all day, but obviously it was necessary, according to the village women. But hey, Femi wasn't complaining - would you be?
"Come, come!" The women all giggled and whispered fervently.
They took Femi's hands, which were now decorated with elegant patterns that the women had painted upon the back of them, and led her over to the exit doorway. As soon as Femi stepped outside, people cheered, and laughed, and clapped... it was just one, big celebration. A reason for merriment and freedom. Femi was led through the pathways in the village by the women and received plenty of waves and foreign greetings, which she was quick to return, of course. It soon became clear where Femi was going; she could see the light of flickering flames dancing up the stairway towards her. She was being taken to the bonfire area.
Femi felt her stomach intensify with excitement. This was all so different from what she was used to back in London. Well, actually, Femi never really got out much, but when she did, it was always to attend gatherings in marble lobbies with champagne in crystal glasses. You can just imagine the rest. But now, gathering around a grand fire beneath the starlit sky was in great contrast to Femi's mundane experiences...
A small number of the village men were happily playing upon their instruments; drums, ouds, tambourines and lyres. The melody was exotic and low-pitched, and yet it beckoned a strong sense of liveliness from the people who were already gathered around the fire. Bowls and plates were set out upon the ground containing many kinds of foods, from fruits, to meat, to cheese, to odd insects that made Jonathan and Carter turn green just at sighting them.
As they sat themselves down upon a coloured mat with Alex, they resorted straight to the fresh meats to recover. Alex, however, simply sat there comfortably with a handful of grapes. He tore his entertained eyes away from the thick fire and the musicians, and just as he was about to pop his last grape into his mouth, he subconsciously paused. Right then and there. He wasn't sure why, exactly, but the cause of it was definitely the beautiful girl that stood at the top of the stone steps.
Femi.
She looked like some kind of princess, particularly with all those women fussing around her. But Femi wasn't encouraging them. Alex, keeping his eyes on her the entire time that it took her to walk down the steps, saw her smile graciously at the women as to request for them to simply relax. Femi's eyes were drawn to the ravenous bonfire in the center of the court and, for some strange, unwelcome reason, Alex found himself waiting for Femi to look his way. What the hell? Alex cleared his throat and looked away to pop that last grape into his mouth nonchalantly. But he was far from it.
Femi had finally finished appreciating the intimate fire and the beautiful people all around it, either eating, serving, chatting or playing instruments, she sighed dreamily and relaxed. Her eyes coincidentally fell upon the handsome man who had secretly been admiring her not a few seconds ago. Femi smiled lightly upon spotting Alex sitting there, looking as charming as ever, and the fire's light flickering over his tanned face. Wait, what was Femi doing?? She blinked rapidly and quickly changed the perspective by reminding herself of the many times that he was so rude and childish towards her. Yes. That was better. But, even then, Femi couldn't deny how gorgeous he was.
Femi was guided towards Alex by the women surrounding her, and as she approached, Jonathan was the next person to sight her. His jaw hung, and a bit of meat tumbled out onto the floor. He nudged Carter and signalled to Femi with a nod of his head. Carter immediately frowned.
"I give up... my baby sister..." He sighed.
"Personally, I think it's better this way, old chap." Jonathan chanted, mystified.
Carter shot Jonathan a wary narrow of his eyes, and Jonathan quickly returned to eating and watching the fire. Although, Jonathan wasn't the only man around the fire who was watching Femi secretly. Femi had just arrived in the presence of her 3 companions when Luhkman stepped out of the shadows. Alex's eyes travelled up Femi's legs, landing upon her hips for just a moment, and then continued on upwards to her *ahem* face, through the mysterious veil that she wore. Femi blushed. But the greeting that she received was nowhere near as charming as she had hoped.
"What took you so long?" Alex snickered rudely, "I had no idea it took you women so long to groom yourselves."
Jonathan and Carter rolled their eyes at each other. When was Alex ever going to get it right? Every time Fem and Alex were put together, the risk of an argument hung in the air. And nearly 90% of each one actually turned into a dispute. It was tiresome. Femi parted her defensive lips to bark back at Alex when, to Femi's surprise, Lhukman arrived beside her and stole away her attention.
Their eyes met. Femi froze. Alex sneered and looked away. And all the time, the music played, the fire burnt, and Lhukman held a half-smile filled with exotic charm. Jonathan and Carter snickered to each other.
"Naf'rah, Femi." Lhukman greeted her, and nodded.
Femi smiled, "Naf'rah."
"'De women of our village looked after you, I can see." Lhukman commented.
Everyone knew exactly what he meant by this. Alex accidentally squished a peach under his hand at spotting Lhukman's eyes roam over Femi's body. Why was he so affected by it? Probably because he didn't trust Lhukman. Yeah, that was it. Lhukman oozed with secrecy, and Alex hated things being kept from him. Femi, on the other hand, took his implied compliment with a flattered smile and by batting her eyelashes and stroking the robe that she wore.
"Yes, they were very kind to me." She agreed.
Alex looked away at the fire. So, Femi was playing innocent now, was she? Pretending that she couldn't recognise a compliment when she heard one? Typical. But really, from Carter and Jonathan's point of view, Alex's anger had formed not from disfavour of their behaviour, but because he so strongly wished that Femi would "play innocent" with him, and not Lhukman. But never, even in his dreams, would Alex believe or accept such a theory.
"Drink?" Lhukman asked her, whilst holding his hand out to gesture to where he had once been sitting.
Femi parted her lips to reply. Her eyes shot down towards Alex before she made her decision. Alex merely snickered to himself, for the umpteenth time. Well, fine - Femi knew if she wasn't wanted. Femi wasn't about to let Alex bring down her night. And so, smiling, Femi nodded to Lhukman and allowed him to take up her arm in his own.
"Thank you." She projected loudly, as to rub it in Alex's brooding face.
Alex sulked away to himself as he darkly watched Lhukman lead Femi to the other side of the fire where he had been sitting. That woman was going to have quite a shock when he turned out to be some kind of betrayer. Alex felt a little tactless for jumping to conclusions so quickly, but it was either that or, admit that he really was jealous. And that was totally out of the question. Alex, jealous? Of Femi? No way! Pah, this was the girl who only had 1 shoe on when they first met.
Jonathan chewed on a leg of chicken whilst craning his neck to spy on Femi and Lhukman, "Carter, I think muscle-man's got a thing for your baby sister."
As Carter reacted with a number of disapproving curses and threats, Alex found himself just gazing at the floor in thought. He didn't like this feeling. He had never really felt it before.
Awww.
Femi sat down upon the log and took up the clay cup from Lhukman that he had filled with water for her. Femi sipped it and then after smiled sweetly at Lhukman over the rim of it. By now, more and more people were arriving around the bonfire, and even little children were starting to run around and dance to the beat of the drums.
"Do you like our village?" Lhukman asked.
Femi nodded vigorously, "Oh, yes, very much so. It's just beautiful. It must be wonderful living here with such peace..."
"It is not always as peaceful as you may 'dink..." Lhukman muttered and cast a seemingly guilty look at the fire.
Femi hadn't noticed this, however, and instead tilted her head to the side curiously. She examined Lhukman in the light of the large fire if not for just a second. Why had his mood changed so suddenly? But without warning, the moment was interrupted, as a small group of children suddenly leapt onto Lhukman from behind and tackled him to the ground. Femi couldn't deny that she had, in fact, actually jumped in fright at first. The children all screamed with laughter as they rumbled about with Lhukman, and Lhukman seemed to be enjoying every moment of it as well. Femi giggled at the touching sight.
"She seems to be enjoying herself, though." Jonathan reported thoughtfully, back on the other side of the fire.
"Will you cut it out, unc?!" Alex barked impatiently, "It's not like we're interested in what she's doing every five minutes, god dammit!"
Alex's sudden outburst came as quite a surprise to his uncle, and Carter. Carter was fuming over Lhukman's obvious interest in his sister, but even he wasn't switching on his fellow companions so easily. There was evidently more to the matter than met the eye.
"... Are you sure about that?" Carter asked in a serious tone.
Alex looked to Carter. His expression was, strangely, just as serious as his voice had sounded. What was this? Did Carter actually think that Alex was interested?? The answer hung in the air. But why wasn't Alex answering? He knew the answer: yes, he was of course sure. So... why couldn't he say it, then?
The three men slowly noticed that the music and chattering around them was decreasing in volume. But Cater and Alex held each other's gaze. It was like a challenge. Who would look away first?
"Oi, look." Jonathan whispered.
Alex and Carter hesitated for a moment, but both ended up breaking the competition at the same time. They peered over Jonathan's dark silhouette and saw the Chief standing in the doorway of his tent, with two guards holding the curtains back for him. He wore a furred hat upon his head which trailed down his spine, and upon his body, he wore fur around his waist and feet, and leather pads on his bare arms and shoulders for protection. His muscles shimmered in the glowing fire; he appeared to be a completely different man, now. Like some sort of new Hercules. Lhukman politely returned to his seat and hushed the children; they sat beside him and Femi and watched quietly. Everyone was still. Femi glanced around unsurely and waited for the next move. What was going on?
The Chief's eyes were locked ambitiously upon the marvellous fire that danced up to the sky. He strode towards it very slowly and graciously. Alex narrowed his eyes with interest. The atmosphere was thick and pressing down upon everyone's shoulders. The Chief stopped before the fire and held his hands up to it with his fingers closing any gaps between them. His eyes closed, and he inhaled a long, sensuous breath through his nostrils.
"Aya'kha nefri soa eyeh'que." He called out.
His voice danced around the campfire in an echo. Femi watched him intensely. He was speaking in the native tongue of his tribe again; one that Femi, nor Alex or the other 2 could understand. Up until now, they had kindly been speaking in the original Egyptian language. But that was what allured Femi all the more. She was dying to know what the Chief was saying.
An old man who had been standing nearby to the Chief's tent hobbled over to his side, using his crooked walking stick for support. The old man reached into the chest area of his fur jacket and began mumbling inconclusive words to himself. The Chief held his position with his eyes closed, waiting, as the old man brought out pinches of a certain dust or herb and sprinkled it into the fire. Each time that he did so, the flames would cough and. Femi sat upright, as did Alex. The fire... it was turning blue.
"Nannateh suah'ah augh kenn," The Chief shouted, and suddenly snapped his impassioned eyes open, "Leglenah!"
The entire fire exploded into a creation twice its size that even made some of the other villagers sitting nearby yelp out in alarm. Cleary they should have been used to the process by now? Jonathan and Carter had both fallen backwards in their state of jolting shock, whilst Alex merely narrowed his eyes to protect them from the blinding blue light. Femi gaped at the sight. Now she understood what the Chief had meant earlier when talking about "the blue fire". Duh.
"Tell us whad' 'de fire says, Seer." The Chief addressed the old man in English to aid Femi and her friends in understanding.
The old man began to wander around the fire whilst squinting his left eye at the flames. When he moved out of Femi's range of sight, she accidentally looked onwards and found Alex. Their eyes engaged in a tense stare for a moment, until Femi shifted stubbornly, and looked away dominantly. Alex rolled his eyes.
"'De red snow," The old man chanted mysteriously, "When 'de red snow falls, 'dere will be a new awakenings..."
Carter and Jonathan, now sitting themselves up again, rubbed the backs of their head and glanced cluelessly at each other. This old prune was making no sense whatsoever.
"'De fire speaks of many elements... warmd'," At this very word, Alex and Femi coincidentally both glanced straight at each other; they stiffened, and acted as though it had never happened, "Darkness," Lhukman stirred silently in the hush of his guilt, "Danger... and pain."
"What a way to liven the party." Jonathan snickered under his breath.
"'De blue fire speaks of a hidden key... a"- The old man cut himself off with a shake of his head, "I cannot see... only 'dat, is revealed to me on 'dis night."
With that, the old man released an exhausted sigh and lowered his head. A number of men and women rushed to his side and supported him before he could fall down in his weakness. Femi watched them guide him to a seat in concern.
"Do not worry; he will recover soon." Lhukman reassured her.
Femi looked to Lhukman for more information, "Can he... really predict the future?"
"Wid' 'de help of 'de blue fire. Yes." Lhukman nodded.
Jonathan scoffed with Carter and shook his head, "Take this to the stage and they could make a fortune."
"I hear you, buddy." Carter chortled quietly.
Alex shook his head at their disrespectful behaviour. Fair enough if they didn't believe in seeing into the future, but these people clearly did. And Alex, daring to admit it, actually felt quite convinced. What the old man had said would linger in the back of his mind from now on.
"Bring me 'de liqueur!" The old man shouted out, and laughter erupted around the bonfire, which had now returned to its original colour.
"Lhukman, where are the Medjai?" Femi curiously asked, after having scanned the area.
"'Dey are scattered around the village, looking out for any... surprise arrivals." He replied.
Femi knew what he meant. He was talking about Meela. The Chief beamed proudly and stepped back to signal towards Femi (on his left), and Alex and the other 2 (on his right) with his hands. Just at this signal, a group of men and women arose from their seats with small bowls in their hands.
"May we welcome our new guests into 'de hearts of ourselves and our ancestors. Let 'dem be one wid' our spirits." The Chief announced brightly.
All of a sudden, cheers and applause filled the air from every villager. Even the children leapt into the air and howled excitedly. Femi noticed Lhukman smiling at her in a tender amusement whilst clapping his hands. Femi quirked an unsure eyebrow up. What was happening now?
Femi's question was answered when she was confronted by a group of giggling, grinning women and brought up onto her feet by her hands. Femi stuttered out random consonants in her attempt to pronounce a full question, but to her dismay, the women were pulling and pushing and picking at her as though she was their doll to play with. Lhukman laughed from his seat with the children.
On the other side of the bonfire, Jonathan and Carter were finding it difficult to approve of men doing the same thing. They were dipping their finger tips into maroon-coloured paint and trying to wipe it on their faces.
"I say, boys, what the bloody hell is going on?!" Jonathan scoffed nervously.
"Come," One of the men laughed, "We accept you!"
He held up his paint-covered finger tip and nodded convincingly. Jonathan and Carter shot each other unsure glances; should they allow it? And then, at that moment, they realised that Alex wasn't struggling in the slightest. Instead, he was standing quite still, nearly smiling, and allowing the men to draw simple patterns upon his face, neck, hands and arms with the paint. Jonathan and Carter looked back to the men before them and twisted their lips to the side in thought.
"Ah, bugger it." Carter sighed in defeat.
Haha, go on Johnny!
The men cheered and started to draw upon their skin very artistically. Femi, on the other side of the fire, was now laughing and spinning with the guidance of the hands that were roaming over the bare parts of her body. She had swerving lines in black upon her cheekbones (which were drawn after she had pulled down the veil that hung before the lower half of her face) and tiny dots across her nose. Her neck possessed unusual curves and circles that joined unusually, and her stomach had strange figures drawn upon it.
"Let us dance to 'de stars where our brod'ers and sisters shine for us!" The Chief laughed and clapped his hands.
More cheers and howls of agreement pelted into the air. The drums slowly began to beat in a steady rhythm. Femi, now decorated very suitably, was led against her own will towards the large, cleared area behind the fire, despite her polite objections.
"Oh, no, really," She chuckled, "I'm not much of a dancer. Really, I should just sit and watch..."
Nonetheless, she was positioned behind another person with her hands upon their shoulders. Femi sighed, defeated, and allowed one of the women to stand behind her and, in the same manner, place their hands on her shoulders. The line continued ran all the way around the blazing fire until the leader's shoulders were attached to the person's hands at the very end. Everyone seemed to be ready.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Jonathan laughed with embarrassment as the wavering melody tuned in with the drums.
Alex sighed to himself and shook his head, amused. Boy, this was going to be interesting. The last time he had danced in the manners of a tribe was four years ago. And he didn't impress anyone, let's just say that. And then, the line started moving, and rotating around the fire. Femi followed along in a clueless, simple walk until the woman in front kindly instructed her to kick out her leg on each step. One of the musicians at the side started to sing out in their tribe's language; Femi nor Alex could understand, but it sounded lovely.
"Lye'o lye'ola." Everyone sang in unison after the man had sang his sentence.
The man sang again, and just like before, everyone replied with those two words. It didn't take very long for Femi to catch on and understand that she, too, was required to sing with them. Alex mumbled the words under his breath, and Carter and Jonathan just tried to concentrate on not falling over.
"Lye'o lye'ola!" Everyone sang.
Femi let out a sudden laugh. She was beginning to loosen up a little. The encouraging smiles from the women before and behind her helped a lot. Alex managed to catch a glimpse of Femi's figure through a thinner outer finger of the flames; she seemed to be enjoying herself a little more than last time he had seen her simply standing there and shaking her head. Alex smirked to himself.
"Iiti atta soe'ahra!" The man sang brightly.
"Lye'o lye'ola!" Femi laughed with everyone else.
The circle of people rotated around the fire at least four times more. Legs kicking out, laughter exploding, the Chief clapping along from his stool next to the foods, and the children running around them and poking them as they went.
"Oi!" Jonathan grumbled, "I'm dancing, here! Just g- Lye'o lye'ola!" He sang, nodding enthusiastically.
Suddenly, the drums changed beat, and now picked up some more speed. Everyone cheered and broke away from each other's shoulders to move to their next positions. Alex looked around, expressionless, and waited to see what they were doing before following.
"What's happening?" Femi gasped over the cheers.
"Come, come! Ikimaki!" A young woman giggled excitedly.
She took Femi by the hands and rushed over to join the large group of people. Femi was squeezed through their presences, tripping, laughing and blowing her hair out of her eyes, and was suddenly whirled around to a stop. This was her position? In front of him?? Alex flashed Femi a cocky smirk as he stood before her. Femi rolled her eyes. What a way to spoil the mood.
"Itimaki!" Someone yelled.
Femi and Alex observed their companions to perceive what they were supposed to be doing. Everyone was joining their hands to the person opposite them and beginning to bop them up and down, like waves. Alex and Femi looked back to each other hesitantly.
"Um..." Femi muttered.
The people either side of Femi and Alex were quick to help them and lock their hands together for them. But instead of following right away and bopping their hands in the air, Femi and Alex just stared at each other and their joined hands. Femi's were so warm. And Alex's were so strong. It caught them off guard.
Ecstatic cheers swept them back into the moment and they managed to look away from each other. Someone suddenly came running down the pathway beneath everyone's hands; the objective of this game was to avoid being hit on the back by any of them. When they reached the end of the tunnel, they joined onto the end to reproduce the line, and await their partner.
"Itimaki!" People shouted, laughing and skipping on the spot to the beat.
After so many couples had run through the tunnel, it was finally Femi and Alex's turn. They looked at each other, hesitant, and tried to decide on who would run first with the expressions in their eyes.
"You go!" Femi laughed, and releasing his hands, pushed him sideways to make him obey.
Alex did as she had said and ran along the tunnel with his back arched. Unfortunately, he received more than just a few pats on the back. Femi, for some reason, took in a big breath before entering, as though she was about to dive under water. She bent her back and took off through the tunnel with a grin upon her face. She could see the dark, shadowed faces dashing past her as silhouettes in the ravenous fire behind them all. Chanting, laughing, shouting and singing echoed all around her. She hadn't felt anything upon her back yet. She squinted her eyes nervously and pushed herself onwards, and before she knew it, Alex's hands stretched out and caught her shoulders to stop her from running away. He put her back into place and chuckled at her, shaking his head. Femi suddenly realised where she was and comfortably laughed with him. Woah. That was the first time that they had both laughed with each other.
"Ariya'que!" A random voice belted mightily.
Whoooooo! Cries, squawks, yells, tongue-yipps. The works. Everyone went bonkers at the mention of this next game. Femi couldn't hold in her laughter, and Alex, at seeing her so lively and cheerful, also couldn't hide a smile that was growing. Their hands broke apart as they were pulled and led away from each other; they both looked back over their shoulders, still smiling, but as if longing to remain together, just like they were. But the evening went on.
Femi joined hands with the man and woman either side of her. Everyone ran backwards, as far as they could, so that their arms were strained. All of a sudden, after a yell of approval, everyone ran inwards and charged to the very center, where everyone collided, careful not to harm each other. Femi was in an uncontrollable fit of laughter after witnessing Jonathan, squished in the exact middle.
The musicians carefully moved under the joined hands and made their way to the clear middle of the circle. The circle started gliding to the left, and Femi was taken with the man beside her as everyone started jumping, skipping, turning and swaying their heads to the music. Femi could feel the passion and freedom starting to pulse through her very veins.
"Sing to your guardians!" The Chief roared.
With that, everyone tilted their heads back and released long, random yells and shouts to the starlit sky. Femi wasn't about to miss out on such a task. She, too, threw her head backwards and let out all of her bottled-up emotions flutter up into the night sky. It was actually a good way of venting. After the first chance to cry had passed, the circle danced onwards. Femi was enjoying every moment of dancing along behind the guidance of the chuckling, bald man in front. Her eyes roamed over the musicians that were coolly bopping and swaying as they produced the attractive song. Femi was amazed at how fast the drummers were slapping their hands.
"Siiiiiing to your guardians!" The Chief yelled in an even higher pitch.
Femi and Alex coincidentally found each other's eyesight again and let out unstoppable, cheerful laughs. The mood was too brilliant to care about anything else. They both looked up at the smoky sky and cried out at the same time. Carter and Jonathan were too busy watching the gorgeous beauties beside them to have done the same.
And then, the beats of the drums quickened all the more, if that was even possible. The musicians started singing amazingly in their native tongue and skipping about in the dirt. The children ran under the arms of the adults and joined them in frolicking about like newborn fawns. Femi was in the middle of jumping daintily upon the spot when two of the little boys ran up to her and disconnected her hands from the people either side of her.
"Come! Come!" They giggled joyously.
"Oh, no, I can't!" Femi laughed, shaking her head, "Neey'et havass!"
The boys ignored her excuse of not being able to dance and dragged her into the middle of the circle nonetheless. Carter, Jonathan and Alex were also plucked from their positions and taken into the core of the dance where Femi was jumping around with the children with much embarrassment.
"Welcome them into our home!" The Chief cackled convivially.
At his command, the tribal men and women began to close in on the 4 of them. As the circle got smaller, Femi and the 3 boys were rounded nearer to each other. The beat of the drums pounded within Femi's head and heart. She looked around and saw that there wasn't 1 person who wasn't dancing. Everyone was letting loose, forgetting their cares and worries, and just moving to the orders of their soul. Femi felt a wave of freshness brush over her.
Tilting her head back, she stretched her hands up to the sky and started to sway hypnotically just like everyone else. Her head swerving to and fro, her feet pounding into the dirt, her hair swishing about her face, and her lips stretched into a prominent smile. Carter saw her and laughed for joy, although it sounded just like another one of his amusements. Femi was smiling. So brightly that it caught her brother off guard. She was free. He was free. Everyone was free.
The circle then became much smaller, and Femi was ushered inwards, where she accidentally came to face Alex's back. She blushed as her eyes automatically lowered to his behind, which was moving in turn with the pounding of his feet. Alex then whirled around in his phase of simply enjoying the moment, and his green eyes locked with Femi's, yet again. Femi's heart skipped a beat with the drums. It couldn't be avoided. Here they were, literally being pushed together in a sandwich of people...
*Blushes for Femi*
Oooh, it's getting so heated now! I bet you're all wishing I'd stop stalling, right? Well, ok, one more thing before you go to the results: I just want to apologise to all those who were reading my LOTR fanfic. A more detailed explanation is on my homepage, but to be short, I'll just say that I wasn't feeling very positive about it. Ok, now, onto the results! *Points*
Finally!

Get video codes at Bolt.

"Feel the life of the earth beneath your very feet!" The Chief bellowed wisely.

The ground was, literally, nearly trembling with the vibration of everyone's feet. The air was probably turning hot from the breath's. And the stars, their ancestors, their family, were sparkling beautifully in response to their celebrating. Femi danced before Alex, as he did in return, with her hands swaying in the air. She wasn't frowning, and neither was he. In fact, as they were pushed closer together, their smiles curved all the more, and far more flirtatiously. Femi couldn't believe she was following the force, but... why wouldn't she? What was so wrong about it?

Nothing.

Bang. Bang. Pound. Pound. The rhythm was intoxicating all of them like a sublime drug. Alex was beginning to sweat and couldn't look away from Femi. Her lips that hung agape as she panted in her fast, attractive moving. Her hair, swishing around her face, and her arms that snaked entrancingly into the air. This woman could have been mistaken for a goddess at that very moment. Fast and faster, the drums went. More breathing and panting, and now, the adults were dancing with each other, instead of just next to each other. Even Jonathan and Carter had luckily been swept up by the seductive arms of a beautiful women. They couldn't have been happier. And Femi didn't have a care in the world. For once, at that exact moment, the life of the tribe and their passions were the only things that she was thinking about.

That is, until, adding to the situation, an arm swung round and knocked straight into Alex's back and pushed him over to Femi, where they collided together. Suddenly, there was a lot more on her mind. Femi instantly reacted by catching him in her arms to prevent him from falling (even though he wasn't even heading in a downwards direction) and bent her knees to be beneath his face, and look up at him, checking his current expression. He was ok. Their faces were so close now that they could feel and smell each other's breaths. Femi smelt like strawberries...

Like a dark cloud bringing forth rain, Femi and Alex were sheltered by a hot tension that poured down confidence and lust upon them both. Femi's finger tips curled around the material of Alex's shirt. His hands found her waist. They started swaying again, with people brushing against them from all directions. The heat was overwhelming, but they continued. The beat was growing so heavy and passionate now that the end was surely drawing near. It was the finale.

Femi felt herself press against Alex's front. Her eyes went to his lips. Was this really happening? Unexpectedly, Alex suddenly snatched up Femi's hand and twirled her around; Femi screamed out in laughter, but followed, and spun beneath his arm. Alex laughed. She spun outwards and then back in so that his arm wrapped around her again. Their noses nearly touched together, and just as the music came to a complicated conclusion, the two of them froze. In time, so it seemed. It would have been possible for Alex and Femi could see into each other's souls, they were so close.

The music cut off abruptly and the air was filled with screams, laughs, howls and yells. Femi released a breathless sigh and her eyes flickered all over Alex's face. The sound of her panting made Alex's chest heat up lustfully. Femi soon felt a twinge of bashfulness tug at her stomach and was forced to turn her head away and blush, but she could still feel his seductive eyes upon her. Alex blinked calmly and smiled warmly to himself; Femi always looked so damn great when she did that. And what was even better was that he caused it to happen. The two of them stood as one whilst the applause went on around them.

"Thank you for the dance..." Femi uttered breathlessly, avoiding his eyes.

Alex lowered his head to try and get a better view up at her blushing face, "You're completely welcome..."

Femi finally found the courage to look at him again, and when she did, they both smiled. Not flirtatiously. Not cheekily. Not falsely. But... genuinely. A real smile of gratitude. Femi had never felt so carefree and on top of the world, and neither had Alex. They both deserved each other's appreciation.

Happy quizilling,

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