 | [Lycari – In the Common Room]
"By the Hunter's Bowstring, will you look at that!" he noted, fork
halfway to his mouth, "Who's she?"
[Astarte]
"Leave her well alone," said Astarte quickly. "There's a shadow man
just come to town, and an old one at that. She's the daughter of a
rancher and he's got her well and truly hooked." Astarte gave a
slight shiver and rubbed her arms.
"He's staying here too." She craned her neck and seemed to scan the
ceiling of the common room intently. "Though he's not here now. I
could feel that he was hungry when we were talking. He's got some
sort of...I don't know." She flapped a hand in frustration. "Charm
or something. I could almost feel it crawl over my skin." She
abruptly stopped talking and took a sip of her wine.
[Lycari/Carelya]
"Shadow man, huh?" the shifter stuffed the forkful of venison into his
mouth. He studied the girl as she selected her table. It wasn't far
from their own. "Guess I'll get a good look at her, she's sitting
just over there."
He took a drink of ale and stuck his fork into another piece of meat,
"Didn't have any darkwalkers up north. Too cold for them, I guess.
What does he look like?"
Carelya chose that moment to scan the rest of the room's occupants.
When her eyes met Lycari's she startled a bit and then smiled shyly.
"Cute little thing," Lycari smiled back and gave her a wave of his
fingers, "But not my type. Too dainty."
He gave Astarte a wink, "I like a more adventurous type of girl."
Fawn returned with Astarte's soup.
[Astarte]
Watching Lycari thoughtfully, Astarte slipped some coins onto Fawn's
tray.
"How adventurous?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Actually, before
you answer that one, how old are you, Lycari? If you don't mind me
asking."
[Lycari]
The shifter tore a hunk of bread from the large loaf that Fawn had
brought and started mopping up the juice from his meat. He seemed
very engrossed.
"I'm rather fond of outdoors activities; you know – hunting and
tracking," he quickly gave her a grin, "But don't get me wrong, I find
quite a few indoor things nice too." His silver brows furrowed, "Why
do you want to know my age? What difference does it make?"
He quietly added, "I'm twenty years old. There. Happy? This is my
first time out of the woods on my own." He looked a little
embarrassed.
[Robin]
"You're older than I am," said Robin. "And I've never been _in_ the
woods on my own. At least not willingly." He gestured towards the girl
with his cheese. "It's her father that's offered me the gig out of
town."
[Astarte]
Astarte smiled at them both, and patted Lycari on the hand.
"Shani tells me I should find guys my own age to fool around with,"
she explained. "I wanted to know if you were older than you look ---
I presumed you got the extended youth benefit."
She rolled her eyes. "I never did take too much notice of what Shani
tells me anyway. The girl has a very odd sense of fun. Usually
involves chasing some poor sod around a practice arena with an edged
weapon."
[Lycari]
Wiping his fingers on his napkin, Lycari gave the elf a measuring
look.
"I know a bit about elves," he commented, "Often you're one heck of a
lot older than you look. I'd guess that even with the racial
difference, which in my case doesn't matter, you're a rather young
elf."
He folded his napkin and put it back on the table, "Shifters live
longer than humans, but not quite as long as elves." A glint of fun
came into his eyes, "What do _you_ consider fun?"
[Ajali – at the Rathskeller]
Kumari led Ajali to her room. The door opened onto a rather lavish
bedroom, with a window set into the ceiling. The strangeness of a
window above almost drew his attention away from the décor, but not
quite. The bed was large and round with a tented canopy over half of
it. The main colors were shades of brown, yellow and green, almost
forest-like in tone. A closed cabinet filled up one whole wall. The
girl sauntered over to the cabinet and opened it. An array of whips
and knives predominated, but there were slim scalpels and gold siphon
tubes honed to a fine point.
"Some of my friends prefer to drink my blood," her voice was
pleasantly husky, "But I will drink from them if they ask. Others
wish the lash, or to be tied and taunted. I do it all."
She ran her fingers over her tools lovingly and her eyes lit with
eagerness as she surveyed Ajali, who stood in the middle of the room
and stared up at the window.
With a sway to her walk, Kumari circled him, one finger trailing along
him as she went. "You wonder how a window got up there when there is
a third floor?" Her laugh was as low as her voice, "It is magic."
"Sit, please," she instructed and Ajali obeyed her.
The only place to sit was on the bed and he moved several large
pillows aside to do so. She watched him like a hawk. Surely such a
sweet-faced young man as this didn't live on the more sadistic side of
life. He had not said a word since choosing her, so she knew that he
was older than he looked from his voice. She kept her back to him as
she undressed.
"What is it that you prefer?" she asked.
"I wish only to drink from you," he said mildly, "But other things can
be arranged."
She spun at the tone in his words. He bargained like any high class
brothel hireling.
"I take it that you aren't unfamiliar with places like this?" she
padded over to stand at his knees looking down at him.
"I have been on the other side of the coin, yes," he admitted.
Kumari ran her fingers along the line of his chin and tilted his face
up to hers. Surely this was a nobleman's son; his features too fine
for the commoner, brows arched elegantly and his expression schooled
and aloof.
She smiled and released his chin, "Come upon hard times, then?"
"Once and a while I do," he answered, "This is not one of my more
affluent years."
She scoffed at him, "You cannot be old enough to have had many years
at all. How old are you?"
Ignoring the rudeness of the question, Ajali replied, "Far older than
you think, my lady." He changed the topic quickly, "How well versed
are you with other races and species different from your own? I would
not force anyone to do this with me if I wasn't perfectly sure that
they were willing."
Kumari had stripped to her bra and panties. She came over and draped
herself over several tasseled velvet pillows, "You wish a resume?"
Her voice held mirth.
He gave her a level look, "I will not be rough if you do not wish it
so. It will be as you decide or it will not come to pass. I must
have my blood meal, but if this is abhorrent to you, I will seek it
elsewhere."
She caught his arm. The muscles beneath the silk were hard; not a
boy's structure at all.
"Well," she flopped onto her back beside him, "I have entertained
minotaurs and dark elves. Sometimes the odd human seeks me out. I am
a special taste." Her proud smile spoke volumes.
"Then know this," Ajali's eyes never wavered from her own, "I am
another race from your own. I am what is known as a darkwalker around
here. A nightshade. Dream thief. Blood drinker. A vampire. Can
you still tolerate me?"
Kumari looked nothing more than surprised, "If by letting you drink I
become one of your kind, that I will not do!"
Ajali read the truth in her eyes, "I won't allow you to become what I
am. It takes at least three nights of me drinking from you until you
faint from blood loss and then on the third night, I feed you from my
own body to make you one with my kind. I was born this way. I do not
spread this affliction if I can avoid it."
The dark girl weighed his words, "Then I may not see you again?"
Ajali chuckled, "You may see me as often as you like, but I will
neither drain you nor will I let you drink from me. If I could
populate the world I have lived in with my kind, there would be no
humans left behind me."
Kumari's eyes sparkled and she moved closer to him, "Then might I
suggest undressing? I foresee a few hours of pleasurable company."
Her eyes drank in his body as he removed first his jacket and then his
shirt. His boots and socks were next. By the time his silk pants and
underwear hit the floor, she had almost memorized his body. He lay on
the bed beside her and took her in his arms.
[Lycari/Others – at the Inn]
The stamping of impatient feet prompted Robin to take the stage.
"We'll be sure to have a fresh pot of nice hot tea waiting for you
when your throat tires," Lycari assured him.
[Astarte]
"I'm young at heart," said Astarte, dipping bread into her soup.
Fresh bread had to be one of her favorite things. Her eyes glinted
for a moment.
"Can you dance, Lycari? Or is that not a skill you learn in the
woodlands?"
[Lycari]
The shifter seemed taken aback, but it was all in fun, "I have
sisters! What do _you_ think?"
He stood up and reached for her hand, "Of course I dance! My sisters
had to practice on someone. May I have this dance, my lady?"
[Robin]
Not being able to play to his full potential in the marketplace, due
to the merchants' restrictions, Robin was more than ready to use it in
the Inn, where it was always appreciated. It had been a couple of days
since he'd given his audience one of his signature portrait-songs and
he played a frisky jig while he thought of what to portray. The Inn's
common room was set up for eating, not dancing, but that didn't stop
some of the more intrepid from shuffling their feet and that gave him
an idea.
Invoking his magic, he made his audience Lords and Ladies at a
magnificent fete and let them experience the wild exhilaration that
came from dancing the Viennese Waltz; the closest to flying a human
could come without his or her feet actually leaving the ground. Then
he expanded his story. Most here would never have been to a noble
household. Well, actually, neither had he, but he knew most of the
details he would need to tell his story. He drew them into intrigue -
plots and sedition and forbidden love. The audience experienced the
tale as though they were the principals - the ladies were love-lost
Juliet, the men despairing Romeo. He made them feel the anguish of
unneeded death, then the joy of love everlasting beyond the grave,
then finally swept them into the giddy dance again.
[Astarte]
It was quite cramped in the space between tables, especially with the
crowd standing at the bar. Much to her embarrassment, Astarte trod on
Lycari's toes at least twice before she remembered that she was
supposed to let him lead. Quickly she picked up his steps and matched
his jig.
As the audience slipped out of the vision other couples and children
found their own space and joined in, much to the merriment of the
other patrons.
[Lycari]
"Let me guess," Lycari kidded Astarte as they were swept into a
courtly reel, "You have sisters too?"
He was an excellent dancer and, strangely enough, knew all the steps
to even the latest fads. His sisters had kept him up on everything
they themselves needed to practice before they went to local town
balls with their boyfriends. With only two brothers to practice on,
and three sisters wanting their services, both Lycari and his brother
were well versed in them all.
As soon as the small dance floor filled, his agility as not only a
shifter but as an athletic man, was very handy. Added to his height
he was more than able to guide the two of them out of many potential
disasters. Not every other couple was as adept as he and Astarte.
The pair of them had an envious audience of non-dancers. They cut
quite a couple on the floor; the lovely graceful elf-woman and her
handsome silver beau. After about five turns on the dance floor,
Lycari led Astarte back to their table.
"I don't know about you," he grinned, "But I need to wet my whistle."
He plunked down in his chair and lifted the mug Fawn had brought over
a few minutes earlier. He took a hearty swig of the cider as Astarte
downed a bit of her ale.
As he wiped a moustache of foam from his upper lip with his napkin,
Lycari thanked Astarte for the dancing. "After a little rest, we can
have another go, if you like," he invited.
[Ajali –at the Rathskeller]
As Ajali sat on the edge of the bed pulling on his boots, Kumari lay
on the pillows languidly and her eyes caressed his back. Four
puncture wounds bled lightly on her neck; two large ones into the vein
and two smaller incisions into the muscles of her throat.
"If you need me again," she purred, "Please ask for me. You are all I
could want for. If I was not an employee ---"
In the blink of an eye, he was at her side pressing a finger to her
lips.
"Ssshhh," he kissed her lightly on the forehead, "Sleep now. You need
to rest before your next customer."
Kumari pouted, "I do not want another tonight and I will tell Aethyr
this. I am tired." Her expression changed to one of longing, "I want
to remember only you this evening."
He stood up, "This lethargy will wear off after you have eaten a
decent meal."
He buttoned his shirt and contemplated her curvaceous form under the
blankets, "You might be a little sore at your neck and --- other
parts. I haven't hurt you, nor have I drained you anywhere near as
empty as I could."
Giving her an impish grin, he added, "You might not want me back when
you are thinking clearly." He had to ease back as she listlessly
grabbed for his leg. "No. I've got to go," he told her, "Another
awaits."
Jealousy flared in Kumari's dark eyes, "Will you lie with her
tonight?"
Ajali drew his jacket on and buttoned it against the cold. As his
fingers wrapped around the knob, and without turning, he told her,
"No. Not yet. But it will come."
The door closed behind him as he left and Kumari thought that her room
had never felt emptier than at this instant.
[Carelya – at the Inn]
No matter what was happening on the dance floor, Carelya's eyes always
wound up on the main door. Any time now she expected to see Ajali
enter there. He was late and had already missed the musician's first
set. The bard sat at his table with his friends, drinking from a mug
and laughing. Carelya took a moment to take another peek at the tall
pale man with him. Very handsome, he was and a wonderful dancer to
boot. If Ajali didn't turn up soon, she might have to make her way
over and beg a dance from him.
A gust of cold wind tickled her bare arms and she knew that someone
had come in the front door.
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