Gio pretended to sleep, as he did every night. As he lay in bed, listening to the sounds of his family settling to be around him, he thought of the thunder gods, as he did every night. But this night, he wasn’t dreaming of the impossible anymore. This night, he was planning his future.
As a child he’d loved to watch the thunder gods race across the clear blue sky, awe-struck by their grace and agility. Every time one passed, he had stopped his work and stared. And his family hadn’t minded his lapses in productivity. Not until he’d opened his mouth and said the stupidest thing he’d ever said.
“I will be a thunder rider one day!” He’d shouted after a group of the thunder gods had passed.
His sister had hit him on the back of the head and scolded him, “you know very well that you’ll never be a thunder rider, Gio. It’s disgusting to even think it!”
Of course, she’d told their parents.
And that had been the end of his freedom to watch the skies.
He knew, of course, that the thunder riders were women, that they had to be women. But he couldn’t keep the dream out of his heart. It had been stupid to say it out loud. And that stupidity had lost him the only thing he truly enjoyed in life, watching the skies.
Since then, whenever he looked up at the sound of beating wings and thunderous cries, someone hit him. He’d endured it, quietly, as a child.
But now, he was a grown man. He’d turned 18 several months ago, and he was tired of acting like a child. He’d stopped averting his gaze from the skies, stopped caring if his family disapproved, stopped worrying if it was wrong to dream.
It had culminated three days ago, when he’d opened his mouth and said the stupidest thing ever, as an adult, that is.
He was chopping wood when he heard the unmistakable sounds of a thunder god’s growl. Gio didn’t bother hiding his fascination as he looked and stared at the giant beast flying over their home. He imagined being up there, and his chest grew tight with desire.
“Stop daydreaming about impossible things.” His mother scolded, disgust in her voice. “A man cannot mate with a thunder god and become a thunder rider. Men do not have the life pocket. It is simple, focus on your work.”
Gio had turned back to cutting logs for the fire, but muttered under his breath, belligerently, “the Teganese found a way.”
Again, he had said the stupidest thing, and again it was nothing but trouble.
His mother had gone rigid, her face purple with rage, “how dare you?! How dare you mention that filth, that vile filth to me!”
Gio tried to look apologetic, but he’d never been good at hiding his feelings. “Sorry,” he said.
He knew the apology was pointless. Once his mother was angered, nothing satisfied her except doling out a punishment.
“When you finish the chopping, you can sleep outside tonight. I’ll not have you sleeping in my house if you don’t know your place.”
Gio nodded, absentmindedly. He’d spent a lot of time sleeping outside due to his mother’s insane rules. He had everything he needed tucked away. At least this time, she hadn’t beat him first. She’d stopped doing that when he got bigger and stronger than her.
His mother narrowed her eyes, unsatisfied with Gio’s easy acceptance of the punishment. “And don’t bother looking for dinner or breakfast tomorrow either. I don’t cook for perverts.”
Gio’s stomach grumbled at just that moment, protesting this new addition.
His mother smiled, satisfied that the deprivation of food would offer sufficient penance for Gio’s latest offence.
As Gio continued chopping, he couldn’t stop thinking about the thunder riders. They were totally free. No one could tell them what to do. They served, yes, but because they chose to. They chose to deliver messages, to hunt for the tribe, to protect them from predators. But no one would dare refuse a thunder rider a meal, or beat them, or force them to sleep outside in the winter.
Not for the first time, Gio wondered why he accepted his mother’s treatment. Why should he stay with her, take care of her, when she was so vile a human being?
What if he didn’t? What if he just left? But there was only one thing that Gio would leave for, and if everyone was right, it would kill him to do it. It was death to put anything in one’s death hole, and that was the only way a man could mate a thunder god. That was why the Teganese had all died, they said.
Gio chopped the log again, and again, breaking it down into smaller and smaller pieces to be used for kindling. A wild, dangerous, thought occurred to him. What if he put a piece of kindling in his death hole, would it kill him? And, if it didn’t, then…
Gio picked up a small shaft of wood and examined it. It was rough, with sharp corners and splintered edges. Thoughtfully, Gio started cutting off the corners with his knife. When the piece was nearly round, he found a rough rock and rubbed it into the wood, working to smooth the surface, or at least get rid of the splinters.
Gio examined the rod he’d made critically. He’d done his best to round out the end of it, the end he was going to stick up his butt. Gio grinned at the thought. For the first time, he was taking his future into his own hands.
After setting up his outside bed in the barn and getting comfortable in the blankets he kept outside, Gio placed the tip of the rod against his ass. He pressed. It hurt quite a bit more than he had been expecting. And, from what he understood, his little rod was quite a bit smaller than a thunder god cock would be.
Despair welled in him, but Gio gritted his teeth. He knew that the women who trained to be thunder riders stretched themselves out with devices just like this, and it took time. He knew there had been male thunder riders, centuries ago. Therefore, he would be able to make his ass accept this small piece of wood.
Grunting with determination, Gio shoved the rod into his butt, hard and fast. Pain exploded through him and his death hole spasmed around the intrusion. Gio gasped, trying to be quiet. The last thing he needed was his mom stomping out here to yell at him for waking her up. If she’d been update about him talking about the Teganese earlier, she’d be livid to see what he was doing now.
Gio held the rod inside himself, and the pain gradually subsided to a dull ache. He moved the rod a bit, testing the fit, and gasped. There was something in there that felt good!
He pressed the area again and shivered in pleasure. What was that? The feeling was good enough that the pain seemed to fade away as he probed at this hidden pleasure node.
Gio felt his penis harden and he started stroking it with his free hand while probing his ass with the rod held in his other hand. Ohhh… He’d never felt anything like this before.
Maybe, maybe it wouldn’t be so scary to stretch his ass to fit a thunder god? Maybe it would kind of fun.
Gio imagined that it was the life rod of a thunder god in his butt, instead of his small stick. He imagined flying through the air, a giant cock lodge up his ass, probing this pleasure point he’d just discovered. He imagined being truly free.
His cock was as hard as the rod in his death hole now. Gio bit his lip to keep from moaning out loud as he fucked himself with his homemade butt plug and rubbed his cock. His penis throbbed and jerked, and cum spurted onto his stomach.
Gio lay back, still and shocked at how his experiment with the rod had turned out. After a few minutes, he gingerly removed the rod from his ass. He felt empty without it.
Carefully, slowly, Gio got up and went out to the stream. He had to clean off his cum in a way that his mother wouldn’t ever see it. He sat in the cool water and rubbed his stomach and ass until they felt clean.
He examined his rod in the light of the full moon. It was hard to be sure, but he thought it looked bloody. Gio cleaned it too. He hoped he wasn’t going to die. Because if he didn’t, he was going to do this again.
It had been three days since then and Gio hadn’t died. He was planning now. Gio would make his own set of butt plugs, just as those women who wanted to be thunder riders used dildos. He would stretch his ass out just as he knew that the thunder riders stretched their life holes. He would prepare himself to mate a thunder god.
Then, one day, when he was ready, he would go to the mating dance and seek his thunder god. This time, though, he would keep his mouth shut. Talking never caused him anything but trouble. Gio was done with that. He would be mute, but he would not give up his dream.
—
Three years later.
Gio watched the thunder gods as they glided towards the mountain top. He had a long climb ahead of him and he had to be fast if he wanted to get there before the dance ended.
His back ached from the whipping he’d taken last night. He’d been caught by some locals heading towards the mating platform, and when they’d found his butt plugs, they’d decided to make an example of him.
It hadn’t taken long for a mob to form. They’d tied him to a stake in the middle of town. The townsfolk had taken turns whipping him. They’d chanted, “pervert” and the children had thrown rocks. It had been a bad beating, but his mother had done almost as bad by herself. So, he endured.
After they got tired of it, he’d been left there, tied to the post. He’d rested for a while, waiting for the village to go to sleep. Then, with the moon high in the sky, he’d begun to try to free himself. It had taken hours of rubbing the rope against the rough corner of the post before it had frayed and become weak enough that he could break it.
He’d started walking then. He would be late, and he would look terrible, but he would not miss the mating dance. Gio knew that if no thunder god took him, there would be no mercy. There would be no mere whipping this time. It would be death for him.
Freedom or death, Gio thought. It would have to be one or the other now. It was almost a relief to being so near the end. He was ready for whatever would come.
—
Zavisthron was an outcast among outcasts. He watched the other Vishanee circle the mating platform with disdain. He’d known, when he’d refused the mating of his queen that he would be outcast. He’d known that no other queen would have him. None of the females of his kind would mate with an insubordinate male.
Now, his place was with these weak males who were considered too pitiful to mate with a queen. They had no choice but to mate with a human, or suffer alone. None of the Vishanee thrived alone. The males needed to mate, needed it deeply. And so, they lowered themselves to mate with humans.
And now here he was too. He was ashamed.
He watched as his fellows flew down, one by one, and prostrated themselves before the humans who had come to offer themselves as mates. Each human wore the traditional markings that showed they wished to mate with one of the Vishanee, bright red swirls painted over their bodies. Like always, there were more of the humans than of the lone male Vishanee.
The last of the others flew down and chose a mate, and then it was only him flying in circles. Disgusted with the choice he had to make, Zavisthron flew low across the mountain peak, studying the humans there. None looked worthy, not even close.
As Zavisthron pulled up to make another pass, movement caught his eye. At the edge of the peak there was another human climbing on to the plateau. This one was also painted in the mating patterns, but it looked different from the others, like no human mate he’d ever seen.
As he studied the human, working out what was different, two other humans ran at it began trying to pull it off the peak.
Zavisthron bristled. How dare they interfere. These humans could not decide who was worthy of him, that was his choice. He flew low and landed next to the struggling trio of humans.
The one that was painted was shaped differently, and suddenly Zavisthron realize that this was a male human. The humans had stopped sending males to the mating peak centuries ago, but none of the Vishanee knew why.
Zavisthron growled at the humans and the interfering females sprang away, cowering with fear at his appearance. The male human did not cower, though. Zavisthron approved. He stalked around the male, examining the human closely.
The human appeared to have many injuries, both new and old. They were ugly, but so where his own scars. He approved of scars, it meant that the human could handle pain. He approved of the human’s apparent desire to shirk tradition, to refuse the place that the other humans would put him in, just as Zavisthron had refused his place. This human might be worthy.
Zavisthron sneered as he considered the human. He would not prostrate himself. A test then. He stared into the human’s eyes, then slowly and deliberately turned his back on the human. If the human was worthy, he would mount. A human could easily climb onto his back if they had the courage. If this human had courage, then he could be his mate.
—
Gio stared at the thunder beast as it slowly turned its back on him. Hope bloomed in his chest as he waited for the thunder god to flatten his body, the way that all the thunder gods were said to do when they had chosen a mate.
The god did not, however. It just stood and waited, neither lowering itself nor walking away.
Well, maybe he was wrong about the lowering thing, Gio thought. He hadn’t made it up here in time to watch any other matings, maybe the lowering was no longer done?
Before he lost his nerve, Gio shot forward and climbed up the back leg of the god and onto it’s back. It was a tall creature, as tall as he was when it stood on its four legs. It was covered in soft gray fur that was marred by a lot of scars. In the middle of its back, between its massive furry wings, was the god’s life rod. It thrust forth from the furred back, but it was larger than the butt plug that he’d stretched himself to fit. And that plug had been larger than the largest size dildo that the women trained with.
Gio suppressed his fear. He positioned himself carefully over the protuberance and eased his butt down over it. He wanted to go slowly, but also didn’t want to take too long and lose his chance. He settled for starting slow, then ramming himself downward. He felt the pressure of the god’s life rod glide past that spot of pleasure inside and keep going. It was so, so big. Maybe this would kill him?
No, there he was, he felt his butt cheeks settle onto the furry back and the connection was complete. He carefully leaned forward to lay his chest flat against the god’s back, grabbing onto its skin and fur. Then, Gio felt the jump.
The god’s life rod could not possibly thrust deeper, but the forward momentum of the leap certainly made it feel like it did. Gio tightened his grip and moaned. He was reminded of that first time, the intense painful intrusion of his mother’s beating stick and how the pleasure and pain mixed together. It was like that now.
But this time, Gio had chosen it. There was no shame in this, no need to hide how his penis hardened.
Gio gasped as he saw the land fall away below, the air whipping by with nothing between him and death except the thunder god that he rode. His butt clenched in fear around the life rod, milking it, and he felt the rod respond. It heated and throbbed in his butt as they flew through the air.
Gio gripped the god’s mane tightly as the god dipped and whirled and danced in the sky, it was the mating dance. Gio thrilled, he was flying, he was mating a god!
His loins tingled with pleasure as the god’s flight caused his hot throbbing rod to rub his pleasure spot. His hard penis rubbed between his stomach and the furry back of the thunder god. It felt amazing.
Gio loosed his three years of silence with a loud and joyous cry, and his god echoed the cry as they flew.
—
Zavisthron ached with pleasure as he felt the compression around his queen’s seat. No, not a queen’s seat he thought with glee, it was a king’s seat now. Gone were the feelings of disgust he’d had when he had come to the mating dance. Now, he was filled with joy.
When the Vishanee mated, it was for life. He was mated to this human now and would never be apart from him. He would protect the human, fight with the human, hunt with the human, and sleep with him. The human was his king, and in his heart, he knew he had been right to deny his queen. She’d been a vain, vicious creature. This man was a warrior, like him, an outcast like him. They were meant for each other.
He flew and flew, joy singing in his veins.
As he flew, the bond between him and his rider grew, as his pleasure grew. The waves of pleasure mounted as his penis throbbed faster. He was so close to release, and he sensed his rider was too.
Zavisthron grinned as he rolled in the air. The maneuver crushed his penis into the human, whose hole clenched tightly in automatic reaction to the danger of falling. He was strong and was holding tightly, though. Zavisthron knew he would not fall.
The thrill jostled the release they both needed. Zavisthron felt his life rod erupt into the human male even as he felt the eruption of the human penis on his back. Zavisthron reveled in the knowledge that his human enjoyed their mating as much as he did.
And, as he’d known it would, their connection bloomed into life. Both their lives played in fast speed in both their minds, and they knew each other fully.
“What shall we do, human mate?” Zavisthron said, knowing that now his mate would understand his growls.
“Fly!” his mate, Gio, responded.
Now, Zavisthron knew that was what Gio had always wanted. And he was the one who could give that service to him. He had seen how Gio had suffered, how he’d held to his dreams even when others had sought to beat them out of him. He loved his human, now. He loved that he could give flight to his human.
They flew, free.