Pilgrimage of the Sacred Flame

The Stadium of the Sacred Flame was not far from Citlali’s isolated slope.

By early afternoon the pride marched into a village transformed. Every street and open space around the great arena had been swallowed by festival preparation. Bright banners and heavy woven covers draped the stone. Scaffolding rose against the outer walls. Workers hauled crates of food, flowers, and ceremonial cloth in constant streams. The air already smelled of roasting meat, sweet smoke, and the low mineral heat that always clung to the stadium grounds. It was grand in the particular Natlan way — loud, physical, and unapologetically alive.

Mavuika waited for them at the edge of the arena itself.

The Pyro Archon stood with her usual imposing presence, one hand on her hip, the other lifted in open greeting. A hearty laugh rolled out of her the moment she spotted the group. The black biker onesie she favored was already unzipped to her navel; both full breasts hung deliberately free, skin faintly sheened with the day’s heat and honest sweat. The paper-thin material framed everything without attempting to hide it.

(https://im.ge/i/QMfaLYF)
(artist: miyu)

She strode forward and embraced the arriving women one after another with genuine, bone-deep warmth — hard claps on the back, brief tight hugs, open delight at every reawakened Flame she could sense. When she reached Aether the greeting changed. Mavuika pulled him straight into her chest, pressing his face between her bare, warm, slightly sweaty breasts without the slightest hesitation. One hand cradled the back of his head; the other stayed low on his back. She held him there long enough for the scent of her skin and the soft give of her tits to register fully, then leaned down so her sly smile brushed his ear.

“Evening,” she murmured, voice rich with promise.
“Get ready. All Name Bearers assemble inside the stadium for the main rite. The Flame is going to move tonight.”

still smiling she swept a look across the rest of the pride.

“The others wait outside. The surge can be hard on a heart that doesn’t already carry a Flame. I won’t risk it.”

Rosaria’s jaw tightened, but she gave a short nod. The non-Name Bearers — Rosaria, Lisa, Yelan, Ganyu, Shenhe, Cloud Retainer and Dehya would remain in the outer festival grounds. Varesa, Mualani and Chasca were already somewhere in the crowd, waiting. Xilonen, Citlali, and the newly marked Passion Claimer would go in with the Archon.